All Over But the Shouting

Well, not exactly but most things were resolved over the weekend and mid-week matches.
Still to be resolved are the final two Champions League spots and there are multiple scenarios involving Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal.  Recall that while both 3rd and 4th qualify for the European competition,  the 4th place side faces a play-in series to get to the actual Champions League action.  Man City and Liverpool control their own fates but Arsenal can still slip in, even as high as 3rd, with the right set of results.


Weakend

Bobby Madley is not ordering two Heinekens

Well that wasn't the most scintillating set of fixtures ever.  Chelsea clinched the title with a drab 1-0 win over West Brom.  Crystal Palace turned what could have been a tense relegation match into a laugher with easy 4-0 win over Hull, condemning the Tigers to the third relegation spot.  Spurs are set for second place with a win over Man United, whose direct route to the Champions League - a top four finish - is blocked (though a Europa League win over Ajax could still get them there).  Man City-Leicester was interesting but mostly because of the bizarre PK attempt by Mahrez.  With the Citizens leading 2-1, Mahrez was awarded a PK in the 77th minute.  He slipped but still slotted the attempt into the net.  Except, in the course of slipping, he actually struck the ball twice.  In the words of Ted Lasso, that is a violation.  Goal doesn't count, indirect free kick coming out from the spot of the violation.  Looked at a pile of videos and in none could you actually see the how he kicked the ball off his other foot.  So all you get is a picture of ref Bob Madley (above right) giving the peace sign, ordering two beers or indicating that Mahrez got two touches.

Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal each won all their matches, setting up the final weekend fun.


Future Trivia Answer

Q: Who scored the last goal at White Hart Lane?
A: Wayne Rooney


Union Rules

Wow, what is happening here?  The 4-0 scoreline for the Saturday match fairly reflects the Union's domination over DC United.  Granted, the sending off of Acosta in the 55th minute did make things easier by 1) taking a DC player off the field and 2) taking off the player most likely to score against the Union.  But the Union had been unpressed to that point and it seemed likely they would add to the 1-0 lead.  Which they did.

Wednesday's match was more of the same.  The first half was all Union and they could have had 3 or 4 instead of the 2 they got.  The second half was quieter but Houston never really threatened all the much.  They now have gone 363 minutes without yielding a goal

The backline combination of Gaddis/Onyewu/Elliott/Fabinho seems to have gelled.  Bedayo has found a home as a defensive midfielder and Medunjanin is keying the offense with excellent distribution of the ball.  The latest revelation might be Ilsinho as our #10.  He set up one and scored one on Wednesday and played 60+ minutes with a work rate heretofore unseen from him.  We'll make Ilsinho's tally this week's YouTubeableMoment.

Championship Division Playoffs

On Tuesday Reading eked out a 2-1 aggregate win over Fulham on a tough but likely correct handling call.  Then Huddersfield edged out Sheffield Wednesday Wednesday on kicks from the spot.  The two winning sides will meet at Wembley on Monday May 29th for the right to move up to the EPL.  The $100+ million minimum value of promotion makes this likely the most lucrative pay day in sports.

The Many Channels of the NBC Network

Sunday is the season finale for the EPL, with all matches kicking off at 10 am.  And by utilizing their multiple affiliates, NBC can offer every one of them live, drawing on USA, SYFY, OYGN, ESQR, E!, MSNBC and Bravo in addition to the usual trio of NBC, NBCSN, and CNBC.   But only three of the matches have any meaning.  Watford-Man City is on USA, Liverpool-Middlesbrough is NBCSN and Arsenal-Everton is NBC.  I'll probably go with Arsenal-Everton because if the Gunners don't manage at least a draw, the other matches will only matter for 3rd and 4th.

The Union host Colorado, who are bottom of the Western Conference, Saturday night.  Every reason to expect a good result there but, well, let's not assume anything but instead hope the run continues.


PS - This marks the 200th post of Booked For Simulation.  I had hoped to do a bit more to mark the occasion but work and other stuff limits my time.  I'll just say that I'm still having fun with this so we'll keep posting.