Dana Wessel works at Go963 FM in Minneapolis and formerly worked at Enterprise Rent-A-Car under their excellent corporate structure where *they* gave *him* the tools to be his own boss.
Welcome back, Nuclear Warheads!
Kind of an odd weekend in the Premier League with the FA Cup finals taking place. I only took a look at one PL match (bet you can't guess what it is) and touched on the FA Cup semifinals. There really is only one match of interest in the league this week. I don't plan on watching Manchester City/West Ham, do you? OK, fine. I'll probably watch it. But that doesn't mean I wanted to write anything about it.
Onto the matches!
No. 1: Chelsea vs Manchester United at Stamford Bridge
When: Saturday at 11:30AM on Big Boy NBC
Last year: Chelsea won at Stamford Bridge last year 3-1 behind a hat trick from Samuel Eto'o, of all people. Chicharito had the lone goal for United.
Ahhh, Chelsea vs Manchester United. A fixture that will always have a soft spot in my heart. I love this rivalry. I have so many great memories from these match days, both good and bad.
But no time to wax nostalgic! You can usually bank on it being a big match whenever these two get together, even more so when they play this late in the year.
United head into Stamford Bridge with a full head of steam, hoping to get three points in what has basically been the room from Saw for them the last few years. United basically have a top four spot in the bag at this point. A win gives them the slightest faint of a glimmer of title hopes, but lets not get carried away. They would be doing Arsenal more of a solid if they can grab the full three points in a building Jose Mourinho has only lost in once.
Chelsea will be hoping to extend their lead on top of the league to 10 points. Arsenal are playing in the FA Cup semis this weekend but Chelsea have a game in-hand over the Gunners so they'll both be level on matches of Saturday. The Blues need 11 points in their final seven matches to guarantee the trophy even if Arsenal wins out.
Both Chelsea and United are pretty beat up right now, with Chelsea still missing forward Diego Costa. The good news for them is it sounds like Loic Remy is fit to start Saturday. He missed last week with a leg injury that forced Didier Drogba into the lineup. Now, my feelings on Drogba are well documented (I want to quit my job and drive around the world in an RV with him playing pickup soccer and sampling wings from all over the globe), but he didn't have the best match of his career a week ago. But to be fair, the 37-year old was not brought back to Chelsea to start matches. So no Drogba bashing!
United have like one or two healthy defenders and Jonny Evans is still serving his suspension for hocking a loogie. But that shouldn't concern them too much. Jose Mourinho obviously won't be releasing the attacking hounds in this one. We know his style at this point of the season. A draw is a win for him in a fixture like this. Defend, defend, defend.
A tie seems like a reasonable result here but who knows. I don't wanna make a prediction. Lets just hope both teams try their best and have fun. And Chelsea wins.
I am going to the Twins game Saturday so I plan on getting there early and watching from Hrbeks or Barrio. Come say hey if you see me.
FA Cup Semi-Finals
Saturday: Reading vs Arsenal at 11:20AM on Big Boy FOX
Sunday: Aston Villa vs Liverpool at 10:00AM on FOX Sports 1
How about this? Reading vs Arsenal kick off at 11:20AM on Big Boy Fox and Chelsea and Manchester United kick off at 11:30AM on Big Boy NBC. Two English soccer matches on at the same time on over-the-air television in America. What a world. Never in a million years did I think this would ever happen.
Pretty cool! Except for the god-awful, head-shaking scheduling from the FA. It is one thing to have these matches on the same day, let alone at the same time.
Oh well, nobody wants to watch Arsenal v Reading anyway. They are just saving us time.
I kid! I kid! The FA Cup semifinals are a blast. Wembley rocks and the crowd support with both teams equally represented on each end makes it feel like a big high school game. There really is no equivalent in the US. Imagine watching a Packers/Vikings game at a big-time neutral site with the stadium basically split down the middle with Purple and Gold on one side and Green and Cheese on the other. Actually, don't imagine that. It is a parking lot riot waiting to happen.
It appears we are heading for an Arsenal/Liverpool final here but it seemingly never works out that way. Whenever you can spot a dream final with four or eight teams left in the FA Cup it barely ever comes to fruition. Something goofy always happens. It is, as they say, the magic of the FA Cup.
One of these teams will lose simply because the soccer gods will do all the neutrals a favor. Imagine watching a final where the storylines are 'Can Arsenal repeat as Cup champions?' and 'Can Steven Gerrard push the sun back up in the sky and give Liverpool one last trophy in the last match in his storied Liverpool career?' Good lord. Gag me with a selfie stick. Come on underdogs! Us neutrals want a rooting interest in the final!
Alright, that will do it for this week. Supposed to be beautiful in Minnesota on Saturday. Bring the TV out on the deck and have yourself a pre-nooner cold one. You earned it.
Until next time, keep your cards yellow and your runs to the far post.
