Entries from April 2006 ↓

EDIT: 4/30/06 - and… they’re out. Four and done. See you next year.

Being in London last week, I wasn’t really keeping up on the NHL playoff picture. Turns out the Rangers dropped five straight going into the playoffs to fall from the #3 seed to the #6.

Not that it really mattered, as the likely first-round opponent was always going to be the white-hot NJ Devils, winners of 13 in a row to close out the regular season.

Well, I watched game three of the Eastern Conference 1/4 finals between the two teams earlier this evening.

Man are the Rangers in trouble. Not even taking into account Jaromir Jagr’s injury, the whole team just looks as if it’s hit a brick wall. First playoff appearance by the Rangers in 9 years, and they just embarrassed themselves.

The likely last game of the season for the Rangers, game four, takes place Saturday afternoon at 3 ET. As I’m a glutton for punishment (No comments from the peanut gallery!), I’ll probably watch.

“I love Paris in the springtime…”

Jens Lehmann’s amazing save from Riqueleme’s 89th minute penalty kick sees Arsenal hold on for a 0-0 draw tonight in Villareal, sending the Gunners to the first European Cup/UEFA Champions League Final in their 120 year history.

It was rough going for Arsenal, who looked to be playing a strange 6-3-1 formation, and in fact, the Gunners failed to record a shot on goal during the entire first half.

Sol Campbell returned to the side, in for the injured Phil Senderos, and played well for the most part. The defense was stretched even more thinly when Matthew Flamini was forced out with a hamstring pull. Gael Clichy made his first appearance since returning from injury, and he too, played well. However, it was Clichy whose challenge on reknowned diver Jose Mari, which earned the Yellow Submarines their penalty kick.

I was literally pacing the room during the moments leading up to the kick, and then jumped around the room with joy upon seeing Mad Jens make the save.

So, it’s off to Paris for the Gunners, and it would be sweet, sweet revenge for Arsenal should they win the whole thing. Doing so would not only be a great thing in and of itself, but it would also deny the cheating Scum from up the Seven Sisters Road a place in the Champions League next season.

Barcelona and AC Milan face off tomorrow to determine who will face Arsenal in the Final. Barca hold a 1-0 advantage, a goal they scored in Milan, so it seems most likely that it will be an Arsenal v Barcelona final on May 17th.

I’ve already scheduled my half day.

If you need any further proof that the Spuds are scum, watch a replay of this match. I’m so angry, I can’t be bothered to type any more than that. I was in the North Bank upper today, and took a few shots. If you’d like to look, click on the image of the cheating bastard above.

Kolo Toure’s first half goal was enough to give Arsenal a 1-0 advantage in the Champions League semi-final against the “yellow submarines” of Villareal.

I spent most of my day at Highbury, arriving at 10 AM to help the “REDAction” supporters assocation place red and white cards on every seat in the North Bank lower and in the Clock End.

It took several hours, but did provide me with a chance to see a bit more of Highbury than the average fan. When I arrived, I was rushed through the main entrance - the marble halls - past the bust of Herb Chapman, and the wall signed by all of the players. I had my camera, but no time to get off a few snaps.

The first half of the day was spent in the North Bank, setting up the cards that would read “2006″, while during the afternoon, we placed “1913″ in the Clock End. It was very windy, so in the North Bank, we rolled the cards, and slipped them between the seat frames, but in the Clock End, the frames were of a different design. We were forced to tape each and every one to the seats!

When that was finally done, it was back up the Picadilly line to Rick’s for some pre-match pizza, and then back down to Highbury for the game.

As we were standing outside of The Arsenal World of Sport at Finsbury Park Station, the Sirius Radio football (soccer) talk show, “The2G’s” called me to talk about the game and the atmosphere. I spent about ten minutes on the phone with them, and I think you can really get a sense of what it was like two hours before the game. The streets teeming with Gooners, cops trying to clear the streets, vendors selling programmes. The vibe was nervous, but excited. You can hear the interview by downloading the podcast version via iTunes.

We went down to the Arsenal Tavern to have a few pints, then it was time to walk down Gillespe Road and into Highbury.

My seat for this match was in the North Bank Lower, and so I kept up my bit by singing along to “We’re the North Bank, High-bur-eee!”

The Champions League anthem began, and both the North Bank and the Clock End held up the cards as we had hoped. The Clock End’s “1913″ looked great, and I hope the North Banks “2006″ looked just as good.

Arsenal looked good right from the start, as Villareal seemed a bit nervous. The mood was considerably lightened when a squirrel made its’ way on to the pitch, running around the Arsenal goal. “Squirrel is a Gooner” and “There’s only one squirrel!” became the chant around the North Bank. It was hilarious.

In the 12th minute, Thierry Henry was through on goal, and scored what he, and in fact, the entire stadium thought was the opening goal. We were going nuts until we saw that it had been called for offside. Seeing the replay on TV, he was definitely onside, but that’s the problem with Henry - he’s so fast, he can cover three yards in a second - which is often the difference between a linesman seeing him as being on or offside.

Villareal settled into things around the 25th minute or so, but never got any decent chances. Arsenal on the other hand kept plugging away. Senderos had a header go wide, Pires with a curling shot that never quite curled enough. Chance after chance until finally, in the 41st minute, Kolo Toure latched onto an Alex Hleb cross, and smashed it into the net. One-nil to the Arsenal!

That’s how it stayed. The second half saw more of the same, as Arsenal kept getting chance after chance, but the second goal never came.

So, a slender 1-0 lead going into the second leg on Tuesday. Should make for a very nervous afternoon! Kickoff is @ 2:45 PM ET, and the match will be shown live on ESPN2.

I took some brief videos last night, you can check them out here:

View from the North Bank I

View from the North Bank II

One-nil to the Arsenal!

There’s only one squirrel!

Spent today at Covent Garden. Rick came with me, and we got a couple of pints at the Punch & Judy. We then headed over to the Royal Opera House, checked for some tickets to Pearl Jam for Rick, and went to the sci-fi shop to get Wooly his Dr. Who callbox.

We then walked up the Strand past the Royal Courts of Justice, had a few more pints at The George, and made our way down to Temple Church, the one made famous by “The DaVinci Code”. The church was closed to visitors today, but will be open again on Friday. There’s a lecturer going to be giving a talk about the history of the church, so Rick and I plan to be there at 1 that day.

Right, well, it’s off to meet some of the other Arsenal America guys for some Ethiopian food. Check in tomorrow after the Arsenal match!

Spent the first part of the day across the Thames to Waterloo, up in London Eye, and down the Queen’s Walk. Then it was across Tower Bridge, past the Tower Of London, past the Bank of England and the Exchange, and finally St. Paul’s Cathedral. To see photos, click on the picture above.