I don’t know which is sadder: a) the fact that I lost money on the Dutch this afternoon, b) the fact that I fell asleep during the first half and thus missed like 17 yellow cards and a Spanish guy getting dropkicked in the chest or c) the fact that I will have no reason to write about soccer for the next four years. Well, technically I could turn this into a blog for the Philadelphia Union except that I would a) have to explain the city’s surprising pro-labor stance and b) create the blog’s new mascot “Sal the Surly Teamster.”
(Actually, the saddest fact from today is that I taped tonight’s episode of Big Brother so that I can watch it later. Yes, it is that time of year again when we get to watch wannabe models attempt to use strategy and cunning. Or, more likely, utilize racial slurs while not understanding that they are constantly being taped.)
Been a rather quiet weekend for me. I was actually home all weekend for once, which is an incredible change of pace. That is just kind of the nature of my life at the moment as I never seem to find myself in one place for a significant period of time. At certain points it can be fun. I like travelling and now know the ins and outs of many major airports including where the best power outlets are, how to score free drinks from fellow passengers and under what circumstances it is acceptable to pay $1.50 for a candy bar. But on some weekends I just want to stay home, watch some television, and fall asleep on the couch. This was one of those weekends.
The other odd thing is more of that change in my life from where I was two years ago. It is really stunning when you think about it. Two years ago I would never have gone an entire weekend without stepping foot into a bar at some point. In reality, I probably would have gone to two or three over the course of the weekends; places where everyone on staff and many of the patrons would know me on sight. Right now I can’t remember the last time I went to a bar out here in Delaware. I can barely remember the last time I went out to eat here and had a beer with dinner. The pace of my life has completely changed.
Part of this is obviously due to my being with Kim and being engaged and all that. Part of the reason behind going to bars (i.e. meeting people and possibly by pure random chance end up talking to someone I could theoretically date if twenty seven different variables turned my way) is no longer valid. But the main reason is that I have really started to feel the years catch up to me. The thought of closing a bar at three in the morning is no longer as exciting as it once was. I would be tired for a week trying to catch up on my sleep. Part of me misses that experience but I will take the life that I have right now, thank you very much.
Best of 120 Minutes: I love videos that feature people who aren’t in the band more than the band themselves. Or maybe Katherine Hanna decided to join Sonic Youth for the day. Who knows.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Ben Folds Five “Whatever and Ever Amen”
2) Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova “The Swell Season”
3) Jay Farrar “ThirdShiftGrottoSlack”
4) Richard Buckner “Meadow”
5) U2 “Live at Notre Dame”
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Still not as bad as when we lost to Iran...
And like a low rated television sitcom we are back from hiatus just in time to be the only new episodes shown in the summer…
Monday Weigh In: Still at 205.5 pounds but I have to consider that a bit of an accomplishment given the events of the past two weeks. There was a bachelor party weekend in there (where you can’t really try to pull the whole “I’m on a diet” routine) and I basically missed a week of exercise due to slightly spraining my ankle doing that highly treacherous exercise known as “walking”. Seriously, you know how they always say before starting an exercise program how you should check in with your physician? Well, if I did that mine would recommend that I wear full body armor at all times. Good news is that I stayed at a constant weight and my goal of being under 200 pounds by August is still reachable though I will literally have to hustle to make it.
Well, since the US is out of the World Cup and we no longer have to care about soccer for another four years I figured that I would give my opinion on the team’s performance. Yes, I will watch the rest of the World Cup because I do find it interesting and I can still cheer for the Dutch, which is the team to watch if you don’t actually like soccer because a) they play the coolest version of the game and b) you can get a contact high just by looking at their fans. But our focus was on the US and it is now time to cast blame or cheer depending on how one looks at it.
On the most basic level the US did precisely what I thought they would do: make it to the knockout round and lose in the first round. It makes sense since we are one of the 16 best teams in the world but not one of the top eight. Except that everything that happened on the way there seemed to be completely unlike the typical American squad that it leaves you elated and disappointed at the same time.
We tied with England in a game that we could have lost (if England’s goalie hadn’t flubbed Dempsey’s shot) or won (if Altidore’s shot off the post was an inch to the right). In the end it was the result that I had been hoping for. We should have beaten Slovenia and if it wasn’t for a crap call we would have. And while we outplayed Algeria the entire game it still took a miracle play unlike any that I had ever seen to send us into the second round. We won the group, which I did not expect and legitimately could have won every game.
The US still has a huge weakness (which came back to haunt us against Ghana) in that we start off incredibly slow and have a weak defense in front of a good goalie. We always seem to start from behind. The amazing thing, and what I am most proud of this team for, is the fact that they fought back in every game and never really quit fighting. In the past the US would get down a goal and you could see that their will to win was gone. Now we know we can come back from two goal deficits. Makes for a huge change in attitude.
And while I predicted a loss in the group of 16 I was expecting it to come against Germany. In fact, when I started to look at the brackets I could see us in the semi finals. We were a better team than Ghana and I’m confident we could beat Uruguay as well. It is more of a lost opportunity than anything else. It was probably the easiest road to the semis that this team will ever see.
In the end I guess I will say that I am happy for how the team played. They showed grit and determination and made people care about the squad and the World Cup, which is a huge boost. I remember 12 years ago following the World Cup and the only other person in the office who was following it with me was someone who was born in Poland. Now we have entire office conversations about the game. They went farther than Italy and France (and looked much better than either team) and went as far as England, Mexico and either Spain or Portugal. Not a bad run. If only we had some freaking defense.
The five random CDs for last week (never got posted):
1) Jack Johnson “On and On”
2) Cowboy Mouth “Mouthing Off Live and More”
3) Wilco “Summerteeth”
4) Allison Moorer “Show”
5) Marshall Crenshaw “I Suffered for my Art, Now It’s Your Turn”
And the five random CDs for this week:
1) Steve Earle “I Feel Alright”
2) Continental Drifters “Continental Drifters”
3) The Frames “For the Birds”
4) U2 “Boy”
5) John Hiatt “The Best of John Hiatt”
Monday Weigh In: Still at 205.5 pounds but I have to consider that a bit of an accomplishment given the events of the past two weeks. There was a bachelor party weekend in there (where you can’t really try to pull the whole “I’m on a diet” routine) and I basically missed a week of exercise due to slightly spraining my ankle doing that highly treacherous exercise known as “walking”. Seriously, you know how they always say before starting an exercise program how you should check in with your physician? Well, if I did that mine would recommend that I wear full body armor at all times. Good news is that I stayed at a constant weight and my goal of being under 200 pounds by August is still reachable though I will literally have to hustle to make it.
Well, since the US is out of the World Cup and we no longer have to care about soccer for another four years I figured that I would give my opinion on the team’s performance. Yes, I will watch the rest of the World Cup because I do find it interesting and I can still cheer for the Dutch, which is the team to watch if you don’t actually like soccer because a) they play the coolest version of the game and b) you can get a contact high just by looking at their fans. But our focus was on the US and it is now time to cast blame or cheer depending on how one looks at it.
On the most basic level the US did precisely what I thought they would do: make it to the knockout round and lose in the first round. It makes sense since we are one of the 16 best teams in the world but not one of the top eight. Except that everything that happened on the way there seemed to be completely unlike the typical American squad that it leaves you elated and disappointed at the same time.
We tied with England in a game that we could have lost (if England’s goalie hadn’t flubbed Dempsey’s shot) or won (if Altidore’s shot off the post was an inch to the right). In the end it was the result that I had been hoping for. We should have beaten Slovenia and if it wasn’t for a crap call we would have. And while we outplayed Algeria the entire game it still took a miracle play unlike any that I had ever seen to send us into the second round. We won the group, which I did not expect and legitimately could have won every game.
The US still has a huge weakness (which came back to haunt us against Ghana) in that we start off incredibly slow and have a weak defense in front of a good goalie. We always seem to start from behind. The amazing thing, and what I am most proud of this team for, is the fact that they fought back in every game and never really quit fighting. In the past the US would get down a goal and you could see that their will to win was gone. Now we know we can come back from two goal deficits. Makes for a huge change in attitude.
And while I predicted a loss in the group of 16 I was expecting it to come against Germany. In fact, when I started to look at the brackets I could see us in the semi finals. We were a better team than Ghana and I’m confident we could beat Uruguay as well. It is more of a lost opportunity than anything else. It was probably the easiest road to the semis that this team will ever see.
In the end I guess I will say that I am happy for how the team played. They showed grit and determination and made people care about the squad and the World Cup, which is a huge boost. I remember 12 years ago following the World Cup and the only other person in the office who was following it with me was someone who was born in Poland. Now we have entire office conversations about the game. They went farther than Italy and France (and looked much better than either team) and went as far as England, Mexico and either Spain or Portugal. Not a bad run. If only we had some freaking defense.
The five random CDs for last week (never got posted):
1) Jack Johnson “On and On”
2) Cowboy Mouth “Mouthing Off Live and More”
3) Wilco “Summerteeth”
4) Allison Moorer “Show”
5) Marshall Crenshaw “I Suffered for my Art, Now It’s Your Turn”
And the five random CDs for this week:
1) Steve Earle “I Feel Alright”
2) Continental Drifters “Continental Drifters”
3) The Frames “For the Birds”
4) U2 “Boy”
5) John Hiatt “The Best of John Hiatt”
Monday, June 14, 2010
Flopping like a dead (or at least stunned) fish
Monday Weigh In: Checking in at 205.5 pounds this week, down an impressive two pounds from last week. Really happy with my workouts this week (including doing four and a third miles on the treadmill on Saturday) as I seem to have broken through to that next level on my fitness. Meaning that workouts that would kill me a few weeks ago are relatively easy now. I’ll keep upping the intensity and focusing on my diet as I edge close to that first goal of being under 200 pounds.
World Cup Update: My new favorite team for the Cup is Ghana due to their fans unfurling a banner that read “Sex Machines” during the game on Sunday. Apparently a rap group from Ghana has a hit song called, obviously, “Sex Machine” and this has provided the team with a theme song much like Chelsea Dagger for the Blackhawks or Don’t Stop Believing for the White Sox. However, I mainly like the fact that we can now refer to the team as the Ghana Sex Machines. That is what I love about the World Cup: you always find yourself cheering some small country because they seem to be really cool.
To DJ’s comment on yesterday’s post I really don’t mind ties in soccer and understand the importance of playing for a tie at times. The tie for the US was in effect a win: they stayed even with the best team in their group and stayed in control of their own destiny. Even low scoring doesn’t bother me because I understand that at the top level defenses are very good (though I wish there were more scoring opportunities.) Heck, low scoring makes set plays that much more exciting. What really drives me insane is the flopping which was in full display during the Italy – Paraguay game.
To be honest though I can’t recall anything that I would have called a flop during the US – England game. But in the Italy game today people were hitting the ground left and right. I saw a guy collapse to the ground holding his ankle which had done nothing other than kick the ball. I haven’t seen them break out the magic spray or carry someone off on a stretcher only for them to immediately return to the field like nothing happened. That is the part of the sport that people can’t stand. If you are hurt then you are hurt. Tim Howard got hurt on Saturday because he took a kick in the chest. Stopping the game for him to catch his breath and figure out what happened to his ribs is acceptable. But guys falling to the ground because the other guy touched him is just stupid.
It is interesting that DJ brings up flopping in basketball because that really only became a problem once the European players started to make an impact on the league. I can’t recall flopping being an issue at all in the 80’s. Think about those Celtic or Lakers or Pistons squads. None of those guys flopped. But once the game became more international with players from soccer countries the amount of flopping and trying to draw fouls increased greatly.
I really do enjoy soccer at the highest level. I watched almost all of the Euro Cup in 2008 (unemployment has its benefits) and as these posts indicate I am a huge World Cup fan. I don’t think that I will ever be able to consider myself a knowledgeable fan but I can enjoy the game and the atmosphere. For me that is enough.
World Cup Update: My new favorite team for the Cup is Ghana due to their fans unfurling a banner that read “Sex Machines” during the game on Sunday. Apparently a rap group from Ghana has a hit song called, obviously, “Sex Machine” and this has provided the team with a theme song much like Chelsea Dagger for the Blackhawks or Don’t Stop Believing for the White Sox. However, I mainly like the fact that we can now refer to the team as the Ghana Sex Machines. That is what I love about the World Cup: you always find yourself cheering some small country because they seem to be really cool.
To DJ’s comment on yesterday’s post I really don’t mind ties in soccer and understand the importance of playing for a tie at times. The tie for the US was in effect a win: they stayed even with the best team in their group and stayed in control of their own destiny. Even low scoring doesn’t bother me because I understand that at the top level defenses are very good (though I wish there were more scoring opportunities.) Heck, low scoring makes set plays that much more exciting. What really drives me insane is the flopping which was in full display during the Italy – Paraguay game.
To be honest though I can’t recall anything that I would have called a flop during the US – England game. But in the Italy game today people were hitting the ground left and right. I saw a guy collapse to the ground holding his ankle which had done nothing other than kick the ball. I haven’t seen them break out the magic spray or carry someone off on a stretcher only for them to immediately return to the field like nothing happened. That is the part of the sport that people can’t stand. If you are hurt then you are hurt. Tim Howard got hurt on Saturday because he took a kick in the chest. Stopping the game for him to catch his breath and figure out what happened to his ribs is acceptable. But guys falling to the ground because the other guy touched him is just stupid.
It is interesting that DJ brings up flopping in basketball because that really only became a problem once the European players started to make an impact on the league. I can’t recall flopping being an issue at all in the 80’s. Think about those Celtic or Lakers or Pistons squads. None of those guys flopped. But once the game became more international with players from soccer countries the amount of flopping and trying to draw fouls increased greatly.
I really do enjoy soccer at the highest level. I watched almost all of the Euro Cup in 2008 (unemployment has its benefits) and as these posts indicate I am a huge World Cup fan. I don’t think that I will ever be able to consider myself a knowledgeable fan but I can enjoy the game and the atmosphere. For me that is enough.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The slightly less than beautiful game
There are a lot of aspects of soccer that American fans just do not like. Things that go against what we believe in as sports fans. The top four that I can think of are 1) foreigners, 2) tight shorts, 3) lack of commercial interruptions and 4) the whole “let’s all roll around on the ground in horrible agony only to get up in two minutes and act like nothing has happened” bit. But if there is one item to add to this list it is ties.
Think about it in terms of major sports. Baseball (other than the All Star Game under Bud Selig) cannot end in a tie. Football (except for rare regular season occasions) cannot end in a tie. Basketball, golf and hockey all have rules to prevent tie games. But in soccer a tie game is considered to be a common and often preferable result. This goes against the grain of American culture as a tie is like kissing your sister, which unless your relationship is like Angelina Jolie and her brother probably isn’t a good thing.
Except that I was damn happy to get a tie against England on Saturday. The game started off like most US games in the World Cup do: with the other team immediately racing down the field and scoring. For some reason the Americans always think that the feeling out part of the first few minutes of the game assumes that the other team won’t try to score. That always leaves us chasing and we are horrible at it. Luckily we had a play happen that a) was incredibly lucky and b) always surprises me that you don’t see more of.
Dempsey’s goal was the damndest thing I ever saw because it was even more of a lucky shot than Kane’s cup winning goal on Wednesday night. He shot it straight at the goalie and it hit him right on the hands and then squirted away and he could only look in horror as the ball got behind him and into the goal. It is going to be one of the most memorable images of the World Cup: the England goalie looking on in horror as he realizes that he has just made one of the biggest blunders in ages.
But here is what surprises me about why it doesn’t happen more. Not that I expect goalies to flub shots but I cannot figure out why players simply don’t take more shots. Dempsey took the shot because he had an open look and there was nothing else for him to do but shoot. What you typically see are guys driving down the flanks and having a look at the goal and instead of shooting trying to pass the ball across six guys to the center. If the pass connects then it is typically an unstoppable goal. But almost all of the time the pass doesn’t connect. It’s off target or a defender gets there or the goalie cuts it off. If you shoot though at least something could happen. I never quite understand why guys just aren’t always firing straight at the keeper.
Still, all the US has to do now is play the way they should play and beat (or at least tie) Slovenia and then beat Algeria and we are through to the next round. And that is all that I am hoping for from this squad.
Best of 120 Minutes: There are desert island songs and then there are songs that make you want to knock down walls and break stuff. This is one of the latter songs. Smashing Pumpkins. The name says it all.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Matt Nathanson “At the Point”
2) Black 47 “Live in New York City”
3) C. J. Chenier “The Big Squeeze”
4) Marshall Crenshaw “This is Easy: The Best of Marshall Crenshaw”
5) She and Him “Volume Two”
Think about it in terms of major sports. Baseball (other than the All Star Game under Bud Selig) cannot end in a tie. Football (except for rare regular season occasions) cannot end in a tie. Basketball, golf and hockey all have rules to prevent tie games. But in soccer a tie game is considered to be a common and often preferable result. This goes against the grain of American culture as a tie is like kissing your sister, which unless your relationship is like Angelina Jolie and her brother probably isn’t a good thing.
Except that I was damn happy to get a tie against England on Saturday. The game started off like most US games in the World Cup do: with the other team immediately racing down the field and scoring. For some reason the Americans always think that the feeling out part of the first few minutes of the game assumes that the other team won’t try to score. That always leaves us chasing and we are horrible at it. Luckily we had a play happen that a) was incredibly lucky and b) always surprises me that you don’t see more of.
Dempsey’s goal was the damndest thing I ever saw because it was even more of a lucky shot than Kane’s cup winning goal on Wednesday night. He shot it straight at the goalie and it hit him right on the hands and then squirted away and he could only look in horror as the ball got behind him and into the goal. It is going to be one of the most memorable images of the World Cup: the England goalie looking on in horror as he realizes that he has just made one of the biggest blunders in ages.
But here is what surprises me about why it doesn’t happen more. Not that I expect goalies to flub shots but I cannot figure out why players simply don’t take more shots. Dempsey took the shot because he had an open look and there was nothing else for him to do but shoot. What you typically see are guys driving down the flanks and having a look at the goal and instead of shooting trying to pass the ball across six guys to the center. If the pass connects then it is typically an unstoppable goal. But almost all of the time the pass doesn’t connect. It’s off target or a defender gets there or the goalie cuts it off. If you shoot though at least something could happen. I never quite understand why guys just aren’t always firing straight at the keeper.
Still, all the US has to do now is play the way they should play and beat (or at least tie) Slovenia and then beat Algeria and we are through to the next round. And that is all that I am hoping for from this squad.
Best of 120 Minutes: There are desert island songs and then there are songs that make you want to knock down walls and break stuff. This is one of the latter songs. Smashing Pumpkins. The name says it all.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Matt Nathanson “At the Point”
2) Black 47 “Live in New York City”
3) C. J. Chenier “The Big Squeeze”
4) Marshall Crenshaw “This is Easy: The Best of Marshall Crenshaw”
5) She and Him “Volume Two”
Monday, June 07, 2010
World Cup Preview Part Two
Monday Weigh In: Clocked in at 207.5 pounds this week which is down a pound from last week. While I am a little annoyed that I am not making more progress (I would love it if one workout would result in my being in perfect shape) I am now seeing several weeks of losing that pound a week that I am aiming for. I still think that I can do better but the wonders of actually paying attention to portion size and getting fit is beginning to pay off.
Ok, time to finish off the World Cup preview. And be thankful that last night I didn’t use my Ghanareans pun.
Group E
Teams: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Predicted to move on: Netherlands, Cameroon
Thoughts: In what is always confusing the Netherlands are the Dutch and Denmark are the Danes. The Danes are not the Dutch though for what it is worth. You can always tell the Dutch due to the fact that they are always wearing Orange (and I’m talking University of Illinois level orange) and they are typically winning. If you want to cheer for a small European country with liberal drug laws this is your best choice. I’m pulling for Cameroon to sneak into the second round based solely on the fact that they are referred to as “The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon”. I’m not making that up; it is the official team name. Compare that to the US which is known as, “The Men’s National Team.” Japan is pretty much just happy to be here and the Denmark team would much rather be playing with legos.
Group F:
Teams: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Predicted to move on: Italy, Slovakia
Thoughts: Defending champion Italy gets a really easy draw as they should walk through the group. That said, Italy has a history of forgetting to show up for its first few games so there is a chance that anything could happen. The Italian team is best known for their blue jerseys, fiery tempers, and tendency to smoke while playing. I’ll cheer for Slovakia because my Czech squad didn’t make it so I’ll pull for our former countrymates. Paraguay is best known for having Ascencion as its capital or possibly Montevideo. Seriously, do we need both a Paraguay and a Uruguay? Can’t we just merge those countries into one and make all of our lives easier? If you live in a major city I would recommend finding the Kiwi bar to watch the New Zealand games. Not because you’ll be cheering the winner but mainly because Kiwis are really, really cool.
Group G:
Teams: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Predicted to move on: Brazil, Portugal
Thoughts: Glorious leader predicts great success for North Korea! Other nations forfeit games before taking field! Rumors that entire team defected upon landing entirely untrue! Possibility that poor performance will lead to invasion of South Korea quite high! I’m not kidding on the last one. I could actually see that happening.
Anyway, it is tradition in the World Cup that one group be known as “The Group of Death”. Since the groups aren’t seeded in the traditional sense one group always tends to get overloaded with top teams. That happened with this group as you have traditional powers Brazil and Portugal competing against up and comer Ivory Coast, which has the home continent advantage. Sadly, Ivory Coast’s best player broke his arm last week, which for some reason means he won’t be able to play. I don’t understand that given that you can’t use your hands but that means that Brazil and Portugal should move on. This is still the most interesting group to watch though just because no one has a clue what the North Korean team is going to be like.
Group H
Teams: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
Predicted to move on: Spain, Switzerland
Thoughts: Spain is one of the favorites for the World Cup and I’d expect them to make the knock out stage. However, this is Spain that we are talking about and if there is one team that chokes on a regular basis it is the Spanish. I mean, they literally take siestas during games. Honduras is in the Cup (while countries like China and India are not) and that in and of itself should leave you stunned. Come on, can you think of a category where Honduras would be considered one of the top 32 countries in anything? Chile has a chance but I expect the Swiss with their clockwork precision and complete neutrality to get the second spot.
Ok, time to finish off the World Cup preview. And be thankful that last night I didn’t use my Ghanareans pun.
Group E
Teams: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Predicted to move on: Netherlands, Cameroon
Thoughts: In what is always confusing the Netherlands are the Dutch and Denmark are the Danes. The Danes are not the Dutch though for what it is worth. You can always tell the Dutch due to the fact that they are always wearing Orange (and I’m talking University of Illinois level orange) and they are typically winning. If you want to cheer for a small European country with liberal drug laws this is your best choice. I’m pulling for Cameroon to sneak into the second round based solely on the fact that they are referred to as “The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon”. I’m not making that up; it is the official team name. Compare that to the US which is known as, “The Men’s National Team.” Japan is pretty much just happy to be here and the Denmark team would much rather be playing with legos.
Group F:
Teams: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Predicted to move on: Italy, Slovakia
Thoughts: Defending champion Italy gets a really easy draw as they should walk through the group. That said, Italy has a history of forgetting to show up for its first few games so there is a chance that anything could happen. The Italian team is best known for their blue jerseys, fiery tempers, and tendency to smoke while playing. I’ll cheer for Slovakia because my Czech squad didn’t make it so I’ll pull for our former countrymates. Paraguay is best known for having Ascencion as its capital or possibly Montevideo. Seriously, do we need both a Paraguay and a Uruguay? Can’t we just merge those countries into one and make all of our lives easier? If you live in a major city I would recommend finding the Kiwi bar to watch the New Zealand games. Not because you’ll be cheering the winner but mainly because Kiwis are really, really cool.
Group G:
Teams: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Predicted to move on: Brazil, Portugal
Thoughts: Glorious leader predicts great success for North Korea! Other nations forfeit games before taking field! Rumors that entire team defected upon landing entirely untrue! Possibility that poor performance will lead to invasion of South Korea quite high! I’m not kidding on the last one. I could actually see that happening.
Anyway, it is tradition in the World Cup that one group be known as “The Group of Death”. Since the groups aren’t seeded in the traditional sense one group always tends to get overloaded with top teams. That happened with this group as you have traditional powers Brazil and Portugal competing against up and comer Ivory Coast, which has the home continent advantage. Sadly, Ivory Coast’s best player broke his arm last week, which for some reason means he won’t be able to play. I don’t understand that given that you can’t use your hands but that means that Brazil and Portugal should move on. This is still the most interesting group to watch though just because no one has a clue what the North Korean team is going to be like.
Group H
Teams: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
Predicted to move on: Spain, Switzerland
Thoughts: Spain is one of the favorites for the World Cup and I’d expect them to make the knock out stage. However, this is Spain that we are talking about and if there is one team that chokes on a regular basis it is the Spanish. I mean, they literally take siestas during games. Honduras is in the Cup (while countries like China and India are not) and that in and of itself should leave you stunned. Come on, can you think of a category where Honduras would be considered one of the top 32 countries in anything? Chile has a chance but I expect the Swiss with their clockwork precision and complete neutrality to get the second spot.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
World Cup Preview Part One
Alright, it is time to preview the World Cup. This marks the three weeks every four years that we actually care about soccer (six weeks for those of us who find the Euro Cup moderately exciting.) This should be a fun preview as I only moderately follow world soccer which makes me a better judge of the competition than 98 percent of the people in America. I’ll go through the first four groups tonight and the second four groups tomorrow.
Group A:
Teams: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Predicted to move on: Mexico, France
Thoughts: South Africa is the host country and therefore should make the second round merely because every host country has made the second round since the dawn of time. However, this doesn’t take into account the fact that South Africa isn’t that good of a team. I give them a decent chance though of sneaking past France for the second spot given that France shouldn’t even be in the tournament due to a missed handball call in the game versus Ireland. A call that thus removes the possibility of the reigniting of the classic Ireland – Uruguay rivalry. Uruguay is best known for its capital city of Montevideo. Or possibly Ascencion. Basically Uruguay is a country that should just change its name given all of the snickering at the United Nations. Anyway, Mexico isn’t as good as it used to be but still should be able to advance. Rather weak group, which is probably intentional in order to give the host country the best possible shot.
Group B
Teams: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Predicted to move on: Argentina, Nigeria
Thoughts: Argentina is coached by national hero Diego Maradonna who celebrated his retirement from the beautiful game by apparently eating every single animal in the country. Dude is freaking huge now. I mean when he hangs out around the stadium he hangs out around the stadium. Still, while his coaching is suspect they clearly have the most talent here. The second spot is a bit of a toss up between Nigeria and South Korea. I’m going to give the nod to Nigeria due to their home continent advantage and the fact that they are historically a really fun squad to watch. South Korea is a much better soccer nation than you would ever expect. I don’t expect much from the Greece squad as most of them will be spending the game waving metal detectors over the field in the hopes of picking up scrap metal to sell. That is assuming that the country can afford the airfare to send the team down there in the first place.
Group C
Teams: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia
Predicted to move on: England, United States
Thoughts: USA! USA! USA! Or more accurately, “Yay, we drew a pool where we can legitimately make it through.” We should be able to beat Algeria and either beat or draw against Slovenia and that will be enough to move on. I even think that we could draw against England (win if things got really wacky) but for the most part we are the second best team in the group. If we play to our talent, which for this team is never a guarantee, we’ll move on. England will have its eyes on David Beckham even though I don’t think he is on the squad. I just assume that there is a BBC camera crew following David Beckham at all times. Algeria is just happy to be here and Slovenia is hoping that the World Cup allows for a) someone to be able locate the country on a map and b) people to realize that they are not the same as Slovakia.
Group D:
Teams: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Predicted to move on: Germany, Serbia
Thoughts: Germany plays soccer like they make cars or cook: methodical, precise and without any emotion or style whatsoever. It is like watching a group of accountants. They are some of the best accountants in the world and can beat any other group of accountants but still they’re a bunch of accountants. Serbia and Australia is an interesting little matchup but I think that Serbia is just going to be a little more experienced down in the trenches so to speak. I will say that of all the teams I’d like to go out drinking with the Australian team mainly because, well, they are a bunch of Aussies. Always a good time with them. Ghana just isn’t Ghana make it through. Get it?
Best of 120 Minutes: Given that I have the Stanley Cup going on in the background I figured that I would play my favorite hockey music video featuring Soul Asylum.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Jayhawks “Sound of Lies”
2) U2 “Under a Blood Red Sky”
3) R.E.M. “Automatic for the People”
4) Josh Rouse “Nashwille”
5) Counting Crows “August and Everything After”
Group A:
Teams: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Predicted to move on: Mexico, France
Thoughts: South Africa is the host country and therefore should make the second round merely because every host country has made the second round since the dawn of time. However, this doesn’t take into account the fact that South Africa isn’t that good of a team. I give them a decent chance though of sneaking past France for the second spot given that France shouldn’t even be in the tournament due to a missed handball call in the game versus Ireland. A call that thus removes the possibility of the reigniting of the classic Ireland – Uruguay rivalry. Uruguay is best known for its capital city of Montevideo. Or possibly Ascencion. Basically Uruguay is a country that should just change its name given all of the snickering at the United Nations. Anyway, Mexico isn’t as good as it used to be but still should be able to advance. Rather weak group, which is probably intentional in order to give the host country the best possible shot.
Group B
Teams: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Predicted to move on: Argentina, Nigeria
Thoughts: Argentina is coached by national hero Diego Maradonna who celebrated his retirement from the beautiful game by apparently eating every single animal in the country. Dude is freaking huge now. I mean when he hangs out around the stadium he hangs out around the stadium. Still, while his coaching is suspect they clearly have the most talent here. The second spot is a bit of a toss up between Nigeria and South Korea. I’m going to give the nod to Nigeria due to their home continent advantage and the fact that they are historically a really fun squad to watch. South Korea is a much better soccer nation than you would ever expect. I don’t expect much from the Greece squad as most of them will be spending the game waving metal detectors over the field in the hopes of picking up scrap metal to sell. That is assuming that the country can afford the airfare to send the team down there in the first place.
Group C
Teams: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia
Predicted to move on: England, United States
Thoughts: USA! USA! USA! Or more accurately, “Yay, we drew a pool where we can legitimately make it through.” We should be able to beat Algeria and either beat or draw against Slovenia and that will be enough to move on. I even think that we could draw against England (win if things got really wacky) but for the most part we are the second best team in the group. If we play to our talent, which for this team is never a guarantee, we’ll move on. England will have its eyes on David Beckham even though I don’t think he is on the squad. I just assume that there is a BBC camera crew following David Beckham at all times. Algeria is just happy to be here and Slovenia is hoping that the World Cup allows for a) someone to be able locate the country on a map and b) people to realize that they are not the same as Slovakia.
Group D:
Teams: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Predicted to move on: Germany, Serbia
Thoughts: Germany plays soccer like they make cars or cook: methodical, precise and without any emotion or style whatsoever. It is like watching a group of accountants. They are some of the best accountants in the world and can beat any other group of accountants but still they’re a bunch of accountants. Serbia and Australia is an interesting little matchup but I think that Serbia is just going to be a little more experienced down in the trenches so to speak. I will say that of all the teams I’d like to go out drinking with the Australian team mainly because, well, they are a bunch of Aussies. Always a good time with them. Ghana just isn’t Ghana make it through. Get it?
Best of 120 Minutes: Given that I have the Stanley Cup going on in the background I figured that I would play my favorite hockey music video featuring Soul Asylum.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Jayhawks “Sound of Lies”
2) U2 “Under a Blood Red Sky”
3) R.E.M. “Automatic for the People”
4) Josh Rouse “Nashwille”
5) Counting Crows “August and Everything After”
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