Sorry for the break...

... but I've been super busy the last couple of weeks!

Great wins over the weekend, but now we need to finish this group off!

First, Here is the Darigold Old Fashioned Chocolate Milk I've talked about, just about the perfect (and inexpensive!) recovery drink. Check out the nutritional information here. I get mine at Costco in Southcenter...for some reason, they never seem to carry chocolate milk in Issaquah Costco. I've also seen it at Fred Meyer.

And now, the top goals in MLS over the weekend. Freddy Montero's was pretty incredible (especially live!), the ball was struck hard and yet it still dipped into the net.




And if you missed the game, here is a highlight compilation. Have fun, Go Eagles!

A win is a win...

So we have 3rd place in our sights... So with indoor tied up, we have all of our focus on the next 3 games. This weekend will be tough, but I think we can prevail!

For those who remember Eduardo's injury last year, he's back! For those who are unaware, a poor tackle broke his ankle and almost resulted in amputation of his leg. Bones were sticking out of his socks, it was very, very ugly. It's been 14 months now, and this is what happened against Burnley in the FA Cup.



Don't be fooled into thinking this is just a deflected ball...take a closer look in slow motion. The way Eduardo strikes the ball not with his laces, but with the outside of his left foot, snapping his shot down and out towards the far post. Absolutely brilliant, and maybe the spark Arsenal needs to move up in the table as the season winds down.

And here's a cool video from Nike, Brazil vs Italy "Never Friendly". Shouldn't that be Un-Friendly?

Recovery Drinks...

After a weekend like this one, the usage of a recovery drink would be of interest to most. Research has shown that nutrition ingested right after working out, and up to two hours later can drastically improve one’s recovery time (that was pulled directly from "Why Bother With Recovery Drinks?").

So I mean Gatorade, or other sports drinks, right? No, not exactly. The current line of research shows that a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio is the optimum balance for muscle recovery. Gatorade and other sports drinks have no protein, but a fair amount of carbohydrates. So the addition of protein is important.

Your first choice would be a place like GNC. They have several options, such as Isopure, Endurox R4, and others... I've used a product called Accelerade...it has the optimum 4:1 ratio and is a bit cheaper than the others.

They cost between $.80 to $2 a serving. Not cheap. Want something cheaper? Look at Orange Juice (~27 grams of carbohydrates per 8 oz serving) mixed with a vanilla protien powder of your choice (Costco, Trader Joes both have good deals on quality products). For example, the Vanilla Whey Protein Isolate at costco (about $20 for 3 lbs) has 20g protein per serving (one scoop). So do a little math:

12 oz Orange Juice - 40.5g carbohydrates
1/2 scoop (14 grams) protien powder - 10 grams protein

Hits that 4:1 ratio on the head doesn't it? You get a host of vitamins and amino acids with the protein powder too.

Too much trouble? Well, try chocolate milk (our drink of choice at BigFoot). In this example of chocolate syrup mixed with milk you get (8 oz)

36g carbohydrates
8.7g protein

Pretty close huh? ( I would personally stay away from corn-syrup sweetened drinks, however) Read some labels and do some investigating to see what you can come up with!

So, I would suggest everyone look at the options and try it out...it certainly can't hurt, and with the long season we have, I think everyone could benefit...ESPECIALLY those who are playing multiple sports.

And about that 4:1 ratio? How did they come up with that? Well, it was patented, and since they had the patent, they kept their research based on that ratio... it is unclear if 5:1, 3:1 were thouroughly researched. So keep that in mind... don't be afraid to boost the carbs or protein and see what happens. It's a good time to learn to listen to your body. Find out what best suits you!

I've been way busy, sorry no updates!

But I thought I'd post a favorite link of mine.

What would your name be if you played for the Brazilian National Team?

Before tomorrows game...

We had a few bad breaks early on the last time we played up in Burlington, I think this time we'll have a much better game! Still tough competition, but our play last week was quite encouraging, and hopefully we can continue moving forward!

First, Devin sent me a link everyone would enjoy, a six year old being scouted by the top teams in football. Kid has some skills! There is a key sentence in the story, something he does to increase his skills... First comment that gets it right wins something (maybe a Throwball sticker?)

And, for your viewing pleasure, A History of Bicycle Kicks in the MLS. Enjoy!

The score doesn't tell the tale...

I hope everyone can see the positives from tonights loss... In addition to staying competitive for 65 minutes while missing several people, it was a serious step up compared to our match in LPTs.

And while we had some breakdowns, I see so much progress by the boys, I'm quite happy with the game, if not quite so much with the result.

Anyways, have a great couple of days off, and please leave some comments, so I know someone is actually reading this! Below I've attached a cool street football video, not only is this guy good, but he's videoed himself doing it as well. Enjoy!

Highlights of US MNT vs Mexico

If you didn't catch the game, here are the highlights. It was apparently raining heavily before the game, and while conditions didn't appear to be too bad during the game, it looked like everyone was moving quite slow. Very little change in pace, especially on the last goal, Donovan looked like he was tiptoeing around the pitch.

But a good win for the US nevertheless.