Maybe better then before

Sometimes getting rid of your best player makes you better and other times it does not. But for Lyon getting rid of striker Karim Benzema might have been the best thing that they could have done. During the summer the super talented striker traded Lyon for Real Mardrid. The transfer fee was priced at €35 million with the fee rising to as much as €41 million based on incentives.

Instead of pocketing the money, the Lyon board decided to splash the cash in hopes of regaining the Ligue 1 title. They brought in forward Bafetimbi Gomis from Saint-Etienne for a fee of €13m; Defender Aly Cissokho from Porto for a fee of €15m; Brazilian defender Michel Bastos from Lille for a fee of €18m; Argentinean forward Lisandro Lopez from Porto for a fee of €24m. In all told they spend 70 millions euros on improving their squad. The talent added plus the continued development of play maker Miralem Pjanic has made Lyon a force.

So far the plan seems to be paying off. During the first four games of the season Lyon has scored 11 goals including a 5-1 win over Anderlecht in the first leg of their Champions League Playoff. During their first leg win, Bastos, Gomis, and Lopez scored and the team played with a flair that was not present in Europe over the last couple of years. The speed they showed during the game was amazing, they looked like the fasted team in Europe.

In the past, Lyon dominated the French League and then failed when it came to getting to the Champions League Final. With the moves that they have made and the continued development of Pjanic, Lyon might be closer to being in a Champions League Final then ever before.

WSD is no more

Citing the on going attacks from Liverpool fans, World Soccer Daily is no more. Steven Cohen made the announcement at the start of the show today that Friday would be the last show. Saw them in Philly last year and had a great time. Thanks for doing a great show and this is a sad day for American Soccer.

I've seen this story before

In the fall of 2006, a hot shot freshman quarterback from Dallas enrolled at Georgia with the hope of one day leading the bulldogs. The hot shot freshman was future number one pick Matt Stafford. Instead of picking Stafford to lead the dogs out of the gate Georgia head coach Mark Richt decided to have senior Joe Tereshinski III lead the team. JT's run at qb did not last long as he got hurt in the second game and Stafford took over for good.

I know what people are thing, what is the point of this. The point is that a similar situation is developing at the State University of New Jersey.

Today Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano named senior Dom Natale as his starter over a group that includes a hot shot from Philly, Tom Savage. I could see a situation developing where Natale struggles and Schiano turn to Savage just like Richt did three years ago. I hope Natale does a good job and he might, but its always worth remembering the situation at UGA a couple years and how it ended up.

I would say it turned out well, Stafford after all ended up being the first overall pick in the draft.

Tale of Two Signing Days

Once a year college football fans and baseball fans hold their breath for one day. For college football fans its National Signing Day. While for baseball fans its draft deadline signing day, I know that it does not have the same ring yet, but its getting there.

National Signing Day has developed into one of the most important days on the college football calendar. The day schools and fan bases around the country celebrate Johnny Five Star coming to their school. The day also gives fans bases hope for the future. College football fans sit in front of their computers waiting for players to put on the hat of their favorite team from USC to Notre Dame to Alabama.With message boards, twitter and other Internet sites National Signing Day has become a can't miss day on the college football calendar.

While not as old as National Signing Day, baseball draft signing day has developed its own special place in the sport. With all of the drama surrounding Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals this year the day has been made a little bigger. This is the first time in the history of the draft that a top pick had left it to that late before deciding on what his future holds. Heading into the day, the top three picks were not signed, adding a little more to the drama of the day. Baseball fans were glued to web sites, twitter, espn, and MLB Network all day to find out if their teams top picked signed. Maybe in the future this day will turn into something similar to National Signing Day.

It's funny how a days that don't involve on the field play mean so much to a sport.

Its all over

The deadline has passed and the Nats have gotten our man. Stephen Strasburg signs a MLB deal worth $15.67 million over 4 years, according to Baseball America.

A good deal for the Nats considering the numbers that Scott Boras threw around where in the $50 million range. This is a day of hope for Nats fan around the country, they broke the signing bonus record but did not go above $20 million, which is a good deal. In honor of this I will be rocking the Nats polo tomorrow for work. Now off to bed.
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Madden 10: Mike Vick Style

After two days Michael Vick is ready for Madden 10. Here he is in the game getting ready to run by Antonio Pierce just like Route 36 did in last year in the playoffs. Here are others photos of Vick with the Eagles in Madden 10.

The Cover Story: Mike Vick Style

Few signings of back up quarterbacks generated this much interest. Here is how some papers covered the introduction of Michael Vick as an Eagle on Friday. Some people are still not happy about it.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philly Daily News

The Morning Call

The Atlantic City Press

The Vertical's EPL Picks

So Endy went with a shocker and picked Chelski over his beloved Liverpool. Now its my time to give my picks. So here goes.

1. Chelski: The only thing that scares me is that there is really no cover if any thing happens to Drogba.
2. Liverpool: Might have the best starting 11 in the league last year. But a lack of depth killed then and letting Alonso go to Real Madrid means that they are still stuck on 18 titles.
3. Manchester United: Ronnie and Carlos are both gone, so this will be a year of transition for United. Maybe an FA Cup. But the 2010/2011 season you will see another championship side developed.
4. Arsenal: Its going to be close with them and City, but in the end Wenger knows what he is doing and Hughes does not.
5. Manchester City: see above. How about spending more money on a manager.
6. Aston Villa: Love the way this team is being built, through young English players.
7. Spurs: Crouch and Defoe, I think I saw this at Portsmouth.
8. Everton: Moyes might be the manager in premier league.
9. Sunderland: They spend a lot of money over the summer maybe they will show improvement on the field.
10. Fulham: Being in Europe will be a test for Fulham.
11. West Ham: Zola will have the hammers playing some good football, but in the end will not have the quality to get into the top half of the table.
12. Blackburn: Big Sam can always save teams from going down.
13. Wigan
14. Stoke City
15. Wolves
16. Birmingham City
17. Bolton
18. Burnley
19. Hull City
20. Portsmouth

First Manager to get the sack: Paul Hart Portsmouth
Best Signing: Mike Owen, Manchester United. They signed him for nothing and he could score double figures.
Golden Boot: Torres.
War of Words be Sir Alex and Rafa starts: I'm going to say that it has already started.

Endy in the Outfield's EPL Preditions

The Premier League Season is set to start in less then a day, so its time for OTWT resident Liverpool Fan Endy in the Outfield to gives us his thoughts the marathon that is the premier league.

1. Chelsea
2. Liverpool
3. Manchester United
4. Arsenal
5. Manchester City
6. Fulham
7. Tottenham
8. Everton
9. Aston Villa
10. Blackburn
11. West Ham
12. Wigan
13. Sunderland
14. Stoke City
15. Bolton
16. Birmingham City
17.Wolverhampton
18. Burnley
19. Hull City
20. Portsmouth

First manager to get sacked: Phil Brown, Hull City
Best signing: Carlos Tevez, Manchester City
Golden boot: Fernando Torres, Liverpool
War of words between rafa and sir alex start: Week of Sept 19th.

Jersey Palooza

Fans take pride in their soccer jersey, no matter the game, fans will wear the jersey that shows support for their current club, that was no different during the Real Madrid and DC United game on Sunday. The OTWT Tailgating Crew did our best to create a running list of the some of the jerseys that we saw in the crowd.

Some of the jerseys that were spotted:

DC United
Real Madrid old and new
Dutch
Barca
Portugal
Liverpool
Various South American clubs
Brazil
Germany
Eric Cantona United Jersey
Manchester United
Arsenal
England
Argentina
Benfica
Croatia
Celtic
Roma
Aston Villa
Boca Juniors.
Porto
AC Milan
Juventus
France
Bayern Munich
USA National Team
River Plate
FC Dallas
Ajax
PSG
Everton
Sao Paulo
Lyon
I'm sure we missed some but this shows how much soccer teams support their teams.

The Final Notebook

Some seasons have already started and others are on the very. So here is OTWT thoughts on the final couple of friendlies.
• Love the salmon colored Barca jerseys they wore during the Seattle Sounders game.
• MLS Teams have looked terrible in these friendlies.
• I know they got a ton for Alonso but Liverpool saw their title dreams leave when the Spanish international left Anfield. I'm sorry Lucas and Aquilani are not the answer.
• Real Madrid are going to take some time gell during the game against DC United they looked a little disjointed.

Professional Tailgating: On the Road Again

The Only Time Will Tell hit the road again on Sunday to go to see the most expensive team in the world, Real Madrid. So the crew loaded up the car and headed to DC to see Madrid take on DC United. Here are some of the sites and sounds of the game that drew approximately 72,000 people to FedEx Field.

The grill was cooking some fresh meatsThe most expensive team in the world, Real Madrid, arrives at the stadium

FedEx Field would make a classic World Cup venue in the future

Real Madrid take the field to warm up

Both teams take the field




A moment of silence for Daniel Jarque, the Espanyol captain, who passed away late last week

Our seats were really high up, but were really not that bad

OTWT goes to Washington

Follow the Only Time Will Tell Tailgating crew as they go to Washington for the DC United/Real Madrid game at www.twitter.com/JWVerticalJump updates all day long.
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The proper way to honor a legend

What is the proper way to honor a legend?

Is it to retire his jersey, have a special day for them, or build a statue in their honor. That is what we do in the United State, but in England they do it a different way. Take a look around at the classic stadiums in England and many of them have stands that are named after long time club heroes.

Take West Ham United's Upton Park, two of their stands are named after all-time great players Bobby Moore (above) and Sir Trevor Brookings. Nottingham Forest has a stand named after their iconic manager Brian Clough at the City Ground, and Wolves have a stand named after Wolves legend Bill Wright at Molineux.

I know what people are asking right now, what is the point of this. Last week the Eagles lost long time Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson. Johnson was the heart and soul of the defense and meant so much to the crazy fan base. I wonder how the Eagles are going to handle honoring a man that was one of the faces of the franchise for so many years.

The Eagles should name one of the stands after the Johnson. Doing this would allow fans from all generation to remember how much Johnson contributed to the Eagles. At West Ham, kids ask their parents to tell stories about Moore and Brookings, just imagine the situation at Lincoln Financial Field when a young child ask his father about how great a coach Jim Johnson was, all because they are sitting in the Jim Johnson Stand. I know the Eagles will do the right thing and honor him in a variety of different ways, but naming a stand after him would allow the fans to keep his memory for a long time.

Say it with me, the Jim Johnson Stand, it has a real nice ring to it.

The Champions League Playoffs are interesting

In some years the final round of Champions League Playoff can be almost a bore, but this year that could be different with one tie Arsenal vs. Celtic. The team that drops this tie could be in financial trouble. Both clubs count on the Champions League group stage money in order to fund their spending, so going out before that stage could be a mess for both. Rangers went out in an earlier playoff round last year and they are still trying to dig out from the lost revenue.

Here are some predictions for the playoff round:

• FC Sheriff v Olympiakos: Olympiakos
  
• SV Red Bull Salzburg v Maccabi Haifa: Red Bull Salzburg
  
• FK Ventspils v FC Zurich: FC Zurich
  
• FC Copenhagen v Apoel Nicosia: FC Copenhagen
  
• Levski Sofia v Debrecen: Leveski Sofia
  
• Lyon v Anderlecht: Lyon
  
• Celtic v Arsenal: This has PK written all over it, but I can not see Wenger going out at this point.
  
• FC Timisoara v VfB Stuttgart: VFB Stuttgart
  
• Sporting v Fiorentina: Fiorentina
  
• Panathinaikos v Atletico Madrid: Panahinaikos, the shocker of the round. Last years the Greeks booked a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
  

Some leagues are up and running, while others about to start. It feels like it has been a long time since we have all had club football.

Is he staying or is he going?

The Daily Mail Soccer section has differing views on what is going to happen to Liverpool's Xabi Alonso. On the top of their site, they have a story about Liverpool and Real Madrid agreeing to the fee for Alonso, while right under it they have a story about Real dropping their interest in Spanish midfielder. I think the real story is that Alonso is heading to Real, but maybe the Daily Mail should update their site a little quicker.

Blast from the Past

College football preview magazines often focus on the positives of a football program, but often the positives turn out to be false. Here is a look back at some cover of the Smith & Street College Football previews from the last couple of years. Some cover choices now seem a little weird.

2006 Washington edition: WSU's Jason Hill. It's been a touch couple of years of state of the Washington when it comes to college football.

2005 Pennsylvania edition: Pitt's Tyler Palko. He was once thought to be a superstar but now it seems like a bad choice.

2004 Washington edition: Charlie Frederick, really. Wow it must have been a weak year in Washington.

2003 South Carolina edition: Really Dondrial Pinkins. I'm a big college football fan and this name caught me by surprise.

2003 Texas edition: Coach Fran and A&M. This had to be long before the secret email newsletter.

Making a Case

For the last three season, Mike Teel has both loved and vilified for his play as the QB at the State University of New Jersey, but one thing is clear Teel should have his #14 retired for good. I know what people are going to say, ya he started the season 1-5 last season, while some of that was his fault, some of the blame has to go the players around them.

After starting the season so bad, Teel rallied to bring the Knights to a bowl. On October 25, 2008, Teel threw 6 touchdown passes for 361 yards against #17 Pittsburgh, a school record. He was chosen as National Player of the Week for the first time in his career. On December 4, 2008, Teel had a career night in the final home game of his college career, completing 21 of 26 passes for 447 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions as Rutgers routed Louisville 63-14. The yardage and touchdown totals were single game school records as the Scarlet Knights finished their schedule at 7-5. After being so bad, Teel finished the season with 25 TD passes and a completion percentage of 61.6 percent, the highest in his three year career as a starter.

Teel's career is almost story book. He won three straight bowl games as a starter also beat two top five teams at home in nationally televised games, South Florida and Louisville. Those two wins are the two biggest in the history of the school.

During his career, Teel set passing records in all major categories including yards, 9,383, and touchdowns, 59. Those are numbers that you can not turn your back on. He was also drafted in the sixth round of the NFL Draft by the Seahawks.

I know some people that sit in my section during the season hated Teel, but I have always been on of his biggest supporters. The staff at Rutgers should show their appreciation for him contribution to the program and retire his #14. Thanks Mike for making Rutgers football matter.

OTWT Preseason Notebook #2

OTWT home office is a buzz as ESPN 360 is up and running that means more preseason games for the second installment of the preseason notebook.

• After a terrible Champions League Final United's Anderson looks like he is going to grow up a little.
• He might not be Ronnie, but few are, Valencia might be better then people think.
• Watching United vs. Boca Game, it looks like Rooney might be playing in a role similar to Totti's at Roma. That creative player between the forwards and the midfielders.
• Everton is still Everton and that means that they are just solid, so solid.
• After watching Milan in the Audi Cup, I can only say one thing they are terrible. I would be shocked if they qualified for the Champions League next year.
• Why do I have this feeling that Gibson is going to have a huge roll for United this season.
• Munich looked to be a team that is deep enough to make a run to Champions League Final.
• Ever time Michael Owen goes down I hold my breath, cause he could always be out for a while.
• Watching the Ajax and Atl. Madrid game and am wondering if Martin Jol is going to wear a hat all season like he did last year, when he was in Germany.
• The Barca kids are amazing. Its like the football factory never stops.
• Sometimes I think that Wenger knows something that no one else knows.
• Wenger needs to find more playing time for Jack Wilshere. He was super impressive during Arsenal game vs. Rangers.
• What is a more valuable preseason Cup to win the Peace Cup or the Emirates Cup.
• Villa's Peace Cup win could give them the confidence to get off to a good start in EPL.

Fashion Disaster

I know they are not as bad as Newcastle United yellow look, but Readings neon green road kit might rank right up there. The Royals unveiled them today when they played Chelski in a friendly. Neon green letter on a white shirt and neon green shorts, just screams classy.