Sporting Roundup

I know that I don't usually write about sports other than hockey, but some big things have been happening that I feel a need to comment on.

1. With their 3-1 victory over hapless Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Arsenal has claimed the top spot in the League table. I like to think that they can win the Premier League this year, but time will tell. Liverpool is looking scary, so we'll see what happens when they meet for the first time.

2. The St. Louis Cardinals are committing suicide, deciding that they really don't feel like winning any games the rest of the year. They will make games exciting, sure, but they won't win. The local pundits aren't writing off the season, yet, but let's be honest; the defending champions are done.

3. On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the St. Louis Rams in what can only be described as a painful fashion, at least if you are a Rams fan. I'm a life-long Niners man, though, so I thought the game was fantastic, especially Gore's 4th and 1 run for a touchdown. Someone needs to go back to tackling school! The local fans have the knives out for coach Linehan already, and it looks like Marc Bulger might not make it through 5 games, the way the offensive line is letting people hit him at will.

4. This morning, the US Women's national soccer team won against Nigeria to advance to the next round of the World Cup. Considering last year's embarrassing performance by our men, it is good to see that somebody around here still knows how to play the game.

5. The Blues started their pre-season on Sunday, losing to Hotlanta 3-1. I can't get upset about it, since the preseason is where you use lots of minor-league players to see how they handle the big-time pressures. The good thing is that this means that we are only 3 weeks away from the regular season, at which time regular life will stop for the next 6 months. You have been warned.