The Visible Hand

I watched the Democratic Presidential Candidates' debate this morning on CBS (transcript here), fully intending to blog about it, but I found it so utterly uninteresting & annoying I decided not to. Sharpton & Kucinich have absolutely no place being there, and I was terribly disappointed in Dan Rather's inability to hit back at Sharpton when he whined about how Kerry & Edwards were receiving most of the moderators' attention & questions.

Sharpton said something silly about refusing to be window-dressing & claiming the media was trying to choose the candidates and impose a two-man race on America. Rather reminded him that voters have spoken in a number of states already, but Sharpton snapped back about Edwards only winning one state and placing 4th in 7 states. I wish Rather would have countered by noting Al's far less impressive finishing record, and had cited some numbers demonstrating just how far Dennis and Al are trailing Kerry & Edwards not just in delegates, but in total primary votes. Kucinich & Sharpton simply don't have a prayer, never did, and are just wasting everybody's time at these things.

That said, I did really enjoy one comment Sharpton made. One of the moderators asked Kerry about a study in the National Journal concluding he was the Senate's "most liberal" member. Kerry, rightly, said their classification system was silly & vastly oversimplified. He also highlighted several "conservative" positions of his--fiscal responsibility for one. Rather then posed this question to Sharpton:

RATHER: Reverend Sharpton, do you consider Senator Kerry a liberal?

SHARPTON: No. I think that anyone -- if you want to use George Bush as the definition of conservative, most of America is liberal now, because most of America would vote against Bush. (LAUGHTER) So in that broad definition, he is. But I think that compared to some of us, no. I think we've made ourselves clear on that. But I don't think -- "liberal" is going to lose this dirty name in 2004, because George Bush has so let down what conservative -- I remember when conservatives were respectable.

That was amusing.

But what really just enraged me was a moment near the end when Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times--who had been asking ridiculous questions throughout--asked this:

BUMILLER: Really fast, on a Sunday morning, President Bush has said that freedom and fear have always been at war, and God is not neutral between them. He's made quite clear in his speeches that he feels God is on America's side. Really quick, is God on America's side?

KERRY: Well, God will -- look, I think -- I believe in God, but I don't believe, the way President Bush does, in invoking it all the time in that way. I think it is -- we pray that God is on our side, and we pray hard. And God has been on our side through most of our existence.

BUMILLER: Senator?

EDWARDS: Well, there's a wonderful story about Abraham Lincoln during the middle of the Civil War bringing in a group of leaders, and at the end of the meeting one of the leaders said, "Mr. President, can we pray, can we please join in prayer that God is on our side?" And Abraham Lincoln's response was, "I won't join you in that prayer, but I'll join you in a prayer that we're on God's side."

I mean, really, does she read her questions off a fax from the RNC? What an inane question. I was extremely impressed with Edwards' answer, however, as there's no way I could have stopped from laughing at or hurling obscenities at Bumiller. And I think that's about what her question deserved.
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Absolutely fantastic match today. Arsenal scored 2 goals inside the first three and a half minutes--indeed, on their first two moves forward.

The first was just gorgeous. Pires sent a beautiful crossfield pass to find Ljungberg wide open on the right. Lauren made a fine overlapping run, drawing away a defender and allowing Freddie to penetrate into the box. Freddie dished it off to Thierry Henry, who held it up for a moment and played it back to Freddie. Ljungberg cracked the ball across the face of the goal and Pires just beat a Charlton defender to it and stabbed it home. One minute & 35 seconds in. It was his 50th for Arsenal, and he looked ecstatic.

With Arsenal's very next attack forward, Edu, I believe, released Vieira down the left with a lovely pass. Vieira looked up, saw Henry unbelievably open in the six yard box and crossed in. Henry had all the time in the world. He controlled with his right foot, and banged in a shot with his left foot as two Charlton defenders desperately closed in on him. That's the image above.

For the rest of the first half, I had the feeling Arsenal might knock in 5 or 6. At halftime the statistics were sick--we had 67% of the possession, and 7 Shots on Target to Charlton's 0.

The 2nd half was a different story. Charlton started brightly--I think Arsenal felt like the match was already done & dusted--and posed a few decent threats. Then, in the 60th minute Lauren chopped down Paulo Di Canio just outside & to the left of our box. Claus Jensen curled in a beautiful free kick that hit the back of the net courtesy of a deflection off the near post. Lehmann hardly moved. He did take a stutter-step in the right direction, and then pulled up, either realizing it was a lost cause or believing it was wide. I sincerely hope it was the former.

Immediately afterward, Arsenal seemed stung into action and could very well have scored twice in the next two minutes. Pires played a brilliant through ball to Henry, who lashed a shot toward goal that Kiely just managed to save with an outstretched leg. Seconds later, Vieira had a wide open header off a Bergkamp free kick and his firmly struck header flew just wide of the near post.

Wenger brought on Jose Reyes for Bergkamp and Gilberto for Freddie in the 73rd minute. As I had hoped, Wenger started Edu following his 2-goal Champions' League performance, and the Vieira-Edu partnership in central midfield was again outstanding. Edu's tackling & disruptive play was very good, but even better was his quick distribution, helping turn defense into attack with lightning speed.

Still, a Charlton equaliser looked likely, and the match was played at a frantic, up-and-down the pitch pace. And Arsenal survived a real scare in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, after Jonatan Johansson's bicycle kick from outside the box beat Lehmann but crashed into the foot of the post. Cygan reached the ball just ahead of a Charlton attacker and cleared--starting an Arsenal counterattack that itself nearly ended in a goal. Reyes & Cole were 2v1, and Cole found Henry streaking down the left. Henry then crossed to Gilberto who leaped high and sent a powerful header just wide of the far post.

Moments later the whistle blew and Arsenal had held on. It was a wonderful match to watch, even if it sent my pulse racing more than I might have liked. Even better news was that Fulham held Man Utd to a draw in West London, with American (& former Columbus Crew star) Brian McBride providing the assist for Luis Boa Morte to equalise.

Ferguson's frustration shows (PhilCole/GettyImages)

That means Arsenal have a 9 pt lead over both Chelsea & Utd, with 11 games to go. Although level on points with Utd, Chelsea are actually in 2nd due to a superior goal difference. Ferguson had decided to rest American keeper Tim Howard along with Ruud van Nistelrooy & Ryan Giggs--I'm sure he regrets that decision now. (--Update--
Yep, here's a photo of Fergie. Looks like he's unhappy. Brilliant.)

Next up for Arsenal their FA Cup Quarterfinal match at Portsmouth next weekend, and then Celta Vigo at Highbury in the 2nd leg of our Champions' League knock-out contest. Arsenal have now won 7 straight in the League, with wins over Chelsea in the FA Cup & Vigo in the Champions' League sandwiched in there too. Hopefully the boys'll make it 2 more wins over the next week and a half.
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Like many Liverpool fans & observers (mind you, I'm among the latter), I think Gerard Houllier's reign as manager needs to come to an end. His transfer dealings have been terrible & his tactics produce mind-numblingly boring football. Worse, he's not getting results. Supporters love their team to win in style, but sacrificing style for wins & trophies isn't a bad trade-off. But no style & no trophies--especially for a club as storied as Liverpool--should be a recipe for managerial unemployment.

But this is too far:

The Frenchman arrived at the club's Melwood [training] complex to find slogans smeared on the wall - "Hope you die of Aids Houllier," read one.

That's pretty nasty.

Unfortunately, Houllier makes an ass of himself later in that very article. Responding to reports of criticism from former Liverpool stars, he sneers

"Ian St John always comes out with stuff like that. Being given lessons in management by someone who was in charge at Portsmouth and Motherwell makes me laugh."

Tough words from the bigshot who couldn't even get France qualified for the World Cup in 1994--you may recall they won the Cup just 4 years later. Funnier still though is the fact that just 4 days ago Houllier's Liverpool was knocked out of the FA Cup by Portsmouth! What an idiot.

Lastly, looking at his team's recent performances, place in the standings (26 pts behind Arsenal) & some of his personnel decisions, it's pretty clear he does need some lessons in management. Hopefully he'll be fired soon, & then he'll have plenty of time on his hands to ponder his glory days leading the French national team to abject failure while laughing at those poor fools who could only manage Portsmouth.
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As I predicted near the end of this post the other day, Manchester United's injury-depleted backline is threatening to derail their season, and last night's 2-1 loss in Portugual to Porto in the Champions' League was exactly what I had been expecting/hoping for. When forced to draft wee Gary Neville into central defense, you know you've got problems. Of course, because Porto failed to convert their dominance into more goals, Utd still have a very good chance to progress, as a 1-0 win in England in two weeks will send them through, thanks to their away goal last night.

No malice in this? (PhilCole/GettyImages)

In any event, I wanted to post this picture to the right of Roy Keane stamping on Porto's goalkeeper, and include Ferguson's comments about the incident.

There was no malice in the incident, it is not Roy's style to do anything like that. The goalkeeper made more of it than he should have done. Certainly he stood on the lad but I don't know whether he could have got out of the way. I can understand why the linesman flagged but the keeper made a meal of it.

Judge for yourself. Seeing the incident in live action is even worse, and I think it's pretty clear Keane intended to step on him. It was the end of a match in which Utd were schooled, and Keane was frustrated. And of course, malice is exactly Keane's style--this is, after all, the guy who admitted in his autobiography that he intentionally injured another player with a cruel & late tackle, and served a lengthy suspension for "bringing the game into disrepute" by his admission.

And Ferguson displayed his utter lack of class even more clearly by screaming at the Porto manager after the match, and apparently refused to shake his hand. You'd think the manager of the player who got stepped on might react angrily, but it beggars belief that the manager of the guilty player is the one to blow a fuse--you think that manager might want to apologize for his captain's obvious attempt to hurt an opposition player. That would require class. But it's not Fergie's "style to do anything like that."

In any event, I like the Porto manager's response to all this:

I understand why he is a bit emotional. He has some top players in the world and they should be doing a lot better than that. You would be really sad if your team gets as clearly dominated as that by an opponent who has been built on maybe 10% of the budget.

That's fantastic.
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Its employees are "leaking" money. According to this article in the Washington Post, dishonest parking lot attendants may have been pocketing roughly $1million each year. Metro's 52 parking facilities, which are full throughout the work week, generate about $15 million a year, 70% of which is paid using electronic SmarTrip cards, which make tampering & "leaks" virtually impossible. For cash transcations, however, the parking lot attendants can simply open the gate manually & pocket the payment, without recording the transaction.

I'm sure this isn't fully or even largely responsible for the proposed rate hikes, but it certainly doesn't generate confidence in Metro's managerial acumen, especially when they've been warned about the potential for this problem since 1994. And of course installing new equipment to prevent this kind of theft will cost some $600,000. As far as its outward appearance goes, the Metro is wonderful--spotless stations & clean cars--but its management obviously needs some improvement.
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According to this article at the Post, USC's star sophomore receiver Mike Williams may enter the NFL draft following Maurice Clarett's victory in his antitrust suit against the league (which I blogged about here & here).

Apparently Williams is 6'5" & 230 lbs, which makes me think he's physically ready for the pros, and the article projects him as a likely top 10 or top 15 pick. This all just makes the NFL's indefensible position perfectly clear.

Obviously some young players are considered quite likely to succeed in the NFL, but would have been ruled ineligible pre-Clarett, and teams are going to scramble to draft such young talented players. The rule forbidding their entry into the draft was obviously intended not to protect poor, innocent young players from the scary wilderness of the NFL, but to protect the NFL's free feeder system. And to protect NFL teams from being forced to scout more players & to insulate them from risking high draft picks on younger (but potentially hugely talented) players--which of course came at the expense of these young players the rule was supposedly protecting. That is, forcing them to remain in an "amateur"-in-name-only minor league, risking injury and forever forfeiting their big professional payday.

I hope Williams enters the draft & enjoys a superb rookie season.

--In other sports news, Manchester United lost their Champions' League match in Portugal, losing 2-1 to Porto. Plus, Roy Keane received a straight red card for stamping on Porto's goalie in the closing minutes, meaning he'll miss Utd's next 3 matches (if they're still alive in the competition).

Good. He's a thug.
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In the recently released Economic Report of the President there was some discussion that seemingly opened the path toward classifying jobs in Fast Food as Manufacturing Jobs. The point, of course, would be to disguise the drastic damage inflicted upon the country's manufacturing sector--which is, of course, the typical M.O. of the Bush Administration. Got a problem? Rather than propose policies or programs designed, you know, to like solve it, they wrack their brains to figure out ways to hide it, or deny its existence or importance.

--Global warming? Well, we know this one scientician-type fella, and he don't think it's no problem at all.
--Approaching fiscal train wreck? Make my giant tax cuts permanent, and, uh, somehow magically the deficit will be halved (but please don't remind us about all that stuff going on in Iraq or Afghanistan!).
--Bleak economic picture? Hey, let's jigger around with the numbers! That'll solve things!

Anyhow, Michigan Democratic Congressman John Dingell wrote a very funny letter to Greg Mankiw, the chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. Go read it. It's short and very amusing.
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Arsenal's Brazilian Edu scored 2 goals, while Celta Vigo's Brazilian Edu scored only 1, and the Gunners finally won in Spain (match reports here & here, photos here). It was a thrilling match, finishing 3-2, although its excitement arose largely from Arsenal's shambolic defending.

Vigo scored both their goals off headers via set pieces--the first a free kick (wrongly awarded I felt) crossed in by former-Gunner Silvinho, and the second from a corner kick. They could easily have scored another--early in the second half with the score 1-1--but Alexander Mostovoi's header struck the crossbar with Lehmann beaten.

Aside from some very sloppy aerial defending, Arsenal generally played a solid match. Henry was again fairly anonymous, although his assist for Pires' winner was brilliant. He also missed a wide open net early in the 2nd half, but he had his moments. The Gunners created few chances in the first half, largely because the team seemed determined to build & attack down the right. But Lauren & Ljungberg were utterly ineffective; their crosses, if they managed to get them off, were wayward, and neither seemed able to beat Silvinho to the byline for pullbacks.

This was paired with significant defensive weakness on Arsenal's left--Gael Clichy looked very much like an 18 year-old thrown in a pressure-cooker. He played a magnificent game Saturday against Chelsea, but he was skinned at least three or four times in rapid succession tonight. Combine Arsenal's pathetic aerial defense with numerous opportunities for wide open crosses from the wing and the result was nearly fatal. Clichy was replaced late on by Cygan, who actually did an excellent job.

In the second half, Arsenal worked the ball down the left much more often, with Pires, Henry & Edu combining especially well. Edu's 2nd goal was fabulous (and scored from the left side), a fine piece of individual effort that saw him dribble through 3 Vigo defenders before curling a beautiful ball into the top right corner of the net. The Vigo 'keeper never even moved, and never had a prayer of saving it. What made it most impressive was that Edu hit it with his right, and far weaker, foot. If Wenger returns him to the bench when Gilberto regains fitness it'll be a crime. He showed tonight just what a valuable contributor he can be--he was a demon in midfield, flying in on tackles, disrupting Vigo's attacks & distributing the ball forward well. And, of course, he obviously added a tremendous punch in attack as well.

Given the away goal format, Vigo need to win the return match in London by two goals (unless they win 4-3, or 5-4, etc). So far this year Arsenal have only allowed 2 goals at home twice--in beating Newcastle 3-2, and in the 3-0 loss to Inter Milan in the first match of the Champions' League campaign. And Arsenal have scored in every home match save two--a 0-0 draw with Fulham, and that 3-0 loss to Inter. So Arsenal are very well placed to reach the final 8 of the competition. There's still a lot of work left to do, but the boys put themselves in an excellent position to advance with their performance tonight.

Lastly, the Bayern Munich-Real Madrid match was also on in the bar, and it was a very entertaining affair. Madrid survived by the skin of their teeth for the first half, as Munich could easily have scored 3 or 4 but for a combo of less than perfect finishing & outstanding goalkeeping from Iker Casillas. Munich finally did score courtesy of a Roy Makaay header, but Oliver Kahn somehow inexplicably fumbled a Roberto Carlos freekick over the line to let Madrid earn an undeserved equalizer.

That was particularly annoying given the enormous & enormously obnoxious Madrid contingent in the bar. Several loud drunk buffoons screamed and beat tables anytime Madrid strung more than 2 or 3 passes together, and even applauded a few atrocious tackles that earned them yellow cards. One clearly wasted fratboy-looking kid even screamed that the next person to clap for Munich was "gonna get knocked out." But if Madrid play as badly as they did today when they host the return match, they'll be the ones knocked out.

PS I forgot one thing. Yes, it was very cold in Munich, and everyone was wearing long-sleeve jerseys, and many were wearing gloves. Some fans like to mock those wussy gloves-wearing wimps, but I think that's silly. It's damn cold out. But cold enough to wear sweat-pants under your shorts? Because that's what Ronaldo did tonight in Munich (see it here), and he looked like an absolute tool. It didn't look like he was wearing running tights either, his pants looked like full-on thick cotton sweat-pants. He had his shorts on over them and his shinguards/socks over them & pulled up to about his knee, which left exposed several inches inches of large & bulky sweat-pants. I've seen goalies occasionally wear sweat-pants, which makes sense as they don't run about all that much and they need to keep warm. But a striker?

Then again, given his haircut during the 2002 World Cup, which broke every record in the book for ugly & goofy, I shouldn't have been too surprised.
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At long last, it's official--Arsenal will have a brand-spankin' new home for the 2006-07 season, the 60,000-seater Ashburton Grove stadium. All the loans are finally in place & confirmed, and construction work has begun. According to Arsenal's official announcement linked above, the stadium will be built under a £220m fixed price contract by Sir Robert McAlpine. To the right is an artist's impression (linked from the BBC).

This announcement isn't any huge surprise--Wenger wouldn't have splashed approx. £20m on Jose Reyes last month if the Stadium funding remained in any great doubt. Still, it's very, very good news. Highbury only seats some 38,000, and the extra revenue generated from Ashburton Grove will be essential to retaining our current highly talented squad & ensuring Arsenal can continue to attract & pay top-level talent. Arsenal have a section of their website wholly devoted to the stadium here. The new site is within blocks of the old & will have room for state-of-the-art training facilities & academy, while the old stadium is going to be renovated & turned into luxury housing (with the pitch transformed into a central courtyard).

As for Tuesday's Champions' League match against Celta Vigo in Spain, the big news is that Vieira's fit & ready to play. After John Terry's reckless tackle on him Saturday, Vieira's knee--the same one injured earlier this year & which sidelined him for 2 months--became swollen, but thankfully it's gone down. Freddie Ljungberg may also figure, but unfortunately Gilberto & Ashley Cole will both miss out. Hopefully 18 year-old Gael Clichy will duplicate Saturday's oustanding & polished performance as Cole's replacement once again.

I imagine Edu & Vieira will continue in the center of midfield--they were magnificent Saturday--with Pires out left. If Freddie's fit he'll be out right. If he's not, with Parlour & Gilberto both injured, the options are few. 16 year-old Spaniard Cesc seems a long shot, 19 year-old David Bentley slightly less so. Wenger could also slot Reyes wide right & start Thierry & Nwankwo Kanu up front, or he could move Kolo Toure out right & use a central defensive pairing of Sol & Cygan, but I hope he won't be tempted to mess with the Sol/Kolo pairing that's compiled the Premiership's best defensive record. According to this preview at Soccernet, Ljungberg should start, so hopefully none of these scenarios will come to pass.

Arsenal have a horrible record in Spain recently, losing on their last four visits. But Celta Vigo are suffering through a dismal season, spending most of the year in the relegation zone. A change of coaches produced a minor upswing--three consecutive wins--but that ended Saturday when they lost 2-0 at home to Malaga. Despite their poor league form, their squad is full of talent, and their left-back, Brazilian Silvinho, is a former Gunner, sold in 2001 after Ashley Cole's successful emergence from the Youth squad.

It should be a good game, although I confess I'll be keeping at least one eye on the huge match between Bayern Munich & Real Madrid (champions in 2001 & 2002, respectively). I'd love to see Bayern dump 'em out, but their form in the German league lately has been well below par. Still, they have a habit of being Madrid's bogey team, and obviously that can have an effect (see Chelsea v Arsenal). Expect a post tomorrow evening after I catch the matches.

Lastly, a bit of unfortunate news for Manchester United: Mikael Silvestre is set to miss three weeks with ankle ligament damage following Saturday's match against Leeds United. With Rio Ferdinand serving his lengthy ban for missing his drug test, both members of Utd's first choice central pairing are out. Roy Keane may even be moved back from midfield to play in defense for their Champions' League match Wednesday against Porto. In Rio's absence, Utd have been leaking goals, and this Silvestre injury could just derail both their Premiership & Champions' League dreams if Porto take advantage Wednesday. I love to see Utd lose, but it's a shame if injury plays a prominent role.

-- UPDATE --
There's a neat collection of past & present players' reactions to the official Ashburton Grove announcement available here, in the Guardian.
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After drawing 1-1 with Portsmouth at home a week ago in the FA Cup, Liverpool lost the replay 1-0 on the south coast. Portsmouth now host Arsenal in the Quarterfinals. Michael Owen even missed a second-half penalty for Liverpool, although it sounds like the penalty decision was controversial so perhaps justice was served in the end. Earlier in the second half, the referee had awarded a penalty for Liverpool, only to be convinced by his linesman that he'd picked out the wrong player guilty of a handball (apparently, it was obviously 'Pool's Milan Baros at fault).

Nine minutes after Owen's miss, Portsmouth substitute Richard Hughes scored the goal that sent 'Pool packing. I wonder if it might turn out to have been the goal that sends manager Gerard Houllier packing as well...
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He's running this fall. Watching him on Meet The Press right now, but it's actually rather amusing. He's ranting and raving, and generally sonding like a lunatic. Washington DC is corporate-occupied territory. And he continues to maintain that, in the phrase of 2000, there's not a dime's worth of difference between Democrats & Republicans (his new platitude is this: "it's a question between both parties flunking, Tim: one with a D-, the Republicans; one with a D+, the Democrats). He even just argued that Al Gore would have invaded Iraq.

Tim Russert just played the funny little anti-Nader ad available here. Russert's also thrown up a few charts showing Bush & Gore's vote tallies in select states in 2000, alongside Nader's, exclaiming, "Look, look, you threw the election to Bush!"

The "Liberal Intelligentsia" seems to be another Nader bogeyman, while The Nation is betraying its principles by urging him not to run. My hope is that enough progressives have learned from last time, and his ego-trip-induced candidacy will have little effect in November.

Full transcript is available here.
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All over. The 2nd half wasn't nearly as entertaining as the first, but that's largely because we played 30 minutes 11 v 10 after Eidur Gudjohnsen was justly sent off. He'd picked up a yellow late in the first half for a clear dive in the box, and just before the hour mark he committed another clear yellow offence. Gael Clichy swooped in with a great interception & took off upfield. Eidur cynically cut him down, kicking out his ankles. Clear yellow, see ya Eidur.

Chelsea had opened the 2nd half just as they began the first half, and Arsenal were on the back foot. Chelsea won a flurry of corners and free kicks and sent a bunch of good crosses in, but everytime Arsenal just managed to clear the danger. Play was evening up and then came the dismissal, after which Chelsea looked totally shell-shocked. It was sad really.

At one point, Arsenal were just playing a game of keep-away, quite brilliantly, stroking the ball about the park for at least 2 minutes. Probably some 60 or 70 passes, until finally John Terry slammed into Vieira late, clearly out of frustration and was booked. Chelsea picked up several other bookings largely out of frustration. Their play looked tentative, nobody seemed willing to take any initiative. I've always liked Claudio Ranieri, but this is two weeks running now where his side have just laid down & died, failing to put up any kind of a fight.

Thierry looked slightly better in the second half, and he seemed at full speed. It was just his timing and movement that seemed a bit off. So hopefully he'll be back in the swing of things in time to hit a hat trick Tuesday. The other great news this morning is that Leeds managed a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, meaning we're now 7 pts clear of Manchester United and 9 pts clear of Chelsea. 12 matches to go, though, and Arsenal had a similar lead at roughly this time last year and suffered through a rocky patch while Utd reeled off a string of victories. Arsenal are playing too well to let that happen again though I think.

The boys played an amazing game today. Chelsea's opening was ideal. They were poised to run all over Arsenal, but they held their ground, battled back and took control. Vieira atoned for his early mistake with a great forward run & well taken goal. Gael Clichy was fantastic filling in for the injured Ashley Cole, Gilberto played very well, at his disruptive best. Bergkamp was full of tricks, and his ball to Vieira was a beauty.

We had three very tough matches in a row--Chelsea at home in the Cup, away in the League, and away to Celta Vigo in the Champions' League. So far, it's 2 for 2, and let's hope come Tuesday it's 3 for 3.

-- PS Hat tip to Arseblog for pointing out this great article on Kolo Toure in the Independent. Kolo's been massive this season, dramatically improving our defense. He was very solid again today. It's the latest of several pretty good profiles of surely our, and quite possibly the Premiership's, Young Player of the Year, and the article's worth a read.
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A nightmare opening for Arsenal. Vieira carelessly spills an easy pass in midfield, Geremi picks it up, scampers down the left, sends in a cross that Mutu flicks on & Eidur Gudjohnsen (very loosely marked by Gael Clichy) slams it home.

27 seconds. That's all it took.

But after conceding that goal (and withstanding a further spell of early pressure), Arsenal roared back to score 2 goals in the next 20 minutes. Vieira made up for his blunder by scoring the first after 14 minutes. Pires knicked the ball of Makelele in the center circle, found Vieira. Vieira fed the ball to Dennis Bergkamp and sprinted upfield. Nobody picked up his run (largely because Pires made a brilliant run across the box that distracted Gallas), and Dennis threaded a lovely ball back to him, and Vieira smashed it first-time past Neil Sullivan. 1-1.

After John Terry opened a cut over Bergkamp's eye, Arsenal were temporarily down to 10 men, but were still bossing things. Then, in the 21st minute, Thierry Henry curled in a beautiful corner kick. Sullivan tried to claim it & utterly missed. Gudjohnsen's clearing header weakly hit Edu, who sweeped the ball home at the far post. 2-1.

A horrible start, but Arsenal have so far demonstrated enormous character and have totally reversed the momentum. It looked like Chelsea might hit 4 or 5 past us during those first few minutes, but Arsenal battled back and firmly wrested control of the match over the next quarter of an hour. Near the end of the half, Chelsea were just resorting to blatant dives around the area, as Wayne Bridge escaped a booking for his just outside it, but Gudjohnsen justly picked up a yellow card for his hilarious dive onto Kolo Toure.

All told, very impressive stuff. Gilberto & Edu both have looked outstanding, as has Bergkamp. Thierry is clearly have an off game, and I wonder if he's not actually fully fit. He's hardly been involved, and his passes have been way, way off. Hopefully he'll come out better in the second half, and certainly I hope he'll have recovered in time for Tuesday's Champions' League clash against Celta Vigo.

In any event, there's still 45 minutes to play, and the way the first half went, there's likely to be plenty of action. I'll be back & blogging after the final result.
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Amid a generally interesting article discussing Japan's cell-phone mania & all kinds of neat innovations comes this anecdote about how cell phones have been positively changing University classes:

In Kyoto, the cell phone culture has generated a new type of university class. Students in more than 52 courses ranging from math to welfare studies at the city's Bukkyo University almost never speak aloud.

Rather, they e-mail questions and comments from their cell phones to their professors while in class, and professors answer orally.

"Students can be very shy, and the anonymousness of the system helped them to overcome their shyness," said Kiyoharu Hara, assistant professor of sociology and a mastermind of the university's unusual class communication. "Keitai mail matched the Japanese culture of silently conveying meaning."

I find that just a little strange, and self-defeating. I mean, they're going to need interpersonal verbal communication skills at some point--they're not going to be able to use text-messaging to participate in board room meetings, trials or negotiations, or to deal with customers & co-workers, they're going to have to talk!

Anyhow, of all the anecdotes, I think this is the coolest:

Cell phones also have dramatically improved efficiency in marketing. Restaurants advertise immediate discounts on Web sites when they have a slow night, offering price cuts of as much as 15 percent to fill seats with keitai bargain hunters.

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Turns out it was an antitrust case after all, and that apparently the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921 (PSA) is just a rather obscure antitrust statute, relating wholly to agriculture and directed at curbing the power of big meat packers. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today (which I can't link to, as I read it on paper and they're a pay-site), this was the first class action suit ever heard under the PSA. My hometown paper, the Lincoln Journal Star, also ran a pretty good article on it today, and I learned the plaintiffs' attorney, David Domina, is an Omaha lawyer who bid unsuccessfully in 1986 to be the state's Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

After glancing at the statute, my guess is these are the provisions at issue:

It shall be unlawful for any packer or swine contractor with respect to livestock, meats, meat food products, or livestock products in unmanufactured form, or for any live poultry dealer with respect to live poultry, to:
(a) Engage in or use any unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or deceptive practice or device; or
...
(d) Sell or otherwise transfer to or for any other person, or buy or otherwise receive from or for any other person, any article for the purpose or with the effect of manipulating or controlling prices, or of creating a monopoly in the acquisition of, buying, selling, or dealing in, any article, or of restraining commerce; or
(e) Engage in any course of business or do any act for the purpose or with the effect of manipulating or controlling prices, or of creating a monopoly in the acquisition of, buying, selling, or dealing in, any article, or of restraining commerce.
7 U.S.C. § 192

The PSA was passed to combat the influence of the 5 largest beef processors in the 1920s; today, the market is dominated by a "Big 4," who control over 80% of the market, far beyond the influence the "Big 5" wielded in the 1920s. Tyson, the largest, and two others are named in this suit, and in two similar suits awaiting trial.

The conduct at issue is the practice of futures trading, a common tactic to defuse risk & to promote stability in costs/revenue. That is, cattlemen enter futures contracts with a beef processor to deliver cattle to slaughter in the future, and in essence "lock in" a price (often using formula-based futures contracts, in which the period's average price determines what the processor pays the cattlemen). When prices rise, the cattlemen have "lost," in that they could have fetched a higher price by waiting & selling on the open market later. But if prices plummet (say, after a Mad Cow outbreak), such contracts help insulate cattlemen from rock-bottom prices (and the beef processors have "lost").

There's absolutely nothing wrong with futures contracts. Indeed, they're often a very sensible means of managing risk, particularly in volatile & unpredictable markets. If that's how cattlemen & beef processors want to cope with their risks, fine.

The problem is the bargaining positions here are far, far from equal. The Big 4 make such heavy use of futures contracts that, according to the Journal-Star, it's "estimated those companies already own as much as 35 percent of the cattle headed for market on a given day." With their huge "captive supplies" and giant market shares, the Big 4 wield enormous market power and can successfully manipulate the price of cattle they buy via auctions on the open market--or at least that was the jury's conclusion.

Mr Domina, the plaintiff's attorney, is apparently planning to petition the Judge to require that Tyson buy 90% of its cattle on the open market. Although I think there's clearly much to dislike about the Big 4 and their practices, Domina's solution seems a bit heavy-handed. Ideally, back in the 80s & early 90s when the industy experienced massive consolidation, the Government might have blocked some of these mergers that created the Big 4.

In any event, this whole mess is far from over. The Judge must still approve the verdict, after which a second trial would determine how to remedy Tyson's practices. Furthermore, according to the Wall Street Journal, during trial the Judge "openly worried that the plaintiffs would want him to limit the marketing choices of ranchers who prefer to enter into contractual arrangements with Tyson." While Domina's solution is far from perfect, it seems clear to me the real culprits responsible for limiting ranchers' choices are the gigantic processors, and the Government watchdogs that stood by while they gobbled up all their competitors.

I'm sure it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

-- UPDATE --
Friday, 20 Feb. 2004
The Lincoln Journal-Star ran another good piece discussing the case today, here, in an editorial.
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Think again--Spaniards may have us beaten in that department.

According to this story in The Guardian, a group of Valencia fans are suing the referree who awarded Real Madrid a laughable penalty deep into injury in their match Sunday in Madrid. Valencia had been leading 1-0 and the penalty allowed Madrid to earn a draw, maintaining their slender lead over Valenica in the standings. Even the player "fouled," Raul, didn't appear to be appealing for a penalty, as it was fairly obvious he'd merely fallen on his own. The outrage was near universal, even among the typically fanatically pro-Madrid newspapers.

Nonetheless, it was pretty much par for the course with Madrid. Spain's Prime Minister, known to be a big Madrid fan, was in attendance, and Madrid have a lengthy history of receiving special favors from government bigshots (not to say necessarily that happened here). Franco loved Madrid, and in the 30s even had the directors of rival FC Barcelona killed. It was pretty well known throughout the 60s & 70s that referrees blatantly favored them, and even after Franco's passing, Madrid have retained their aura of favoritism. A few years back, the club looked on the decline, hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, while a successful Barcelona captured two league titles. Suddenly, the city government of Madrid agreeed to buy Madrid's old training ground in center city Madrid for an astronomical sum--more than enough to settle their debts, build a brand-spankin' new complex outside the city, and fund a spate of purchasing that's seen Madrid land huge stars like Luis Figo (prised away from arch-rivals Barcelona), Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo & David Beckham. I know little about real estate prices in Madrid, but there were plenty of rumors that the price Madrid fetched may well have been a wee bit above the market rate.

In any event, although I imagine the Valencia fans' suit will be laughed out of court, I'm pleased to think that American sports fans haven't quite sunk to that level just yet.
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When I first saw this story, on TheStreet.com, I thought I'd missed an interesting antitrust case in an industry I tend to follow somewhat closely, both because I'm from Nebraska and because I no longer eat beef due partially to the sort of health concerns Eric Schlosser outlined in Fast Food Nation and also for generally (heart) health reasons. In any event, TheStreet.com article opened:

A federal jury in Alabama returned a $1.28 billion verdict against Tyson Foods on Tuesday in a class-action suit about alleged price-fixing in the cattle industry.

That sounded like an antitrust case to me, but when I saw a story filed later in the Washington Post, I learned otherwise:

At issue in the case are the kinds of long-term contracts that Tyson and other beef packers are using more frequently to purchase live cattle. The contracts allow Tyson to order cattle to be delivered at a future date, to be paid for upon delivery. As in other commodity markets, such long-term agreements smooth out price fluctuations for processors and give the producers a predictable stream of income.

But plaintiffs in the case argued that Tyson used long-term contracts for days or weeks at a time, staying out of the open market. The long stretches of inactivity by the industry's biggest buyer would cause the price of cattle to fall, sometimes precipitously, plaintiffs argued, at which point the company would buy again, benefiting from the lower prices.

"An inactive market involving a significantly reduced number of sales always yields lower prices, whether you're selling a perishable commodity or your house," said David A. Domina, attorney for the plaintiffs.

The jury found that such practices violated the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, which forbids meatpackers from depressing prices, intentionally or not. It calculated that the 30,000 cattle producers who sold cattle to IBP between February 1994 and October 2002 lost about $1.28 billion because of the company's actions.

The four largest beef processors control 80% of the maket, and Tyson is the largest of the four. If the article's description of the 1921 Act's standard is accurate (and it does seem somewhat simplistic to me; I'll try and check on it later), it's fairly easy to see how the jury arrived at its conclusion. The prices did drop, the Act doesn't require intent (although almost surely there was), and with more than 20% of the market share, Tyson's behavior surely exerts a sizable influence on prices.

In other beef industry news, I see the USDA is possibly guilty of distorting the circumstances surrounding the case of Mad Cow Disease recently discovered in the US. You might recall part of the controversy hinged on the fact that the infected cow was a "downer," which meant it couldn't walk. Just weeks before the discovery, Democrats had, again, tried to pass regulations barring such sick/injured cows from being slaughtered (as is common practice in most other countries, due to the likelihood of their being infected with Mad Cow), and, of course, the beef industry-supported GOP resisted.

After the infection hit headlines, Republicans rushed to enact a ban on slaughtering downer cattle, but insisted that was sufficient. As the article notes:

The UDSA has said that recently expanded surveillance and sampling of downer and other sick animals is sufficient, while importers of American beef in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere have said it is not. In addition, an international panel of experts created by the USDA concluded earlier this month that the American surveillance system was not broad enough, but the recommendation was hotly rejected by American cattlemen...
For the USDA, identifying the animal as a downer allowed the agency to say its surveillance system -- which focuses on visibly sick animals -- was working. It also conveyed a reassuring message to the public that diseased meat could be readily identified and kept away from consumers.

Well, it now turns out the infected cow may well not have been a "downer," in which case the USDA's new move is clearly insufficient. Even worse, the USDA may have known it wasn't a downer:

The [Congressional] committee letter also introduced a Jan. 6 letter faxed by Ellestad to USDA officials in Boulder stating that the brainstem sample that tested positive for mad cow disease was not sent because the animal was a downer, but because of a preexisting contract that his business had with the USDA to provide a supply of brain tissue samples.

Davis and Waxman pointedly wrote that the Jan. 6 fax had not been released to Congress or the public, and concluded that "if it is confirmed the BSE-infected cow was not a downer, public confidence in USDA may suffer."

It's good to know that our federal regulatory agencies are doing everything they can to embrace minimalist measures designed to maintain industry profitability while ignoring any duty to protect our safety. And especially to learn that they're possibly lying about the situation so there wouldn't be a public outcry forcing the huge beef processors to implement any kind of meaningful testing system.
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Ashley Cole & Gilberto Silva were injured today in meaningless international friendly matches. Both are doubts for Saturday's big match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Further, these injuries come fresh upon the news that Ray Parlour will be out for a month after going off injured against Chelsea Sunday.

Gilberto picked up two knocks on his ankle and was stretchered off within 15 minutes in Brazil's match against Ireland. Cole lasted just 17 minutes before being forced off by a back strain. Gilberto's injury appears to be the more severe of the two, and he may miss the first leg of the Champions' League match in Spain against Celta Vigo.

All this makes me doubly glad Thierry & Sol pulled out of France and England's games with minor injuries--I'm sure both will have fully recovered to face Chelsea Saturday. Based on the amount of abuse I've heard fellow Arsenal fans direct at Gilberto, I'm sure some feel secretly happy that his absence will likely give Edu his big chance to step in, shine & perhaps finally unseat his Brazilian compatriot in the starting XI.

Certainly Edu has played extremely well when given a chance, and we looked a much better team Sunday when he came on. Most importantly, his performance in what was arguably Arsenal's most important match of the last couple years--the 5-1 thrashing we gave Inter Milan in Italy--was simply outstanding, and bested only by Thierry Henry (who scored 2 & assisted 2). Edu himself grabbed a goal in that match, and his composure and control of midfield was absolutely crucial given Vieira's absence to injury.

But, despite all that (and even my own occasional confusion why he doesn't start more often), I think Gilberto performs an essential function for us and fully deserves the playing time Wenger gives him. We have the best defensive record in the league, and that's in large part thanks to Gilberto. His work hanging back, shielding the back four, harrassing & disrupting the opposition's attacking players is massively important but often underappreciated. His solid presence at the back has allowed Vieira to roam forward more often & contribute to the attack, as he did so tellingly Sunday when his beautiful thru ball set up Reyes' second goal.

I think Edu will deputise just fine--and indeed there's a good chance he'll use this opportunity to really shine--but all the same, I'll be wishing Gilberto a speedy recovery.

Lastly, in other [simply bizarre] Arsenal news, I saw this article in The Sun today: Call Me Mr Long, about Patrick Vieira, who is also, according to the article, known as La Grande Saucisse (the giant sausage). Only in Rupert Murdoch's Sun.
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As I've dicussed before (here & here, for example), the Bush administration often says & argues things at odds with the facts and scientific consensus. Well, scientists are now calling them on it (from the New York Times):

The Bush administration has deliberately and systematically distorted scientific fact in the service of policy goals on the environment, health, biomedical research and nuclear weaponry at home and abroad, a group of about 60 influential scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, said in a statement issued today...
"Other administrations have, on occasion, engaged in such practices, but not so systematically nor on so wide a front," the statement from the scientists said, adding that they believed the administration had "misrepresented scientific knowledge and misled the public about the implications of its policies."
...
Dr. Kurt Gottfried, an emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University who signed the statement and spoke in the conference call, said the administration had "engaged in practices that are in conflict with the spirit of science and the scientific method." Dr. Gottfried asserted that what he called "the cavalier attitude toward science" could place at risk the basis for the nation's long-term prosperity, health and military prowess.
...
"I don't see it as a partisan issue at all," said Russell Train, who served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, and who spoke in the conference call in support of the statement. "If it becomes that way I think it's because the White House chooses to make it a partisan issue," Mr. Train said.

Fox's article had perhaps the best quote however:

The Union of Concerned Scientists (search) contended in a report that "the scope and scale of the manipulation, suppression and misrepresentation of science by the Bush administration is unprecedented."

"We're not taking issue with administration policies. We're taking issue with the administration's distortion ... of the science related to some of its policies," said the group's president, Kurt Gottfried.

Hopefully that's a distinction that will sink in with journalists, and the public. That is, calling Bush's budget the bundle of lies & distortions that it is, isn't necessarily partisan and doesn't require journalists to go searching for that one economist out there willing to say he believes Bush's numbers. I guess Bush was serious when he said "you're either with us, or against us," and apparently the calculators are against us.
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Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan participated in a Washington Post Live Chat the other day. Here is one exchange:

Boston, Mass.: No matter what happens with Kerry or Iraq or anything else, Bush will rack up 55 to 60 percent in most of the deep south, plains, and moutain west. Just what is it, in your view, that makes Bush so attractive to the "heartland"? I am at a loss to understand the cultural attitudes of these voters.

Peggy Noonan: Well, that's a big question. Try this as part of the answer. Bush is the triumph of the seemingly average American man. He's normal. He thinks in a sort of common sense way. He speaks the language of business and sports and politics. You know him. He's not exotic. But if there's a fire on the block he'll run out and help. He'll direct the rig to the right house and count the kids coming out and say, "Where's Sally?" He's responsible. He's not an intellectual. Intellectuals start all the trouble in the world. And then when the fire comes they say, "I warned Joe about that furnace." And, "Does Joe have children?" And "I saw a fire once. It spreads like syrup. No, it spreads like explosive syrup. No, it's formidable and yet fleeting." When the fire comes they talk. Bush aint that guy. Republicans love the guy who aint that guy.

Another reader objected:

Kansas City, Mo.: Excuse me? "Bush is the triumph of the seemingly average American man." He used connections to bypass 500 others to get in the Guard, his father's friends helped him in the oil and baseball business, and he's in the White House thanks to people his dad appointed. So how is that average? Sounds a lot more like the triumph of the well-connected American man.

Peggy Noonan: Put your resentment away for a second and consider this. There's a funny thing about Bush. He started life with all the advantages -- parents, security, standing. And yet I have noticed there is about him the lack of smoothness, and the chippiness, of one who is self made. He's not like some smooth countryclub entitlement baby, he's rougher and less...lemonade on the porch in Greenwhich-y. I think it's Texas. What do you think?

I'm tempted to let this stand on its alone as an example of idiocy, but I can't resist. First of all, on 9/11, the day of the biggest fire on America's block since Pearl Harbor, where was George? Cowering in a bunker in Omaha. And as Unlearned Hand noted today, citing an article in the Christian Science Monitor, the dangers posed by the convergence of narcotics traffickers and terrorists in Afghanistan's $2bn a year drug trade are huge & urgent. And in light of Iraq's nonexistent WMDs, perhaps the soldiers & translators we've shifted from finishing the job of mopping up the Taliban (still far from over) to occupying a hostile & WMD-less Iraq would be far more useful back in Afghanistan.

So maybe a more fitting description of George Bush would be to say he's the guy who sees a house on fire, does his bit to seemingly extinguish it, convinces everyone that the job's done, and that we need to spray water all over a perfectly fine house because its spontaneous combustion is imminent (or a grave & gathering danger for those who claim Bush never actually said the I-word). While, of course, the still smoldering fire leaps back to life in the first house.

As for the second bit, claiming Bush isn't a "countryclub entitlement baby" is laughable. Because's he's not "smooth" and is a little chippy & rough around the edges, he's somehow like a self-made man & represents "the triumph of the seemingly average American man." I'd say someone who, as Noonan herself describes Bush, "started life with all the advantages -- parents, security, standing" and ended up "rougher" and with "chippiness" is the epitome of a "countryclub entitlement baby"-grown-into a spoiled brat. You know, like a bully with friends who like to make fun of other kids (Old Europe, Axis of Evil) and who likes to take the fancy car he inherited (US Economy) out joy-riding, making sure all his buddies enjoy the ride (oil, insurance, energy, logging, beef, etc etc) before running it out of gas (reckless tax cuts) and wrecking it (deficits).

-- UPDATE --
Peggy wrote a column about these exact exchanges, here. Mainly recycling what she said in the live chat, she adds some even more absurd reasons for Dubya's "average American" persona. Apparently, because a prostitute lived in his neighborhood, Dubya imbibed a sense of normalcy & realism.
Hat tip to Pandagon, who mocks her here.
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Post article here. Something I didn't note yesterday in my post discussing Edwards' chances of beating Kerry is the favorable schedule post-Super Tuesday. The very next week Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas vote, all states on Edwards' Southern territory. Of course, to survive that long, Edwards will have to win some contests before then.

And as I said in the post below, with good luck & good results in Utah and/or Idaho Tuesday, and a stellar debate performance in CA next Thursday, his prospects of doing so are decent. Wins in either UT or ID--with headlines screaming "Edwards defeats Kerry, Momentum May Be Changing"--would be priceless free publicity for Edwards going into Super Tuesday. Sure the impact on the delegate count would be minor, but these races are often all about momentum.

And for now, having vastly exceeded expectations in Wisconsin and outlasted his chief rivals Clark & Dean, Edwards looks like he might just be gathering steam.
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Or at least it should be (results in Wisconsin here). Kerry looks to have narrowly edged John Edwards, who exceeded expectations to finish close to the frontrunner. Dean, however, who at one time claimed a loss in Wisconsin would end his campaign, finished a distant third. With 60% reported, Kerry has 40%, Edwards 36%, Dean 18% (with Kucinich, Sharpton & Clark at 3%, 2% & 1%, respectively).

Hopefully Dean will recognize the obvious & drop out. He's been shedding top-level campaign staff recently, and now he's lost, badly, in a state where he'd wagered it all. He largely sat out the seven contests Feb. 3, devoting all his energy to building for his big comeback in WI.

If Dean does drop out, a Kerry-Edwards contest could be very interesting. Something like 75% of delegates have yet to be won. Next Tuesday, Hawaii & Idaho have caucuses & Utah has its primary, and CNN has a debate Thursday ahead of "Super Tuesday" March 2, when MN, CA, CT, MD, MA, NY, OH, RI, VT & GA hold their primaries/caucuses. I'd imagine Edwards might have a good shot at scoring victories in either Idaho and/or Utah--not that I have polling data to back this up, just vague guesses based on Edwards' accent & Southern-ness playing better in those parts than "Tax-achusetts liberal" Kerry.

Then there's also the question of where Dean's supporters will turn if/once he quits. Given how hard Dean & Kerry have gone at each other so far, I doubt the Deaniacs will flock to Kerry. There may be a number of ifs--if Dean drops out, if Edwards has enough money, if he does well next week, if he puts in another good debate performance--but it looks like this race should stay very interesting for the next few weeks.
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Something of a rarity on this site, but praise is due Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich today after he agreed to lend $42m to Baltimore's horrendously mismanaged public school system. An audit of the system's finances last fall revealed a $58m deficit, and this money--apparently the largest bailout to a Maryland institution in 20 years--will just help pay the bills until June.

A very good friend of mine teaches in Baltimore, and the situation sounded like an absolute mess. Numerous teachers, administrators & even some assistant principals were fired back in December, and that barely made a dent in the deficit. The Union had "bargained" away numerous benefits, and their ranks were still likely to be thinned considerably.

Making things even worse, Baltimore's mayor apparently used his "State of the City" address to attack the Governor, making state aid seem even less likely. Further, school districts across Maryland are struggling to cope with sizable deficits--then again, none nearly so large as B-more's. Apparently, the tipping point came last week when nearly 10% of the teachers called in sick, protesting the Hobson's Choice forced upon them--accept 3.5% pay cuts or see 1,200 employees laid off.

The State's cash will see the city through to June, and hopefully new management will be able to sort the mess out. Hopefully, also, the idiots who put the city in this situation will be punished, as the Post article doesn't rule out criminal fraud/corruption as the cause of the shortfall.

I'm sure it was tough--politically and personally--for Ehrlich to consent to the bailout. Since the money is not a grant but a loan, that may have helped (of course, I wouldn't be too surprised if the loan eventually becomes a grant). In any event, kudos to Ehrlich for sucking it up and helping them out. If the deficit turns out to have been caused by fraud or corruption, it will definitely have been the right decision--teachers shouldn't be forced to accept pay cuts or lose their jobs due to rot at the top. And even if it was just (massive) incompetence, I think that still holds true--those working hard on the front lines & teaching in the classroom shouldn't suffer from the gross incompetence of the pencil pushers running the show in offices downtown.
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Blogging will resume shortly.

In the meantime, a bit of Arsenal news. Our reward for crushing Chelsea Sunday is a trip to either Liverpool or Portsmouth in the Quaterfinals. Portsmouth will be hosting Liverpool this weekend after their 1-1 draw Sunday, and given Portsmouth's generally good record at home this year (indeed, they defeated Liverpool 1-0 in October, with 'pool reject Patrik Berger scoring the goal, once again illustrating manager Gerard Houllier's cluelessness), I wouldn't be surprised to see them go through.

Then again, finally having Owen & Gerrard back & healthy and playing regularly, Liverpool might be on the verge of a mini-revival. They're tied with Newcastle for that all-important 4th place (which offers entry to the lucrative European Champions' League), still alive in the UEFA Cup and nearly into the final 8 of the FA Cup. I feel bad wishing ill-will upon them--I generally like Gerrard & Owen & Kewell, and even think Didi Hamann is a very solid & often underrated player--but I think the sooner Houllier is ousted the better for the club in the long run.
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Jose Reyes scored a fantastic double to send Arsenal to the Quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Mutu scored first in the opening half, after a poor kick from Lehmann went straight to Scott Parker, who found Mutu. Mutu did a great job keeping Kolo Toure at bay and curled in a sweet shot past Lehmann.

Minutes earlier, Chelsea thought they had scored, when Jesper Gronkjaer converted a cross, but Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was reasonably adjudged offside as the cross came in. It upset the Chelsea supporters in the bar, but it looked fair to me. And in any event, Chelsea shouldn't have won the corner that led up to it, and even earlier, John Terry had clearly fouled Gilberto just outside the box as the last man, and could well have seen red for it.

In any event, Arsenal absolutely owned the second half. Down 1-0, we turned it on and ran all over Chelsea, and they had no answer to our onslaught. About six or seven minutes in, Reyes picked up the ball 35-40 yards out, dribbled forward a bit and launched a screamer into the far left corner of the goal. An amazing first goal for the club. Minutes later, he ghosted in behind Melchiot and Patrick Vieira played a perfect thru-ball to him, and with his first touch Reyes slotted the ball under the advancing keeper (Neil Sullivan at this point, as Carlo Cudicini had gone off injured after straining himself in a vain attempt to reach Reyes' unstoppable first).

We kept the heat up and it seemed a third was inevitable, but no matter in the end, two was enough. Fantastic game, and Wenger looks to have done it again. Reyes was the game-breaker today. With Henry out, we desperately needed somebody to step up and break it open with a couple moments of skill, and Reyes did just that.

And now I'm off to Ann Arbor for a couple of days. Up the Gunners!!
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Thierry's out tomorrow against Chelsea. This BBC article lists him ruled out due to a thigh injury, while this article from Arsenal's official site says:

The French striker bruised his foot in the Premiership game against Southampton on Tuesday and, on reflection, manager Arsène Wenger has decided to pull him out of the squad for the game. He is also out of the France squad that will travel to Belgium for an international friendly in midweek.

I certainly hope it's the latter. This could just be another move by Wenger to give Thierry a breather before the Premiership title race & the Champions League heat up.

Wenger has also made a habit of resting Thierry during early-ish rounds of the Cup; he didn't play when we crushed 'Boro last month, and he only played in our 4-1 win over Leeds because Jeremie Aliadiere fell sick at the last moment. Furthermore, last year over Valentine's Day weekend when we played Man Utd @ Old Trafford, at this very same stage of the competition, Wenger decided to rest him, and we won that match 2-0. And we scored the first goal when an Edu freekick took a wicked deflection off the face of David Beckham. Afterwards, Fergie was so enraged by Utd's poor performance that he starting throwing/kicking shoes in the dressing room, and one hit Beckham in the face, opening a cut which required several stitches. From that day, the rumors about his moving to Madrid seemed credible.

All that's to say that while I was quite bummed to see this news as I was about to shut down my computer for the night, I think we'll be all right without him. Hopefully this will be the game Reyes finally & fully settles in.
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Interesting article here that says we're close to agreeing a partnership with Dutch club Willem-II, similar to the agreement we enjoy with Belgian club Beveren. Great news if it happens, as it means we'll have an easier time buying non-EU players if they come into our 'sister' club first, and these arrangements make it easy to loan out promising young players, giving them first-team experience elsewhere if they're not quite ready to make it in the Premiership. Willem-II are a quality side--currently 5th in the Dutch league. Young guns like David Bentley & Cesc could benefit hugely from playing quality opposition like Ajax, PSV & Feyenoord.

In other news, Bergkamp should be back for the Chelsea match Sunday, which means Jose Reyes will probably start on the bench. Freddie is still out injured, and my bet is that Ray Parlour will take his place again, as he did Tuesday in our 2-0 win against Southampton. That same Bergkamp article also contains the very welcome info that

There is better news about midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, who could - just possibly - be back for the Premiership game at Chelsea next week. 'Freddie is more of a short-term case,' Wenger confirmed. 'There is a slight, slight chance he'll be back in 10 days but it will be a maximum of 14.'

And in Murdoch's boobie-baring rag, the Sun, Chelsea defender John Terry declares Thierry Henry is "almost superhuman" and "the best striker in the world." It's really a rather nice piece, and it contains this anecdote:

JOHN TERRY draws inspiration from the THREE Thierry Henry shirts hanging on the wall at his home...He said: “The last time we played Arsenal, in October, I was out with a hamstring injury. But before the game I made a point of asking for his shirt. He kindly gave it to me afterwards and even signed it for me. He wrote ‘To John, keep up the good work, Thierry’. It means a lot. It’s nice to get the shirt but to have a personalised message on it as well makes it a bit more special. Thierry has given me a couple more of his shirts on previous occasions. But this one is my favourite."

Pure class, on & off the field.

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The other day I posted expressing frustration with how the media often fails to properly report facts when pertaining to policy. That is, 99% of economists/biologists around will tell you the Bush budget/evolution is bunk/well-supported, but reporters often feel compelled to quote advocates on both sides of the "question," without really emphasizing just how settled the "question" is or just how solid the consensus of experts is.

Well, they don't always do a bad job. Here's a great post over @ TAPPED on this very subject. It's about the well-documented ineffectiveness/idiocy of Abstinence-only sex education, which is nevertheless again being promoted by the administration.
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Manager Gordon Strachan (or, affectionately, WGS, for Wee Gordon Strachan) has decided to step down as manager. He'd been planning to leave at the end of the season anyway for health reasons. And despite loads of speculation recently about who would replace him, this still surprised me.

Since Southampton was the nearest Premiership club to where I spent a year studying in England, they were my next favorite club aside from Arsenal. I also grew to like Strachan then as he was managing Coventry City, a club fighting a yearly battle to avoid relegation. Each year, as collapse & relegation looked ever more likely, he'd contrive another amazing, almost Houdini-like escape. Except he didn't that year. Coventry were relegated, and after an uninspired start to their promotion campaign the next season, he was fired.

He arrived at Southampton during a strange period for that club. After manager Dave Jones (currently managing Wolves) was fired due to charges of child molestation (for which he was eventually totally cleared), Southampton had hired Glenn Hoddle, the former England national team manager who'd been fired from that post following the 1998 World Cup when he expressed some rather ill-advised spirtual theories. Namely, that he believed in reincarnation & that disabled people were paying for sins commited in their past lives. Having hardly settled in on the South Coast, Hoddle learned that the top job at Tottenham was open and secretly negotiated a move there--without telling Southampton's board, players or fans. Strachan was brought in to settle the ship, and that he did.

WGS has done a fantastic job for them, and he's assembled a quality group of players. He's established it as a club with upward momentum, and it's shame he's gone. And it's doubly a shame given that Club chairman Rupert Lowe is rumored to be engaging in talks with--guess who--Glenn Hoddle to possibly take over. Yes, the same idiot who vanished overnight without any regard for you (and then convinced one of Southampton's best players to leave & join him at Tottenham as well).

Hopefully those are just rumors. The BBC story linked above claims that Steve Wigley, the reserve squad boss, will finish out the season. I guess we'll see.

PS I'll post later previewing Arsenal's big FA Cup match against Chelsea Sunday, and hopefully I'll be able to blog a bit as I watch it. I'm leaving shortly after it finishes to visit the University of Michigan Law School, so I may not have time.

-- UPDATE -- Looks like blogging during the match won't happen; Arsenal v Chelsea will only be available on closed-circuit TV (ie, bars/pubs). Thankfully, I know there are at least a couple bars in DC willing to open their doors to soccer fanatics at 7:30 on a Sunday morning...
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And the Post is actually fairly funny in its write-up. I'm somewhat surprised it's taken this long for them to exploit the publicity of the movie. That is, you think this franchising move might have been a great idea two or three years ago. You know, when the movie actually came out.
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Finally heard some reports about the oral argument yesterday in Philly over the FCC's media ownership rules (which I've already blogged here & here). Some of the news reports mentioned the Court's skepticism regarding the Commission's "Diversity Index," a complicated, and frankly rather nonsensical analytical tool that, as the Court noted, "concluded that a broadcast station run by Dutchess County Community College had greater market reach than The New York Times." Well sure, making the case that further media consolidation wouldn't be so bad is helped a great deal by an analysis that assigns roughly equal weight to a Community College TV station and the New York Times. Sure the Times can buy this newspaper and that TV station & those radio stations, and don't worry about the public interest, localism or diversity: there's always Dutchess County Community College & its TV station!

As for liberal favorite Miguel Estrada, he "faced aggressive questioning by the court when he suggested that the law [1996 Telecommunications Act] had limited the commission's power to impose tougher regulations on his client [Clear Channel]." That's a good thing, since such a position is basically absurd. The Commission is empowered to impose regulations consistent with the public interest, and if tougher regulations could arguably and reasonably be asserted to be in the public interest, they can impose them. Estrada had argued that "the 1996 Telecommunications Act required the commission to either set aside older restrictions or deregulate them over a period of time." Of course, the Act did contain language about there being a "presumption in favor" of looser regulations over time, but last I checked presumption & requirement meant rather different things.

Although the news stories played up the tough questions on the Diversity Index, the reports I heard didn't find that segment particularly revealing. The bigger concern was that the Judges seemed in over their heads, and that they'd produce an incoherent opinion. Of course whether their opinion is coherent or not, I suspect whatever the outcome there'll be numerous petitions for the case to go before the Supreme Court.

In other FCC news, today the Commission announced some interesting developments (here is the Times' piece). I found this bit particularly fascinating:

In one set of proceedings, the commission began writing regulations to enable computer users to gain access to the Internet through electric power lines. Consumers will be able to plug their modems directly into the wall sockets just as they do with any garden variety appliance. Officials said the new rules, which are to be completed in the coming months, would enable utilities to offer an alternative to the cable and phone companies and provide an enormous possible benefit to rural communities that are served by the power grid but not by broadband providers.

Crazy. I have no idea how exactly that would work; I always thought of electrical outlets as pretty much one-way streets. You plug your toaster in, and power's pumped into it. Anyhow, I suspect I'll end up becoming more familiar with this in the coming months. In the meantime, anybody have any clue how in the world that works?
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Apparently that argument I mentioned yesterday concerning the FCC's latest rules on media ownership is still going on. It started early this morning in Philly, and many folks were planning on making a 4pm train back to DC. I had been hoping to hear something on how it went, but obviously that will have to wait.

In the meantime, let me talk about how silly this Washington Post piece previewing the argument is. The Post attempts to frame their preview around the notorious Super Bowl halftime boobie debacle. It discusses how

[t]he major broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox -- own 98 of the nation's 1,349 television stations...and companies such as Gannett Co., own the rest, which carry network programming as affiliates. Stations not owned by networks have more muscle to determine local programming than network-owned stations.

Indeed, that had been a primary argument advanced by many parties against the FCC's decision to allow the major networks to buy more stations--that is, further consolidation of stations in Network hands would mean more and more communities would be subjected to whatever sleaze/filfth network execs in NYC & LA felt like.

However, with less concentration & more local control, the local owners would supposedly be more in touch with their communities' tastes and standards. So a Nowheresville FOX affiliate in Wyoming could decline to show Temptation Island, for instance, if the local decided it violated the area's sense of decency (Indeed, many ABC affiliates declined to show the first prime-time Victoria's Secret fashion show a couple years back).

But, as the Post's article does mention, since this was possibly the most controversial aspect of the whole mess, Congress decided to add its two cents. The old rule mandated nobody could own stations reaching 35% of the country; this past summer, the FCC raised that limit to 45%. After all the howls and screams from constituents, Congress set it in the middle, conveniently at 39% (Fox & Viacom (CBS) already reached 38-ish% and were operating under temporary exemptions).

Now that Congress has set the level, however, that question--and the whole issue of a local affiliate in Hicktown, USA, protecting its community from Hollywood filth--is settled. The limit is statutorily set at 39%, and since such limits have long been considered constitutional, it's not before the Court. The remaining issues deal with newspaper & Radio/TV cross-ownership, radio ownership, and whether 2 of the top 4 networks could merge. I suppose one might argue radio ownership has a similar dynamic (that is, stations in small towns operated by faraway bigcity types who fail to understand/adhere to community standards of decency), but that hasn't been as much of a problem.

Mainly, I supsect the Post just wanted to write about Janet Jackson's breast again.
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At least some of them anyway.

Long story short: beloved manager Alex Ferguson rubbed a couple very rich Irishmen the wrong way, and they're doing everything they can to force him out of his job. Because Manchester United is a PLC (public limited company--a corporation whose stock is publicly traded like Coke, GE or AOL), the Irish fellas have been steadily buying up the stock. Today, after recent purchases, their investment company holds 28.89% of the shares, just below "the 29.9% threshold above which an offer to buy out the club's other shareholders would have to be made" (from BBC).

Many of United's fans are upset, and one group, the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, is particularly irate and planning all kinds of protests and attacks on the Irish duo. Their main slogan is: “We are prepared for a lengthy battle but our message to Magnier and McManus, or any other potential suitors for that matter is – our club is not for sale.”

Um, well, you see, when your club's a publicly tradable corporation, that's exactly what it is: For Sale.

-- UPDATE --
Plus, their team sucks too! Losing 3-2 at home to 'Boro! The same bunch of bums we beat 4-1, twice, last month!
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Two pieces of interesting and/or welcome news. The first is that even after Real Madrid manager (and former Man Utd assistant) Carlos Queiroz's public claims that Thierry Henry is his #1 summer target (ahead of Utd's Ruud van Nistelrooy), Thierry remains firm in his desire to stay in North London:

"I am happy here," he said. "Full stop. People can’t seem to put it into their brains. I have said it so many times now I am getting bored. What else can I say? What else can I show? I am happy at Arsenal and you can see it on the pitch.

The other interesting bit of news is that the 160 matches Henry needed to hit 100 premiership goals is the 2nd fastest. Here are the others:
Name 100th goal game
Alan Shearer 124
THIERRY HENRY 160
Ian Wright 173
Les Ferdinand 175
Robbie Fowler 175
Andy Cole 185
Michael Owen 185
Matt le Tissier 254
Teddy Sheringham 254
Dwight Yorke 254
Dion Dublin 271

Of course, to be fair, Ruud (with 65 goals in 89 matches) looks like he might do it faster. But then again, with all his diving & play-acting, Ruud doesn't exactly play fair himself, does he?
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That's one of many recommendations from All Party Football Group (APFG), composed of members of Britain's Parliament (stories here and here). They also recommend that TV money be re-distributed more equally & that visiting teams receive some share of ticket receipts (gate-sharing, a practice apparently commonplace until approx. 10 years ago).

I like the first two, but I think the last idea stinks. Having decided their 38,000-seater stadium is too small for their ambitions, Arsenal are spending about £450 million to build a new, substantially larger stadium. The MPs report now wants them to split their ticket proceeds more evenly with visiting clubs? Um, sure, as soon as the rest of these clubs pony up some money to help the new place get built. Until then, get lost.

But generally, English football needs something done to restore some competitive balance. Since its reorganization & the creation of Premier League 10 years ago, Manchester United & Arsenal have won 9 of the 10 titles (Utd 7, Arsenal 2) and finished second 5 out of 10 years (Arsenal 3, Utd 2). Either Utd or Arsenal will win another title this year. Although Chelsea still have a small chance of winning, that's only because they were purchased by a Russian multi-billionaire last summer who has invested well over £100 million and brought in 8 or 9 new star players. That's not a solution to restoring competitive balance. Indeed, it illustrates the enormous financial extremes required to be competitive at the top.

I don't follow the NFL particularly closely, but it seems to me that its salary cap & pursuit of parity has been successful; each season holds plenty of surprises, teams that were horrible one season are world-beaters the next. There are plenty of reasons for fans of nearly every team to eagerly anticipate next season. In English football, everyone knows either Utd or Arsenal will win it, and everybody else is playing to:
1: finish 3rd or 4th (which offers entry to the lucrative European Champions League)
2: finish approx 5th-8th (offering entry to the second tier european UEFA Cup)
3: avoid relegation
Sure there are other competitions like the FA Cup & the League Cup, and matters of local pride (Mancunians Manchester City & Manchester United, or Liverpudlians Everton & Liverpool, etc), but I wonder if that'll be enough to keep people interested.

But there's also something to said for the importance of dynasties; after all, what would Baseball, the NBA or NHL be like without a perennially successful Yankees, Lakers, & Red Wings? There's also something perverse about penalizing the successful, but at some point it probably becomes in their self-interest if the favorite's triumphs become so automatic as to kill any interest.

Anyhow, these are just some general thoughts, and I'd love to hear what some NFL fans or fellow soccer fans think.
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This news has me ecstatic. Not that I dislike Clark--at one time I thought he'd be a great candidate--but he never succeeded in grabbing me nor, apparently, many other people.

John Edwards, on the other hand, has. I really like him, and I think he's a fantastic candidate with a great shot in the general election. I like Kerry as well, and although I'd prefer Edwards, I'd happily support either.

Mainly, this more or less ends my nightmare (and the predictions/fears of others around) that neither Clark or Edwards "will be able to emerge as the "Anti-Kerry" candidate, meaning Kerry may well win despite more voters preferring one of either Clark or Edwards."

Of course, Kerry may very well still go on to win (and if Dean persists in running, that makes it more likely) but the race is still very much alive and close for the next couple of weeks. With Clark's departure, Edwards is the only remaining viable challenger (sorry Al & Dennis, and you too Dean). And while Kerry's margins of victory were relatively large, combining Edwards' & Clark's numbers easily surpasses Kerry's (at least in TN). That's not to say Edwards necessarily gains all or even most of Clark's supporters, but it's premature to declare Kerry the obvious winner when Clark's departure has, conceivably, opened a sizable bloc of supporters for Edwards & Kerry to fight over.

And beyond this being good news because I actually want Edwards to win, even if Kerry winds up the winner, it will have meant more time in the spotlight for the Dems and it will have necessarily delayed the Bush machine's ability to target and begin mercilessly attacking the nominee (not that they probably won't still try to tar both, just that some of the money/attacks will have been pointless & wasted on somebody who lost).

-- UPDATE --

I've seen it argued elsewhere that if Kerry "can win this big in two Southern states, it's time for the rest of the field to concede." I just don't think that's true, for some of the reasons outlined above. Now that the field has effectively narrowed to simply Kerry v Edwards, it'll be easier for voters to focus. Instead of a dynamic where Kerry was a clear frontrunner with Edwards, Clark & Dean all far below nipping at his heels & drowning one another out, now it's suddenly Kerry, big dog, v Edwards, underdog.

There are plenty of delegates left to win, and with Clark out, there are now a lot of voters out there to win as well. And as I said, I think it's in every Democrat's interest (and of course, Kevin made this point as well) to see this race continue--it's exciting, it's free publicity, it precludes Bush from targeting his attacks.
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Henry hit two, and Arsenal won 2-0. That's 101 Premiership goals for him in 160 matches. Here's a photo of the second goal, and here's where you can find a photo of the first (it's the 3rd in that series).

From the live text description, it sounds like Reyes came close twice, and was substituted to a thunderous round of applause. So, we're five points up on Utd, and hopefully they'll lose to 'Boro tomorrow. And maybe I'll win the lottery.
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Giant radio conglomerate Clear Channel and uber-conservative, (former) DC Court of Appeals nominee Miguel Estrada are both pretty roundly disliked by liberals, and it's therefore very fitting to learn that Estrada will be representing and arguing on behalf of Clear Channel before the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals tomorrow in Philadelphia in the case surrounding the FCC's recent relaxation of broadcast media ownership rules (Prometheus Radio Project, et al. v. FCC, No. 03-3388 & consolidated cases).

When word came out last spring that the FCC was intending to relax these rules, the Commission met with a deluge of angry public opinion, originating from across the political spectrum. Urged on conservative NYTimes columnist William Safire among others, an unprecedented 2 to 3 million Americans filed comments with the FCC, with the overwhelming majority fiercely opposing further consolidation of media ownership. Nevertheless, despite intense public outry and the strongly worded dissents of two of the commission's 5 members, the FCC relaxed its rules. Numerous consumer and public interest groups sued, but so too did numerous media conglomerates, contending that the FCC's rules remained too restrictive (indeed, Fox had practically argued that any ownership rules would be too restrictive!).

I'll discuss this case in greater detail in a subsequent post, but I found this Estrada-Clear Channel pairing amusingly apt. Since he was the subject of so much controversy during his eventually unsuccessful nomination process to the DC Court of Appeals, it'd sure be interesting to hear him argue.

I also noticed that Donald Verrilli will be arguing for another group aligned with Clear Channel, pushing further relaxation. I've heard him argue before the Supreme Court (in the recently decided Verizon v Trinko, 02-682) and before the DC Court of Appeals in another messy & complicated FCC proceeding. Both times he's been outstanding. It's somewhat unfortunate that despite motions to transfer it to the DC Circuit, the 3rd Circuit insisted on hearing this case, as I would have loved to hear it. Of course, given that the DC Circuit has been rather hostile to the FCC lately, and indeed found the Commission's previous media ownership rules lacked justification (partially leading to this current set of rules), maybe it's for the best, as far as my desired political outcome is concerned.
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The New York Times has an article here (and an AP article is here) about today's Olympic qualifying match between Mexico & the US, to be played before 60,000 rabid anti-American fans in Guadalajara's Jalisco stadium. The winner goes to Athens for the Olympics later this year; the loser will watch it on TV.

According to the Times, Mexican fans "chanted 'Osama, Osama, Osama' and booed during the playing of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' when the United States defeated Canada, 2-0, last Thursday in a first-round game in Zapopan."

Obviously that's nuts. While the Times notes (and I think it's true) that US-Mexico matches are about national honor and that soccer "has become a proxy for all the indignities the country has suffered at the hands of the United States in almost two centuries of independence," the reality is they're astoundingly poor losers. We've now defeated their senior National team in 6 out of the last 8 matches (Olympic squards are restricted to players under 23 years old), and I'd wager we'll beat them again today. Most of their senior National team is over 23, while many of our best senior National team players are under 23--Landon Donovan & DaMarcus Beasley, to name a couple. So in effect, we'll have a good deal of our A-team facing essentially a B-team. Of course, all the emotion & energy from the crowd could alter the equation, but my money's still on the gringos.

-- UPDATE --
Er, so I was wrong. After 57 minutes, Mexico are leading 3-0.
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