Saturday, March 29, 2008

Celtic Loses to Rangers, Dealt Season Jeopardizing Blow.


Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow


RANGERS…1
(Thomson 44)

CELTIC…0

RANGERS (4-5-1) McGregor; Broadfoot, Weir, Cuellar, Whittaker; Davis (Naismith 79), Dailly, Thomson (Adam 77), Ferguson, McCulloch; Darcheville (Novo 67)
Subs not used: Alexander, Boyd, Furman, McMillan

CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor; Nakamura, Brown, Hartley (Robson 80); McGeady; Samaras, Vennegoor of Hesselink (McDonald 78)
Subs not used: M.Brown, Wilson, Sno, Donati, O’Dea

Celtic FC slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat against title rivals Rangers in the second Glasgow derby of the season.

The Hoops dominated the first period but were left stunned when Kevin Thomson put Rangers ahead minutes before half-time.

While Celtic had the bulk of the pressure after the break, there were few chances in an ultra-competitive second half as Rangers clinched the victory.

Celtic now trail their city rivals by six points, with the Ibrox side also having one game in hand. The sides meet again at Celtic Park next month.

Manager Gordon Strachan made two changes to the starting XI that beat Gretna 3-0 last weekend. Paul Hartley came in for Barry Robson, while Georgios Samaras replaced Scott McDonald up front as Celtic opted for an attacking 4-4-2 set-up.

With these two great rivals locked in a battle for the SPL title, there was a real sense of anticipation around Ibrox for the first Glasgow derby in over five months – and the first of three games between the two sides before the end of the season.

As expected, it was a no-holds barred opening to the match, with fierce tackles flying in all over the pitch and both sides fully committed for every ball.

Article.


Well, it isn't looking good for the Bhoys this season after todays crushing defeat, but we must keep the faith. Time to focus on the task at hand, Motherwell FC on Saturday, April 5th.

HAIL! HAIL!


TomC

Hoyo de Monterrey Hoyo de TradiciĆ³n Toro

Country of Origin: Honduras
Length: 6"
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Connecticut
Filler: Dominican, Honduran, Nicaraguan

Info: For over 100 years, Hoyo de Monterrey has been a favorite in palaces in Europe and political backrooms in Washington, at poolside in Hollywood and backside Broadway. But it is more than the cigar of princes and presidents or movie stars and impressarios. Hoyo de Monterrey is the cigar for anyone who appreciates real cigar flavor. The hallmark of Hoyo de Monterrey is its very sweet and aromatic tobacco blends, which have been favored by generations of smokers.

Hoyo de Tradicion pays homage to Hoyo's traditional taste in a new iteration created with a unique blend of tobaccos from around the world. Its wrapper, a Viso Rosado leaf from Honduras' famed Jamastran Valley, has been combined with a Habano Connecticut binder and a blend of sweet Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Dominican filler tobaccos to create a special aroma and refined sweetness that ushers in a new tradition of smoking pleasure.

Whether you consider it a new tradition or the continuation of an old one, Hoyo de Tradicion represents uniqueness in taste and style that transcends time.

Appearance: Though a bit rustic looking, this was overall a rather nice looking stick. Medium brown, and evenly colored, there were no prominent veins or discolorations. The wrapper was smooth and visibly and tactilely oily, generally looking like a good cigar to smoke.

Pre-Light: A quick pre light sniff revealed notes of a distinctly nutty nature. Clip was easy and the pre light draw consisted of more light nutty notes and some earthiness.

Burn/Draw: The cigar lit easily. The burn line on this cigar, while never perfect, never wandered far enough to be a real issue, and corrected itself most of the time. One or two minor touch ups were needed, but nothing major. The draw on this cigar was free and easy producing cool billows of rich round smoke. The ash was pretty uniform in color and rather light grey.

Flavor: I would like to start off by mentioning this is a decidedly medium strength, medium bodied cigar. Those out their looking for only ass kickers might want to move along. That said it is a flavorful, if a bit simple, and well balanced cigar. It really doesn't develop a whole lot throughout the duration of the stick, but the flavors it does have seem to suit it. There is an undertone of earthiness, and a beautiful nuttiness I seem to find in the non Cuban Hoyos that I like was here as well. The third thing that was most prominent was some woodiness. There was a little peppery spiciness and the very beginning and end of the cigar but mostly the flavors described above. Overall this seems like a very reasonably priced and decently flavorful everyday style smoke. It succeeded in making my mouth water. I suggest giving one a try.

TomC