Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

CONCACAF has announced the opening round games for the Champions Cup. The CONCACAF site has traditionally sucked, but this time they actually have a bracket that one can download.


Both finalists in the MLS Cup automatically qualify, so the New England Revolution and the Los Angeles Galaxy will be in. In the first round, New England plays Costa Rican champions LD Alajuelense. A quick perusal of the list of recent champions would show that Alajuela seems to trade the Tico championship back and forth with the current CONCACAF Cup holders Deportivo Saprissa. Alajuela was the team that knocked New England out of the CONCACAF Cup in 2003.

Los Angeles will play against the winner of the last Central American playoff. Both of these teams are from Costa Rica, which has the best league in the region. Current cup holders Saprissa will play Municipal Pérez Zeledón, which has been more of a force in the league in recent years, in the second leg of the third place qualifier. Saprissa won the last match 2-0, and they had a draw in a league match Sunday.

One Costa Rican team that did not qualify is FC Escazú, also known as Brujas. I was hoping that New England could draw them and play their home match in Salem.

Other teams include CD Olimpia from Honduras and Mexican league giants Club America. The second Mexican side has yet to be decided until the Torneo Apertura is complete, but it could be Necaxa or los Rayados de Monterrey.


The representative for the Carribean region has yet to be decided as well. SV Robin Hood of Surinam defeated Northern United of St. Lucia to advance to the final. SV Robinhood will play against the winner of the two-leg match between SV Centro Social Deportivo Barber of the Netherlands Antilles and Jamaican side Portmore United FC.

SV Centro Barber seems to be the longest name I have ever encountered for a team, but I love the name Robin Hood. The Carribean teams have some odd names, one may remember frequent qualifiers Joe Public of Trinidad and Tobago. Oh, and Joe Public's qualification for those tournaments has nothing to do with their owner, Jack Warner, being president of CONCACAF.


The Netherlands Antilles have a team called SV Victory Boys (SV is a dutch phrase, Sport Verenigang, often used like "FC" for Dutch speaking teams). The "Victory Boys" came in third. Hey, don't adopt a name like that unless you can live up to it. It's sort of like the name of George Weah's old team, the Invincible Eleven. Despite being "invincible," they were relegated at the end of last season after finishing second to last.


By the way, the teams from the Guyanas are considered "North American" rather than "South American." The reason is simple, if you were a national team official in Guyana, Surinam or French Guyana, who would you rather play against, Argentina or Haiti?


New England got bounced out of the tournament early the last time they qualified in 2003. They played both the games away for one basic reason: would you want to play soccer in Boston in February? Well, I might because I am a sick, sick man. The matches seem to coincide with a trip that the team is already planning to Bermuda (last year's trip to Bermuda brought Khano Smith to their attention), so the talk is that the "home" match may actually be played there.

Personally, I'd think that the poor weather in Massachusetts would just be home field advantage.


Photograph courtesey of Fred Kfoury of Yellow Card Journalism.


Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.

Short entry this morning:

Adivce on Taking Wildlife Pictures: Don't Become the Hors d'Oeuvres


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Since I went after James Hudson for putting up a link to Grey Balloon's page, it is only fair that I tell y'all that he did the right thing and took down the link. I'd like to say that this was pressure from me, but I don't think so.


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Raymond Brrrrrr....!

Sorry, I've been living with Todd too long, I think.


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For some reason surpassing all human understanding, James Hudson has given a forum, once again, to Grey Balloon (aka- some guy named Luke).

To be fair, Hudson did not bring back Mr. Balloon's columns. However, he has chosen to post a link to a rather disturbingly titled web site. Apparently, both James and Luke find this funny.

Hudson's site is still one of the best places to find out information about the local music scene. Also, I understand why he ran Balloon's columns. They were often bitter, but also sometimes funny. He skewered some of the "hipper-than-thou" behavior of some of the scenesters. After a while though, it became obvious that this didn't come from some need to deflate swollen heads, but more out of jealousy that he wasn't one of the cool kids.

Balloon quit the column, and it became obvious who he was. He is also a guy who's bizarre behavior has led to more than one musician in town to want nothing to do with him. I talked to one long time Tucson musician, a kind man who is tollerant of everyone, to refer to him as "psychotic" in a rant in my car one day.

The site that Balloon put up (which I will not link here, you can find it on your own if you want) would probably be undiscovered if it wasn't for Hudson calling attention to it. The title that it has leads me to wonder if Balloon has any understanding of the seriousness of his actions and the pain they have caused some good people. Luckily, it is probably far enough over the line that maybe there will be some legal action.


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I'm not a drinker, but I still need to be able to raise a glass bottle and go "Duuuuude," as is my right as an American male. I took to buying various non-alchoholic root beers, ginger beers and birch beers.

Of course, they are more expensive than, say A&W. Also, some of them can be hard to track down.

Virgil's is the best I've had. Smooth with that tiny yeasty after taste that says that it is a real root beer and not some sugar water with some carbonation. It can be found at Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and Food Conspiracy.

Boylan's Birch Beer is excellent. It comes in two flavors, Original and Creamy Red. Creamy Red is much better. The Creamy Red tastes creamier, and redder. I used to find it at Sunflower Market at Swan and Speedway. For some reason, they no longer stock it. I snatched up the last three four-packs two weeks ago.

You can't really go wrong with any of the Reed's Ginger Brew flavors. For some strange reason, the most popular of these seems to be the Jamaican Extra Ginger Brew, which has the harshest aftertaste. I mean, I like it, but I'm a little weird. I've been told that any "Ginger Brew" is really good for upset stomachs. Okay, I'll go with that one. I've found these at Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and Food Conspiracy.

As far as the ginger brews go, Cock N' Bull is my favorite. It has the same "punch" as Reed's Jamaican does, but lacks the harsh aftertaste. You still definitely know you've drunk it afterward though. If you are faint hearted, Reed's Original or the Reed's Rasberry flavored brew.

They used to sell this stuff over at Ted's Country Store, but they stopped getting it. You can get it at the 17th Street Farmer's Market (along with Virgil's and Reed's). Apparently, it is no longer made. They still had stuff at 17th Street this afternoon when I went down there.

By the way, I could not find a nice big picture of the bottle. You try Googling "Cock n' Bull" sometime...just not at work.


Luke's Root Beer Page rated Gale's as the best root beer. I have seen it on sale only at Time Market. It had an odd cinnamon aftertaste, and I couldn't finish the whole bottle because of it. I'm sure if I was more "refined," I'd have appreciated it.


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I've had a page on myspace since last year and I did nothing with it. I now have gone ahead and made a real page on there. Zoe will be pleased.

It seems that every member of Tucson Roller Derby ('cept Jezebelle) has a page on there along with the entire staff of ths Surly Wench. Scary.


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The BBC is reporting that George Best's doctors are saying that he may only have hours left to live.

Best played for the storried Manchester United teams of the 1960's, but we, of course, remember him for his time with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.


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UPDATE 19:49 MST - The fourth official has called Georgie on to the big pitch in the sky. Hopefully, there are plenty of fast cars, birds and booze.

From Blackcat Rockabilly:

"Guitarist Link Wray, considered as one of the pioneers of the American rock scene, cult figure and a man who many said was way ahead of his time, passed away at the age of 76 in Copenhagen, where he lived for two decades", reported today by the Danish newspaper 'Politiken'.

Rock guitarist Link Wray was born on May 2nd in North Carolina. In his 1958 instrumental hit "Rumble," Wray invented the power chord, the basis of modern rock guitar-playing from thrash to heavy metal. He is the missing link in the history of rock guitar in that he is not often given credit for being the connection between early blues guitarists and the late '60s gods (Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, etc.). Wray began his career in the early '50s as a member of Lucky Wray and the Palomino Ranch Hands, a band that he formed with his brothers Vernon and Doug. They moved from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., where they recorded an EP. Soon after, Wray began concentrating on guitar, since an earlier bout with tuberculosis began to make singing increasingly difficult. He then developed his guitar style: a slow drag across distorted strings in a simple chord progression.

This led to his recording of "Rumble," which cracked the U.S. top 20, despite being banned by some radio stations because its title connoted gang violence. The Wrays then signed to Epic Records after disagreeing with their original label, Cadence, which wanted to tone down the tough image they began to have from "Rumble." The Wrays' next single, the pounding "Rawhide," went to #23 and was a hit among leather-jacketed, motorcycle-loving male youths. Link Wray was becoming the hero of juvenile delinquents and this scared record companies, who forced him to record non-rock songs such as "Danny Boy" with orchestras.

The Wrays tried forming their own record company, Rumble Records, which produced their next big hit, "Jack The Ripper." The song was later used in the '80s remake of the film "Breathless," starring Richard Gere. The company was short-lived and the Wrays found themselves at U.K.-based Swan Records, where they were given free rein to create what they wanted. What followed was a decade of improvised, guitar-heavy records issued under strange names such as the Moon Men and the Spiders. The '70s were filled with ups and downs for Link Wray. In 1971, his self-titled solo album was critically lauded but didn't sell, and none of his other releases made a splash. He spent some time backing Robert Gordon -- the singer for New York punkers the Tuff Darts -- on a rockabilly project and also recorded several albums in the '80s that relied heavily on drum machines. He attracted attention with rare live appearances in which he proved that he could still wow 'em with the guitar style he pioneered.

Above write up courtesy of The Rockabilly Hall Of Fame.

Of late, Link Wary enjoyed the revival of his music to today's audiences. His appearance at venue's such as Hemsby has been denoted as simply breath taking. At present it isn't known what caused his death, nor has there been a date to which he died. Link Wray was buried this week in the intimacy of the Church Of Christian in the neighbourhood of Christianshavn.

What can only be named as his theme tune, The Rumble will live on.

Rest In Peace Link Wray.

"Rumble" was the first song that I ever played on an electric guitar. Oddly enough, just on Friday I was at the Las Artes graduation and played the song with one of my former students on drums. It was all impromptu. Wray would have been proud.


Wray was a deeply religious man, and felt that his playing was a sort of ministry (He even said that the writing of "Rumble" was Jesus working through him). Because of this, he always made sure to make his audiences part of his shows. He used to take his guitar at one point and hold it out in the audience, allowing the fans to play it. It was really a remarkable moment to share with him and the other fans.

In his honor, everyone should pick up a guitar, and play the first three chords of "Rumble," the song that both Bob Dylan and Pete Townsend count among their favorites:



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As a part of El Tour de Tucson, Flam Chem performed last night. Flam Chem is an anarchic circus. Oh yeah, there's a bunch of fire.

The performance featured music by Molehill Orchestra and, of all things, the Sunnyside High School Band. Members of Tucson Roller Derby performed as well.

I only got one good picture of the performance. Something about dark outdoor spaces and bright flames don't lend themselves to amateur photography.

I wanted to get a better picture of one of the derby gals in those outfits, but I think they would have had me flayed. Plus, they had torches.


I talked to Jezebelle Jonez the other day about the fan activities at MLS Cup and how well it seemed the players and team officials appreciated us. Then she said, "Are you trying to say that you aren't appreciated as a derby fan?" I had to back up and explain myself.

I was pretty confident that she was only trying to get a reaction out of me. If she was seriously insulted, I'd have to visit an endocrinologist.


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The Arizona Wildcats dropped a game to the Portland Pilots 4-0, which takes them out of the NCAA Championship.

I haven't done a good job of following the team this year. I haven't actually been to a match since one of my indoor teammates played for them four or five years ago. I really only mentioned this item so I could put up a picture of Erin Bevacqua.


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Okay...my last pictures from the weekend. Considering it took me two weeks to post all of the pictures from the Club Congress anniversary, I think I'm doing okay.

Actually, I never did finish those. I may have to post the River Roses pictures some day.


Prairie Clayton has some pics posted on her site now. She's got pics of the after match party too. I didn't get to go to that...-snif-


This picture I grievously stole from Prairies's site. It's me in my Leonardo Squadrone jersey just before game 2 of the fan tournament. Someone noted to me that Squadrone was the second slowest player ever to play in the league. This led to an argument between him and this other guy about whether Alexi Lalas was actually slower. This is normal sports fan stuff, arguments that can never actually be settled. Like, "Who would win a curling match, the 1985 Chicago Bears or the 1975 Cincinatti Reds?"

One guy called me "Leo" for most of the weekend. He knew my name, but he just wanted to call me Leo.

Prairie noted that this is from the "Paleolithic Era." Naw. Paleolithic would be a Bethlehem Steel jersey. Neolithic would be a New York Cosmos jersey (I have one). Squadrone? Bronze age.

By the way, notice the shorts. Those are USA Lacrosse shorts.












Pre-game warm-ups.


Michael Parkhurst, closeup just for Doralina.





Slyde!


Various members of the MLS All-Time Best 11. They are led here by Tony Meola, and they include Milosevic apologist Predrag "Preki" Radislajevich. Meola wished us all luck as he walked by and was greeted by calls of "Retire Fat Man!" Tough crowd.


LA Galaxy mascot Cozmo just moments before being bodyslammed by Slyde.


Not even the Jumbotron can contain his ego.


Not a really good picture...but it gives you an idea how close I was.


Monty Rodrigues was relentless in heckling this linesman. The guy made the biggest mistake possible, he looked over at Monty when he said something. Dude, that only encourages him.


Despite the loss, the Revs came over to our section to acknowledge our support. Matt Reis even threw his gloves to us.



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