spur the economy!

Ok, so maybe my "collection" does necessitate an "intervention" but these two jerseys are absolute must-haves for supporters. Both Kappa and Adidas design groups have out-done themselves with the (beautiful) Wales away shirt and Marseille's argyle.

And yes, they do have rush delivery.

Ligue 1 Orange finale

It's a peculiar thing to start the review of the final day of the season in which the title was won by Lyon to note first, thankfully PSG was saved from relegation but such is the case. With PSG's noble victory 2-1 over Sochaux on the strength of Amare Diané two goals and Bordeaux and Lens 2-2 draw, PSG was saved.















Of course the real story was Lyon's victory which secured their seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title. Their 3-1 victory over Auxerre was never in-doubt as only a minute into the match Karim Benzema scored and the second was added by Fred ten minutes later.

On the opposite end of the table, Lens which had flown so high last year and bordered upon a Champions League spot is sent down to Ligue 2 with Strasbourg and Metz. It is a painful taste for Lens and hopefully a short-lived exodus. Equally said, PSG and Toulouse which look condemned pulled-off the Ligue 1 "great escape". From Ligue 2, Le Havre, Nantes and possibly the best excuse for a road-trip next season Grenoble.

In another odd side-story with Nancy seemingly having locked up third place and the final Champions League spot, they lost to Rennes 3-2 while Olympique Marseille beat Strasbourg 4-3 on two Djibril Cisse goals as well as one each by Sami Nasir and Mamadou Niang. With this swing, Marseille which seemed to have dropped any chance of the Champions League next season with squandered points finds itself in third place and in the Champions League. Allez l'OM Allez!

As an aside, Marseille, which is owned by Robert Louis-Dreyfus the CEO of Adidas-Salomon, unveiled it's kit for next season using a argyle-vest pattern a hint of things to come from Adidas. The jersey is available online now -
























































































Final table ~

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	38	24	7	7	74	37	79
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	38	22	9	7	65	38	75
Olympique Marseille	38	17	11	10	58	45	62
AS Nancy Lorraine	38	15	15	8	44	31	60
Saint-Étienne Loire	38	16	10	12	47	34	58
Stade Rennais FC	38	16	10	12	47	44	58
Lille O.S.C.	38	13	18	7	45	32	57
Nice-Côte d'Azur	38	13	16	9	35	30	55
Le Mans	38	14	11	13	46	49	53
Lorient	38	12	16	10	32	35	52
SM Caen	38	13	12	13	48	53	51
AS Monaco FC	38	13	8	17	40	48	47
Valenciennes FC	38	12	9	17	42	40	45
Sochaux-Montbéliard	38	10	14	14	34	43	44
AJ Auxerre	38	12	8	18	33	52	44
Paris Saint-Germain	38	10	13	15	37	45	43
Toulouse FC	38	9	15	14	36	42	42
Racing Club de Lens	38	9	13	16	43	52	40
RC Strasbourg	38	9	8	21	34	60	35
FC Metz	38	5	9	24	28	64	24

Platform Footy

a while ago I mentioned how I like to put together a Tennis - Football match (r-tennis ala Brazilian volleyball). It seems the crew at Marseille (notably Sami Nasri in the vid) have their own platform-Tennis style.

Ligue 1 Orange update

Call it the Champions League spot that no-one seems to want to win but within Ligue 1 Orange today, Nancy gave up third-place position while playing to a lifeless 1-1 against Valenciennes and Olympique Marseille made a mess of their match against Monaco and narrowly escaped with a 3-2 victory.

In the early match today, Pascal Berenguer scored at the ten minute mark to give Nancy the lead but by mid first half Valenciennes took control of the match. Early in the second-half Johan Audel tied the match and with few serious scoring chances it ended as a 1-1 draw. This was a dreadful result for Nancy who left the door wide-open for Marseille to regain third-place.

Marseille road into Monaco knowing the result of the Nancy match and with Monaco possessing a horrible home record, the match seemed to be a perfect opportunity for them. Monaco played extremely sluggish the first half but despite presenting little offense threat they were only behind 1-0 at the half on Sami Nasri's goal at the twentieth-eighth minute. At the start of the second half Monaco's play continued to be quite passive and then for some unexplained reason, came alive at the fifty-fifth minute and attacked the porous and confused Marseille defense. At the fifty-sixth minute Ignacio González headed home a crossing volley while the Marseille defense stood and pointed out marking responsibilities. Five minutes later, Marseille took the lead once again as Taye Taiwo scored on a goal post rebound as he somehow threaded home a strike through a crowd. The comedy of Marseille's defensive woes continued a few minutes later, as a very weak punch by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda off a corner was brilliantly chipped into the vacant goal by Jerko Leko. With the game now tied it looked like Marseille was going to squander a brilliant opportunity. However at the eighty-second minute a highlight film back-heel by Mamadou Niang set-up Djibril Cisse for another one of his patented finishes and to seal the 3-2 victory. The win puts Marseille back in third place with a tight one-point advantage over Nancy and three matches remaining.

your daily Marseille update

just in-case you see a rainbow in the horizon and hear the happy sounds of blue-birds chirping...it is likely related to Marseille's 2 - 1 victory today over Metz in a match that just ended.

Metz took a quick lead with a Cedric Barbosa goal at the third minute. Marseille tied it with Djibril Cisse strike at the thirteenth minute and finally took the lead with a Samir Nasri in the fifty-sixth minute.

Coupled with a Nancy 2-1 loss to Lille, Marseille is now tied for third and a Champions League spot with five matches remaining in the schedule.

Allez l'OM, allez

seven matches on Saturday

There's a host of great Football matches this Saturday that you'll want to stay up-to-date on. So before you throw on your Lafleur (hmm..maybe the Béliveau) jersey for game 2 in the quest for the twenty-fifth, remember to check-out;

Serie A
A.C. Milan @ Juventus F.C.
A clash of titans and a Juve win could lock down their Champion League visions as well as seriously harm AC. Milan will limp in without Alexandre Pato and both Kakha Kaladze and Alessandro Nesta are serving suspensions. Juventus will miss Pavel Nedved and Cristiano Zanetti in what is going to be a great clash. Looking forward to the Alessandro Del Piero show once again.

Bundesliga
FC Schalke 04 @ SV Werder Bremen
The race in the Bundesliga is incredibly tight and a Werder Bremen could send them two points above Schalke, into a Champions League spot and push Schalke into a UEFA Cup bid. A lot is on the line with this one and Schalke also has to respond in a short-week after losing to Barcelona.

La Primera División de México
América @ Chivas El Súper Clásico - it may not have the impact of some years with them on opposite ends of the table but this is a must see event (well...actually this one is in the Sunday list - but one to watch for)

Monterrey @ Pachuca exciting match to watch and to see if the magic of Ricardo Lavolpe and the goal-scoring machine, Humberto Suazo continues.

Championship League
Watford F.C @ West Brom
Watfords 3-0 debacle against Barnsley mid-week was a dreadful loss this time of year with promotion in sight. With Wolverhampton surging up the table a loss today could put them perilously close to losing their playoff position. A victory by West Brom puts them firmly in the lead with automatic promotion.

Wolverhampton @ Bristol City
The Wolves are on a mission and thundering up the table but face a massive test against Bristol City. At least four squads, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Charlton and Plymouth will be watching this intently as as Wolves win could seriously harm their promotion efforts.

League One
Carlisle United @ Leeds United
Massive match with far too many complexities given the Leeds arbitration hearing is next week and the possibility of the fifteen point reduction being reversed. A victory here and a reversal of the points could see Leeds move within a point of the league title.

I'm off for the weekend..join-in mes amis Allez l'OM, allez

Ligue 1

The Ligue 1 title is pretty much Lyon's with a solid race for the Champions League qualifying spot between Nancy and Marseille. Quite possibly the biggest "race" is to avoid relegation and the dreaded thought of PSG being demoted (hmm..they need a coach familiar to the area who can teach them to win. I wonder who).

Saturday
Saint-Étienne 4 Le Mans 1
SM Caen 1 Valenciennes FC 0
Lille O.S.C. 0 Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
Sochaux-Montbéliard @ AJ Auxerre
AS Monaco FC 2 RC Strasbourg 0
important win for Monaco that should guarantee their safety

FC Lorient Bretagne Sud 0 Toulouse FC 0
Bordeaux 2 Stade Rennais 0
Metz 1 Lens 1

Sunday
Nancy 1 Paris Saint-Germain 0
Marseille 3 Lyonnais 1
In a weekend full of stunning matches (Juventus ~ Palermo, Leeds ~ Leyton, Monterrey ~ Veracruz) this was one of the best.

Throughout the year, Marseille has exhibited multiple personalities, often a porous defense, sometimes lacking offensive vision and at other times, looking like a rival to the top clubs in Europe. Today Eric Gerets squad were the brilliant attacking team and humbled the soon to be league champions, Lyon.

Marseille opened the scoring at the twenty-sixth minute with a Djibril Cisse strike and only a few minutes later Mamadou Niang neatly tucked in the second of the match. Lyon drew one back before the half but Niang headed home his second of the day early in second half.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	32	21	4	7	65	32	67
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	32	18	7	7	56	34	61
AS Nancy Lorraine	32	14	13	5	36	22	55
Olympique Marseille	32	14	10	8	47	34	52
Nice-Côte d'Azur	32	10	14	8	27	24	44
Stade Rennais FC	32	12	8	12	35	38	44
Le Mans	32	12	8	12	36	42	44
Lille O.S.C.	32	9	16	7	34	26	43
Saint-Étienne Loire	31	12	7	12	37	32	43
Lorient	32	10	13	9	27	31	43
SM Caen	32	11	10	11	35	43	43
Valenciennes FC	32	11	8	13	37	32	41
Sochaux-Montbéliard	32	10	11	11	29	34	41
AS Monaco FC	32	11	7	14	33	39	40
AJ Auxerre	32	11	7	14	29	40	40
Racing Club de Lens	31	8	11	12	35	40	35
Toulouse FC	32	7	14	11	28	34	35
Paris Saint-Germain	32	8	11	13	28	35	35
RC Strasbourg	32	9	8	15	29	37	35
FC Metz	32	4	7	21	22	56	18

Wednesday
Racing Club de Lens @ Saint-Étienne Loire

Saturday
Stade Rennais FC @ Olympique Lyonnais
AJ Auxerre @ Le Mans
Saint-Étienne Loire @ FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
AS Nancy Lorraine @ Lille O.S.C.
Toulouse FC @ AS Monaco FC
Olympique Marseille @ FC Metz
RC Strasbourg @ Valenciennes FC
Racing Club de Lens @ Lorient

Sunday
SM Caen @ FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Nice-Côte d'Azur @ Paris Saint-Germain

Ligue 1

Monday
Stade Rennais FC @ AS Monaco FC

Wednesday
RC Strasbourg @ Paris Saint-Germain
incredibly important match for both teams in the fight to avoid relegation. A victory by PSG would draw them out of the relegation zone and pull Lens in, while a victory by Strasbourg would provide them four points of cushion.

Saturday
Saint-Étienne v Le Mans @
Valenciennes FC @ SM Caen
Lille O.S.C. @ Nice-Côte d'Azur
(for those who read over this quickly I want you to consider the "horrible" road-trip of a playing in Nice)
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard @ AJ Auxerre
few will consider the season a success but Sochaux has pulled off the great relegation escape of the season earning twenty points in twelve matches since the January break.
AS Monaco FC @ RC Strasbourg
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud @ Toulouse FC
a highly strategic match for Toulouse as they will need to match pace with Lens and Strasbourg
Bordeaux @ Stade Rennais
Metz @ Lens
Paris Saint-Germain @ Nancy
Lyonnais @ Marseille
highlight match of the weekend. If Marseille is to make a run at a Champions League spot they will need to come out with three points.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	31	21	4	6	64	29	67
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	31	17	7	7	54	34	58
AS Nancy Lorraine	31	13	13	5	35	22	52
Olympique Marseille	31	13	10	8	44	33	49
Le Mans	31	12	8	11	35	38	44
Nice-Côte d'Azur	31	10	13	8	27	24	43
Lille O.S.C.	31	9	15	7	34	26	42
Lorient	31	10	12	9	27	31	42
Valenciennes FC	31	11	8	12	37	31	41
Stade Rennais FC	30	11	8	11	33	35	41
Saint-Étienne Loire	30	11	7	12	33	31	40
SM Caen	31	10	10	11	34	43	40
AJ Auxerre	31	11	7	13	29	39	40
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard	31	9	11	11	28	34	38
AS Monaco FC	30	10	7	13	30	37	37
RC Strasbourg	30	9	8	13	29	34	35
Racing Club de Lens	30	8	10	12	34	39	34
Toulouse FC	31	7	13	11	28	34	34
Paris Saint-Germain	30	7	11	12	27	34	32
FC Metz	31	4	6	21	21	55	18

Saturday
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2 AS Nancy Lorraine 1
Two Fernando Cavenaghi goals including a late penalty strike gave Bordeaux the win and a safe six point cushion.

Sunday
AJ Auxerre 2 Lille O.S.C. 0
Le Mans 1 SM Caen 1
Olympique Lyonnais 2 Valenciennes 1
A Sidney Govou at the sixty-fourth minute gave Lyon a tight win and moves them closer to their seventh successive championhip

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1 OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
Toulouse FC 2 FC Metz 0
Two late goals from Achille Emana provides Toulouse a lifeline to safety.

Olympique Marseille 2 Lorient 1
Played in a brutal storm, this game was much like Marseille's peculiar season of multiple personalities. The first half continued the tailspin that started with the Zenit collapse in the UEFA Cup and of numerous matches where valuable points were squandered.

The first half was all Lorient with them controlling play and Marseille barely able to launch a respectable offensive surge. It looked bleak for Marseille as they played like the first half of the season squad that threated to be relegated. The half concluded as Lorient converted on a ridiculous penalty call (albeit a dive that would make old Jürgen Klinsmann fans pleased) to take a 1-0 lead and you would assume the season was drifting away.

The second half started with an offensive flurry with Cisse, Niang, Cana, Akale and Nasri working brilliantly together like the Champions League squad that started strong in the fall. After the Akale goal early in the second-half it looked like Marseille had squandered its chance only to have Mamadou Niang break the tie at the eightieth minute and give Marseille the victory.

Allez l'OM, allez

Coupe de France; USJA Carquefou

In a stunning upset at the Coupe de France before their home-crowd, lower divison USJA Carquefou played the match of their lives, defeated Olympique Marseille 1-0. Carquefou now advances to the quarter-finals.

In the year of the underdog with smaller clubs advancing in national title races, this is one of the best stories.

Complete Coupe de France details to follow including Paris Saint-Germain's advance!

Ligue 1

Ligue 1

Saturday
Olympique Lyonnais 3 AS Monaco FC 0
Lyon continued to march towards its seventh straight championship

Paris Saint-Germain 1 Valenciennes FC 1
- Pauleta scored @ the 81st minute to earn PSG a much needed draw.
St Etienne 0 Toulouse 0
Le Mans Union Club 72 1 Stade Rennais FC 1
FC Sochaux Montbéliard 1 AS Nancy Lorraine 1
- Moncaf Zerka scored at the 82nd minute for Nancy to avoid the loss.
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud 1 AJ Auxerre 1
Lille O.S.C. 5 SM Caen 0
OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur 2 FC Metz 1
- very important victory for Nice as it looks to close the gap between Marseille.

Sunday
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 3 RC Strasbourg 0
- Resounding victory for Bordeaux on two Carlos Henrique goals as they maintain their position for a Champions League spot

Racing Club de Lens 3 Olympique Marseille 3
A completely unpredictable match that was started with Marseille taking a complete control by the half with two superb goals by Samir Nasri and Benoit Cheyrou. However at the half Marseille came out flat and by the mid 55th minute, momentum changed and Lens scored three goals including and stunning strike by 73rd minute by Loïc Remy. With the victory seemingly in-hand, in the 89th minute Lens' defense broke-down and left Djibril Cisse completely unmarked 6 yards from the goal where he neatly tucked in a cross.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	29	19	4	6	58	26	61
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	29	16	7	6	51	30	55
AS Nancy Lorraine	29	12	13	4	32	19	49
Olympique Marseille	29	12	10	7	42	31	46
OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur	29	10	13	6	26	21	43
Le Mans Union Club 72	29	12	6	11	33	36	42
Lille O.S.C.	29	8	15	6	33	24	39
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud	29	9	12	8	24	28	39
Valenciennes FC	29	10	8	11	33	28	38
Stade Rennais FC	29	10	8	11	30	34	38
AS Saint-Étienne Loire	29	10	7	12	30	30	37
AS Monaco FC	29	10	7	12	29	33	37
AJ Auxerre	29	10	7	12	26	36	37
SM Caen	29	9	9	11	29	41	36
RC Strasbourg	29	9	8	12	29	33	35
Racing Club de Lens	29	8	10	11	33	36	34
Paris Saint-Germain	29	7	11	11	25	30	32
FC Sochaux Montbéliard	29	7	11	11	26	34	32
Toulouse FC	29	6	12	11	25	33	30
FC Metz	29	4	6	19	20	51	18

Saturday, March 22
- updates to follow on all of these matches as we get closer to the end of the campaign.

FC Metz @ AS Nancy Lorraine
FC Sochaux Montbéliard @ Olympique Marseille
Lille O.S.C. @ RC Strasbourg
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud @ OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur
incredibly important match for both teams in their race to overtake Marseille for the fourth spot and a trip to the UEFA Cup
AS Saint-Étienne Loire @ AJ Auxerre
FC Girondins de Bordeaux @ Valenciennes FC
Le Mans Union Club 72 @ Toulouse FC
AS Monaco FC @ SM Caen


Sunday, March 23
Racing Club de Lens @ Stade Rennais FC
Paris Saint-Germain @ Olympique Lyonnais

flight to quality

"Flight to quality" is a phrase that hasn't been given too much attention over the last decade or so but as we voyage into turbulent economic seas that are all-too familiar for me, it is one that I expect to hear a great deal more.

Like the "flight to quality", the world of the true innovator is something that seemingly got lost in the world economic shuffle, most noticeably in the dark distance past around the time of "Black Monday" and likely starting the decade before. Oddly enough since that period with the massive shift in the worlds economic structure, some rather peculiar buying habits have transpired and the notions of "quality" and "substance" have been white-washed over the marketing song and dance. Sadly the innocent shopper, anxious to gleam the best bargains of "must-haves" that they indoctrinated of, lined-up at the big-box store endlessly until the corner store and the purveyor of quality goods was no longer. Remarkable isn't it how when fingers are pointed at "what has happened", a mirror is rarely seen.

There are many ways to describe "quality" and I don't want to confuse you with this foolish and tired notion of "luxury goods" that is now so-often used to describe something made with quality control standards that were once so common-place. "Quality" does not mean opulent but in some manner it sits downstream with the word "pride" and doing what you do with all your might. Equally so, it is why in years past our family name was part of your company letterhead because we were proud of what we did and put our name on it, like a firm handshake behind it and the final stamp of approval.

In many ways I could tell you that these notions of "quality" and "pride" have been both my saving grace as an innovator and nemesis as I have insisted that my creations not be ruined with the marketing hand of profit-seekers. The balance of quality and pride within the modern world is a slippery slope as today's shopper doesn't understand the value of the honest craftsmen to the balance of society the way they once did. Yes mes amis, I can recall the corner store, the butcher with the finely marbled meats, a hardware store where knowledge and pride of ownership was part of daily life, the design shop with a selection of Scalamandre and the tailor with a few Borsalino's in back for those special times.

But the distant past is, well..the distant past and there is no going back. However there is salvation with that simple notion of "flight to quality". As the world economic leaders debate over monetary and fiscal policies, the plight of CDO's and lending policies of a deregulated banking sector that will continue to shuffle the worlds economic powers, each of us has an action plan that can out-distance all of those; appreciate quality and support small business.

This naturally includes business from a wide variety of genres including local farm groups / grocers such as Urban Rustic in Brooklyn, New York.
















As a company, the Renegade group has and will continue to support quality and ethical manufacturing. This has includes our commitment to responsible manufacturing in our apparel with present and future operations to the development of localized equipment manufacturers. This includes the development of Matt Slaymakers new hurdle system with an astounding engineering triumph to make the product fully adjustable to suit a variety of users. And in continuation of the theme of "quality", I'm proud to note that each product is crafted in the heartland of America. Now the rest is up to the consumers in supporting old-world craftsmanship.

No discussion of quality craftsmanship within the exercise industry would be complete without this (sadly dated) reminder of handcrafted ironworks. Museum quality pieces that will last a lifetime.








It's time to bring quality back and take charge of our destiny.

Important Business readings / points

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling delivers the UK budget today in a tumultuous environment
Financial Times
May Raise U.K. Borrowing as Economy Cools - Bloomberg; Gonzalo Vina

Wall Street Journal Economics Blog; Greg Ip

US Dollar; on speculation of Federal Reserve rescue-plan
Bloomberg Gavin Finch

UEFA Cup

Olympique Marseille @ Zenit St Petersburg Allez l'OM, allez
Marseille enters the second leg with a 3-1 lead but this is anything but an easy match as they make the very difficult trip into St. Petersburg to play Zenit. The late "away" goal that Zenit scored could prove very costly as it could be a decider and Marseille, which suffers from a porous defense at times will need to flood the mid-field or face significant problems with the well-rested Zenit (I'm expecting Marseille to try and play an "exciting" match of "keep-ball"). Weather conditions will play a huge factor as it will be sub-zero and potentially raining match time... not quite the Côte d’Azur and the adjustment for Marseille will be a further problem in an open match. Huge advantage to Zenit but this is a match to watch.












Royal Sporting Club Anderlech @ FC Bayern München
With yesterday's announcement of Oliver Khan announcing his retirement from Football at the end of this campaign, Bayern will not disappoint and let me repeat...do not beat against Der Kaiser. With a 5-0 lead from the first leg they obviously are advancing and this match is somewhat of a non-event. However they will continue to build and I think Bayern is the odds on favorite to take the Cup (actually I think they'll decimate everything in their path - did I mention do not bet against Der Kaiser yet?) and they will be one of the top squads in next years Champions League.










Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball @ Hamburger SV
One of the best matches of the week (and a great showcase of the Bundesliga) with Leverkusen heading to northern Germany to play Hamburg with a slim 1-0 lead. Hamburg is riddled with injuries and this will be a tight affair. This match is available on Setanta (sling it) so grab yourself a Krombacher and enjoy.

Tottenham @ PSV Eindhoven
PSV returns home with a slim 1-0 lead. PSV will have its hands full dealing with the Spurs on full attack. Difficult one to call as I like the attacking play of both squads however I would like to see a team from The Netherlands advance.

ACF Fiorentina @ Everton
Fiorentina travels to Liverpool with a solid 2-0 lead and will definitely play a very tactical match to ensure they advance. Everton is surging towards a possible top four finish in the Premier League but I can't see Fiorentina allowing Everton to make up the aggregate.

ahem, for the record I am officially "willing" to relocate to Florence, should the squad need my assistance...just one of life's tough sacrifices. In fact, Mr. Della Valle I think I have an entire staff that is prepared to come with me.

Sport Lisboa e Benfica @ Getafe Club de Fútbol
another great match with Getafe holding a narrow 2-1 lead. I lack any sort of impartiality on this one and definately pulling for Benfica on this one.

Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación

La Primera División de México


Friday
Club Deportivo Guadalajara @ Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz (Luis Pirata Fuente)

Saturday
Club de Futbol Monterrey @ Club San Luis (Alfonso Lastra Ramírez)
Puebla Futbol Club @ Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL) (Estadio Universitario)
Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (Tecos) @ Monarcas Morelia (Morelos)
Pachuca Club de Fútbol @ Necaxa (Victoria)
Club Universidad Nacional A.C. (UNAM) @ F.C. Atlas (Estadio Jalisco)

Sunday
Atlante Futbol Club @ Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club (Toluca)
Chiapas Fútbol Club (Jaguares) @ Club Santos Laguna (Estadio Corona)
Club de fútbol América @ Club Deportivo Social y Cultural Cruz Azul (Estadio Azul)


Clausura 2008
Group 1

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Toluca	9	4	2	3	12	12	14
Pachuca	9	4	1	4	16	13	13
UNAM (Pumas)	9	4	1	4	11	14	13
Chiapas (Jaguares)	9	3	3	3	9	9	12
Puebla	9	2	5	2	14	11	11
U. A. de G (Tecos)	9	2	2	5	9	15	8

Group 2

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Club Santos Laguna	9	4	4	1	17	11	16
F.C. Atlas	9	3	2	4	11	12	11
Monterrey	9	2	4	3	10	10	10
Veracruz	9	2	3	4	9	11	9
Atlante Futbol Club	9	2	3	4	13	17	9
Club América	9	2	1	6	6	11	7

Group 3

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Guadalajara	9	5	4	0	18	5	19
Club San Luis	9	4	4	1	13	11	16
Cruz Azul	9	4	3	2	14	8	15
U.A.N.L.	9	3	3	3	10	15	12
Monarcas Morelia	9	4	0	5	6	16	12
Necaxa	9	2	5	2	10	7	11

when it's More than a Game

The following is a brief excerpt from "More than a Game" a highly detailed book on dry-land training for Hockey. "More than a Game" is dedicated to Hockey purists, to those who know it is more than a game and part of their heritage.





Chapter 1: The Pathway to Greatness™

Theory is defined as a particular conception or view of something to be done or of the method of doing it; a system of rules or principles is a peculiar concept.

When it comes to the development of an athlete, the phrase “theory” raises a unique eyebrow of terminology and actual action. Through the looking glass, the ultimate question keeps begging to asked and for that matter, answered. What precisely are the goals of training and more directly does (off-ice in this situation) actually enhance performance?

It was a question I first raised as a young athlete. Muttered under my breath bewildered how most training seemed to dilute playing abilities and do little to improve physical attributes needed in sport. And yet some thirty years later not only has the very same question been swept underneath the proverbial rug but generations of athletes have to been trained simply to train.

As a young athlete moving unknowingly and somewhat reluctantly into the coaching ranks, I considered this intently. The link between the practicality of training, medical science and the knowledge of the function of sport skills seemed to have rarely walked the same path. While only in its infancy the dawn of the new training world was beginning, the birth of the testing-day accomplishments super-ceding the goal of the athlete; to perform better. And so as I sit back now in this hard-to-conceive year of 2007, the world of coaching has sunk to levels I could never have believed. Mirroring a listing society, the obvious is no longer obvious.

The climate of the present training world is a cloudy, murky cauldron of half-truths and clever marketing ploys. Poor grade salesmen hawking his wares at the swap meet now litter the world of sports performance coaching. Tools and gadgets and fairy tale dreams of grandeur rule the world now, again clouding the truth. Little things that shine and glimmer to keep the attention away from the fact that hard work done the right way is the course to take. But it is 2007 isn’t it and as I pen “hard work” on this page, I give-away my graying temples and the out-of-date, oh-so unfashionable notion of “things worth having are worth working for”.

Why and how this happened is an amusing, if not maddening question that likely is at best, guess-work to answer. Yet the facts are rather simple, the barrier to entry into the world of coaching is set incredibly low and results have been diverted from enhancing performance (on the ice) to testing day accomplishment that may have nothing to do with this. Sadly for athletes that “train to train”, goals are rarely met and questions later on abound. What went wrong, how did this happen to which no answer stems an unfulfilling tide of emotion.

Prior to even conceiving dry-land training the goals of training need to be spelt out succinctly. I also wish to expand the notion of “training” to a broader idea of “developing an individual” as a culture we must address the need for responsible leadership that is sadly astray in the athletic world. One of the greatest gifts a coach can give an athlete is showing a positive direction to lead their lives but every coach must recognize that with every action there is a consequence.

In the simplest form the goals of our training (in this case for Hockey) are;

• elevates on ice performance
• improves the quality of the incumbents life

I wish to place heavy stress on these points in particular with the final comment. Sadly this is the one that isn’t stressed enough because as coaches, mentors, trainers, concerned parents success never comes at that hands of teaching poor values. It is an error that plagues the sporting world today as we deal with some athlete’s that are extremely poor examples in our society. And while I note this, I am not pointing the figure at the athletes but instead pounding the gavel down hard and proclaiming blame upon the coaching profession.

The origin of modern sport was to enhance the quality of life, to be a conduit to teaching principles that will better their life and to simply elevate society. Our role as coaches / trainers starts at the basic fact that we are teaching and molding the minds of tomorrow. The foundation that we build is not merely one that will show itself on the ice but throughout a lifetime.

Training Focus

The question of where training went wrong is a peculiar one. From one vantage it has become too generalized, the training of most athletes lack the necessary varied stimuli to develop a solid foundation. From another standpoint, the training industry has been inundated with gadgets to assist “specialized” work that is both foolhardy and ineffective. And finally from yet another standpoint, most situations lack the organic and reactive nature of sport. The plan of attack used by Renegade Training™ first develops an infallible foundation of general athleticism that specialized sports skills can be developed upon but in a manner that is easily transferable to the chaotic nature of competition.

The basis of the Renegade Training™ protocols is based upon understanding of fluid, natural movement that is both organic, instinctive and reactive. With this in-mind the Renegade Concepts of Training™ were set in stone that is a part every training decision made. These concepts need to be understood clearly and cannot be emphasized enough as they weave there way through every aspect of training. These concepts are:

• Movements trained, not musculature
• Efficiencies of movement reinforced
• Motor patterning and grafting of movement
• Postural alignment is emphasized and perfected
• Stabilization in the most destabilized training environments
• Force developed such that it can be projected, accepted and redirected at maximal levels
• Adopt chaos as your “home”. When Hell becomes the cradle you rest in – all else is easy.

be a part of the Renegade Hockey Club and have a chance to train in the exclusive RHC off-season training camp

Important Business readings / points

Crude Oil hits $108 mark
America's Economy; The Economist
FRB Beige Book

Ligue 1 tables

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	28	18	4	6	55	26	58
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	28	15	7	6	48	30	52
AS Nancy Lorraine	28	12	12	4	31	18	48
Olympique Marseille	28	12	9	7	39	28	45
Le Mans Union Club 72	28	12	5	11	32	35	41
OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur	28	9	13	6	24	20	40
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud	28	9	11	8	23	27	38
Valenciennes FC	28	10	7	11	32	27	37
AS Monaco FC	28	10	7	11	29	30	37
Stade Rennais FC	28	10	7	11	29	33	37
AS Saint-Étienne Loire	28	10	6	12	30	30	36
SM Caen	28	9	9	10	29	36	36
AJ Auxerre	28	10	6	12	25	35	36
RC Strasbourg	28	9	8	11	29	30	35
Lille O.S.C.	27	6	15	6	26	23	33
Racing Club de Lens	27	8	9	10	29	31	33
Paris Saint-Germain	28	7	10	11	24	29	31
FC Sochaux Montbéliard	28	7	10	11	25	33	31
Toulouse FC	28	6	11	11	25	33	29
FC Metz	28	4	6	18	19	49	18