Its Just Like Climbing a Ladder (Part 1)

It's July. Can anyone actually believe that June is already over? I feel like each month of each year just disappears so much quicker that the previous months and previous years. Before I know it I will wake up and be an 80 year old man. I will have a new hip, play shuffle board, go to bed by 6 pm, and probably be on my third or fourth marriage. Sounds like the life. Summer it always exciting, but when it comes to sports, some years, it is amazing, other years, its kinda dull. Last summer was the World Cup and I still, 12 months later, miss it. This summer, well, I guess its the women's World Cup, but that just isn't the same. So we are left with baseball. Don't get me wrong, I love baseball, but sometimes, the season is just so long and you need another sport to watch. I have enjoyed the Soccer tournaments so far; the Concacaf Gold Cup and the Copa America which just got under way yesterday. But each of those tournaments are only three weeks. Next summer will be Olympics and European Soccer Championships, but well, this summer just feels like an off summer for sports. Ironically, it also feels like an off summer for movies. I can only name 4 movies that even look semi-interesting to me: X-Men, Super 8, Captain America, and Cowboys vs. Aliens (I know that breaks many girls hearts that I did not include Harry Potter on that list). I really miss coming home from work in the afternoon and kicking back with a delicious Mountain Dew and watching some basketball. My heart breaks to think that the next time I will watch an NBA game could possibly be November 2012. I have said it before and I will say it a million times again, for that very reason, college football and basketball will always be better than professional. Last time I checked, none of the college sports were going on strike any time soon (even though quite a few teams are basically on strike with their NCAA violations and suspensions). So, what I am trying to say is... I am running out of compelling and exciting sports stories to write about, Summer 2011 is not an exciting sports summer.

But...
I fell like there is one sports story out there that the average American sports fan has not heard about. I watch Sports Center every single day, literally, and I do not recall this being mentioned even once (the one and only time my fellow haole broda Neil Everett has let me down). But if we were watching any sports channel in South America, well, this story would be top news, possibly the biggest news of the year. Let me explain what has happened recently in the Primera division de Argentina (Argentina Top Soccer League):

As many people know, most countries in South America are soccer crazy. It is a part of life. Soccer is more important than providing food for your family to eat (sadly, that is not an exaggeration). Argentina is no different, in fact, it may be worse than many of the other South American countries. When I lived there and played soccer with the locals, they literally took it as an offense when I, a white American, scored a goal on them. Although you can find soccer clubs in every city of the country, no matter which city you are from, you are a fan of one of two teams: River or Boca. Club Atletico River Plate is from Buenos Aires, the country's capital, and has won 33 national first division championships, more than any other Argentine team. They have been around since 1901. Club Atletico Boca Juniors is also from Buenos Aires, but a poorer side of town. They have won 23 league titles and been in existence since 1905. These two teams are rivals, according to Yahoo Sports, this rivalry is listed as one of the 10 greatest rivalries in sports. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this rivalry, other rivalries listed on the top 10 were Ali vs. Frazier and Red Sox vs. Yankees. But I would say that this rivalry is bigger than either of those. When it comes to Red Sox vs Yankees, although many people watch it and are intrigued by that rivalry, unless you are from Boston or New York, you are not gonna be devastated if the team you're cheering for loses. It is a rivalry of two cities. But the River/Boca rivalry is not just two cities, it is an entire country. Friendships can be ruined by the outcome of this game. Here is what Yahoo said about this rivalry "The match has been a traditional war of the classes with Boca considered the working class side while River Plate are sometimes referred to as 'Los Millonarios'. No matter where these two teams lie in the league, weeks of hype, and often crowd trouble, surround the game. It is not just Argentina where the game attracts huge attention: the whole of Spanish-speaking South America is gripped by Superclasico fever. When these two do battle, an entire continent stops to watch." Attending this "Superclasico" was listing number 1 in an article written by The Observer titled "50 Sporting Things you Must Do Before you Die".

So now that I have set the stage for what I am about to tell you, maybe what has happened in recent weeks will make a little bit more sense.

Neither of these two teams have won a championship since 2008, but Boca has been closer to the top than River in recent seasons. River has consistently found themselves towards to bottom of the 20 team league. In Argentinian soccer, as well as in other soccer leagues around the world, if you are not playing well, that means that you may get kicked down to the lower league. It is called getting relegated. Since in most American sports, we do not have different levels of professional sports, this concept does not make sense to lots of people, so to best explain it, it would be like a Major League Baseball team moving down to Triple A and a Triple A team moving up to the majors. This happens every year. Some move up and some move down, it is just like climbing a ladder. But some teams, they are always gonna be in the top division. Some teams have just earned their spot and no matter what, they can never be knocked down. For those of you familiar with European soccer, teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, teams that even on off years, never will play so bad that they come close to being relegated. River and Boca are teams like that, they have been the powerhouse teams of Argentine soccer for over a hundred years now, the thought of one of them dropping down the the B division is not even imaginable, its absolutely absurd.

Now, lets snap back to reality. June 26, 2011, this past Sunday, River Plate faced off against Belgrano de Cordoba in a possible relegation game. As I previously mentioned, River has not been playing well lately, they had actually been playing so bad that they were forced to play a two game playoff against Belgrano, a team from Argentina's second largest city Cordoba. The team that scored the most goals in the two combined games would win the series. Each team played one game at home. The first game which was played in the home stadium of Belgrano was won by the home squad 2-0. The second game was played this past Sunday in Buenos Aires in the largest and nicest stadium in the entire country, the home of River. Since River lost the first game by two goals, they would have to win this game by at least two goals secure their position in the top division. After only five minutes, River was already ahead by one goal, meaning that if they could figure out a way to score one more goal in 85 minutes and prevent Belgrano from netting one of their one, River would not be relegated. The game went to the half, still 1-0 in favor of the home squad. But 15 minutes into the second half, Belgrano would tie the game up. River would have a few more chances, including a missed penalty kick, but when the final whistle blew, Belgrano would finish with a 3-1 aggregate score; they had won the playoff and had advanced to the top division.

The game had to be finished early. River's fanatic fans began to riot in the stadium and throw things onto the pitch so much so that the referees decided to finish the game before the full time had been played. This rioting continued into the streets for hours. Special police forces had to be put into place the confront the the angry and shocked fans. Tears fell from the eyes of some of the toughest men, men so tough that they on a daily basis call cow intestines and blood sausage their dinner (both of which are actually very delicious). According to reports, close to 100 people were injured in the riots, both by the police and by fellow fans (Watch this video). This relegation is not just sad for these fans because they love their team, it is humiliating for them to now be playing in the division below their arch rivals. River has won more championships than any other team in that country, they are owners of the Nation's largest stadiums, and they will now be playing against teams from much smaller cities who have stadiums not much bigger than many high schools (trust me, I have seen some of them). Yes, it is true, River can eventually make their way back up the ladder, but they will forever be remembered for having been relegated to the second division. And trust me, the Boca fans will never let them live this down. I personally am a fan of River, they are my favorite Argentine team, but I am not in any way a fanatic like those who live in that country. But just because I am a fan, my friends from Argentina have sent me messages on Facebook making fun of me because my team is no longer at the same level as Boca.

Can you imagine what this would be like, the Yankees, the team who has won more championships than any other MLB team, getting knocked down to triple A and being replaced by, I don't know, the Albuquerque Isotopes? Or what if the Lakers or Celtics got knocked down to the D-League for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. For me it is a shocking concept to think about. And it got me thinking about just that; what if in American sports, we too had a system of relegation? In part 2 of this story, I will look at which professional American teams deserve to be dropped down to the second division.


(I'll explain some of the pictures: The very first one is a picture from a recent River vs. Boca match. The second one is a Belgrano fan showing off his Belgrano tattoo. Getting a a tattoo of your favorite team is actually very common. Another photo is one what a Boca fan in Argentina sent me. It is a milk carton showing a mission child, except the picture of the missing child is replaced with the logo of River. This final picture is me and a few of my friends when in Argentina, we ran into the Belgrano team at a hotel.)

Its beggining to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, it may not be looking like Christmas, but it sure feels like it. It is the happiest time of the year. It is that time where everything, work, school, friends, and sadly, sometimes family, takes a back seat to college basketball. Its March Madness, the greatest time of year. Back on February 1, my good friend Indiea sent me a text that said, "Hey Jimmy, do you know what next month is?" Of course I knew. You can ask me any day of the year, how many days until March Madness starts and I will give you the days, hours, and seconds until the first game tips off. Ok, so that last part was a lie. But nevertheless, I love March!
So lets take a look at this years bracket. It took me a long time to fill out my bracket this year. College basketball has been so unpredictable and honestly, I have no idea who is going to come out on top. I can very easily see all four number one seeds advancing, just like in 2008, or I could see not a single one making it, just like in 2006. So ladies and gentlemen, here we go. I give you my picks for each region. I will tell you which team looks poised to upset, which first round game you will not want to miss, my possible dark horse to make a run late into the tournament and possibly sneak into the Final Four, and who will actually be playing in Houston. So here we go, lets dance!

EAST

Upset- Washington. Although they will easily be able to beat Georgia in the first round and no one needs to consider that game an upset, in round two, they will run into the red hot, North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC has won 14 of its last 16 games and both of those losses came to their arch rival Duke. This second round match-up will be played in Charlotte and will without a doubt be nearly all Tar Heel fans. But the Huskies have the momentum from their conference tournament. Unlike North Carolina who lost in the championship game by 18 points, Washington, led by the very talented Isaiah Thomas, won their conference tournament over the top seeded Arizona Wildcats on a Thomas buzzer beater. UNC starts two freshman in the backcourt. Two very talented freshman, but they will not match well with the experience and strength of the Huskies. U Dub will stun the Heels in North Carolina and move to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Best First Round Game- George Mason vs. Villanova. I am looking forward to this match up. The Patriots shocked the world in 2006 making it all the way to the Final Four as an 11 seed. They will be playing a really really really talented Villanova team who has lost five straight games. But the Wildcats were knocked out in the first round of the Big East tournament and have had more than a week to rest and prepare for this tournament. Coach Jay Wright will have them ready to play. Although I think Nova will lose its sixth straight game and end their season, I expect this to be a close game from jump fall to final horn.

Team To Watch- Did you know that Xavier has made it to the sweet 16 three straight seasons? I didn't know that either until it came up on my ESPN ScoreCenter app for my phone. Look for the Musketeers to make it a third straight year. They have the A-10 player of the year Tu Holloway who averages 20 points a game. The biggest problem for Xavier will be their depth. If they want to make it to the Sweet 16 for a third year, they will have to knock off two Big East teams, Marquette and Syracuse. But I am here to tell you, they can and will do it.

Final Four- Kentucky. Winning in March is about one thing, getting hot at the right time. I would argue that these Wildcats may be the hottest team in the country right now. The think John Calipari's team has all the talent to make it to the Final Four, but the question is, do they have the maturity? I can see this team making a long run in the tournament, but I also would not be too shocked if they lost in the first round to Princeton. Somehow, someway, I see Johnny C getting his team to his third final four. He would join Rick Patino as the only other coach to take three different to the Final Four. Oh wait, his other two Final Fours were taken back by the NCAA, so never mind, he is looking for his first Final Four appearance.

WEST

Upset- Oakland. I think this may be the most cliche first round upset pick on everyone's brackets. I worry that Texas will be so sick of hearing that they are going to lose to Oakland that they will go out and run them into the ground. But Texas sure knows how to choke in March. This team has all the talent needed to make a Final Four run, but in a matter of three weeks has managed to slip from the number 2 team in the nation to a number 4 seed. Look for more slipping. Oakland has played West Virginia, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, and beat Tennessee in Knoxville. They are no stranger to playing big teams. They lost only one game in the Summit League this year and will be full of confidence against struggling Longhorns.

Best First Round Game- Arizona vs. Memphis. This may also be the most heart breaking game for me. Somehow, the committee chose to match my two favorite college basketball teams in the first round. I have loved Arizona since I knew what basketball was. I still consider March 31, 1997, one of the greatest days of my life, the day Arizona won their only National Championship. I have been a fan of Memphis basketball for only two seasons. Why? Arizona alum and one of my personal heroes, Josh Pastner, is their head coach. Pastner was on that National Championship team and was an assistant coach under Lute Olsen after he finished playing. I have admired him since I was a little boy and even use to write him letters. Now, in only his second season as head coach and first appearance in the tournament, Pastner will face his former team. Arizona was the regular season Pac-10 champs and fell seconds short of winning their tournament. Memphis finished forth in Conference USA but won their tournament to receive an automatic bid. Arizona has a better overall team led by Player of the Year candidate Derrik Williams, but Memphis is young, talented and confident. They believe they can beat anyone. I think and hope Arizona will come out on top, but if they have to lose to anyone, I will be less mad that it is Memphis.

Team to Watch- San Diego State. They are a number 2 seed, but lets be honest, no one thinks they have a chance to go anywhere. San Diego State has never even won a single tournament game, not one, not even once. But just watch, the Aztecs know how to rebound and clean up the glass. They are led by Kawhi Leonard one of the most athletic players in the nation. They have a fairly favorable half of the region and I think they will make a run to the elite eight without too much difficulty. Sadly, in that game, they will run into Duke.

Final Four- Duke. The defending champions. Last year Duke was considered the worst of all the number 1 seeds, yet somehow, they won it all. This year history repeats itself. Duke once again is the lowest rated number 1 seed, but is probably playing in the easiest of the four brackets. Their biggest test will probably not come until the regional finals against San Diego State. There is possibility that they may also get back Kyrie Irving from injury. If he can make even a small contribution to this team, well then, game over. Duke is too experienced, too well coached, and too much, well, Duke, to not make it again to 16th Final Four.

SOUTHEAST

Upset- Richmond. The Spiders were able to win the A-10 tournament and steal a bid into the madness. I think they got a favorable draw with Vanderbilt in the first round. This is one of the games that I just feel. I do not know too much about Richmond. I have only seen them play for a few minutes, but sometimes, you just have to make a few picks simply because it feels right, this is one of them.

Best First Round Game - Georgetown vs. USC. I am going out on a limb here and assuming USC is going to beat VCU in the play-in game, but come one, we all know that will happen. This game will be interesting because Georgetown has not been playing good ball ever since Chris Wright injured his hand about two weeks ago. The Hoyas are a very talented team, but they live and die off of the contribution of their leader Wright. If he is able to play, they should be able to beat the Trojans. But USC has one of the most impressive big men that I have watched play all year, Nikola Vucevic. He will give the bigs of Georgetown problems down low.

Team to Watch- Purdue. The Boilermakers flirted at times with a number 1 seed, but had a few late season losses and dropped back to a 3. Purdue, to me, is better than every team in this bracket, save Kansas. I think their sweet 16 match up with Notre Dame will be a close one, but I do not think the Irish are as good as advertised. I simply have not seen too much that has impressed me about Notre Dame. I believe Purdue will give Kansas a fight in the regional final game, but will most likely fall short. But JaJuan Johnson could very easily take over that or any other game and will his team to victory. Look for Purdue to make a run late into the tournament.

Final Four- Kansas. Bill Self is too good of a coach to let what happened to his team last year repeat this season. The Jayhawks were the overall number 1 seed last season, but were knocked off in the second round. They look to me to be the most complete team in the nation. They have experienced guard play and have two amazing twin-brother-towers up front. The Morris twins are something special to watch and I believe those two will lead their team to a Final Four.

SOUTHWEST

Upset- Wofford. I know that by making this pick I am upsetting many of my friends, including my own father, who is a BYU graduate. But Wofford has a big man named Noah Dahlman who I believe will give the Cougars too many problems on the boards. BYU has struggled since the loss of Brandon Davies to get rebounds. Dahlman is a talented rebounder and post scorer. I sure hope that I am wrong about this pick. I hope BYU makes a deep run into the tournament. I would love for the Cougars to prove everyone wrong and show that they can win without Davies. But sadly, BYU needs more than just Jimmer, and in their last few games, I haven't seen enough from anyone but him. It is possible that Fredette out scores the entire Wofford team all by himself, but deep down, although it hurts me to say it, I think the Terriers pull off the upset.

Best First Round Game- St. Johns vs. Gonzaga. If you know anything about college basketball this year, you know that St. Johns has beaten some pretty good teams. The only problem is that they have beaten all those teams, with the exception of Villanova, in Madison Square Garden. Gonzaga got off to a slow start, but won the WCC tournament and once again is dancing. The Johnnys have not been to the tournament since 2002. They have nine seniors on their team, but not a single one of them has been to the tourney. Gonzaga has a well worn pair a dancing shoes and coach Mark Few knows what it takes to win in March. This should be a fun game to watch.

Team to Watch- Kansas State. The preseason number 3 ranked team Kansas St. Wildcats did not look like a very good team for the first half of the season, but ever since upsetting their arch-rivals, the Kansas Jayhawks, K-State has been one of the hottest teams in the county. I love their Senior point guard Jacob Pullen. For a while, it looked like the only way for them to win was for Pullen to have a big game. Although that still is true to an extent, the rest of the team has blossomed as of late. They also may be the most motivated team in the country because who would want to have to be in a locker room with their coach, Frank Martin, after losing a game.

Final Four- Florida. This region was for me the hardest to predict. I do not think Florida is the best team in this region, but I think the cards may just fall in to place for them and they will find themselves in the Final Four for the first time since they won back-to-back National Championships.

NATIONAL CHAMPION- Kansas Jayhawks. For the second straight year I am picking Kansas. I do not know why. I personally do not want them to win it all, but I do consider them the most complete team. They also will be playing with a chip on their shoulders not wanting to repeat the collapse they had last season in the tourney. I believe the Kansas Jayhawks will be cutting down the nets on April 4.

The All NBA Cool Team

I was talking to one of my best friends the other day (or as the kids on the streets are calling it these days, my "bestie"), who is probably the most faithful reader of my blog. She was telling me that all too often she has to skip over lots of parts in my articles simply because they have too many facts and stats and she just doesn't care. Well, guess what? I have created this entry just for you. In honor of next weekend's NBA All-Star game, I am creating my own all star team. And no, this is not a list of who I consider the leagues best players. This is instead a list of 7 guys who have not yet made an All Star team who I consider some of the coolest guys in the NBA. I call this my "All NBA Cool Team".

Jared Dudley
I had to start it off with someone from my favorite team, the Phoenix Suns. He makes my all star team for two reasons: first, he is the most nonathletic player in the NBA. When he goes up for a lay up, he can barely get his feet off the court. He has no athletic abilities, yet he is still the spark for the Suns second team. When he comes in off the bench, he shoots more than 40% from behind the arc and he hustles his butt off. He plays 100% the entire time he is on the court and will very often come up with a big offensive rebound or a tough defensive stop. And second, he is hilarious. He is known for having some of the funniest tweets.

Monta Ellis
This guy will one day make an All Star team and will probably win a few NBA scoring titles. But until then, he makes my all time cool list because of who his wife is. For the last couple of seasons, Ellis has been one of my favorite players to watch. I think the Golden State backcourt is the most exciting in the entire league. But when I found out that Ellis was married to a former Police officer from Memphis, I said to myself, "Dang, that guy is cool." She is older than him and is the reason that he has turned his life around. Marcus Thompson from the Oakland Tribune wrote this about Ellis and his wife:

Juanika is a Memphis police officer who is six years older than Ellis, who turns 25 later this month. She didn’t go along with whatever Ellis said and had no problem “putting me in my place when I needed to be put into place,” he said.

She told Ellis he was wrong for saying he couldn’t play with point guard Stephen Curry and advised him to apologize. She implored Ellis to let go of his beef with the organization, that he was only hurting himself by carrying that weight.

“It’s always good to have that person, that better half, to keep you grounded,” Ellis said. “It’s great to have that someone you can sit down and have that comfort with. All that partying and stuff, I did that. It wasn’t successful for me. I just go home to a peaceful house. It’s just lovely right now.”

Yep, Monta and his boo are pretty dang coo. (Sorry, that was lame.)

Eric Gordon
Also, Gordon will one day soon be an all star. He is in the top ten right now in points per game, but I put him on my list because I think he is the most overshadowed player in the entire league. He is having the best season of his career and no one is noticing. How come? Well first, he plays in Los Angeles where people only care about the Lakers, and second, he is having his best season at the same time that Blake Griffin is having one of the all time greatest rookie years. Not to mention that if there was a Ms. America for YouTube, Griffin would win it with all the play he is getting. No one has even noticed Gordon, yet Eric still goes out each night and does work.

Andre Iguodala
Why does he make my team? Well, he is leader of a young, exciting, and soon to be very good 76ers team. He is fun to watch and he also played his college ball at my favorite school, the University of Arizona. But mostly he makes my list because he has the most fun name to say, Andre Iguodala. Just try it, its fun, trust me.

Rudy Gay
I liked Rudy ever since he was at UConn. I have always liked his style of play. He is the type of player that if I was a general manager, I would figure out a way to get him on my team. He is a natural leader, he can score, rebound, and defend. But the biggest reason he makes this list is because he had the all time best self promotion video to get him on the All Star team. Check it out.

Serge Ibaka
He may not be on an All Star team this year, but he will be competing in the dunk contest. But that is not why he made this list, he made it cause he is the definition of cool. First of all, Andre Iguodala may have the most fun name in the NBA, but Serge has got to have the longest. His full name is Sergeballu LaMu Sayonga Loom Walahas Jonas Hugo Ibaka. What? He is from the Congo and is the third youngest of 18 children. Uh huh, crazy! He was so poor when he grew up that he used cardboard for the soles of his shoes. He did not know much English until he came to the United States after he was drafted. Everything about this guy screams cool.

Caron Butler
The last guy on my list makes the All NBA Cool team because of a certain addiction that he has. I usually do not think addictions are cool, in fact, they are not cool, unless you have the same addiction I have. That is right, an addiction to Mountain Dew. But just like the good man that he is, he was able to defeat his addiction, something I have not yet been able to accomplish. He told Yahoo Sports last year:

I lost 11 pounds this summer by giving up Mountain Dew. That's right Mountain Dew. A lot of people don't know I'm a Mountain Dew addict so I guess this is my confession.

To try and give this up was crazy for me! I was going through withdrawals. I was in the bed sweating. My wife would turn over in the bed and ask "Are you OK?" Honestly, those first two weeks without The Dew [were] the roughest two weeks of my life. I'm talking headaches, sweats and everything. Before that I drank at least six 12-ounce Mountain Dews a day.

It was so bad at one point that I had to have a cold one right there at the night stand before I went to bed. I had to get the coasters and let it drip a lil' bit and just have it waiting on me. Come 2 a.m., I'd wake up out of my sleep, I'd pop one open and hear the fizz sound ... and just down it! Then I always had to have another one in the morning when I woke up. Before practice I had one too and before games I would knock back two.

And that is my 2011 ALL NBA COOL TEAM!!!

Messi and Company

I am starting a charity. I have not yet decided what it should be called, but its goal is to help poor college students experience the world and make their dreams come true. Let me tell you a little bit more about it: The goal is to save up about $1,500 so that a poor and quite weird looking college boy could fly to Barcelona, Spain and have to opportunity to live out his dream and go to a soccer match at the Nou Camp, where he could see his favorite club, Barcelona FC, and his favorite player, Lionel Messi, in person. Who is this young man whom I am looking to sponsor and send on this vacation of a lifetime? Well, that would be none other than myself, of course.
I have to admit, I am tired of having to watch soccer on my computer and well, instead of upgrading my cable to a package that includes a few soccer channels, I think it is smarter to just go ahead and send me straight into the action, send me all the way to Spain. Now may be the best time of all time to see the champions of the Spanish La Liga. Barcelona just defeated Hercules 3-0. This victory was their 15th straight win in the Spanish primera division, which ties a record, one that has been held by their rivals Real Madrid, for nearly 50 years. And if, or should I say, when, Barcelona defeats Atletico Madrid next Saturday, they will break that record. But they are playing so good right now, that record may get as big as 25 or more. I do not see anyone in the near future beating them. They are that good, and they are a few steps above all other clubs in La Liga.
But lets not forget that this team, at one point early on in the season, did not even look like they would be capable of defending their championship. Barcelona bought David Villa from Valencia over the summer. This meant that two of the worlds greatest scorers, Villa and Messi, would be playing next to each other. Of course, adding the World Cup's leading goal scorer to the roster would seem to make an already great team better. But after winning their season opening match, they faced Hercules at home in the Nou Camp. Hercules had just one season earlier been promoted to the primera league after13 years in the lower divisions. In front of 62,000 fans, Barca lost their home opener 2-0 to the Herculanos. For the next week, it was all the talk of La Liga, what is wrong with Barcelona? No one could figure it out. That game was on September 11. Barcelona then won three straight matches and on October 3 they had a draw with Mallorca. So after six games Barca had 4 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss. Not a bad start, but not up to their potential. Since that tie to Mallorca, Barcelona has won 15 straight matches. But they have not just barely won these matches, no no no, they have been walking all over the rest of the league. When they are out on the pitch, it looks like a group on big bullies picking on the kindergarten kids. No, it is worse then that, it looks like the worlds greatest army is going to battle against a group of kids with only squirt guns. 10 of those 15 wins have been by more than 3 goals. Four of them have been by 5 goals or more, and one was by 8 goals! This included a 5-0 victory over their arch rivals, Real Madrid in "El Classico".
But it is not just Messi, the two time European player of the year, who is getting it done for Barca. He does lead the team with 21 goals on the season, but David Villa has 14 and Pedro has 12. This means that three of the top goals scorers play for the Catalans. Messi is getting help, but he also is helping, assisting on 14 goals so far this season. Their defense is also not allowing opposing teams to score on them, they have posted 11 shut outs in La Liga. Barcelona knows how to do all the essentials. They posses the ball for on average 70% of the game. They have a solid midfield, led by Andres Iniesta and Xavi, who know how to distribute the ball to the attacking players or be patient and wait for something to develop.
Everything is going well for Barcelona. They are on top of La Liga by 4 points, they are rolling through the Copa del Rey, currently in the semi-finals on a crash course to meet Real Madrid in the Finals. They also finished top in their group in the Champions League and will meet Arsenal on February 16 in the round of 16. That will certainly be a tough match against the number two team in the English Premier League, but one that I am confident they will win. Everything is going well for them right now, including being the proud owners of the prettiest road jerseys in all of sports (which is also part of the charity, and if you would like to purchase it for me, just click here).
If Barcelona can keep winning, they will rack up 25 straight wins in La Liga before their next meeting in El Classico with Real Madrid on April 17. A slip up here or there would probably be expected by any normal team, but lets be honest about it, Barcelona is not any normal team and may just finish the season never losing again, 32 straight wins.