by John Walters

Starting Five

Barca Bounces Back

On the surface, FC Barcelona’s comeback against Paris-St. Germain (PSG) at Camp Nou was borderline miraculous, as in, did PSG have Kyle Shanahan on its side? The second leg  of their UEFA Champions League match began with Barca down 4-o in aggregate goals. They needed to win 4-0 just to send it into extra time and if PSG were to score one goal, that would mean Barca would need to score 6 goals (because PSG would win on away goals if it came to a tie between total goals scored, so that 5-1 wouldn’t be good enough).

Guess what? PSG, trailing 3-0, scored, in the 62nd minute. That meant that instead of needing one more goal to force extra time, Barca would need THREE goals or else it was over.

It was still 3-1 Barca in the 88th minute. Then Neymar scored on a free kick from outside the penalty box in the 88th. Then Luis Suarez got fouled (no he didn’t, but he got the call) and Neymar booted in a penalty kick. So, 5-1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNq6GhGTlWM

(Inside Messi’s car afterward; no club had overturned a 4-0 deficit after the first leg)

Then, in the 95th minute, in the 5th minute of 5-plus minutes of overtime, Sergi Roberto scored on a brilliant entry pass. Barca wins 6-1 and on aggregate goals, 6-5.

Anyway, it would have been the most miraculous comeback in Champions League history if (my opinion) penalty kicks were not involved. Still, all in all, pretty miraculous. Three goals in seven minutes to stave off elimination. That’s right up there with the 28-3 comeback.

Anyway, I could not wait to see what ESPN was going to do with the highlight, but Neil and Stan, normally peerless, completely whiffed on it. Do they not get soccer? Did Keith Olbermann write their copy? I stayed up later to watch Scott Van Pelt‘s highlight, and he nailed it without a splash (Van Pelt informed viewers that you could get in-game odds of 100 to 1 for Barca to advance when the score was 3-1…)

2. The Joshua Tree Turns 30

Happy 30th birthday to one of the two or three great rock albums since 1980, the one that elevated U2 to immortal status. I had the good fortune to see U2 live on this tour, on November 1, 1987, in Indianapolis, but the band I’ll remember more from that night is the Dalton Brothers, who opened for U2. Do they look or sound familiar to you?

For what it’s worth, I wrote a self-indulgent personal story on how the album affected me and was honored to contribute to Newsweek’s ranking of the songs on the album (if left to my own devices, the Top 6 would’ve gone: “With Or Without You,” “One Tree Hill,” “Where The Streets Have No Name,” “Running To Stand Still,” “In God’s Country” and “Red Hill Mining Town.”

3. Guess Who Trump Just Nominated As Our Ambassador To Russia?*

*The judges will also accept “Snowflake and the Huntsman”

 

Jon Huntsman called to see me. I said no, he gave away our country to China! @JonHuntsman

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2012

“What’s that, Vlad? Yes, I’m sending the weakest man I can find for the job.”

4. “Romo! Romo! Wherefore art thou, Romo?”

The Dallas Cowboys release their all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdown passes, a man who was immediately likable and who showed tremendous class last season, he just got injured at the wrong time in front of the wrong guy. Tony Romo, 36, spent 13 seasons in Big D, but injuries kept him out of the lineup most of the past two seasons. And they never went to the Super Bowl in his tenure, although he was never the reason for that.

Now, as Dallas’ offense is becoming filled with Pro Bowl-caliber talent under the age of 30, Romo’s being released. He won’t see the promised land with the Cowboys. He’s sort of Romoses. Here’s hoping he lands some place he likes (Denver and Houston sound like the surest bets), but one gets the feeling, with his surfeit of injuries and ailments, that he has already stayed at the party too long.

5. Extreme Ski Lifts

Half the fun of skiing are ski lifts (the other half is “apres ski”). Sure, lift lines blow and we’ve all given the stink eye to that skier cutting the line with the instructor, but once you are on the lift, it’s a gondola ride through the mountains. And often a great way to meet a stranger (“Where you from?” “Where you staying?” “Is that a flask in your pocket?”).

Anyway, here’s a photo essay of some of the world’s most extreme ski lifts….because I had no interest in writing on whether A-Rod and J-Lo are dating (can totally see it) or why Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have called off their divorce (he’s not as dumb as we thought; Don’t you imagine him watching one of her “What’s in your wallet?” ads late at night and finally realizing, Yeah, if she wasn’t my wife I’d totally go out with her?).

Music 101

Where The Streets Have No Name

The song is called “Where The Streets Have N Name,” but Los Angeles radio deejays made it well-known that U2‘s rooftop concert on March 27, 1987, would be taking place at the corner of 7th and Main in downtown L.A. (amazing that this show got shut down but “Another Day Of Sun” did not. Here’s the first track off the legendary The Joshua Tree album, which was released 30 years ago today. The song almost did not make the album, as the band loved the opening riff but didn’t think it was a complete song. Glad they changed their minds.

Remote Patrol

The VIPs

10:30 p.m. TCM 

You’re smirking, but this is what happens when TCM airs some movie I’ve never heard of that I can’t believe I’ve never heard of before (e.g., Mogambo, a 1953 film starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly…WHAT?!?!). The VIPs is a 1963 film starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor (their first film together), Louis Jourdan, Maggie Smith, Orson Welles, Linda Christian, Rod Taylor and the insanely fetching Elsa Martinelli. They’re all stranded at an airport due to fog and Love Boat-style adult situations ensue. This is the Don Draper-est movie I’ve ever heard of.