Zidane – Materazzi saga…MM spills the beans

here’s snippets of the story from the AP:

Materazzi says that after he held his opponent’s shirt, Zidane said: “If you want, I’ll give you the jersey later.”

…Materazzi said, “I responded that I preferred his sister, it’s true. It wasn’t something nice, true. But luckily there have been dozens of players who have confirmed that a lot worse things are said on the field.”

…Materazzi said that the Italian federation, in the middle of the match-fixing scandal, told him not to complain during a FIFA hearing over the incident.

“If accepting [the ban] without raising my voice was the price to pay for having brought home the World Cup, I’m pretty happy to have paid it,” Materazzi said.

Asked whether it would ever be possible for the pair to make peace, Materazzi said, “You sign a peace [agreement] after terrible wars, so why can’t Zidane and I make peace?”

“A peace among men, without a lot of publicity,” Materazzi said. “The door to my house will always be open for that. And if Zidane wants, he knows where to find my address.”

full article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2006/09/07/2003326632

Well, its certainly intresting to finally learn what exactly the conversation was between Materazzi and Zidane, according to Materazzi atleast. Despite pretty elaborate attempts by all manners of lip readers, this is the most conclusive transcript the world has of the short dialogue that took place that fateful night.

So was it pretty much what everyone expected? I think its fair to say so, its certainly along the lines of what I thought went on. Was it insulting? certainly. Are there many players who provoke others with such talk? probably. I bet it wasnt the first time that Materazzi spoke in such a manner to an opponent. Was the response justified? I think the verdict is still pretty clear, absolutely not. Yes it was insulting and hurtful, but Zidane should have taken it in stride, played out the rest of the game, possibily scored a winner or led France to a PK victory. While its certainly very possible even if this drama had not taken place that France might have ended up losing on PKs, just the way they did, the final would have been a different story.

But instead things turned out the way they did, as much as many of us wish that it did not end this way. Its more than 2 months on, but the magnitude of the event and its importance in history is only still setting in. Its been much more than a few times that I’ve wondered and wished what if Buffon hadnt managed that brilliant save in extra time or if Zidane’s header had been slightly better placed. How different would things be today. But all we can do is wonder. Especially Zidane, of all people.

“Things happened the way they happened,” the French star told Canal Plus television Sunday. “We have to live with it.”

Zidane, who retired from the France team after the World Cup, also said he was glad to see France beat Italy 3-1 in a European Championship qualifier last week — two months after Les Bleus lost to the Italians in the World Cup final.

Full story: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14773584/from/ET/

According to the title of the above story, he has “nightmares” over the cup loss. I think that might be a slight exageration, Zidane doesnt strike me as the sort of person who would overly fret about the matter. Having said that however, it WAS the final of the world cup, with a good 1 billion+ people watching it live, and obviously an important chapter in both his career and life. So I think its fair to see he probably wonders how things would be if he hadnt lost his cool.

Easy turkey meatloaf recipe

Here is an easy, and very healthy, turkey meatloaf recipe that I tried out today, and I was quite suprised by how well it came out. The part about not letting the meatloaf touch the sides is key, its amazing how beautifully it came out of the baking dish. Also, when you add the milk before baking it looks like its way too much, and would make it soggy. But when its actually done cooking, the milk has all been absorbed/evaported. Finally, its a very accessible (i.e. kid-friendly) dish. Hope you enjoy it.

TURKEY MEATLOAF

1 lb. extra lean ground turkey
1/4 cup egg whites
1/4 c. ketchup (use low carb if desired)
1 sm. onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. ground oatmeal
1/4 c. skim milk (use low carb if desired)
2 tsp worchestice sauce

OPTIONAL:
1 tbsp. parsley flakes
thyme leaves
1 stalk diced celery
1 habanero pepper
1 carrot chopped

Mix all ingredients, except oatmeal and milk, together in a large bowl. Then stir in oatmeal until desired consistency (using your hands is easier to mix). Place the mixture in a 2 quart baking dish. Shape with your hands to make an oval, not allowing the loaf to touch the sides. Pour the milk over the meatloaf mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil or lid. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncover and bake for 10 more minutes.
4 servings

London friendly: Brazil 3 – Argentina 0

Normally, I wouldnt bother writing about a friendly, but this match is certainly worthy of some reflection. It took place in the new Emirates stadium, of Arsenal, in North London.

In the massive anti-climax following a World Cup, it is difficult to garner intrest in most matches, least of all in friendly matches of no significance. However, when Brazil and Argentina do play, even in a friendly, its usually a great match, just because of the traditional rivalry. Nonetheless, I was not expecting too much, and especially after Brazil’s dismal World Cup performance. However, after reading the post match report, I was somewhat intrigued, and decided to check out the game highlights on YouTube.

It is truly a wonder, and a testament to how revolutionizing the web is, that I can watch the highlights of the match, at any time of my choosing, quite soon after the match is over. In the past, one would have had to read of it only in the newspaper the following day, or if lucky, be able to catch the highlights on the sports section of the evening news. But anyway, I digress.

After having watched the full game highlights, it definitely seems to have been an exciting game. There were plenty of chances, lots of creative play, and great technique. All in all, a great match. Definitely a match to raise one’s level of optimism about the future of the sport, after some rather bland play this summer.

Brazil scored very early, but Argentina had plenty of chances after that and could have easily made it 1-1 at any point till the middle of the second half. Brazil had some good plays too and were threatning constantly. But despite Argentina’s efforts, as is so often the case in soccer, everything came tumbling down for them when Elano scored his second goal to make it 2-0. From there, it seems they pushed further ahead in hopes of atleast a consolation goal, which paved the way for Brazil’s third goal. And what a goal it was…absolutely brilliant. Kaka showed why Milan did not even think of letting him go, despite the hoards of cash Real Madrid was offering them for him. He stole the ball from Messi, from well inside Brazil’s own half, and left a pile of defenders in his wake as he charged past everyone and slotted cooly and clinically on the goalie’s exit. This was certainly on par with Owen’s goal against Argentina in WC 98, except in a match of lot less significance, or else a lot more people would be talking about it right now. And its not the first time he’s done it either, he scored a similarly brillian goal against Fenerbache in the Champions League when playing for Milan.

Here are the highlights from Youtube (the commentary is Arabic):

1st half

2nd half

If you dont have time to watch everything, I recommend atleast checking out the second half highlights to watch Kaka’s goal. Its well worth it.

two Web 2.0 topics

below are links to two documents summarizing my research on these two web 2.0 topics. I did this for work a few weeks back.

Blog Measurement

RSS Feed Tracking

Pavel Nedved – a Czech legend

Pavel Nedved is one of those players, who unless you watched play during his time, you probably wont be talking about 10 years from now. Whenever analyzing a player’s career as a whole, one of the first things I consider is will young people be talking about him 10 or 20 years from now. Did he leave a permanent impression on the sport? Certainly, this question is quite easy to answer when considering careers such as those of Zidane, Cryuff, or Beckenbauer. But what about Nedved? Compared to the average first division player, his achievments are certainly impressive.

On the international level he was THE player of the Czech Republic of this generation. He helped them to the semi-finals of the European championships on two different occasions (1996 and 2004) and an impressive FIFA ranking, thanks to great qualifcation runs. This last world cup performance though, as great as it started, ended rather dismally. Nonetheless, his achievments and leadership for his country, have proven important over this past decade.

On the club level, he was an impressive young player at his 5 seasons at Lazio. Juventus spotted this, and wisely picked him up. He was supposed to replace Zidane, in some manner, in the Juve midfield. Critics were naturally quite skeptical, but he fullfilled the role in his own way. Obviously its nearly impossible to replace Zidane on a technical level, but Nedved made up for it with his non-stop running and pure intensity. He has always been known as a true workhorse in the midfield: charging forward, leading attacks, scoring goals, but also backtracking to help out with defense. He has played a crucial role in the last half-decade at Juve, leading them to various Serie A titles, as well as ALMOST a Champions League title. It was quite sad to have to see Nedved sit out of the 2003 CL final because of suspension, after having led Juve there. There was some consolation in winning the European Player of the Year award that year (2003), but it would have been sweet for Nedved to have that UCL medal.

So back to the question, will people who did not watch him play (basically the young people, since anybody who has been following the sport with some level of attention over the past decade would have no doubt heard of him and watched him play) 10 or 20 years from now know him or discuss his career? Quite likely…only in the Czech Republic. Around the world, and even among Juve fans, almost definitely not. His achievements and playing skills have been impressive, but not cream of the cream.

Dont get me wrong though, Pavel Nedved is one of my favorite players ever, along with Zidane, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, and Cafu. He has scored some truly memorable goals, making good use of one of his best charecteristics as a player: the ability to shoot extremely well with both feet. While its almost mandatory as a professional to know how to shoot with both feet, when watching even most pros, one can very quickly figure out their preferred foot just from how they setup their shots, which ones they decide to take, etc. Its rare to see such a level of proficeny in both feet where a player doesnt hesitate, depending on the foot. To add to that, Nedved also has quite a powerful shot and is awesome at volleys. Well enough description, here are some videos:

1. This is pretty good Nedved compliation with some very nice goals. Its mostly only him in a Juventus shirt, so it gives an incomplete picture when one is looking at his career as a whole, but still definitely worth checking out.

2. Lots of great clips of him in a Lazio and Czech Republic shirt. Also clips of him playing, as opposed to only goals. A warning though, the music is horrendous.

3. Well done compliation, showing quite a few goals the other two missed out on and some of the same ones from different angles:

Hope you enjoy the videos.

Will Ferrell – at times can be THE funniest person on the planet

At times he can be good, at other times mediocore. Some of his comedy, it can take a little time before one actually finds it funny. But once in a while he is just absolutely, ridiculously, laugh-out-loud till your struggling to breathe, funny. There are definitely a good number of SNL clips, and a bunch of scenes from his movies, that come to mind. Two of these that I had the pleasure of enjoying recently, and highly recommend, are:

• his act as Neil Diamond, when he describes what inspired him to write various songs
• his as as “Dr. Beeman”, a hypothetical doctor in an SNL skit

He recently released a movie, Taladega Nights, which no one was expecting to be that great after a number of flops, but it seems to have actually done well in the box office and most people I talked to found it very funny, so I’m looking forward to watching that when I get a chance.

A Cook’s tour – another Anthony Bourdain book

Wow! As I had written in the earlier post, I was completely blown away by the second part of Kitchen Confidential. So I queued up “A Cook’s tour”, Bourdains much more recent book, from 2004, and based on his TV show on the food network. I am almost done with the first part of the book, and I have to say this is even better. Whereas the first part of Kitchen Confidential focused mainly on Bourdain’s background, this book, like the second part of Kitchen Confidential, focuses on food, cooking, restaurants, and just enjoying life. Bourdain’s story telling abilities are even more apparent here, as he travels the globe in search of “the perfect meal”. His use of the English language reminds me very much of George Carlin, it is intensely funny with a slightly dark twist. I cant wait to finish this book.

Kitchen Confidential – part 2

I finished the second part of this audiobook last week…if the first part was great, this was truly flawless. It was really an entertaining, educational, and all around amazing experience listening to everything Bourdain had to share. I was expecting the 2nd half to be about the same as the 1st, which was great, but not exceptional. The 1st half did serve as an important introduction, mainly by sharing with the readers how he got into the business, how it all works, and what he thinks of it.

While one gets a feel for Bourdain’s humour in the 1st half, it really shines in this part. The content is also a lot more exciting, with sections about a particular chef and restaurant he admires a lot, “a day in the life of Anthony Bourdain”, the roles of the various staff members in the business, and (what I thought was the best part) his travels in Japan. I was literally laughing out loud through so many sections of the 2nd half, and there were a lot of memorable anecdotes. I would write about a few of them here, but I think this audiobook is really worth listening to (its read by Bourdain himself), and I wouldnt want to spoil it. I have definitely gained a lot of admiration for him and his work after completing this book.

Infact, I liked it so much, I actually upgraded my audiobook rental subscription so that I can now get 2 books at a time. And the book thats on its way to me now? one of Bourdain’s other books, “A Cook’s Tour”, which is apparently about him traveling the globe to find the perfect meal. Definitely the sort of premise that catches my attention…

tasty, healthy cole slaw recipe

I’ve tried many healthy cole slaw recipes before but havent really been satisfied with any of them. This one I think has the right blend of creaminess, sweetness, and acidity.

• 1 lb cole slaw mix (grated green cabbage and carrots)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (a good quality vinegar will definitely help here)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 packets Splenda (equivalent of 4 tsp. sugar)

Makes 4 generous servings. Great with meat, or even in a sandwich or wrap.

Some great web resources

Dont you hate when companies (this is especially prevalent among large online ones) make it impossibly hard to contact them by phone? They are never to busy to make a buck off you, but wont take 2 seconds to answer your question. Well thats why the internet is such a great resource, check out this site: http://www.hardtofind800numbers.com/ which lists numbers for tons of companies, along with (in some cases) shortcuts on how to bypass their automated message systems.

Another great web resource is online storage. I’ve been looking for a good one, ran across quite a few mediocore ones, that either had terrible interface or required downloads etc. finally found a good one: http://www.box.net

And finally, here is a useful resource for creating/improving HTML emails: http://www.emaillabs.com/email_marketing_articles/#general