LUIZ's FRO

The WORLD CUP is up and running beautifully. The biggest sporting stage in the world has been exhilarating only 2 days in. Follow our World Cup Pool's blog--'Luiz's Fro WILL Get Messi'--at wcpool2014.blogspot.ca for all my thoughts and banter on the tournament happenings/results.

Also, if you tweet, follow @LuizsFro for all kinds of World Cup humour, news, and fun.

Kuyt and Robben Splashing in the Waves.

HUP HOLLAND HUP!

A TOON Town Wedding (part two)

After three and a half weeks of high anticipation!! ...I'm just kidding. It did take me a while to mash this up, but now it's DONE! When you notice that the video is 11:22 mins long, don't let that frighten you. Make some popcorn and get comfortable, maybe grab some company and enjoy! Without further adieu...

A TOON Town Wedding (part two) from MannyG on Vimeo.

Music:

Taio Cruz - Dynamite

The Middle East - Blood

Usher - OMG

World Cup Reflections: Deflated Dutch in the Neverlands

...

Yeaaaaaah... I'm pretty much speechless. Obviously I'm devastated right now! I poured all of my emotions into that game! I could rant and rant about it but you've probably heard SO much analysis already. So I will not BORE you on what I think, except for this:

ROBBEN SHOULD HAVE SCORED ON HIS FIRST BREAKAWAY, AND PUYOL SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT OFF ON ROBBEN'S SECOND ONE! CASILLAS HAD THE LUCKIEST SAVE OF HIS LIFE, AND I WISH THAT ROBBEN KICKED THE BALL WITH AN INCREASED HEIGHT OF TWO INCHES.

There... I said it. That feels better! Spain got lucky yesterday, even though they are the best in the world at possessing the ball. The Dutch had to play physical in order to get the ball and mess up Spain's flow! Did you see de Jong's flying kick to Alonso's chest???! As if he didn't get sent off! Bah, okay, I just said that I wasn't going to analyze the game... I failed. I guess both sides had many opportunities which they should have capitilzed on, and Spain did when it counted! Though, what if van der Vaart didn't fall down on the initial played in ball??? What if...

Anyways, I went to 4Play Sports Bar downtown for the game and it was PACKED! So much fun (until Spain scored)! There were about 8 of us who were decked out in Dutch colours and kits; we were cheering as hard as we could. Probably the loudest in the massive place (at least the most passionate). We defs got people riled up! Good times.

This tournament was quite entertaining overall. I haven't had a favourite team in a championship final EVER in my life time, so just the experience was incredible! Can't wait for Brasil in 2014, hopefully the Dutch can pull it off there or at least within the decade; it'll happen, just hopefully in my life time! I hate waiting the whole 4 years. At least there's the Euro Cup in 2 years!

Alright, back to regular programming for Manuel's Life Lessons!

p.s. Is there any point in watching t.v. for the rest of the summer? Probs not.

World Cup Reflections: Dutch Delight!

Netherlands have made the WORLD CUP FINAL! Oh boy, I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. What a game yesterday! I still haven't gotten over Giovanni van Bronckhorst's unbelievable goal! It sailed in from 30 yards!!!!!

Germany and Spain finished today... I can't believe Germany went against what was going for them the whole tournament! The sat back and let those Spaniards control the game with possession. At least there will be a new champion! Hopefully Robben runs circles around the Spanish, especially that Puyol with his annoying curly, dangling, mopey, moppy, floppy hair!

Spain has never reached a World Cup final, and the Dutch have been there twice. I hope the experience of being there propels Holland to a decisive victory!

Get ready for July 11th, Spain vs. Netherlands is gonna be a GOOD GAME!
Contact me if you want to experience the game with a Dutchie!

p.s. Sung Knows crew and I shot some Prov Sports Camps vids yesterday... "HILARIOUS" was a text I got from Cam, so get ready for some funny footage. I'm pumped!

A Royal Occasion

Wow, I'm really kinda glad that I stayed in town for the weekend! I was able to celebrate Canada Day, enjoy the World Cup, see the Queen, and dance at a sweet concert!

Let me start off by saying how excited I am for the semi-finals of the World Cup! I wouldn't have been able to watch the games live this weekend, but things didn't work out with my travels and now I'm so happy that I did lay back and enjoy "THE soccer" (Roger's commercial joke). The Netherlands, Uruguay, Germany, and Spain have all survived those INTENSE quarter-final matches. Unreal football from all participating countries. You gotta feel for Ghana, they had a penalty kick in the last seconds of extra time to move on and Gyan nailed the crossbar! Then they went on to lose on the game-deciding penalty kicks... CRAZY. At least Suarez with that straight red card (because he swatted the ball off the line) will be out against the Dutch, muahahah! Looks like it'll be a Germany versus Netherlands battle on July 11th (hopefully)! That would be a match you CANNOT miss.

Anyways, that was a long intro to this entry... A part from this weekend's football, it was truly a Royal occasion. Saturday, the Queen came to Winnipeg! Lindsey and I decided to follow our stalker instincts and went looking for her. Lindsey's first thought was that she'd be at the legislature... excellent first guess! We headed to the large mass of people and sure enough, the Queen was walking out of the Government house and I finally checked this feat off of my bucket list! Okay, it wasn't officially on my bucket list, but I am grateful that I have finally seen her in person. After that spectacle, Lindsey and I went for a tour in the Legislative building. It's amazing in there. I've only been in it a couple of times, but I'm amazed each and every time! There's an area with a black star on the ground and if you stand on it and speak, your voice transforms into a 360 stereo vocal experience. The architecture is unreal. Good times.

Finally, I actually did go to Royal Canoe's CD release party last night! SO GOOD! Their new tunes are spectacular, I can't wait to acquire them. Cam filmed some of their new stuff, stay tuned! They were great, but who opened for them was a pleasant surprise. Library Voices recently had an iTunes single of the week and I knew them from that, but they are quite the band as their performance and CD proves. All eight of them give their sound a unique touch! Kind of reminds me of the Arkells a bit, except these guys include those electronic Korg's and Moog's. I love it! The Sung Knows crew and I danced that night away!

Check out this stellar music video from Library Voices (this song was the iTunes single of the week):

Library Voices - Drinking Games (music video) from Young Soul on Vimeo.

World Cup Reflections: NEDERLAND PREVAILS!

OH MY WORD! My dream has come true. The Netherlands beat Brazil today in the World Cup quarter finals! Today marks a milestone in Dutch football! Don't you just love when you predict that your team will win and they do, even though they weren't the favourite and were expected to lose?! It just feels SO GOOD! They have the team to go all the way this year, I've said it all along. It'll be an exciting final two games, that's for sure!

When Brazil scored in the first ten minutes, I was devastated; although, these were my words: "NO! ... Ahhh, but at least there's A LOT of time left."
That amount of time was all Holland needed to gather up a come back victory. They kept positive and one of the major factors was Robben causing Michel Bastos (Brazil's left back) a whole lot of trouble and ultimately, Bastos had to be substituted because of his earlier yellow card. Robben held the ball perfectly, winning tonnes of free kicks for much needed field position (he did embellish a lot, but hey, any player in that position would). Sneijder was key as well, causing the equalizer and also heading in the winner! It's so exciting to see my Oranje play at their full, peaked potential (though they could close games better... the final twenty minutes = stress)! LOVE IT!

Man it must suck to be Felipe Melo; the tying goal went off his head and he committed that stupid stomp on Robben's hamstring to get sent off with a straight red! Brazil keep your COOL! Did you see Robinho go animal on Robben and others!? So intense.

In honour of this famous upset victory, it is now the perfect time to reveal my new main display picture I've been waiting to premier... Enjoy.

Calling ALL CAPTAINS! (Get it?)

Hmmm I might just change it back to the previous one... this one doesn't shrink to fit well, and it's MASSIVE otherwise! Meh, I'll leave it for now.

Oh and just so you know, I'm gonna be wearing my dutch kit ALL weekend, that's how pumped I am.

p.s. Another Dutch flag bearer parked beside me at Long & McQuade the other day. I smiled.

World Cup Reflections: Hup Holland Hup!

The flying Dutchmen are in formidable form. They are playing patiently and are seamlessly passing the ball around their opposition. In today's case they were up against Slovakia who took down the last champion, Italy (which was quite the shock). Slovakia are a solid side, and definitely had the chances to overtake the Dutch today. However, that was not the case thankfully, and Holland cruised to a 2-1 victory! Robben is the difference maker for the Dutch, FOR SURE! He started his first game today and it paid off. He scored the opening goal and made it look too easy. He can take any situation and turn it into gold. He amazingly cuts into the centre of the field with his almighty left foot so effectively! LOVE IT!

I have only seen a few Netherlands flags around and I am in fact one of those fanatics who have a flag on their vehicle. I was driving to my indoor soccer game last week when I noticed in the corner of my eye that the driver in the truck beside me was motioning for me to roll down my window. At first I was skeptical but then did as requested. Here is what immediately followed:

"IF YOU AIN'T DUTCH, YOU AIN'T MUCH!"

He had both his hands around his mouth shouting out of his window with his full attention on me. Now that's what I call reckless beauty. He then proceeded to gesticulate the "Shaka" symbol (Yes, I did Wiki it) and continued to do so all the way down the street! We were both loving it. I then answered with a yeah-that's-right point and a couple of proud fist pumps. He answered with a clasp of the hands and the "championship shake" out of his window! Wow, doesn't the World Cup bring out friendship in strangers!? UNREAL!

Next up is BRASIL! BRING IT!

World Cup Reflections: To England's Horror!

WOW, England has suffered a major blow today. I really feel for the team because they were literally robbed from a momentous swing in their Round of 16 game with Deutschland! Frank Lampard had a beautiful, finessed, volleyed chip from outside the box that hit the crossbar and landed a foot inside the line! The linesman was in no position to see it and unfortunately, same with the field referee. NO GOAL! Lampard could NOT believe it and he looked like he had seen a ghost! Actually, every England supported looked like they had because everyone knew it should have been a goal. It would have been tied 2-2 going into the half and a new game would have emerged in the second. UNREAL! AGAIN, FIFA, WAKE UP! This is preposterous. Get with the times and introduce video replay to get these calls RIGHT! SO FRUSTRATING! To get things started: Get rid of Joseph Blatter, the FIFA president... it's time for a much needed change.

Back in 1966, England beat West Germany for the World Cup title. England scored to win in the 11th minute of extra time causing today's same controversy, except flipped. The linesman gave them the benefit of the doubt and signaled the shot as a goal even though (the replay shows that) it never completely crossed the line! Now this has come back to haunt them in the present! Let's hope we see change soon with this football injustice, video replay is essential.

UNREAL, how did they not see and ultimately count this goal! See for yourself:



Check out this '66 final's footage of the goal that was gifted to Geoff Hurst of England that presented the nation with their only World Cup title:



Oh, and Argentina's first goal was offside too today... ridiculous.

Hopefully the Dutch can just plow through Slovakia and not have to worry about controversial refereeing.

World Cup Reflections: Pringoooals!

Wow, Peter Crouch who is my favourite player is just SO COOL! I'm being kind of sarcastic, but I think it's awesome that he's in a Pringles commercial. He of course displays his renowned robot celebration dance in this ad (he performed it for Prince William during training at the last World Cup) Check this out!

PRICELESS

p.s. He should be starting for England... I hope he does tomorrow!

World Cup Reflections: Disgrace to the Game

Kaka should not be BANNED! This is disgusting. For those of you who didn't watch the Brazil vs. Ivory Coast game, one of the Ivorian players came running into Kaka (one of Brazil's superstars and one of the world's most respectful players) late in the game. Kaka put his arm up to protect himself from a collision, but the Ivorian (Keita) ran straight into it and went down in a heap of pain while clutching his face! DISGUSTING! The referee ultimately gave Kaka a second yellow card and as a result he was sent off and will miss the next match. Kaka is a SAINT, he would never elbow a player in the face! The refs were cheated, conned and tricked in this football debacle! I've said this time and time again... VIDEO REPLAY IS ESSENTIAL! This sport will never get the respect it deserves because of dirty players like Keita who act falsely and idiotically on the pitch! This is disgusting. When will FIFA take their heads out of their asses? I'm sorry if that phrase offends you, but I believe it describes the situation perfectly. When will they realize that video implications are necessary for a fair game and are NEEDED to get certain calls RIGHT! I'm serious; I'm sickened with the bad reputation soccer receives because of the stupidity from unsportsmanlike professionals. This is a disgrace to the game.

Here is an article that sums it up nicely: Kaka Shouldn't Be Banned

World Cup Reflections: Inspired

Okay... I've played one soccer game since the World Cup and I had a feeling I would play with an inspirational fire because of it. However, approximately 15 mins into the game I tweaked my left ankle on an attempted cross... It didn't stop me. It did restrict my ability to run but since we had no substitutes, I was forced to continue. I moved myself up to striker because I couldn't run 100%, and at least I could maybe hold up the game and control it from the front.

It came to half time, we were tied 1-1 and I was still hobbling on my ankle. DANG! I hate being a gimp. I ran over to the stands at the beginning of the second half and told my "fan base" what had happened (my parents, grandma, and Danielle came out to watch). About 5 mins after that I knew that the defender (also last man back) would mishandle a cross and I pounced on the mistake. I had a mini breakaway, I took one control touch and then finessed it by the charging keeper! Just like FIFA 10, the finesse button works every time! I couldn't believe that I scored despite being injured. It was a great feeling. About 10 mins after that, I had another chance but ended up rolling my bad ankle and screwing it up more... BAH! So I ended up getting the GWG, but now I'm recovering from my injury and therefore have missed two indoor games, which is very frustrating.

I think since Danielle (D) came out and took the time to watch me play soccer, it's about time she get a SHOUT OUT! I know she's been waiting for this for a LONG time, so there ya go! Thanks for coming out and seeing me in my glory. A week before then, we went and saw a Manitoba Premier match. It was very sloppy but we had fun commenting on the game anyway. We decided we are going to start an alternate viewing channel of soccer games for those who want a comical commentary. Basically we just made jokes about the two team's horrible play and the players' bad decisions and of course their outer image. We were on fire with our remarks!

Anyways... back to my reflections of the World Cup.

FRANCE IS BRUTAL! Henry looked like he was depressed on the side lines during their game against Mexico. I know it's winter there, but he looked like he was suffering from the flu, it was that bad. Either that or he despises his coach (who doesn't?). France just played like selfish individuals and never really built up any team play. Just brutal. I was wrong about Mexico too, they've really shown themselves as a team because of their sheer perseverance. The fact that they take advantage of their opportunities, makes them successful; plain and simple. Good on ya Mexico! Both England and Germany have games tomorrow! Should be decent. I have a wedding ceremony during the England game though... too bad I don't have Rogers, I could have streamed the game on my phone! I kid, I kid (or do I?)!

~~~

One more shout out before I head out to TOON town in Saskwatchewan for that wedding I told you about. My bro Josh phoned me when he was driving up in Northern Alberta, he'll be without the Internet until August so his prowess of friendship kicked in and he called me! I didn't know the number, so I didn't answer during work... SHOOT! He left a lovely voicemail though and I really appreciated it. He was singing along and rockin' out to Red River Risin'! Good on YA!

p.s. Let me know if you want the song file of Red River Risin'!! I'll shoot you an email with it attached, NBD.

p.p.s. Stay tuned for another upcoming Vlog! This wedding I'm going to in Saskatoon is also doubling as a Holsby Brunn Bible School reunion!! I'll see what I can muster up...

World Cup Reflections with Manuel

The first round of matches are complete! I've watched ~85% of them and am loving it. With my new (yet tentative) main display picture, I shall now start a blog series on the World Cup entitled World Cup Reflections with Manuel (this title has the sound of royalty, or maybe just ESPN Classics material... I love it). This gives me permission to vent all my frustration, concern, excitement, and praise about what's going on in this crazy tournament! It'll be sweet to look back on my thoughts for this historic World Cup. So, like it or not, here we GO!

First topic: The VUVUZELAS!!!
Wow, these things are making headlines EVERYWHERE! At first I thought that people should just suck it up and deal with them because it's the culture of African football... I now disagree with my previous thoughts. They are ridiculously annoying. The players can hardly communicate and it disrupts the flow of the game for sure! Not to mention it drowns out any intriguing chants or songs by each nation's supporters! COM'ON! The focus of this tournament being Africa's first World Cup is quickly shifting to the nauseous, plastic, CHINESE horns. It doesn't help when the FIFA president won't ban them because he's trying to build his own fan base. He didn't even think to go down and speak at the beginning of the German World Cup because everybody would have booed him! Only Africans praise him, and he loves it. Those horns are said to have a decibel level of 116! That's not healthy; good luck with your bleeding ears out there! I saw an Italian toddler wearing industrial earmuffs... just ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the loud cheering of crowds. It's the drone-like, swarming killer bee sounds that annoy me.

Second topic: The Jabulani ball.
The ball's problem is that it's too bouncy. This factor pretty much eliminates any opportunity for accurate long lobbed passes! Either it bounces over them or it skips past them. The receiving player basically should never let the ball bounce when he's waiting to strike it. It may also be too light. There have been so many sailing balls. It shouldn't be this frequent... Though Ronaldo knows how to strike it, that's for sure.

Third topic: The Paraguayan keeper may have been paid off. Who knows?!
How could a world class keeper dive way too early with a lot of space and miss a routine punch clearance from a corner kick? Fifteen minutes later he pulls off an extremely difficult/more difficult off-balanced snatch from another corner. He also got slugged from behind and still caught it fearlessly... I rest my case.

Fourth topic: UPSETS, struggles, and flying form!
WOW, the Swiss have proven themselves! I was ecstatic at work when I found out they beat Spain today! I was delirious. I was running around with excitement, I couldn't believe what I had heard. Wow, it's anyone's tournament to win! Things just got really interesting with today's upset. Brazil is also looking a bit shaky, South Africa drew with Mexico (though lost today to Uruguay), and the Dutch and England need to pull it together. Those German young guns are firing on all cylinders too!!! Here's a fact for y'all: Eight of Germany's starting eleven are under the age of 25. UNREAL. Plus, the two players who stood out the most in that game are 20 and 21 (Müller and Özil)! It's weird to think that I'm their age, I could be playing in the World CUP!

Fifth and final topic: I can almost never get home without hearing the final results of the day's matches.
Since all three games finish before my work day is over, I somehow always find a way not to avoid the final scores even though I try so hard not to find out. Usually, I'm not thinking and listen in on the radio at the wrong time. However, a couple days ago, I was about to get into my car and head home to watch with out prior knowledge of results when I heard a boy yelling... "PARAGUAY and ITALY..." I plugged my ears and started to hum before I heard anything else. I fended off the inevitable that day. We'll see if I can keep up my effort of avoidance!

Waka, Waka...