There's going to be plenty of time to talk about the changes Liverpool have coming, and they might yet interrupt the next couple of days. Announcements aren't necessarily commonplace on the weekend, though, so it's probably time to pay attention to other stuff for a bit, especially considering the fact that if you're looking to engage in Liverpool-related conversation at this point there's a good chance you'll lose an arm.
If the "best supporters in the world" credo is something we're still running with, it'll have to move forward with a selective memory. It's not been a pretty past few days in Liverpool's world, with only a passing mention of an opinion or thought needed to have someone aggressively shout you down within a matter of moments. Twitter's always batshit crazy, and this is about as bad as we've seen it, which is a pretty good indicator that it might be time to shift our attention for a minute or two, even if it's just the minority that's managed to make it so miserable for everyone else.
Thankfully it's a busy weekend for football on the continent, with trophies and promotion up for grabs over the next few days. There's a likelihood that you'll find something to dislike at some point, but hopefully something over the weekend---whether it's related to football or otherwise---can prove to be a serviceable distraction from the circus yet again surrounding Liverpool.
So a quick rundown of what to look out for over the weekend before we check out, with the obvious disclaimer that if anything worth posting does come up we'll be back around with the details. In the meantime, be responsible, but make sure you do something to wipe the decidedly nasty Liverpool-flavored taste out of your mouth.
I've included the start times and listings for television coverage as available, and you can always check out the usual links for ways to watch online:
Wiziwig.eu
MyP2P.bz
StopStream.tv
FromSport.com
FirstRowSports.eu
CoolSport.tv
Saturday:
Championship Playoff Final: Blackpool v. West Ham United
3:00PM BST/10:00AM EST
Sky Sports/Fox Soccer ChannelThe final promotion spot from the Championship is up for grabs tomorrow afternoon at Wembley, with both sides looking to return to the top flight just a season after being relegated. Popular sentiment seems to be that Blackpool is preferred to the London club, which would hopefully come with a return to the seaside for a certain Liverpool midfielder. And not Jonjo Shelvey.
Scottish Cup Final: Hibernian v. Hearts
3:00PM BST/10:00AM ESTWhat's billed as one of the biggest Edinburgh Derbies of all time takes place at Hampden Park in Scotland; it's the first of its kind since 1896, and while Hearts have experienced relatively recent success in the competition, for Hibs it's a chance at their first Scottish Cup trophy since 1902 after earning a runner's-up medal as recently as 2001.
Champions League Final: Chelsea v. Bayern Munich
7:45PM BST/2:45PM EST
ITV1, Sky Sports 1/FoxFor all their faults in the Premier League, Chelsea have defied the odds in European competition and found their way to Munich for their second final in four years. It's a tall task for Roberto Di Matteo's squad, who'll be without John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles, and Ramires. The Brazilian is likely the biggest absence of all so long as David Luiz and Gary Cahill are fit, and while Bayern will have suspensions of their own to deal with, it's hard not to see the German side lifting the trophy.
Sunday:
Blue Square Bet Premier Playoff Final: Luton Town v. York City
3:00PM BST/10:00AM ESTPromotion to the Football League awaits the winner of Sunday's meeting at Wembley as the losers of the last two seasons' finals meet. York City's won each of the three matches between the sides this season already, and they came away from their last visit to Wembley with a trophy after beating Welsh side Newport County 2-0 last weekend.
Coppa Italia Final: Juventus v. Napoli
8:00PM BST/3:00PM EST
GolTVJuventus captured their first Serie A title in nearly a decade while going unbeaten, and they'll face early season flavor of the months Napoli in search of a double. Juventus' undefeated season was the first since Italian football switched to the 38-match format, and a win on Sunday would give them their first Coppa trophy since the mid-nineties. It's been even longer for Napoli, who last won in the two-legged final over Atalanta 4-0 on aggregate.
Ligue 1 Final Day: Lorient v. PSG, AJ Auxerre v. Montpellier
8:00PM BST/3:00PM EST
Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer PlusI haven't watched much French football this season---other than saving every Lille match to get the most updated Joe Cole information possible, obviously---but the final day promises to be dramatic enough, with Montpellier in need of a draw or better to secure the league title. They pushed their lead to three points in the dying moments against Lille last weekend, meaning PSG will need a win of their own over slumping Lorient and a Montepellier loss. Worth noting that Auxerre's home form this season reads 6-6-6. So, title's over to you, PSG.
Hope you all enjoy what's on offer for the weekend, and as mentioned above, we'll be sure to stop back by in case anything worth posting comes up. Hopefully discussion stays fairly active, and if it's relatively quiet here you can always get in touch with us at our Twitter shanty.
One last note---if you have any interest in writing a guest post over the summer, please get in touch. Last summer we had a number of folks get in touch, and all who submitted did a really nice job. We'll plan to run what's submitted with minimal edits over the weekends, so if you'd like to give it a try, please email us at liverpool@theoffside.com or liverpooloffside@hotmail.com.
For now, reflect on the permanence of your Liverpool-related psychic wounds (language NSFW).