The Third Dukes

I'll put this here rather than its own thread, since qualifiers start up again soon anyway. Thoughts?

So I just saw footage of the interview, and is it wrong that my first thought was to wonder when Ozzy Osbourne was named a soccer manager?

RIP to a great actor and a great human being.

That's clearly a typo. He meant "undermine."

Okay, that settles it: I'm officially rooting for ANORTHOSIS FAMAGUSTA, baby! Best name ever. And they tied Bremen on the road, yeehaw!

lol, Brazil And the US with a dominant performance tonight. We've got one foot in the hexagonal now! 3-0 win.

Roy Keane can go to hell. He's told Yorke he's not allowed to play today. As a US fan, I shouldn't complain too loudly, as it makes our home match with T&T easier, but good grief. Let the man play for his country, you asshole!

The IIHF webpage has more on this, but ESPN SportsCenter reported that in Olympic qualifying, Slovakia beat Bulgaria 82-0. In hockey. Really. At first I thought it was a football score. The worst part? They shot 139 times to 0. That's just unfathomable!

Ick. Just bizarre and tragic.

1-0 win on the road! UP YOURS, CASTRO! Ahem. Six points out of six and doing fine. Nothing else to see here.

We got ourselves a trip to Cuba coming up. I have no idea how good they'll be -- although I think we can get three points out of it. We need to stay focused, and after our play against Guatemala, things could get a little hairy. You know, do you think UEFA should adopt a multi-tiered qualifying process like CONCACAF, CAF, and AFC have? England/Andorra is a waste of time, if you ask me. Since Europe gets 13 out of 53 in, they could do something like: play in games to cut it from 53 to 48, then 12 groups of 4 to make it from 48 to 24, then 4 groups of 6 in which the top two (and the best #3) advance. That way, the best teams would play each other more and a team like San Marino or Andorra that has no hope in hell is out of the picture early.

Twentieth Century Fox said on Monday it will seek an injunction to block release of the Warner Bros movie "Watchmen" after a Los Angeles court ruled a copyright lawsuit against Warner can go forward. The movie about raffish, flawed superheroes -- which has already been shot -- is slated for release on March 6, said Warner Bros spokesman Scott Roe. The highly anticipated film, with a budget believed to be about $120 million, is based on a 1980s DC Comics graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. In his decision released last week, Judge Gary Feess of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California wrote that Fox could hold some of the rights to the material, even if it did not hold all rights. Fox argues it acquired motion picture rights to the "Watchmen" graphic novel in the last 1980s, and that even though it relinquished certain rights to the material in 1991 it held onto the right to distribute the first movie. "We will be asking the court to enforce Fox's copyright interests in "The Watchmen" and enjoin the release of the Warner Brothers film and any related 'Watchmen' media that violate our copyright interests in that property," said Fox spokesman Gregg Brilliant. "The Watchmen" is directed by Zack Snyder, who made the 2007 hit movie "300." The film is based on edgy material and takes an unorthodox approach to the superhero movie by focusing on flawed antiheroes. Scott Rowe, a spokesman for Warner Bros, said the ruling only means that the case will go forward. "The judge did not opine at all on the merits, other than to conclude that Fox satisfied the pending requirements," Rowe said. "We respectfully disagree with Fox's position and do not believe they have any rights in and to this project." Feess' ruling was issued on Wednesday, in response to Warner Bros' request to have the case dismissed. Warner Bros made the request after Fox sought an injunction against release of "Watchmen." Fox filed its lawsuit against Warner Bros in February. Fox's accusations against its rival studio included copyright infringement, interference with contract and breach of contract. DC Comics, the company behind the "Watchmen" graphic novel, is a subsidiary of Warner Bros, which is owned by Time Warner Inc. Fox is owned by News Corp. ----- Discuss. Or yell at me for not seeing this in another thread.

And then there's Weird Al, although most of his songs are more affectionate mocking than others. The closest he gets to mocking the industry as a whole is "Don't Download This Song".

Nothing more charming than 1946's "Song of the South!" You laugh, but have you actually seen "Song of the South"? I have, and I think the reaction to Uncle Remus and the main story is a bit overblown. Yes, I'm not comfortable with the racial undertones of the story at all and I can see why Disney would want to keep this one away from general consumption, but it's actually a well-done piece and a good story. Plus, how can you NOT like Brer Rabbit? I'm not a racist, before anyone jumps on me for it. I just think the movie gets unfairly slagged. It's not like they had people in blackface or anyone getting lynched -- they just portrayed a "magical negro" type character. Yeah, slavery's bad, mmkay, but too much is made of that.

DAMN!

Eh, we acquitted ourselves just fine against Chelski. Even if it was a lesser side, we showed we're no pushovers. Go Rovers! Keep the League One dream alive!

Why should playing in MLS disqualify him? If he's good, he's good -- no matter who his competition is. And Donovan was literally never given a chance at Leverkusen, which you'd know if you bothered to follow leagues outside your own. The German leagues just don't like Americans -- Clint Mathis was buried during his tenure there after a stellar 2002 World Cup. The only American who has really succeeded there is Cherundolo with Hannover.

For those curious, Joe Cole's assist to Jermaine Jenas made SportsCenter in the US. Which is either a sign of the apocalypse or an inability to deny magic.

Quarterfinals are set, and they should be good ones. Nigeria @ Ghana Angola v. Egypt Guinea v. Ivory Coast Cameroon v. Tunisia I'd say the draw looks very good for Egypt -- they get Angola first, then a very weak winner of Nigeria/Ghana, then an emotionally spent winner of Ivory Coast/Cameroon. They're a dark horse in this thing.

Chelsea away? Bring it on. Or at leasy, pay us in advance. Seriously, though, I'm thrilled we made the Last 16, and I hope we can put in a great showing against Chelsea. For a club that was threatened with dissolution earlier this decade -- this is a wonderful turnaround.

As one of the few Huddersfield fans, I'm thrilled right now. 1-0 over Oldham and we're in the Sweet 16, baby! Woohoo!