Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Arsenal Outgunned Again What makes you smile?  Puppies?  Glowing sunsets?  Arsenal getting their asses kicked out of two huge cup competitions in the span of four days?  Yeah, me, too. First it was Manchester United this weekend punting Arsenal out of any hopes of winning the FA Cup this year.  Even though Man U have struggled this season, as long as they beat Arsenal, all is forgiven.  Better yet to strip away the favorite's chance of winning the FA trophy and put yourself in the final instead. Brilliant. Speaking of favorites, Arsenal was also the favorite to win the Champions League this year.  For those out of the know, the Champions League is a competition pitting the top clubs in Europe against each other in a season long tournament.  It's the biggest prize a football club can win, and this was supposed to be the year when Arsenal put it all together and won. Was supposed to be the year.  That was until tonight when Chelsea, who hadn't beaten Arsenal in five years, decided to release five years of pent up frustrations and rip the sorry excuses for hearts that Arsenal players prance around with and beat them in their own stadium in the last five minutes of the game.  For this night, I was the biggest Blues supporter in Germany.  And with Real Madrid also out of the competition after tonight, I'll be pushing for Chelsea to win it all. Brilliant. So in the space of four days, Arsenal go from being the favorites to win three major trophies this year (they are still in the lead for winning the Premiership -- though Chelsea are nipping at their heels for that one, too), to after tonight, just one.  Brilliant. Now if Arsenal can only tighten their hands around their throats a little more and hold that position for the next couple of weeks, maybe they'll figure out how to choke away the rest of their season, too. Related link: Arsenal jokes 11:17:46 PM     |

Not-So-Good News From Back Home I was watching Fox News last night (yeah, I know -- what's wrong with me?), when they happened to mention Piedras Negras and Eagle Pass.  Amazing for me to hear those names on the television when I'm over 5,000 miles away.  But of course the reason they were on the air wasn't good.  In fact, from what I can gather through various news services, it's pretty bad: PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (Reuters) - Raging flood waters killed at least 31 people on Monday when they crashed through a normally arid town in northern Mexico close to the U.S. border. Reuters Photo Canadian Press Slideshow: Flash Flood in Mexico Flash Flood in Northern Mexico Kills at Least 25 (AP Video)   The surprise flood caused by unusually heavy rain swept away people and buried homes and cars in the town of Piedras Negras, across the Rio Grande from Texas. "So far we've counted 31 people who have lost their lives," Piedras Negras Mayor Claudio Bres said. Concrete homes stood under several feet of murky water, cars perched on top of caved in buildings and debris lay strewn across the roads in what is usually one of the driest parts of the country. Rescuers recovered a man's body from high in a tree. He was apparently the victim of a heart attack. An infant was found too late in a tangle of branches and debris under a bridge. "Everything was very fast," 32 year-old housewife Rosa Beltran told Reuters as she returned to her home to gather some of her remaining valuables. "In less than five minutes the power went, and going out into the street the water came up to my knees." "Many homes have been destroyed and vehicles left stranded, and people are still being rescued from houses and trees," said Red Cross spokeswoman Irma Enriquez. (read the rest) Related links: CNN coverage of the flooding WOAI coverage Spanish language coverage from DiarioMonitor:  Includes aerial view of the flooded river 8:39:10 AM     |

© Copyright 2005 Alex L. Mauldin.