DOH 109 – Another Double Episode
July 28th, 2010, 9:10 pm
The Dudes tackle this week of scant Sharks news with aplomb, and knock out Steven Zalewski, Alex Ponikarovsky, Alex Frolov, and several listener emails. Then Mike and Doug try and guess who might be this year’s “Manny Malhotra”, and finish up with an entirely new idea, hopefully listeners will join in!
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Tags: San Jose Sharks, Steven Zalewski
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Dudes – sorry for getting your mums mixed up! I considered doing my research & finding the show, but didn’t want to risk waking the baby up!
As far as your English soccer teams go, wise choice not to go with one of the big guns like
Chelsea (think Chicago with new money turning them into contenders overnight, but being bad winners and turning people’s stomachs)
Liverpool (think Montreal with having a very impressive history which they have been struggling to live upto for the past 20 years)
or Man Utd (think Detroit with good management making them constant contenders when everyone thinks they should have taken a backwards step)
and not to go for Wigan (think Atlanta, with no history of the sport, no fanbase & nobody giving two hoots about them).
As far as your 4 choices go, as a brief guide:
Aston Villa – (tough one this…) – LA Kings – The more aristocratic team of the 2 teams in the Second city. Have always been there or thereabouts without ever quite making it to elite status.
Everton – New Jersey Devils – live in the shadow of their city rivals. However, have had success in the non-too distant past and remain competitive with stable management and good game plan based on a gritty style of play.
Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) – New York Rangers: Full of themselves & think they have a divine right to be the best team in the country, think they are from the best city in the country and should be winning everything. This attitude does not endear them to the general populace!
Newcastle United – Definitely Toronto: Whole place is fixated on the team taking them more as religion than sport, but not won anything in decades.
All views & comparisons are mine & are rather subjective! As far as the team sharks fans would feel comfortable supporting…
I would suggest if you want to really want to mix it up and follow the real stuff then you may have to drop down a level to a team from The Championship (Not Champions League) and follow a team that just missed out on a place in The Premier League by losing a penalty shoot out in last season’s playoffs and follow Leicester City. If you take a longer term view, then in 10-11 they will take the Championship by storm and be challenging in the Premier League in 11-12… Either that or you’ll enjoy that familiar feeling of disappointment at the end of each year!
my prediction for this season: your spouses will start a “wives on dudes on hockey” podcast to vent about how much time their husbands spend following the Sharks….and now the EPL.
This is probably better than any of our dopey predictions.
I think the long hours without NHL hockey is starting to affect your brains!
Or is this another bet between you two?
Soccer? Really? I swear I remember Mike saying how much he didn’t like soccer…
They just don’t realize how utterly boring soccer is. World Cup is almost watchable because at least we can root for the US. EPL is all the boredom and diving without the nationalist angle.
In the end Soccer is like Twilight. Everybody runs around for 2 hours without scoring and it’s billion followers say we just don’t get it.
Oh hey, something we agree on! That’s somewhat shocking.
Mike and Doug take note, bringing up soccer is pushing us nearer to the apocalypse.
I’m happy that you guys are following soccer as well, you’re combing my two favorite sports. Andy gives a good recap, but don’t pick Newcastle. They’re very well known for having horrible fans and mooning spectators is the least worrisome thing Joey Barton has done. I believe he did time for assault in addition to putting out a lit cigarette on one of his teammates eyeballs. Not exactly a class act.
I think I’m starting to warm up to soccer after that story.
If you have setanta or fox soccer channel, tottenham, villa, and everton will probably be on more than newcastle. also they are more fun to watch. if you’re the last three teams in the premier league you go to the championship, not champions league. top four teams qualify for the uefa champions league, which takes the top teams from the spanish league, italian league, german, french, english, and others. then there’s also the Euro cup, which is the same sort of deal except its teams 5-7 from the english premier league, as well as teams from those others leagues as well that did not finish quite high enough to qualify for the champions league. so aston villa should be playing in that european competition, the euro cup. it does also depends on if a team that did not finish in the top 7 wins either the english FA cup or the english league cup, one or both of which (dont remember) is just an elimation tournament featuring just english teams, but ones not only fromt he premier division, but from the championship and lower leagues as well. so if one of the non top 7 premier league teams wins one of those domestic cups then they take the #7 team’s spot in the euro cup, i believe is how it works.
my take:
the problem with many of the non-elite english premier teams is they’re very workmanlike teams that play defensive formations, relay on strength and good tackling and aerial ability around the field much more than finesse. that’s actually kind of been the knock on the english national team, which features the best of the english players. so if its aproblem for them, that just shows how much more of a problem it is with the lesser english teams and their lesser english players. so my point is, teams like everton, aston villa, etc, are going to feature mostly english players, and they’re mostly not going to be very creative. everton’s main weapon is tim cahill, who is a good attacking midfielder, who relies on being able to jump very high and head a lot of goals in. villa has Agbonlahor, who is a very fast striker, but who isn’t really very skilled with the ball, and they also have James Milner, who is a very good young player with good upside, an exciting player. But, overall, I wouldn’t want to watch either of these teams regularly. They’re not exciting, attacking teams. They’re mostly english, workmanlike teams. They are not going to be challenging for the premier league title, or likely any other trophy, come the end of the season, so you’d probably lose interest in both. Tottenham, on the other hand, have a few more non-english players, and they’re more exciting. As you may know, almost all of the top tier soccer players end up leaving whatever team they come up with (if its not a big name team) fairly quickly after reaching that high level, because those big teams pay them much more, and they have a chance to win on them, and there’s more glory, allure, whatever. But then as a fan you have the dilemma of not wnating to root for an elite team that’s a frontrunner. In hockey and most sports you can find teams with elite players that are fun to watch, but that aren’t necessrily front running teams. In soccer you basically can’t find one without the other. Either you’re watching a favored, frontrunning team with elite talent, or you’re watching a non frontrunner with no elite talent. So with that said, Tottenham is the closest team in the Premier League to having a bit of really good, creative talent, the kind it takes to play attractive soccer, the kind that you’d want to watch for a whole season, while still being an underdog and not being a frontrunner. I know they finished fourth last year, but i think that’s the highest they’ve finished in awhile. They are a team on the rise but definitely not one anyone is picking to win the league next year. So they’re that perfect balance of not being the frontrunner, but being good enough, and with enough potential, to still challenge for the league next year, and to have a chance at it, so tehy should stay interesting to watch all year. They have Luca Modric, a really agile attacking midfielder who is a great passer and playmaker, maybe a Tyler Seguin 😛 type, but maybe with a little less pace. Jermain Defoe came in to replace Rooney in the world cup and scored. He’s one of the better English forwards out there. Gareth Bale is a young left back they have who is just getting better. In my opinion you have to pick them. Not just for those reasons either. You can’t overlook the fact that they’re playing in the champions league, and the other two teams you’re considering aren’t. the champions league is probably the most interesting competition in club soccer. You’ll get to see Tottenham go against the best players from all the different league’s – the Ribery’s, Messi’s, Ronaldo’s, Silva’s, etc, and it’s just another competition to make it intriguing for you guys that the other team’s don’t have. Villa has the Euro Cup but it’s not nearly as intriguing, also since it’s the lesser competition it won’t be nearly as televised in the U.S.
Personally if I have time to watch soccer I enjoy watching the top teams simply because the quality of soccer is better, but because they’re top teams I can’t really say they’re my team, or pick one. Of the non Barcelona’s, Arsenal’s, Real Madrid’s, etc, Tottenham is definitely that team.
Also if you want to consider other league’s that often play more attractive football than the premier league, a team like Valencia in the spanish league might be a good pick. Right below the elite Barca/Real Madrid. Sampdoria, Fiorentina, and to a lesser extent (since they’re kind of one of the big three-four), Roma in Italy are other options.
Well I hope that was helpful. You get my help this time, but if I hear one more quotes like “The Hawks might not be able to keep Niemi [if he gets awarded 4 million dollars in arbitration], so they might have to end up going with Huet [and his 5 million dollar cap hit]” I won’t help anymore =P
one other idea is Arsenal. I know they’re grouped in with man utd, Liverpool, CHelsea, but Arsenal hasn’t won anything in awhile, so in a way they’re kind of just a step or two above tottenham when it comes to likelyhood that they’ll win the league, or in frontrunner status. They have some pretty good players like Theo Walcott (one of the fastest players on the planet, if not the fastest, and unlike Agbonlahor who i mentioned he can control the ball pretty well, although not like a messi or ronaldo or anyhting), and Robin Van Persie has one of the most accurate shots out there for a striker, when he’s healthy, which is rarely, but the real reason to watch this team is Cesc Fabregas, if not the best passer in the world, he’s only behind Xavi and maybe Iniesta. If he gets sold to Barcelona, where he’s from, which it’s been rumoed he may be, then they are even less of a front runner, but not worth watching. If they keep him though he’s fantastic to watch. So there’s one last idea. Let me know who you pick 🙂
one other idea is Arsenal. I know they’re grouped in with man utd, Liverpool, CHelsea, but Arsenal hasn’t won anything in awhile, so in a way they’re kind of just a step or two above tottenham when it comes to likelyhood that they’ll win the league, or in frontrunner status. They have some pretty good players like Theo Walcott (one of the fastest players on the planet, if not the fastest, and unlike Agbonlahor who i mentioned he can control the ball pretty well, although not like a messi or ronaldo or anyhting), and Robin Van Persie has one of the most accurate shots out there for a striker, when he’s healthy, which is rarely, but the real reason to watch this team is Cesc Fabregas, if not the best passer in the world, he’s only behind Xavi and maybe Iniesta. If he gets sold to Barcelona, where he’s from, which it’s been rumoed he may be, then they are even less of a front runner, but not worth watching. If they keep him though he’s fantastic to watch. So there’s one last idea. Let me know who you pick 🙂
Follow any team without that flopping baby Cristiano Ronaldo on it. Intrigued by Tottenham because of their affiliation with the San Jose Earthquakes, but I would have to watch a home game in person and sample some of the beer to follow them for the duration. Got to see Chelsea at Stanford a couple of years back, but a lot of the regulars did not make the trip.
Club America is going to play a friendly against Real Madrid Wednesday at Candlestick. America is one of the top Mexican sides, and they are pretty much the Yankees and Red Sox combined with regards to popularity for that league. Chivas is fun because they get agressive in the stands, light off flares and wear wrestling masks, but they only dress Mexican-born players so they are out.
If you are looking for a connection to the Earthquakes, the original ‘Quakes were set up by Milan Mandaric who owned them until ’82 (give or take a couple of trademark dodgy deals in the interim).
Milan has now set his sights on success in England as the owner of… Leicester City.
(Not that I’m trying to influence anyone here).
Have to say that I listen to the podcast for 1) Sharks hockey & 2) other hockey, so agree with EvilDucks that talking soccer regularly would be pushing us nearer the apocolypse! However, if it came to it, I could probably listen to the pair of you talk for hours about tiddlywinks without getting bored!
Did you say Leicester??
I got some hard times, two punks upon a subway
It’s a long way to go to get to Leicester Square
A hard line – It’s the one you gotta cross
The one you gotta cross, to get you anywhere
Michael’s on his way to payback syndication
Of fisticuffs retired and his backstreet education
The 8-ball stops him low
Then the enemy’s faces show
It’s crystal clear, it ain’t so clear
For folks who become broken in here
I got none
I got no mind for… nothing
I got no insight, I got no feelings
I got nothing that you want, so stay away from here
Can’t say I’ve heard of Rancid… will have to look them up.
Yeah, Leicester Square is in Central London where all the big movie premieres are held, so is often decended upon by all the Hollywood stars & is a cultural icon as a result. Its named after the Earl of Leicester, but as these titles were doled out by the British Monarchy, I don’t think the Earl ever had anything to do with the city of Leicester.
However, if you’re talking music, not sure if you’ve heard of Kasabian over there? Spain have attributed their World Cup victory to being motivated by ‘Club Foot’ by Kasabian. They are from Leicester & Leicester City fans, & the city’s biggest musical export since Englebert Humperdinck (ouch).
I think I’ve got off track here! Apologies to anyone reading this who came here to talk hockey…
What’s this “hockey” you speak of?
We haven’t been talking hockey for some time now!
Rancid… Local band from Campbell. Not a big fan but just being silly.
Yay! I like them a lot
We really appreciate your comments, and I think we’ve made a decision which we will reveal on the podcast in a couple of weeks. Without a doubt, some comments and emails we have received have affected our decision. If anyone has more input, we certainly welcome it, because it’s ain’t over yet.
And to clear something else up- DOH will not become an Sharks and EPL podcast. We might tell a story about our travails as new soccer fans every now and again, but it will certainly not be a major theme on the show. Regardless of who we choose to follow in the EPL and their subsequent accomplishments, that will never compete with San Jose Sharks hockey. if we had a Tuesday night game versus Atlanta, I’d go to that or watch that before I’d watch a UEFA Cup final.
If were gonna talk another sport why not go with the SF Giants!! I know Doug is a big fan. Big series tonight with LA…
To everyone’s points about the quality of play on the lower tier EPL teams (or lower tier teams from any league) I would recommend that you pick a team that regularly competes in the Champions League and follow that competition instead. You’ll get to pick a top notch team, who isn’t necessarily a sure-fire winner since the Champions League is such a tough competition. You’ll get to see as close to World Cup quality soccer as there is and not get frustrated with a less attacking style of play. For that reason I’d encourage you to pick an aggressive, offensive team. Group play for the CL begins August 26th. Watch some group round games and pick a team that appeals to you to root for the rest of the way. My choices; Arsenal, Roma, Barcelona, Benfica.
good thoughts but nick. the problem with benfica is they play in portugal so you’re not going to get any of their league games on TV. in other word you’ll only see them in european comeptitions and teams only have european matches every month or so whereas there are weekly + games in their league. also benfica might be a bigger longshot than you want to go for. barcelona are the perennial favorites to win absolutely everything so that doesnt seem to be what you’re looking for. Roma I’ve touched on already.
Yea, definitely a range in teams between Benfica, Roma, Arsenal, and Barca (in ascending order) but I always enjoy watching the Portuguese teams for their attacking style (I’d prefer Sporting Lisbon if they were in the CL this year). Barca’s a powerhouse, to be sure, but offer the opposite to Benfica in a team you could expect to be able to root for a ways into the tournament.
Even as a huge fan of soccer, I don’t find it as engaging as hockey and find that the CL is probably the best watch, even if it is in monthly bunches.
FORZA ROMA, GO ARSENAL!
good thoughts by nick i meant to say