Premier weather conditions

I love waking up with Rebecca Lowe.

Let me rephrase that so my wife doesn’t bop me in the puss with a snow shovel.

 I love crawling out of bed on weekend mornings, tuning the telly to NBC Sports and watching the English Premier League, where during pregame, halftime and postgame, Lowe is the lovely brilliant and talented presenter.

This weekend, Lowe and her supporting cast will be talking about a slew of games taking place in locations around the UK where much of the weather will be rainy and windy. No monsoons, but the conditions could be a bit sloppy. 

Wind could be a factor, however, when Sunderland hosts Norwich. The extended forecast is calling for gusts of more than 40 mph.

The sloppiest of all, if the forecast holds up, could be the Arsenal versus Chelsea match Monday in North London. A lot is on the line in that match, where rain showers and wind are predicted.

-- rain --

Kickin' It in the Rain

I don’t know a thing about German football, but I do know I like this photo of a match today – like right now – between Nuremberg and Fuerth.

The Getty Images caption reads:

Nuremberg's defender Philipp Wollscheid (R) and Fuerth's Kazakhstan's midfielder Heinrich Schmidtgal (L) challenge for the ball during the German Football League DFB Cup last sixteen round match between 1. Fc Nuremberg and Greuther Fuerth in the arena in Nuremberg, southern Germany, on December 20, 2011.

In the meantime, there’s a lot of wet stuff falling in Blackburn where the Rovers trail Bolton 2-0 and the Ewood Park faithful are ready to kick Steve Kean out in the rain.

You're right. The Blackburn/Bolton photo stinks. I'll try to do better as the match progresses.

Last Word on West London Downpour

Yesterday, I was a bit ticked at not being able to see the falling rain on my screen captures from the Chelsea vs. Manchester City game. I could clearly see rain pouring down on the Stamford Bridge pitch as I watched the match on my laptop, but the wet stuff wasn’t visible in photos I wanted to post to the blog. But then I found some cool pics from Getty Images, and now I’ve stumbled upon this gallery from The Guardian photographer Tom Jenkins.

The Jenkins image here shows Frank Lampard after scoring what turned out to be the game-winner in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over the EPL’s top club.

Seeing the Rain More Clearly

Chelsea leaves Man City all wet Monday.

I mentioned in the post below that the rain falling on the Stamford Bridge pitch today – tonight in London – was not visible in the my crappy screen capture. No problem.

Here is a cool shot from Getty Images giving us nice visual insight into the playing conditions between Chelsea and Manchester City.

The match is tied 1-1 at halftime.

UPDATE: Chelsea defeated Man City, 2-1.

London Rain

It’s a cold, wet night at Stamford Bridge, and “City fans are singing in the rain in West London.” Those were the words of ESPN commentator – I think it’s Rob Stone – after Mario Balotelli scored at the 1:38 mark to give Manchester City a 1-0 lead in the steady downpour.

If you’re relaxing comfortably at home, you can catch the game on ESPN2. If you’re stuck at work like someone I know who shall remain nameless, you can watch on your computer on ESPN3.

By the way, my crappy screen shot was unable to capture the rain falling on the pitch at Stamford Bridge. You’ll have to take my word for it.

Update: Chelsea just got the equalizer on a goal by Raul Meireles. Chelsea 1, Man City 1.

Now Back To The Not-So-Cozy Weather

Two English Premier League matches were played in snow on Sunday. The photo above shows Manchester United playing at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium as the white stuff falls to the pitch. ManU, the EPL leaders, played Middlebrough to a 2-2 tie. Here’s a shot from Goodison Park in Liverpool as Everton battles Derby. Everton blanked Derby 1-love. No wait. This is soccer, not tennis. That score should read 1-nill, right? I’m always confused when it comes to scoring. Just ask my… never mind.

Pigskins and Mudders

Brandon Jacobs could have been one of the mudders trotting through on a sloppy track at the Breeders' Cup over the weekend prior to helping the New York American Football Giants score a 13-10 win over the Dolphins Sunday on a mud-caked mess of a pitch at London's Wembley Stadium.

Jacobs took 23 handoffs from quarterback Eli Manning and ran for 131 yards, averaging nearly six yards per carry. A persistent rain fell throughout the game, which was perfect for the G-Men to crank up the running attack. Manning even ran for a TD, while passing for only, get this, 59 yards.

It appeared on TV that many of the fans endured the rain and stuck around through most of the match, wearing jerseys from numerous NFL teams. I even saw a Jets jersey near the end of the game.

Oh, and a lot of media folks are complaining today about the sloppy field conditions and the low scoring, saying the Londoners didn't get a true representation of American football. Just remember fellas, this game was played in England where they love soccer and are used to low scoring affairs.

Adding to that, here's an interesting fact for you to chew on over lunch: The Giants scored 13 points in the game; that's more points than seven English Premier League teams have scored all season. Stick that in your Arsenal.