ARE YOU READY FOR SOME (EUROPEAN) FOOTBALL?!




These week marks some colossal Champions League matches which promise to be some of the best matches all season, in any league.

Tomorrow night opens with one of the biggest as two of the recognised top managers in football face each other when Manchester United,led by Sir Alex Ferguson travel to Milan to face Inter, led by Jose Mourinho. (see a detailed preview here.)

This is MASSIVE football. You could argue, if you wanted to be picky that Man U and Barcelona are playing the best football in Europe and that this would make a better match but frankly, that's more something for the finals. Personally, I've been waiting all season for somebody to do a number on those gawddamned Mancunians and that red-faced drunken Scot - Jose is just the lad to do it although I'm not so incredibly certain his team is. Inter are not as special a football side as their manager is, even if they are a virtual lock to win the Serie A this season.

Irrespective of what happens, not likely, with a match still to be played in Manchester, that the knockout will be decided tomorrow night, or even in the first 90 minutes of the game in Manchester. It's probably too much for Inter to expect an outright victory tomorrow night, even at home so a 0-0 draw would be productive. I watched both this weekend and neither side, with this game no doubt weighing heavily on their minds, looked very brilliant.

Prediction: 1-1 draw.

There's also Arseholenol hosting AC Roma, but let's be honest, unless you support one of them, this is the secondary match. Arsenal 2-1.

On Wednesday night, Real Madrid host Liverpool and no doubt, Liverpool should advance fairly easily in this one. Real 0-1

Lastly, almost as big perhaps as the Inter - Man U match is Juventus travelling to Chelsea. Wow, big match. Juve are looking good at the moment and Chelsea have been in a state of turmoil but Chelsea, with their new manager to the rescue, appear to all be playing as a team again after that mini little civil war that went on earlier in the season. Chelsea should take this one, maybe 2-1. (detailed preview here.)

*****

NL EAST SPIN

Gnats pitching going from bad to worse to hopeless.

I find it hard to believe they're releasing Odalis Perez. Ok, maybe he didn't give them much choice, maybe he released himself in essence, by not showing up. 30 starts, 4.34 ERA down the tubes. Look for somebody to pick him up after the World Classic and pay him at least double what he'd have gotten for the Gnats.

Plus, they already let go of their top pitcher last season, Tim Redding, gone to the Mets to seek fame and fortune as the 5th starter. Again, granted Redding is no Cy Young but still, he managed to win 10 games for them somehow which is like winning 15 or 20 games somewhere else. So that's two pitchers, gone and no real answers to replace them with. Think they sucked last season? Wow, just watch them now and if that isn't bad enough, how do you carry on when your own GM is suspected of screwing the team? They might just challenge for the worst team in baseball what with their rubbish starting rotation, their head cases in the outfield, their new Kingmanesque first baseman in Adam Dunn. What's to like? The Mets play them LOTS, that's what.

*****

Linebackers

So it's getting closer to the time now that they've cleared all that cap space, for the Jets and new coach Rex Ryan to start thinking about which Raven linebacker they're intending on plucking from the Ravens bough, Ray Lewis or Bart Scott. Gimme a break. Why would you sign a 34 year old to a big deal? Lewis has been the best in the game for years but he's not going to be for much longer. A year more, tops. The Jets have already played rent-a-fading-star last year with Favre and look where it got them. Forget it. Let the Cowboys over pay him.