Minnesota United played San Jose Earthquakes in the quarterfinals of MLS is Back…
And the Loons burst the Quakes bubble 4-1…
Cue Wonderwall! The Loons are still undefeated on the season and they’re marching into the MLS is Back semi-finals. They will play Orlando City for a spot in the tournament finals Thursday night on ESPN2. 😀⚽️❤️
Combine this win with Arsenal’s FA Cup win earlier in the day, and that’s what I call a very good sports day.
Posted by Thadd F. on August 1, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/08/01/and-after-aaaaall-youre-my-wonderwall/
Today was the final of the FA Cup. My favorite club in the world, Arsenal were making their record 21st appearance in the FA Cup final. Arsenal are also holders of the record for FA Cup final wins at thirteen. They were playing London rivals, Chelsea in today’s final. At the end of last season, Chelsea demolished Arsenal 4-1 in the 2019 Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan. Hopefully, the match would go much better for the Gunners today…
Leading up to this year’s FA Cup Final, Arsenal America took a look back at all thirteen Arsenal teams that lifted the Cup and in the process became FA Cup legends! They started with the very first Gunner squad to lift the FA Cup in 1930…
And moved through all thirteen squads ending with the 2017 side…
There were some neat graphics and photos on social media leading up to the match…
The match was all knotted at the half…
A brace by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lead Arsenal past Chelsea…
With the FA Cup win, Arsenal booked their spot in next season’s Europa League. It will be the Gunners twenty-fourth consecutive season of European football. Mikel Arteta’s side finished eighth in the Premier League table. Their win knocks Wolves out of Europe next season and forces sixth-place finishers, Spuds into the Europa League qualifying round to play an extra three matches before the tournament properly commences. And that makes lifting the FA Cup trophy just a little bit sweeter…
I hope Aubameyang stays with Arsenal for a long time to come…
I’m so happy Mikel Artera is leading Arsenal now…
Best handshake ever…
Fourteen. Come on you Gunners! 😀🔴⚽️❤️
And I saw this graphic about Nicolas Pepe…
After a slow start, I think he’s going to be a really good one. #COYG
Posted by Thadd F. on August 1, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/08/01/2020-fa-cup-final/
Welcome back baseball! Our Redlegs look like they have a pretty good team this year…
This is going to be a very unique, one-of-a-kind season the likes of which will hopefully never happen again. It should make the baseball really interesting…
With the COVID-19 shortened regular season only being 60 games long, every game is really going to matter. And I hope baseball can make it all the way through the regular season to get the expanded playoffs…
Because that sounds like it would be a blast! Fingers crossed that the COVID-19 doesn’t ruin this too. 😀⚾️🦠❤️
I don’t understand why baseball didn’t try to create a bubble just like the other major North American sports. After a rocky start, the MLS bubble seems to be holding really well and the so far the NBA bubble seems to be intact too. It’ll be interesting to see if the MLB made a huge mistake by not creating a bubble in Arizona with all the little spring training ballparks out there. I guess we’ll find out.
Posted by Thadd F. on July 24, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/07/24/baseball-is-back/
Baseball is back tomorrow! We’re so excited to finally get to watch our Redlegs again!
And where it’ll be incredible to have MLB baseball back, I’ve been enjoying the MLS is Back tournament so much. I’ve watched every match of the tournament either live or recorded or both. It’s been so much fun to watch. I’ve really looked forward to the matches with the 9am kickoffs every morning over the last couple of weeks. It’s been awesome to get ready for work and then be able to listen to a live soccer match while I settle in and start my workday. Today was the last day of the group stage play. And unfortunately, I think that means no more 9am kickoffs.
Now that the morning soccer matches are over, I’m probably going to go back to listening to the KBO baseball games as I start work each day. I’ve been missing my Doosan Bears baseball during the soccer tournament.
I’m really happy that sports are back. It makes the world feel a little more normal again. 😀⚾️⚽️🇰🇷📺❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on July 23, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/07/23/one-more-day/
Good morning from Northside…
It was grey and overcast start to our Thursday.
While we were working this morning, we watched FC Cincinnati defeat a 9-man Atlanta United 1-0. FC|C was kind of gifted the win with two Atlanta players sent off, one in just the 26th minute for a second yellow and the second a straight red in stoppage time.
We made it through Thursday. And a reward, we had an NYPD Pizza party…
I wonder what happened to NYPD’s awning. I placed our order online at 5:45pm. And at 6:05pm, I was heading back to the Audi with our pizza…
And at 6:10pm, I’m back at home and we were starting our NYPD Pizza party…
Tonight, we had a large pepperoni and sausage with banana peppers…
This pepperoni had five sausages on it…
It was the best bite of pizza I had tonight. We also ordered some cheese curds…
NYPD’s boneless wings are so good but they recently decreased the quantities of their wings but the kept the prices the same and they’re just not a good value any more.
Good evening from Northside…
And good evening from our backyard…
And that was actually our Thursday. I feel like can see the light at the end of the tunnel for my work projects this week. One more day to go. 😀🌄🍕❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on July 16, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/07/16/a-thursday-pizza-party/
Five years ago today was the MLB All-Star Game live from Great American Ballpark in beautiful downtown Cincinnati…
Five years on and it’s still one of the most incredible sporting events I’ve ever attended. But it wasn’t just the All-Star Game, it was all the build-up to the game, all the months of excitement around Cincinnati and all the events of All-Star Week that made it such a memorable event. That, and getting to snap a photo of these guys…
We’ve done some pretty incredible stuff in Cincinnati.
Thanks for all the wonderful memories, Timehop. 😀🦕⚾️❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on July 14, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/07/14/timehopping-15/
I had this really epic soccer Sunday planned. And as you know, very rarely does anything ever go as planned. This is what actually happened with my epic soccer Sunday. I watched all the matches. But the results weren’t as I would have liked them.
Last night, the start of the FC Cincinnati versus Columbus Crew match didn’t start until well after 11pm because the match before theirs had a weather delay. I stayed up to watch the entire match. I don’t know why. It was bad. Really bad. It was the first match in charge for FC Cincinnati’s new manager, Jaap Stam. And it looked every bit of it.
News flash… FC Cincinnati is still terrible and lost 4-0.
This morning we watched the second half of Wolves clinical 3-0 thumping of Everton. With the win, Wolves became the first English side to win competitive games in two different Julys in the same season. I was all set for the start of Toronto versus DC United. But the match was postponed because of COVID-19 concerns. I mentioned we might watch yesterday’s Doosan Bears-Lotte Giants KBO game but we actually watched it yesterday. My Bears lost 5-4. Jose Fernandez hit a two-run homer with two out in the ninth to pull the Bears within one. But then the next batter flew out to center and that was the ballgame. I was also going to touch-up my quarantine haircut but I did that yesterday too. I got new clippers when we were running around yesterday. And I wanted to give them a try. They worked really well.
So with that, we had to endure Aston Villa versus Crystal Palace in its entirety. I don’t know how Crystal Palace don’t get relegated every season. Every time I see them play, they play the most uninspired, uninterested, and just plain boring soccer. Even when we saw them play FC Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium, they were pretty boring. Palace beat FC|C 2-0. But today, Palace lost 2-0 to Villa. Again.
The North London derby started well for Arsenal with Lacazette’s absolute screamer. The Gunners took a 1-0 but then the defense. Sigh. Arsenal. After the match, I changed from one of my Arsenal polos to my Leicester t-shirt. I switched the channel to ESPN to watch a bit of Parma-Bologna so I didn’t have to watch the Jose Mourinho post-match interview on NBCSN. I’ve never liked him. I can’t envision a scenario that would cause that to change.
Leicester looked to be rolling right along after Jamie Vardy scored his league-leading 26th goal. But then the wheels came off the Leicester wagon after the referee awarded Bournemouth a penalty. Leicester was reduced to ten men after a red card and Bournemouth would go on to score three more times to win 4-1. What. The. Heck?
Lousiville City started their USL season hosting Pittsburgh Rverhounds as they opened their new soccer-specific stadium. Speedy Williams scored the first goal for City in their new home. But then they gave up three unanswered goals to lose 3-1.
Are you seeing a trend here? All of my teams took a 1-0 lead and then lost.
Minnesota was trailing 1-0 as the clock approached the 90th minute. And then United scored two goals in stoppage time to win 2-1. The first was a penalty kick at 90+2 and then the winner at 90+7. And with that, Epic Soccer Sunday was salvaged!
It would have been a real bummer if all my teams lost. Thankfully, Minnesota United saved the day. 😀⚽️❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on July 12, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/07/12/and-heres-what-actually-happened/
I can’t remember the last time we had an epic sports day. One of those days where there are so many good games on TV, you don’t how you’re going to watch them all. It’s been soooo long since we’ve had a really epic sports day. It’s been so long since we had sports. But today is truly an epic sports day! I’m calling it, EPIC SOCCER SUNDAY! This is what I’ll be watching during today’s massive football feast with the teams I’ll be cheering for highlighted in blue…
I’m not entirely sold on watching Toronto-DC United. I guess it depends on if I managed to stay awake until the end of last night’s FC Cincinnati versus Columbus match. The 10:30pm starts during the MLS is Back tournament are just a little late for me. I might also watch my Doosan Bears versus Lotte Giants KBO game that was on ESPN very early yesterday morning. We’ll see how it goes. I might also touch up my quarantine haircut first thing this morning.
Of the four matches I’m really interested in watching today, Arsenal seems to finally be finding their form after the restart. The Gunners are undefeated in their last five with four wins and a draw against Leicester. Spuds are doing their best Totteringham over their last five with two wins, draws at both Everton and Bournemouth, and a whopping 3-1 loss away to Sheffield United. Leceister City are currently sitting fourth in the league and hope to regain their pre-COVID-19 form against Bournemouth, who have lost four of their last five. My Foxes have just one win in their last five with two losses and two draws. But with Chelsea also losing to Sheffield United yesterday, a win could put Leicester back in third.
Leading up to Sunday’s USL Championship restart, two-time USL Champion Louisville City will be christening their brand new, $65 million state-of-the-art, Lynn Family Stadium at approximately 30% of the new facility’s regular 15,304-person capacity.
And finally, there’s my Minnesota United. Before the season was suspended, the Loons won both of their matches, 3-1 away to Portland and 5-2 away to San Jose. So I’m super excited to have them start playing again. I stocked up on MNUFC gear in the off-season, and I’ve been waiting all year to finally have the opportunity to wear it.
There are other matches on Sunday too. There are two early Premier League matches on Sunday. Wolves face Everton at 7am. Wolves have been in great form since the restart and hadn’t given up a goal until they play Arsenal last weekend. The second match is Aston Villa versus Crystal Palace. And it just sounds like it’s going to be a boring, lifeless draw. But watch it end up being the most exciting match of the day. AC Milan plays Napoli in Italian Serie A at 3:45pm on ESPN+. The Rossoneri stunned Juventus 4-2 midweek. And there’s also the late MLS tournament match between Real Salt Lake and Colorado Rapids at 10:30pm on ESPN. I don’t know that we’ll make it all the way through the late MLS match. But I’m pretty sure it’ll be on our TV as we’re heading to bed.
It’s going to be an Epic Soccer Sunday. And I couldn’t be more excited. 😃📺⚽️🤗💯❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on July 12, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/07/12/its-finally-happening/
I played NBA fantasy basketball again this year. It seems like it was forever ago that was anxiously approaching another undefeated season. But then all the COVID-19 happened. And the world, including all sports, ground to a halt for months. And our Dallas Mavericks were the default NBA Champions. I was kind of hoping the season would start back up and we could finish out this fantasy basketball season. But it looks like that’s not going to happen now…
Back on June 4, the NBA elected to move forward with a 22-team format to finish its regular season, which was postponed on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic. With an incomplete collection of teams playing for the remainder of the season, the ESPN Fantasy Basketball season is complete.
And that’s that. I played eight teams this season. I had teams three finish in first…
Four teams finished in second…
And one team finished third…
It would have been way more fun to get to run through the fantasy basketball playoffs. But what are you going to do? COVID-19 has made a mess of everything. Still, the fantasy basketball season was pretty dang fun again while the season lasted.
Hopefully, there’ll be an uninterrupted fantasy basketball season next year. 😀🏀🏆❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on June 28, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/06/28/fantasy-basketball-2020/
Today was the first day of Summer! And it’s Saturday. Good morning from Northside…
For breakfast, I tried one of these Kodiak Cake Blueberry & Maple Flapjack Cups…
It was pretty darn good for just a little microwave pancake cup. Later, we walked down to Blue Jay to get some lunch…
Genifer ordered a huge Greek salad with a side of french fries and I ordered two cheese coneys with a side of french fries as well…
Look at the size of this pepperoncini that came with Genifer’s salad…
It was almost as big as my cheese coney. I ate it. It was really spicy. I probably wouldn’t do that again. It made my eyes water. Other than that mistake, lunch at Blue Jay was great as always.
When we were walking home, we couldn’t help but notice that the front of the Jackson Hewitt tax office was all smashed in…
Apparently last night, someone ran the red light at the corner of Chase and Hamilton and lost control of their vehicle and smashed into the front of this office, which is right on the street corner. People running red lights has become a real problem in Cincinnati. At least one or two cars go through every traffic light after the light turns red.
On our way home, we also stopped to get more milkshakes from Tickle Pickle…
Their Flan Halen strawberry milkshake is my favorite.
And then we were pretty lazy again. At least, Premier League soccer is back on TV…
I woke up super early and caught the end of the Doosan Bears Korean baseball game, The Bears won 8-2. Leicester City drew 1-1 against Watford. And my Arsenal lost 2-1 to Brighton Hove & Albion. It’s really nice to have some sports back in my life. It makes things almost feel sort of normal again. Even though life is still not normal at all.
But it was a very pretty first day of Summer…
And a very good evening from Northside…
We’re having a pretty low-key start of Summer weekend. 😀🗓️❤️
Posted by Thadd F. on June 20, 2020
https://tplusg.com/2020/06/20/the-first-day-of-summer/
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