The Z/Web Archive

Fun game, but poor Alaves can't do anything after their UEFA Cup final failure. Madrid came out and stomped on them. Raul started things with a goal in the 22nd minute, followed just a minute later by Guti. Then in the second half, Hiero and Helguerra added goals, and Raul got a second in the final minutes. Wow! Final: 5-0.

Supposedly this was an Inter home game, but played on a neutral site because of problems with Inter fans. I don't know if that helped or hurt, but it wasn't that great of a game until late. Crespo scored late in the first half, and for the longest time it looked like Inter was done for, but suddenly an amazing goal from Dalmat tied the score in the 90th minute! Cool finish. Final: 1-1.

I wasn't too excited about this game because both teams are so low in the standings. In the past, that meant that the teams weren't very good. But surprisingly, both Columbus and Colorado are excellent teams: their positions in the standings just represent how strong the league has become. This game was terrific: Brian Maisonneuve got Columbus off to a great start with a goal in the fourth minute, but not long after that Balboa's shot cruelly hit the post and refused to go in to tie. Minutes later, Balboa got another chance and this time he finished it. Then John Spencer scored to put Colorado up a goal. Shortly after the half Ross Paule scored to give the Rapids a two goal lead. Then it all fell apart as Colorado stopped going forward and tried to just defend. Perez got an easy goal when he was open at the top of the box and received West's cross from the endline. Then West got his own goal in the 82nd minute to tie the score. A through-ball put Brian McBride one-on-one with the keeper, but his shot was blocked by a terrific save by David Kramer. But the rebound went right to West who finished beautifully, giving Kramer no chance on a second save. In overtime, Columbus almost scored right from the gate, and then Colorado had a terrific chip by Bravo that hit the post. In the end, though, the tie score held. Final: 3-3.

Good game! Bai Jie finished nicely just three minutes in to put Washington up, and it took New York forever to get the equalizer. Late in the game Aarones was put in for her first appearance of the season, and seconds later the six-foot giant used her heat to finish a great cross from Sara Whelan. It looked like that was it, but then a stunner: in injury time the Freedom had a corner kick which Mia Hamm took. Her cross went through the legs of Bai Jie who screened the keeper and into the goal! Final: 2-1 Washington.

Interesting historical drama about a real-life racial massacre that occurred in 1923 in the deep South. My main criticism is that the "plot" was predictable, but since the story's true, I guess that's not much of a knock against it, though the director could have done more to focus on unique and more interesting aspects of the story. Basically, a white woman gets beat up by her white lover and blames it on an unknown black man, and in the lynch mob mentality of the time, dozens of blacks are rousted and murdered. The film's long (142 minutes), dark, and slow, though it has some good performances. Many of the characters are well-defined, gray, not black or white, which makes for a more interesting and realistic story. It's also more violent than I expected, at times almost a war between blacks and whites.

Good game with plenty of end-to-end action. San Jose looked good at times, but Chicago generally dominated. It was pouring rain and the ball was difficult to control. The first half was a lot of wild play. In the second half, both teams started to apply some serious pressure. Finally, San Jose broke. On a corner kick, as keeper Joe Cannon rose to intercept, a teammate headed the ball over his head and Cannon fell to the ground. The ball went right to Andrew Lewis who faced an empty net: he buried it. There was still plenty of time, but San Jose couldn't capitalize on any of their chances (and there were some good ones). Finally, the game went down to the final minutes. "Don't give up," I said to the TV, though I knew it was hopeless. Fortunately, the team didn't. They kept pressing forward, trying for that unlikely last minute goal. With less than a minute left, the ball went to Donovan at the top of the box. The pass was behind him, and hard, and he had Fire on his back: so he slid into the ball, driving it out toward a teammate. That happened to be Zak Ibsen running onto the pass. He blasted it -- and I excepted it to zoom 40 miles over the net the way most such charges do -- and instead it went like a bullet, 25 yards into the net! In the final minute San Jose had tied the game! Neither team scored in the overtime, though San Jose had a number of key chances (Chicago didn't really threaten) to win. Great game, essentially a win for San Jose who maintain their lead in the Western Division. Final: 1-1.

Tampa without Mamadou Diallo is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter and jelly. The poor team just can't accomplish anything. (Mamadou is on a four-game suspension for attacking a fan that insulted him. This is his second serious suspension this season: let's hope he learns to control his temper.) Anyway, this game was all Miami. After a few post shots and other great chances squandered, captain Jim Rooney buried a deceptive free kick where Preki didn't take the shot but rolled the ball to him. Minutes later, Chris Henderson finished, and in the second half, Diego Serna got on the board twice to silence his critics. His first goal was hilarious: he hit the post in the first half and this shot did also, but the rebound came right to his head and he headed it over the keeper and into the empty goal. Final: 4-0 Miami.

Another rout for Inter. Brazilian Junior scores twice, early and late, and Di Vaio puts one in in the 74th minute, to give Parma a decided three goal lead. Christian Vieri brings one back in injury time, but that's much, much too late. Final: 3-1 Parma.

For the first time this year I was impressed by Kansas City: they actually attacked and didn't just defend. New York couldn't score, and they kept K.C. out of the net. It looked like a zero-zero draw for sure. Then, in injury time, new striker from Jamaica, Lowe, headed in a great ball to give K.C. the win. Final: 1-0 K.C.

Rather an annoying game: quite boring at times, and the only goals came from penalty kicks (all of them questionable). Valencia was awarded one just three minutes in and Medieta put it away. Bayern had one of their own not long after, but missed! It looked like it was Valencia's day, but shortly into the second half Bayern were awarded another penalty and Effenberg did not miss. The tie game went into overtime, and then to penalty kicks. The penalty kick contest was dramatic and exciting, as the Bayern missed their first kick and it was touch and goal for a while. There were a number of misses, but going into the fifth and final round, the teams were tied with two misses each. That's when my tape of the game ran out: I'd only recorded 45 minutes extra and that wasn't enough! Arrgggg! Well, I found out later Bayern won, and though it almost seems unfair that one team should be so successful, I did feel they deserved it slightly more, if only because Valencia deliberately wasted time in the overtime, wanting the game to go to penalty kicks. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. I lie offensive teams best. At least Valencia played better in this year's final than last years (where they were dreadful). Final: 1-1, Bayern Munich win on penalty kicks.

Now this was a fun game. The big German club, coming over the U.S., plays D.C. United. D.C. had the first chance, but Berbatov actually finished his in the 14th minute to put Leverkusen up by one. Their lead didn't last long, though, as fifteen minutes later teenager Bobby Convey scored for United. Then Brdaric brought Leverkusen back, but a Carey Talley penalty kick for D.C. tied the score again. In the second half, Chris Albright scored off a keeper rebound to put D.C. in front, but the lead only last five minutes because Barbatov got his second. Later, he got his third of the game and the game-winner. The Germans win, but not without a fight and some great U.S. play. Final: 4-3 Leverkusen.

What a great game! Candella started things off with an amazing juggling demonstration: he juggled the ball away from a defender, spun, knocked the ball up a second time to cue it, and then with his third touch, volleyed the ball into the net from twenty yards out! Definitely a goal of the year candidate in my book. Batistuta extended Roma's lead just before the end of the half, and in the second half, defender Cafu dove to catch the ball off the ground with his head, putting it into the goal. Batistuta got his second just before the end of the game to really pour on the pain for poor Inter. Inter saved a little pride with a 90th minute goal from Spinesi to prevent the shutout, but it was still a royal drubbing by the league leaders. Final: 4-1 Roma.

After winning the league a few weeks ago, Man. U. has little to prove and they've shown it by losing their last few games of the season. They went down early to Spurs on a goal by Korsten, but Paul Scholes quickly tied it. Midway through the second half, though, Korsten got his second and Ferdinand put one in to trounce the champs. Final: 3-1 Spurs.

Coming off their loss to Liverpool in the UEFA Cup, Alaves looked tired and spiritless. Barcellona, however, looked much more like the champs they're supposed to be. They scored early on a terrific Marc Overmars goal and held on for the 1-0 victory. Final: 1-0 Barca.

Strange game: all the goals came in injury time at the end of the game. Ninety minutes of nothing, and then bam! Goals. The title race came down to this game: if Bayern lost and Schalke won, Schalke would have the title. The games were played simultaneously, and when Schalke won and saw that Bayern were losing, they thought they'd won. Bayern had gone down to a late goal from Barbarez. With only seconds left, it seemed like Munich was done for. But a free kick was awarded outside the box: surely they couldn't score on the last play of the game, could they? Unbelievable, they could. The Swede, Patrick Andersson, took the kick. Somehow it made its way through about twenty players and into the goal. That tied the game and gave Bayern the German Championship for the third year in a row. Ridiculous, but the ball doesn't lie. Even stranger, that was Andersson's first goal of the year! Final: 1-1.

Terrific film! Wonderful performances, great writing, amazing animation. Has stuff for the whole family. At a few points it's a little "adult," but kids won't get those jokes anyway (at least we hope). I especially liked the way the film incorporated hip modern elements with traditional fairy tale elements. It was also cool the way it mocked Disney stuff (this picture's made by Dreamworks). But the core of the film -- the story -- was excellent. Well worth seeing.

Good game. Leeds' players got all the goals. Alan Smith scored twice, early and late, and Harte scored on another brilliant free kick. Ferdinand put the ball in his own net to give Leicester a goal. Final: 3-1 Leeds.

Chicago dominated, with an early goal from Kovalenko followed by a terrific score by Nowak. In the 70th minute Nowak was ejected for retaliating, but Chicago managed to maintain their lead. Final: 2-0 Chicago.

Terrific game I got to see in person. Though the crowd was small (about 7,000) it was great to see San Jose play well at beat the number one team in the league. The first goal came in the 26th minute. Manny Lagos somehow managed to keep the ball from going over the end, beat a couple defenders, and put in a shot. The shot was blocked but the rebound fell right to Wade Barret, who put in a great curling shot! I was right by that sideline and got to see the goal close-up: wonderful. New York didn't really pressure San Jose much (the Quakes' midfield successfully stopped attacks from starting), but keeper Joe Cannon did make a few key saves, including on diving block right near where I was sitting. Very exciting. In the second half, a through-ball from Mulrooney got to Landon Donovan, who calmly took the ball into the penalty box and slotted the ball home from the penalty spot for a historic goal: Landon's first in MLS. This guy might only be nineteen, but he plays like a veteran. I'm so impressed with how he handles himself on the field, not just in skill, but temperment, spirit, and attitude. He's a real star. Final: 2-0 San Jose.

Sandra Bullock vehicle about a party animal who's sentenced to drug rehab (for 28 days). I'm a Bullock fan, but this was a weak concept: Bullock's too sweet to be believable as a drunk, and the script is TV movie of the week quality. Not terrible, just predictable and bland.

Unbelievable game. Liverpool started things off in an ideal fashion, with goals from Babbel (4th minute) and Gerrard (16th minute). But then Ivan, just put in the game minutes earlier, gave life to Alaves in the 28th minute. Late in the first half Liverpool regained domination when Owen was brought down in the box and McAllister didn't miss his penalty kick. But minutes into the second half, Alaves cut the lead down to one with a goal from Moreno. Just two minutes after that he scored again to equalize! Wow! But that wasn't near the end. Robbie Fowler was inserted for Liverpool and proved successful, scoring in the 73rd minute. For a long while it looked like that would do it, but with just one minute left in regulation Cruyff headed the ball off a corner kick to tie the score again and push the game into overtime. Neither team dominated in overtime, and both had their chances. It was "golden goal" -- whoever scored would win -- and then the Spanish team had Mango sent off for his second yellow. Minutes later, their captain was also sent off for his second yellow. With only nine men and several minutes left, it was looking like Liverpool might be able to do it. On the ensuing free kick, McAllister's curving ball caused a Spanish player to jump up to head it away. Unfortunately, his goalkeeper was right behind him and the ball was flicked over him and into the goal for an own goal and a loss of the Champions League final! Wow, nine goals! A tie game for 115 minutes of play! Incredible, very exciting, but while I was impressed by Alaves, I felt Liverpool deserved the win. This is their third major cup this year (earlier they won the Worthington Cup and the FA Cup), making it a triple: the first ever (of this combination) for an English team. Manchester United may have won the league, but everyone will remember 2001 as the year of Liverpool. Great game. Most impressive was that almost all the of the goals were awesome ones of skill, not the results of defensive blunders. Certainly a cup final to be remembered for decades. A classic! Final: 5-4 Liverpool.

Terrific derby of the two Milan clubs, though not much of a contest as Inter was absent. Comandini scored his first two goals ever in Serie A in the 3rd and 19th minutes (the second was a great flashing header), followed by Guilito early in the second half. Then Shevchenko got two to keep himself at the top of the scoring chart, and Serginho, who was undoubtedly the man of the match with three assists, got a well-deserved goal for himself. What a disastrous blowout for Inter! Heads are going to roll over this result. A.C. will be gloating for years. Final: 6-0 A.C. Milan!

Poor Casey Keller gave up a boatload of goals, but there was no question he was one of the best players on the pitch. Barcelona was just too strong for poor Rayo. Luis Enrique scored just seven minutes in, but Michel equalized about ten minutes later. After that, though, it was all Barca. In the second half, Rivaldo's brilliant chip beat Keller, and that was followed by Enrigue's second. Then Marc Overmars got one-on-one with Keller and finished, and to really pour salt on Rayo's wounds, Petite scored on a wonderful volley in injury time. Why didn't Barca play like this all year? Final: 5-1 Barcelona.

Boring game, with both teams overly defensive. Stuttgart's Balakov scored a great goal in injury time to give them the win and save them from relegation, and probably ending any change Shalke had of winning the league. Final: 1-0 Suttgart.

I can't believe it, but New England finally gets their first points this season, beating mighty Chicago. First, NE was awarded a questionable penalty which Cate finished. In the second half, Nowak scored a marvelous goal from an impossible angle to tie the game. But neither team could break the other and the game went into overtime. Just a fifteen seconds in, Okoh scored to give New England the win. Final: 2-1 New England.

Undoubtedly Clint Mathis is the most exciting and best American player to emerge from Major League Soccer. In this game he assisted on the first goal by Villegas, then got his own great goal later. The guy's unstoppable: a goal or assist in his last 12 games in all competitions. He now leads MLS with 7 goals. Final: 2-0 NY.

Wow, what a great game! Ian Russel got things going for San Jose in the 36th minute with a fantastic 50-yard run up the right wing, beating several players and finishing beautifully. In the second half, Denton returned the favor, scoring on an impressive run of his own. Minutes later, Moreno gave D.C. the lead on a penalty kick. It seemed like D.C. was gaining momentum, but before they could take advantage, Manny Lagos equalized for San Jose! The game continued level, with D.C. really pushing and San Jose seeming unable to beat the D.C. defense. Worse, the Quakes went down a man when Ibsen was ejected with ten minutes left. But Manny Lagos became the hero when, in injury time, he scored the game winner! San Jose not only jumps to ten points with the win, but because L.A. lost their game, San Jose is tied with them and Kansas City, though because of goal differential, the Quakes are in first place! Final: 3-2 San Jose.

Strange comedy: considerably more violent than I expected, and slow to get started. Betty's a Kansas housewife who's a fan of a TV soap opera doctor. When she witnesses her jerk husband being killed by hit men, she flips out and thinks the soap is real and she's in love with the doctor. So she travels to Hollywood with the hit men on her trail. What follows is hilarity as the actor thinks she's just playing a role to get on the soap, but she thinks everything's real! Pretty funny (and touching) once it gets going. The first half hour or so isn't much of a comedy.

Great game! Juventus was unstoppable, with Zidane playing awesome. He got the first goal in the 24th minute, followed minutes later by Tudor's header. Rossi got a goal back for Fiorentina just before the half ended, but after that Juventus shut down the gates. Then they got an insurance goal from Trezeguet with a minute left in regulation. Excellent win. Final: 3-1 Juventus.

After their win in Madrid, Munich was sitting pretty. Then Elber scored on a header eight minutes in to really put them ahead. Madrid came back on a Figo shot in the 18th minute, but when Jeremies' grounder went in fifteen minutes later, it was all over. Bayern wins on a 3-1 aggregate goal difference. Final: 2-1 Munich.

What a crazy game! Poor New England: they just can't get it together. Six games and six loses! And they face mighty Chicago on Saturday. Abdul Thompson Conteh sure loves the Revs: he's scored all his goals against them. Six in two games! Here he had a first half hat trick: then added a forth in second half. A complete rout. New England's defense is just non-existent. Ironically, in another game played at the same time, L.A.-Tampa Bay, Mamadou Diallo also scored four goals (that game ended 4-4, though I didn't see it). Why in the world did San Jose get rid of Conteh? Final: 5-0 D.C.

Well, we knew it was going to be an uphill battle for Leeds, but their fantasy season finally came to an end. They couldn't even score, and rarely looked dangerous, in fact. After Valencia's first goal by Sanchez (which looked suspiciously like he scored with his hand), Leeds had to press more and more forward, and gave up space at the back. Sanchez got his second just minutes into the second half, and Medieta got one on a counter when he was left on his own against the Leeds keeper, Nigel Martin. Just too much for Leeds to come back against. A disappointing way for Leeds to drop out. Final: 3-0 Valencia.

Boring game. Lots of battling but no goals. Final: 0-0.

Welcome to the Roberto Baggio show! He scores on a lucky bounce just five minutes in, then in the second half puts in a goal "Olympico" -- straight into the net from the corner flag! Amazing! He finishes his hat trick with a penalty kick, and Brescia go home happy. Final: 3-0 Brescia.

What a great game! D.C.'s Moreno scored twice: a penalty kick in the first half and a tap early in the second. For a while, it seemed that New York was done, but suddenly they came to life. In the 79th minute Clint Mathis continued his incredible play of late, picking up a scrap ball and putting it in the net. With just two minutes left, Faria's volley from the top of the box beat former Metro Mike Ammann to tie the score. It looked like overtime was in the cards, when out of nowhere, Villegas brought the ball from the end line and into the penalty box. Somehow he wasn't stopped. He passed the ball to a teammate who's shot was blocked, and Villegas got it again and put it away for the injury time game winner! Incredible come back! Fantastic game. Final: 3-2 New York.

One of the biggest games of the year in Italy, this one was worth the wait. An odd game. Juventus took off right from the start with two Zidane goals. Okay, he didn't score the first, but he definitely assisted Del Piero's 4th minute header. Two minutes later, it was Zidane, alone at the top of the box, who rifled in a drive to put Juventus up by two. Roma fought for the rest of the game, but it looked like they were never going to break the formidable Juventus defense. Then Japanese star Nakata was brought in. Just minutes later, in the 79th minute, he puts in one of the best goals of the year: a bomb from long range that nearly punched a hole in the back of the net. Amazing! Nakata was involved again, in injury time, when his shot was blocked by the keeper. The rebound, however, was loose, and Montella pounced on it to tie the score! Terrific game! Final: 2-2.

Wow, what a crazy game. Goals are finally flooding the WUSA. I kept switching between this match and the New York Power at North Carolina one (which finished 3-1 New York). This game was tied 1-1 at the half, but in the second half Bay Area stepped forward with a goal, but then lost it, giving up two goals to lose the game 3-2. Fun, and it's good to see scoring. Final: 3-2 Philadelphia.

I must admit, while K.C. does put up the results, I don't like their defensive style. Here they scored early and against the run of play on a penalty kick by McKeon, and that pretty much was all the offense they wanted to show. L.A. kept pushing and pushing, but failing to finish. (K.C. Keeper of the year last year Tony Meola had a lot to do that!) Finally a penalty kick the other direction tied matters, but L.A. couldn't move ahead and K.C. seemed happy with a tie. But in a wonderful twist, Olympian Danny Califf scored in overtime to give L.A. the win! Ha ha, K.C. Go home empty handed! Shots: 17-2 for the Galaxy, who just dominated. Final: 2-1 Los Angeles.

Semi-interesting film about a young lawyer who's goal in life is to become a Senator. He meets a radical young activist and falls in love with her, but then she's killed in a car bombing. Years later, as his bid for Congress is looming, he's still haunted by her memory, and begins to see her. Is he dreaming or is she real? The movie leaves us in doubt, and seems to think that's clever, but frankly, after the first interesting sixty minutes, the film's boring.

Unfortunately, not a good game for Leeds. They went down early on a goal by Ljungberg, followed by a goal a few minutes into the second half by Wiltord. Ian Harte brought Leeds back a little shortly thereafter on a marvelous free kick, but that was all they could do. Final: 2-1 Arsenal.

Interesting game, but both teams struggled offensively. Finally Munich's Santa Cruz got a goal in the 87th minute. Final: 1-0 Munich.

Wild game. After a nearly goalless first half, Bolivia's Paz put them ahead with a diving header. But minutes later Crespo equalized for Argentina on a corner kick. In the second half, it was all Bolivia. Are great volley from Colgue and a header from Botero put them two ahead and surely out of reach of Argentina who showed very little offense. But in the final few minutes, they did! Crespo got his second in the 89th minute, and Sorin found himself unmarked in the box off a free kick to score the equalizer in injury time. Amazing come-back! Final: 3-3.

Well, San Jose's up to their old trick again: giving up critical goals at the end of the match. I saw this game in person, and it was a wild one, though it started slowly. New England keeper Sommer was magnificent: making almost a dozen fantastic saves in the game. Dayak scored a half hour in, but I happened to have turned my head and missed the goal! Where are the replays for a live game? In the second half, San Jose continued to pour on the offense. DeRosario got a goal when Sommer made his first mistake and dropped the ball. Then Ibsen put the Quakes up 3-0 with ten minutes to go. New England had shown little offense and it looked like it was going to be a rout, but knowing San Jose, I didn't hold my breath. Sure enough, with just two minutes left, former Quake Wright did like he did last year, scoring for his new team. His header gave the Revs some hope and they pushed forward. Wade Barrett fouled Sunsing -- easily the Revs' best player -- in the box to give up a penalty. Joe Cannon blocked Johnny Tores' penalty kick, which was awesome, but in the confusion surrounding the rebound, Barrett managed to knock the ball into his own goal! Fortunately, that was the end of the scoring. A good win for San Jose, but it was a shame to give up two easy goals so late. Final: 3-2 San Jose.

Essentially a victory for struggling Stuttgart, though I can't figure out what happened to Dortmund's normally potent offense. Final: 0-0.

Cool film of a complex murder trial. An Army lieutenant kills the man who allegedly raped his wife. Jimmy Stewart -- in one of his best performances -- is the lawyer with no career that takes the case. Until the very end of the film you don't know if the man is guilty or not. Was the rape real or not? Was the husband really temporarily insane or was the shooting an act of revenge? This film has some of the best dialog I've ever heard: excelllent, excellent, excellent. Even the minor characters speak with intelligence and personality. Lee Remick, as the sexy wife, is really good. Complex, gray film, without any answers. Worth seeing more than once.

Crazy game. Venezula's Rondon got things going for the home team with a great header 22 minutes in off a terrible giveaway by a Columbia. Things were quiet for a long time, but finally the home team got another in the 82 minute by Arango on a shot from the top of the box. It seemed like mighty Columbia was going to fall. Then, suddenly, things changed. Bedoya's header one minute later gave Columbia hope, and then Bonilla's goal and a wonderful through pass equalized things! Who would have thought Columbia could come back in six minutes after showing no offense the whole game? Final: 2-2.

I missed part of this game, but got to see the goals very late. Leeds dominated, but couldn't score, until Keane's shot in the 85th minute rebounded off the keeper and back to him, allowing him to walk it in unchallenged. Viduka's volley three minutes later put the matter beyond doubt. Final: 2-0 Leeds.

I hoped Leeds would do well in this one, and though they dominated significantly, they couldn't actually score, making the away game in Spain a tough challenge. Hopefully they can do it, though. Final: 0-0.

Preki got the first goal on a penalty kick, but when D.C. got the same chance, Moreno missed! Albright finally got D.C. a goal, but then Jim Rooney got another game-winner to add to his impressive collection. Final: 2-1 Miami.

Strange Austrian suspense movie about a family on vacation terrorized by a couple loser-types. What's interesting is the polite way they do it: they pretend to be innocent but obnoxious guests. For instance, they initially come over to borrow some eggs, and a clumsy guy "accidentally" knocks the cell phone into the sink full of water (which cuts them off from the rest of the world). Slowly the family comes to realize these guys are horrible and evil, but by then it's too late. Directed with style and acted with surprising realism.

Svensson got a header for Charlton just 12 minutes in, but Reuser got a bizarre equalizer eight minutes later.

A murder trial told in reverse. There isn't much to the plot and the film's too slow, but interesting nonetheless. It's set in an island off the coast of Washington, back around WWII, and deals with the conflict between the resident Americans and Japanese-Americans. Good premise and could have been dramatic, but it's too slow and not enough happens.