Developing a Quarterback with Jim Harbaugh

Talking ball with Harbaugh as he shares his secrets to creating a better passer...

Premier league video highlights: Arsenal vs Wolves golie Wayne Hennessey and Tottenham Gareth Bale vs Norwich

Arsenal had the opportunity to go to the top four in premier league for the first time this season but it was Wayne Hennessey who stood on their way to earn 10-men Wolverhampton a 1-1 draw. Wayne Hennessey Also kept Robin Van Persie at bay on 3 goals in a calender year and will have to wait for the remaining game against QPR to try break Thierry Henry's record or go to level with Alan Shearer's record of 36 goals.

Watch Wolvehampton Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey vs Arsenal
szólj hozzá: Arsenal vs Hennessey

Tottenham Spurs continue their superb form collecting all three point from Norwich City with 2-0 victory thank to Gareth Bale goals. Tottenham are now within 7 points to league leaders Manchester City and Manchester United. Gareth Bale crucial role at Spurs keeps showing up with Redknapp warning clubs off the unstoppable Wales international describing Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid as only clubs that can pay his wages. Bale scoring record is fast improving having score 11 goals in 41 games last season to 8 goals in 18 games this season.
Watch Tottenham Gareth Bale vs Norwich City

szólj hozzá: Norwich vs Bale

Football’s Illusions

We want diversity, but we don't want it to be an argument. But that's what diversity is.

Sometimes the arguments are creative. When you start a dialectic between people who are different, it benefits... I believe in arguing.

I'm often accused of being opinionated and argumentative, I plead guilty to that, but I've never had anything not end up better because people in the same room were arguing back.
-David Simon

This post is an attempt to articulate a deeper response to understanding today’s game of professional football and the culture that surrounds it. Please understand that there are various nuances to consider and this is not intended to be the cynical fire-starting rant that it may appear to be at first glance.

Hemlock and I are presenting our views on this subject for posterity and reflection on the impact of mass media in shaping the game of football in the current age. In a recent discussion at Coach Huey.com, the issue of NFL scheme variety was presented. Is there really a difference between one team from another, when they all essentially are running the same thing? And if they are the same, why are we being constantly told about / sold on the facets that are unique to such-and-such scheme?
Influence Of Mass Media Shaping Perception



NFL

According to many reports, professional football got its start primarily to serve gambling interests.
It was just too difficult to influence the outcomes of so many college games at the time and the money to be made through industry-sponsored teams was too good to pass up. In any event, the professional game we have today is primarily propped up to serve the interests of franchises and advertising revenue. While many professional ball clubs have a storied history of games played and athletes who forced an adaptation along the way, the system in place was really only concerned on the amount of “units” sold. In short, the Cleveland Steamers exist to turn a profit as an entertainment franchise, it just happens to be that winning games is a great way to turn a profit. “The game” is an afterthought to the bottom-line of the organization.

If the NFL captures your attention and sparks a passion for the game of football, great. Hopefully, this interest draws you into a greater appreciation of the sport, itself. Be aware that much of the NFL is competition and strategy in Kabuki form, which is fitting after all, as a night at the theatre has now been replaced with an afternoon at the stadium in our current culture. It is a marketing device that wraps itself in the flag, never-ending 9/11 tributes, breast cancer awareness, and any other maudlin trigger it could hope to entrench itself to. Anything to get you to cauterize your personal identity to socially affirmed beliefs. This has great effect for creating an illusion that the game and it’s trademark are bigger than they are (“Peyton Manning isn’t just a man, but Peyton Manning”); nurturing hero worship.

The NFL is, far and away, the most egregious, self-absorbed and greedheaded entity when it comes to displaying any logo, player, uniform, jersey, game film, highlight. If money isn’t shoved into their pocket at every single opportunity and if the script itself doesn’t extol the NFL and American football as the saving grace of our civilization, then they reserve all rights to the depiction of football as it exists in the lives of regular folk. They include in that regular folk who suffered through Katrina and its aftermath and took real solace in the Saints. They don’t give a fuck about depicting your reality or what the Saints meant to you. They give a fuck about glorifying and gilding their image and getting paid ridiculous sums of money. That’s all they care about.

- David Simon, creator of Treme

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ESPN



Jesse Palmer wasn’t hired because he possesses some great insight into the game. He is the face of the game because he provided a draw for ABC’s “The Bachelor”, has a TV-polished delivery, and can accentuate the game experience. There isn’t anything wrong with that in itself. Networks exist to serve their share-holders and anything that beefs up the bottom line. Whether it’s a pretty face in the booth, a skirt on the sideline, and computer graphics peppered through the broadcast, its all about selling their brand.

This isn’t even hating on the world-wide leader in sports. They do a good job of expanding the game to a wide-reaching market. Simply understand that the 24/7 information cycle exists not because of necessity (there is so much that doesn’t need to be reported or evaluated), only because it is profitable. The bottom-line for ESPN is advertising revenue, and this is the entire thrust of this post. There are 3-hour pregame shows not because there is 3-hours of content to deliver, but that is the maximum draw ESPN can offer prime content advertising slots. To entice the viewer’s attention, they have to offer different hooks; human-interest stories, personal stories, and secret matchup scheme advantages you should watch for in a game. Again, not because you are really gaining anything out of this, but they want to build on that emotional identity you are associating with.



ESPN began taking off in the mid-1990s and has expanded its exposure over the last few decades. Try to remember what ‘sports reporting’ was like in the 70’s and 80’s. Even in the 90’s, before broadband speeds of the 2000s, they were primarily content-driven. Currently, they essentially reign without competitor, serving as king-makers and breakers depending on the chosen narrative.

So when you get done viewing one of their next “specials” or “analysis”, ask yourself if you really learned anything of substance, could the statements they made hold any relevance or be validated? If the answer is “no”, you may want to question why the fuck you watch this shit in the first place.


Another way to problematize what ESPN, FOX, and the new new kid on the block VERSUS do is locate it within perspective of the cheap drama of the average television sitcom. I add "cheap" here not to be snarky, but just not to disrespect the medium of drama. But back to my point: with their various pregame programs ESPN creates a narrative mode of emplotment for viewers to latch onto and follow; in a sense, its akin to the old Soviet master plots of Socialist Realist novels that, by and large, went something like this: boy meets girl, girl meets tractor and bam we got Utopia. These make for very nice page turners and the like, the one problem being that the players in the text no longer really matter at all; they are all interchangeable because their actions as indivduals have been subordinated to the needs of the plot. ESPN effectively offers a moderated form of this narrative, but from a slightly more capitalist perspective. ESPN is not interested in building socialistic Utopias, but in feeding an infernal system of consumption with the aid of maximizing share prices and returns.

I suppose that so long we are aware of the existence this plot then nothing is too problematic. Problems arise, however, when people actually begin to believe the plot, to believe, in other words, that what ESPN is offering is not reality, but a simulacrum of reality, a shiny, varnished, troping of a well played plot. Succinctly put, ESPN reinforces the point that perception is now reality.

And to this we can add one sidebar of sorts that is directly related to the way the plot of the NFL is executed on the "gridiron," where the fuck are you George Carlin when I need you. The subordination of the game to the plot of profit in the form shares and returns is evident in the commodified, big-box way the game is played. Small roster, smaller than those of any college program, as well as some high-school programs, combined with the intensified commodification of the game via free agency forces teams to play a generic "pro-style" of offense and defense. This combined with the odic figure of the QB, the "face" of every franchise, makes it exceedingly risky to employ a system, especially on offense, that would risk injuring the hero of the NFL-ESPN-FOX story. The reason we do not see the option, the Run-n-Shoot, or a true spread in the MIZZOU sense is not because they would not work or that NFL players are too fast, but because these styles of play would force teams to re-trope themselves in a way that departs significantly from the NFL script. The option could work in the NFL; a team would just need to design itself around the option, carry four QB, an make this their identity. What's Pat White doing these days anyway...?

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RADIO


Before there was BooYah analysis, there was sports radio and the bombastic, concision-driven, dead-air killing rants of disc jockeys who troll for lulz on fan bases. The more obnoxious they could become, the greater the market share this personality could draw, and command a greater demand for advertising dollar. This type of format only exacerbated the one-liner simplicity that host and fans used. Deep and layered discussion was not embraced (boring) and inciting rivalries and spiking blood pressures is where the payoff resided. This formula, is what much of the network/Internet fan experience is founded upon. It isn’t because it is a natural course of sport appreciation, it is because that is how the game is sold to us as consumers.

Who the hell listens to radio anymore, though, amirite? It should be noted, though, that this very same cheap audience gimmick plays out daily in any medium you’re receiving sports information. This manipulative practice is what serves as the rudder in dialogue, which in turn drives the decision-making process of those selling the goods (i.e. the sports franchises).

In fact, I have the habit when I'm driving of turning on these radio call-in programs, and it's striking when you hear the ones about sports. They have these groups of sports reporters, or some kind of experts on a panel, and people call in and have discussions with them. First of all, the audience obviously is devoting an enormous amount of time to it all. But the more striking fact is, the callers have a tremendous amount of expertise, they have detailed knowledge of all kinds of things, they carry on these extremely complex discussions...

...And when you look at the structure of them, they seem like a kind of mathematics. It's as though people want to work out mathematical problems, and it they don't have calculus and arithmetic, they work them out with other structures...And what all these things look like is that people just want to use their intelligence somehow...

Well, in our society we have things that you might use your intelligence on, like politics, but people really can't get involved in them in a very serious way -- so what they do is put their minds to other things, such as sports. You're trained to be obedient; you don't have an interesting job; there's no work around for you that's creative; in the cultural environment you're a passive observer of usually pretty tawdry stuff...So what's left?

...And I suppose that's also one of the basic functions it serves society in general: it occupies the populations, and it keeps them from trying to get involved with things that really matter. In fact, I presume that's part of the reason why spectator sports are supported to the degree they are by the dominant institutions.

-Noam Chomsky

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INTERNET

"We're a little too into sports in this country, I think we gotta throttle back. Know what I mean? People come home from these games, "We won! We won!" No, they won - you watched."

-Seinfeld stand-up quote from the episode "the Chaperone"

You have websites prepackaged with content selling subscriptions, run largely by individuals who have little experience /knowledge in writing or fact-finding journalism, nor especially the game. Its one thing to deliver fan-centric content such as stats and tailgating experience and impressions from the game. It is quite another thing to provide analysis of coaching decisions with absolute certainty of the outcome when you have little understanding of what is taking place on the field and no experience what goes into teaching, applying, and managing a game (coaching staff).

You don’t have to be a Michelin-rated chef to be able to discern if a meal was palatable or if your dining experience was one to be remembered. It does help my critique as well as substantiate my perspective if I understand what goes into the process of food preparation, nutrition, presentation, and how tastes are to complement each other. If I do not have an understanding of these elements, I won’t be grounded in key factors to provide objective feedback. Unfortunately, much of the ‘analysis’ by these content providers is tantamount to a steak house review where the critic clamors on about how the steak was too rare and needed more ketchup. Don’t mistake snark for being insightful.

This will regrettably come across as a stern rebuke of fan-sites on the Internet. It is not meant to be such. They serve a purpose to heighten the fan experience and provide an inclusive support network (at a price?). This piece was intended to provide some perspective of how much of the information is being filtered to the consumer, who in turn shapes the discourse of college/pro football. This isn’t meant to disparage bloggers, either. I would argue that their perspective remains the most relevant and should be the least tainted of sports reporting. The danger lays in their attempts to mimic the ESPNs of the world with pseudo-analysis via clichés, gibberish, and rhetorical logic. These bloggers (network employees included) are often times fresh out of college with the crux of their understanding of the game founded on video games, junior high playing experience, and other cardboard analysis from cable television. It is what it is, let the consumer beware. Pump the brakes on serious analysis of coaching decisions, especially when they concern what programs should be doing behind closed doors or on the field of play. Nowhere is this more apparent than in evaluating the passing game. The fan-analyst will only see ‘bad calls’ and ‘good calls’ if they don’t factor in coverage vs passing concept, protection, concept progressions, and player execution. This is why a majority of sites will stress the run game so much because it can avoid much of the vagaries of passing the football. This insecurity / lack of confidence in subject matter contribute to the retardation of a critical response.



Also, understand the psyche of the single-minded sports fan (the people delivering the content). Emotions run high and each contest is seen through the lens of immediate gratification and pride. Living paycheck to paycheck isn’t a sound plan for financial security and neither is the rabid game-to-game evaluation of a team. As we say in coaching, “it is never as bad as you remember or as good as it seems. Watch the film”. What worked, what didn’t, film puts it all into appropriate perspective.



So what is the purpose behind this tangent? Simply to evaluate statements proffered by these mouthpieces. Don’t accept them just because they feel good, but challenge them (“why is this statement true? What is the counter-argument and what other factors are involved?”). THAT, truly is what the game of football is about. It isn’t about absolute answers, it is about presenting challenges, evaluating solutions, and determining through an economy of resources (time, athletes, odds, knowledge, etc ) what the appropriate response should be. The further you get from the field, the easier the game appears. In a game that elicits so much emotion, this is a petition for dispassionate understanding of what you’re consuming.

** UPDATE - so it's no surprise that both ESPN and the NFL are strong supporters of the obnoxious SOPA legislation
http://gizmodo.com/5870241/presented-without-comment-every-single-company-supporting-sopa-the-awful-internet-censorship-law

Premier League – Boxing day, New year and other holiday fixtures and results

Premier league is set to resume after Christmas with games fixtures on Boxing Day, New Year and other days during holiday season. 

The unfamiliar league leader especially on Christmas season, Manchester City are seating at the top for the first time since 1929. Mancini will be away to West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland were his boy will be fighting to get back to winning ways in away matches after suffering their first defeat to Chelsea and draw at Liverpool. 

Manchester United have two matches at home Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers followed by a travel to surprise package of the season Newcastle who had had a bad run in recent games.  Phil Jones was clear on bone fracture and might play against Wigan Athletic but Ashley Young will be sidelined.

Third placed Tottenham showed superb performance to remain at 3rd place with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea will be facing promoted clubs Norwich City away and then Swansea City. Spurs received positive news on  Rafael van der Vaart recovery but will be without important players like  Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe.

Chelsea face Fulham in another tough London Derby will be trying to start cutting down the 11 points gap with the league leaders to get back in title challenge. Andre Villa-Boas still see it is possible to challenge for title as long as Chelsea stay close to the top four but he face tough challenge.

Arsenal on 5th place plays Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day before two consecutive London derbies Queen's Park Rangers and Fulham.  Robin Van Persie, the current premier league top scorer will be looking to add is goal tally to 36 in the next two game to equal Alan Shearer's 36 goals in one calender year record.

Liverpool put a fantastic show against Manchester City will be trying to find positive results and cover for the Luis Suarez racism charges as well as clubs decision to support the player by wearing Suarez branded T-Shirts. They face Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.

Manchester United vs Wigan video highlights 5-0  

szólj hozzá: W5-0M www.fasthighlights.com

Premier league holiday fixtures video highlights and results

Monday 26 December 2011
Bolton vs Newcastle 0-2
Chelsea vs Fulham 1-1
Liverpool vs Blackburn 1-1
Man Utd vs Wigan 5-0
Sunderland vs Everton 1-1
West Brom vs Man City 0-0
Stoke vs Aston Villa  1-1

Tuesday 27 December 2011
Arsenal vs Wolverhampton 1-1

Norwich vs Tottenham 0-2

Swansea vs QPR 1-1

Friday 30 December 2011

Liverpool vs Newcastle 3-1

Saturday 31 December 2011
Arsenal vs QPR 1-0
Bolton vs Wolverhampton 1-1
Chelsea vs Aston Villa 1-3
Man Utd vs Blackburn 2-3
Norwich vs Fulham 1-1
Stoke vs Wigan 2-2
Swansea vs Tottenham 0-1

Sunday 01 Jan 2011

West Brom vs Everton 0-1

Sunderland vs Man City 1-0

Arsene Wenger is pondering resigning MLS-New York Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry on 2 months loan deal on premier league January transfer window.

Arsenal FC legend and the current MLS side New York Red Bulls Striker Thierry Henry might move back to his former club on short loan deal on January transfer window. Thierry Henry once returned to Arsenal this year but was on a different club during Emirates cup which was won by New York Red Bulls.

Arsenal's Legend Thierry Henry might play for Arsenal again after his move to Barcelona and New York Red Bulls.

During his time at premier league Thiery Henry won two league titles, 3 FA cups in 8 years period before he moved to Barcelona in 2007  for £16 million and then New Yolk Red Bulls in 2010. The Frenchman still held the club's record  as all-time scorer, played 307 matches and scored 226 goals for the gunners, won 2 PFA player of the year awards and won premier league top scorers award four times. His contributions for Arsenal FC have been recognized official by the club by unveiling his statue at Emirates Stadium on club's 125th-anniversary.The Frenchman will be a perfect move for the gunner as replacement of Africa players; Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh who are expected to leave in January for the African Nations Cup.

Robin Van Persie have been the key striker for the Gunner and recently equaled Henry’s record on 34 goals in one calendar year and if he score in two goals in this year remaining two games he will be level to Alan Shearer’s 36 goals per year, a premier league record. Wenger sees Henry’s move as the best options to consider when January window open.

"I have to think about that,"  …………. "Short term is ideal for us, but I haven't made any enquiry yet. Wenger said and continued "January 1 is the vital date for us. We have seven days to make decisions and I will make a decision in the next seven days on players."

The Major LeagueSoccer season start on March which rise temptation for Wenger as well as Arsenal fans to see Henry playing for the gunner once more in one of the toughest premier league season. The striker score 14 goals for New York Red Bulls in the last season only two goals short from MLS top scorers Dwayne Rosario and Chris Wondolowski both scored 16 goals.

Festus Baise Spectacular Own Goal "Reverse Scorpion or Bicycle Kick"

Festus Baise scored a spectacular wonder own goal with what can be compared to a reverse scorpion or bicycle kick in Hong Kong first division fixture between Citizen and Sun Hei. The Nigerian centre back was even congratulated by team mates but he was glad that his team managed to come out with 3-2 victory. The kick has been compared to Wayne Rooney fantastic overhead bicycle-kick in 2010-2011 in Manchester United vs Manchester City derby.

Festus Baise spectacular reverse scorpion kick own goal

Top 5 scorers in Premier league, Spanish La Liga, France Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Scotish SPL and Serie A competition for European golden boot on 23 December 2011

Mario Gomez, Robin Van Persie, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are among top scorers La Liga, Premier league and Bundesliga competing for Golden boot.

Barclays Premier league, Spanish La Liga, Italy Serie A, Ligue 1, Scottish premier league, German Bundesliga and France Ligue 1 top scorers competition for golden boot on 23 December 2011. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the European league top scorers in both number of goals as well as goals coefficients.

Barclays Premier league top scorers

1	Robin Van Persie	Arsenal FC	16
2	Sergio Agüero	Manchester City	13
3	Demba Ba	Newcastle	13
4	Wayne Rooney	ManchesterUnited	13
5	Edin Dzeko	Manchester City	10

Robin Van Persie keeps on scoring goal after goal to remain the premier league top scorer. He has now reached 34 goals in one calender year and add another fantastic football record for him and Arsenal. Sergio Aguero and Demba Ba both score two goals move to level with Wayne Rooney. Yakubu Aiyegbeni also has scored ten goals with Emmanuel Adebayor  and Daniel Sturridge score in Tottenham Chelsea 1-1 draw yesterday.

Top assist

David Silva (Manchester City) 8

Juan Mata (Chelsea) 7

Samir Nasri (Manchester City)7
Juan Mata (Chelsea)  7

___________________________________________

Bundesliga top scorers

1	Mario Gomez	Bayern Munich	16
2	Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	SC Freiburg	15
3	Lukas Podolski	FC Cologne8	14
4	Claudio Pizarro	Werder Bremen	12
5	Robert Lewandowski	Borussia Dortmund	12

Mario Gomez and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar are leading top scorer in bundersliga on first and second place respectively. Raúl Gonzalez (Schalke 04) and Marco Reus (Borussia Monchengladbach) are top contenders to enter top five bundesliga goal scorers list with 10 goals each.

Top assist

Juan Arango  (Borussia Monchengladbach)   7

Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)  6

Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) 6
Raffael (Hertha Berlin) 6
Gokhan Tore (Hamburg SV) 6

___________________________________________

France Ligue 1 top scorers 

1	Olivier Giroud	Montpellier	12
2	Kevin Gameriro	PSG	9
3	Batetimbi Gomis	Lyon	7
4	Alain Traoré	AJ Auxerre	7
5	Anderson Nene	PSG	7

Olivier Giroud is clear at the top of France league one top scorers list with 12 goals, three goals more than second placed Kevin Gameriro. Dennis Oliech (AJ Auxerre) and Loïc Remy (Marseille) also has 7 goals Mathieu Valbuena  of  Marseille lead as top assist in league one with 7 so far.

Top assist

Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille) 9

Jérémy Menez (Paris Saint-Germain) 6
Cedric Barbosa (Evian Thonon Gaillard) 6
Eden Hazard   (Lille) 6
__________________________________________ 

Spanish La Liga top scorers

1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	20
2	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	17
3	Gonzalo Higuaín	Real Madrid	12
4	Roberto Soldado	Valencia	11
5	Radamel Falcao	Atletico Madrid	9

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his fifth hattrick in La Liga this season to move at the top of La Liga top scorer with 20 goals, 3 more than world player of the year, Lionel Messi the Barcelona star. Lately there has been a tough competition for top scorer post between the two players which is also reflected on Real Madrid and Barcelona clubs. Cesc Fábregas (Barcelona) and Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) each have 8 goals.

Top assist

Ángel Di María (Real Madrid) 13

Lionel Messi (Barcelona)7
 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 6

Daniel Alves (Barcelona) 6

___________________________________________

Italy Serie A top scorers

1	German Denis	Atlanta	12
2	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	AC Milan	11
3	Antonio Di Natale	Udinese	10
4	Edinson Cavani	Napoli	9
5	Miroslav Klose	Lazio	8

German Denis and Zlatan Ibrahimovic stay close at the top but all players on top five list are separated by one goal difference and the top scorer table can easily change. Players on seven goals marks includes Sebastian Giovinco (Parma),Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (AS Roma),Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina).

Top assist

Antonio Cassano (AC Milan) 7
Alberto Aquilani  (AC Milan) 6
Miralem Pjanic (AS Roma) 5
Djibril Cissé  (Lazio) 5 

___________________________________________ 

Scottish Premier League SPL top scorers

1	Nikica Jelavic	Rangers	12
2	Gary Hooper	Celtic	11
3	Steven John Naismith	Rangers	9
4	Anthony Stokes	Celtic	8
5	Garry O'Connor	Hibernian	8

The top four positions in top scorer for scottsh premier league continue to be dominated with Celtic and Rangers. Scott Vernon (Aberdeen) had also scored eight goals.

Top assist
Steven Davis (Rangers) 10
Anthony Stokes (Celtic) 7
Nicky Law (Motherwell)7

Premier league Video: Tottenham and Chelsea stay 3rd and 4th respectively as Adebayor and Sturridge score in 1-1 draw,

Picture: Emmanuel Adebayor and Daniel Sturridge both scored in Tottenham vs Chelsea 1-1 draw: Source Zimbio.com

Chelsea had once again being held to a 1-1 draw but this time to a team one place above it on premier league table as Emmanuel Adebayor and Daniel Sturrigde score and set to enter premier league top scorers table. Tottenham are will be on third place on this Christmas with a game on hand.

Chelsea FC manager Andre Villas-Boas was impressed by his team performance despite a draw.

'The performance was outstanding, whatever outcome, whatever the result,' He said. 'Even if the ball had gone into the back of the net in the last minute I would have come out of here extremely satisfied. I don't think we lost two points, coming to White Hart Lane with the run Tottenham are on. Getting a point here with the happenings in the game is excellent. He continued.

The manager also praised the under pressure John Terry for his commitment. 'His commitment and concentration were fantastic,' .... 'He anticipated the situation and it was a big opportunity for Tottenham, but we had massive opportunities before from the shot from Drogba that hit the bar and Ramires one on one with the keeper. Andre Villas-Boas said. 

Premier League video Chelsea vs Tottenham 1-1 
szólj hozzá: To11Ch - EXTENDED

Sean Payton: Quarterbacking

Here is a decent resource for getting a young quarterback grounded in some solid fundamentals on throwing mechanics (circa 1992).  Now, granted there are a few things in the video that don’t lead to efficiency, but, hey…..this was over 20 years ago.  You’ll see a young assistant coach named Sean Payton running quarterback footwork and throwing drills.

If you want a great indoctrination of flawless throwing, you’d better invest in Darin Slack C4 and R4 materials.
Darin Slack Quarterback Training

Premier League 17th & 18th December 2011

Premier League Review 16th December 2011

Football fans all over England will be wishing for a good Christmas period and the stakes don't get bigger than the Barclays Premier League. Manchester City have set the pace, with their relentless, aggressive spending and managerial musical chairs finally sticking with a great squad/coach combination this season. Money can warp and transform Premier League trends. Who would have thought 5 years ago that Arsenal would tentatively travel to the City of Manchester Stadium (aka the Etihad) expecting to struggle to come away with even 1 point.

As a Spurs fan, I loved Mancini dissing Chelsea as in his mind there is a 3 horse race of Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham. As we get closer to the transfer window, will Chelsea get rid of Torres? Andre Villas-Boas has insisted that he isn't for sale; however his failure won't fall on the new Blues boss's shoulders.

Man Utd are almost guaranteed to be there or thereabouts despite losing Nemanja Vidic for the rest of the season and Darren Fletcher for an unknown period of time. Fergie's larger than life management style shines through irrespective of the manpower constraints that pop up in any football squad as he makes sure that his players understand what it means to pull on the Manchester United jersey. That said, Aguero and co are better. :-)

This weekend's fixtures are very interesting as the top 4 teams are all in extremely difficult matches. Chelsea will have a physical battle on their hands at the DW. Manchester United travel to QPR who have been very impressive in their debut Premier League season. Spurs might suffer from new manager syndrome as they face Sunderland and Manchester City have to keep Robin Van Persie out who is currently on fire.

Here are the fixtures - enjoy fellow football freaks!

Premiership fixtures 17th and 18th December 2011

Sat December 17th 2011

Blackburn v West Bromwich Albion 3pm @ Ewood Park

Everton v Norwich 3pm @ Goodison Park

Fulham v Bolton 3pm @ Craven Cottage

Newcastle United v Swansea 3pm St James's Park

Wolverhampton v Stoke City 3pm Molineaux

Wigan v Chelsea 3pm DW stadium

Sun December 18th 2011

QPR v Man Utd 12pm Loftus Road

Aston Villa v Liverpool 2pm Villa Park

Tottenham v Sunderland 3pm White Hart Lane

Man City v Arsenal 4pm Etihad Stadium

Premier league news and video highlights: Chelsea ended Manchester City unbeaten run as Lampard and Maireles cancel early balotelli goal

Chelsea FC have secured a third consecutive crucial win after beating premier league leaders Manchester City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge and registered the first league loss for Mancini's boys and end Manchester City unbeaten run.

The win came after two over victories against Newcastle (3-0) and champions league decider match against Valencia (3-0). Having fall a goal behind just on second minutes after Mario Balotelli score the opener, Andre Villas-Boas's club was able to fight back and level the score on 34' minute through Raul Meireles. Manchester City were reduced to ten men after Gael Clicly received two yellow card and a third City red card in 6 premiership games. City self destruct continue when Joleon Lescott handed a ball on penalty box and Frank Lampard netted to give Chelsea a winner on 82'. Lampard who missed a penalty kick against Newcastle is now on level with 7 goals for Chelsea as Daniel Sturridge.

Once again Andre Villas-Boas praised his team 'Going 1-0 down so early in the game made things very difficult because it gave Man City even more motivation and belief,' He said.

Chelsea ended poor run of loosing to big teams having lost to Manchester United (3-1), Arsenal (5-3) and Liverpool (2-0) and move to third place, 7 points behind the league leaders and 5 behind second place Manchester United.

Chelsea vs Manchester City Video highlights of all goals.
szólj hozzá: Che 2-1 Mac
Chelsea vs Manchester City goal scorers

Mario Balotelli (2')

Raul Meireles (34')

Frank Lampard (pen 82')

ROD DOBBS: Teaching & Installing Zone Runs

Right behind the Alex Gibbs staff clinic with the UF staff, this has got to be one of the most comprehensive instructions on zone running.  Rod Dobbs, a Gibbs disciple, who is now coaching at Chaparral High School in Denver, CO, clinics a high school staff while he was running the offense for Northern Colorado.  Dobbs goes over the entire scheme, technique, and how to make it work during a season in this 6 hour presentation.

This off-season, why not establish some relationships with other coaches and invite them in to get your staff on the same page for next year.