Liverpool and Arsenal Struggle in Premier League Openers

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Zoltan Gera celebrates his goal with teammate Shane Long. (Darren Staples)

Yesterday, the Premier League saw its new season begin. While most results came as expected, a couple of perennial contenders struggled in their first game. These two clubs are Liverpool and Arsenal. My blog post will briefly recap the action in both matches and look at went wrong for the two favored clubs.

West Bromwich Albion 3 Liverpool 0
Both teams had numerous opportunities to score, but came up short in their effort. Liverpool striker Luis Suaraz could have likely had a hat trick in the first half, but could not find the back of the net. West Bromwich finally broke through in the 43rd minute. Zoltan Gera buried a powerful strike to put his side up 1-0 just before the half. The Liverpool defense that had struggled all day suffered a big blow when defender Daniel Agger was sent off with a red card. They then gave up two penalty kicks in the stretch of four minutes. Shane Long missed the first one, but Peter Odemwingie scored the second one to increase the West Bromwich Albion lead to 2-0. In the 77th minute, West Brom substitute Romelu Lukaku put the icing on the cake. Liverpool struggled with the lack of being able to score on their golden opportunities. Their poor self-control and discipline defensively helped cost them the game as well.

Arsenal 0 Sunderland 0
Arsenal probably had a feeling that they would miss Robin van Persie and his knack for scoring goals. Now, they know it without a doubt. Despite firing away 23 shots throughout the match, Arsenal only managed to get three on goal. That is an embarrassing statistic when one considers that this is Premier League football. While Arsenal did out possess and frankly out play Sunderland, their inability to score was their clear downfall. Call me crazy, but it seems obvious to me that you have to score to win. Arsenal must find their offensive identity quickly if they are going to have any shot at competing with the best.

Patriots Sign Olympic Sprinter Jeff Demps to Contract

Former Florida Gator running back and Olympic silver medalist Jeff Demps has agreed to a contract with the Patriots. (John Raoux)

During the Bill Belichick era, the New England Patriots have had some game-changing kickoff and punt returners. Whether it was Bethel Johnson, Ellis Hobbs, or Brandon Tate, the Patriots always seemed to have someone who could come up with the big play when the team needed it. That changed midway through the 2010 season when Tate's game began to go downhill. Ever since then, the Patriots have struggled to find a dynamic returner. Their current one entering this summer's training camp was Danny Woodhead. Woodhead is no doubt a quality running back, but is better suited to be the team's third-down back.

At least one person in the Patriots organization must have been watching the Olympics. In the much anticipated men's 4x100 relay, the Americans tied the prior Olympic record, but had to settle for silver after finishing behind the speedy Jamaicans. One of those American sprinters was Jeff Demps. Unlike many Olympic track athletes, Demps has had experience playing football. He was a running back and returner for the Florida Gators. Demps went undrafted in the NFL Draft primarily because he told teams that he wanted to focus on running track.

Now that the Olympics are over and Demps has his silver medal, many NFL teams became interested in acquiring his speed and talent. Demps decided he wanted to sign with the Patriots. The fit appears to be excellent for both sides. Demps should get an opportunity to play right away. The Patriots will first and foremost look to capitalize on his lightning speed in the return game. Demps might even pick up some additional carries out of the backfield with an apparent injury slowing down tailback Stevan Ridley. I wouldn't even rule out the possibility of getting him into the wildcat formation. This signing is a prototypical move by Belichick. Those moves tend to work out quite well. It will be interesting to see if that happens with Jeff Demps as well.

Ugandan Youths to Play in Little League World Series

The Little League team from Lugazi, Uganda will become the first African team ever to play in the Little League World Series. (AP Photo) 

Children from Africa don't often get to come to the United States of America, especially not to play baseball. That will change Friday when a team from Lugazi, Uganda will play their first round game against Panama in the Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The road to this grand honor has been long and difficult, but so rewarding in the end. The two coaches of the Lugazi, Uganda team were happy to tell the amazing history of baseball in Uganda, which they both were a crucial part of from the beginning.

Henry Odong is one of the pioneer players in Uganda. As a teenager, he was taught the game by Christians missionaries, who he was very close with. Odong, nicknamed the Bouncer because of his size, is always eager to show people his tattered photo album of Ugandan baseball history and wants to thank everyone involved in making his dream a reality. The other coach is Richard Stanley, who is a 69-year-old chemical engineer. Known as the game's primary benefactor in Uganda, he built a baseball complex and village near Mpigi, a town west of the capital city of Kampala. Stanley also fully funded the travel expenses to send the nation's delegated team to Kutno, Poland to play in the Mideast and Africa Regional tournament. He had done this each of the past three years, costing him about $30,000 per trip.

The Ugandans first had to endure some heartache in their journey to America. In 2010, the boys from the Kampala ghetto of Nsambya thought they had earned a spot in the championship game, only to find out they missed out based on a complex tiebreaker. Last year, the same team knocked off the perennial favorites from Daharan, Saudi Arabia in the title game to earn what appeared to be Africa's first spot in the Little League World Series. However, they were denied visas from the State Department based on several inaccurate birth certificates that were possibly forged. Organizers were concerned that several of the children were older than 13 years old, which is the maximum age allowed to play in the tournament. Therefore, the team was sadly disqualified from the competition.

The disqualification turned out to be a blessing in disguise. News quickly spread through the media about the disqualification of the Ugandan team. People from around the world sent money and supplies to support the growth of baseball in Uganda. More than $130,000 and piles of bats, balls, gloves, shoes, and helmets poured into the country. In January, a group of Major League Baseball stars traveled to Uganda to support the cause of building baseball in the country.

Now, the boys from Lugazi, Uganda have arrived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It doesn't matter that their last real game was a month ago, they only have 11 players, and they have never played in front of a crowd before. You see because regardless of how they play, they have already won by making it this far. They've become the first Little League from Africa ever to play in the Little League World Series. That is inspiring not only to the people of Uganda, but to many African children around the continent. With hard work, people who care about you, and the grace of God, the impossible soon becomes possible. Who knows, maybe we aren't too many years away from our first African player in Major League Baseball.