Am watching soccer in the wee hours of the morning, at about 4.20am. There is nothing much to do and i just discovered delight in SopCast, enables me to use lots of personalized gadgets for my laptop. 

Ronaldo just scored a goal! woohoo...

Livescore updates

Football, sizzling hot.

Liverpool celebration after Xabi Alonso's opening goal at the 10th minute

It's 2.30am in the morning now, and the weekend matches for the Premier League has come to a closure. The last match of the morning has just concluded; Arsenal against West Ham. Perhaps the greatest of them all was Liverpool's fated win over the seemingly unstoppable Blues, a well-deserved 1-0 victory that will forever go down in the history of Chelsea's Stamford Bridge where so many teams have tried and failed to beat the Blues Black. 

The results were nothing short of spectacular, but the match that caught my eye most was the big showdown between Liverpool and Chelsea. First to state, i am not a Liverpool fan, so please do not assume my words to be biased. Liverpool played superbly, with all their heart & valour tonight. This season Liverpool seemed to have always gone behind others as seen in Wigan and Man City but they always make a resounding comeback. This time at Stamford Bridge they took the game to one of the strongest home teams put together that has never lost since Feb 2004, and they have taken away a result that no other team would have dreamed of, but the Reds. For that I salute them, their bravery, their courage, to not concede in front of goal. Mention must be given to Carragher and Agger for holding the defensive line for the rest of the 80 minutes after their 1st goal showing composure in front of goal by Alonso at the 10th minute, as well as Skipper Gerrard pulling the strings at midfield. Even in the absence of Torres Liverpool did exceedingly well. There is nothing much more to say about this side. They definitely have what it takes to win the title this season, but i will no doubt still be rooting for Man U to win the League with the extraordinary amount of talent in their squad. Nevertheless, Liverpool have impressed me with their character of football and the way they hold the game. 

It seems at this point the passion for football at me is at a flying high. As such, i will attempt to do an analysis of the Big Four sides which are likely to win the Cup this season, as well as my own ratings on who has the best chances of actually winning it. (Note that the positions i gave are also indicative of how the positions of the Big Four will go about. So far my luck in predicting football matters has been quite good, so i think i will take a shot at this)

Arsenal (4/4)

They play the fastest, trademark free-flow attacking football i have ever seen, to the naked human eye. Able to launch a flurry of goals against considerably weaker sides (You just need to look at the way they decimated Porto & Fenenerbace in the Champions league to agree with me), they also show a great level of consistency in decimating the same opponents over and over again. The Gunners have, more often than not, rose to the occasion and grabbed goals at the eleventh hour, which makes fans and non-fans alike contemplate the possibility of winning the title this season.

Overall:

Wenger has shown that he is willing to work with young talent instead of the usual veterrans, but that may prove to be his eventual downfall this season. The average age of the squad is raftly 20-21 years old, which shows a lack of eptitude and experience in the field. The only veterans that really seem to be solid in their performance are players like Fabregas, Gallas, Adebayor, who are able to hold the Gunners together to fire their guns at the same time. However the new high flyers of Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri still have much more to learn in the sense of playing like champions should be playing. Losing in away matches has not helped and the shock home lost against Hull has not helped in augmenting their run for a title challenge this season as well. Losses aside, perhaps the Gunners will one day claim the BPL Cup again when their cream of youth are ready for the battle that lies ahead, but for now they will have to settle for something considerably lesser. 

Chelsea (3/4)

The most consistent, up-to-scratch team so far. They have also been touted as the 'favourites' to win the title this time round, based on the fact that their squad has not changed much in terms of quantity, but quality wise they have consolidated and bought quality signing such as Bosingwa as an attacking leftback. The only other signing includes Deco, but that was before Scolari came into play. Personally I think that Scolari has been the main uplifting for Chelsea. Chelsea has always been a good squad since i have watched them play, they have good players and they are probably the best bet for my money to be the ones to give Manchester United the most of a challenge if they were to meet in kick-off.

Overall: 

Today's loss at Stamford bridge signalled the end of their 29 home games reign since their loss to Arsenal in 2004. This will be an especially demoralising defeat for the Blues, and I feel this may just be the turning point for their League run. They have shown they are always performing, even with so many injured players off the squad they are able to snatch good results comfortably such as 5-0 win against middlesbrough last weekend. Like I said earlier, today's defeat is extremely significant because for once, it showed that Chelsea are vulnerable just like everyone else and worst still they were made vulnerable at their own home ground side. This will no doubt cause a huge dent in their morale and confidence, but I believe Scolari will have the kind of motivational ability to bring the team back on their level. By then, it may be too late to salvage the already devastated Blues when they are trailing leaders United.

Liverpool (2/4)

Pre-season there were doubts about Liverpool's ability to grab points as they grab pancakes on a frying pan. Not anymore after today's 1-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Their performance signified their desire and will to win the game and ultimately to win the cup. They definitely have what it takes with the likes of the Torres-Keane partnership as well as new arrival A.Reira & R.Babel as attacking wingers to support their strikers going forward. The midfield is nothing lacklustre as well, with S.Gerrard supposedly one of the greatest midfielders in the world today who is able to save liverpool back from the brink of death with the most important goals for the Reds. Xabi alonso with his trademark long shots also exemplifies the Reds spirit and centreback Carragher has been masterful in organizing the defense, as shown in today's win over Chelsea where he and Agger were able to neutralize the attacking threats as well as keep Chelseas' attacking trio of Anelka, Malouda and Kalou at bay. No doubt this is a side that is ready to win after being starved of the title for decades. 

Overall: 

The downside features Liverpool hosting a bad tendency of letting in early goals, which could lead to dampening team morale. So far they have shown they are able to come back from those early goals at Man City and Wigan, but how long more can they keep this up when they meet the likes of other clubs that will not be so merciful to allow the Reds a chance at comeback? For that Liverpool may have to work a bit more on their in-game match physique and consistency. For one consistency is the element lacking most in the reds but luck never seem to run out for them as well. They might be destined to win the title this time round, which might explain their ending Chelsea's home run and my placing for them to come in runner-up for this season's league results.

Manchester United (1/4)

I am not saying this out of prejudice, or whatever else you might attempt to call it. Manchester United will win it. Simple as that. Just look at the amount of expounding talent they have in their squad and that alone is testimony as to how much strength they can garner for the title chase up ahead. The thing that sets Man United apart from the other 3 sides strong enough to mount a serious title challenge is that the Devils have players on standby to replace one another should one go down in international duty or other unforseen circumstances due to injury, etc. Fletcher is the best example of this. On opening day against Newcastle he snatched that all too important goal for United in the absence of midfielders Scholes and Anderson. Since then he has proven to have an uncanny ability to score those goals that prove critical to whether United draw or win a match, once again demonstrated by his excellent positioning in the match against Everton just yesterday when he read that perfect pass from Giggs and was able to slot it into the back of the net past goalkeeper Tim Howard, the only American goalkeeper in the Premier League. And he is just one example, but he has already been so clinical in finishing what needs to be done for United that Ferguson has found it hard to ignore him out of his starting XI. 

Overall:

That draw against Everton was unlucky, and sometimes you get an unfortunate result and you just have to live with it. However, Everton aside, the Red Devils just look to be in sizzling hot form this season, with the exception of Ronaldo who may need a few more games to establish his match finesee in the team. He seems to be off form of late but that may purely be due to his overwhelming desire to score more goals and top his 42 goal count last season for United, plus he missed pre-season training with the Devils. I am confident he will bounce back to make a more than significant impact for United in the matchs still to come. Besides, new signing D.Berbatov, 30.5 million, has already proven to be the modern version of Cantona, topping his debut with 4 goals apiece and current top scorer of the Champions League since he graced it with Bayer leyerkusen. Rooney, taking away 11 goals in the last 8 matches, is at the pinnacle of his career. There is no stopping the Devils now. All that remains to be seen is whether Liverpool or Chelsea will pose a threat dangerous enough to topple the Devil's position on the League. Arsenal's youth gunners are just too young to mount a serious title challenge.

P.S Clifton aka JuventusFC27 shithead is full of nonsense.

Grubby the best

I really thought well of this article done by MyM|Grubby, an international warcraft star around 2 months back so i will be posting it on my blog for all to see. Enjoy it guys.

"Imagine a huge football fan. It shouldn't be so hard to imagine, because there are billions of them in the world, literally. It's trendy and cool to be a football fan. And anyway, why not? I always believe you get born, later you die, and everything in between is for you to fill in however you like. A simple philosophy. To find something you are truly passionate about can sometimes take the better part of your life. When you find something early on in your life, you should consider yourself lucky. 

You can be a fan of something or someone for any reason. Perhaps they embody a spirit that you wish you had, or they followed career paths that you wish you could. Maybe later you even will. Maybe not. Maybe your idol's story is a story that is about beating the odds in an inspiring way. Or you can see their success to be really deserved because you admire their character and so on.

So is it cool to be a soccer fan? Usually I have found that it is. There is no stigmatization. Here we are, rooting for greater fame and acknowledgment of the eSports Scene, and at the same time we're making a big mistake. Anyone who announces themselves to be a fan of an eSports team or player will get shot down by other people. You have to ask yourself why.

P.J. Orgues (also known as ToaD or JuneWoo) used to be a huge soccer fan, but due to his disability he was unable to be a practitioner of the sport itself anymore. Because of his disability, his life changed. He doesn't ever complain about it, but it has made a difference. Because he can't play sports very well anymore, he has gained other interests. Now he likes to play computer games, and follow the eSports scene. Here is a guy with no malice in himself at all, who commits himself wholeheartedly to the support of a team or player. He is not afraid to tell other people that he is a fan - while many other fans apprehensively hide the fact that they like a player or team. "What if someone calls you a fanboy?"

In my own experience, I've been a fan of any number of people, but usually not for life. There was a time I really admired Schwarzenegger, because I thought he was so cool and big and strong. I didn't notice the funny accent or the poor acting, instead I saw a dragon-slayer that I wish I could be. I was young, later I grew up, my interests changed, and so did my idols. My dad has been an idol for me for my whole life pretty much. I've idolized other WC3 players. For any kind of reason, such things can change and it is not for other people to judge why.

As Orgues entered the eSports scene, he became a fan of Lyn. Perhaps he thought Lyn looked handsome, played so well, and gave cool interviews. Because of Lyn, he became a fan of what was the World Elite team at that time. Later, as those players went to SK, he became an avid fan supporter.

He caught a lot of spotlights because of his story and was even praised into the sky by Malystryx, a big SK fan himself. Of course, Malystryx works there now so he can't be expected to change his idols any time soon. 

Because of whatever reason, Orgues has come to identify himself more with the MYM squad now. Do you know the reason? I certainly don't. Maybe it has nothing to do with Lyn or the SK players themselves, but the feeling he gets when he reads SK forums full of crap about how Toad is such a fanboy... Yes he is, and so what? He has never done anyone any wrong, is in the eSports scene because he has a passion for something and because he can't do sports anymore, and some people see that as just cause for shooting him down with malicious jokes and so forth. It is nothing short of childhood bullying, with a big bunch of childish retards doing the bullying and with the victim trying to shrug it off maturely.

For someone where eSports is a big part of his life, how do you think it feels when everyone is jumping a bandwagon to attack him like that? What has he done to you?

Oh and Malystryx, I'm not sure that it's legally correct to put up someone's pictures with a bunch of text balloons of things he never said or never would say. It is so unclassy.."

And can you believe he typed that all in the span of 10 minutes, and such intelligent thoughts too.

Source: [MyM Grubby's contributions]

Are we daring enough?

In this modern era 21st century, should we opt to eliminate the misconception of a risk-averse mindset in order to achieve greater success? Although the possibility of failure is sky high, but as always failure is an element that is meant to exist in any given situation; and perhaps by taking the necessary risks and innovating further based on present circumstances, we may yet be able to discover eventual breakthroughs earlier than never.

A short reflection...

The other day on my way home from covering WCG, I was walking towards the Cityhall mrt at Suntec city, when something interesting apparently caught my eye. In front of me, there were 2 distinct ways through the underpass. One was the escalator way down, and the other was a flight of steps. To my inherent surprise, everyone was taking the escalator route instead of the long flight of steps.

I felt thoroughly disappointed; what exactly was wrong with the steps that no one was willing to explore? Let me give you this analogy; although you might say the steps is a more arduous route as compared to the automated machine, but by taking the flight of steps, wouldn't you be able to shoot ahead of the pack, as you are free to walk faster at your own pace, as compared to the escalator when you have to wait until you alight at your destination? Worse still, you are being blocked by other people as this is the conventional route that every of us takes.

Glancing around, i decided to take the flight of steps instead, with my media team who were alongside me. Very strangely, soon after us many other people started to follow suit. The same scenario repeated the following night again. It then dawned on me on what exactly was wrong with us. The fact is, we do not bother to explore greener, unknown pastures and everyone blindly follows without trying.


Wait, why are you telling me a story?

Well, why are international dota teams like MyM and SK so successful? Precisely because they dare to do things differently that no other teams will even dream of. Relating this to our local scene, i believe our attitudes are identical in the sense that how we behave in real life we often take into the virtual world as well. Maybe there is a minority out there who wouldn't, but i would like to urge all local gamers, to attempt to create your own gaming universe. There are many ways this can be done; if you have been looking to go competetive but have no idea to start, the general advice is to form a team of 5 on your own and take them through. For existing teams who are playing, don't give up. As simple as that. It is only a matter of how much you crave for it, actually. Ask yourself that question.

No one ever said the road was going to be a straight, never-winding one. On the other hand, it's not impossible to overcome all these obstacles either, as you can only grow with experience, and not diminish. As in the case of what i like to call the 'Escalator and the Steps' story, I believe many others will follow suit in adopting this positive mindset, which could possibly pave the way for new lasting trends to set in place in order for our gaming industry to prosper & progress further.

Putting things into perspective, we are gaming, afterall. That's the reason why all of us are here isn't it? But i truly feel the WCG song puts it best, because 'Beyond the Game' is what really matters, the process, and not so much of the end result. I don't think the fighting spirit should ever die out in any of us for that matter, and if we truly emulate that competitive spirit, E-sports should, at the very least, continue to bloom for eternity.

You either dream of living, or live your own dream.

NB: This article was done back in June after WCG.

Face the Change

I am trying to look at your face. Not to see if i like you, but to see if I like whats on your face.

Keith aka NanoflameN reminds me of one of the quotes I once sported on my instant messenger, "Changing the Face won't solve anything. Facing the Change solves everything." It is, indeed, an awe-inspiring relevant quote to our daily lives. Facing the Change tells us to face changes as how we should be facing them, and not to quiver and shiver in the face of adversities. He tells me he wants to face the change. I tell him to change his face :p

To fully understand the significance of this quote, for the most part, we need to explore the meaning of two important words: "Change" and "Face". Note that 'Ing' is added in the front and later part, meaning the action is currently taking place in retrospect.

"Changing the Face won't solve anything", simply put, is trying to carry across the impression that you can do whatever you want to your face, you can opt for plastic surgery, you can go on a course for removal-acne, you can patch an ugly spot, a birthmark or a mole. It won't change a thing. The only thing it will change is how your face looks like, and that doesn't mean you've changed in any particular way other than how you might look like. Even so, your contemporaries or elders may not realise any significance difference that has taken place in you, other than your face.

"Facing the change solves everything" is the direct opposite of what i've tried to explain to you earlier. This part of the quote tells you to face changes, to welcome them. Treat them as something that is part and parcel of life, for anything and everything in life can change. Today you might be you, tomorrow you might not be you. To accentuate, changes are not, in the common sense, bad. They evoke a sense of displeasure, which is also the initial reason why people shun them away. But they in all propriety are beneficial for growth; without change there can be no improvements. Aren't the technological improvements of today's modern 21st century a result of change? There, I have just proved my point that changes are essential to individual, societal and global growth.

To put things a little into perspective, I want you, my loyal reader, from today onwards to Face the Change. Not to run from it, but to face it. And in this valuable process you might discover you actually possess the ability to mould how you want others to perceive you in a different light. Because it is not the face on us that matters, but rather the face of our hearts that ultimately will shine through many occasions.

Change is you, you are the change. It is up to you to create them. No changes can take place without you wanting to change. Like they say, "Be the change you want to see in yourself in the future."

Face is something so literal that it
cannot be taken at face value. A face only shows external features, it doesn't
show you anything about external personalities. A face can be illuminated,
otherwise unreal. A mask can cover that face, which makes the face
amok and not a face. That mask stares at you, the face stares through it. You are staring at two different faces. You never know whose face to look at now.

Football: A new passion?

The footballing world is an unpredictable one. You look at it from this perspective today, and look at it from another just at the dawn of twilight on the second day.

Yesterday, my MDIS mates and me were trying to predict the scores for tonights champion leagues clash between various sides. I clearly remembered the New Paper pundits gave tips on how to bet, etc. They said Zenit would win comfortably by a margin of 2 goals or more. Instead, i found them to be fighting for their lives in what was to come a draw at the 85th minute, with Bate claiming the first goal. 

The point is not that Zenit lost when TNP pundits vouched for them; the point is how lucky i am not to be betting. Because by now when I look at how all the matches have gone down, i realise it is all down to pure speculation in which the pundits give their punt tips. There is nothing concrete, & nothing reliable. As we move on, we see Juventus losing to Real Madrid when 2 out of 4 punters voted for a Real Madrid win while the other 2 were sitting on the fence. Juventus proved them wrong when they led for most of the match 2 nil up till the dying minutes when Madrid salvaged the match with a electrifying header from Van nistelrooy. At the end of all this, I finally come to a decision; to watch Football purely for its entertainment sake, where the efficiency of passes and the power of shots satisfy me, my overall desire to watch the game, and ultimately determine the ebbing flow of where it will etch many years from now. 

I admit I have never been much of a soccer fan in the past, but things have changed. I love football and I love the game. I play Fifa 09 every night on my console. I play Fifa online 2 on my computer, to interact with the bustling football community in Southeast Asia. I read The New Paper and Football Weekly for daily updates on Club & International Football. Hell I even know Beckham is moving to AC Milan just when it was announced a few moments ago on SkySports. 

Now, you ask me whats my intention of blogging about this? How does football affect my life? Actually, pretty nothing much. I think i am just blogging for the fun of it and trying to derive some form of momentary pleasure from it, but considering the fact this is my first post since i left this blog to rot 2 years ago, i must admit it is a rather productive way to hone my writing skills through such a personalised article of my opinion.

Last night up till this morning was the first time 36 goals were scored on that same night, the most ever recorded in Champions League history.