Those blasted PK's in Istanbul
As those hockey fans among us try to overcome our NHL playoffs withdraw, it's important to turn our attention to other distractions. Like the replay of the European Cup final I'm watching right now on ESPN Classic.
Alas, my adopted Euro team, AC Milan, blew a 3-0 lead against Liverpool and I know all too well how it's going to turn out in PK's. The first OT just ended, and Milan took it too them throughout but couldn't finish. Kaka and the boys let me down. But, when it goes to penalty kicks, it's pretty much a coin flip anyway. A dreadful way to end a championship match, in my mind.
That's one reason I'd rather be watching a sudden-death hockey game right now. Just one overdramatized, hair-raising Gary Thorne call of a game-winning goal is all I'm asking for. Anyone remember: "Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! And the Rangers have one more hill to climb!"? Yeah, I hated that one, too.
Perhaps it's time for the NHL to call in those Senate centrists that Joe Lieberman called his "band of brothers and sisters" for coming up with a compromise to save the filibuster on judges. Now the Senate gets the "advice and consent" privilege on judicial nominations as well as appointments -- argh! But that's a subject for a different blog.
Now, back to the soccer ... Kaka!!! And I mean that in every sense of the word.
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Actually I'm a little divided on the penalty kick thing. Like you, I agree that the sudden-death, or golden, goal is a thing of beauty. But man, you can't beat that white-knuckle tension that reaches its peak just as a player moves forward to take his penalty kick.
But I really wanted to use this post to praise the instant classic format ESPN has. I was one of the many who initially mocked the oxymoronic phrase "Instant Classic" when it first came out. But, if you were like me and you watched the first half of the European Championship live, then - believing along with Tommy Smyth that the game was all but over - went for a walk during the second half, you were very, very, very glad you got a chance to catch the game the next night on ESPN Classic. Consider me a convert.
One more thing, though. I walked back in the house from my walk just as the live game had ended and the Liverpool celebration had started. I then sat through 20 minutes of celebration shots and listening to Derek Rae repeatedly call this "one of the greatest soccer matches ever" without getting a chance to see A SINGLE HIGHLIGHT other than the final penalty kick.Is this some kind of European thing? Have they not moved that far in terms of technology? Or are they banning instant replays because they're too American?
Posted on May 31, 2005 2:06 PM