Filed under: Quiniela | Tags: Argentina, avellaneda, espana, football, futbol, la liga, primera division, Quiniela, soccer, spain
Sevilla, Mallorca-Sevilla (Getty Images)
Catching up and getting this week’s picks in. It’s a short one without any eye candy. Time is money.
Filed under: Quiniela | Tags: Argentina, football, futbol, la liga, primera division, Quiniela, soccer, spain
LAST WEEK: 8/11
SEASON: 50/92 (54%)
I had my best quiniela to date last weekend, picking up eight correct picks, including my first correct Argentine pick thanks to South American champions Estudiantes. I am full of confidence this week and will spare you the foreplay and get right to the picks this week. It’s an abbreviated commentary but you just want to copy my picks, right?
Filed under: Camino | Tags: Camino, compostela, espana, flashpack, pilgrimage, saint james, santiago, spain
Imagine making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the Medieval Ages. The only clothes you have are on your back and you are completely dependent on the generosity of the pilgrim hospitals along the Camino. The only way to record your journey is the old-fashioned way – your memory. It’s a romantic thought but I’m glad I live in an age where I can digitize my memories. I didn’t go full flashpacker-mode on my 2009 Camino but I did bring along my iPhone and utilized it in several ways along my pilgrimage. Below are the iPhone apps that I regularly used before, during, and after my Camino.
Filed under: Quiniela | Tags: Argentina, banfield, football, futbol, la liga, primera division, Quiniela, river plate, soccer, spain
Photograph: Lalo R Villar/AP
LAST WEEK: 3/11
SEASON: 42/81 (52%)
Two fairly important things, school and work, bogged me down last week, leaving me with no time to write up a Quiniela post. I did, however, make my picks and also added a new wrinkle. My La Liga picks from Jornada 20 are on my Facebook profile but here’s a quick review. Saturday started well as Espanyol (win vs. Athletic Bilbao) and Barcelona (win @ Sporting Gijón) helped the cause but again I underestimated Real Madrid. They were without suspended talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and playing away to strong Deportivo La Coruña but Karim Benzema finally lived up in part to his large transfer fee, providing two goals in an impressive 3-1 away win to stay on pace with La Liga leaders Barça. It was Madrid’s first win in La Coruña in 18 years. Sunday was another story. A correct pick in the Getafe-Racing Santander draw was the only one in the early games. It all went down all after that and was comedic in the style of Atlético Madrid, finishing a forgettable 3 for 10 in La Liga.
The new wrinkle to this week’s Quiniela involves soccer from the South American continent. Argentina’s Primera División started this past week and I am going to include one match each week in my Quiniela. The league is split into two different seasons, the Apertura and Clasura (literally, Opening and Closing), with summer tournaments (it’s winter for us Northerners) held during the break between the Apertura and Clasura. The Argentine league is heavily titled towards the Buenos Aires clubs and one of them, Club Atlético Banfield, won their first ever championship in the 2009 Apertura. El Taladro (The Drill) was featured on Fox Soccer Channel’s Argentine match of the week against another Buenos Aires club, legendary River Plate. Los Millonarios ended the summer break on a high note, beating hated rivals Boca Juniors twice in a row. I picked River Plate to continue that success into the first Clasura weekend and defeat Banfield at home. However, Banfield proved their worth as champions and stole a 1-0 away victory. Foresight shows that while River beat Boca twice, they had poor showings in their other summer tournament matches.
Let’s hope I can improve from a woeful 3 for 11. On to the picks . . .
Filed under: Camino | Tags: albergue, cagigal, Camino, compostela, espana, guemes, saint james, santiago, spain
Desmond Hume was driven to regain his honor and become a great man. It lead him around the world on a boat race, eventually bringing him to the island where he encountered the hatch, the button, and the survivors of Oceanic flight 815.
So, what exactly does this have to do with the pilgrim’s hostel in Güemes?
