#I won 2nd place but we ended up not doing ranking beyond 1st

[ninelivesart]

I’m having a bit of an artist dilemma and I’m hoping someone might be able to help.

Every year my work does a pumpkin decorating contest (painted, not carved). And the prompt is always “Favorite book character.”

This year I thought it would be fun to do all the main SJM girls. I also bought a pack of acrylic paint pens just for my pumpkin.

However, I usually work digitally and wanted to draw up my designs digitally just to play it safe. Since you can’t really sketch on a pumpkin.

Now I’m stuck trying to figure out how to get the designs onto the pumpkin. Nothing I’ve tried so far has worked. I tried to decoupage the images but they just peeled right off. I then downloaded a paid app that’s supposed to superimpose your images over the camera. Great in theory. Didn’t work out for this particular project.

And now I’m back at square one. I considered the old pencil tracing technique but the designs are just too detailed and I know it won’t come out visible enough to be worth the effort.

The only other thing I’ve thought of is a projector. But since I have no plans to use it for tv, I don’t know what to look for. I still want something relatively affordable. But I’m not looking for something to project big images. The pumpkin is fairly small even for a pumpkin. I know I’ll probably use it for canvases. But I still don’t want to shell out the money for something unless I’m sure it’ll do what I want it to do. And we don’t really have a store here that I can go browse and talk to people.

Also I did consider a home made projector but to get it to do what I need, I’d have to buy so many supplies that I may as well just buy a real one.

So that’s where I’m at. I had this issue last year too and i ended up giving up just because nothing worked out. I’m hoping I can get at least one of these ladies on my pumpkin this year.

If you have any ideas or know of a good projector I can buy, I’d be really grateful.

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#130-121)

#130: Franco Battiato and Alice -- I Treni di Tozeur (Italy 1984)

“In una vecchia miniera, distese di sale E un ricordo di me, come un incantesimo”

“In an old empty mine, the salt extends And I seem to remember it, like a dream”

Franco Battiato was one of Italy's greatest songwriters, known for his complex songs in a mix of genres. Unfortunately, I haven't listened to most of his discography, but I do know of "Per Elisa", the song he wrote for Alice which won Sanremo 1981 (coincidentially, the first year Italy withdrew from Eurovision, welp). It's thoughtful and its incorporation of Fur Elise is well-done with its synthesizers.

In comparison, I treni di Tozeur is not a song readily caught by first listening, and that’s why it’s not my favorite of its year. This doesn’t mean it’s not a good song, though—it's sounds eerily futuristic even for the synth-based 1980s, and actually timeless. The lyrics seem ambivalent, but I think there’s some philosophical bent towards them. One of the commentaries talk about the train to Tozeur being built in the early twentieth century to satisfy the whims of the King of Tunisia, at a huge cost. Maybe there's some social commentary sneaking in there.

The performance was good, but it seems like Alice had a bit more control of her voice. She did so with style, and I actually liked her outfit.

In addition, the opera singers at the end were the cherry of the cake. A mix of classical and modern, indeed, which earned itself classic status.

Personal ranking: 2nd/19 Actual ranking: =5th/19 (with Belgium) in Luxembourg

#129: Linda Martin -- Terminal 3 (Ireland 1984)

“Staring into a space, searching through every face He's been away too long now, he must have changed”

I feel like there are two types of people in terms of 1984--those who have Alice and Batiatto (#130) as their favorite, and those who have Linda Martin as theirs. As shown by how close they are on my list, I love both, but Linda Martin just eeks it out.

The storytelling aspect of the song is very strong, as Linda waits for her lover to come from an international flight. Ironically, it can't be from Dublin, as no Irish airport has a third terminal. Maybe it's from London's she's waiting for her love? Or the flight is coming to the United States, rather than from it? Mysteries indeed.

(Now my life goal is to be at Terminal 3 at 10:30; one of David Tao's most famous songs is 飞机场的10:30--Airport at 10:30, which deals with the same topic)

The New Wave instrumentation and orchestration add up to the drama too--the brass grabs me from the first beats, and the strings and rock influences remain as the song goes on. It's kind of hard to believe Johnny Logan was behind this, especially considering he's better known for his ballads. If she had to win one Eurovision, Terminal 3 had to be the one.

Personal ranking: 1st/19 Actual ranking: 2nd/19 in Luxembourg

#128: Halla Margrét - Hægt og hljótt (Iceland 1987)

"Kvöldið hefur flogið alltof fljótt Fyrir utan gluggann komin nótt Kertin er’ að brenna upp Glösin orðin miklu meir’en tóm"

"The evening has fled all too fast Outside the window night has come The candles are burning low The glasses have become much more than empty"

As their debut entry was fun and "in-your"face", Iceland’s second entry has an afterparty feeling, but I've heard some comparisons to being a Christmas song. It doesn't sound like it to me, but it's still really serene and beautiful, as if the snow was falling outside (not unlike #213 on this list).

The lyrics are quite gentle and pretty, painting a dainty picture. However, they also contain enough melancholy to add a tinge of darkness to the scene, which is why I don't think it would work as a Christmas song. Halla’s vocals are very pure, and adds enough delicacy to the composition. The piano and orchestration also helps.

What stands out more is the funny notes related to Hægt og hljótt--one refers to the last line of their chorus, which is bufflaxed to "anus in the air" in English, another mentions how Halla's dress is see-through against the white piano, almost as if she was a ghost. Very strange, especially the latter as the lyrics focuses on the upcoming dawn. Or it would make a good fan-fiction, come to think of it.

Personal ranking: 3rd/22 Actual ranking: 16th/22 in Brussels

#127: Raphael -- Yo soy aquél (Spain 1966)

“Yo soy aquél, Que por tenerte da la vida, Yo soy aquél, Que estando lejos, no te olvida,

“I'm that one, Who gives his life to have you I'm that one Who's far away and doesn't forget you”

When I first did this sorter, Yo soy aquel ended up close to being in my top 50. It was a surprise, because despite being one of my favorite songs from Spain, I didn't think about as much in terms of great songs, even though it's a beautiful song.

The opening bars to this song are filled with drama, which gives way to Raphael’s crooning for the one he loves. The lyrics are a bit repetitive, sure, but they still work in how Raphael wants his love to know he will be there. I particularly love the way the song builds, which, combined with his singing, creates a brooding atmosphere. The explosion in the chorus is really effective, which the orchestra compliments and actually amplifies. You could actually feel his passion thanks to those strings.

1966 was an incredible year (especially for a black-and-white contest), and if I could switch one of Spain's wins, I would drop La La La for this in one second (even though there's another song from this year on my top 250). Massiel doesn't hold a candle to Raphael.

Personal ranking: 2nd/18 Actual ranking: =7th/18 (with Yugoslavia) in Luxembourg

#126: Liam Reilly -- Somewhere in Europe (Ireland 1990)

“We should be together, and maybe we just might If you could only meet me somewhere in Europe tonight”

For my European friends, I wish for this lyric to come true! I am sadly ill-traveled, haha.

When I started to consider this top 250, I thought "Somewhere in Europe" would be song #250, because it was pleasant and pretty, but wouldn't trouble the rest of the list. When I was re-arranging the list, this was one of the songs which got a great boost, and now it sits just outside of the top half of this list!

As for this song, I like it a lot. It not only a pretty little ditty, but it also takes the theme of unity and takes one on an adventure. Because of the piano-based instrumental, I keep thinking that it's like a Billy Joel song, as it's quite homebrewed. While I don’t think this would’ve made a better winner than Insieme (or White and Black Blues, for that matter--France winning would bring some new energy to the contest), Liam Reilly proved he was a talented songwriter, and it shines with the orchestration too.

As a result, I keep thinking that it would be a good New Year's Eve song--it's nostalgic yet calming, and seeks out a better future. Unfortunately, Liam Reilly died on New Year's Day this year, which makes it a bit sadder. RIP.

Personal ranking: 8th/22 Actual ranking: =2nd/22 (with France) in Zagreb

#125: Rita -- Shara Bachravot (Israel 1990)

לבוקר הזה יש טעם של חופש זר כמו של מוות או ברכה כי הלכתי ממך”

“This morning, Has the taste of strange freedom Like of death or a blessing Because I went away from you”

(I actually heard of Rita before stumbling on her Eurovision entry--one song I really like is Idan Raichel's Mechake (Waiting), and I searched the web. One of the results was Rita's version of his composition, which compared to Raichel's, is a bit more produced. Still great!)

1990 focuses on freedom in many ways, especially because of the Berlin Wall falling and the end of communism. Shara Barkhovot also talks about freedom, but does so in another way.

It’s basically a tale of a relationship ending, with a woman leaving her partner in the morning. It’s frequently interpreted as running away from abuse, and the imagery involved does a good job in conveying that feeling.

It’s dramatic and passionate, with Rita “emoting” the song rather than merely performing it. Unfortunately, it does go off the rails later on, with her vocals losing out at points. I still like how she played with the microphone stand, though!

Personal ranking: 7th/22 Actual ranking: 18th/22 in Zagreb

#124: Helena Paparizou -- My Number One (Greece 2005)

“You're my lover Undercover You're my sacred passion and I have no other.”

Helena Paparizou was one of those artists that I knew that participated in Eurovision, but didn’t listen to her song until much later. I found out about her with the song “Heroes”, which I played a lot when I was younger (about 11-13 years old), and didn’t think about her in the contest, other than she won and she received a wide ovation when she returned to Greece.

My Number One is all kinds of fun, from the ethnic instrumental to the sometimes silly lyrics. I also love the performance featuring Helena playing a human lyre, which is a definite highlight! A fun and energetic bop (the last of a holy trinity of ethno-influenced dance winners during this time), now I’m a happy fan of hers (I really listened to Kati Skoteino a lot since 2018, for example. Plus her Mambo interval the following year is fantastic.)

On whether this or "Die For You" was the better song, it's hard to tell, especially on how close they are on this list. Whereas 2001 was the weaker year and Die for You had to win it, My Number One was in a stronger year and held its own. And yet it's not my favorite...

Personal ranking: 2nd/39 Actual ranking: 1st/24 GF in Kyiv

#123: Vanilla Ninja -- Cool Vibes (Switzerland 2005)

“Don't want you to come so close to me Don't need you to blow my fantasy But I know that you are livin' far beyond those lies I can see the danger rise in your eyes...”

From my last place in 2004 to my favorite in 2005, what a glow up from Switzerland! Though to be honest, I have a hard time determining why this song in particular is my favorite of its year. I did come in knowing that Switzerland was the only one of the original seven to not win in my timeline, so that may have impacted my thinking.

Cool Vibes a dark rock song, with occasionally dramatic lyrics (though then again, emo rock was getting popular during that time), but an intriguing musical atmosphere. Despite 2005 being known as the "ethno-bop year", there were a number of interesting rock songs (e.g. In My Dreams), and this holds up by its sheer seriousness, versus the occasionally silly vibe of those others.

And with that string motif, it does sound like a song that needs an orchestra to realize its full potential. There's a lot of hidden angst throughout the song, and the multiple key changes actually helps here.

Personal ranking: 1st/39 Actual ranking: 8th/24 GF in Kyiv

Final Impressions on Switzerland: Not one of my favorite countries in the contest, unfortunately. I find most of their entries to be quite non-descript, with some of them being very bad. That said, they do have a number of gems on here, and some great ones that just missed out (Moi, tout simplement; Io senza te; She Got Me especially). And with the track they are now, they could actually win in the next few years. Hopefully with a French-language song. :)

#122: Tanja Ribič - Zbudi se (Slovenia 1997)

“Zbudi se, dobri princ Rada bi ti dala vse Svoje sanje in mladost Da ne bom iz pravljice”

“Wake up, good prince I would like to give you all My dreams and my youth Break the spell of the fairy tale”

Sometimes I forget I love this song. As 1997 is one of the strongest years (if not the strongest year song-wise), there are so many good ones one can't remember all of them. Zbudi se a bit dark and fits in very well with the rest of the 1990s with its mythical character (and might be the first Balkan ballad proper), but Tanja does it so well. And she would later be more known for her acting!

When I do listen to it, it just takes me away. It’s a dark fairytale, with beautiful lyrics and an intriguing atmosphere. The narrator longs for her loved one, filled with magical imagery and dreaminess. I also appreciate the transition between the lyrics and the chorus, which can be very hard to do! And of course, the orchestration, including the harp parts in particular, create a fantastic soundscape.

Personal ranking: 8th/25 Actual ranking: 10th/25 in Dublin

#121: Lúcia Moniz - O meu coração não tem cor (Portugal 1996)

“Dança-se o samba, a marrabenta também, Chora-se o fado, rola-se a coladeira.”

“We dance the samba, the marrabenta too, We weep the fado, and roll the coladeira”

Curiously, for a song which was one twelve away from a top-three finish, O meu coração não tem cor seems a bit less known within Portugal. It even didn't get a studio release, and Lucia is better known for being the love interest in Love Actually. And yet it's still a fan-favorite within Eurovision.

The lyrics call out to everyone in the Portuguese diaspora (or the Lusosphere in general), and welcomes them to engage in their cultural traditions. We have fruit and dance and crying and laughter all at once. All kinds of fun, except when the clips grayscale and I keep thinking of those "in memoriam" scenes.

And it managed impress in another way; it came in 18th in the audio-only pre-qualifer which only appeared in 1996. Thanks to the brazen and fun orchestration, along with Lucia's very sweet voice, it was lifted up in the final to a solid sixth place! Very well-deserved.

Personal ranking: 5th/23 Actual ranking: 6th/23 in Oslo

[365footballorg-blog]

Armchair Analyst: Your complete guide to the Week 12 MLS slate

May 18, 201812:16PM EDT

Nobody reads ledes anymore, right?

Into the weekend we go:

Friday Night

Toronto FC vs. Orlando City SC

8 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

In last Sunday’s column I caused quite a stir by putting TFC in their own tier because, despite their record, I think they’re fine. You, my beloved and gentle and maaaaaybe not entirely rational readers, think otherwise. Some numbers provided by Opta back up my point.

Team GD xGD GD-xGD Toronto -6 1.57 -7.57 Philadelphia -6 0.5 -6.5 Vancouver -8 -2.92 -5.08 Columbus 7 11.68 -4.68 D.C. United -6 -1.98 -4.02 LA Galaxy -5 -1.1 -3.9 Chicago -4 -2.85 -1.15 Atlanta 12 12.75 -0.75 Montreal -12 -11.69 -0.31 Seattle -4 -4.1 0.1 Minnesota -8 -8.11 0.11 LAFC 6 4.92 1.08 Orlando 4 2.57 1.43 San Jose -2 -4.04 2.04 RSL -8 -10.14 2.14 NY Red Bulls 12 9.7 2.3 Colorado -2 -4.45 2.45 Portland 0 -2.71 2.71 NYCFC 5 2.17 2.83 Houston 5 2.1 2.9 Sporting KC 11 7.32 3.68 FC Dallas 5 1.18 3.82 New England 4 -2.37 6.37

The point stands for most players and teams who are either vastly underperforming or vastly overperforming their expected goals: Eventually they regress/progress back to the mean. Eventually those looks – like Marky Delgado’s against Chivas, or Tosaint Ricketts’ against Seattle, or Jay Chapman’s against New England – start falling. And as the defense gets healthy (expect to see Chris Mavinga and Gregory van der Wiel in central defense this weekend) and they get the disastrous Ager Aketxe out of central midfield, there will stop being the types of defensive breakdowns that buried them in the first half against the Revs.

So my official stance is that TFC are fine, and they will have the bonus of going against an Orlando City team that’s without Yoshi Yotun (yellow card accumulation) and Dom Dwyer (lower body injury) Friday night. That’s not fine for the Purple Lions.

If TFC lose or even draw this one then come back here and feel free to dunk on me and them. That said:

I also think TFC will be fine, but right now almost half of all opposition shots are on target. That’s… not great. pic.twitter.com/1USqQefvCB

— Rob Lowe (@LoweDownStats) May 18, 2018

Make sure you give Rob some credit when you do so.

Saturday Slate

NYCFC vs. Colorado Rapids

1 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

As Ben Baer wrote earlier this week, NYCFC have played – by far – the toughest schedule in the league. Seven of their 11 have been on the road, and many of those have been against the league’s best teams (the likes of Atlanta, Sporting and RBNY). They have performed beyond admirably, taking nine points from those seven games.

At home they’re an absolute wagon at 4-0-0 with 11 goals scored and just 2 conceded. The House that Lampard Built™ has treated them well.

As for the Rapids…

This chart also shows that, with a -5.8 xGD, #Rapids96 haven’t been very good at creating good chances while preventing the opponent from getting good chances. 19th in the league. And the 3.8 GD-xGD means we’ve been lucky. So big warning: regression ahead for Colorado. https://t.co/yO0m5FhKpp

— Rapids Rabbi (@rapidsrabbi) May 18, 2018

They have just one of a possible 12 points on the road thus far, and while their back five is, in theory, suited toward walling off the final third on a small pitch, the reality is that teams have pretty easily been able to shoot the gaps between Colorado’s wingbacks and wide central defenders. Look for David Villa to drift out left and get on the ball in that channel with runners ahead of him – in particular Ben Sweat underlapping to post up on the edge of the box. 

Portland Timbers vs. LAFC

3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

LAFC have lost a good deal of their explosiveness in the last few games following the injury to Marco Ureña. The Costa Rican center forward never scores, but his hold-up play and movement drag opposing defenses around and allow guys like Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi and Latif Blessing to hit gaps that otherwise don’t really exist.

Even without him, though, LAFC have been damn good. They’re in the midst of rewriting what’s possible for an expansion team:

.@LAFC’s 10-game start and where it ranks among @MLS expansion teams:

– 20 points (1st) – 22 goals (1st) – +6 GD (2nd behind 1998 Fire)

— Paul Carr (@PaulCarrTM) May 14, 2018

Saturday’s trip to Portland will be a different kind of test for them, as the Timbers have found themselves over the past month by dragging numbers behind the ball and trying to bottle the game up. They’re toggling between a 4-3-2-1 and a 4-2-3-1 but the point of how they play each is the same: Put and keep numbers in Zone 14 to protect the backline, and defend deep so that guys like Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco get the ball on the run.

It’s obviously working, as the Timbers are on a run of three straight shutout wins for the first time in their MLS existence.

FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

4 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

I will always feel that the Red Bulls won the Tim Parker for Felipe + cash trade because 1) If you have a pair of mid-20s domestic center backs (who are good) to build around, it makes constructing a balanced roster so, so much easier; and 2) TAM grows on trees.

That said, Felipe’s been excellent. The diving/after-the-fact fouls/outright dirty play of league’s most despised player (he’d win it with like 90% of the vote, folks) often overshadows the fact that he remains a very good soccer player, and his ability to conduct the game has boosted the once moribund ‘Caps attack over the past month.

They really have figured some stuff out in central midfield, and while he’s not a true No. 10, he hasn’t really needed to be. To my eye he’s the catalyst behind better overall attacking play in recent weeks:

Date Expected Goals 28/04/18 2.93 12/05/18 2.84 17/05/18 2.32 05/05/18 1.99 10/03/18 1.49 04/03/18 1.24 08/04/18 1.18 17/03/18 0.86 25/03/18 0.86 21/04/18 0.64 31/03/18 0.45 14/04/18 0.29

Yordy Reyna isn’t a true No. 10 either, but he looked like it the other night in a disappointing 2-2 home draw against San Jose. If those two guys can in a groove and stay on the field, then Vancouver will have finally found their attacking Plan B and won’t be so reliant upon long-balls and crosses. It’s an “if” since the sample size is not large right now, but it’s been promising. 

The problem with the ‘Caps – and yeah, this goes back to the Parker thing – is that their defense has been outright bad. They got beat over the top on San Jose’s first goal. They got beat up the gut on San Jose’s second goal after Efrain Juarez decided “maybe nah, running’s hard.” They gave up one against Houston when they simply didn’t track Tomas Martinez, and another when they were slow to a deflected ball at the top of the box. 

Can’t play like that at home against struggling teams and expect to win. Play like that on the road against an FC Dallas team that’s finding something close to their 2016 form? Yeah… not gonna end good for the ‘Caps unless they clean it up.

New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew SC

7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

We’ve sung Gregg Berhalter’s praises up and down for his ability to get tap-ins for his center forwards over the years. He deserves it – a parade of guys have had their best years when playing for him in his system.

But it’s not all the system. This really is a precise, deceptive and patient run from Gyasi Zardes:

He gets into Johan Kappelhof’s head so early with the threat of the back-post run, then angles near post and forces Kappelhof to commit. At which point he jams on the brakes and lets him fly right by, then plants himself in the perfect spot for the one-touch finish. And let’s dap Niko Hansen the hell up for his 60-yard run and assist.

I really love that goal.

The Revs have been successful this year in large part because they’re not giving up goals like that. They’ve done an exceptional job of 1) high pressing other teams into useful turnovers, and 2) only rarely getting turned around and running back at their own goal. If you’re going to beat them, it’s going to be by packing them into their own end and forcing individual mistakes (which can and does happen, though Matt Turner bails them out all the time).

Anyway, New England’s gonna come out and try to press Zack Steffen into a mistake. If Columbus are able to play through that press and get on the run a little bit, there will be many goals in this game.

Philadelphia Union vs. Real Salt Lake

7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

RSL are starting to do some nice things in attack:

They are also dislocated all over the place through central midfield and central defense, which is/has been problematic. They keep getting drilled during the final 30 minutes of just about every game they play, including against 10-man D.C. United last week (RSL were fortunate to hang onto a 3-2 home win).

What is left to say about Philly? They look like they know what they’re doing most weeks, and while they have some weaknesses at the back that are typical of young teams, their attack should be better than it is. It’s just that pretty much nobody’s finishing.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. D.C. United

10:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

The Quakes went to a 5-4-1 at Vancouver on Wednesday and got themselves a very nice result. It doesn’t change the fact that their backline has been leaky and left back has been something close to an open wound all season long. Teams are able to go at whoever’s out there and find both time and space to cause problems.

Keep an eye on center forward Danny Hoesen in this one, by the way. He now has goals in three of his last four games.

As for D.C. United… who knows? Winger Paul Arriola is maybe going to play as a No. 8, there are injury concerns in a few spots, Lucho Acosta threw a fit when subbed last week, and the defense is a weekly disaster.

Sunday Slate

Minnesota United vs. Sporting KC

2 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

Young Harrison Hamm wrote a very nice debut article for the nerds over at AmericanSoccerAnalysis. Go read it.

I’m gonna pull out one of the clips he used and highlight it:

And also, here’s Minnesota struggling to press: pic.twitter.com/82PJNn4AP3

— Harrison Hamm (@harrisonhamm21) May 15, 2018

Minnesota’s problem, from Day 1, is that they allow teams to build into spots between the lines, and allow teams to use that to create running lanes off the ball. Obviously they have other problems as well, but the biggest one is just that they’re easy to play against. They allow you to get into a rhythm and pull them apart.

SKC have become a “rhythm” team over the past year in large part because of how they use their fullbacks. Though both Graham Zusi and Jimmy Medranda will overlap if you give them space, both are more likely to stay a little bit deeper, basically on the same latitude as d-mid Ilie, and spray possession-oriented passes. Sporting thus have three deep-lying fulcrums to conduct the game, while other teams usually use only one.

Both those guys will actually pinch into central midfield as well, which leaves SKC vulnerable to wide counters – a big reason why they’ve struggled defensively at times this year. But they’re doing something different and, frankly, better than in years past. And it’s working.

Chicago Fire vs. Houston Dynamo

4 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

Which Fire team will show up this week? The one that plays a 3-5-2 with Bastian Schweinsteiger as a sweeper? The 4-3-3, possession-focused bunch we’ve seen from time to time? A sort of 4-5-1 team that man marks all over the field? Other?

Chicago’s got some pieces and have mostly held their season together by treating every game as if it’s the knockout round of a tournament and they’re the underdogs – i.e., they try to focus on taking away the opponent’s biggest strength. But sooner or later they’re going to have to start building a foundation of “here’s who we are and what we do well” and so far they haven’t. My guess is you will start to see frustration start to boil over for some of the veterans in coming weeks.

If Houston get a result here – and they’re entirely capable of that – the time for frustration would be now. 

Atlanta United vs. New York Red Bulls

7 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

Here’s Bobby’s take on how to beat Atlanta United, who are leading the Supporters’ Shield race. Read it.

Also read this:

Non-penalty goals + assists per 90 minutes leaders (min. 300 minutes). Some interesting names on here. pic.twitter.com/eDaIAxDK5X

— Ben Baer (@BenBaer89) May 15, 2018

It’s hard to overstate just how good RBNY’s attack has been. They’ve mostly been going against bottom-half-of-the-table foes, but the two good teams they’ve faced – Club Tijuana in the CCL and NYCFC two weeks back – they absolutely murderized.

Expect to see Miguel Almiron float out left a ton. The way to beat the Red Bulls is to hit the space vacated by their overlapping fullbacks and punish them for playing such front-foot soccer.

Monday’s Matinee

Montreal Impact vs. LA Galaxy

3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & Streaming Info

Montreal have taken three of the last 21 points on offer and are on track to post the worst single-season defensive record in MLS history.

Judging by how much firepower each of these teams have, and how much each defense has struggled, this one could – maybe even should – end up being a 4-3 game.

One more thing to ponder…

Happy weekending, everybody.

Series: 

Topics: 

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MLSsoccer.com News

Armchair Analyst: Your complete guide to the Week 12 MLS slate was originally published on 365 Football

[azabbot-blog-blog]

King of the Mods: May Update

Roster analysis, summary of season to date, projected plans:

C: Jason Casto, Gary Sanchez on the DL - Castro is operating merely as a stopgap during Sanchez’s injury, and he’s doing so quite poorly. When I did my draft preparation, I only mocked out the 13 catchers I valued as draftable, given there were 13 teams. Subsequently, I was surprised that when the season began, multiple teams spend backup roster spots on 2nd catchers. This has left the waiver wire for catchers depressingly thing, however, it has allowed me to pick up multiple bench bats that likely would not have been available in similar 13-team leagues. But we’ll explore that in a bit. As for now, I’m greatly looking forward to Sanchez’s probable return from the DL this week.

1B: Edwin Encarnación, Albert Pujols - Ostensibly, this position would be manned daily by Edwin Encarnacion, however, he has been off to a meager 9/1/9/1/.200 start. EE fell to me as pick 35 in the draft, but it’s easy to see why some layed off the aging slugger type. Pujols was drafted for the same reason. He fell multiple rounds beyond his ADP, seemed like a good value, however, has hit only 7/3/22/0/.231. He has at least been above average in RBIs to date, ranking 4th among 1B eligible hitters. This position probably requires an upgrade somewhere down the line.

2B: Trea Turner, César Hernández - Turner was my 1st round pick, and after a short DL stint, has rocketed back to a 15/2/13/4/.317 line that would look decent even without his injury. Turner’s value will take a slight hit as Adam Eaton’s season ending ACL tear will result in Turner batting leadoff instead of second. While this will cut into his RBIs, hopefully it should trade off with more SBs. We shall see, but early returns suggest my modest reach in the 1st round will pay off. Hernandez was a waiver-wire replacement during the Turner injury, but has been too good to just drop upon Turner’s return. He’s rocking a solid 20/4/10/3/.323 line that has him as the 44th ranked player overall so far. And while his batting average likely won’t stay so far north of .300, I intend to keep running him out daily until the falloff occurs.

3B: Alex Bregman, Joey Gallo, Nick Castellanos - Oooof. This one hurts. Bregman has been a disaster in April, hitting 6/0/6/2/.250. He’s been dropped to 9th (!!!) in the batting order and has looked awful doing so. One of my big decisions during the draft was knowing I’d be hoping for one of the breakout 3B, then grabbing Bregman because I was worried Jake Lamb would be drafted out from under me. It doesn’t really help the ol’ ego that Lamb has been outstanding during April. As a result, I’ve made two roster moves to try to bring in help. The last week of April, I picked up Joey Gallo, who despite his batting average, has been the 54th best player in April. Gallo has been replacing an injury Adrian Beltre for the Rangers, and it looks like Beltre’s absence will continue for the time being, meaning Gallo will stay on my active roster as well. As of this morning, I won a waiver claim for Nick Castellanos, who has a decent line of 15/3/14/0/.245, however, his underlying statistics suggest a rise in batting average. The Tigers have still been hitting him 3rd in their lineup, so if his average does increase, his counting stats should ride shotgun. If not, he didn’t really cost me anything except league legend Stephen Piscotty.

SS: Corey Seager, Chris Owings - If my 3B has been an ER toxic waste spill, SS has been unlimited free cream soda. The shortstop position has been an overall drain throughout fantasy baseball. Only 4 SS-eligible players finished April in the top 125 overall, and with Turner switching positions, I have 3 of ‘em. Owings was an early waiver add, not for position (he’s also OF eligible), but because he was producing fantastic results. While Owings probably won’t keep up his 30ish, HR pace, the Diamondbacks have taken an extremely free love position regarding stolen bases, so his 7 swipes so far don’t seem like an anomaly. Corey Seager remains a delight to own as he basically scores a run, picks up an RBI, or hits a HR seemingly every day, all while showing every consistency of a true .300 hitter. Fantasy baseball can be a serious grind with lots of ups and downs and I love having a player who fills out part of the stat sheet every time I check it. This position is set for the foreseeable future.

OF: Carlos Gonzalez, Adam Duvall, Steven Souza - Speaking of ups and downs, OF has been acceptable if slightly frustrating. Duvall personifies the grind of fantasy in that while there do seem to be a lot of 0/4 days, he finishes April ranked 55th with a line of 16/7/17/2/.247. I expect him to basically just repeat that, rarely a little more or more often a little less, each month from here on out. Steven Souza was another early wire move that has produced and is showing few signs of slowing. He’s hitting 14/4/17/0/.330 and while he has bounced between leadoff and 5th in the lineup (depending on pitching matchups), his position on the team is secure. I have to give credit to si.com for suggesting Souza as a post-hype breakout and providing that “credible expert” juice that convinces me to roster/keep him. Carlos Gonzalez was the third in my trio of players in the “I drafted them despite not really planning to because they slipped noticeably, but they’re kind of old and they were all disappointing in the first month, so maybe every one else is smarter than I am” category. Ah that category, a classic fantasy baseball trope I’m sure all are familiar with. Anyway, Gonzalez has looked pretty lame in the otherwise above-average Rockies offense. Hopefully he won’t be traded and he can start getting in on that sweet sweet Coors action.

SP: Stephen Strasburg, Danny Duffy, Michael Pineda, Danny Salazar, Vince Velasquez - My SP strategy is usually based on K/9 and K/BB ratio. It’s usually my experience that those stats best predicts fantasy success. It isn’t really killing it for me yet. I finish April in 11th place for ERA and 9th for WHIP. Strasburg, Duffy, and Pineda have performed to expectations so far. Strasburg has been a little unlucky with his W-L record given the Nats offense, and I don’t expect any runs support for Duffy whatsoever. Pineda has been a K/BB monster and I’m really counting on his long-awaited breakout to continue. I’m nervous regarding his start this week against the Cubs, but this is the kind of game you expect an excellent pitcher to be able to manage. Salazar and Velasquez have been frustrating owns, but have too many underlying advanced metrics to give up on quite yet. Maybe I won’t live to regret it, but I intend to keep running them out there for all their starts. However, if I see one more article on how Salazar is a secret ace, I might have to burn down the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Actually, I should probably come up with a punishment for each city if these guys don’t stop giving up HRs. Maybe that’s the counterpoint to guys who throw a lot of strikes and miss a lot of bats. When they get hit, they get hit hard. Vince Velasquez, the Liberty Bell’s fate rests with you.

RP: Neftali Feliz, Hector Neris, Matt Bush, Santiago Casilla - My makeshift RP crew will mostly pass without comment. I’m unsure if any will finish the season as closers, but all have the ability and opportunity to do so. We shall see. That’s really what I should rename this team. Getting back into fantasy baseball can be tricky. Sometimes you gotta grab the guys who seem like they’ll succeed and just wait and see.

Current Standings:

Runs - 109. Tied for 9th. League leader: 133

HRs - 29. Tied for 8th. LL: 39

RBIs - 112. 5th. LL: 120

SBs - 18. 5th. LL: 31

Average - .234. Last. LL: .292

Wins - 14. 2nd. LL: 15

Saves - 13. Tied for 5th. LL: 25

Ks - 227. 1st (Yay).

ERA - 4.19. 11th. LL: 2.65

WHIP - 1.25. 9th. LL:1.05

Projected Plans: I intend to try to stay active on the waiver wire (I’m tied for the 3rd most roster moves to date), however, usually by about now most hitters that are going to be playable long-term have been picked up. I’ll try to keep an eye on pitchers, but I’m usually much more hesitant to give up on a starter than most, often to my detriment. I really have no idea how willing teams are to trade in this league, but I feel like I have to try to leverage my SS position at some point. If all 3 keep up the elite production, I’ll attempt to upgrade my 1B or potentially OF. As always, We Shall See.