Eric Leach's Weblog

I've been remiss

Ok, clearly I've not been keeping up. I do, however, have a perfectly legitimate excuse. First and foremost, it's the end of the fiscal year here at Sun and for a product manager that tends to be a very busy time indeed.

(Apparently, deep product knowledge comes in handy near the end of the quarter/year. Whether you actually have that deep product knowledge or not is a different story.)

The other thing keeping me busy is what seems to be a growing trend - goofing around with Ubuntu. Dapper Drake was released at the beginning of June, so I've got that up and running and am starting to play. First order of business is getting my iPod to work, followed shortly by getting AM7.1 and Netbeans to work. Then it's onto my laptop, wireless, printers, and mounting the digital camara, and we are pretty much set to be Windows free in my house.

Tinker, tinker, tinker. I've definitely caught the bug. I am not very good, but at least I am having fun.

On to important matters - bold predictions. I am in America, so I realize huge swaths of people are completely ignorant of the fact that the Fifa World Cup is set to begin in a few short days. Most Americans, being total football ignoramuses, also probably don't know that the US is currently ranked fifth in the world. (Ok, well, equal fifth with Spain.) That is, erm, ahem, five places better than England.

So, the bold prediction. The US is going to win the world cup.

Yes, I know there are about 5 teams with names like Brazil, Argentina, Czech Republic, France, and Angola who could run away with this thing. (Ok, maybe not Angola.) But I think the ol' YOU-ESS-AAY has a mighty good chance. They play some pretty spirited, determined football, they run hard, and they are smarter as a team now than they ever have been. If they can get past the Czech's in the first game of their group stage on June 12, they are sure to make it to the knockout stage.

And from there, victory!

Posted at 09:15PM Jun 06, 2006 by carlericleach in Football  |  Comments[2]

Leeds will have to wait til next year.

Oy. This playoff championship was a sad state of affairs. Three - nil Watford. Leeds never looked in it. Watford was faster, stonger, more aggressive from the opening kick. Still, that's an awful lot of celebrating for what amounts to third place and a chance to be run off the pitch by Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool, and Spurs.

It's probably better for Leeds this way. They struggled to score goals against championship sides and would very likely have had similar troubles in the Premiership. But promotion is worth somewhere between 20-40M pounds and Leeds sure could have used the cash. Just ask West Ham and Wigan.

So Watford, Reading, and Sheffield United switch places with West Brom, Sunderland, and Birmingham. My guess is at least two go straight back down...

Posted at 12:48PM May 21, 2006 by carlericleach in Football  |  Comments[0]

Finalists

Leeds have booked a place in the League Championship playoff finals against Watford. I've been remiss in not yet properly and publicly celebrating, especially after studiously avoiding the score all last week before I could get home and watch the match on tivo.

Crossing my fingers...

Posted at 10:15PM May 16, 2006 by carlericleach in Football  |  Comments[0]

Calling the Whaaaa-mbulance (LUFC Edition)

Do you hear that? Its the whaaambulance, duly dispatched and arriving with haste.

This is what happens. Last week I complain at never having any Leeds fixtures on TV, and here I am this morning in smiley-tivo-land watching Leeds v Preston live from Deepdale. Well, Tivo thinks its live anyway. (Benefit: I did not have to get up at 5am to watch. Thank you Tivo.)

Ok, so its the last match of the season. Which means I've managed to see the first match, victory against Milwall, a couple in between including a somewhat dire draw against Sheffield United way back in October, and now the final match. Plus, the two-leg playoff semifinals and then hopefully the playoff final. Wow, I can nearly double my match tally in the next two weeks alone.

The question now, of course, is can any of the potentially promoted League Championship teams manage the 45-50 points that will likely be required to safely avoid immediate relegation from the Premiership next season?

Posted at 10:38AM Apr 30, 2006 by carlericleach in Football  |  Comments[0]

Leeds United

Ok, so a series of end of season draws and goal-free performances notwithstanding, Leeds have qualified for the League Championship playoffs. This is significant because, if they return to the premiership next season, I can cancel my one off subscription to Setanta Sports. They've shown exactly 3 Leeds United fixtures all season, which means about $44/game, which is roughly what it costs to sit in an actual seat at Elland Road these days, only without the cold wind, rain, and the universally cheerful disposition of the good people of Yorkshire.

The good news is Leeds will have the services of Eddie Lewis, although I am sure Leeds/England fans will watch with sick hearts when the US storms to victory in this summer's World Cup, upsetting Sven's prediction of England's triumph.

Posted at 07:24PM Apr 25, 2006 by carlericleach in Football  |  Comments[2]