Happy Monday!
I want to wish everybody a Happy Memorial Day!
Today we pay tribute to and honor those brave men and women who are serving and protecting us today and to those who have served and sacrificed for the United States of America. Throughout our nation’s history, they have given so much to ensure our protection and the rights we enjoy everyday. We live in the greatest country in the history of the world and one of the primary reasons is due to the members of our armed forces.
Thank You!
und der Meister ist…Bayern Munich!!!
After 93 minutes of fast-paced action between the two giants of Germany, and the world this season, Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund by the final score of 2-1 to hoist the most sought after cup in European club football: The Champions League trophy. From the first whistle, the Bundesliga rivals were locked-in to attack each others’ defenses in the hopes of scoring first and setting the tone in the stunningly massive Wembley Stadium in London.
An insightful pass from Frenchman Franck Ribéry got to the perfectly cutting Dutchman Arjen Robben who, after dribbling just past the goalkeeper, while simultaneously dancing towards the baseline, was able to cross the ball in front of the goal and past a defender where Croatian Mario Mandžukić was waiting for the bouncing kick-in.
GOAL!
1-nil Bayern Munich in the 59th minute.
Just a mere nine minutes later, Bayern Munich defender Dante, in a very ill-advised move, raised his cleats to the stomach of Marco Reus. A rightly deserved penalty kick followed and Ilkay Gundogan of Borussia Dortmund guessed correctly and easily scored the equalizer for the men in black and yellow.
GOAL!
1-1 in the 68th minute.
In the closing moments of regulation, with the game level at 1-1, an advantageous pass into the feet of the offensively charging Ribéry at the top of the eighteen quickly evolved into a perfectly timed touch to the charging Robben. Following a touch of control, he split a couple defenders and led the goalie to his strong foot: his left. At the last gasp of his attack, Robben, ever so eloquently, cut the ball back across the goalie’s body for a slow-moving, yet definitive, game winning goal.
GOAL!
2-1 Bayern Munich in the 89th minute.
The goal was as stunning as a robin itself on a perfect spring day. If only for a moment, indulge me:
The primary color of Bayern Munich is red. A robin’s feathers are a red-orange mix. The beautiful game winning goal for Bayern Munich was scored by Dutchman (primary national team color is orange) Arjen Robben, who was wearing his club’s power color red.
Just saying…
There was terrific offense, with quite a few goals that were left just begging. The goalies made their share of spectacular saves. The defenses were tough and tireless as well. The 2013 UEFA Champions League Final saw the two best teams in Europe this season for the first-ever German versus German championship. Es war fantastisch!
After Bayern Munich’s record-breaking season, holding up the club’s fifth (third most all-time!) Champions League trophy was fitting. Jupp Heynckes will forever be a treasured name with the Bayern Munich faithful. This year’s win may very well set-up a Barcelona-like era of dominance in wins, trophies and admired style. But, regardless of the future, this year’s squad will be remembered and celebrated for many years to come, most especially throughout the second-half of 2013.
The final was redemption for Bayern Munich in the Champions League after recent final defeats in 2010 and 2012 (in Munich). The final was redemption and pure joy for Jupp Heynckes after being “forced” to retire at the conclusion of this season’s campaign. The final solidified a European and global power-shift of defining the world’s best club from Barcelona to Bayern Munich. The final officially relocated the capital of club soccer for the world from Catalonia to Munich.
Bayern Munich is the best football club Europe and the world. They are unequivocally #1.
Be sure to check out a video showing Bayern Munich’s go-ahead goal in the “Amazing” section of this blog!
After experiencing so many personal nightmares in the past three years with his club and national team, this was one of Man of the Match Robben’s reactions post-game.
“This is a dream,” he said.
und der Meister ist…
Bayern Munich v. Borussia Dortmund
The 2013 UEFA Champions League Championship Game is this Saturday, May 25th at 2:45 p.m. EST in the grand and mystifying Wembley Stadium. It is not only the first German versus German club final, but is also the third title game for Bayern Munich in the past four years. FC Hollywood lost the past two, including last year in Allianz Arena, literally on their home field. The feelings of disappointment are still raw and they are surely anxious to erase the past two with a triumphant victory against Bundesliga-foe Dortmund.
There are many dynamics for this championship game, including the all-German aspect, possible big-game redemption for Dutch winger Arjen Robben, watching how Dortmund reacts to constant 90-minute pressure from Bayern Munich, the injury and absence of Dortmund star, but soon to be on Bayern Munich, Mario Götze and so forth.
The moment these two German clubs qualified for the final by each slaying the two Spanish, and global, giants in Barcelona and Real Madrid, a consensus was uniquely reached that the two best teams in the world had indeed made it to Wembley. In many ways, this is the championship fans wanted. And come this Saturday, the footballing needle of dominance could officially begin a significant shift from Spain to Germany. This will be more true with a Bayern Munich victory considering their pure dominance throughout this season, complimented with the arrival of tika-taka maestro Pep Guardiola in a matter of weeks.
Most importantly though, Bayern Munich has been led by Jupp Heynckes this season. With a win at Wembley tomorrow, he could cap off his illustrious career with one of the best and most dominating seasons by a football club in recent memory.
The UEFA 2013 Champions League Final will be spectacular. The winner can potentially claim not only that they are the best club in Europe, but also the best football club in the world.
Rage with the Machine
I was in a Japanese restaurant several months ago and they offered my guest and me standard laminated menus. Then, almost instantaneously, the waiter placed an iPad with a stand on the table that turned out to be a digital menu. We were scrolling, tapping and searching through all the pictures of the sushi they made. With sushi, in particular, this was a great tool to use when choosing the right platter. While the iPad was only at our table for a short period, it was a nice alternative to a purely text-based menu. The use of an iPad as a menu is a growing trend in restaurants these days. There is definitely a coolness factor to it.
While on vacation in California, my family and I stopped in the hot, yet luxurious, Palm Desert. After walking inside one of the many stores, I asked the salesperson if they carried a particular polo. Instead of turning around and searching the store, looking at a paper with its inventory or rushing to the backroom, she turned and grabbed an iPad and tapped-scrolled and typed her way to discovering they did not have it in-stock. It took all of ten seconds. Even without having the shirt available in the store, she was able to have a picture with an option to order the exact polo I was asking about. She was ready to place the order for me on the spot, if I was so inclined.
Wow. Now that’s customer service.
Like restaurants, there seem to be more and more iPads/tablets used for businesses, from retail to the local cupcake shop Tin in suburban Columbus, Ohio. The convenience works both ways, for customers as well as employees.
U.S. citizens have been increasingly encouraged to file their taxes online (ie-paperless). While doing work online is certainly faster and more efficient in some ways (I’ve participated in this practice as an fyi), we can all recall the story of when hackers got their digital hands on thousands of sensitive materials from The Pentagon. If hackers can find their way into The Pentagon…
However tempting this convenience appears (and it is), we do need to remain cognizant of the risks.
The point is that we tend to be trending towards, however slowly, a paperless society. There are positives, without question, but also definite negatives to this digital evolution. It reminded me of a short clip from a show about this very reality occurring with the Millennials, my generation.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 