Oh, RSL is in the playoffs I guess

I really had no idea but here is an article from KSL.

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RSL falls in penalties to Minnesota in playoff opener

(ksl.com 10-29-24)

Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Zac MacMath matched his season high in saves with seven and added another one during Tuesday's penalty shootout at America First Field.

Still, it wasn't enough in a playoff-opening loss to Minnesota United FC.

The temperature dipped below 40 degrees as the new MLS playoff format dictated the game go directly to a penalty kick shootout with all zeroes on the scoreboard after a chilly and somewhat stale 90 minutes.

MacMath made the play he needed to with a save on the third penalty attempt from Minnesota, but Justen Glad missed the ensuing shot for RSL to take the shootout deeper into the near-freezing late autumn night.

Minnesota made its next three penalty shots, and Braian Ojeda hit the crossbar for a miss on the sixth RSL attempt for a 5-4 shootout loss.

"We gave ourselves a really good chance to win this game," MacMath said. "And obviously fell short."

United entered the day as one of the hottest teams in the league with four wins in five straight unbeaten matches and brought the fight to AFF with a lead in both total shots and shots on target. Keeper Dayne St. Clair proved a worthy opposite to MacMath in goal with six saves of his own.

The Minnesota defense frustrated RSL's advances throughout the game with a five-man "low block" that made it difficult to find spaces in the final third of the field.

Head coach Pablo Mastroeni said the team just needed to "make plays" and lamented that "you can't tactic your way into the back of the net."

Diego Luna had the best chance of the evening for RSL just 13 minutes in but St. Clair got to it for his first block of the night. Luna exited the match in the 70th minute and Mastroeni said the MLS Young Player of the Year finalist was "cramping up."

Whether it was cramps or the lack of goals, Luna's frustration was evident as he kicked over a cooler of drinks on his way to the RSL bench. Minnesota has now held RSL to zero goals through the last two meetings between the two teams, dating back to another 0-0 draw on Oct. 2 near the end of the regular season.

"We'll go back to the drawing board and just figure out ways to get guys in dangerous areas," Mastroeni said of the offensive struggles. "And hopefully, you know, this weekend we'll get a goal that changes the landscape."

RSL now heads to Minneapolis on Saturday for a must-win Game 2 in the best-of-three first round of MLS Cup playoffs.

https://www.ksl.com/article/51166102/rsl-falls-in-penalties-to-minnesota-in-playoff-opener

At this point making fun of the Utes would be nothing but cruel

Look, I'm not going to poke fun at the Utes. 

I mean, there is still a big big game coming up in two weeks, BYU vs Utah at Rice Eccles. We need to take things seriously, BYU could choke. It happens, anything can happen.

But the Utes are looking rough, I mean rough. And BYU is a steamroller at this point. 

But let's just let things chill at the moment, with the election coming up and this game (I refuse to call it "the Holy War",) let's just get through the next couple of weeks and I think we will all be happier as we get into the middle of November. 

(the above video was posted just after the Utes lost to Arizona State and John Kurtz makes some good points)

Big 12 football standings.... delicious

 

First off, it has been a long time since I posted, I know.

But nothing has changed since July, I still have no idea what is going on in the soccer world and I don't care. MLS still sucks, that is a given.

Also, I still don't follow hardly any other sports. Why would I? It's all stupid.

But I had to smile this week with what is going on in Big 12 college football. The State of Utah has been turned on its head, and it has been fun to laugh at under my breath.

For some reason, even though I'm bored with most sports, I seem to listen to ESPN 700 radio a lot. At least "the Drive with Spence Checketts." Is it because he is Dave Checketts' son?, maybe. I don't know, but he does a very good job with his radio program.

Last year it was fun to listen to ESPN 700 during football season because I could feel the anguish of all Utes fans when the greatest college football quarterback of all time, or at least that is what they build him up to be, Cam Rising couldn't play due to injury but every week they held out hope that he would come back. "Cam this, Cam that, blah blah blah blah blah." They even had a segment on the radio called "Conversations with Cam" which was hilarious because the guy comes off as, shall we say....annoying? Well, he never did come back and the Utes sucked it.

Now, BYU didn't do any better so nobody could really smile or gloat.

But this year, lol.

One week in particular stands out, the week before the season began. With Cam coming back the guys on the radio could not blow anymore smoke up anyone's butt more than what they were doing. They were picking the Utes to win the Big 12, without a doubt. They were even interviewing one of the Utes players, I can't rememeber which one, but the words "national championship" came out of his mouth. 

Contrary to that they had one of the sports guys from KUTV on, I can't remember the guy's name but he has been a Utah sports reporter since forever, and he was asked if he thought BYU would go "bowling" this year, meaning they would win at least half their games in order to qualify for a bowl game. 

The guy said, "No, they won't. They are going to struggle this year, I don't see them winning 6 games this year." Even Spence Checketts was taken back a little bit by that statement.

Well, well, what a difference a few weeks makes. 

After Cam got injured by some paper cups of Gatorade, the Utes are struggling. And BYU, at least at the moment, can do no wrong. 

BYU is ranked number one in the Big 12, where the Utes are, well, so far down you have to scroll once or twice to get to 'em. 

It has been delicious to watch. I even scared myself a little last Sunday as I giggled with delight at the hightlights of Arizona stomping on the Utes in Rice Eccles, the place where my flags once flew. My laugh was uncontrolable, almost sinister. It reminded me of the Joker's laugh from this deleted scene from"The Batman." 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZNWLGL_CxI

"You think they deserved it, you think they deserved it!"

So, I know there are still many games to be played, but at least for now, let's all raise our paper cups of Gatorade and give thanks.