The Season Has Finally Begun ...

The 2010/11 campaign for Manchester United officially began a few days ago with the first preseason match vs Glasgow Celtic that took place in Toronto's Rogers Centre.  It was the first leg of their North American Tour following their arrival in Chicago for training and the official launch of the new 2010/11 Home Kit.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Semi-finals

So it has come down to the final three in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.  Today was the first match pitting the last remaining South American hope for a Finals berth, in Uruguay, after heavyweights Brazil and Argentina dramatically crashed out in the Quarter-finals over the weekend.  The Netherlands played to 1-1 at HT then the Oranje scored in rapid succession with goals from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben to make it 3-1.  The Churrúas managed to pull one back in ET but it was little to late as they failed to advance cementing the fact that the World Champion will hail from Europe, arguably the strongest footballing region in the world.

Follow Friday

It's that time again for the weekly Twitter Follow Friday.  While I tweet my lists there is one exception that is my Man United followers.  You can find them here all in one place: http://tweepml.org/Man-United-Football/

Favorite New TV Show: The Good Guys

Throughout the last month 24 FOX teased its viewers with a new show called The Good Guys that would make its debut in June.  The previews looked interesting so I checked it out and it turned out to be absolutely hilarious.  It stars West Wing alum Bradley Whitford as old-school detective Dan Stark and Colin Hanks as by-the-book detective Jack Bailey who are assigned routine investigations in an attempt to prevent Detective Stark from further embarrassing the Dallas Police Department.  These "routine" cases more often than not turned into full-blown ones which would elicit both scolding and praise from Assistant District Attorney Liz Traynor (former girlfriend of Jack) and their Lieutenant Ana Ruiz for their unorthodox police tactics.  I love the dry, witty humor and the out-of-sequence film-making reminiscent of a JJ Abrams film.  With my luck the show will be cancelled and Dan and his mustache will not live on.

USA Advances to Round of 16 in a Thriller

Having come into the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ ranked 14th in the World and drawn into a relatively tough Group C consisting of 8th ranked England and Slovenia, Algeria ranked 25th and 30th respectively. Many believed the Americans had a great chance to advance to the Round of 16 if they continued their great play exhibited through qualifying. Their path however would be anything but easy. What occurred over the course of the Group Stages would go down as perhaps one of the defining moments in United States soccer history.

Man United Football Follow Friday

The length of my Man United Follow Friday lists have become enormous so I've to see if it helps to have a link to my list here.  Check it out and actually see with whom you might choose to follow: http://tweepml.org/?t=368764

Have a great Follow Friday and enjoy the weekend!  Go USA and England!!

Man United's 2010-11 Barclay's Premier League Fixture List

It has been awhile since there has been any significant football news to discuss other than the World Cup so today's release of Man United's 2010-11 EPL fixtures has brought much happiness and joy.  It is definitely a sign that the new campaign is getting closer.  The way last season ended being so close to the title but falling just short has brought the desire for more Premier League Football to the forefront.  In my mind club football > international competitions, period.

The Kid: Ken Griffey, Jr. - Saviour of Mariners' Baseball

A few days have passed sine the Seattle Mariners icon, George Kenneth Griffey, Jr. retired from Major League Baseball - an announcement coming exactly twenty-three years to the day of his being chosen as the first overall pick in the 1987 MLB Draft.  Hard to imagine it has been more than twenty years since he donned the M's cap.  So much has happened with the organization during his two decades in the game.

The Anticipation for 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™

There is less than a week left until the first matches commence in the most popular sporting tournament in the world, The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.  The excitement has reached a crescendo as each qualified nation are finalizing their preparations for the month-long tournament that will determine the Champions of the World!

Superbike World Championship 2010

On Monday, May 31st we were off to the races!  My brother who works for Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah had two tickets to the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship 2010.  We had never been out to the racetrack since it opened in 2006.  We are normally not race fans but thought we would try it out especially since our son Joshua loves Lightning McQueen from Disney-Pixar's Cars.  To say that he liked is an understatement ... he absolutely LOVED it!  We have a video showing how much he enjoyed every minute of it!  He is so cute

www.sbkusa.com

I think we will have to go back and watch actual cars race as I am sure he will abosolutely lose his mind!

Memorial Day 2010 - Dishwasher Edition

Memorial Day Weekend 2010 started differently than any other in recent memory.  In years past we would take it easy on Saturday and attend church on Sunday per our usual routine.  Then on Monday maybe attend the Annual Smith Family Potluck in Salt Lake City.  However our plans changed when our dishwasher having died a slow and gruesome death a few days earlier destroying several of our dishes and utensils in the process. It became very apparent that a new one was needed.

We thought the long holiday would be perfect opportunity to buy a new one as there were sure to be holiday sales throughout the valley.  After researching a bit my wife Emily found the best deal at Sears so we packed up the kids first thing Saturday morning and headed to make our purchase.  Little did we know that this would be the beginning of a very long day as we had no idea what lay in store for us!

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial Day is a special time of year as it allows for each of us to commemorate all the American soldiers who died while in military service protecting the country they love and the citizens they swore to protect.  The Stars & Stripes are flown proudly and it is also a time of reflection as friends and loved ones visit cemeteries and memorials.  I am forever indebted to those who did not return home, who were not able to be reunited with their families and loved ones, as most were young and full of life when they died serving our country.

When My Love for Everything Man United Began

I readily admit the beginning of my support for Manchester United began not too long ago.  My younger brother, a ten-year veteran supporter of the Red Devils, first introduced me to them.  He lived in Argentina during the 1998 FIFA World Cup France™ and caught the love for the "beautiful game" while there.  He witnessed firsthand Argentina and England's match that saw them The Three Lions eventually losing in penalty kicks to La Albiceleste after a scoreless draw in regular time. He recalls the travesty of David Beckham being sent off via Simeone's theatrics and upon his arrival home his new found love for football flourished.  That incident with Beckham had peaked his interest becoming a catalyst for his future support of The Greatest Club in the World, Manchester United.

UEFA Champions League Final Madrid 2010

To make things simple, I don't give flying flip who wins tomorrow in the UEFA Champions League Final 2010.  We made Bayern Munich look silly and were sufferers of a little bit of bad luck when Wayne Rooney injured ligaments in his ankle and never fully recovered.  Inter Milan is definitely the better side and should win plus they knocked out The Rent Boys (Chelsea) which deserves praise whenever that feat is accomplished.  Want it to be all over so the footballing world's focus will turn to more important things, the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ then more importantly the Manchester United North American Tour 2010 in preparation for the beginning of the 2010/11 EPL Campaign.

Man United Football Withdrawal

It hasn't been two weeks since Manchester United's 2009-10 campaign ended and I'm dying for some more football.  The way the last few weeks of the season ended left me unfulfilled. All the critics and pundits predicted that the club would suffer for selling Christiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and not resigning Carlos Tevez.

Well Wayne Rooney almost single-handedly quieted all the skeptics as he scored 34 goals in all competitions before he was unlucky and injured his ankle during the most important two-week period of the campaign. The season was somewhat successful as we did finish only one point behind eventual league and FA Cup winners Chelsea. While we did defend the Carling Cup the real silverware however eluded us i.e. Barclay's Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and The FA Cup Trophies.

And Now It's Time to Say Goodbye ...

Another TV season is winding down with all the shows airing their finales these past two weeks.  When May comes around I'm already looking forward to the fall for the continuation of each series especially if there is a cliffhanger. Unfortunately each good thing has to have an end and such is the case this year, as I have to say goodbye, unwillingly, to some of my favorite long-running series.

Been introduced to some new shows such as NCIS: LA, The Middle, Modern Family (will have to post about these them later), and Miami Medical which have been pleasantly enjoyable.  Each have stepped it up a notch especially 24, CSI: NY, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Smallville, and Cold Case.  Even American Idol, which started out slowly and at times was underwhelming has excelled as the Finale edges closer.

Can Blogging Be Time Consuming?

As I return to the blogosphere need to ask myself am I adding too many things and making it a complicated process that it is time consuming?  Guess that question will be answered in the next couple days as the attempt to bring this blog more life so I can draw others to it.

New and Improved

From now on these posts will vary in content considerably as I'll comment on any and everything that's on my mind whether it be family, personal experiences, church related, sports, politics, work, books or movies and TV.  Get ready for a new and improved blog experience from The Jace.

Multi-year Recap, Part I ...

Well, it's been nearly three years since my last post.  Pretty pathetic if you ask me ... but you can't dwell on the past you have to move and look forward, so here I am.  A lot has occurred so I'll do my best to summarize in as little space as possible.

The most important event if you've read my recent (2007) posts is that were successful in getting pregnant and now have two healthy children.  Lissa and Joshua were born February 28, 2008.  They are healthy and happy two-year old twins that we love and adore.  If you follow my wife's blog: The Smith Symphony you'll get an in depth view of our life with them.