And I'm spent!

In recent months thousands of you have noticed a pretty dramatic drop-off in the number of posts to this site. Well, actually it's more like hundreds. Okay, fine, a dozen or so. Alright, I admit it - no one said a damn thing. Anyway, a steady run of six-day work weeks and a two-week trip to South America can take the blame for the lack of activity. Unfortunately, there appears to be no let-up in sight (but alas, no more trips to Argentina). The good ole days of posting at least a few times every week seem like a long, long time ago. So, despite the fact that I still enjoy being able to indulge my love for soccer and writing on this site, I've decided it's the end of the road for this here blog.

But hey, it was a good run. I started this site at a great time in the history of soccer - in the midst of the best World Cup in recent memory - and in a short time span we saw one of the world's greatest players in decades at his best, as well as Zidane's dramatic fall from grace; we witnessed one of the most shocking scandals in soccer history as Serie A was brought down to its knees; we watched as one of the world's great clubs, Real Madrid, endured one of the most tumultuous times in its storied existence; we saw an upset for the ages in the World Club Cup as Barcelona, one of the best teams of the past ten years, crashed to defeat at the hands of unfancied Internacional from Brazil; and we watched in amazement as the biggest soccer superstar in the world make an unprecedented move to America - not as a 40-year old has-been out for one more payday, but rather a 32-year old who's still got some good games in him looking to do what has never been done and make soccer a big-time sport in America. Here's hoping it works. All in all, it was a brief but exciting run. I'm glad I gave it a shot. And I'm glad you guys made it work.

For now, enjoy the rest of the 2007 season. It should be a good one - for the first time in a long time, we've got a real race on our hands in the Premiership as ManU looks ready to test Chelsea's mettle. In Spain, Barca will have to contend with a challenge from Sevilla, and maybe - if they can ever get it together - a good scare from Real Madrid. Germany has provided us some of the season's most entertaining games so far, in no small part to Werder Bremen's offensive-minded brand of footie and Bayern Munich's star-studded attack. Although Inter looks poised to run away with the Serie A title, there should be plenty of action in Italy as Milan are fighting for their lives and Roma are as entertaining a team as you'll find anywhere. And of course, the Champions League is a wide-open affair: Can Barca repeat despite their near-elimination in the group stage? Will Jose Mourinho lead Chelski past his old buddies in Porto and finally get Abramovich the title that he paid for? Can Lyon finally break through in Europe? Or will Inter or Real or ManU or Bayern surprise us all? It's all set up for a thrilling few months of soccer. I wish I had the time to write about it, but as much as I earn from this here blog (a whole lot of zeros - and I don't mean that in a good way), it doesn't pay the bills (especially not the cable one - watching live soccer from around the world doesn't come cheap). So to all you three or four readers out there, thanks for tuning in, take care, and maybe somewhere down the line you'll see me writing somewhere else. Until next time...