In a note that should hearten the Red Sox Nation and prove yet again, pissing millions into the wind on a big name squad, Arsenal seal Ranieri's fate as Chelsea give up the fight

"Continuity, good leadership and the presence of so much experience permits easier assimilation of newcomers such as Kolo Toure and Gilberto and this season's implants, Clichy and Jens Lehmann. By comparison, six of Chelsea's starting line-up against Arsenal joined this season. Some have not developed a deep bond with the club. They have not shared in past pleasures and pains, the fire that forges individuals into a unit. Arsenal's pulse-racing season is rooted in the heartache of falling in last season's championship chase."

The bloke at Mariner Musings has unleashed another haiku:

Haiku #4: Ichiro!

Anticipating
Bat spinning like a windmill
Electricity

And in case you missed it, let's add All-baseballdotcom to the roll.

And in case you missed it, let's add Yanksfan vs Soxfan to the roll.

In yet another sign that this year is not the Year of the Mets, supporters and reporters are now officially reduced to spinning the ole but we've got great prospects! warble.

Tja. It's the 1986-2006 plan. Way to go.

*****

Other Sports

*****

I can't help but be fascinated with the progressively younger crops of NBA ?berteen dreams. Now it's the 14 year old O. J. Mayo garnering the almost prenatal adulation and attention. He's even been billed as the next LeBron -- the next LeBron? What's the shelf life of a pro hoops phenom these days, 20 minutes?

*****

Found this article on a To-know list in the Sporting News from last April which devotes itself to the inner psychological QB:

"It's well-documented how the man called the "brain doctor" advised the Chargers against selecting Ryan Leaf based merely upon what he'd observed of Leaf's brain wiring.

Jonathan Niednagel, head of the Brain Types Institute in Nottinghill, Mo., operates with an eight-letter alphabet. When he looks at a person, he sees four letters--or one of 16 combinations called brain types, which are determined by four basic pairs of psychological attributes.

Brain-type categories

(E)xtroverted vs. (I)ntroverted: Draws energy from others or from within.

(S)ensing vs. i(N)tuitive: Believes in only touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing or also in a sixth, guiding sense.

(T)hinking vs. (F)eeling: Bases decisions on either logic or emotion.

(J)udging vs. (P)erceiving: Is work-oriented or Is work-oriented or fun-oriented in approach to life."

Before the 2003 season, eight NFL quarterbacks had 40,000 yards or more in career passing. From those eight, only Dan Fouts and Warren Moon were not ESTP brain types meaning, Extroverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving blokes. You know the type...ESTP brain-types, such as John Elway, Dan Marino, Joe Montana and Peyton Manning. They have in common the ability to run the two-minute drill better than quarterbacks with different brains. That's because ESTP brain-types are known as "opportunists" who "seek fun and excitement" and "enjoy the moment," according to braintypes.com.

I wonder how many of the lads in my local are ESTPs. Probably not many potential Quarterbacks wandering Stratford-Upon-Avon.