I’m not a big Liverpool fan but I thought this video from Bleacher Report celebrating Liverpool’s first league title in 30 years was pretty poignant…
I’m not crying. You’re crying. Well done, Bleacher Report. Congratulations, Liverpool. Your long wait for a league title is finally over. 🙂⚽️🏆❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on June 25, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/06/25/congratulations-liverpool/
I’ve really gone all in on the Korean Baseball games they’ve been playing on ESPN. Not having MLB baseball, or really sports in general, has been pretty annoying. And Korean Baseball is definitely filling the void. It’s been super fun to watch and learn about a new league that I’ve never been exposed to before.
The KBO games start ridiculously early, what with coming live from Korea and all. I set our YouTubeTV to record all of them. And then I listen to them while I’m working during the day. The KBO baseball has been pretty entertaining. The games are competitive. It’s been compared to a triple-A league here in the States. And for the most part, the games aren’t lacking in offense. There’s a lot of scoring. Because there is a lack of dominant, overpowering pitchers in the KBO.
I decided pretty early on that my KBO team would be the Doosan Bears from Seoul. I flirted briefly with making my team the NC Dinos. But I decided to go with the Bears because I love bears just a little bit more than I love dinosaurs. But it was really close.
I even ordered a Doosan Bears ballcap all the way from Korean…
If you haven’t been watching, the games are being played in empty stadiums because of the COVD-19 pandemic. In this morning’s KBO game live from Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium, home of the Hanwha Eagles, every seat behind home plate was filled with donated stuffed animals…
How awesome is that? The commentators said that the animals would all be donated to children’s charities. The more I watch the KBO, the more I like it. It’s the baseball we know and love with a uniquely Asian twist. And it’s pretty entertaining.
ESPN said they’ll be showing the rest of this season in its entirety, including the playoffs. I hope that the are more seasons of Korean baseball after this one. It’s darn pretty fun. And it’s great to have some baseball back in our lives. 😀⚾️🐻❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on June 17, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/06/17/all-in-on-kbo/
While I’m working, I really like listening to sports on Pluto TV. I usually bounce back and forth between four main channels: Surf TV, Red Bull TV, Bein Sports Extra, and the MLS channel. This afternoon on the MLS channel, we stumbled across the selection show for the upcoming MLS IS BACK tournament which will be held in Orlando…
They drew the groups for the east first. FC Cincinnati drew Group E…
Hilariously, Columbus Crew drew Group E as well…
So there will be a matchup of the Hell is Real derby in Orlando…
In the west, my very favorite MLS club, Minnesota United drew Group D…
Also hilariously, Group F contains both teams from Los Angeles…
And the best part is all the matches will be televised…
The best summers are always the World Cup summers, followed closely by the Euro Championship summers. More than likely, this tournament won’t have the same talent level or probably the same drama as national team tournaments but it should still be a lot of fun to watch. Especially after four months without any sports at all.
And I can’t wait! Come on you Loons! 😀⚽️🏆❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on June 12, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/06/12/mls-is-back/
It’s April 16th! Happy Foursquare Day! April 16th? 4.16… Four-squared. Get it?
Three years ago, we were at our third Reds baseball game of the season. We stopped before the game to find our Reds All-Star Legacy brick again…
While we were still sitting in the down the third place line, one of the Brewers hit a line drive foul ball that ricocheted off some seats, bounced off the nacho concession stand behind us, landed a few rows behind us and rolled under the seats and Genifer reached over to pick it up in the row behind us. And after 200+ Reds games, we finally had our first foul ball…
Thanks for all the really wonderful memories, Timehop. 😀⚾️❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on April 16, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/04/16/timehopping-12/
Jackie Robinson made history when he broke baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947.
Every year on April 15th, Major League Baseball joins together to celebrate the life and career of Jackie Robinson with Jackie Robinson Day. Today is an opportunity for people around the world to look back on the courage and strength one man displayed that would inspire generations to come…
Although we are unable to celebrate this special day at the ballpark, we can still join baseball’s salute to Jackie Robinson this year. At MLB.com/42, there are activities for kids to learn more about Jackie’s accomplishments, along with a schedule of programs on MLB.com and MLB Network celebrating Jackie’s legacy. 😀⚾️❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on April 15, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/04/15/happy-jackie-robinson-day/
Two years ago today, Michigan played against Villanova in the college basketball National Championship game…
Michigan ended up losing 79-62 in the championship game but what an incredible tournament run it was! GO BLUE!
Thanks for all the wonderful memories, Timehop. 😀〽️🏀🦕❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on April 2, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/04/02/two-years-ago-today-5/
Four years ago, our first FC Cincinnati booklet of season tickets arrived in the mail…
We reserved our season tickets on forty-five minutes after it was announced that USL soccer was coming to Cincinnati.
To me, these were the FC|C glory days, back when they were in USL. They were just this little upstart second division club from Cincinnati that drew 25,000+ fans to their home games. They were competitive on the pitch. They had friendlies with major European squads like Crystal Palace, Valencia, and Espanyol. It was all so exciting and soooo much fun. During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, we didn’t miss one home match. Every friendly, every scrimmage, every single match, we were there. The 2018 season we missed three matches because of my hip surgeries and one match because of a family vacation. The 2019 MLS season started off well but by the end we skipped some of the matches during the week because the team was so bad.
And before each season started, we would go out and each buy the new FC|C home jersey for the season and sweatshirts so we had new gear for each new season.
We were all in on FC Cincinnati. Until now.
Here comes the diatribe…
Fast forward four years, FC Cincinnati is the worst club in MLS. I mean, it’s not even close. in 2019, they earned just 24 points from 34 matches, and finished with a goal difference of -44. NEGATIVE FORTY-FOUR. They currently find themselves without a head coach. Again. Before the start of this season, they eliminated general admission tickets. And that drove the ticket prices up. Again. Every year it keeps getting more and more expensive just to watch a team that’s terrible. We decided at the end of last season that we were not going to be renewing our season tickets.
And we have YouTubeTV. On YouTubeTV, you can’t stream any of the FC|C matches…
We also subscribe to ESPN+. MLS enforces strict black-outs of even the on-demand replays of ALL FC Cincy matches…
The only way for us to watch any of the FC Cincinnati matches, home or away, is by using an over-air antenna.
And to top it off, I think their 2020 home kit is an absolute mess. But to be fair, their away kit is pretty sweet. Over the last four years, FC Cincinnati’s home kit has gone from horizontal blocks to hoops to stripes to halves. It’s ridiculous. I’ve watched a lot of soccer throughout the years and I can’t recall another side that has varied the overall design for their kit so dramatically. Usually just little details change.
With the rising ticket prices and the TV black-outs, what FC|C and MLS are telling me is this… we don’t care if you watch Cincinnati soccer matches. And I’m fine with that. I’ll wear the gear I have. But I’m not dropping another dime on this team.
I’ve really fallen in love with Minnesota United in MLS. They are a competitive side. I like their coach. Love their logo and kit. And I can watch all their matches on ESPN+. I’ve also begun really supporting Louisville City in USL. I can also watch all of their matches through ESPN+. As soon as the COVID-19 crisis is behind us, we’re planning weekend trips to both Minneapolis and Louisville to see their stadiums and watch matches. And to me, that seems like a much better use of my money.
I’m not saying I’m done with FC Cincinnati for ever. But I’m definitely over them for right now and into the foreseeable future. #AllForCincy 😐⚽️❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on March 30, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/03/30/four-years-ago-8/
Today would have been Opening Day for Major League Baseball. But like everything else, the start of the baseball season has been postponed due to COVID-19. MLB and the Reds came up with the awesome idea of #OpeningDayAtHome. They’re going to replay old Reds game on their social media and Fox Sports Ohio. And I think it’s a great idea because it’s a lot better than nothing…
As we all continue to follow the proper precautions to keep everyone safe and healthy during these unprecedented times, we still have the opportunity to celebrate one of the aspects of our lives that brings us together – Reds Baseball!
Fans throughout Reds Country have thrown the best Opening Day celebration in baseball for more than 100 years, and we will continue that tradition this year as well. Tomorrow, join the Reds and all of Major League Baseball for a special #OpeningDayAtHome celebration.
I wore all my Reds gear all day today. And I enjoyed the replay of the Reds’ dramatic 2019 Opening Day win over the Pirates on FOX Sports Ohio…
We also watched the Reds final game of the series sweep against the Astros from last season. It was extra sweet to watch that game because it’s always fun to see cheaters take the loss.
And I just discovered the MLB Vault YouTube channel where they replay classic MLB games in their entirety. I was also watching the incredible game 7 of the 2016 Cubs-Indians World Series in all it’s glory.
Dang. How did I not know about MLB Vault? Welcome to the party, pal. 😀⚾️❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on March 26, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/03/26/openingdayathome/
Last night, the NBA shocked everyone by abruptly suspending the remaining games of their season after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus…
But at least, my Mavs are the 2019/20 Champions. This afternoon, Michigan was set to begin their 2020 B1G TEN tournament against Rutgers in Indianapolis at a Bankers Life Fieldhouse without any spectators…
And just as the game was about to tipoff, the entire tournament was canceled…
Both teams were on the floor, warmed up and ready to tip-off their tournament and then the plug was pulled on the whole thing.
Some things are bigger than basketball. This is a global situation and we need to make sure we follow the guidance and direction of the experts and health officials. While we are disappointed of not being able to play this event — especially for Zavier and Jon.
We need to stay bonded together during this time. We want everyone to stay safe and take precautions to protect yourselves and loved ones.
We are a Michigan family… forever.
— Michigan Head Coach, Juwan Howard
But on the upside, Michigan is still undefeated against Rutgers.
And less than an hour later, MLS postponed their season for 30 days…
No Minnesota United soccer for a while…
In a related story, I’m done with FC Cincinnati. Completely done. But that’s another post for another time. And not long after MLS, USL followed suit and suspended their season for at least 30 days as well…
Louisville City just completed their soccer-specific stadium before the beginning of this season, and now they’re going to have to wait a little while longer to christen their stadium. But it looks just beautiful…
A few hours later, it was baseball’s turn…
And then later this afternoon, March Madness turned into March Sadness…
Ha. And when I got home from work, I saw an update from England…
Apparently, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been diagnosed with COVID-19…
The FA is scheduled to release a statement of the future of the English Premier League season. I’m guessing it will be postponed for the foreseeable future…
And there you go. Now we’re living in my nightmare, a world without sports. It’s a very sad day. And it’s going to be a really long month. 😭🚫❤️
UPDATE: The Premier League season has been suspended with the intention of returning on April 4. The League intends to reschedule the postponed matches.
And the NBA season is likely to resume. Games could return in April and possibly go straight into the playoffs, or the league could push the entire calendar back. But my Mavericks will always be 2019/20 NBA Champions to me.
Posted by Thadd F. on March 12, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/03/12/a-world-without-sports/
Tonight, I watching my Dallas Mavericks play the Denver Nuggets on ESPN. And during the game, the NBA decided to cancel the rest of the NBA season while the Mavs game was still going. The Mavs ended up thumping Nuggets by 16 points.
So since the Mavericks won the final game of the NBA season… THEY’RE YOUR 2019/20 NBA CHAMPIONS!
Luka Doncic dropped 28 in the final game. He was just one rebound short of another double-double. But your final MVP is Boban Marjanovic with 31 points and 17 boards.
And the Mavs rested one of their superstars, Kristaps Porzingis in the championship game… just because they could. Gangsta.
DALLAS MAVERICKS 2019/20 NBA CHAMPIONS!🤣🏀🏆❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on March 11, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/03/11/2019-20-nba-champions/
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