The Argentine Soccer Team

Well, these are the names of the players on the Argentine team. I like the group. No bad karma, no Veron or the usual suspects, no history of power struggles.... All of them are Pekerman's boys. They all won the World Championships with Jose. So they represent the best he has to offer!

Those who were left out of the group: At least, they can say that Pekerman called them one by one to let them know that they were not in. This says a lot about Pekerman. It's the first time, in many years, that a coach personally calls the players to let them know that they are not in.

Now, let's hope that they behave like good men. Let's also hope that they play the way Argentine soccer teams play, con la pelota en el piso--with the ball on the floor. And let's hope that we can all celebrate that the Argentine team has done well in this World Cup.

The NBA Playoffs

WOW! I am very happy for the Clippers. They are doing very well, they are playing great, and they are giving the Suns a hard time... I really hope they will advance to the next round. But I think that if the go to 7 games, the Clippers are off....But I think that they will win. I enjoy watching them play since they are good both on the defensive and offensive ends.

Now, the SPurs... Manu had a great game on Saturday... But they lost by one point. Manu did a great job, although the fans in SA blame him for the TO. That was not his fault. The mistake was made by Horry, who by the way, should not start the game.....

Manu coming off the bench... What's new? Pop, we know you. At this point, whether or Manu starts is irrelevant. What matters is that he needs to play a minimum of 35-36 minutes if Pop wants to win.

The Spurs have to win tonight. So GO SPURS GO! And Go Manu Go!

Has Manu's Game Gone Backwards?

The second round of the playoffs started today. We decided to broadcast the game in Manu's chatroom. Mary Jo and I did.

During the broadcast, Walton said Manu's game has de-volved, it has gone backwards. That he expected a lot more from him. As a fan, I got pissed. But he is right in that this year Manu is not the same Manu of the last year's playoffs.

So now, there is a big debate among the ARgentines in Manu's site. Everyone agrees with Walton. But everyone also knows that Manu has had too many injuries. SuperManu will come back....

What was nice was to see David Robinson wearing Manu's jersey because Manu is his favorite player. He is the player he chooses to pay money to go and see. So in honor of Robinson and Manu, here is a picture of the great David Robinson wearing la 20.

The Playoffs, The Clippers, and The Lakers

The Lakers lost to the Suns yesterday. The series is 3-3 now. I am very happy about the Lakers losing. I really want the Suns to win the series. Why? Because I want the Clippers to have the attention of ALL LA. I am tired of seeing the Lakers be the "stars" of LA. This time, I want the Clippers to be the ONLY Kings of LA. So GO CLIPPERS!

It would be to my benefit if the Lakers and the Clippers were in the next round. That would mean that if the Spurs were to beat Dallas, then they would come to LA for the Western Finals.

I know... Too much speculation... For now, let's wait until tonight's SPurs game and let's see what happens to the Lakers tomorrow...Cheers, Kuki

Penalty Kicks, Last second Losses

This week has been tough for Argentine athletes. First, Riquelme misses a penalty kick in the semi-finals of the European League. And it was in the minute 89 of the game... Poor Juan Roman. He is devastated. And now, all his detractors come after him and attack him. He has a lot of responsibility. He is supposed to be the leader of the Argentine team for the World Cup and everyone expects him to succeed. He knows that the expectations are way too high....
But all star players fail. Here is a list of stars, huge stars, who missed penalty kicks:
Maradona ante Yugoslavia en Italia '90, Platini y Zico en México '86. Baggio y Baresi ante Brasil en la final de EE.UU. '94. Schevchenko ante Liverpool. Baggio's miss was particularly tough since Italy lost the World Cup to Brazil!

The second mistake of the week was Manu's turnover in the last seconds of the Spurs-Sacramento game. The Spurs were winning by one point. Manu lost the ball to Bibby in the last play of the night and Sac scored a double on the buzzer. And the Spurs lost... Well, what can we do? We'll see how he comes back tomorrow! Kuki

Violence in Argentine Soccer

Argentine soccer reflects the realities of Argentine society. People go to the stadiums to scream, insult, throw things at the referees, players, etc. Whatever goes wrong in Argentine, people take it out on Sunday at the stadiums.

Of course, it does not help that referees are so bad an they make decisions that contribute to creating violence.

Yesterday, there was another incident. This time it was at the Velez-Boca game. The game was almost over. But a very bad call from the referee created a mess. Of course, I can't blame the referee for what happened on the stands. Everyone, referees, players, coaches, fans, and especially the police, need to take a more responsible approach.....

The Spurs, The Bulls and the Playoffs

The playoffs began today. The Spurs did a great job against the Kings. Manu did okay. He started great. He got the team on a good start. But then he missed too many layups. He was too close to scoring but no... He ended up with 10 points. And several assists. In any case, this was an easy game for the Spurs. Absolutely everyone scored. Even Fabri. It's too bad that Fabri isn't playing more minutes.

I loved the fact that we went back to the chatroom and broadcast the game. Mary Jo was in San Antonio and I was here. Her TV broadcast was ahead of mine. So I let her broadcast the game and I provided the color commentaries. We had more than 20 people in the chatroom during the first half. It was wonderful to see people talking and not fighting. THese last couple of weeks have been dreadful in Manu's forum... People fighting over nothing!

Now, the other story was the Bulls loss. I did not see the second half because we had to go shopping at Babies R US. But when I checked Manu's Website I read that some Argentines and Americans were blaming el Chapu for the loss and more than anyone else, they were blaming Hinrich. Apparently el Chapu made a couple of bad decisions at the end. But they said that he played with a lot of heart. Pobre Chapu!

And I am very happy for the Clippers! They have just won their first playoff game since 93!!!

And Velez keeps winning!

I am happy to see that Velez keeps doing well in the Libertadores Cup....How do you say "invicto" in English? Well, Velez has not lost one! Here is a picture of Velez... I still remember the first time my Dad took me to the Velez stadium to see a soccer match.

I still remember learning how to skate as a child at Velez. One of the things my brother and I share is the wonderful memory of learning how to skate. Of the picture in which he and I are wearing white outfits, he and I with the bangs, and a white outfit holding hands and skating. My mom was so proud of us. This is one of the most precious memories in my life!