United and Beckham Round 2

While the conditions surrounding the game were a little different on Sunday as compared to last year's rain-enhanced match against L.A. Galaxy and David Beckham, the result was the same. DC crushed the Galaxy, beginning with the penalty kick below, finishing out with three other great goals from Emilio and Gallardo.

Emilio continued his torrid scoring pace, rising out of the ashes from the beginning of the season to 2nd place on the goals scored list so far in 2008 with 10.



I have another video which I'll post when I have a faster connection of the great crowd on hand and a special appearance by Beckham in the stands with us - though he was wearing less clothes than he had been earlier on the field.

All in all, the 4-1 finish, the DC summer weather, combined with a Spanish victory in the Euro finale made it out to be a long, but fun day on Sunday. I feel very fortunate that I was still able to get this time in, despite being less than two weeks away from the wedding.

Finally

After a four game losing streak, DC was finally able to get off the snide with a tough win over FC Toronto, 3-2. As many of the fans agree on Goff's blog this morning, Well has a long way to go as an MLS-caliber keeper. There were many instances where I grabbed Lauren's arm unnecessarily (not that she minded) because he either charged out halfway and then tried to back-peddle back to the line, or was frozen like a deer in headlights. Our loud-mouthed season ticket holder friend beside us (usually he sits behind us) was kind enough to let Zach know just how bad he was (thanks guy).

Anyway, a win is a win... and it was a nice night to hang out with Lauren and enjoy a win. I have to say that I do love being able to leave the house at 7:15, get to RFK in time for kickoff, and then be home by 9:50. One of the many reasons we enjoy living in Del Ray.

Read the full story here.

Big Night Tomorrow

After a 4-1 win last night over Tampa Bay, the Caps have taken over the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference, temporarily. Philly plays tonight against the Devils while Boston faces off against Ottawa. The outcome of those games should determine where the Caps sit going into tomorrow night's season finale against the Panthers.

That being said, not only are the Caps finishing off their regular season tomorrow night, the Final Four tips off, AND we have DC United's home opener against FC Toronto. A pretty big night for Washington sports...

Regardless of how the season ends for the Caps, it's been an amazing run that Boudreau has spear-headed the second half of the season, and I can easily see a Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry developing for the next 5-10 years which will be great for the NHL and great for this town.

3 Goals in 4 Minutes

After a sluggish 1-0 first half DC exploded to make it 4-0 by the 68th minute. Not a bad first home game of the season.

UPDATE:Game finished 5-0 after the flurry during the second half.

DC Wins, I Lose...

Last night, DC United continued it white hot 9 game unbeaten streak last night barely beating Real Salt Lake 2-1. The game saw Emilio score his 19th goal (who somehow is still in 2nd in the MVP voting right now behind Juan Pablo Angel), 8 yellow cards, 2 PK saves, and several beers thrown in the air. On an amazing night where you could sense Fall returning to the DC area (finally), a small group accompanied Lauren and I to the game where we saw DC take the lead off of a great goal by Emilio, only to see if disappear minutes later from a long shot by RSL. The level of play then spiraled down into a seriously chippy match with the ref seemingly calling phantom calls on DC while allowing RSL to throw 'bows at Olsen and several others. In any case, we were finally rewarded with a PK that Gomez promptly missed. Seconds later, a phantom PK was issued to RSL which Perkins made a diving save on. Finally, about 10 minutes later, Fred set up Gomez on a beautiful cross that Gomez nodded past Rimando. All in all, we earned 3 pts, took a 7 pt lead with 5 matches remaining in the season and locked up a berth in the playoffs.

Unfortunately... the previous night I was not so lucky at Jeff's steamy house of poker, donating my $20 to the eventual winner... the steamy host himself... I suppose there is always next time... Though $20 poorer, we had a good time and had 2 newcomers join us which should make it easier to get together more often in the future. Until then...

Looking for a Sweep...

As I mentioned the other day, come fall, the weekends are all about the teams, and how the teams do... A successful and "good" weekend is one where you can pull a sweep. That being said, Penn State posted a 31-10 win yesterday. Earlier today, the Skins won 16-13 in OT and DC United posted a 4-2 win in hot, humid RFK Stadium. DC's offense was too much for New England and with the win pulled ahead by 4 points in the Eastern Conference with just a handful of games remaining before the playoffs.

All that remains are my FFL teams which are currently both winning... On top of all of that Tiger pulled away today at the BMW championships to take a commanding lead in the FedEx Cup Standings. I'm not entirely sure why Mickelson decided not to play this weekend, but given that idiotic decision, he will have to play out of his mind next weekend if he wants to have any hope of winning. That being said, where in the world did Steve Stricker come from? How is it that he has played so consistently for the past three weekends that he is sitting in a great position right now? Where has he been in the majors?

So... can I pull a sweep??? Stay tuned...