Red Bulls Rampaging In Harrison!!

Soccer Spookiness in New Jersey!!

Happy Halloween everyone!  There is much to be excited about today - 1.  It's Friday.  2.  It's Halloween.  3.  It's Halloween on a Friday, believe that!!

Playoffs?!  Last night I was fortunate enough to attend the NY Red Bulls - Sporting Kansas City MLS playoff game.  What is interesting about the MLS and the way they conduct their playoffs is that the structure is all out of whack!  First off, European leagues do not have playoffs.  If you stunk the whole season you don't get to participate in the playoffs and make a late run to win a title (I am looking right at you NBA…you know I am, too).  The first round is a winner take all game and then there's the home and home but they don't follow the Euorpean goals aggregate rules (this makes no sense) and above all else…they don't have playoffs!  Wait, I mentioned that already.  Thing about playoffs is that they are exciting as anything.  Last night's game was great, awesome atmosphere and a brilliantly crisp fall evening.  

I have once again turned to the resident MLS & Red Bulls fanatic to run through a recap of last night's tilt.  So without further ado, Steven Humiston, take us through the game - 
For 76 minutes last night at Red Bull Arena, Red Bull fans and players felt that sinking feeling coming across them yet again. Another year over, another playoff let down. Having control of the ball for the majority of the game, a 72-28% possession ration in the home sides favor, a sloppy midfield giveaway saw the RBs down 1-0 to Sporting Kansas City(SKC). 22 goal man Dom Dwyer calmly slotted the ball past RB goalie Luis Robles. For large stretches of the game, the RBs seemed to be okay with holding possession without penetrating the SKC defense. Head coach Mike Petke seemed to pull the right string at the right time inserting 23 year old Cameroon international Ambrose Oyongo in at right back and shifting to a back three allowing right winger Lloyd Sam to shift to the left side to team with Thierry Henry. This switch opened the field for the Red Bulls. In the 77th minute, Sam sprung Henry free down the left side. Streaking down the middle was just the man the Red Bulls need, 27 goal scorer and MLS record holder for goals in a season Bradley Wright-Phillips(BWP). Henry found BWP in the cross and slotted the ball home to tie the game. 

For much of the game, SKC sat back and defended. They took 30-40 seconds and walked every throw-in 15 yards forward before throwing the ball in. Following the goal that leveled the match at 1, SKC did not change their game plan. The next 10-12 minutes were spent watching them waste clock, seemingly trying to will the game to overtime and penalty kicks. In the last minute of regular time, the Red Bulls finally broke free once again. Red Bulls defender Jamison Olave played what could have been his best pass of the year up to this point down the right to the recently inserted Oyongo. Ambrose attacked down the line, and found the Red Bulls talisman once again streaking down the middle. The cross went to near post instead of far, which wrong footed both SKC central defenders and their keeper. BWP leaped and headed the ball just inside the far post for his second goal of the match. Four finger crossing minutes of extra time felt just as long as the first 90, but the Red Bulls did it. They didn’t fold when they went down 1-0, or hit everything but the back of the net. Thierry Henry provided the setup and the magical season of BWP continues as his two goals pushed the Red Bulls into the eastern conference semifinals. 

Next up for the Red Bulls is the Eastern Conference’s top seed, DC United. This is the original rivalry in MLS. Supporters Groups - The Empire Supporters Club vs. La Barra Brava, Coaches - Mike Petke vs. Ben Olsen, DC vs NY is a rivalry rich in MLS tradition. From their 1996 playoff tilt which saw the RBs then METROSTARS win the home leg in a shootout, only to crash in DC, to the recent touch line shouting matches between head coaches, these two clubs flat out don’t like each other. DC United comes into the playoffs as the top seed in the east. They play a high line of pressure and will try to force the Red Bulls into turnovers and mental mistakes. DC Keeper Bill Hamid is one of the best in the league, and the Red Bulls will have their work cut out for them to put goals past him. Perry Kitchen, Nick DeLeon, and Sean Franklin will be key figures working the ball up to a lethal trio of attackers; Eddie Johnson, Luis Silva, and Fabian Espindola. Keys to victory for the Red Bulls remain the same, defend as a team, work the ball to speedster Lloyd Sam through French Legend Henry, and hope that magical dust that BWP seems to have found hasn’t washed up yet. Tune in Sunday 4PM MSG for the first leg in what is sure to be another storied battle in this I-95 rivalry. 
Thanks a ton Steve, I look forward to Sunday's game!  It has a lot to live up to after this one.  AND, as I mentioned earlier this week…if you're hitting up Red Bull Arena, you gotta get one of these.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN - watch out for razor blades in apples, pills pushed into chocolate bars and men with mustaches and trench coats…you've been warned!

HAPPY WATCHING!!

You Go And Do Something Like This...And Totally Redeem Yourself!!

HARRY, I TOOK CARE OF IT!!

So yesterday I wrote about how depressing the sports world had been lately…and you know what, the facets I spoke about are actually still really annoying BUT the sports world as a whole goes ahead and totally redeems itself tonight and tomorrow!!  Finding intrigue and excitement in some dark corners (at least for me) has revitalized my sports interest…for now.  Here's a look at what can get you pumped over the next two day (nights really) - 

Tonight at 8:07PM on FOX the Kansas City Royals host the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of Major League Baseball's World Series.  Last night in KC the Royals rolled on the Giants 10-0 behind more stellar pitching from Yordano Ventura.  Ventura honored fellow Dominican Oscar Tavares by writing an RIP message on the front of his blue Royals hat.  Tavares was killed earlier this week in an automobile accident in the DR.  Ventura's classy move surely would have set him up for some sort of uniform violation had he been playing in the NFL.  KC pounded SF pitching last night and took care of the other side only giving up 6 hits.  I am not going so far as to call anyone who is a citizen "un-American" but you really should tune in for an inning or two on this one with a perennial winner (SF) taking on the underdogs (KC) in a winner take all match up.

Thursday Night Under The Lights!  The MLS Playoffs come to Harrison, New Jersey at Red Bull Arena!!  I will be there in the flesh to take it all in, should be a great time.  Here is some great insight and predictions for tomorrow's game from Steven Humiston (a hardcore Red Bulls fan, adamant sports follower and also happens to be my brother).  Steve take it away - 

Thursday night’s MLS Eastern Conference Play-in game is a rematch of the season finale as the New York Red Bulls (RBs) take on Sporting Kansas City (SKC) from Red Bull Arena in Harrison. Sunday night’s finale saw MLS Golden Boot winner and Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips score in each half leading the Red Bulls to a 2-0 win in Kansas City. With only three days of down time, the teams will play Thursday in a winner take all for the chance to take on Eastern Conference regular season Champ DC United in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Red Bulls are a streaky team led by a strong backbone in the middle of the pitch with central defenders Jamison Olave and Ibrahim Sekagya providing a solid base the RBs rely on to sure up their defense as well as key their attack. Through the midfield, Dax McCarty and Erik Alexander rely on work rate and pin point passes to spring speedsters Lloyd Sam and Wright-Phillips in on goal. The question marks for the Red Bulls are big ones. The first is what Red Bulls team will show up, the one that dismantled SKC to ensure this game would be played in Harrison, or the one that looked sluggish and disinterested in their 3-1 home defeat to the Columbus Crew on October 19th. The second one centers around the RBs big money players. Thierry Henry missed Sunday’s win with an Achilles injury and is a game time decision for Thursday night. The other, Tim Cahill has been the enigma for the Red Bulls all season. He scored perhaps the goal of the 2014 World Cup, but his club form has not been on the same standard. They will need one of them to play up to their potential to see their side through to the semifinals. 

SKC comes into the match with only one win in their last five games. Let in the back by Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, the defending MLS Cup champions have had the target on their backs all season. SKCs midfield is controlled by US World cup veterans Graham Zusi and Benny Feilhaber, with 22 goal scorer Dom Dwyer leading the way upfront. Questions about this team as they have played more than their fair share of games this season with MLS, US Open Cup, and CONCACAF Champions League games on the schedule. The last few games they look to have been playing on tired legs, and with the short turnaround, this could provide the difference in Thursday’s pivotal match. The main two concerns for SKC are things they have full control over. In Sunday’s match up, they seemed to have trouble keeping track of the runners for New York. Their defensive organization must be better to ensure a different result this time around. Also, Dom Dwyer has scored 22 goals this season. They must find ways to get him the ball in dangerous attacking positions. 

In all, the Red Bulls don’t play their best when the lights are brightest, but have made Red Bull Arena a nightmare for visitors since opening in 2010. Sporting Kansas City does, but are their legs too weary to defend their crown after a long campaign? Will the home field advantage that the Red Bulls have be the difference? Tune in Thursday 8PM on ESPN2 to find out.  Editor's note:  If you are attending the game you gotta grab one of these on the way in at Five Guys!

Thanks a ton Steve!!

And last but not lease the NBA kicks of it's regular season tonight with a whole slew of games.  It is a cool night for basketball, a lot of fan fare BUT I am holding off for tomorrow's NYK vs CLE game.  LeBron plays Carmelo in Cleveland and I assume the TV networks will be bumping with chatter…Worth watching tonight are CHI vs NYK and OKC and POR…the rest of the games are fine but nothing special, check your local listings.

And that my friends is how sports got me interested again!  Let's keep it going.

HAPPY WATCHING!!!