Another 73rd birthday

From acmilan.com:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT!

9/29/2009

MILAN - September 29 is a special day for all the Rossoneri fans: Silvio Berlusconi's birthday. The most warm and sincere birthday wishes to our president which with him and his family, all of the fans around the world will celebrate it. Happy birthday president!

Match report: Milan 0 - Bari 0

• Goals scored: None.
• Milan's offense: Inept, unimaginative, uninspired, feeble, tired, crabby, frustrated, old.
• Milan's defense: Don't worry if your defenders are beaten again and again-- just let Marco Storari make yet another unbelievable save.
• Number of unbelievable saves by Marco Storari: 4.
• Number of players who are well-loved by manager Leonardo and get to play all the time despite visual evidence that they are walking disasters: 2- Oddo and Abate.
• Number of world-famous players whose talents appear to have completely disappeared: 1- Ronaldinho.
• Number of people whose jobs are in serious jeopardy: 1- Leonardo (see photo below).

• Number of teams who deserved to win today: 1- Bari.
• What this match teaches us: Milan is currently doomed.

Match report: Udinese 1- Milan 0

• Goals scored: Di Natale 22'
• Milan's offense: Milan held the ball for much of the game, but they did not look close to scoring, especially for the first two-thirds. Pato and Inzaghi looked sluggish and unimaginative. When Ronaldinho and Huntelaar were brought on to replace the two starters, things became more exciting. But they still did not score.
• A word to describe the match: Brutal. It was surprising that no one was seriously hurt.
• Best impersonation of Gattuso: Flamini for getting two yellow cards in under 90 seconds. (See photo above)
• It is not nice to point fingers, but other players played badly also: Massimo Oddo spent most of the evening ruining the offside trap and single-handedly putting Udinese players on onside. Also, Gianluca Zambrotta does not appear to be able to kick the ball with his left foot.
• What this match teaches us: It may never be possible to figure out why this team can't score goals.

(Un)happy birthday, Thiago Silva

AC Milan defender Thiago Silva (above right) celebrates his 25th birthday today. Unfortunately, during practice at Milanello, he suffered what is being described as a "muscular strain to his right leg," and may miss the next three games (tomorrow, Sunday, and next Wednesday).

Below: Ronaldinho, Pato, and Thiago Silva

2009-2010 Serie A Update #1

After four weeks, two teams have won all their games and are tied for the top spot with 12 points- Sampdoria and Juventus. They are tied on goal difference, but Sampdoria have more total goals, so they are technically the number one club.

At the other end of the table, Atalanta have lost all four matches and have a total of zero points. They have managed to score one goal, however.

As for Milan, they are tied with four other clubs with 7 points. The optimist says that they are tied for fifth place, but the pessimist notices that they are really in eighth place.

TeamMatchesHomeAwayGoals PtsGPWinsDrawsLossesWinsDrawsLossesWinsDrawsLossesGSGASampdoria124400200200103Juventus12440020020081Inter Milan10431011020092Genoa9430120010196Parma7421120001155Fiorentina7421120001144Lazio7421110111044Milan7421110111035Bari6413011002063Chievo6420210110164Roma6420210110188Udinese5412111001177Palermo4411211000234Napoli4411211000257Siena3410300210169Bologna2402201101114Livorno2402202000215Catania1401301100259Cagliari1401300201126Atalanta0400400200217

Match report: Milan 1 - Bologna 0

• Goals scored: Seedorf 75'
• Bologna's game plan: To send no players into Milan's half of the field; to play defense and only defense; to achieve a 0-0 draw.
• How Bologna's game plan worked: Quite well, except for one brief moment late in the second half when they actually sent players forward to try to score. Milan immediately scored on the counter-attack.
• Number of Milan players who hit the goal post: 2 (Pato and Inzaghi)
• Number of Milan players who found themselves with the ball, unmarked, eight feet away from goal with no goalie in sight but who managed to shoot the ball well over the crossbar: 1 (Gattuso)
• How Clarence Seedorf finally scored: Seedorf got the ball. He ran at the defender. Then he ran around the defender. After that, Seedorf ran at the goalie. Finally he kicked the ball past the goalie and into the net.
• Last time before today that Milan scored a goal in Serie A play: August 22, 2009
• Photo I wish I could find: Bologna's Nicola Mingazzini playing most of today's match with his head bandaged.
• What this match teaches us: Only the very young or the very old can score for Milan this season.

What I have been listening to lately #27

"Meet Me on the Corner" by Lindisfarne. The version above is not complete, and the sound quality is not very good. If you are interested, watch the one below:

What I have been reading lately #35

CBGB's: Thirty Years from the Home of Underground Rock-- Introduction by Hilly Kristal; afterword by David Byrne. This was a book of photographs. It took about forty-five minutes to read.

Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood by Michael Walker. I once knew someone named Michael Walker, but not the one who wrote this book. This book has lots of information about many musicians, including (but not limited to) Cass Elliot, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Steven Stills, Micky Dolenz, David Crosby, various member of the Turtles, and everyone in Led Zeppelin.

Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss by Tom Davis. Tom Davis wrote for NBC's Saturday Night Live program for many years and was one-half of the comedy team of Franken and Davis. He has many interesting stories to share and tells them in an amusingly random fashion.

Below: Tom Davis (right) and Al Franken (left) with some of their co-workers.

Match report: Olympique de Marseille 1 - Milan 2

The group stage of the Champions League started yesterday. Milan's first game was in Marseilles. Below is the important information:

• Goals scored: Inzaghi 28', Heinze 49', Inzaghi 74'
• What happened: A terrifying rainstorm...a deranged sea of fans in blue and white chanting and jumping up and down...a Milan goal in the first half on a nice pass from Seedorf to Inzaghi...wave after wave of attacks by Marseille in the second half (including the tying goal)...Milan looking tired and half-full of panic...a completely unexpected and fantastic goal by Milan -- again Seedorf to Inzaghi.
• What this match teaches us: Seedorf rules one half of the known universe. Inzaghi rules the other half.

What I have been listening to lately #26

What I have been listening to lately #25

The First Cut is the Deepest sung by Linda Ronstadt

What I have been listening to lately #24

The show is Solid Gold 1979. The song is "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac, and the USC marching band has come along just for fun.

What I have been listening to lately #23

Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles perform "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert

History of advertising, part two

What I have been listening to lately #22