Not to jinx it...

As I watched Aston Villa upset Liverpool, in a match that I'd imagine many believed to be somewhat of a formality, I'm left pondering if things are demonstrably different now. I've long been one to somewhat dismiss the Premier League, as a predictable league where somewhat boring football (in comparison to Spain, at least (for me))was played. And I've not completely turned on that second point; I still prefer the style of play in Spain and many other leagues to that found in England. But, could it be that we're entering a brave new era of a genuinely interesting Premiership? Sure, the gap between the top and the very bottom has never been wider, but it seems as if recent events (cash injection into City, strong teams in Tottenham, Villa, and possibly a couple others, as well as the weakening of Liverpool and Man United) may just leave us with a genuinely exciting league with more contenders than we're used to. If nothing else, the top 4's strangle hold seems to be weaker than any other time any recent memory. Until Spurs inevitably lose 12 in a row and Roque Santa Cruz stabs Adebayor in an effort to get playing time, at least.

Games You Should Watch While Not Watching Usain Bolt

(IAAF World Championships start tomorrow. Check that out. I'll probably write something after Bolt runs an 8.4 in the 100 Sunday, or whatever).

Saturday, August 15

An 8:30 (my time) Bundesliga match
Seriously, why did they put three awesome matches at the same time? Bayern-Werder, Hamburg-Dortmund, and Leverkusen-Hoffenheim all ought to be pretty good. So, do a complicated series of coinflips to decide on what match to watch, and then switch while one of the others is 4-4 after 30 minutes. Assuming that doesn't just happen to me.

Everton-Arsenal
Pretty nice, for an opening match. Arsenal may or not get relegated, apparently, and Everton are pretty good when not telling Man City to fuck off. Anyway, it should be interesting.

LA-Seattle
...because you've always wanted to see how someone with swine flu would play?

Sunday, August 16

PSV-Ajax
Does anyone have any idea if either of these teams are any good? Me neither. This will be interesting, in a weird sort of way. Both of these teams are expected to challenge for the title, but last season sort of changed shit in the Eredivisie. I now have no clue what's going to happen.

Tottenham-Liverpool
(may or not actually be a good match. I..don't know)