Substitutes

I've always said that subs make all the difference in adult soccer leagues. Yesterday proved me correct again. We had six (6) subs and the final score was 4-1 in our favor. The other team had no subs, but even with them would have struggled against us. We looked great despite missing our best player and at least one of our better players. Three of our players yesterday were brand new additions that we may pick up to replace the no-shows we’ve had so far. I’m thankful for all of them. I was also glad to see some other players that have been missing due to vacations.

This week is critical. We have a scrimmage scheduled for Tuesday night and hopefully another for Sunday (I’m still working on that one). Any players that haven’t been out to a game yet, and don’t make at least one scrimmage, I think we’ll have to drop. It doesn’t matter how good a player is if they don’t come to games. We also found the right line-up for our players, I think. We were trying to make a 3-5-2 work because we had so many mid-field players. We switched to a 4-4-2 to give us a more solid defense and it seems to have worked better. We also pushed our outside mid-fielders out wide and that created a couple of great opportunities. I think we’re going to stick with the 4-4-2. We started it out as a flat back four, but for the second half we pushed a little and played a stopper/sweeper. That seemed to have really made the difference as we really started opening up opportunities and occupying the middle of the field.

I had one good left-footed shot in the second half, but couldn’t get quite enough pace on the ball for a goal. I placed it well and the keeper had to dive for it, but it just needed a little more strength to find the net. I felt good in the mid-field, but I need to hold the ball and distribute better. As I continue to get back in shape I’ll be able to run up and down the field more readily as well. By the end of the season I should be able to run the center mid with Franz and be very effective.

Team management

It’s always a nightmare managing a team for adult leagues. After doing it twice in the past, I said I would never do it again. Yet here I stand experiencing many of the same problems. At least this time I have a partner in the process. Troy and I are making a good team for running this thing, even if it is frustrating at times.

The frustration comes from the lack of communication and the lack of responsibility by some players. I have no problem with people being out for vacations and sickness and what not. What gets under my skin is when you don’t hear anything and 4-5 players just don’t show up. We played with 11 players yesterday and 12 the Sunday before. We couldn’t pull enough of our own players for a mid-week scrimmage last week and had to borrow some stand-ins just to play. Two players actually told us they would be there yesterday and then were nowhere to be found. This all comes from a team roster of 21 players.

The good news is that money has been almost a non-issue. In the past I stupidly paid the team fee up front and tried to collect money after the fact. Let me tell you something, that doesn’t work. This time we had enough money to pay the team fee and get jerseys. Problem is I have overage I need to return, but can’t fully because there are a couple more players to collect money from. At least I’m not the only one out of pocket on this one. In the summers past I was out a couple hundred bucks each time – part of the reason I said never again.

When we do play and I am able to enjoy it, it’s great. I had a couple good looks yesterday and it’s exciting to be a part of it. I had one shot from about 22 yards out that went inches over the crossbar. A second great opportunity came from some passing with Franz. I made a looping run after passing him the ball and he played a ball over the defense, into space, for me to run on to for a chance (one-on-one with the keeper). I was a step or two too slow and the goalie rushed out to knock it away at the last second. So close! We would have had many more of those if I was in better shape and we had some substitutes. I’m hoping for better turn out and better results this coming week before the one week holiday break. We’ll see.

It’s gold!

The title is one of the great inside jokes with the Lin brothers. It so applies to the pictures associated with my post for today. The pictures are from Ray’s bachelor party – a night out with Sweet Baby Ray, pimp extraordinaire. Sweet Baby Ray loves his bling. You can tell by the smile on his face that nothing makes him happier than showing off a little of his hard earned wealth. A ring on every finger is only fitting for the king of pimps. Don’t let the warm smile fool you though, when Sweet Baby Ray is out on the town, it is all business.

Below we see Sweet Baby Ray in his element. He demands attention. People wonder who he is, is he famous? I tell you he is so famous that he is infamous. No one can even hope or dream to attain the level of shear pimpness that is Sweet Baby Ray. See how the girls can’t get close enough to him – how they smile with enthusiasm at the thought of being one of his girls? See how the young men try to emulate his style? They want to look hard, but just pale in comparison to the master. He is so 3008 and everyone else is just so 2000 and late. Just look at him – even with all these young ladies flocking to his side he keeps a cool head. He always has on his poker face. See the stern look and the fist? He is showing all onlookers that he means business and no amount of flattery will keep him from the task at hand. I think he is about ready to collect some money from his girls. No one crosses Sweet Baby Ray – it’s bad for your health. He’s good to those that abide by his law, but for those that disobey there is only one result.

Seriously though, this picture is a classic. The group of girls asked to take a picture with Ray because he looked so cute in his outfit. The boys were from the same party and must have been someone’s younger brothers. What you don’t see in this version of the picture is the random guy from a different table that jumped into the picture, or his buddy that took a picture with Ray asking, “Are you famous or something?” It was a great night and these teenagers made it better than I could have hoped. I was only a few minutes from going to speak with one of the female wait staff or a hostess to try and get a picture of them with Ray. Problem solved and then some! Good times.

Butter Face

It seems like you can't listen to a Top 40 radio station the last few weeks without hearing Lady Gaga. While we were having fun at Ray's expense for his Bachelor party we heard the song Poker Face multiple times. We don't really care for it that much, but it does have a catchy beat. That's the insidious nature of pop music these days. It's so manufactured that it sounds good no matter who sings it or what the lyrical content is.

We began to talk about the song (particularly Salve’s disdain for it) and the alternate chorus Butter Face came out of my mouth (Bu-bu-bu-butter face, bu-bu-butter face). We all died laughing and I quickly thought of an opening lyric to match the actual song and the stomach pains ensued. Building on that idea, I decided to flesh out (no pun intended) the joke song lyrics a little more.

Butter Face (by Lady Nada)

I wanna bag it like they do at Burger King
Slide a bag over it baby it ain’t no big thing, I love it
Lust and Fornication are all you need to start
And after she’s been covered up her body does it’s part

Oh, oh, oh, That body’s hot, but her face is not [x2]

Can’t deny, if you try
No, you can see she’s a butter face
(though she’s got a smokin’ body) [x2]

B-b-b-butter face, b-b-butter face [x2]

I wanna hit it from the back so I won’t see
Else it is a gamble when she’s doing it with me, I love it
Don’t want to see her face, I would rather see them buns
And baby when I’m tappin’ that it can be loads of fun, fun

Oh, oh, oh, That body’s hot, but her face is not [x2]

Can’t deny, if you try
No, you can see she’s a butter face
(though she’s got a sexy body) [x2]

B-b-b-butter face, b-b-butter face [x2]

I won’t tell her that I love her
Kiss and hug her
Cause I’m stuffin’ little Miss Muffin
I’m not lying, I’m just stunnin’ with my love-glue-gunning
Just like a dance in a casino
They take the focus off her face now
I promise this, promise this
Check that body cause it’s marvelous

Can’t deny, if you try
No, you can see she’s a butter face
(though she’s got a smokin’ body) [x4]

B-b-b-butter face, b-b-butter face [x4]

Try singing this alternative the next time you hear Poker Face. At the very least you’ll be thinking about it. :)