btfoom

I don't think many of you saw it today, but Timmy Chandler put on a GREAT performance vs Bayern Munich. Playing mainly on the right wing for Frankfurt, he was a constant threat to the back line of Bayern. He took on players and delivered many great crosses, including an assist on the tying goal with his team down a man. If this is how he plays, he MUST play that position for the US. He even got into a shoving match with Jerome Boateng (who is a giant for a soccer player) and stood his ground.

For all of you who were wondering just how far you can drive once that pesky 'low fuel' light comes on, well, now you have an answer: https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/how-far-can-you-drive-your-vehicle-on-empty-by-brady-klopfer?PID=7105813&as=cj&mktg_channel=AFL_CJN&publisher=Skimlinks

More good work by the police: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2016/09/30/teen-who-walked-two-hours-to-work-surprised-by-cop-who-buys-him-bike/?tid=a_inl This teenager was walking for hours to and from work — until a police stop changed his life As its name might suggest, Industrial Way is not known for being pedestrian-friendly. The road in the Northern California city of Benicia is lined with trucking companies, warehouses and metal-finishing factories. As it curves north, before it turns into Channel Road, the street cuts under busy Interstate 680. So when Cpl. Kirk Keffer of the Benicia Police Department spotted a lone, lanky teenager walking on Industrial Way during the graveyard shift a few Saturdays ago, he was curious. It was after 11 p.m. and dark outside, and the boy was just nearing the highway overpass. “Usually in the industrial area, there’s no foot traffic, so it was kind of weird to see someone walking around on foot,” Keffer told The Washington Post. He stopped his patrol car, got out and called out to the pedestrian. Was he okay? What was he doing out there by himself? The teenager, 18-year-old Jourdan Duncan, was equally startled at first. “I was absolutely nervous,” he said. “I thought, okay, um, did I do anything wrong? Is he going to put me in cuffs? I didn’t do anything bad.” Duncan told Keffer he was walking back to his parents’ home in Vallejo. He had just gotten off from his job at Pro-Form Laboratories, where the teen worked on the packaging line from 3 p.m. until around midnight. “Vallejo? That’s like seven miles away,” Keffer said he remembered saying to Duncan. Soon, he had cleared out the passenger seat in his patrol car and offered Duncan a ride home. On the drive, Keffer asked the teen more questions. Why Benicia? Why not drive to work? He was agog that anybody would walk more than two hours each way, every day. Duncan explained that he had just graduated from Jesse Bethel High School the year before. He had gotten a job at Pro-Form Laboratories in May, and enjoyed being around his co-workers. He was saving money for college, he said — but really wanted to be an officer with the California Highway Patrol, to follow in the footsteps of some relatives who were in law enforcement. When the timing belt and an engine valve on his 2001 Volvo broke in July, Duncan got a few rides from friends and co-workers, but soon decided he would try to walk to avoid burdening others. “I didn’t want to always call somebody and be like, ‘Hey, can you pick me up?’ ” he said. “That would have took a lot of people’s time.” Jourdan Duncan and Benicia Police Cpl. Kirk Keffer. (Benicia Police Department) Duncan never told his parents he started walking. (“They thought I was getting rides every day,” he admits.) The first time he plotted out a walkable route on Google Maps, it spit out an estimated commute time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. “This is going to be a long walk,” Duncan thought. On his first day going to work by foot, he didn’t know what to expect. “The whole way there I just had my earphones in, kept quiet and I just power-walked the whole way.” That was in July. Gradually, the foot commute grew easier for him. “The walk now, it’s not a problem for me,” he said. By the time Keffer pulled up to Duncan’s parents’ house that night — all of 15 minutes later, by car — the police officer was impressed. Most people won’t even walk down to the store, he joked. “I was just like, wow, Jourdan, that’s really impressive, your dedication and your hard work,” Keffer said. “At age 18, that’s a good work ethic to have, and I said, you know, I admire that. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” They parted ways and Keffer returned to the police department in Benicia. Still, he couldn’t get Duncan’s commute out of his head. He mentioned his interaction to his shift supervisor, who, like Keffer, happened to be a board member of the Benicia Police Officers’ Association. “So I hit him up and say, ‘I just had this contact with this young man,’ ” Keffer said. ” ‘He’s walking five hours a day, and I think it should be rewarded. What if we help him out?’ ” They emailed the rest of the board to seek approval to buy a bicycle. It was, he said, one of the fastest votes they’ve ever taken: Within an hour, enough board members wrote back in agreement. And so, the following day, Keffer visited Wheels in Motion, a local bike shop. [Hailed a hero, the homeless man who found New Jersey bombs gets apartment, job prospects] He was looking for a good mountain bike, Keffer explained to the owner. Something with a reliable gearing system that could handle Benicia’s steep hills. The longtime shop owner, Greg Andrade, helped him pick out a $500 Giant-brand bicycle — and loved the teen’s story so much that he also donated a lighting system, brake light and helmet. The only matter left was how to surprise Duncan. <rest at link>

Love to see Mullins (yes, a UMd man) doing well with DC United. Hope he keeps it up and can take them deep into the playoffs. On the other front, Bayern have now lost and drawn in the last 2 matches. Not blaming anyone, but Mueller needs to get back to his proper form. Hope Citeh drop points this week in PL. Props to Washington Spirit (DC's 'professional' women's soccer team) in making the League Finals. Let's get em ladies!!!

I coached my daughter's travel team (in Maryland) from U9 - U-18 (2003 - 2013). We played WAGS (Washington Area Girls Soccer) for a while and ended up playing BBSL (Baltimore Beltway Soccer League). For your kids age, they will be playing in a local rec league. I believe 'Travel' doesn't start until U-9. I don't know if they are popular in your area, but I would highly recommend looking for a program that utilizes or hires Coerver Coaching Academy to train the players. They are fantastic teaching individual skills. Not coaching soccer at this time (actually doing volleyball, but that's a different story). If you like, I can ask some of the guys I know who are still coaching what they think of programs in that area.

Personally, I don't see Dortmund selling Pulisic as they have a young team and he will just grow and be better with them. Anyway, congrats on coming back. I coached soccer years ago, and we played Fredicksburg Soccer Inc (they were OK). Since then, there is something called the "Phoenix Academy". Don't know much about them, but you can check them out at: http://www.fredericksburgsoccer.org/academy/

I know many folks here are watching football and keeping track of basketball signings, but the UM Terps Men's Soccer team has climbed up to #1 in the country: http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-men/d1 RANK SCHOOL TOTAL POINTS W-L-T PREV. 1 Maryland (22) 597 6-0-2 1 2 Notre Dame (2) 573 7-1-0 3 3 Syracuse 518 8-1-0 2 4 North Carolina 514 7-1-0 9 5 Clemson 483 5-1-1 7 6 Indiana 468 5-0-4 4 7 Butler 449 7-0-1 10 8 Denver 430 8-0-2 8 9 Louisville 418 7-1-1 13 10 Creighton 357 5-1-2 12

Here's another good one to show just how good many police officers are in their jobs: http://fox8.com/2016/09/27/pulled-over-for-speeding-grieving-man-stunned-when-officer-drives-him-100-miles-to-be-with-family/ Pulled over for speeding, grieving man stunned when officer drives him 100 miles to be with family TROY, Ohio — After finding out his teenage sister had been killed in a car accident over the weekend, Mark Ross said he wanted to be with his mother as soon as he could. Without a vehicle, Ross said that he convinced someone he knew to drive, and jumped in the man's car just after 3 a.m. Sunday in Indiana. Ross wrote in a Facebook post that they were speeding through Ohio, bound for Detroit, when the lights flashed behind them. "I knew I was going to jail due to a petty warrant," Ross wrote. Ross was in the passenger seat of the car when Trooper J. Davis pulled them over, and the driver had a suspended license and an outstanding warrant as well, according to Inside Edition. Trooper Davis ended up taking the driver into custody and having the car towed, which left Ross stranded in Ohio. Ross explained what happened next when Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant David Robison arrived: "I broke down crying and he saw the sincerity in my cry. He REACHES OVER AND BEGAN PRAYING OVER ME AND MY FAMILY. He offered to bring me 100 miles further to Detroit because they towed the vehicle. Everybody knows how much I dislike Cops but I am truly Greatful (sic) for this Guy. He gave me hope" True to his word, Robison drove Ross more than 100 miles to a Detroit coffee shop where he could meet his cousin. "It was just so overwhelming," Ross told Inside Edition. "They were trying to help us." Ross and his family said they are so grateful for Robison's generosity, and that the sergeant has even promised to attend the funeral.

Interesting scheduling in the UCL this week. There are 3 German sides playing 3 Spanish sides - Bayern v Atleti, Dortmund v Real, B Gladbach v Barca. Gotta think there was more than chance when the UCL made this schedule. The best (for neutrals and those who like open matches) will most likely be Dortmund v Real. Could see multiple goals for each side. Hope Gladbach can stay close/draw vs Barca. This will show how far Bayern have come under Carlo. Should be fun.

Deleted Pic to keep in with new rules. I hope you are correct about the new boss. Looks like Pool are very much in line for #19 (I hope that is the correct number - please let me know if I'm wrong). It's September 24 (just for date) and here is my prediction for Pool: FA Cup - Semi-Finals League Cup - Champions EPL - Champions Yes, I admit that I was wrong in my earlier prediction that Chelsea would beat Pool in the league. Right now, as long as Pool don't crap the bed in those tough matches vs teams that just park the bus, they are the favorite to win the league. Won't win the FA Cup as it will come down to a choice to win the league vs the Cup. As long as they can make some penalties in the early rounds, I see them going one more than last season and getting the League Cup. Next year they get Dortmund in their UCL group.

With all the love for the Pool, nice to see that another side is delivering an historic run as well. Bayern are still undefeated in all competitions under Carlo. Playing a more free-flowing type of soccer (FYI - very similar to the style being played by Klopp's side) that is like how Munich should play. If everyone stays healthy, should be a serious run for #6.

At least those of us rooting for the US know where he's ended up playing his international soccer. He will be special.

My comment was purely tongue in cheek. BTW, didn't know you lived in the US. Tell you boss Lil' bro to post here sometime, we'd all like to meet him.

Stop braggin you lucky bastid..... Hope you have a great weekend and get to see a Skins' victory live and in person. Make sure to bring lots of Advil for Sunday night.....

Agree about Simeone. They usually play a little more open at home (at least they did last time Bayern went there), but are not a fun side to watch and are overall a bunch of thugs. Just saw the second half (I think he got subbed off then). Didn't notice too much of him. Will look for him in future Berlin matches when I get a chance. Hope Pool gets an early goal or 2 to make Hull come out of their shell.

Bayern remain undefeated in the Ancelotti era. This team looks much more relaxed and attack more than during the Pep time with them. Real test comes up next week when Bayern travel to Madrid to face Atleti. Also next week, Dortumnd plays Real Madrid. Those are the types of matchups the UCL needs to produce on a regular basis.

I wasn't even about the quality of GK, only the type of environment. Good win again for Pool. I am very interested to see how the Hull match goes this weekend. If it goes well, the rest of the PL better watch out because if they crack the bus/wall type of teams, I don't see anyone - yes even Citeh - who will stop them. Of course, Neuer has his 'moments':

Slow down there, kid. Wait until he does it in a UCL match and then we will talk.

Hey @Elessar78, nice to see you posting. I was thinking about you today. How are you doing? I hope you are at least feeling better (and really hope you are healing nicely). Can you give us an update when you feel up to it? We are all rooting for you.

Read the assessment by @Gibbs Hog Heaven (don't want to quote it as it's lots of text, but pretty spot on). Like I said in a post early on in the season, Pool will be fine when teams actually play them. I don't think many teams will play them straight up. Klopp will earn his money (or not) in those games vs the Sam Allardyce/Jose Mou type of sides who simply park the bus and try to make the 90 minutes seem like 4 hours. If Pool can grind out results from those matches, they will be right at the top down the home stretch. Time will tell (I'd put my money of them getting it right more often than not).

LOL listening to the 'not so special one' during his presser. Same broken record - the refs are against us, they lost the game for us, blah, blah, blah. Stand up like a man and take responsibility. Bet Henrikh Mkhitaryan regrets the biggest mistake of his football career.

Welcome here. Enjoy the beautiful game, it can be fantastic and frustrating at the same time. We love it. Pool are a great team to watch now that Klopp has them playing like a BL side (just a little joke for @DC9 and @Gibbs Hog Heaven). They will be great to watch. I'd advise you to try some other leagues other than the PL just to see if a certain style suits you. Keep posting here as we always like to have new 'blood' in the forum.

And that's how you step into a game and finish it. Just drop the mike and walk away. NICE!!!!!

These last 2 calls have been so bad that I have to believe that they have to be intentional. There can't be pass interference when the ball is still in the QB hand.

Doesn't matter what the final score of this game is. Michigan beat UCF like a rented mule. UMd can't even score when they start the second half on the UCF 33 yard line. The O-Line keeps giving up sacks and the Defense can't stop a 3rd and 13. This team looks like a 4-8 right now. Can't play Howard every week.