In Which the Big Bear Has to Go Away for a Little While

Well, it appears that I am going to have to take an indefinite leave from WCIS, as I just haven't had the time to post any quality material. Hopefully I'll be back in the spring with more exiting morning roundups and weekend preview bonanzas.

And yes, I realize I'm pretty much the deadbeat dad of the soccer blogging world.

On a more positive note, here's the music video for "Christmas in Hollis":

Merry Christmas, folks.

Morning Roundup, 12/15/10

• Congolese side TP Mazembe knocks off South American champion Internacional to become the first African team to reach the Club World Cup Final. And there was much buttdancing. [Fox Soccer]

• Fulham is looking to temporarily secure Landon Donovan's services. Let's hope, for Lando's sake, that this deal isn't getting worse all the time. [SBI]

• Steven Gerrard may return to action this weekend. [Pies]

• Or not. [F365]

• Blackburn Rovers have considered appointing Diego Maradona as their next manager. This can only end well, right? [Soccernet]
  

Morning Roundup, 12/14/10

Image credit: Robin Parker/EPA

• Manchester United currently sit atop the Premier League after beating Arsenal, 1-0. [Soccernet]

• Arsene Wenger, never one to complain, blames the Old Trafford pitch for his team's loss. [BBC Sport]

• Sepp Blatter's suggestion for homosexuals who may plan on attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: "I would say they should refrain from any sexual activities." [Dirty Tackle]

• Carlos Tevez wants to leave Manchester City. Manchester City, understandably, have a different opinion. [Guardian]
  

Heurelho Gomes- Goat, Hero: 12/12

Bolton 2-1 Blackburn

Notlob, down to ten men for the final 35 minutes, gave up a 1-0 lead late, but an 88th minute goal from Stu Holden secured three points for the Wanderers and a move back up to sixth place.
MatchStat) Corners: Bolton 3, Blackburn 10

Wolverhampton 1-0 Birmingham City

Stephen Hunt scored the only goal of the match in the 44th minute, and Wolves rode to an easy victory, though the win did not move them out of the relegation zone.
MatchStat) Shots on Goal: Wolves 8, Birmingham 0

Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea

Spurs have had one clean sheet on the season, back in the August against Manchester City. So even though they took a first half lead through Roman Pavlyuchenko, it was inevitable that Chelsea would at least get one goal, which they did when Didier Drogba struck a hard shot straight at Heurelho Gomes, who could only palm the ball over his head and allow it to dribble into the goal in a soft bit of keeping. Gomes looked a further goat in the first minute of extra time, when he body-checked Ramires in the area and conceded a penalty. However, he became a hero, diving to his left and saving Drogba's penalty, and securing a point for Spurs.
MatchStat) Shots on Goal: Tottenham 1, Chelsea 8

Spanish Inquisition:

Fourth place Espanyol blew a 1-0 lead and went on to lose, 2-1, at Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid cruised to a 3-1 win at Real Zaragoza. Not to be outdone, Barcelona smashed Real Sociedad 5-0, with two goals from Leo Messi.

Insert Cheap Italian Stereotype Here:

AC Milan beat Bologna to extend their league lead to six points. Roma beat Bari 1-0 to move up from ninth to sixth. Juventus got a goal in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time from Milos Krasic to beat Lazio 2-1 and jump above Lazio and Napoli for second place in Serie A.

Das Boot:

Eighth place Freiburg beat last place Borussia Monchengladbach 3-0 to move up to sixth. Mainz and Schalke each missed a penalty in their match, but a Jefferson Farfan goal gave Schalke the win and moved them up from fifteenth to tenth. Mainz remain fourth, 13 points behind Dortmund.

Midweek Action:

Europa League's last group stage matches on Wednesday and Thursday!
/inserts appropriate dismissive wanking motion

The real drama comes with the Champions League/Europa League knockout draw on Friday. Who will be Spurs' first opponent? Will Arsenal be made to pay for not winning their group? Will anyone care who Liverpool and Manchester City draw in the Europa League?

Clean Sheets Aplenty: 12/11

Aston Villa 2-1 West Bromwich Albion

Villa responded well to their defeat at Anfield last week with goals from Stewart Downing and Emile Heskey, and only an extra time tally from Paul Scharner kept Brad Friedel from earning the clean sheet. The victory eased Villa's relegation fears a bit, as they gained two points on eighteenth place Wigan.
Matchstat) Possession: Aston Villa 42%, West Brom 58%

Everton 0-0 Wigan

David Moyes' side were the better of the two, but only had a point to show for it. Wigan's point failed to move them out of the bottom three.
Matchstat) Shots: Everton 14, Wigan 6

Fulham 0-0 Sunderland

The point for the Black Cats can be fully claimed by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. While it was a good effort from Fulham, Mark Hughes' luck continues to run short, as they remain outside the bottom four by goal difference alone.
Matchstat) Shots On Goal: Fulham 9, Sunderland 1

Stoke City 0-1 Blackpool

The Seasiders continued their excellent road form (of which I am quite jealous) with a 48th minute goal from DJ Campbell securing all three points and lifting Blackpool back into the top half of the table.
Matchstat) Shots: Stoke 22, Blackpool 11

West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City

More trouble for the Hammers, as they fell behind 3-0 (on goals from Yaya Toure and Adam Johnson, and an own goal from Robert Green) before conceding a James Tomkins consolation late on. I'm still not sure how Chris Hughton got fired before Avram Grant, but he's got to be going soon after at this rate.
Matchstat) Possession: West Ham 38%, Manchester City 62%

Newcastle United 3-1 Liverpool

Another terrible road performance for the Reds saw them go behind in the first half through Kevin Nolan, but out of nowhere Dirk Kuyt equalized just after halftime. Then, Tyneside's favorite criminal, Joey Barton, scored the winner for Newcastle in the 79th minute, and Andy Carroll added the coup de grace in added time.
Matchstat) Shots: Newcastle 7, Liverpool 21

Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly:

Half of the matches were postponed, but among those that were played, Rangers drew 1-1 at Inverness, Hearts smashed Aberdeen 5-0, and St. Johnstone beat St. Mirren 2-1.

Spanish Inquisition:

Villareal lost 1-0 at Getafe, despite the hosts finishing the match with nine men. Almeria won at ten man Sevilla, 3-1, and Sergio Aguero scored a brace in a 2-0 victory against Deportivo De La Coruna.

Insert Cheap Italian Stereotype Here:

Fourth place Napoli won 1-0 at Genoa to go into second place overnight in Serie A. Seventh place Palermo came from 1-0 down to win 3-1 against Parma and move up to fifth.

Das Boot:

Virtually unbeatable, Borussia Dortmund won 2-0 against Werder Bremen to extend their Bundesliga lead to 11 points. Bayer Leverkusen took up the second place spot with a 4-2 win at Hamburg. Relegation-threatened Cologne won 1-0 to move out of the bottom two.

Morning Roundup, 12/09/10

Image credit: Matt Dunham/AP

• Arsenal have advanced into the Champions League knockout stage after defeating Partizan Belgrade, 3-1. [Fox Soccer]

• Good news for fans of random stabbings, as Roma are also through to the next round. Other Champions League results include Chelsea continuing their poor run of form with a 1-0 loss to Marseille. [SBI]

• Newcastle have handed new manager Alan Pardew a five-and-a-half-year year contract. It should be noted that the Magpies have gone through seven managers in the previous five-and-a-half years. But I'm sure that Pardew will be around to see out his contract. [Sky Sports]

• Inter owner/president Massimo Moratti has issued an ultimatum to Rafa Benitez, warning the manager that his side "absolutely must win" the Club World Cup. Somewhere, Jose Mourinho is cackling maniacally. [Soccernet]

• The Shin Guardian has posted a fantastic interview with former Revs star Taylor Twellman. If you're even remotely curious as to what Twellman has been going through, it's a must-read. [TSG]
  

Morning Roundup, 12/08/10

Image credit: Vincent Jannink/EPA

• Spurs finish atop their Champions League group following a 3-3 draw at Dutch side FC Twente. [Guardian]

• A similar story goes for Manchester United, whose 1-1 draw with Valencia secures the top spot in group C for the Red Devils. [Fox Soccer]

• Other Champions League results include FC Copenhagen advancing to the knockout stages with a 3-1 win over Panathinaikos. [F365]

• Former West Ham boss Alan Pardew, who looks nothing like Martin Jol, is now expected to be named as the new Newcastle manager. [BBC Sport]

• Wolverhampton manager Mick McCarthy allegedly wants to bring Robbie Keane back (way back) to Wolves in the January transfer window. [Pies]

• Today's Champions League matches feature Arsenal, Braga, and Waxtap battling for Group H's two knockout stage berths. [Sky Sports]