Soccer

"You'll Never Walk Alone"

I was growth up watching soccer in Hong Kong. My boyhood soccer team is Liverpool. I watch every episode of British Football League on Thursday night by TVB Pearl. They were 3 times League champions, 3 times FA Cups in 1985, 1987 and 1989.

In 1986, Kenny Danglish became a player-manager in his first season. Kenny helping Liverpool win the League championship and the League Cup for the fist time. During his 5 years as player-manager, Liverpool were loaded with talents began with John Barnes, Ian Rush, John Aldridge, Steve Nicol, Ray Houghton, Peter Beardsley and goal keeper Bruce Grobbelaar.

In 1988 - 1989 season was a sad one for the club. During the FA Cup with Nottingham Forest, 6 minutes into the game, a barrier had collapsed and hundreds of fans poured onto the pitch. During this disaster, 96 fans were killed from Hillsborough.

Liverpool squeezes the life out of their opponents with a crushing display of counter-attacking football. The beauty of counter-attacking football allows your opponent overweighed on offense instead of defense. While Liverpool were quick to counter and deadly at finding space in the opposing half.

Here is the typical game log in 2001;

As the Reds spent most of the minutes sitting behind the ball and wait�K �Kwhile the opponents dominated possession. The opponents kept up most of the pressure in the early moments of the match but it was cleaned up well by an alert defender. Then all the sudden, a long kick from the defender with a good cross and a brilliant touch back from the winger (Emile Heskey) whom dominate the sky and opened up space for a blistering strike from forward (Michael Owens) to led the first goal of the match.

With the opponent sending people forward, dominating possession and pushed for an equalizer; they were always going to be at risk on the break. In which they opened up the backfield when the Reds looks even more dangerous. Somehow, a steal from the defender with a great runs from the winger (Emile Heskey ) down the flank. Whom led with a good cross to the follower (Jari Litmanen) at the middle drove the ball to the top of the opponents box and fed it to an unmarked forward (Milan Baros) who finished it relatively simply with only the helpless goalkeeper to beat. The second goal of the match helps to seal the match.

The Reds struck well on the counter-attack and killed off the match in selecting Ian Rush or Michael Owens in the starting line-up, they made their intentions known. They would attack their opponents with both conviction and speed. Ian and Michael with speed, wonderful foot works and partnership with winger Steve and John down the flank turns defense into attack in the blink of an eye.

Football

Football was first introduced to me in 1992 when I study in San Francisco. I remember I watched my favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers or the 49ers every games. Moreover, I kept all their news and line-up up to present.

In 1994, they were the Super Bowl champion team with QB - Steve Young, WR - Jerry Rice, John Taylor, RB - Ricky Watters, TE - Brend Jones on offense. In addition to DE - Bryan Young, SS - Tim McDonald and IL - Ken Norton Jr. on defense.

My favorite player is a two-time NFL most valuable player and seven-time Pro Bowler, quarterback Steve Young, who led the 49ers to Super Bowl XXIX in 1994. Young ranks sixth in 49ers history, with 3,581 rushing yards and 34 rushing touchdowns in 13 San Francisco seasons. Moreover, he is the NFL's all-time leader in passer rating (96.8) and he ranks first in pass completion percentage in a single season (64.28). He completed 2,667 of 4,149 career passes for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns.

Baseball

Oakland Athletics

coming up soon

All-Star Staring Line-up;

LF - Rickey Handerson

CF - Johnny Damon

RF �V Jose Canseco

1B/DH �V Mark McGwire

DH/1B - Jason Giambi

C �V Terry Steinbach

3B �V Eric Chavez

SS �V Miguel Tejada

2B �V Randy Velarde

PH - Dave Henderson & David Justice

Starters; Dave Stewart (R), Mark Moulder (L), Bobby Witt (R), Kenny Rogers (L)

Bullpen; Dennis Eckersley (R)

My favorite player is Jose Canseco with 462 home runs, 23rd on the career list. A career .266 hitter, Canseco finishes with 1,407 RBI and 200 stolen bases in 1,887 games with Oakland, Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees and the White Sox. He's one of only nine players in history with 400 homers and 200 stolen bases.

As one of the Oakland Athletics ��Bash Brothers" along with Mark McGwire, Canseco was once one of the most colorful players in the game. Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, he was called up by the A's on Sept. 2, 1985. One week later, he hit his first major league home run.

He hit 33 homers and drove in 117 runs the following year, earning him rookie of the year honors. In 1988, he led the majors with 42 home runs and 124 RBI, and he was a unanimous choice as MVP. He became the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases, and he led the A's to the first of three straight AL pennants.

The way he crushed the ball that made him famous, for example; in 1989, Game 4 of the AL championship series he put Mike Flanagan's pitch in the upper deck of Toronto's SkyDome, some 480 feet away, a place where no ball had been hit before during a game. He was as entertaining on the field as he once let a ball bounce off his head and over the wall for a homer.

Profile

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Height: 6-4

Weight: 240

Born: July 2, 1964, Havana.

The glory: American League Rookie of the Year in 1986 and unanimous MVP in 1988. Six-time All-Star. Member of world champion 1989 Oakland A's.

References: ESPN, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland A's Baseball & Liverpool Football.

Copyright by Shiu On Yee.