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THE USA EAGLES!!!

GOOD WORK BOYS!!!

NEXT WEEKEND, THE USA SEVENS TOURNAMENT!

Ok, here’s the deal. Setanta Sports has been advertising that coverage of tonight’s New Zealand Sevens was going to be LIVE in the United States. So I get an email and Day 2 is already underway. Are you kidding me? I was looking forward to “Live Blogging” Day 2 and apparently Setanta Sports lied to me. LIARS!!!

I apologize. Maybe they are only showing the end of it live instead of the entire day…no idea. I just double checked the Setanta USA website and it still says the coverage was going to be live tonight. Fuckers, but I probably fucked up and misunderstood.

Well…I’m pissed. But, at least let me get everyone caught up to what has gone down so far.

Bowl Quarterfinals

England-33 Canada-17

France-17 USA-12 –Not a great start for the Eagles. They are now eliminated from the Bowl competition and must now play for the Shield. The French get a measure of revenge after losing to the Eagles in George. It should be noted that the score was 12-12 at the end of regulation and France scored the winning try in “sudden death” over time.

Argentina-19 Kenya-7

Cook Islands-24 Papua New Guinea-17

Cup Quarterfinals

New Zealand-40 Wales-5

Australia-31 Scotland-7

Tonga-14 South Africa-10–What an upset! Tonga did not compete in Dubai or George and yet they knock off one of the tournament favorites. Congrats to them.

Samoa-19 Fiji-17 –Hell yeah! The upsets continue. This is probably good news for the Kiwis as I felt Fiji was the only squad strong enough to defeat the hosts.

Shield Semifinals

USA-19 Canada-7 –The Eagles advance to the Shield Finals! Sure, its the lowest trophy you can win in a Sevens Tournament, but any hardware is an accomplishment. They will get a chance to avenge their loss to Kenya in the Plate Finals back in December at the South Africa Sevens as the two squads will meet for the Shield Finals. This also gives the U.S. two straight victories over our rivals to the north. Michael Palefau and Matthew Hawkins scored tries for the U.S.

Kenya-38 Papua New Guinea-7

And that catches you up to date.

Please click on “READ MORE” below as I will now begin LIVE TRYGOL.COM COVERAGE of the rest of the New Zealand International Sevens!!!

Bowl Semifinals

*Update (11:48 PM ET) England-14 France-5 –What a difference a day makes! England put their shitty Day 1 performance behind them and now seemed poised to win the Bowl Championship. France exits with only 1 victory at the New Zealand Sevens. Unfortunately, that lone victory was at the expense of the Yanks.

*Update (11:53 PM ET) Argentina-36 Cook Islands-5 –The Pumas, much like England, have stepped their game up on Day 2. Remember, the Pumas made it to the Cup Semifinals in George before losing to the eventual champion Kiwis. As for the Cook Islands, congrats to them on a very memorable performance. They stunned England yesterday and picked up one victory today before bowing out. So this sets up England versus Argentina for the Bowl Championship.

Plate Semifinals

*Update (12:11 am ET) Wales-24 Scotland-12–Wales moves on to the Plate Finals as they doubled up rivals Scotland. Wales is not known as “7’s Super Power” so making it to the Plate Finals is a great accomplishment.

*Update (12:15 am ET) I’m watching Setanta Sports right now and “Football Asia” is on. “Live Coverage” of Day 2 of the New Zealand Sevens begins in 14 minutes. If their coverage is truly live, looks like it will begin with the Cup Semifinals. I may be giving Setanta too much shit for this mix up. Maybe I’m just a fucking idiot and shouldn’t have assumed the entire day was going to be live.

*Update (12:21 am ET) South Africa-26 Fiji-19–I felt Fiji were one of the favorites to win the NZ Sevens and after Day 1, how could you argue with that? Day 2 has been a while different story. Fiji will hope to rebound next week in San Diego at the USA Sevens while the Springboks will take on Wales in the Plate Finals.

Cup Semifinals

*Update (12:25 am ET) The cup semifinals will be very interesting. We kick it off with rivals New Zealand & Australia going to battle. That will be followed by another Pacific Nation rivalry as Tonga takes on Samoa. Now that I’m truly “live blogging” this event, let me throw out my quick predictions. Look for New Zealand and Tonga to each win and meet in the Finals.

*Update (12:39 am ET) Well I’m still waiting for Setanta’s “Live Coverage” to begin. According to my DirecTV guide and Setanta’s Online Schedule, this was suppose to begin 10 minutes ago.

*Update (12:43 am ET) This is getting to be funny. Just as I was about to cut Setanta a break and rip myself for misunderstanding their “live coverage” of the NZ Sevens, they are currently airing “Gillette World Sport”. If you get Setanta, you know that during commercials they typical plug what is on NOW, what is on NEXT and what is on LATER. Well it said “Now-Gillette World Sport 11pm”. Did we have a time change I wasn’t aware of? Its 12:45 am, not 11pm!!! Guess I’ll keep my eyes on the IRB website for updates as it seems Setanta is all fucked up for some reason.

*Update (12:50 am ET) Hmmm…any chance the New Zealand versus Australia match got pushed back a bit? Oh…and COME ON YOU WHITES…BEAT VILLA!!! Yeah they don’t play until Sunday but it’s not like I have anything to “live blog” about at the moment.

*Update (1:03 am ET) Finally!!! Cept they are showing Tonga vs Samoa. Looks like Setanta must have had some technical problems. So now I gotta look up who won the Australia vs New Zealand match. Before I find that score, Tonga is leading Samoa 7-5 early on.

*Update (1:09 am ET) Better late than never. New Zealand defeated Australia 32-7. No big deal that Setanta’s live coverage began late as the Kiwis smacked the Wallabies around. Getting back to the live match, Samoa is leading Tonga at the half 17-7. After Tonga took the lead, Samoa scored two quick tries to end the half.

*Update (1:13 am ET) Samoa is starting to pull away. A great try that went the length of the pitch. Whoever that guy was is lighting quick. Samoa now leads 24-7.

*Update (1:16 am ET) Another great try, except this time it was Samoa’s #11 going the length of the pitch. Tonga now pulls with in 10 points as the score stands 24-14. This is getting exciting with like a minute and a half to go.

*Update (1:18 am ET) TONGA SCORES!!! One minute to go and now the score is 24-21.

*Update (1:19 am ET) What a match! Tonga had a late charge at goal and fell only meters short of a fantastic comeback. However Samoa survives and wins 24-21. Tonga had a great tournament and is a real threat for the rest of the World Series this year. Samoa won the New Zealand Sevens last year and will now attempt to defend their title versus the host nation New Zealand. Up next, the Shield Finals between USA and Kenya. COME ON EAGLES!!!

Shield Finals

*Update (1:24 am ET) As we wait for the Shield Finals to begin, they are showing shots of the crowd having a good fucking time. The crowd is always electric at Sevens Tournaments and I think that is great. I hope to one day attend the USA Sevens. We got about a foot of snow in Michigan today. San Diego in February sounds good to me!

*Update (1:30 am ET) Kenya and the Eagles take to the rugby pitch as the Shield Finals is about to begin. Interesting the PA System is playing “Born in the USA” even though I feel most of the people there are supporting Kenya. Hell the crowd is singing along. Bruce is loved world wide.

Kenya is about to kick off and now we are underway!

*Update (1:32 am ET) Kenya gets off to a flying start. Dennis Mwanja scores a try as Kenya leads 5-0. At least they missed the conversion.

*Update (1:35 am ET) Clever with a nice run for the Americans but he’s stopped short. After a scrum, Kenya’s Collins Injera goes the length of the pitch for the try. The USA’s defense sucks at the moment. Kenya is now up 10-0.

*Update (1:37 am ET) The Eagles are in trouble! After a clever chip and chase, Dennis Mwanja scored once again and now Kenya is up 17-0 at the half. Kenya seems to have our number. They slipped past us by 1 point in George to win the Plate Championship back in December. Very impressive performance thus far for the African nation.

*Update (1:40 am ET) USA scores! Todd Clever scores a try and the score now stands at 17-7. I just thought, it would have been nice to have Takudzwa Ngwenya for this tournament but he has bigger fish to fry playing club rugby in France.

*Update (1:42 am ET) Kenya was driving towards the try line and Jason Pye intercepted a pass and Jason goes the length of the pitch as the USA are now back in it! The Score is now 17-12. There is 3 1/2 minutes left in the match.

*Update (1:45 am ET) Kenya is playing keep away as they attempt to burn the clock. 1 1/2 minutes to go.

*Update (1:46 am ET) Final possession for the Americans. Clever is awarded a penalty try!!! We need this kick!!!

*Update (1:47 am ET) USA WINS!!! WHAT A SECOND HALF COME BACK!!! The United States won the Shield Championship 19-17 on a Dallen Stanford penalty try. Todd Clever set up the penalty try and carried us on his back the entire second half.

Your 2008 New Zealand Sevens Shield Chamipions- THE USA EAGLES!!! Congrats boys, you deserved this. Hopefully we can collect a few more trophies as the IRB World Series continues.

BOWL FINALS

*Update (1:53 am ET) Coming up in 7 minutes is the Bowl Finals between England and Argentina. Both squads played poorly on Day 1 and came back strong on Day 2. I’m going to be pulling for the Pumas but I think England will take it.

*Update (2:02 am ET) England and Argentina are underway and the match is scoreless 3 minutes in.

*Update (2:08 am ET) Setanta Sports isn’t the only ones having technical problems tonight. Out of no where, my blog slowed down. Maybe I’m just updating too fast and furious!!! Anyways, the Pumas scored a late first half try and lead England 7-0. And as I type this out, it would seem Setanta is having more technical problems.

*Update (2:11 am ET) Setanta is back and the second half is underway. This blog may be lagged a bit, so bear with me. Argentina made a nice charge towards the try line via a chip and chase but the ball was put into touch. The Pumas are still threatening. England now with the chip and chase and England scores! Anthony Elliot showed much pace and now the score is tied 7-7.

*Update (2:28 am ET) Man the WordPress.com servers are slow at the moment. I’ve been trying to update with no luck. Anyways, England won the Bowl Championship 12-7 over the Pumas. England went winless yesterday and went undefeated today. Up next, South Africa versus Wales in the Plate Finals.

Plate Final

*Update (2:47 am ET) I apologize to the visitors tonight. It’s been a strange night. I couldn’t log into my WordPress.com account for almost 20 minutes. Very slow at the moment. South Africa defeated Wales 19-12 to take home the Plate. South African jumped out to a 19-0 lead at the half. Wales scored twice in the second but it wasn’t enough to over take the Springboks.

And now the Cup Finals between New Zealand and Samoa. Can the Kiwis win their 3rd Cup out of 3 tournaments this season? We shall see.

Cup Finals

*Update (3:01 am ET) Samoa jumps out quickly and scores a try. The Samoans are playing fearless rugby early on. The crowd is stunned!!!

*Update (3:09 am ET) Kiwi Victor Vito scored a try and New Zealand closes the gap as the score is now 7-5. Very physical match so far as we are nearing the end of the first half. The action is back and forth as we reach the final minute of the first half. New Zealand’s Zar Lawrence takes the hand off about 50 meters out and breaks free for the try. New Zealand now leads at halftime 12-7.

*Update (3:15 am ET) The second half is underway. WordPress.com is messing with me right now much like Setanta Sports was earlier. What a great time to perform “server maintenance.” Didn’t they know I was attempting my first Live Blog? Hahaha…anyways. If the second half is anything like the first half, we are in for a treat. Play is stopped at the moment as a Samoa player is injured.

*Update (3:18 am ET) Samoa retakes the lead 14-12. A great “team try” as the defending NZ Sevens Champs look to take it to the defending World Series Champs.

*Update (3:21 am ET) LoLo Lui hits a rare drop goal, putting Samoa up 17-12 to extend their lead. However this lead was short lived as New Zealand came right back with a try in the left corner to tie the match at 17-17 with 3 minutes to go. What a Cup Final!

*Update (3:25 am ET) Two minutes to go and New Zealand is driving up the pitch. The Kiwis are around 22 meters away from the try line. 30 seconds to play and New Zealand have possession . 15 seconds to go and Victor Vito breaks loose for the Kiwis, heading for the try line. The Samoans can’t catch him and Vito scores his second try of the match! The match is over. New Zealand defeats Samoa 22-17 in the final seconds. New Zealand have now won all 3 IRB Sevens World Series tournaments this season. Can they make it 4 in a row next weekend in San Diego? They will be tough to beat. Congrats to Samoa, they played the Kiwis tough two days in a row but came up short.

Well my first “Live Blogging” event was full of glitches but I had a good time. Time to get some sleep as I have a busy sports day ahead of me tomorrow.

Again…here are your champions in Wellington:

USA-Shield

England-Bowl

South Africa-Plate

New Zealand-Cup

Just a quick reminder, I will begin “live blogging” Day 2 of the New Zealand Rugby Sevens tonight at 12:30 am ET. I can’t promise you that I will be able to stay awake until 4 am but I’ll give it my best shot. Regardless, I will post results later Saturday morning.

We have a very busy weekend a head of us and I couldn’t be more excited. I may be a bit worn out when its all said and done, which will be weird because its not like I’m doing anything except watch TV almost non-stop.

So let’s break everything down, starting tonight:

Rugby: IRB New Zealand Sevens-Day 2
Day 2 kicks off tonight (or very early tomorrow depending on where you live) and the USA Eagles are in the Bowl Quarterfinals. They will take on France. I’m fairly confident our boys will get a victory. Frankly France is playing like shit at the moment and we defeated them in South Africa back in December, which at the time seemed like an upset. I’m going to predict the Eagles make it to the Bowl Finals before losing. I hope I’m wrong but they always seem to stumble a bit on Day 2 of any given 7’s tournament. I’m picking Fiji or New Zealand to win it all as both squads seem pretty unstoppable at the moment.

Live coverage in the United States will begin at 12:30 am Eastern on Setanta Sports. I will attempt to “Live Blog” the matches tonight, although I make no promises that I will be able to stay up until 4am. I’m a 32 year old trapped in a 72 year old body.

Rugby: 6 Nations-Saturday
The 2008 RBS 6 Nations begins tomorrow around 9am Eastern with Ireland hosting Italy. Ireland should easily defeat Italy as I feel the other squads will defeat Italy easily as well. I could be wrong though, it’s not like Ireland had a stellar performance at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The match will air in the U.S. on Setanta Sports at 11:30 pm ET on Sunday, which basically means I will probably flip back and forth between the match and UFC 81. UFC takes priority here because I’m paying for that.

Wales travels to Twickenham to take on England at 11:30 am Eastern. I’m going to have to avoid spoilers until Sunday when the match airs on Setanta at 3pm ET. I’m really looking forward to this match. I feel Wales is much improved and England is considered by most to be the favorites to win the 6 Nations this year. Last year, Wales gained their only victory over England but I don’t see that happening this year. Look for England to win a close one.

UFC 81-Live on Pay Per View
I caught shit via email the last time I mentioned the Ultimate Fighting Championship on this “rugby & soccer” blog. Being of a libertarian mind, all that did was motivate me to plug it again. I love the UFC and I’m really looking forward to the Pay Per View on Saturday night. Former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar makes his UFC debut as he takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. I’m a Brock Lesnar fan and make no apologies for it. He’s a legit fighter and I feel he will destroy Frank Mir in the 1st round. I hope I’m right, I’m going to feel good gloating. Its funny because if you look at the forums, everyone seems to be talking shit about how Mir will defeat the “fake” wrestler, yet in all the polls I’ve seen, Brock is a heavy favorite to win. Perhaps some people are shit talking on the forums just to talk shit? Who knows. Tim Sylvia is taking on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. I hate Tim Sylvia and couldn’t give a fuck less about this bout. Here’s hoping Nog ends it early and wins the Interim Heavyweight Title. The other bout I’m looking forward to is Jeremy Horn vs Nate Marquardt. I like both fighters but I’m going to place my bet on Jeremy Horn as that guy has some sick submissions. UFC 81 airs on PPV in the U.S. at 10pm Eastern.

Soccer (or “Football”): Fulham vs Aston Villa
On paper it would seem that Aston Villa should be the clear cut favorites to take all 3 points at the Cottage. They are currently sitting 5th in the table and with the way Liverpool has been performing, it’s possible that by the end of the season, you could see Villa finish in the Top 4, which would be huge for that club.

Fulham needs a victory, bottomline. A couple days ago I stated that we need draws away and victories at home if we are to avoid relegation. So, the boys must step up and secure a victory this weekend. I have no idea what Roy Hodgson plans on doing this Sunday, however if I were to give him some advice, I would make Eddie Johnson available to come off the bench. I wouldn’t start him at this point because I feel Eddie probabl lacks fitness. However, I do believe our favorite “Grown Ass Man” could provide the second half spark we currently lack. In order to avoid relegation we must be able to finish off matches. I’m going to say Fulham pulls off the “upset” and takes 3 points at home. Let’s go with 1-0 and once again, I’m going to pick Jimmy Bullard to score our goal. I’ll probably pick Jimmy to score in every match until he actually scores. I just really want to see the guy complete his comeback. The match will air Live at 11am on Fox Soccer Channel.

Football (or “Football”): Super Bowl XLII-Patriots vs Giants
Yes I love American Football just as much as I love rugby, soccer or mixed martial arts. But for the first time in my life, I couldn’t give a shit less about the Super Bowl. I hate the Patriots (even though you did give my Fighting Irish Charlie Weiss, thanks!) and hate the New York Giants even more. I honestly couldn’t give a rats ass about this game and I’m not entirely sure if I’ll watch it or not. I am looking forward to tuning in to Spike TV during halftime to watch the latest Major League Eating (MLE) competition. I think I missed my calling. I could have been the Hot Wings champion or something. Not sure what those athletes will be chowing down but I do know it sickens my wife, so that is entertainment in of itself. Back to the Super Bowl, I’m predicting Patriots-31 Giants-10 and Jason-bored.

Rugby-RBS 6 Nations-Sunday
Scotland vs France will kick off at Murrayfield at 10am Sunday and will air in the U.S. at 11pm Sunday night on Setanta. France should win but don’t count out Scotland at home. I see something like 24-13, with the first half being really close and France pulling away in the second.

So there you have it. Another kick ass, sports filled weekend for yours truly. Remember, I will attempt to “live blog” Day 2 of the IRB New Zealand Sevens tournament tonight, starting at 12:30 am.

Day 1 is complete and as far as the quarterfinals go, you pretty much see your usual suspects involved. Thats not to say that there wasn’t a couple of upsets on Day 1, as I chronicled in the post prior to this one.

The USA Eagles went 1-1-1 on the day, finishing 3rd in their group. Even though they didn’t make it to the quarters this time (as they did in South Africa back in December), they did manage an upset and a hard fought draw. Let’s hope the Eagles can make a run in the Bowl or Plate portion of the tournament today because I feel the boys deserve to bring home a trophy.

NZ Sevens-Day 1 Results

Pool A
Match 7: New Zealand 43-0 Canada
Match 8: Samoa 22-0 Papua New Guinea
Match 15: New Zealand 41-0 Papua New Guinea
Match 16: Samoa 31-10 Canada
Match 20: Canada 27-21 Papua New Guinea
Match 24: New Zealand 19-7 Samoa

Pool B
Match 5: Fiji 40-7 Wales
Match 6: England 17-21 Cook Islands
Match 13: Fiji 31-14 Cook Islands
Match 14: England 5-15 Wales
Match 19: Wales 26-7 Cook Islands
Match 23: Fiji 17-7 England

Pool C
Match 3: South Africa 24-14 Australia
Match 4: Kenya 19-0 France
Match 11: South Africa 29-7 France
Match 12: Kenya 0-19 Australia
Match 18: Australia 24-14 France
Match 22: South Africa 33-7 Kenya

Pool D
Match 1: Argentina 7-17 USA
Match 2: Scotland 26-0 Tonga
Match 9: Argentina 17-19 Tonga
Match 10: Scotland 7-7 USA
Match 17: USA 7-38 Tonga
Match 21: Argentina 12-19 Scotland

Day 2 Opening Matches

Canada vs England- Bowl 1/4 Finals
USA vs France- Bowl 1/4 Finals
Kenya vs Argentina- Bowl 1/4 Finals
Cook Islands vs Papua New Guinea- Bowl 1/4 Finals
New Zealand vs Wales- Cup 1/4 Finals
Scotland vs Australia- Cup 1/4 Finals
South Africa vs Tonga- Cup 1/4 Finals
Fiji vs Samoa- Cup 1/4 Finals

For those of you unfamiliar with the Sevens World Series, the losing sides in the Bowl quarterfinals move on to the Shield semifinals. Teams losing in the Cup quarterfinals move on to the Plate semifinals, so everyone still has a chance at winning a trophy today.

As I said an earlier post, the USA Eagles have nothing to be ashamed of. Now do us proud and make a run today.

Well the New Zealand Sevens are underway and it has been a Day 1 full of upsets and my USA Eagles started the “minnow” party in the very first match of the tournament.

The U.S. shocked Argentina, defeating the Pumas 17-7. Mike Palefau scored two tries for the Americans. What a way to get the competition started!!!

It didn’t end there…the Eagles would then draw with Scotland 7-7. I’ll take that as well. So let me break down Pool D right quick to give you an idea of where the Eagles stand. The U.S. has 1 win and 1 draw. Scotland defeated Tonga 26-0, so that puts Scotland at 1 win and 1 draw. Tonga defeated Argentina, so Tonga has 1 win and 1 loss while the Pumas are stuck at 0-2. If the U.S can manage a victory over Tonga, they will punch their ticket to the money round.

The real SHOCKER and I mean SHOCKER of the tournament so far was the Cook Islands defeating ENGLAND!!! I repeat, England lost to the Cook Frickin’ Islands 21-17. I don’t care if this is 7’s or 15’s rugby, thats an upset and a half.

Not sure how late I’m going to stay up tonight, so I may or may not have further updates. I will have complete Day 1 results and Day 2 opening match ups Friday morning.

*Update (12:19 am ET)- England just lost to Wales 15-5, which means they are heading for the Bowl portion of the competition, which is what I like to call the “loser tournament”. They must still play Fiji and unless the Brits wake the hell up, they could end the Pool stage 0-3. I’m still awake, so I’ll keep updates coming until I fall out.

*Update (12:33 am ET)-I forgot to mention that Fiji easily defeated the Cook Islands. Looks like Fiji has already wrapped up #1 in Pool B. Scary thing is, the battle for Pool B’s other quarterfinal spot will be between Cook Islands and Wales. I had Fiji and England coming out of this Pool, so tickle me shocked. What about New Zealand you say? They stomped Canada and Papua New Guinea in their first two matches, so all isn’t flipped upside down in New Zealand.

*Update (12:40 am ET)-If it makes you “blokes” feel any better, France is sucking up the joint as well today. Kenya defeated France 19-0 and then France got spanked by the Springboks 29-7. I had a French rugby fan who typed in very broke English, tell me that France would recover in Wellington, that outside of New Zealand, they had the most “talented” 7’s squad in the world. Well let’s see, in the past 2 tournaments you’ve lost to the USA Eagles, Kenya & Wales (who aren’t exactly a 7’s powerhouse). Blow me Frenchies.

*Update (12:58 am ET)-Getting tired here. I’m going to try to stay up until the USA/Tonga match. I only have to wait through 1 more as Canada is taking on Samoa right now. It may be tough staying up all night to cover this thing tomorrow but I’ll do my best. Nothing booze and pain pills can’t handle. My plan is to live blog Day 2 of the competition. I would do it tonight but I gotta be to work in a few hours. I wish the “Canucks” would hurry up and lose so we can get to the Eagles. Just as I was about to end this post, I noticed Samoa beat Canada 31-10. Now its on to USA vs Tonga, a HUGE match for the Eagles. I’m starting to get nervous…

*Update (1:16 am ET)- In my New Zealand Sevens preview, I stated the match I was most worried about was the one versus Tonga and I was right. Tonga defeated the Eagles 38-7. Tonga just punched their ticket to the quarterfinals in their first tournament appearance of the season. As for the Americans, there is a VERY slim chance we could still advance to the quarters, but we would need Argentina to completely stomp Scotland. While it’s possible that Argentina could win, I doubt they will win by enough for the U.S. to advance due to “point difference”. Too bad, that draw with Scotland ended up hurting us more than helping us. Nothing to be ashamed of Eagles, a great opening day. If we do end up in the Bowl, it looks like we get France. Hahaha, I just hope “karma” doesn’t bite me in the ass after my “frenchie” rant earlier.

*Update (1:31 am ET)- Well I’m off to bed. Its about an hour until the Scotland/Argentina match and even though I’m holding on to hope that a miracle will happen and the U.S. will end up in the quarters, I seriously doubt it.

I’ll have complete Day 1 results Friday morning and I plan on “Live Blogging” Day 2 tomorrow night. Time to get some sleep. Good night!

The 2008 USA Men’s soccer home jersey. The boys will debut the new look against Mexico next Wednesday. I must admit, I’m not fond of it. Doesn’t matter what you look like as long as you win, I just prefer the one they had been wearing.  Although it’s much better than the kit they wore for the Copa America!

Last week I mentioned that Try Gol will soon have a new look. Well I can now give you a bit of a preview.

Click HERE

Remember, you can access this blog via TryGol.com now. I’ve noticed the majority of my traffic is still coming in via http://trygol.wordpress.com. After the new site is 100% complete, you will only be able to access the blog via TryGol.com. Please bookmark & update your records.

Enjoy…

For the next couple of weekends, the focus of the rugby world will be on International squads as the RBS 6 Nations begins as well as the New Zealand & USA Sevens.

As I’ve stated here in the past, I love the 6 Nations and I will once again throw my support to Wales. I feel the Welsh squad will give us a much better performance this season compared to last season, when the team only managed one victory (versus England!). The Welsh squad must enter the Lions Den straight away as they take on 2007 RWC runners up England at Twickenham. I’m hoping for an upset, even though the English squad features 6 members of the London Wasps.

The only thing that sucks is the matches will be televised in the U.S. on Setanta Sports, tape delayed. I guess I’ll REALLY have to avoid spoilers. Most matches will be given same day coverage, while others will be shown a day later.

RBS 6 Nations-Opening Weekend Fixtures

Ireland vs Italy (Croke Park)

England vs Wales (Twickenham)

Scotland vs France (Murrayfield)

I’ll have results & thoughts up after I’ve been able to watch all 3 matches on tape delay. I apologize for that but I want to avoid spoilers.

New Zealand Sevens-LIVE!!!

Day 2 of the New Zealand Sevens will be televised LIVE in the U.S. on Setanta Sports. The live coverage begins 12:30 am eastern (9:30pm Friday Pacific) Saturday morning and will conclude at 4 am. This is the first time this year that a Sevens Tournament will be aired live in the States. I imagine that Day 2 of the USA Sevens a week later will also air live either on Setanta Sports or Versus.

The U.S. must take on Scotland, Argentina & Tonga on Day 1. I feel the Eagles can defeat Argentina & Scotland, which would be enough for us to move on to the “money round” on Day 2. I’m a little bit worried about the Tonga match but its entirely possible that the U.S. could win their group, which would put us in a better position on Day 2.

I will have Day 1 results up as soon as I can. With the time difference, it may be tough but I will attempt to keep everyone up to date with the results. I feel with some luck, the Eagles may shock a few people on the opening day and may finally come home with some hardware for the first time this season (we came close in South Africa), which would be huge confidence boost heading to San Diego on the 9th and 10th, where the Eagles were handed a much tougher draw.

GOOD LUCK EAGLES!!!

When you sit at the bottom of the table, you’ll take any point you can get. We needed a victory but settled for a draw yesterday at the Reebok, as both clubs fought to a 0-0 draw.

Fulham played pretty well in the first half but seemed to lack spark in the attack in the second. I feel that will be what Eddie Johnson can provide. He wasn’t dressed for the match yesterday but as soon as he gets fit, I feel that will be his role. I don’t expect him to start but he will be a great late game substitute. If we expect to avoid relegation, we must finish off matches, which has been our problem this season.

Hats off to Antti Niemi, he played really well in goal last night. I’ve been critical of him at times this season but don’t be fooled, he earned our point yesterday. The Cottagers return home Sunday to take on Aston Villa. Very important to get a win. I’ll take away draws as long as we can begin winning at home.

On a side note, Brian McBride may be close to his return. He played all 90 minutes for the reserves recently, which is a great sign. I don’t feel Brian will carry us to the promise land this season, but he is a key player to help keep us up.