Rooney to the rescue

Ah FA Cup fixture weekend...unless you're a Manchester United fan. United competed in the only EPL fixture this morning, and it seemed to be another lackluster performance, until the 80th minute....

Hull City, now in their second consecutive year in the EPL, are traditionally a lower table side but damn do they fight hard and today was no different. United took an early lead with a 8th minute Rooney strike and had chances throughout the first half but couldn't convert.

The second half was a nerve racking affair - watching the Tigers inch closer and closer to scoring, eventually getting a quality opportunity from substitute Kamel Ghilas that just skidded inches past the far post.

United needed a goal. They needed a hero. They needed more Rooney. With about 7 minutes remaining, Rooney received a pass from sub Darron Gibson (who really makes me nervous) and struck with all the power he had into the top half of the net. Had he missed wide, it probably would have went into the second deck.

Minutes later, Rooney stuck a brilliant cross from Nani for the hat trick and on the last one, took a flick from Berbatov and as Wayne was covered by three defenders and falling down, scored through the legs of the defenders to the right of Myhill. In case you weren't keeping track, that's four tallies for Rooney in a 4-0 triumph.

With the victory, United moves to the top of the table with 50 points through 23 matches. Although keep in mind that Arsenal has only played 22 matches and Chelsea has played 21 (both teams have 48 points). Also, by virtue of the 4-0 scoreline United pulled even with the Gunners and the Blues in goal difference with +34.

Coming up for United: On Wednesday United takes on Manchester City in the second leg of the Carling Cup at Old Trafford. The aggregate stands at 2-2. United's next EPL fixture will be on Sunday at Emirates against the Gunners. Back in August, United topped Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford.

Top Form: Rooney, for obvious reasons.
Nani played very well - laying in many good crosses (high and low) to which Mr. Rooney was finally able to take advantage of.
Paul Scholes was dominant in the mid-field. The offense ran through him until he was taken off and he showed vintage form distributing the ball.

Poor Form: J.S. Park cracked the starting XI as Valencia got the day off and he missed a golden opportunity to score off a phenomenal cross in the second half. His defense was solid, but not spectacular.
Darron Gibson came on about the 70th minute for Scholes and there was an immediate dip in form in the mid-field. Gibson was on a nice run late in the half and instead of carrying the ball a little further and shooting or setting up for Rooney, Gibson decided to take a low-quality 35-yard shot that sailed over the crossbar. Gibson then got an earful from the man of the match for his ineptitude.

What the hell?
Rio Ferdinand was back in front of net after missing almost 20 matches with an injury. While it was nice to see him back, clearly he still needs to get back into form. There were some plays where he seemed lost on the back line. However, the intensity is still there as he punched Craig Fagan in the head after a United clearance when the ref wasn't looking. Rio played all 90 and will be depended on to slow down Carlos Tevez mid-week. Odds are he can expect a call from the Football Association to receive a fine.

Supporters organized a protest against the Glazers on Saturday, designating themselves by wearing yellow and green. Can't say that I disagree with them. The Glazers' debt and greed may end up crumbling this proud club, which would make me a sad panda.

(And yes, it really doesn't bother me that Mr. and Mrs. Rooney are painting their son's bedroom in Everton royal blue.)

Tevez haunts my dreams..

Damn you Carlos Tevez. You're so damn good and I knew you would come out today and make United pay. I just had a feeling. Watching you terrorize the back line and Van der Saar all throughout the first half, I became increasingly nervous that Giggs early goal was not going to hold up.

Sure enough, after a questionable penalty call, you showed a United side that has struggled with form all season what they could have had. You were one of my favorite players when you played in Old Trafford. Your constant hard-work wasn't overlooked by fans like myself. Why Sir Alex sat you most of last year was something I never quite understood, but it also helped me understand why you left.

You live for moments like today. And I know, I just know that you are going to haunt United for the next couple years. Especially as the walls around Old Trafford begin to crumble under massive debt.

However, United did play better than they have recently. They were dominant in the first half. The mid-field played exceptionally well. But the most nerve-racking thing about this year's edition of the Red Devils is their consistently injured and sub-par back line and utter reliance on Wayne Rooney for all offensive opportunities.

Kids like Rafael will learn, but the learning curve in the EPL is steep. Obertan has potential, but is still very raw. The bridge of talent from the Scholes and Giggs of the world to the young kids is a shaky one, especially when it seems that big money transfers are going to be a thing of the past as the Glazers try to single-handedly destroy one of the most storied football clubs in the world.

Now United needs to either win 2-1 in the second leg of the semi-final or have a clean sheet against City in Old Trafford.

If today is any indication, the Argentine may not only beat United, but he may keep them from any trophies this season.

ah tennis, we meet again....

It looks like the first grand slam of 2010 has picked up right where the last one left off. And by "left off" I mean "tennis players verbally abusing officials".

Andy Roddick's verbal abuse of a chair umpire this evening brought back so many fond memories of Serena Williams and Roger Federer from New York last fall.

I will say that while Andy could have completely melted down before the match was over, he clearly wanted to take his time to think of a suitable insult for this particular umpire. Roddick calls one of the umpire's previous calls "bullshit" and not to be outdone, get his money worth by slipping a "fuck" in there as well.

Good thing for Andy is that there is no shortage of beer gardens in Melbourne.

Seriously how is the Aussie Open not one of the most entertaining events of the year?

Talk about dodging a bullet....

Well, it looks as if Clint Dempsey will not require surgery in order to repair a damaged PCL.

If only the US coaching staff can get the urine stains out of their pants after the latest scare involving a top US soccer player. But who knows, Donovan might punch a hooker the week before the tournament. There's still time....

Suddenly, England v. US doesn't seem so exciting...

Well my fellow Americans we are officially a Landon Donovan knee injury away from not even showing up at the World Cup.
On Saturday Fulham star (and American stallwart) Clint Dempsey went down with what appears to be a PCL tear in the team's 2-0 loss to Blackburn.
So now, Charlie Davies is most likely out after nearly dying in a car wreck on the eve of the Americans' final WC qualifier. Then in that match, Onguchi Onyewu (the American's best defender) shredded his knee and will miss the tournament as well.
Hey Demarcus Beasley, you still play soccer right? Want to play in the World Cup?
Prepare yourselves for that 4-0 drubbing in the Yanks opening match in June.

But hey, we can watch this over and over again right?

oh jerry, ill miss your flaring nostrils

Jerry Hairston became the latest former-Yankee as he finalized a 1-year, $2.125 deal with the Padres on Monday. Hairston was a terrific mid-season pickup from Cincy. And out of all the pies throughout the season, I would say that Jr's was one of my personal favorites. Talk about living for the moment.

Shave those sideburns Mattingly

Its that time of year again...you know, that time where baseball fans rip on baseball writers for being completely retarded. Yes, it's hall-of-fame voting season, and this year wasn't short on ineptitude.

Ok, so Andre Dawson gets in, great. I'm 25 and really don't remember watching him play, but oh well. Apparently he played so long ago that there was TWO baseball teams in Canadia (yes, the misspell is intentional, grammar police).

Clearly, writers are still offended by Roberto Alomar's liberal use of saliva, as vengeance on behalf of John Hirshbeck is too important to put one of the best second baseman to ever play in the hall on the first try. Alomar got 73.7% of the required 75%. (A measly eight votes short). Regardless of the fact that Alomar and Hirshbeck made up and have pajama parties.

Another measuring stick is how first-timer Edgar Martinez would be received by writers, as he is the first legit hall-of-fame bound DH to be on the ballot since the position was created. Martinez received a modest 36.2%, but that percentage is bound to go up as time goes on.

Writers once again gave the cold shoulder to Mark McGwire on his fourth attempt, as he garnered less than 25%. Clearly I'm not a Cards fan, but this year's spring training should be phenomenal as McGwire tries to make buddy-buddy with all the writers so he might have a chance in 10 years.

One the Yankee front, Donnie Baseball is still struggling. In his tenth attempt he got 16.1%. With five years left to go, Donnie better shave those sideburns as he has some serious ground to make up. He might get the Jim Rice treatment, he may not, it's hard to tell and damn near impossible to predict.

Tim Raines had a respectable outing, getting just over 30%.

Baseball fans love to argue and god damn, there is more drama around players elected to the baseball HOF than any other major sport. I must have watched ESPN for 20 minutes today and 17 of it was spent talking about the voting. I heard there was some big college football game going on tomorrow, but I could be wrong.