Bleacher Report - Articles by Brandon McCallum

Beijing Olympics Football Tournament; The Good, Bad, and the Upsets

Brandon McCallum — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:57:49 -0400

The Beijing Men's football championship begins today and goes right through to the 23rd of August. Many teams will try to capture glory, in Athens Argentina won it against Paraguay in the gold medal match.

This year Argentina once again has a strong team and will compete for the championship along with fifteen other teams. There are a few favorites and I will quickly break down the situation for the tournament.

Argentina without Carlos Tevez, the striker of Manchester United, his presence will be missed. Sergio Aguero will try and fill his boots and net some goals.

China, Japan, and Korea Republic who are the only Asian teams in the tournament will not do too good in my opinion. They all have strong teams but not strong enough for the tough competition from the rest of the world.

Look for these teams to make early exits out of the tournament.

Nigeria, Cameroon, and Cote d'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast are the three teams from Africa in the football tournament. A couple of these teams are missing key players for this tournament, but I do not think that will stop at least two of these from making the quarters.

This is Cote d'Ivoire's first appearance in Olympic Football.

Brazil will give Argentina a run for their money as they always have in the past couple of years. Last time these two teams faced each other was in a FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifier and the game ended up in a scoreless draw.

Look for Brazil to go deep into the knockout stages of this tournament.

USA is a very unpredictable team for me in this tournament. I can make a logical suggestion that the USA will not go very far into the knockout stages.

Australia and New Zealand, they will have two very different outcomes in my opinion. Australia will go into the knockout stages with their short bench and New Zealand may not win a match.

Italy and Netherlands, also known as Holland, will both have a good outing. Both of these teams making it to the knockout stages of EURO 2008 but these teams are not nearly the same.

Without nearly every player these teams had in the Euros is not playing in this Olympic Football tournament. It will be interesting to see how these teams do.

Belarus, Serbia, and Honduras will all be unfortunate breakdowns in this tournament in my opinion. I don't think these teams have any chance in winning this but one of these teams could pull of a David and Goliath story.

In the end I think that Lionel Messi and the rest of his Argentinean countrymen will prevail in the gold medal match against their fellow continental friends; Brazil.

Riders Try to Keep Rough Perfect Season Intact in Week Seven

Brandon McCallum — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:01:02 -0400

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are taking on the Calgary Stampeders on the back end of a home-and-home. The Riders won the first game in a nail biting 22-21 victory.

The Riders will try to continue their perfect season and go 7-0 this weekend despite all of their injuries. The list of injuries continue to pile up for the Riders, but no team can find a way to beat the green.

Some key injured players for Saskatchewan are Andy Fantuz, John Chick, Darian Durant, Neil Hughes, D.J Flick, Leron Mitchell, and Matt Dominguez, for whom speculation lingers that he might retire.

The Riders have signed players for the ones that are getting injured and it does not seem to be faring worse for the CFL's only undefeated team so far. It is great that the Riders can find players to fill the shoes of the injured ones, but if this keeps up any longer, Riderville will eventually have the practice squad on the field for game day.

Weston Dressler is returning this week—he was a key part in Saskatchewan's victory against the Hamilton Ti-Cats. He caught one touchdown pass and set up the game-winning play with a long run after a ten-yard catch. James Johnson, who got a concussion against the Toronto Argos in Week Five, will most likely be a game time decision.

I only have one thing to say about the future for the Riders: As long as Luca Congi doesn't get injured, then the Riders will be fine from here on out. He has only missed one field goal this season and has came through when Saskatchewan needed him most.

I think the Riders will take another victory in this upcoming game with the home crowd behind them!

Top Eleven Greatest Current Footballers

Brandon McCallum — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:12:57 -0400

Many people have their own opinions about the best footballers lately I think that the following are the top eleven that are currently playing.

11. Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian plays for Bayern Munich and Germany. Bastian has a terribly accurate shot and he is an up-and-coming star for FIFA. His performance in Euro 2008 was one of his best yet and I think he will keep getting better as his career continues.

10. Carlos Tevez

Tevez made a blockbuster transfer before the 2007-2008 season from West Ham United to Manchester United. Manchester, obviously being the better club, worked out well for Tevez as he scored 19 goals in 48 games with Manchester.

9. David Villa

Villa earned the Golden Boot in Euro 2008 and helped Spain win their first championship in many years. He is a very smart player and he combines that with his speed to make him a complete package.

Villa also plays for Valencia in the Spanish League. Villa has had rumors of a trade out of Valencia this offseason but it looks like he will be staying where he is.

8. Didier Drogba

Drogba is a striker for Chelsea and also plays on the Ivory Coast international football team who made it to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and will also be a team featured in Beijing for the Olympics. He was the African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and he helped Chelsea finish second place to Manchester United in the Premier League.

In the UEFA Champions League final he was red carded for having a confrontation with Tevez. Chelsea manager Avram Grant said he would have shot in the shoot out.

7. Carles Puyol

Puyol is a centre back for Spain and Barcelona and in my mind is the best! With his uniquely long mop top and his aggressiveness, he is one of many peoples favorite players to watch.

6. Michael Ballack

Ballack has one of the best shots, if not the best shot in the world. His free kick in the European Championships was one to remember. He plays for the Germany and he has 38 career goals with his international team. He also plays for Chelsea and he is a midfielder.

5. Lionel Messi

Not being around long at age 21 and a long career to go, Messi has proven himself a leading man for Argentina and a key part of Barcelona. He has been with Barcelona since age 14. He played with the Barcelona Youth then in 2004 he joined the first team. Don't be surprised if you see him named FIFA Footballer of the year this season!

4. Kaka

Being the richest footballer ever, he is backing it up with a pretty good career with AC Milan. His performance in the Champions League in 2006-2007 was his best ever and he capped it off with winning the Champions League. He also plays for Brazil and he is 26 years old.

3. Ronaldinho

The best football freestyler on this list perfects some of the hardest soccer tricks to learn and he has an excellent shot. He played with Barcelona until he recently got transferred to AC Milan. His Barcelona career included a Champions League title in 2005-2006 and 92 goals and 200 appearances. What will AC Milan have in store for him!

2. Fernando Torres

Fernando scored the winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2008 final against Germany for a 1-0 victory. I think he is the currently the fastest footballer playing. He also has been playing for Liverpool since 2007. He is a striker and it shows, he has scored 33 goals in 46 games which is a season any other striker would ask for.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

Yes, people say he is a cry baby. Yes, people say he is a diver. But, yes, he is a great football icon throughout the world.

The key word for this guy is "improvise" with his tricks he makes defenders lunge in to a direction then goes the other way and he makes it all up on the go like many soccer players do, but Cristiano takes it to the next level.

His team, Manchester United, won the Champions League against Chelsea in a shoot-out. His international team, Portugal, was a tournament favorite in Euro 2008 but couldn't take it past Germany in the semi finals.

In the future I think that Lionel Messi might be #1 or maybe even Anderson of Manchester United who is a young up-and-coming star.

But how will we know, we will have to just wait.

Riders Have No QB Problems in First, Second, or Third Strings

Brandon McCallum — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:33:34 -0400

This season the Riders have proved that they have no problems in the quarterback situation, using three of their choices at the position. Marcus Crandell, Darian Durant, and Steven Jyles are all worthy of potentially playing a No. 1 spot in the CFL.

Marcus Crandell was the Riders' main quarterback at the beginning of this 2008 CFL season until he suffered a hamstring injury early in the second quarter. Crandell is a consistent quarterback with a solid rating of 88.9 in one and a quarter of a game.

It was not a major injury whatsoever. Crandell was almost 100 percent healthy for the game yesterday against the Argos.

Darian Durant stepped in for Crandell against the Argos yesterday, but he got injured in the first drive of the game. He later tried throwing some passes after the lengthy rain delay, but he was unfit to start and required treatment for a rib injury so he went to a Regina hospital.

Durant has been the best for the Riders this season with an excellent quarterback rating of 107.4 so far. He may be the Riders' starter for the rest of the season as long as he is healthy.

Steven Jyles was not expecting to be put in the game yesterday. At the beginning he was a little shaky, but after the rain delay he took control and immediately helped the Riders by completing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Andy Fantuz.

If the Riders need Jyles in the future they are sure to have another solid game with the third stringer. Steven has a quarterback rating of 79.3.

I think that the Riders will use Crandell next week against the Stampeders, but they should continue to give playing time to Durant and Jyles as well.

Who needs Kerry Joseph? Maybe we will even see Drew Tate in some action in the future!

Rafael Nadal Joined by Three Underdogs in Rogers Cup Semi-Finals

Brandon McCallum — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:03:15 -0400

We are down to the semi-finals in the Rogers Cup this weekend with a favorite and three unlikely candidates.

Second seed Rafael Nadal is an enormous favorite for this weekend and the other three competitors are Gilles Simon, who is 22nd-ranked; Nicolas Kiefer, who is 37th-ranked; and the eighth seed, Andy Murray.

Federer is not in his usual position going into the semi-final round. He was knocked out on the third day by Gilles Simon. The match went into the third set, and Federer hit it long on match point to put the Frenchman into the next round.

I wouldn't call it an off-day for Federer. Simon had an amazing game and deserved to win the match.

Marian Cilic played Simon in the quarterfinals, and Simon played a strong game to advance himself into the semi-finals against Kiefer.

Andy Roddick, another favorite, went down against Marian Cilic, who eventually lost to Simon.

Rafael Nadal had a routine week, winning his first match against Jesse Levine by painting the lines and strong serving. Nadal then beat Igor Andreev in the round of 16.

Nadal went on to beat 10th-seed Richard Gasquet in the quarters. Nadal now plays Andy Murray in the semi-finals.

Nicolas Kiefer has been a great surprise this tournament, knocking off the 15th seed, Mikhail Youzhny; the fourth seed, Nicolay Davydenko; and the seventh seed, James Blake.

Andy Murray did not have any nail-biter matches until he played third seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarters. Djokovic had many unforced errors, and Murray played a quick and smart game to put himself into the semis.

I predict we will be seeing Gilles Simon against Rafael Nadal in the final with Nadal prevailing as the champion and taking the first seed away from Roger Federer. Nadal has beaten Roger in their last two battles.

FC Barcelona's Off Season Acquisitions

Brandon McCallum — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:36:15 -0400

After FC Barcelona's mediocre season—finishing third in the Spanish League and losing in the UEFA Champions league semi-finals to Manchester United—manager Josep Guardiola was bound to make some changes to the club.

The most shocking thing the club did this past off season was deal Ronaldihno away to AC Milan for 21 million plus 4 million in bonuses.

This was not such a bad decision, because now they have much more freedom to sign other players. That is just what they did.

The signing of Seydou Keita was the first of the off-season. Keita previously played for Seville, and he is still currently playing with his national team, Mali.

This trade was followed by Gerard Pique coming back to place where he started his professional career; he plays center back or midfield. Next came the Uruguayan product Martin Caceres, who plays a defensive position as well.

After Caceres, Barcelona signed defender Daniel Alves of Sevilla. He will be the greatest defensive acquisition of the club. Next thing the club did was say good-bye to Ronaldihno to AC Milan.

Immediately after that came the monster four-year signing of Alexander Hleb from Arsenal. The Belorussian midfielder will basically take the place of Ronaldihno.

The team signed a few defenders and a couple of midfielders, giving them lots of depth on the back end and keeping the middle strong. In case a defence player must go play with his national team, they will have equal talent to replace him.

I think FC Barcelona is going to finish first in the Spanish League ahead of Real Madrid. In the Champions League, I think the club will lose out in the semi-finals once again, which may or may not disappoint Josep Guardiola.

Why The Saskatchewan Roughriders are the CFL's Best Team

Brandon McCallum — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:12:13 -0400

When CFL Coach of the Year Kent Austin left the Saskatchewan Roughriders it was shocking news to the fans and players. However, that wasn't all that happened in the off-season.

They lost Corey Holmes, Val St. Germain, Kerry Joseph and Fred Perry. People thought the Riders weren't going to repeat as Canadian Football League Champions. Here are five reasons why the Riders are having an undefeated season so far.

Ken Miller: The Riders former offensive coordinator and former Argos coach became the head coach of the Riders on Feb. 6. It was a very wise decision by GM Eric Tillman. Ken called many plays for the Riders as they led the CFL in touchdowns in 2007. He is also very wise, a good communicator, and a great team builder. That is exactly what the Riders needed for the 2008 season.
Secondary: The Riders' last line of defence is proving to be the best in the league, led by veteran Eddie Davis. James Johnson, a defensive back, was the MVP of the Grey Cup with three interceptions and a TD. He is continuing the trend, as he is proving to be the Riders' best DB.
Quarterback Depth: When Marcus Crandell got injured in the early part of the season, everyone thought QB would be a weak spot in the offence. That was a bad idea, because Darian Durant is now fighting for the No. 1 spot with a 67.5 passing percentage and 744 passing yards. He has definitely been a surprise for the Riders thus far.
Late-Game Heroics: In the last two games against the Montreal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Riders came back within the three minute warning from being down in both games. Against Hamilton. Durant completed a pass through the middle to Weston Dressler, who stepped in for injured receiver D.J. Flick. He ran to the 1- yard line and got the ball stripped out at the one yard line. The Riders later punched it in for six to win the game. Against Montreal, Dominguez got the comeback started with a controversial catch in the end zone. From there, the Riders completely dominated the game.
The Fans! At home games the crowd is loud, green, and Mosaic Stadium is sold out. I'm sure if the organization put in about 5,000 more seats, it would still be sold out! The fans are full of Rider Pride and are the most passionate fans in the CFL. They are found all over Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto!