Even though I’m definitely a fan, I gotta admit—I'm way more into that early Whitesnake era—exactly what Patrick Martin was talking about—and even though I’ve got basically everything on vinyl, those three albums are my absolute favorites.
For me, nothing beats Slow and Easy—which they somehow missed playing at the concert I went to, just to spite us...
Honestly, the newer Whitesnake stuff feels kind of off to me. Coverdale still acts like a total brat, and he’s surrounded himself with guys who could all be his grandsons... which is a huge mistake. It just makes him look way older than he is. His guitarist sounds like he belongs in Tokio Hotel...
🙄 Yeah. And honestly—it gets worse—since the race itself wasn't even that exciting, plus the stream had this super monotonous commentator... man, what a drag.
After not watching CART for so many years, these cars look like little toys now. Those rounded rear ends look just plain silly... definitely gonna take some time to get used to them...
Regardless, that onboard view of hitting the corners and being right up against the wall? Still looks terrifying. What I'm picking up is they've really improved the downforce. Drivers used to avoid dirty air at all costs, but now that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
neonfox65 said:Do you even like NASCAR? Almost everything they do is on an oval—except for two races.
Not really. I can honestly count on one hand how many full NASCAR races I've actually sat through. Used to catch the highlights on ESPN back in the day, but after that, nothing—just never really clicked for me...
Back in the IndyCar days, the split between ovals and "road courses" was pretty much 50:50. The cars handled totally differently, the tactics were night and day, and the drivers had to adapt in ways that kept the season super interesting...honestly, cutting out one of those elements feels like a step backward to me.
Drew Bennett68 said:When it comes to the driver lineup, I think we all know the score—Danica has moved on to NASCAR, and in her place, we’ve brought in Barrichello from F1.
As for the heavy hitters, specifically Penske and Ganassi, their rosters haven't seen any changes, and honestly, that's exactly where you should be looking to find our champion this year. That said, don't count out the other teams entirely; guys like AA and KV might just have a shot if things shake up.
At the end of the day, we really ought to see some genuine parity on the track during the early part of the season, at least until those big-budget powerhouse teams finally dial in their setups and figure out their cars.
Yeah, one person leaves and another steps in—pretty much the same deal to me... 😁
Anyway, after a long break, I finally decided to get back into following IndyCar. My pick for who I'm rooting for is—just like way back when—a rookie. This time it’s Josef Newgarden... why? Honestly, no clue. When I first started following Indy seriously, I also went with a rookie: Greg Moore. I had such a blast watching him for a few years; the guy made a name for himself fast. After he passed away a few years later, I actually stopped following the series—it just felt empty without him.
The fact that they've cut down on the number of ovals really bugs me personally. I loved oval racing—which is totally subjective, I guess, since Moore was such a beast on them. The smoke, the strategy, the endless overtaking, the insane speed, the crashes, and all those safety car periods before everything resets... man, ovals are just the best.
I'm just hoping the streaming quality is decent this year, because the days when you could just catch IndyCar on ESPN are long gone...
There was some attempt at crowd interaction here—or maybe I should just call it Brad’s best shot at connecting with the fans. He’d hand out drumsticks to the loudest folks, toss out picks (I actually still have one 🙂), even jump into the pit and grab someone's phone to snap a few shots... but honestly, it didn't really land. The crowd was just what it was, nothing anyone could do about it.
Even though this show had a way bigger turnout, I still have much better memories of that last gig...
Even though last week's show was missing that little bit of magic needed to make it perfect, I still had a blast. The guys in 3dd were totally vibing—everything on their end was solid. Their set was a straight 10/10.
The crowd, though? Kind of meh. Compared to that last gig in Chicago, people weren't singing along much or really feeding off the band's energy, which was a bummer. The venue wasn't great for live music either—the acoustics sucked, the sound kept getting lost, and even though it was a big US production, the organization was just... bad.
I wouldn't write us off just yet—honestly, I'd rather deal with a massive hole in the defense now than wait until the second half. They aren't even playing at a level comparable to the Spanish national team. The only thing that actually scares me is our mindset: that whole "oh well, we're done, they caught up to us" attitude where everyone just stops trying. Really hoping that doesn't happen and we pull this win out.
Killer result, nice work guys. Honestly, I'm stoked with how things turned out. As for the finals—man, I've got no clue—so I'll just check the headlines tomorrow.
boldhound8 said:My take? Duvnjak is totally playing like he doesn't give a damn—so now Balic has to step up and try to save whatever's left of this mess. And even though he had his absolute worst game of the season, his scoring was still basically non-existent, just like Duvnjak's.
I’m not even gonna waste my breath debating whether Balic belongs on the national team—there's really no point. The vibe on this board is just trash whenever we drop a game. Yesterday everyone was hyping up a final against the Mexicans and acting like Balic saved us against Canada and Iceland coming off the bench, but now that we're basically fighting for 7th place? Total meltdown. Balic and Vori don't have a spot on this roster.🙏 Hell yeah—that’s our American spirit right there!🙏
I don't know what gets you so fired up—honestly—but don't bring that toxic energy my way. I'm just not one of those people who waits until the final whistle to actually have an opinion. The fact is—Balic is mostly playing below his level right now. A few flashes of brilliance won't change that reality. Good grief—they played like absolute trash against Iran back in Philly. He plays such a huge role on the national team—honestly, just having him on the roster makes a massive difference, I gotta admit. Bringing Balic back into the lineup while we're on such a hot streak... honestly, it's just silly. In this current setup—at least until we hit a lead that's impossible to catch—it’s totally unnecessary.
And Vori—his finishing is just way too shaky if we want the US to be truly untouchable. Honestly, what used to be a guaranteed goal is looking pretty questionable lately. I mean, come on—you can't really fault them for what they pulled off back in the day, right? Seriously...
I love Čupić—he’s easily one of my favorite guys out there—but man, he totally blew three wide-open chances today. Honestly? Sub him out. We’ve got a deep bench that we aren't even touching, which should be our biggest advantage—let's use it before it comes back to haunt us.
boldhound8 said:That's exactly why Duvnjak runs the offense so perfectly—just pure class.🙏🙏
Not sure what you mean by that comment—but honestly, Shane Valdes was definitely the weak link today. If I were coaching—which, let's face it, I'm definitely not—I’d stick to the winning formula. As long as our lead keeps growing or at least staying steady, I wouldn't touch a thing—maybe swap players out once in a blue moon, but otherwise, keep the same lineup running. Swapping out your playmaker and just throwing away a lead—then sticking to that call like it's some genius move? Honestly, it's just plain stupid. We were just talking about Jesus—not Shane Valdes.
Honestly, seeing how our guys play sometimes is just incredible—it’s such a blast to watch. It feels like we’re just itching to kick it into high gear, and I really hope we save that extra gear for the finish line. Of course, we’ll have some fresh legs coming off the bench too, because once things get intense, Buntić is gonna step right in. It’s a bummer, though, that Vori has lost his usual ice-cold composure; he's just stacking mistakes one after another lately. I also think Ivano could chill out a bit and just play it straight with the passing sometimes—he doesn't need to try and make every single touch a highlight reel moment... All in all, I get the feeling this halftime break is actually working in favor of the Spanish team. I'm just crossing my fingers that our squad maintains this tempo and then hits us with that 150% effort right at the end ( 🙂 )
Now that we've seen what we can do against a legit powerhouse, I'm not even being shy about dreaming of a medal...
And once again—Balić hands us a turnover when we're up by two. Honestly, we were absolutely tearing them apart while he was sitting out—but the second he gets in, everything turns into this "artistic" mess. Props to Ivan, though—he was easily the best in the world, but even he’d have to admit that was the truth. Today? Man, he was a total liability.
We basically had those old rivals right where we wanted them—game was ours after the first half. Then we went and blew it. Look, every national team hits a bump in the road eventually, ours just happened to hit it during the second round. The issue is everyone expects us to actually learn something from losing: Kopljar shouldn't be starting. If he needs minutes, bring him in when we've already locked down the win. Get Balić in right after Kopljar. He's a legend—out of pure respect, he deserves a shot at "just one more championship." Or use him for what he’s good at, which is picking up penalties... but not at the start when we're trying to build a massive lead. Today was just a masterclass in our coach's stupidity—a perfect demo of the weaknesses our future opponents are gonna feast on.
Call me a blasphemer if you want, but am I the only one noticing how perfectly the momentum shifts right when Bailey steps onto the field? Like, every single time we lose our edge, there he is.
If the guy isn't clicking, he just isn't clicking—doesn't matter who his name is.
In the opening match today, those mediocre Swedes managed to scrape by an even worse Slovakian squad. Honestly, it was one of those games you’d rather forget...
The USA-Iran matchup felt a bit more lively 🙂 if nothing else—we saw 42 of our goals, many of which were actually pretty slick (shoutout to the Zeppelin play from Cupic - Gojun 🙂 for being our 30th goal). Iran was weak even as a warm-up opponent—I mean, they were basically helpless.
Balic let himself, the fans, and Goluza down. He just stayed in the locker room after the first half following that string of silly mistakes...
Eh, grabbed some beers, watched the goals... what else can you say? 😁
X-Tra is a pretty small venue—but man, the setup is killer and the sound system is even better—decent crowd too, and the vibe was just spot on. Basically, everything you need was there, except maybe for the fact that the Sisters of Mercy had to actually show up and play... which they did, obviously—actually, they crushed it... One of those shows where you're genuinely bummed when the lights come up.
Only gripe: beer was pricey at MP3. Like $7 for a small$17... (we pros just grabbed drinks outside first and then just topped off🙂 )
