Dance Random KC Soccer Fan! Dance!

After tonight's Sporting KC victory over Houston to reach the MLS Cup this awesome, red-bearded, ski-vested, Sporting KC fan just had to dance during the post-game show on NBCSN. Oh, and dance he did:

It really looked like he was channeling his inner Rodney Dangerfield with them stylish moves:

 

So with the MLS Cup now being held at Sporting KC Park we hopefully get another chance to see his (or the ghost of Mr. Dangerfield's) bustin' his moves on December 7th at 200pm MST on ESPN proper. ENCORE! ENCORE! Sporting KC Dancin' Fan Man!

Ties And No Playoffs? Why Do You Even Do This?

The English Premier League starts on the NBC's on August 17th. The network is going all in on bringing the game to the US public. This Jason Sudeikis piece is classic. Just classic.

Coach Lasso! You rock!

Coach - Wales? Is that a country?
Assistant - Yes and no.
Coach - How many countries are in this country?
Assistant - 4.

Good stuff Maynard.

When it comes to English football we here at PengoSports throw our support behind Hartlepool United. The Monkey Hangers (great story and the reason we became supporters of the team back in 1995) play in the 4th division, which is somehow called English League Two (Premier League; Champioship; League One; League Two; and Conference). League Two is not on American TV so we could not watch the Pools lose their opening match today 1-0 to Rochdale. 

Hey! It's a Frenchman! Hang him!

 Here's to a great season of soccer on NBC and a trip back to League One for Hartlepool!

A big shout out to Joe Paisey from the Gazette for hipin' us to this.

You'll Never Walk Alone

There are moments in sport that divide. But more so, there are moments in sport that unite. Unite strata of society that, if not for sport, would have never entered each others orbit.

On June 26th in Rotterdam, Dutch side Feyenoord held their first practice of the 2013/14 season. Terminally ill supporter Rooie Marck was invited by the team to watch from field level.

Supported by his son and friends Rooie was greeted by the team and a huge Tifo, or banner, was unveiled by the club's supporters that was emblazoned with Rooie's likeness...

Rooie Marck. Feyenoord for life.
(click here for more great images)

...and the fans serenaded him with unofficial anthem of Feyenoord, You'll Never Walk Alone. 

Rooie Marck in front of his Tifo and the Feyenoord supporters.

Three day later Rooie Marck passed away.

Rest in peace Rooie Marck.
(click here for more images from his funeral)

Stay Inside! Watch TV!

Looks like fun! NO! It's not fun!
Stay indoors and watch TV!

It's Memorial Day Weekend! What to do? Go outside? Go to Territory Days? Go camping or to the zoo? HELL NO! You're going to watch TV dammit! There be lots of great sports stuffs on today! Let's get a watchin'!

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Fox Proper

Pregame - Noon

Game - Noon-45

Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich

Lot of people around the world watch this. Not so many in the US do. Be a rebel, be different. Watch two German teams battle for the club championship of Europe. Should be fun. Really.

NCAA Lacrosse Final Four

ESPN2 

Cornell v Duke at Noon-30

Denver v Syracuse at 300pm

It make me kind of sick to say this, but "Go DU!"

Admit it, you've passed by the NCAA lacrosse on the ESPNs each Memorial Day Weekend. This year give it a look. It's a fun game and Denver has a legit chance to play for the title. Championship game on ESPN Monday at 1100am.

Rockies at Giants

Root Sports - 205pm

Rockies' newest "player" Mr. Cannon.
We will win a series in SF!
(or blow some sh*t up good!)

 Rockies look to not lose in San Francisco for the 2nd time in a row!

Pacific Nations Cup Rugby

irb.com/live

210pm

Canada v USA
A battle of the 14th & 16th best teams in the world!

Rugby Union action LIVE from Edmonton! Granted we're a bit more of a fan of League but we've got to support our country against them God-less Canadians! U-S-A! U-S-A!! U-S-A!!!

Stanley Cup Playoffs

NY Rangers at Boston - 330pm on NBC Sports Channel

Detroit at Chicago - 600pm on NBC proper

It's win or go golfing for NY and Chicago.

Boston should have lost to Toronto in game 7 of round 1. They didn't and are now rolling. NY battled to avoid a sweep in game 4 and now have to win in Boston to stay alive. Win or lose tune in to watch Rangers' coach John Tortorella's post game presser. The man does not suffer fools lightly. 

Meanwhile Chicago, by far the best team in the regular season, have their backs against the wall because of Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard and an inspired D corp. A hot goalie can win a team the Cup (see Jamie Quick/LA Kings - 2012).

Sky Sox host Fresno at 600pm

Free Hat! (to the first 1000 through the gates)

 Bonus! It's check your junk night! You know, just to make sure it's still there and stuff.

Junk. Check.

Mascot junk? Check and check.

Among The Thugs

Just finished re-reading Bill Buford's excellent book, Among The Thugs, a look at England's soccer hooligan, and fan violence, culture of the 70-80's. Disturbing, well written, but a bit dated (although with the violence at yesterday's FA Cup semi-final between Walsall and Milwall, perhaps it is timely. Milwall has a long, long history of fan violence and once played at a stadium call The Den, located on Cold Blow Lane in London. They now play at The New Den, but it move a couple of blocks away from the awesomely named Cold Blow Lane). This book is an up close look at life on the terraces in what was a very different era in sport.

If you like sport, or violence, it is well worth the read. PengoSports says check it out!

US Soccer On beIN Sports - For Real This Time

Here are three of the teams in the CONCACAF Hexagonal,
Mexico on the right, Honduras middle and the USA left,
as they try to reach the 2014 World Cup!
(Jamaica, Costa Rica & Panama have the other chairs)

Okay. This time we get to watch it. Really. The CONCACAF World Cup Hexagonal begins Wednesday with the US team traveling to play Honduras in the most violent city in the world, San Pedro Sula!

Welcome to San Pedro Sula!
Now prepare to die.

Game time is 200pm MST. beIN Sport, Comcast channel 553, has your coverage. 3 points would be nice. Not getting murdered would also be nice. Go USA!!!

Comcast Colorado Springs Channel 553/
DirectTV Channel 620/Dish Network Channel 408

 

WATCH IT! DAMMIT!

MLS Cup!

What cha doing today? Huh? Oh, watching college football. Yeah, I guess that's cool. But if you want to be really cool, really, really cool, how about watching FRECKIN' MLS CUP ON ESPN @ 230PM?!

Damn! That David Beckham sure dresses like a pimp!

This year's epic clash features the David Beckham led Los Angeles Galaxy hosting the Houston Dynamo and whoever leads them. This will be Beckham's last game for the Galaxy, he's off to Australia, or China, or wherever, to ply his aging trade. He'll be back though. He wants to own a team (St. Louis?) and has to cash to pull it off. God speed Becks!

Australian A-League soccer! Where the rules are a bit different!
Becks future home? We can only hope.

And...and...and best of all? No crap-tastic half-time extravaganza! Thank Christ! Enough of this bullshit! I came to see a game, not a concert, as expressed in the following garbage from last week's Grey Cup:

Gordan Lightfoot. He did not suck.
He went first and on a different stage
and got the hell out of there before this...

Marianas Trench.
Named after the only thing on Earth
that could hold the vast amount of suck that they suck.

Hadn't heard of Marianas Trench before the Grey Cup,
doubt I'll hear of Marianas Trench after the Grey Cup.

Next up, Carly Rae Jepsen. Two songs.
A sucky one I haven't heard...

...that she tried to sing without auto-tune...
sorry, as much as I hate auto-tune,
this girl needs auto-tune.

Just look at them fired-up Canadians calling for Carly, maybe.

And here comes the walking turd sandwich Justin Bieber!

Sporting some ink. Gives him a little more 'street cred'.

Didn't Canada use to have talented people they exported to the US?

So huzzah! to Major League Soccer for excising the garbage and now all we'll have to listen to is the chuckleheads break down the non-action in the 1st half. Not that I'm complaining.

Look at that MLS Cup!
It's HUGE!

Although this is more likely the 'true' MLS Cup.
It's NOT huge.

Soccer on another Pengo Channel UPDATED

It's the USA vs Antigua & Barbuda in exciting
World Cup qualifying action!

Looking to watch tonight's World Cup qualifier between the United States and Antigua & Barbuda? Better have beIN Sports, channel 312 on Comcast (right below the Pay-Per-Porn channels. Dish - channel 408. DirectTV - channel 620 ). It is LIVE starting at 455pm MDT. LIARS!!! DIRTY FILTHY LIARS!!! COMCAST ONLY HAS THE ESPANOL VERSION! WANT TO WATCH THE USA GAME? SUCK IT! DAMMIT COMCAST! PULL YOUR HEAD OUT AND GET THE ENGLISH VERSION OF beIN SPORTS BEFORE THE NEXT ROAD QUALIFIER!

What you will see tonight if you have beIN Sports
(except it's men's soccer. Although I do believe
many of the boys will be wearing skirts).

beIN Sports carries soccer. Lots and lots of soccer. Matches from Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A, France's Legue 1. Also World Cup qualifier matches from South America (CONMEBOL) and North America (CONCACAF). Plus other soccer stuff. In fact, it's all soccer stuff. So if you like the soccer it's a good channel for you, oh, unless you don't speak languages other than English. Yeah, they broadcast in the games in the language of the countries they get the feed from. Really, it's not so bad. After a while you don't even notice someone is talking. So you might as well start watching and, who knows? You might even learn something. Or not.

Well, We Butchered That One

Forza Italia! 3-2 Italy over Spain in EURO 2012! We were so right! If only we weren't so wrong. Spain 4 rip. Class, creativity and a whole lot of AWESOME saw the Spaniards through to their third consecutive major title. WOW! Viva Espana! Champions of Europe! Champions of the World! Champions of the whole fricken' Universe!

Spain, in back, take the Italians, in front, bowling.

First the Netherlands. Then Italy. Our next prediction is that the Tebus will win the NFL MVP in 2012!

Now I favor the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!

Euro-tastic! 2012!

GORDO! The EURO 2012 Trophy.

The Euro 2012 final is today, 1245pm on ESPN proper, Spain battling Italy for all the European soccer glory.

Glory awaits the winner! The Inquisition awaits the loser.

Will it be pasta or paella? Vespas or Bullfights? Mussolini or Franco? Spain should be a heavy favorite. They are going for their 3rd major title in a row, EURO 2008; 2010 World Cup; EURO 2012. No nation has ever pulled off the treble. They are playing at the top of their game and just know how to win. So PengoSports picks the Spaniards, right?

Spain, from left to right, EURO 2008, World Cup 2010 and EURO 2012.

Hell NO! 

FORZA! ITALIA!

We'll take Italy to win just because they weren't even expected to make it out of the 1st round due to a hella match fixing scandal that is awaiting many of the players when they return home (yes we did pick the Netherlands to win it all at the beginning. Those bastards up and didn't win a game. But we did have them playing Spain for the title so we're almost shooting 50%).

The Italian national team practicing against
a flock of pigeons in Saint Mark's Square in Venice.

They last time Italy had such a scandal they won the 2006 World Cup by screwing with Zidane and making him crazy in the head. Italians like chaos. Italy will do something to screw with Spain. Italy wins 3-2, or 5-3 if it goes to penalties, or 17-14 if they start playing American football.

Watch Le Tour de France on NBC Sports Network!

Hey. While your watching Europe stuff go ahead and check out stage one of the Tour de France on NBCSN. We'll convert all you heathens sooner or later. One of Us! One of Us!

Erin go Bragh!

Ireland crapped out of EURO 2012 today after getting smoked 4-0 by Spain. Earlier this week they lost 3-1 to Croatia. They still have a game against Italy but are officially eliminated from advancing to the next round. Did anybody expect them to win it all? No, but Ireland just hoped to steal a game or two and make it to the knockout stage. Were the defeats surprising? No. But getting crushed is disappointing. And with all the news of riots and hooligans at EURO 2012 one would expect fans of eliminated teams, fans that spend a lot of Euros/Zloty to attend the matches in Poland, to run wild through the streets. Did they? No. Did the Irish fans get drunk? Well, they are Irish, so I would guess a few did. So what did the Irish fans do? They sang. They sang The Fields of Athenry as the game wound down. 

The Fields of Athenry
by Pete St. John
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young girl calling
Micheal they are taking you away
For you stole Trevelyn's corn
So the young might see the morn.
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.

Low lie the Fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing we had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry.

By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
Nothing matters Mary when you're free,
Against the Famine and the Crown
I rebelled they ran me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity.

Low lie the Fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing we had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry.

By a lonely harbor wall
She watched the last star falling
As that prison ship sailed out against the sky
Sure she'll wait and hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry.

Low lie the Fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing we had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry.

They sang beautifully. They sang a song about a man that was sentenced to transportation to Australia for stealing food to feed his starving family during the potato famine. How so very Irish.

The Fields of Athenry by ftw1905

To the Ireland soccer team, to the Irish soccer fans I say, thank you. Moments like this make whatever Irish I have left in me swell with pride. Moments like this make me a bit less cynical. Moments like this make me remember why I love sport. Thank you and Erin go Bragh!

Group of Death!

EURO 2012 Group of Death games today!

GAME 1

Denmark v Portugal

10:00am on ESPN proper

Watch it. Watch it. WATCH the f-ing BALL!
Watch the Danes shock the world?
...watch Ronaldo choke again?

Portugal and Netherlands need full points today or it's DEATH to them.

 Game 2

Netherlands v Germany!

12:45pm on ESPN proper

The Dutch lose, they die (or get invaded)!

Euro 2012!

EURO 2012! It's like the World Cup but without all the teams that have no hope of winning ('cept Brazil and Argentina). It's EURO 2012! It's on ESPN proper! It's usually great soccer! PengoSports sez, check it out! We are betting it will be the Netherlands v Spain with the Netherlands taking it all! Finally!

Soccer! He's ready for a touchdown or homerun or something!

Saturday's games are:

 Germany v Portugal @ 1000am 

Netherlands v Denmark @ 1245pm

Sunday has:

Spain v Italy @ 1000am

Ireland v Croatia @ 1245pm

Click here for the rest of the schedule

Give it a watch. And don't worry about Iceland.

They didn't make it.

Small Fat Man...Handcuffed Himself to the Goal

While the staff here at PengoSports were a watching exciting English Premier League Tuesday soccer action on Fox Soccer Channel, Everton hosting Manchester City, just before halftime, to our stunned amazement this wonderful bit of weird happened:

From the Guardian (the best newspaper in the world):

8.42pm: There's a break in play at Goodison Park because a small fat man in a baseball cap has sauntered over to Joe Hart's goal and handcuffed himself to the post. It's been a very long day, but I'm pretty sure I'm not hallucinating. He's got his arms either side of the upright with the bracelets round each wrist.

8.44pm: At Goodison Park, the players are standing around looking bemused as lots of stewards and police try to release the bloke who's handcuffed himself to the post, as he tells them all to eff off! Somebody produces a key or bolt-cutters, the cuffs are removed and he's dragged away.

The half finally came, Everton 0 - Man City 0 - Short Fat Man 1.

UPDATED! Everton wins 1-0. Fat man in hat protests a shi*ty airline:

Story at the Daily Mail

And now, for your pleasure, here's another freak in goal:

Choking On Sherbert

The US Women should have studied 

this infograph before the game.

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Et al. 1-0 in the 69th minute on a goal by Alex Morgan, from a beautiful pass by Megan Rapinoe (PengoSports' tourney MVP). Pissed away in the 81st when 3 US defenders panicked and gifted the ball to Japan's Aya Miyama who easily placed in the net and we were off to bonus/free soccer-time!

 

Will the next contestant for 
America's Sweetheart please step forward.

2-1 US, in the 104th minute of bonus soccer-time, on a Abby Wambach header off of great service from Morgan. But since it's soccer, and since it's FIFA, the awesomeness that would have been an incredible OT goal is crapped all over and we still have a minute in this added period and 15 MORE of the other added period to play and, of course, the US defense folded under the Japanese pressure and allowed the equalizer in the 117th, just 3 minutes from victory and thus denying the extra few minutes of fame tacked on to the usual 15 for women's soccer. 2-2 going to PK's. A feeling of FU*K! Is all over this.

P.K.'s

1st PK was dribbled weakly into the Japanese goalie. 0-0.

Goal Japan. 0-1.

2nd PK was up, and good! If it was an extra-point, which it wasn't. 0-1.

Japan kicks one into Solo. 0-1.

3rd PK rolls to a stop at the Japanese tender. 0-1.

Japan smokes one into the net. 0-2.

Wambach with blasts one in, and not with her head. 1-2.

Goal Japan. 1-3. And that was that.

A bit sexist to say they kick like girls, 

but they did kick like girls. Wee little girls.

The US team had more talent, better chances and controlled the game. But Japan didn't give a sh*t about any of that and responded every time and just won the game. They were the better team and deserved victory: 

 

Congratulations to Japan. 

Honorable winners and World Cup champions!

KONJOU - will-power, guts, temper, nature, spirt

 

Japan gets a thunderous welcome!
Hail to our glorious victors!