July 11 and 12 from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM at the Downtown Zenshuji Soto Zen temple.
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
YES!!! - U.S. Stuns Spain in Soccer
Awesome. In soccer, anything can happen. The U.S. had two crappy games against Italy and Brazil but then they beat the crap out of Egypt and got a lucky break when Brazil crushed Italy allowing the Americans to move to the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in South America. Then, miraculously they upst the #1 team in the world, Spain, 2 to 0. Anything can happen in soccer.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-us-spain-soccer25-2009jun25,0,1539616.story
June 25, 2009
The United States scored one of the most memorable victories in the nation's soccer history today, defeating European champion Spain, 2-0, in a semifinal of the Confederations Cup in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Goals by Jozy Altidore in the first half and Clint Dempsey in the second half earned U.S. Coach Bob Bradley's squad a place in Sunday's final, where it will play the winner of Thursday's semifinal between Brazil and South Africa.
It was a watershed moment for the U.S., signaling this team's arrival on the world stage.
The win was every bit as big as those by previous American squads -- the victories over Colombia in the 1994 World Cup, over Brazil in the 1998 Gold Cup and over Portugal in the 2002 World Cup.
It took a team effort for 90 minutes, but the American players who stood out were goalkeeper Tim Howard, central defenders Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, and midfielder Landon Donovan.
Spain came in is as the top-ranked team in the world. The Spanish had won a world-record 15 games in a row and had tied Brazil's world record by going unbeaten in 35 consecutive games.
All that turned to dust in front of 35,369 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
The U.S. players came out flying, still on the high generated by their 3-0 victory Sunday over Egypt which, combined with Brazil's 3-0 victory over Italy, earned Bradley's team an unlikely place in the semifinals after earlier lopsided losses to Italy and Brazil.
The opening goal came in the 27th minute, when Altidore, still only 19, used his physical strength to hold off the challenge of defender Joan Capdevila, turned and fired a shot at the Spanish net.
Spain's goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, who was wrong-footed on the play, managed to get a hand to the ball, but succeeded only in turning it against the left post and it rebounded into the net.
Spain then mounted wave after wave of attacks, but the U.S., packing its defense, held firm. Time and again, shots were either saved by Howard or blocked by defenders and midfielders hustling back to help.
Spain outshot the U.S., 29-9, including 8-2 in shots on target, and also had 17 corner kicks to three for the U.S., but it was thwarted by a resistance seldom seen from an American squad.
The killer blow came in the 74th minute. Benny Feilhaber sent a through ball to Donovan, who cut a pass back across the face of Spain's goal. The ball deflected off the ankle of defender Gerard Pique and fell to teammate Sergio Ramos, but before Ramos could control it, Dempsey came in from his blind side and swept the ball into the net from close range.
Despite intense pressure, the U.S. held on for the final quarter of an hour plus stoppage time to secure a memorable triumph.
The only negative in the performance was the red card issued to Michael Bradley, the coach's son, for a late, two-footed tackle. The ejection will cause him to miss Sunday's final.
The U.S. has twice finished third in the Confederations Cup, but this is the first time it has reached the final.
Jones reported from Los Angeles.
grahame.jones@latimes.com
From the Los Angeles Times
UNITED STATES 2, SPAIN 0
U.S. stuns Spain in soccer
Americans upend the No. 1 team in the world in the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
Grahame L. JonesJune 25, 2009
The United States scored one of the most memorable victories in the nation's soccer history today, defeating European champion Spain, 2-0, in a semifinal of the Confederations Cup in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Goals by Jozy Altidore in the first half and Clint Dempsey in the second half earned U.S. Coach Bob Bradley's squad a place in Sunday's final, where it will play the winner of Thursday's semifinal between Brazil and South Africa.
It was a watershed moment for the U.S., signaling this team's arrival on the world stage.
The win was every bit as big as those by previous American squads -- the victories over Colombia in the 1994 World Cup, over Brazil in the 1998 Gold Cup and over Portugal in the 2002 World Cup.
It took a team effort for 90 minutes, but the American players who stood out were goalkeeper Tim Howard, central defenders Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, and midfielder Landon Donovan.
Spain came in is as the top-ranked team in the world. The Spanish had won a world-record 15 games in a row and had tied Brazil's world record by going unbeaten in 35 consecutive games.
All that turned to dust in front of 35,369 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
The U.S. players came out flying, still on the high generated by their 3-0 victory Sunday over Egypt which, combined with Brazil's 3-0 victory over Italy, earned Bradley's team an unlikely place in the semifinals after earlier lopsided losses to Italy and Brazil.
The opening goal came in the 27th minute, when Altidore, still only 19, used his physical strength to hold off the challenge of defender Joan Capdevila, turned and fired a shot at the Spanish net.
Spain's goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, who was wrong-footed on the play, managed to get a hand to the ball, but succeeded only in turning it against the left post and it rebounded into the net.
Spain then mounted wave after wave of attacks, but the U.S., packing its defense, held firm. Time and again, shots were either saved by Howard or blocked by defenders and midfielders hustling back to help.
Spain outshot the U.S., 29-9, including 8-2 in shots on target, and also had 17 corner kicks to three for the U.S., but it was thwarted by a resistance seldom seen from an American squad.
The killer blow came in the 74th minute. Benny Feilhaber sent a through ball to Donovan, who cut a pass back across the face of Spain's goal. The ball deflected off the ankle of defender Gerard Pique and fell to teammate Sergio Ramos, but before Ramos could control it, Dempsey came in from his blind side and swept the ball into the net from close range.
Despite intense pressure, the U.S. held on for the final quarter of an hour plus stoppage time to secure a memorable triumph.
The only negative in the performance was the red card issued to Michael Bradley, the coach's son, for a late, two-footed tackle. The ejection will cause him to miss Sunday's final.
The U.S. has twice finished third in the Confederations Cup, but this is the first time it has reached the final.
Jones reported from Los Angeles.
grahame.jones@latimes.com
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Some of my Socal rides
This is where one of my favorite mountain bike trails begins near the southern end of Reseda Blvd. in the Santa Monica Mountains. There are many miles of fire roads and single track to chose from.
View June 6, 2009 night road ride. in a larger map
View June 6, 2009 night road ride. in a larger map
View June 6, 2009 night road ride. in a larger map
View June 6, 2009 night road ride. in a larger map
This is where the popular Rocky Peak ride starts. It is not a long ride but there are some extremely steep fire road sections and two really good relatively long singletrack trails that head down into Simi Valley. My favorite is the Chumash trail.
View June 6, 2009 night road ride. in a larger map
I have not ridden here in years but this was my first mountain bike ride that I did after moving to Los Angeles from Santa Barbara. I call it the Mount Josephine ride as it climbs up to on of the taller mountains overlooking Los Angeles called Mount Josephine. It is a short 8 mile ride but a solid climb.
View June 6, 2009 night road ride. in a larger map
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday night road ride
I've found that the best time for me to get on my bike is in the evening on Saturday night after the kids have gone to bed. Saturday and Sunday during the day is just too busy. But I love riding (both mountain and road), so I figured this was the best way to do it. I purchased a Niterider Sol bike light which is an excellent light for street riding. It is not ideal for mountain biking but I may try it out on some easy trails anyways.
Last Saturday night I did 22 miles on my road bike. The light was great, especially on the really dark areas along Mulholland Highway, although it was a little sketchy along Mulholland because it is in the hills away from the city so it was very dark. Below is a map of Saturday's ride.
View June 6, 2009 night road ride. in a larger map
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