Arsenal: No Change

Today, Arsenal Football Club of North London opened their 2018-19 Premier League season. It was their 1st since 1995-96 with a manager other than Arsène Wenger.

The new manager is Unai Emery, age 46, from the Basque Country of Spain, once a mediocre midfielder in Spain, and has managed in his homeland, Russia and France, including winning 3 Europa League titles with Sevilla (Seville, Spain), and 1 Ligue 1 title and 2 Coupes de France with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Wenger Out Brigade, a.k.a. the WOB, led by the ungrateful wretches of Arsenal Fan TV, got what they wanted: A new manager.

The Arsene Knows Best people, including myself, a.k.a. the AKB, were willing to give the new manager a chance.

The 1st 2 games of the season were Manchester City, the defending Premier League Champions, at home; and Chelsea, the West London club perennially in the Champions League and a particular problem for Arsenal since 2004, away.

Right away, we knew Emery would be tested.

I knew he'd failed the test as soon as I heard that he'd named Petr Čech the Team Captain, in the absence of the injured centreback Laurent Koscielny.

Čech, from the Czech Republic, once Chelsea's starting goalkeeper, is starting his 4th season at Arsenal. By all accounts, he's a good guy. But he has been terrible. It was argued that he would be worth 15 points a season to Arsenal, the equivalent to winning 5 games we otherwise would have lost.

Instead, he has let in many, many cheap goals, particularly against teams Arsenal should be beating anyway. Instead of being worth 15 points a season, he may have cost Arsenal the 2016 League title, the 2016 FA Cup, and Champions League berths for 2017-18 and 2018-19.

I have nothing personal against Čech. I hope he has a long and happy life. But I want it to be away from Arsenal.

I saw the team sheet for today's game. Emery started Čech in goal. Against the defending champions, who set League records for most points won and most goals scored in a season.

Man City's 1st goal was cheap. I am 48 years old, with a bad hip on one leg and a bad knee on the other, and I need to lose at least 30 pounds. I could have come closer to stopping that shot.

Man City's 2nd goal was a bit harder. But it might not have happened without the 1st.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a black Englishman about to turn 21, has played right back, right wing and central midfield for Arsenal. This versatility led Emery to think that, with both the Spaniard Nacho Monreal and the Bosnian Sead Kolašinac unavailable due to injury, AMN could play left back.

At first, this seemed like a good idea. He was doing fairly well, until the 31st minute. A City player purposely injured him. This is how Josep "Pep" Guardiola manages. This is how he managed at Barcelona. This is how he managed at Bayern Munich. This is how he manages at Man City. He likes dirty play. Instead of being the dominant figure in European soccer the last 10 years, if he were to play cleanly -- or if the rules would be enforced against him -- he would be managing in Spain's 2nd division.

AMN tried to play on his injured leg for 5 minutes, but could go no further. Stephan Lichtsteiner, a new acquisition from Switzerland, intended as Spanish star Hector Bellerin's backup at right back, was put in as an emergency left back, and did fine at the position.

After about 55 minutes, Emery took out Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who (in spite of being my favorite player on the team) did not have a good game, and replaced him with French striker Alexandre Lacazette, moving Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out wide. This was unusual: Wenger almost never made a substitution prior to the 70th minute, except when required by injury.

This, too, looked like it might work. Arsenal moved forward better. And, twice, Arsenal put the ball in the back of the net. But, both times, they were judged to be offside. The instant replay confirmed this. It also appeared, a little later on, that Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty by referee Michael Oliver. But he did not award one. The replay confirmed that this was also the right decision.

Indeed, Oliver's only shortcoming was that he did not sufficiently warn the City players about their dirty play. The game ended 2-0 to City, and I refuse to blame this loss on Oliver.

*

Arsenal fans -- some of them -- said they wanted "change." Let's look at the complaints, and see whether they've changed:

* My complaint: Starting Čech in goal. No change at all.

* Their complaint: Signing players they'd never heard of. That's been done, too.

* My complaint: Too much sideways passing, not enough forward charging. No change at all.

* Their complaint: Not enough toughness in midfield. Not much change there, although having Swiss star Granit Xhaka in there made the argument idiotic, and Frenchman Mattéo Guendouzi has been added, but, while he's tough, at age 19, he is far from ready for the Premier League.

* Their complaint: Giving players who are not ready a chance too soon. Maitland-Niles and Guendouzi were today's examples, although in AMN's case, it was putting a player who'd already done well elsewhere in a brand-new position, an emergency situation, and he did all right for as long as he could.

* My complaint, and theirs: Waiting too long to make substitutions. Emery did change this, but it didn't make any difference.

* My complaint, and theirs: Not challenging the big clubs. The game ended 2-0 to City. We never looked like we were going to win the game. City didn't need to get out of 1st gear. If they had, or if their best player, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, still looking to regain full strength after a tough World Cup in which he helped Belgium to reach the Semifinal, had started, this game could have been a massacre.

Now, some people told me (on Twitter) that I shouldn't be so reactionary, that I should have more patience. Well...

* The whole point of wanting Wenger out is that "the fans" (mainly Arsenal Fan TV and their idiot watchers) had shown too much patience, and wanted to win now.

* "Rome wasn't built in a day." No, but ancient Rome did burn many times, and was corrupt to the core even at its peak.

* "This is only the beginning of the revolution." Which revolution? Will it end with DT, the Robespierre of the WOB, metaphorically having his head cut off? Because, between the storming of the Bastille and the end of the French Revolution, there was a lot of innocent blood spilled. Or is it the Bolshevik Revolution? That led to civil war, repression and starvation -- and that was under Lenin, even before Stalin came in.

Those of you who wanted "change": What has changed? Apparently, two things:

1. The identity of the manager making the same old mistakes. And...

2. Arsène Wenger is no longer taking the insidious abuse he took. I suppose, sometimes, you have to accept small victories.

But for Arsenal as a team, I'll take any victory at this point.

But with Čech in goal, I don't know when I'll see victory again.

I want my Arsenal back.

*

Days until Arsenal play again: 6, this coming Saturday, at 12:30 PM New York time, away to Chelsea.


Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 6, this coming Saturday, at 7:00 PM, away to the Vancouver Whitecaps. They beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 away last night.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 10, on Wednesday, August 22, against New York City FC, at Yankee Stadium II. 

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 20, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. Under 3 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 26, on Friday, September 7, away to Piscataway. Under 4 weeks.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 26, on Friday, September 7, a "friendly" against Brazil, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 37, on Tuesday night, September 18, at Yankee Stadium II. A little over 5 weeks. Not that it matters.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another competitive game: 55, on Saturday, October 6, against the Edmonton Oilers, at... Scandinavium, an arena in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden. Yes, that will be a regular-season game, part of the NHL Global Series. Exactly 2 months. The Mulberry Street Marauders will warm up for it on October 1, with an exhibition game in Switzerland against SC Bern; while the Oilers will visit Kölner Haie in Cologne, Germany on October 3.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 69, on Saturday afternoon, October 20, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The 1st game against the New York Islanders, a.k.a. the Fish Sticks, will be on Saturday night, November 3, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 86, on November 6. Under 3 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 97, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 102, on Thursday, November 22. A little over 3 months.

Days until the next North London Derby: 112, on Sunday, December 2, at the Emirates Stadium. It had been set for December 1, but was moved due to Arsenal once again being stuck playing Europa League games on Thursday nights. No more "Thursday is Spursday" jokes for us Gooners.

Days until a Democratic Congress can convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 144, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. A little under 5 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 164, on January 23, 2019. A little over 5 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 299, on June 7, 2019, in France. Under 10 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 321, on June 29, 2019. A little over 10 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 493, on December 18, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 16 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 528, on January 22, 2020. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 17 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 712, on July 24, 2020. Under 2 years, or a little over 23 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 814, on November 3, 2020. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little under 27 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 892, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 29 monnths. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,272, on February 4, 2022. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little under 42 months.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,562, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 1/2 years, or under 52 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

How Long It's Been: Arsenal Saved a Penalty

Yesterday, in the 1st leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32, Arsenal defeated Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, away to them at their 9,165-seat Jämtkraft Arena in Östersund, Sweden, at 63.2 degrees North latitude, just south of the Arctic Circle. (That is neither an exaggeration nor a joke.)

The Swedish team was trolling Arsenal on Twitter, showing them pictures of the snowy conditions in their hometown.

In the last 5 years, Arsenal have faced pyromaniacs in Athens, 2 different sets of lunatics in Istanbul, and actual war criminals in Belgrade. Did Östersund really think Arsenal were going to be intimidated by a little cold?

They weren't. Despite a makeshift lineup due to injuries, and to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being "cup-tied" because he'd already played for Borussia Dortmund in the competition this season, Arsenl won 3-0, starting with a goal by Spanish left back Ignacio "Nacho" Monreal, who has now scored 5 goals this season -- an astounding number for any defender. There was an own goal off an Östersund defender, and Mesut Özil added another.

Someone tweeted, "Lionel Messi career goals against Ostersund: 0."

Messi's okay, but can he do it on a cold Thursday night in Sweden? Özil did.

Let's not forget that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dive, and Özil doesn't. And that they've never won the World Cup, while Özil not only did it, but beat Messi to do it.

Arsenal will play the 2nd leg of the Round next Thursday, at home, at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

In stoppage time, Östersund were awarded a penalty. This surprised no one. A consequential match? With Arsenal as the opponents? As the visitors? When goals will be at a premium in the 2nd leg? Never mind that it was almost pointless: Of course, the penalty was awarded.

David Ospina, Arsenal's 2nd-string goalkeeper, saved it, preserving the 3-0 lead as the final score.

Arsenal's starting goalie is the former Chelsea legend, Czech keeper Petr Čech. As James Goldman pointed out in the British tabloid Metro last month:

For a goalkeeper who famously played a starring role in a Champions League final shootout, the former Chelsea star has an appalling record when it comes to facing spot kicks. On Wednesday evening, Eden Hazard became the 15th player to face Petr Cech from 12 yards during his Arsenal career and the 15th player to score past him. Even more embarrassingly for the 35-year-old, he has contrived to dive the wrong way on 12 occasions and four times in succession.

Indeed, Ospina's stop was the 1st time Arsenal had stopped an in-game penalty -- not to be confused with penalty kicks ending a drawn cup tie -- since March 11, 2014. At home, in the 2nd leg of a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie, Polish keeper Łukasz Fabiański (now with Swansea City) stopped one of the best strikers in the world,Thomas Müller. It didn't matter, as the match ended 1-1, thus 3-1 to Bayern Munich on aggregate.

The reason Fabiański was in there in the first place is that Arsenal's starter, Wojciech Szczęsny, had been sent off in the Munich leg, forcing manager Arsène Wenger to put in Fabiański and take off an attacking player, Santi Cazorla, and losing 2-0. In Germany, where Bayern seem to win the Bundesliga every year, this is known as Der Bayern Dusel -- the Bavarian Luck.

Petr Čech, by all accounts, is a good man. But, a few weeks away from his 36th birthday, he is no longer a viable goalkeeper for a top-level European soccer team. Given his performances for Arsenal over the last 3 seasons, including Arsenal's tumble out of the Premier League's Champions League places, his purchase price from Chelsea of £10 million has gone from absolute bargain to absolute ripoff.

Arsenal hadn't saved a penalty since March 11, 2014. That's 3 years, 11 months and 4 days. How long has that been?

*

Since then, Arsenal have brought in Čech, Ospnia, Aubameyang, Alexis Sánchez, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, Danny Welbeck, Krystian Bielik, Gabriel Paulista, Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Rob Holding, Lucas Pérez, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolašinac, Alexandre Lacazette, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

And they've sold Fabiański, Szczęsny, Alexis, Debuchy, Gabriel, Tomáš Rosický, Bacary Sagna, Johan Djourou, Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, Kieran, Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thomas Vermaelen, Lukas Podolski, Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini, Serge Gnabry, Ignasi Miquel, Benik Afobe, Park Chu-Young, Ryo Miyaichi, Thomas Eisfeld, Yaya Sanogo, Jon Toral, Francis Coquelin, Theo Walcott, and (this was painful) Olivier Giroud. 

(If you can't pronounce some of that, don't worry about it.)

And, while Arsenal finished 2nd in 2016, they finished 5th last season, their 1st finish outside the top 4, and thus the Champions League qualification, since 1996. The team currently sits 6th in the Premier League table, 8 points out of 4th, and a whopping 27 points behind League-leading Manchester City.

However, since then, Arsenal have won the FA Cup in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and, this season, have reached the Final of the League Cup, have all but advanced to the Europa League's Round of 16, and qualifying for the 2018-19 Champions League is still possible -- though, thanks to a recent rule change, they would qualify automatically if we win the Europa League.

Soccer legends Dave Mackay, Ron Springett, Howard Kendall, Gerry Byrne, Jimmy Hill, Cyrille Regis, Jimmy Armfield, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Johan Cruyff, Cesare Maldini, Carlos Alberto, Raymond Kopa, Hilderaldo Bellini, Gyula Grosics, Fyodor Cherenkov, Udo Lattek, Zito, Josef Masopust, Alcides Ghiggia, Ignacio Zoco, Márton Fülöp, Pavel Srníček, Slobodan Santrač, Hannes Löhr, Viktor Tsaryov, Piet Keizer, Karl Stotz, Roberto Ferreiro, Todor Veselinović, Cheick Tioté, Waldir Peres, József Tóth, Manuel Sanchís Martínez, Feliciano Rivilla, Hans Schäfer, Henning Jensen, Liam Miller, Arsenal legends David Herd and Don Howe, and, a soccer legend in a way, Malcolm Glazer have since died.

So have these legends in other sports: Muhammad Ali, Gordie Howe, Yogi Berra, Jean Béliveau, Arnold Palmer, Jake LaMotta, Roy Halladay, Viktor Tikhonov, Moses Malone, Jonah Lomu, Mal Whitfield, Bob Foster, Dolph Schayes, Nate Thurmond, Věra Čáslavská, Sammy Lee, Miruts Yifter, Milt Schmidt, Darrall Imhoff, John Kundla, Bobby Doerr, Jana Novotná, Johnny Bower and Jo Jo White.

So have actors Mickey Rooney, James Garner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Lee, Dick Van Patten, Patrick Macnee, Omar Sharif, George Kennedy, Anton Yelchin, Kenny Baker, Gene Wilder, Robert Vaughn, Alan Thicke, Miguel Ferrer, John Hurt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Roger Moore, Adam West, Martin Landau, Robert Guillaume, Jim Nabors. So have actresses Lauren Bacall, Luise Rainer, Anita Ekberg, Maurren O'Hara, Patty Duke, Florence Henderson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Debbie Reynolds and her daughter Carrie Fisher, Mary Tyler Moore and Jeanne Moreau.

So have comedians Joan Rivers, Robin Williams, Don Rickles, Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis. So have directors Wes Craven, George Romero, Michael Cimino and Jonathan Demme. So have TV show hosts Terry Wogan, Bruce Forsyth and Monty Hall.

So have music personalities Ian McLagan, Joe Cocker, Lesley Gore, Ben E. King, B.B. King, Ornette Coleman, Cilla Black, Scott Weiland, Lemmy Kilmister, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Paul Kantner, Maurice White, George Martin, Merle Haggard, Prince, Neville Marriner, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, George Michael, Chris Cornell, Gregg Allman, Glen Campbell, Tom Petty, Fats Domino, Della Reese, Mel Tillis, David Cassidy, Johnny Hallyday, Keely Smith, Dolores O'Riordan, Hugh Masekela, Dennis Edwards and Vic Damone.

So have writers Maya Angelou, Gabriel García Márquez, E.L. Doctorow, Oliver Sacks, Jackie Collins, Umberto Eco, Harper Lee, Elie Wiesel, Edward Albee, William Peter Blatty, Yevgeny Yetvushenko, Sam Shepard, Peter Mayle and Ursula K. Le Guin.

So have Playboy baron Hugh Hefner, fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, scientist Henry Heimlich, murder-cult leader Charles Manson; astronauts John Glenn, Edgar Mitchell, Gene Cernan and John Young; 1963 scandal-producer Christine Keeler; and 1983 nuclear war-preventer Stanislav Petrov.

So have American political figures Mario Cuomo, Antonin Scalia and Nancy Reagan; British political figures Tony Benn, Ian Paisley, Denis Healey, Geoffrey Howe, Antony Armstrong-Jones, and the sitting Dukes of Marlborough and Wellington. So have former Australian Prime Ministers Edward Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. So have former German Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl.

So have international leaders Wojciech Jaruszelski, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Lee Kuan Yew, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Shimon Peres, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Manuel Noriega. So have Kings Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Rama IX of Thailand, Kigeli V of Rwanda and Michael I of Romania, and Emir Khalifa of Qatar.

And so has my father.

The World Cup has since been held in Brazil. So has the Olympics. The Olympics are now being held again, in Korea.

The Mayor of London, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, the President of the United States, the Mayor of New York and the Governor of New Jersey have all been replaced.

The following shows have debuted on American TV: Fargo, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Last Ship, Tyrant, Girl Meets World, The Leftovers, Married at First Sight, Rush, You're the Worst, Skin Wars, Madam Secretary, Scorpion, NCIS: New Orleans, Black-ish, How to Get Away with Murder, Jane the Virgin, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Empire, Fresh Off the Boat, Better Call Saul, Secrets and Lies, Younger, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Royals, Lip Sync Battle, Grace and Frankie, Sense8, Quantico, Dr. Ken, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Chicago Med, Making a Murderer, Shades of Blue, Billions, American Crime Story, The Real O'Neals, Queen of the South, Better Late Than Never, Bull, Designated Survivor, The Mick, Riverdale, Big Little Lies, The Good Fight, Chicago Justice, 13 Reasons Why, Dear White People, Claws, 911, Our Cartoon President; and the baseball show Pitch.

Also, the historical dramas Turn: Washington's Spies, Penny Dreadful, The Alienist and The Crown; the Full House update Fuller House; the completely unnecessary and absolutely fatuous Big Bang Theory prequel show Young Sheldon; the awful reboots of The Odd Couple, MacGyver and Dynasty; the somewhat better reboots of One Day at a Time and S.W.A.T.; and the Archie reboot Riverdale.

Also, the Star Trek tribute The Orville and the insult Star Trek: Discovery; the fantasy shows Forever, Outlander, Z Nation, Star Wars Rebels, The Librarians, The Man in the High Castle, 12 Monkeys, Fear the Walking Dead, Lucifer, American Gothic, Stranger Things, Westworld, Constantine, Ash vs. Evil Dead, Wynonna Earp, Preacher and American Gods; and the superhero shows Gotham, The Flash, Agent Carter, Daredevil, Blindspot, Supergirl, Jessica Jones, Legends of Tomorrow, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Superhuman, Inhumans, The Punisher, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighers, Black Lightning, and the reboot of The Tick.

Airing their finales were How I Met Your Mother, Being Human, Warehouse 13, Dora the Explorer, Drop Dead Diva, True Blood, Chelsea Lately, the update of Dallas, Boardwalk Empire, Ben 10, Sons of Anarchy, The Newsroom, White Collar, The Colbert Report, The Mentalist, Two and a Half Men, Parks and Recreation, Glee, Cougar Town, Justified, Mad Men, Hot in Cleveland, Phineas and Ferb, Key & Peele, Hannibal, the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, America's Next Top Model, The Mysteries of Laura, The Good Wife, Castle, Mike & Molly, The McLaughlin Group, Rizzoli & Isles, The Vampire Diaries, Workaholics, Bones, Duck Dynasty, Grimm, Sleepy Hollow, Black Sails, Girls, 2 Broke Girls, Bates Motel, Reign, Pretty Little Liars, Orphan Black and The Mindy Project. Jay Leno handed The Tonight Show over to Jimmy Fallon.

The Number 1 song in America was "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. St. Vincent released her self-titled... 4th album. Shakira released her self-titled... 10th album. Lea Michele released Louder. Prices of pretty much everything have stayed relatively stable, although wages have also remained stagnant. For everybody, it seems, except athletes and CEOs. Sony PS3 and Wii were battling it out to be the leading home video game system.

In the late Winter and early Spring of 2014, there was a revolution in Ukraine, with a pro-Russian leader removed, before Russia started to intervene, including an annexation of the Crimea that Ukraine was powerless to prevent. President Barack Obama put new economic sanctions on Russia, proving that he could wreck a country's economy -- just not his own. In retaliation, Russian President Vladimir Putin hijacked America's next election.

Belgium became the 1st country in the world to legalized euthanasia for terminally ill patients of any age. Malaysia Airlines Fight 370 disappeared over the Gulf of Thailand, and neither it nor any of the 239 people on board has ever been found. Boko Haram captured 276 girls from a school in Nigeria. The Korean ferry MV Sewol sank, killing 304 people. And the Catholic Church canonized Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.

Shirley Temple, and Sid Caesar, and Sir Tom Finney died. Bodhi Green (son of Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green), and Apollo Rossdale (son of Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale), and Tristan and Sasha Hemsworth (twins of Elsa Pataky & Chris Hemsworth) were born.

March 11, 2014. Łukasz Fabiański saved a penalty by Thomas Müller. An Arsenal goalkeeper saved a penalty.

It took nearly 4 years, but now, it has happened again.

As long as Petr Cech is Arsenal's 1st choice keeper, don't expect another anytime soon.

Cech It Out: My Bad Weekend Gets Worse

Going into yesterday, the Yankees hadn't lost a series since late June.

Thanks to Joe Girardi, now, we have.

Last week, against Boston, Girardi took Luis Severino out after 5 innings. Yesterday, against those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, he left Ivan Nova in for a 6th. It should have been the other way around.

To be fair, Nova looked great for the 1st 5 innings, allowing just 2 hits and a walk, and only 1 baserunner to get as far as 2nd base.

But the Yankees hadn't scored, either. Here are their baserunners over that span: A walk by Carlos Beltran in the 2nd, a walk by Jacoby Ellsbury in the 3rd, a leadoff single by Alex Rodriguez in the 4th, and... that's it.

Nova got the 1st out in the top of the 6th. And then the roof caved in. He walked Josh Donaldson. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you. He then allowed single to Jose Bautista. He then walked Edwin Encarnacion to load the bases. And then he gave up a grand slam to Justin Smoak.

What's a Justin Smoak? He's got 71 home runs over the last 5 seasons (although he missed half of last season due to injury), but he's batting .228, and that's only slighly above his lifetime batting average, .224.

There's no point in detailing the rest of the game. It ended 6-0, and the Yankees never looked like scoring. WP: David Price (11-4). No save. LP: Nova (4-4).

The Yankees are now just 2 1/2 games ahead of the Jays, although it's 4 in the loss column. The series concludes this afternoon. Masahiro Tanaka starts against Marco Estrada. Then we head out to Cleveland to play the Indians, and then 3 more against the Jays in Toronto. It will be the biggest series in that city since the Jays won the 1993 World Series.

*

Then, this morning, my weekend got worse. Arsenal opened the season in pathetic form, losing 2-0 to West Ham United, the pride of London's East End.

Much-hyped goalkeeping acquisition Petr Cech allowed 2 cheap goals. Indeed, except for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, nobody played well for Arsenal, including such world-class players as Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud. (Nor did Alexis Sanchez, who came on as a substitute, not starting because of his late return from helping Chile win the Copa America.)

For all the hype over Cech, for all the slobbering over him that Arsenal fans did, his first game for us was like when James Bond fans heard that, finally, Pierce Brosnan was going to take the role -- and ended up getting Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. For Arsenal fans, this was like getting The World Is Not Enough first.

The Yankees better hang another 13-run outburst on the Jays, while the New York Red Bulls better batter visiting New York City FC tonight.

*

Hours until the Red Bulls play again: 7, tonight, at 7:00, against New York City FC, a.k.a. Manchester City NYC, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": See the previous answer. The next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, August 22, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The next game against D.C. United will be on Sunday night, August 30, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Sunday night, October 18, at Red Bull Arena, the regular season finale.

Days until Arsenal play again: 7, a week from today, 8:30 in the morning our time, away to Southeast London club Crystal Palace.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 22, on Monday, August 31, at 7:00 PM, at Fenway Park.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 25, on Thursday night (why?), September 3, away to Woodbridge. Under 4 weeks.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 26, on Friday night, September 4, in a friendly with Peru at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 27, on Saturday afternoon, September 5, home to Norfolk State.

Days until the Devils play again: 61, on Friday, October 9, home to the Winnipeg Jets. Just 2 months.

Days until the Islanders' first home game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn: 61, also on Friday, October 9, against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Or, to put it another way, "61 Sleeps Till Brooklyn." Until then, despite having definitively played their last competitive game in the Nassau Coliseum, even with their 4 straight long-ago Stanley Cups, they're just a Small Club In Hempstead.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 70, on Sunday, October 18, away to the Rangers.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 90, on Saturday, November 7, at the Emirates Stadium. Just 3 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 109, on Thursday morning, November 26, at 10:00 AM, at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick. Under 4 months.

Days until the Copa América Centenario begins on U.S. soil: 299, on June 3, 2016. A little under 10 months. The tournament will be between teams from the North American, Central American and Caribbean region (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL, which is celebrating its 100th Anniversary). Although it's a member of CONCACAF rather than CONMEBOL, the U.S. is the host nation, and thus qualifies automatically, as it does for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Days until Euro 2016 begins in France: 306, on Friday, June 10.

Days until the next Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 362, on Friday, August 5, 2016. Just under 1 year.

Days until the next World Cup begins in Russia: 1,044, on Friday June 8, 2018. A little under 3 years.