Man......

Okay first the Cubs get swept. Then the Rockies sweep the team that swept the Cubs. Now, with the Sox up 13-1 in the sixth inning of game 1, it looks as though the team that swept the team that swept the Cubs is going to get swept. Could the 2007 Cubs be, empirically, the worst team in the history of playoff baseball?

In other news, Mrs. Architectureandfootball and I are getting a piano on Friday! It's actually my parents' piano which we're simply moving to our house - but we're INCREDIBLY excited...and we can't thank the p-unit enough.

Getting cooooooold here in Chicago.

Today we discovered the joy of delivery for pet supplies. 5 bucks, no hassles.

Jewel had buy one get one free on Dean's ice cream yesterday. Tonight feels like Rocky Road.

Newcastle is RIDING THE HIGHS of 8TH PLACE!! Pretty unbelievable...up on Saturday we've got Reading at the Majeski Stadium. We've been stellar at home so far and rubbish on the road - so hopefully we can begin to turn that tide this weekend. We've got the injuries down to two now, Barton came in for the first time last weekend, and all is looking up....so here we go.

International Break....

Well, the ol' Premiership is in one of their pesky "international breaks" again, meaning no interesting footy on for me, since FSC only typically covers bottom of the barrel international matches. For some reason they absolutely ADORE the Swedish international team, which seem to get played every international break ENDLESSLY. But what's even worse is that there's no Premiership Review show on, and this was the week I was planning to hit the ever-important "Record Entire Series" button on the DVR. (I just recently got DVR and it's changed my life - instead of taping endless amounts of shows onto a VCR tape and never watching them again, now I can DIGITALLY record endless amounts of tv shows, never to watch them again.) So that's what really bummed me out this weekend.
That, and being a bit too hung over to bother my body from working properly for 3/4 of the day today. But the good news is: Underworld's got a new EP out called "Crocodile" which, not only is a KILLER name for a song/album, but also has phenomenal and very subtly creepy artwork we've come to expect from Underworld/Tomato creations. (See: Mmm...Skyscraper, I love you) It's actually not a bad song, either.

Back to the football: A couple things are going on at the NUFC camp and there's one that I'd like to quickly expound upon. 1) Little Stevie Taylor has been acting like a Prima Donna in his new contract talks. Apparently the guy wants more money, which is fine because he's a hell of a young talent. Captaining the U-21's is DEFINITELY a good sign. But the fact is, we're changing the face of Newcastle, and he's competing for spots with some great players, and everybody around the club is ecstatic to see some competition for spots. Especially in the defense, where just two seasons ago, we were so bad that Steven Carr, Celestine Babayaro AND Jean-Alan Boumsong all got starting spots!! Steve Taylor, unfortunately was judged to be too young at that time, and now that he's aged and wisened a bit, we pull in this great defense, and all of the sudden his rear is plastered to the bench again. I'd be upset too. But he needs to make a decision if he wants to stay and fight (like he's continually said he wants to) or run for another team that will pay him more, play him more, but won't win as much (hopefully).

Big Sam is doing a hell of a job with this team early on - and even though we are NOT where we should be judging by the schedule we had to start the season, we're looking good in most positions....
Keeper - I really hope Shay starts to play better for us. He rocks out in the international matches but can't get a full, REALLY solid match under him for NUFC. I'd MUCH prefer seeing him in there than Harper.
D - I love this new defense - so much that I don't know exactly who to start because we've got too many quality players. Personally, I'd start Faye at right back, because Beye just seems a bit to slow still for the Premiership, and hasn't moved forward well at all. Plus, that will clear a central defending position for Rozehnal to come back in and partner Cacapa (who I love) in the middle, with Enrique on the outside - who has proven himself to be a VERY gifted and exciting player.
Mids - The mini-re-emergence of Emre is a great sign. He can make things happen, and it'll give us balance to put him next to a holder - I prefer Geremi over Butt for that slot. Once Barton comes back from injury (soon) there will be some real heat for that central spot with Emre.
The two wings still belong to Milner and N'Zogbia for me - it's great to see Zog back on the wing rather than in the back, even though he did so well.
If you notice, I gave FOUR mid spots because there's NO WAY we should be playing a 433, even though I was all for it earlier - we've proven we dont have enough speed or holding skill in midfield to protect the counter attack.
So for my two strikers, I would definitely go with Martins and Owen. I have no problem with Martins and Owen in the same line - even though they're both short, they've got completely different games and skillsets. They've proven they can link together, and let's be honest - they're just the two most gifted players out there. So why bother sitting one of them? Mark Viduka can come on if it's not working on the day - he's a great player as well - again, competition for spots is the best thing. But Martins should ALWAYS get the start.

Another non-arch/footy Post

These days it's all about the baseball. With my beloved Black and Whites still languishing in midtable and the Cubbies still playing ball in October, my attention has turned to the pitches instead of the pitch.

Unfortunately, there really aren't many good things to talk about at this immediate moment...The Cubbies got wholloped in the first game and after taking an early lead, they came undone and are currently down 4-2 in the third inning as I write this.

October baseball is a strange time when the Cubs are involved....not only is it incredibly uncharted waters for a Cubs fan, but more baseball is on the television than at any other point in the year, which really doesn't make Mrs. Architectureandfootball too happy. So it's a tightrope job.

Quickly back to football - there are numerous topics I could go into regarding NUFC these days - the slow realization that Sam is turning us into a longball team, that he can't figure out that Alan Smith is actually a striker and not an attacking midfielder, that plaing three defensive midfielders in a 4-4-2 isn't going to put many points on the board, and playing 4-3-3 with a mediocre midfield will inevitably leave massive gaps in the field where opposing teams can easily set up attack. Let's see, what else can I complain about....Given hasn't played enough or gotten enough respect, Michael Owen has gotten WAY too much respect just by scoring two international goals, blah blah blah. This weekend is Everton, and since they just won a close one on THURSDAY, in which they played their first team, I think we should walk away with three points. But with us - you really can never tell.