Liverpool 3 Galatasaray 2

Overall Rating: N.A. (Did not watch the game)
Goals: Crouch 9, 52 Garcia 14, Umit 59, 65

COMMENTS:
Thank God we survived Galatasaray's fightback after bagging in our 3. Crouch was man-of-the match. That's the thing about the Champions League - the quality of the teams involved ensures that every (ok, almost every) game is contested right to the death, which makes for great entertainment. 6 points from 2 matches. Well done team.

Jackie Wu's Music Lesson

This is a MUST WATCH - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR5PdsiUhw4 - HILARIOUS!

Liverpool 3 Tottenham 0

Overall Rating: 8/10
Goals: Gonzalez 63, Kuyt 73, Risse 89
Ratings:
- Goalkeeping: 6/10
- Defence: 6/10
- Midfield: 8/10
- Attack: 7/10

COMMENTS:

The first half was a dud affair but what a second half it turned out to be. Just when we thought we were going to be punished by Spurs for pushing too far up, we counter and score. Cheekily smart fake by Gerrard on the right to square the ball for the 1st goal. 2nd goal was pure conviction by Kuyt but Risse's goal was the best of the lot. 2nd time this season he's fired such a rocket into goal; the last was against John Terry in the Charity Shield. Sweet, really sweet. With Man U drawing at Reading (WELL DONE READING!), our season is back on track. After Galatasaray on Wednesday, we go to Bolton on Saturday. Wonder if a bung would be enough for Big Sam to give us a win there. Oops... ssh, no mention of the B-word.

Light A Candle

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On Power 98 with DJ Sebastian

Went on air with Seb today on his show This Is Football. My first gig as a soccer pundit. It was fun. We've been toying with the idea of doing a football talk show for a while now but we haven't been able to come up with any novel concept. Any suggestions anyone? Well, it was a clean and tidy start for our first broadcast together and let's see what we can come up with here on of. For the first time in my life I heard myself over the phone - man do I sound funny. I sound like a kid actually, then again my voice never really cracked. Fortunately what needed to grow grew. Phew.

Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0

Overall Rating: N.A. (Did not watch the game)
Goals: Kuyt 29, Alonso 79
COMMENTS:

Phew, finally a win after 2 bad outings. Alonso scored from inside his own half. WOAH. Kuyt is finally off the mark. GOOD. A bit less tension now. But I'm still perplexed about not playing Gerrard down the middle. Gerrard only played 4 mins yesterday btw. Yes, rotation, rotation. Garcia was the captain of last night's side. Talk about perplexing.

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0

Overall Rating: 7/10

Goals: Drogba 43

Ratings:

- Goalkeeping: 6/10

- Defence: 6/10

- Midfield: 7/10

- Attack: 7/10

COMMENTS:

We deserved the draw. Drogba's goal was pure brilliance. Kuyt smashing the bar was pure unlucky. But thank you Arsenal, thank you for beating Man U at home and keeping the gap alive. Nice goal.

PSV Einhoven 0 Liverpool 0

Overall Rating: 6/10
Goals: nil
Ratings:
- Goalkeeping: 6/10
- Defence: 6/10
- Midfield: 7/10
- Attack: 6/10
COMMENTS:
We did what we had to do. Nothing fancy, nothing spectacular. It was a clinically professional point won. The Champions League is Rafa's playground, he knows his way around. If only he can translate that to the EPL. C'mon Rafa, c'mon!

The Sprite Zero Experiment

For those who have seen the 'Mentos Experiment', this should be of interest to you. I bought two 500ml bottles of Sprite Zero from 7-11 a couple of days back. 2 for $2, cheap. Anyway, when I got home, I needed my caffeine fix and decided to add some concentrated instant coffee into the Sprite. Don't ask me why, it's just me, I have my moments or 'episodes' as some shrinks would call it. I took a teaspoon of instant nescafe, mixed it with a teaspoon of hot water in my jigger, poured the black stuff into the bottle and before I could say 'what the @$@$!', the Sprite erupted. It foamed and just kept flowing and flowing and flowing. Here's the interesting part. Mentos removes the fizz from whatever carbonated drink you put it into; coffee apparently doesn't. At this point in time, I don't know why; more testing is needed, but just for the record, I'm sipping what's left of my Sprite Zero as I'm blogging this - with fizz still inside. Any Einsteins out there?

Champagne Breakfast

Champagne for breakfast??... FOR BREAKFAST???

(Notice that the greenery in the background ISN'T that of the Botanic Gardens, where this gig is supposed to be... The pink ballooned basket looks like it's sitting on some reclaimed land off Marina Park or in a SAF live firing area. For my money, I'd go for something like 'A Prata Breakfast In The Park' or 'Visit The Botanic Beer Garden' instead... Botanic Beir Garten yah!)

p.s. Thanks Vonne, this poster really tickled me pink - no pun intended :P

Ball Magic

The best to have ever hit, head or handle something round.

My Injury List

Sorting through old stuff today, I came across some old medical documents. Boy have I really busted myself up over the years...

A - 1991. Lower Back. Muscle strain and nerve impingement from hockey. Still recurs now and then.

B- 2006. Knee. Strained Medial Cruciate Ligament (MCL) from soccer. Still recovering.

C- 1993. Knee. Swollen cartilage from excessive running. Recovered.

D - 2004. Lower Leg. Double fracture of fibula from soccer. Metal implants inserted. Recovered.

E- 1984, 2004. Ankle. Mild comminuted fracture after a fall in '84. Torn ligaments from fibula fracture (above). Recovered.

F- 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995. Ankle. Repeated sprains from soccer. Tore ligaments in '95 while in army. Recovered.

Everton 3 Liverpool 0

Overall Rating: 2/10
Goals: Cahill 24, Johnson 36, 90
Ratings:

- Goalkeeping: 2/10

- Defence: 2/10

- Midfield: 4/10

- Attack: 2/10
COMMENTS:

SHAMBOLIC! Everton deserved the win. We played like shit. Terrible, terrible, terrible. There are serious questions to be asked about Rafa's tactics yesterday but none as glaringly serious as WHY IS GERRARD PLAYING WIDE RIGHT? Like I've mentioned before, WE BUILD THE TEAM AROUND GERRARD Rafa!! We have bought wide players like Bellamy, Pennant and Gonzalez; so why the @#$% is Gerrard still pegged on the flank when every mother's son knows our captain is most lethal bombarding down the middle. Screw the element of suprise Rafa, don't over-worry about our opponents, let them worry about us and let them stop us if they can. The classic Paralysis-From-Analysis took place yesterday. And where were the long balls that Crouch needed? We have the head of a 7-ft target man to aim at so why were we trying to square the ball to his feet instead? Crouch had to drop so far back to fetch & carry the ball it effectively cancelled him out as a goal-scoring threat, leaving (the not so fast & sharp anymore) Fowler by himself to hustle with Everton's centerbacks. Bizarre lah Rafa, really bizarre your tactics yesterday. International duty is a poor excuse for such a rotational disaster of our line-up and formation. I hate to say this but you flunked your test this time round Rafa. FAIL.

A.U.S.T.R.A.L.I.A

My friend in Melbourne was exasperating yesterday about how slow her paperwork was being processed by the City Council over there. It seems that inefficiency is somewhat of a tacit public administration protocol in her part of the woods. Poor girl. We came to this conclusion. A.U.S.T.R.A.L.I.A = An Undeniably Strong Tradition of Real Authentic Laziness Instilled in All. Imagine the Australian version of the show The Office...

It Doesn't End With Federer

Well, it did not end like I wish it did but boy was it an amazing standing ovation the crowd gave Agassi. I have never seen a farewell like that for any player, not for Lendl, not for Edberg, not even for Sampras... maybe Connors, but I was too young when Connors played his last game to register any memory of that. Hobbling with a bad back, there was nothing much Agassi could do against the 25-year old Becker after the 2nd set. Speed and power prevailed eventually. Damn them new rackets really pack a punch. Looking at how the 50,000 strong crowd at Arthur Ashe stadium cheered, cried and chanted Agassi's name, it just goes to show that when you give what you do everything you have got and stick around long enough to touch people with your own special magic, they remember, and they will remember for a long long time.

Helping The Poor

THE SUNDAY TIMES, 3rd Sept 2006 - 'Airfare, lodging and meals:$2,000; Leave from work: 2 weeks; Helping poor villagers abroad: PRICELESS' "Singaporeans are taking time off from work to do volunteer work overseas". Volunteer Tourism, that is what it is apparently called and these 'goodwill tourists' travel to remote areas of China, Nepal, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and India to build schools, orphanages and houses. While it is good that Singaporeans are taking their generosity and compassion abroad to help the less fortunate, I cannot help but wonder about the poor back here in Singapore and how they can benefit from such benevolence and charity. Although we do not see squatter villages, homeless children and beggars around us here in Sunny Singapore, there is a segment of our population that exists in financial and social poverty. There are individuals and families that are struggling to get by in our growingly expensive-to-live-in country. They may not be poor by global standards but relative to a S$2,000 a month pay-cheque (which I consider very average pay here), some families in Singapore have to survive on half or less than that every month. Families mind you. Include the unemployed, the elderly, the disabled, the sick and the orphaned, we do have people in our own backyard who not only need monetary help but also a helping hand, literally. Take away the 'Tour' from Volunteer Tourism and you get Volunteerism. Perhaps we should focus on that first before exporting our goodwill in such a wholesale fashion. As the saying goes - 'Charity begins at home'.

End It With Federer

There are tennis players who are great, there are tennis players who last a long time... and then there is Andre Agassi. From The Las Vegas Kid to The Living Legend, there is no denying the greatness of his longevity. For my generation of tennis fans and players, we grew up watching this guy - his brilliance, his madness, his women, his fall and his resurrection - it was there for all to see. We even dressed like him and bought them ultra-florescent nike sneakers. As the superlatives roll on about Andre The Great, I hope he will be able to last long enough at Flushing Meadows to end his career the way I see befitting - at the hands of World No. 1 Roger Federer. Some players choose to end their career at the peak of their powers but for Agassi, there will definitely be no shame in ending his against the finest tennis player on earth at the moment; and poetic justice it will be for the tennis that he has given us all these years. So go on Andre, end it with Federer.

Age 20... (1990 U.S. Open)

Age 36... (2006 U.S. Open)