Monday Evening Quarterbacking: Thoughts on the USA’s Third Game

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Wanted to get these out there before the game, as it’s so easy to claim these things in hindsight.

  • The USA will not reach the finals of the WC insisting on playing Carli Lloyd or Morgan Brian out wide. It’s really kind of baffling: you need a creative, attacking force opposite Megan Rapinoe, and presumably you included Tobin Heath on your roster for something. What, exactly, if not this? And if not her, why has Heather O’Reilly fallen so totally out of favor? I would rather see Sydney Leroux out wide than Lloyd or Morgan.That’s not a knock on Morgan and Lloyd: it’s just that their talents are vision, creativity, possession, pressuring the defense into poor decisions. They need to play between the channels to do that at their best. And if they play at their best, suddenly the USA has a skill dominance in a key part of the field.This is especially important, as Ali Krieger is performing solidly enough defensively, but isn’t offering a lot going forward. Meghan Klingenberg is pushing up higher than Krieger on the left-which the USA needs, because Rapinoe is likely to wander off in search of moments of brillance (and well she should). That means Krieger is probably right to hold back, but it also means the midfielder out there needs to be much, much more effective.I really want to see Heath there. I would even prefer Rapinoe on the right and Heath on the left. But evidently that’s just me.
  • The USA will reach the finals if they can consistently get Brian or Lloyd the ball with some space in the middle of the field. Either one–or someone else, even: the point is that they need someone to own that spot behind their forwards, someone to either set Alex Morgan or Leroux free with through balls, or to get the ball out wide for service into Abby Wambach.
  • OK, this has nothing to do with tomorrow’s game, but … do you think Nike just gave the same pitch to the USA and Brazil for their away shirts? Thinking, you know, what are the odds both of them go for it? That’s the USA on the left, Brazil on the right:

USA Brazil

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@The Movies with PopPop: Ida

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Ida is a wonderful 2013 film, in Polish and in black and white, by the Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski. It’s a story set in the ’60s of a young novice about to take her vows. Before she does, the Mother Superior insists she leave the convent to visit her aunt. Though the convent knew of this aunt’s existence, for Ida, the novice, this is the first she hears of her.

She meets the aunt, and fairly quickly is told that her parents had been Jewish and been killed in post-war Poland. We learn that the Aunt had been an ardent Stalinist in her youth, had been a prosecutor during the Communist rule and sent at least several people to their deaths, and is now a judge in some minor court system.

They wind up spending several days together and they and we learn further detail about the historical events, what they each believe, and what they’re each about. We watch their relationship evolve and watch them face current decision points in each of their lives.

The acting is magnificent, understated and internal sometimes, and the photography is used wonderfully to enhance the mood and focus.

Well worth seeing.

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WWC2015: Group Match 2 Thoughts

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

{Thoughts on the Match 1 here.}

Ultimately, I’m conflicted. The round 2 games were, overall, a bit underwhelming. But they set up a fantastic set of clashes for round 3, with almost every game having potential impact on what nations make it through to the next round.

GROUP A

China impressed me in squeezing out the win, but really none of these teams have hit their stride. If Canada can’t beat New Zealand (who, yes, were quite game), they can’t go very far, and China can’t continue to rely on last gasp goals to win.

All that said, the Canada – Netherlands game should be quite good.

GROUP B

Watching the Côte D’Ivoire battle Thailand was enjoyable, but not a great argument for the strength of the women’s game. It’s part of the difficulty of expanding the field, and the first mention of an ongoing theme: if these countries invest in their infrastructure and support their players both at home and abroad, either of them could make a mark over the next 4 to 8 years. The talent is there at the top end, it just drops off too precipitously.

The other game, now that was a different matter altogether. Look, Germany is a great team and will most likely play in the final, but this game certainly showed that they can be beat, or at least competed with.

GROUP C

Japan‘s first half performance was quite strong, but they were, in the end, quite fortunate to gain all 3 points against Cameroon. The Switzerland – Cameroon game should be fantastic: Switzerland is nowhere as good as they looked against Ecuador, and Cameroon will cause them some troubles.

GROUP D

My apologies to FIFA. Nigeria did indeed play Osinachi Ohale as their right-back, which is among the most befuddling choices I can think of. Ohale is hard working, tall, strong, slow changing direction, and incredibly awkward with the ball at her feet. Huge fan, but she’s a center back, and putting her on the wing is begging trouble.

The game with Australia was quite even, but Nigeria never really got going, unable to create enough space for Asisat Oshoala to really shine, and unable to threaten much elsewhere. While Kyah Simon got the goals, it was Lisa De Vanna doing what Lisa De Vanna has done for years that turned the game.

Mix that with a bit of a lackluster performance by the USA, who needed all 64 inches of Meghan Klingenberg to survive, and the final matches should be stunning: Australia v Sweden could very well be win-or-go-home, and Nigeria is totally unpredictable: if they play to their potential, the USA could lose and need help to advance; or the USA could expose their weaknesses in the back third of the field and win 5-0. Make it 5-1: I want Oshoala to provide one highlight reel moment.

GROUP E

Costa Rica was a lot of fun to root for, but don’t be fooled: relying on both of your shots on target resulting in goals to eke out a tie is not a strategy for success. Still, second place is wide open, any of the three teams chasing Brazil could end up there (especially if Brazil rests some key players, having already sewn up their spot in the next round).

If I were picking, I’d pick Spain, who have the marks of a team that is on the bad side of variance right now: if you generate enough near-misses, you eventually generate a bunch of goals.

GROUP F

And here we are. Everyone who picked Colombia to be on top after two games raise your hand. And … no one, other than Lady Andrade‘s immediate family. France was pretty dreadful, and my dark horse pick is looking worse and worse with every game. I’d like to say the trick is they need to bring on Kadidiatou Diani and Griedge Mbock Bathy, but the truth is they need Louisa Necib to be far more creative, and they need Eugenie Le Sommer and Claire Lavogez to play like they’ve played over the past year.

England did not impress me as much as they did others, and while both Fran Kirby‘s goal and story are compelling, the team looked unable to really capitalize on either Jill Scott or Eniola Aluko up top. Scott needs another player to combine with; Aluko needs one more touch to get free. Either could score a brace against Colombia, or the whole team could go down in flames.

Mexico flatters to deceive: at the end of the day, they just aren’t that good, and are another country that, with proper support, could emerge quite suddenly as a great team, but not this year. I would still tip England and France to move on, with each of them winning their final game. But anything could happen.

# # #

Best teams through the first two games: Germany, Norway, Japan, Cameroon, USA, Brazil. That includes both the USA and Brazil under-performing. Perhaps Cameroon is a surprise there, but it’s not like I think they will win it all.

# # #

 

Players who have impressed most so far: Gaelle Enganamouit from Cameroon has been a constant threat, somewhat unlucky not to have scored even more. Germany’s Celia Sasic has been a constant threat, and Leonie Maier has looked fantastic on their right flank. Switzerland’s Ramona Bachmann is as good as there is when she’s on her game, and their blowout win may have put her there. Norway’s Ada Hegerberg remains, along with Maier, the best of the young talent on display.

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@The Movies with PopPop: Mother of George

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Mother of George is a 2013 Nigerian-American film. It is filmed in and focuses on Brooklyn’s Nigerian-American community, an immigrant community large enough to retain a cultural enclave that can be all inclusive to its members, enabling them to live lives of various mixtures of Nigerian and American styles. The story focuses on Ade and Ayo, two Nigerians very much in love, Ayo’s mother and brother, and Ade’s best friend Sade. Ayo owns a Nigerian restaurant in the midst of Brooklyn’s Nigerian community; his brother works with him,

The film opens with a wonderful Nigerian commitment ceremony — as rich, vibrant and absorbing as any ceremony I’ve seen on film. There’s music, dancing, gatherings by gender, blessings by elders — including the assurance to Ade of her fecundity, and that her first child will be a boy, to be named George. (Hence the title.)

Ade doesn’t get pregnant throughout the first couple of years, and this leads to various complications that form the heart of the movie. Simultaneous themes deal with compromises forced by living in the two cultures, the stresses and burdens of crossing real or imagined cultural limits, and the struggles of keeping one’s true self.

It’s a low budget Indie film, with much unevenness. But for its capture of Nigeria in America, of cross-cultural and intra-cultural stress, of love vs, tradition, it’s well worth seeing.

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FIFA U20 World Cup: Group Stage

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

{Written having watched all of the group stage matches on FS1 or FS2, but not any of the Round of 16. DVR’s are beautiful things.}

GROUP A

This group for the USA has been hailed as the best youth team produced on the men’s side in decades. That may be true, but it’s less a factor of stateside development than it is of international recruitment: the brightest lights for the USA are all based overseas, most notably Gedion Zelalem, Emerson Hyndman, and Cameron Carter-Vickers ( England), Zack Steffen (Germany), Rubio Rubin (Holland), and (at least in the first game) Maki Tall (France).

It’s a good squad, certainly, quite strong in midfield, and with an attacking line that seems to be rounding into form–at long last for Rubin, but also nicely for Paul Arriola and Bradford Jamieson IV. I worry about their defense against top-tier teams, and would rather not have to depend on Steffen pulling rabbits out of his hat game after game.

The Ukraine result, especially, was troubling: Ukraine is a good side, but they aren’t that good, and the US seemed to very quickly go from highly competitive to largely disinterested. Certainly, Viktor Kovalenko had a lot do with that, and the combination of him and Artem Biesiedin looked quite strong throughout their group stage matches.

New Zealand are a good story as the hosts, and I think good things loom for Noah Billingsley, but I don’t see them moving out of the round of 16, especially given what should be a difficult matchup as a 3rd place seed.

GROUP B

This was the upset of the first round for me: boasting the best player in the competition that I saw, Argentina secured only two points, and crashed out of the competition. A horribly disappointing result, and one that prevents us all from seeing more of Angel Correa, which is sad for all involved.

Correa looked like the real deal: electric with the ball at his feet, good movement, an eye for goal, intelligence. He was always dangerous.

Ghana impressed again, returning many of the players who were first seen at the U17 World Cup a couple years ago. Yes, they were quite lucky to get the draw against Austria, but even if they lose that game, they still progress. Clifford Aboagye and Samuel Tetteh were the best of their players–the attention was focused on Benjamin Tetteh as the ubiquitous tall striker and Yah Yeboah, because (I assume) the announcers saw his affiliation with Manchester City, but the former is clearly used to playing opponents that struggle with his size alone, and the latter, while quite good as a calming force in midfield, lacked the dynamism of Aboagye and S. Tetteh.

It seems that moves from Ghana to Europe are slow and late in coming, so it’s hard to really predict what happens next for those two.

Also notable was Kingsley Fobi, who held his own as an outside back at the tender age of 16.

Don’t have a lot to say about Austria: they are very well organized, play solid defense, and as long as Bernd Gschweidl can get free once per game, can win a lot of 1-0 matches.

GROUP C

Portugal was highly impressive, but aren’t they always, just before losing in the next round? Ivo Rodrigues, Gerson Martins, and André Silva sparkled, but it was a weak group: neither Colombia nor Senegal looked particularly strong.

GROUP D

Mexico‘s collapse rivaled Argentina’s in many ways: one attacker sparkled (in this case, especially in the first two games, that was Hirving Lozano), but the team was lackluster, ill-disciplined, and ultimately quite ineffective.

This opened the door for a surprisingly game side from Mali: their performance against Mexico–especially after the first few minutes–was an absolute clinic in defensive organization and recovery, in how to combat a team that was quicker, technically better, and more skilled. Great coaching job, combined with the skills of Adama Traoré.

Serbia was the best team of the group, surprisingly for me, but the Europeans were composed and very tight defensively, while showing much more going forward than, say, Austria did. An emerging dark horse.

GROUP E

Most frightening for the rest of the field, Brazil came through the group with 9 points and never looked to really hit their stride. Historically at the youth level, they have a hard time moving into that upper gear, so we’ll see if it happens, but certainly the talent is there. Gabriel Jesus and Andreas Pereira were known quantities, but for me Judivan, Malcom, and Lucão were also quite impressive.

I don’t expect a lot from this Nigeria side, although their last match victory over Hungary (which I was unable to watch) does hint a team rounding into form. Hungary had the revelation of this group, though: I was very impressed by Bence Mervó. He looks at first to be a player successful at the youth game because of his size and strength, but his technical awareness and finesse were on fine display.

GROUP F

Much like their opening game to the WWC, Germany‘s 8-1 thrashing of Fiji did little more than put Hany Mukhtar and Marc Stendera in good position to win the Golden Boot for the competition. It certainly didn’t say much about their quality, and this team is really yet to be tested. Still, it’s a very strong side, and a contender for the championship.

# # #

So, that’s that. I can’t seem to find an empty bracket for the round of sixteen, so I can’t predict the outcomes, but the best teams I’ve seen so far are Germany, Brazil, and Ghana . The Americans could make some noise if they can keep it clean at the back, and Mali has shown enough tactical strength to surprise. Hungary and Serbia would be decent long shots, if I were forced to pick a couple.

But the U20 looks a lot like the grown up game right now: traditional powers, an African outsider, and the USA knocking politely to be let into the party.

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You Can’t Live in the Songs of People Who Do Not Know Your Name

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The quote–which I love–comes from a comment on Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor’s Dust, which I very much enjoyed. This comes from the always impressive Africa Is A Country folks:

http://africasacountry.com/lots-of-little-kenyas-a-conversation-with-yvonne-adhiambo-owuor/

I have not listened to the interview, but I was struck by the long quote describing Dust which, while not at all from my perspective, captures, I think, what captivated me about the story, namely

… Dust tackles some big questions inside the story of a family tragedy — a man is killed right at the beginning of the novel and his sister wants to know why. What does Kenya mean? How do English, Swahili, Silence and Memory serve as national languages? Ah, but the beauty of the novel lies in Owuor’s excellent ear. She uses Luo, Kikuyu, Swahili, Turkana among other Kenyan languages liberally and nails local accents so beautifully it makes me want to cry. Msee, and I can hear it. Mzee, and I know that it’s someone else and where he or she is from. If Kenya is a colonial construct, it’s also a collection of myths. “You can’t live in the songs of people who do not know your name,” is a cynical refrain, but perhaps, some day we can. For those who need verbs to temper the lyrical prose, be assured that I found three: see, feel, hear. It’s a very good novel. Read it.

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@The Movies with PopPop: Twenty Feet From Stardom

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Twenty Feet From Stardom is the Oscar-winning 2013 documentary about some of the great (mainly black) back-up singers of the last half of the 20th century and their occasional pursuits of solo careers. Merry Clayton, Darlene Hill, Claudia Lennear and Lisa Fischer are among those highlighted through interviews (with them and the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and Sting) and archival footage. If you like the music and a set of fascinating stories, you’ll love the movie.

My only issue with it was a continuing undercurrent that seemed judgmental about making it/not making it in a solo career; an insufficient recognition of the two pathways.

But the movie, and the DVD (from Netflix) extras were wonderful.

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WWC2015: Group Match 1 Thoughts

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

{Written after viewing all of the initial group games in the 2015 Women’s World Cup}

Canada’s World Cup has started with an odd mix of the scintillating, the sublime, and the snooze-worthy. Some miscellaneous thoughts on the games so far, focusing, quite predictably, on some of the younger players involved.

  • Canada was fortunate to gain their three points, and need to be much, much better if they want to challenge in front of the hometown fans. Here’s hoping Jessie Fleming both gets more time and does more with the time she’s given. Here’s the thing: it’s not that rare for a defender or a striker to make their debut at a young age: sometimes you just have a kid that is bigger, stronger, faster than everyone in their age group. But a central midfielder? That’s a different situation entirely, and it’s part of why Fleming (and, in an only slightly lower key, Morgan Brian) has so many people so excited.
  • Vivianne Miedema (ah, we remember when she was simply Anne, dominating the U17 brackets) got all of the attention and, yes, had a solid game. But Lieke Martens isn’t exactly a grizzled veteran, and her strike for the Dutch win was amazing. Overall, I thought the Netherlands played very well against a game Kiwi side who was, at the end of the day, outclassed. I was struck (as were many others) by how determined the Dutch were to “play the way they were facing.” A good lesson there for young players about making the game simple, retaining possession, and all that.
  • The two initial games in Group B were indicative of some of the current difficulties in the game. One of the signs of a sport that is still maturing is the gap between tiers of teams: if there is an argument against the expansion of the number of teams, this is it. We really didn’t learn much about Germany or Norway from their initial games, and the matches did little other than position a few players as more likely to win the Golden Boot. Was Germany impressive? Of course. But the performance against the Côte D’Ivoire does little to prepare them for Norway. Still, if they run out a first team lineup against Thailand, it will be interesting to see if they can put up another double-digit haul of goals. If nothing else, their confidence should be sky high for the second round.
  • It was nice to see Sara Däbritz score and Leonie Maier start, but it’s more important to see if Melanie Leupolz is healthy. Leupolz is, for me, the standard-bearer for the next generation of German soccer, and her absence would be felt by the national team, even at her age.
  • For Norway, it was great seeing Ada Hederberg play so well. She should be a dominant force in the game for the next decade: strong, smart, good in the air, good off the ball. Complete package.
  • I did not anticipate Cameroon drubbing Ecuador like that. They looked good, but clearly suffer from some of the same illusion as mentioned above. However, neither Japan nor Switzerland were particularly impressive, so perhaps they have a shot. Gaelle Enganamouit and Gabrielle Onguene deserve all of their plaudits, but (I know, predictably) I remain a big fan of the hard work that Raissa Feudjio (still a teenager) does in front of their back four.
  • It’s hard to find positives for Ecuador, especially defensively, but sixteen year old Kerlly Real survived at right-back for them, and just that experience will serve her well. Sixteen years old, 26 international caps and not a GK or an imposing physical specimen.
  • If Nigeria can defend a set piece, they could do some damage, right? As nice as it was to see Osinachi Ohale (who became a family favorite last year, when she went from walk-on to regular starter for the Houston Dash), she has to take some responsibility for two of the goals. FIFA’s official stuff can be so odd (great week for that sentence, huh): their tactical sheet for the match shows Ohale as a right-back, which is just wrong. It also shows both teams in a straight 4-4-2, so …
  • The France – England game was the disappointment of the round for me. Granted, playing in gale force winds is no fun, but still … I still think France is the dark horse of the tournament, but they’ll need to show far more; and England seemed more concerned with only losing by one than, you know, doing anything themselves.
  • Cecilia Santiago has been around forever, and is still only 20. But she seems to have regressed in her fundamentals, consistently making oddly maverick choices around the penalty area. I don’t know if it was an off day, if she was told to take more risks by her coach, or if she has stalled in her development. In any case, I hope she turns it around. Mexico seems to be trying to duplicate history: their backup GK for the WWC is another 16 year old, Emily Alvarado.

Looking Forward …

I see wins on Thursday for Germany, the Netherlands, the Côte D’Ivoire, and Canada (although I think New Zealand could surprise if Canada does not raise their game, and Norway will prove a much sterner test for the Germans).

On Friday, look for Sydney Leroux to tear Sweden’s defense apart with her speed, and for Nigeria to give Australia as much as they can handle. The Japan – Cameroon match will reveal a lot about Group C.

On Saturday, England is in a “must win” situation (or, at least, must tie), and I would not be surprised if Spain surprises Brazil: they have the talent, and Brazil looked awfully flat in their opening game.

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Pain & Excitement

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Chapter 3 of In Time has been a slog. It’s been a slog because, fundamentally, I kne/ow that something was very wrong with it. It was too slow, too drunk, and too unclear in getting Elliot acting on his primary motivations.

I got fantasticallyamazinglywonderful feedback from my critique group on chapter 1, and the changes that are needed there–which are definitely needed and are spot on–left me with the opportunity to really reconsider chapter 3.

So, with a lot of help from M, I did.

And it feels like the new direction is right, and while there is a strong sense of sadness and dread on undoing months and months of work (some of it is reusable, much not), there was, this morning, for the first time in a long time, a sense of excitement when I sat down to write, a sense of something emerging that was compelling to me as a writer, something that I wanted to follow along to see what happened.

That’s encouraging.

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Have You Tried Turning It Off and On?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

We’re rebooting. I mean, we barely booted the first time. But it feels like the right time to write a bit more publicly about various things. So, I’m going to try that.

Initially, look for thoughts about the football (no, not hand egg–proper football, currently the Under-20 World Cup and the Women’s World Cup), the writing process, and a large backlog of @TheMoviesWithPopPop to emerge over the next weeks.

Beyond that, who knows?

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