chongli

You follow Nick Swisher's twitter? I forgot you were a Yankee fan, damn you !

I'm actually a physicist. Is this the book of lectures by Wolfgang Pauli?

Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball. 700 pages on the NBA. No joke, 700. I'm on page 320. I'd say it's a must-read for anyone interested in basketball. Although the author makes a lot of pop cultural references that may be lost on non-American audiences. Still suggested for all basketball fans though.

How aware are English people that many if not most Americans automatically think people with English accents are extremely intelligent and know everything? I have an Irish coworker who is extremely annoyed by this phenomenon. It's pretty funny.

"Moyes said: 'We have had to wash out the knee. It is a setback but I cannot say for how long.' " Does anyone know exactly what "wash[ing] out the knee" entails?

I had no idea the whole Movember thing was for charity awareness. I thought it was just something guys did for the hell of it.

REM - Fables of the Reconstruction

Good point.

Through 10 league fixtures this season we've faced Arsenal, Burnley, Wigan, Fulham, Blackburn, Pompey, Stoke, Wolves, Bolton, and Villa. At this point last season, it had been Blackburn, West Brom, Pompey, Stoke, Hull, RS, Newcastle, Arsenal, Man United, and Bolton. If we did have 3 more points, 12 right now is slightly disappointing since the opposition was maybe a bit better for the first 10 fixtures of 2008; 3 top four, a Pompey team seeing far better results, and a Hull side that, as I remember, was winning quite a bit early in the season. If you factor in 3 away victories (W Brom, Stoke, Bolton) and a 1-1 draw of United, it definitely looks a bit better. However, it must be said that we weren't missing first teamers in the double digits through long stretches of last autumn. If you then consider, as some have pointed out above, that this season will hopefully see players coming back into the team for the second half, an equal or slightly better performance in the last months does not seem completely unrealistic.

I think I'd have to go with Jags. How many times this season has the back four just seemed to lose it for a bit and let in an easy goal? I can think of one time just yesterday in fact, and I'm sure everyone else can too. It's been one of the biggest problems all season. I think with Jagielka's commitment and leadership in back, stuff like this will get cleaned up right away. That being said, the other biggest problem has to be lack of creativity in midfield, which is an argument for Arteta. Neither can be back too soon of course.

I personally think we should reanimate the corpses of Dixie Dean and maybe Garrincha, look into the necessary rules/laws and then sign them. I figure the duo's good for at least 20 goals from January on.

What's with Bily's face in Mike's posted photo? He looks like an orc from Lord of the Rings.

That is a good point Romey.

Tough choice. The whole team played hard I thought, despite the result. But it was a good opponent. Gave it to Bily.

Yeah, I could not believe that. Extremely unfortunate.

Just watched it on DVR. Really wanted to see a win with the boys working so hard and dominating much of the possession. But I'll echo most of us on the board: this is a draw that does not leave me completely unsatisfied. Exciting game against an opponent who has taken some serious away victories thus far. Bily had some very nice touches including the goal and I thought the red card was just ridiculous. Good to see the Yak starting a league match, although I thought he missed a few passes in the second half that would have lead to real attacking opportunities. Even though they didn't have a lot of results you could point to, I thought Heitinga and Cahill worked hard; the back four was good (Neill continues some decent form), and Howard had a nice save on that touch by Warnock was it?

Very good. Mike, there is in fact an off chance that we will sacrifice a couple days in London to go to Devon and/or Cornwall. In that case, what would you suggest?

I loving nothing on TT more than interacting with my British toffee brethren. I again seek your assistance. I'm going on a trip to England in about a month and I'm hammering out the details now. I'll be taking a route that will go through Manchester, Liverpool, South Yorkshire, East Midlands, West Midlands, The Cotswolds, London, and anything in between those places. I would greatly appreciate tips for things to do, especially from people who live or have lived in those places, of which I'm sure there are many. I already know I'm going to a football contest in Liverpool on the 29th of November. What else? Thanks.

I'd like to jump on this train also. I will be thinking about that lack of touch for weeks. The thing that amazes me is that he managed to do nothing with that run. He didn't just turn down two square teammates with an open look at the net, he didn't even get a shot in!

Gosling? Are you serious? After he did nothing with that run into the box?! That was a travesty.

Another fucking brutal viewing experience.

I can't see this one. What happened on Bily's goal?

Recently watched the first episode of Generation Kill and excited to finish the series. I would like to second the nod to The Wire. Not only is it the greatest television show I've ever seen, it may simply be the most powerful screen presentation I've seen period. Its achievements in both depth and breadth of character development are unparalleled on screen. Right now I'm watching the American League Division Series: Red Sox @ Angels. Go Sox!

Cahill in a midfield lineup with both Arteta and Bily could be vicious. With that much of a constant air threat defenses should also give the striker a little more room. To say I'm looking forward to this combination on the field is an understatement.

Away kits are most certainly underrated.