Beto

The back and forth battle between Portsmouth and Tottenham has come to an end. It seems that the man who tempted Jermain Defoe to Pompey has used his magic to lure Defoe back to White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp seems to have a magnet and takes many of his former players along with him. Should we call him the Pied Piper?

Now some of the MLS fans out there can finally be relieved to see that Landon Donovan has retaken the challenge of the German Bundesliga. Donovan will be playing for part-time Californian Jurgen Klinsman at Bayern Munich until March. I hope he does well- especially for all those critical of the lad. Now wher will Jermaine Pennant go to? He did not go to Stoke, rumored at Wigan, incredibly interested by Juande Ramos in Real Madrid and now the latest is AC Milan. Emily Benaammar, writing for the UK Telegraph describes the unexpected interest-

According to the Express, officials from the San Siro have already approached Pennant’s representatives and presented a pre-contract deal.
The 25-year-old is out of contract this summer and as such can now sign for any club outside of England. Milan are not the first elite European club to express an interest in Pennant, who, until last week, had been under the watch of Real Madrid’s new manager Juande Ramos.

I don’t think Dossena will be leaving Anfield as the rising Argentine- Emiliano Insua has been called to serve his country in the mini Copa America. Somebody needs to hide his passport.

Now this leaves us with someone who did not even take his post as Secretary of Commerce under the new administration-New Mexico state governor Bill Richardson. I liked him when he was part of the Saturday Night Live crew and he would be the leader of the SNL Christmas band. Very talented fellow. He needs to go back to music.

Christmas has come and gone. The marathon English Premier league weekend places Liverpool on top of the table for this year and let’s hope to be a good omen. The hosts of the latest premier title display took place in St. James park without Fernando Torres. But later that night a bar altercation involving captain Steven Gerrard tarnished the victory. The Sky Sprots Fanzone always entertaining will show you the comedic reactions during the 5-1 Liverpool victory over Newcastle.

Five years ago we were in the motherland and enjoyed the natural beauties of the Andes mountains. In this picture my wife stands before the emerald crater lake of Quilotoa. On this trip to Quilotoa I was already victim of trying to eat all I could of the delicious foods of my childhood. From ceviche, hornado, fritada, mote, queso de hoja, naranjilla, morcillas, empanadas de morocho, humitas. Actually the list goes on but my stomach could not handle it. The trip up to the crater was beautiful, and upon our return we were well taken care by the staff of the Hotel Sol de Quito and their te de anis.

There is so much more about the trip, but my Mrs. enjoyed this trip and I can say that we celebrated a memorable anniversary in Quito five years ago and this year another one arrived. Another wonderful year, Thanks Beck…I could actually go for an helado de paila.

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“it’s awesome.“       G-ville, GA

“practical” Alpharetta

“No more headaches.” Atlanta

A city in a valley surrounded by snow capped mountains, some of them active volcanoes. The homeland of my beloved mother, a land where my wife fell in love with and a city that will be turning 474 years old.A lot of stories and memories can be gathered from those days. The culture, the songs and flavors are vast and while sitting at a table today eating Thanksgiving dinner I could actually say that I am thankful for having been born and raised in such rich city. Viva Quito.

The impact Fernando Torres made off the bench this weekend was obvious. The show in The FanZone was great and the fried chicken my wife made was “para chuparse los dedos.” This is part of the Good Stuff Network!!!

It is mid November and the temperatures are finally decreasing. Northeast Georgia gets cold this time of the year from what I can remember. This area of the country gets some beautiful colors during fall- the leaves have been exceptionally bright this year. My wife even though a northern born woman is not too fond of this cold weather. I on the other hand enjoy the cold weather. The brisk cold mornings remind me of walking to school in Quito.
The first fire in our wood stove welcomes this November cold and the falling of most of the colorful leaves into heaps that my daughter and German shepherd can play in.  The line of Rose of Sharon has been pruned, the pansies to be planted, more firewood to be cut and split. All these things are part of a long list of to-dos. Of course, the decorations in the attic catch my curiosity as I would like to put them up as soon as I begin the Christmas music in the house. Bing Crosby and Johnny Mathis are already guests in this house…
By the way- I have seen Rudolph the red nosed reindeer with my daughter already- a yearly tradition to be shared with her.

You’ve got to enjoy these guys. Whatever will be will be.

The way Liverpool are playing lately reminds me of Barcelona SC of the 1980’s when they could be loosing and the calmness of the manager, team and fans created a spine tingling feeling on its opponents- they would win with confidence. During the game with Man U and Man City I felt nervous but I can actually feel confident of our weapons- even when Fernando leaves a big gap.

Wigan versus Liverpool was a great game today. Too bad for Antonio Valencia seeing red again in less than a week. Watch these great goals by Zaki, Kuyt and Riera.