Entries from December 2005 ↓

(Arsenal win 3-1 on penalties)

I’ve been trying very hard to avoid using others’ descriptions of the matches to fill by blog space. However, yesterday was the office Christmas party, which, when over at the end of the work day, switched locations to my house. Very, very, very weird night, which I’ll get into later. For now, let’s make do with the BBC’s match report:

Arsenal survived a Carling Cup scare after Gilberto’s last-gasp goal forced a penalty shootout against Doncaster, which the Gunners won 3-1.

Rovers took a fourth-minute lead when Michael McIndoe squeezed the ball home but Quincy Owusu-Abeyie’s deflected shot forced extra-time.

In the 104th minute Paul Green put Rovers ahead but Gilberto tucked in Emmanuel Eboue’s cross at the death.

That set up spot-kicks, with Manuel Almunia the star as the Gunners won it…

…Doncaster may have beaten Manchester City on penalties but there was to be no repeat.

Neil Roberts saw his effort hit the post and both Heffernan and Green had their shots saved.

Budtz saved from Hleb but the underdogs were left to reflect on what might have been.

Immediately following the match, the draw was made for the semi-finals. Arsenal face a trip to Wigan on January 10th, with the return leg to take place at Highbury on January 24th.

Oh, wait, that’s Johnny Damon. Take a good look, because that’s the last you’ll see of the long hair and beard. According to reports coming out of New York last night, Johnny Damon has agreed to leave the Red Sox and move south to the Bronx to play centerfield for the Yankees.

As everyone knows, King George doesn’t allow players to have long hair and facial hair, so I’d imagine Johnny will come to the press conference looking more like, “Wilmington Blue Rock Damon”, and not “American Idiot Damon”.

The deal is apparently for 4 years at $52 million, which is somewhat surprising, as all of the talk prior to the signing was that Damon was looking for something closer to 6 or 7 years.

Damon will leadoff what looks on paper to be a quite formidable lineup, however no one would be surprised to see the Yanks make a few more moves before April.

A controversial offside decision goes against the Gunners, and turns the tide as Chelski beat Arsenal 2-0 at Highbury. After a tenative first 20 minutes, the Gunners started to generate something on the attack, with Thierry Henry’s half-volley striking the right post. A few moments later, and a great pass by Freddie Ljungberg found Robin van Persie on the left, and the Dutchman drove it home to put Arsenal up 1-0. Well, for a few seconds anyway. While Thierry Henry was in a historically offside position, new rules indicate that if the player is not involved in the play, then the goal can stand. Well, the linesman didn’t interpret the rule that way, and the goal was taken off the board. That was the turning point of the match.

Five minutes from half-time, Arjen Robben beat Kolo Toure by a step, raced to meet an overhead pass, and made Sol Campbell look silly as he slammed a shot off the far post and in to give Chelski the lead at halftime.

It was just like watching Italy. With the one goal lead, Chelski put ten men behind the ball, and snuffed out every Arsenal attack. Thierry Henry was essentially neutralized, and Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires were ineffectual in their sub appearances. Joe Cole added salt to the wound as he beat Lauren to a loose ball on the break and curled a right footer past a diving Jens Lehmann to seal the points for the West London scum.

Twenty points behind the leaders before Christmas, no wins since November, not even any goals since November. Things are looking quite glum at Highbury as of late.

The Christmas period could really make or break Arsenal this year. Things kickoff on Monday in a Boxing Day face off away at Charlton. Then it’s Pompey at home on the 28th, Villa away on New Year’s Eve, and ManUre at Highbury on January 3rd. Twelve huge points that could mean the difference between Champions League football next season, or being out of Europe completely.

However, before all that, the kids get a run out against Doncaster in the Worthless Cup on Wednesday afternoon. Kickoff is @ 2:45 PM ET.

Tiki Barber ran for a team record 220 yards as the Giants powered their way to a 27-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at the Meadowlands tonight. I’m on a very weak wireless connection right now, as I moved today, and the cable/internet connection doesn’t get hooked up here until tomorrow. More on the move later. For now, suffice it to say should the Giants beat the Redskins in Washington on Christmas Eve, the NFC East is theirs.

Arsenal were today drawn against perennial powerhouse Real Madrid for the first knockout phase of this year’s UEFA Champions League. It is a very inertesting matchup as both clubs have been struggling mightily during the last several months, so both will really fancy their chances against one another. The first match will take place in Madrid on Tuesday, February 21, with the return leg at Highbury taking place on Wednesday, March 8.

The draw in full:

Chelsea v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Arsenal
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v Liverpool
Rangers v Villarreal

From phish.net:

12/12/05 - Yes, we’ve heard. No, nothing official.

We don’t normally post rumors here, but are putting this here in part to stop the deluge of “”Oh, my god - have you heard?” emails.

Phish has registered a new domain (as of 11/29/05), www.jemprecords.com, with JEMP presumably standing for Jon Ernest Mike Page. It isn’t clear whether this is a new label, a new company, or just a site to promo the MSG 12/31/95 release.

The rumor part (as discussed on PT and ohkeepa) is that “Dionysian Productions and JEMP” has purportedly reserved MSG for 10/28/06 and 10/29, and the Philly Spectrum for 10/31/06. Further rumors contend word of a summer 2006 tour. But there is no official confirmation of any of this show news, and at least one source denies that such events are being planned - though does not deny the possiblity of a reunion. As indicated by Trey in recent interviews (that he is “not ruling out playing with Mike, Page and Fish”) and in informal conversations (that they are “working on logistics of a Phish comeback”) suggest that a reunion is inevitable, though perhaps not imminent.

Curiouser and curiouser….