Sunday's Not-So-Thrilling World Cup

The culmination of a month long sporting event is a beautiful thing. Sixty three hard fought matches, blown calls, team implosions all have led up to this moment. Countless days of waking up at seven in the morning, drinking Red Bulls just to stay awake, all with the thought in mind: this is all important, this will all lead to something special...
...And that special game, I can't watch it? It just so happens my parent's flight was scheduled to arrive a little after two Sunday, meaning the game would be going on while I picked them up, and over when we got home. So, this was all for nothing, I thought, as I held back tears.
Then it dawned on me, if the Cubs show replays of their 5-1 afternoon losses, then surely the World Cup final will be replayed some time tonight. I checked and it was going to be shown, on ESPN2, at one in the morning.
Under normal circumstances I would forget about it. I'd just check the score and be done with it. But how could I look back on this World Cup knowing all the time I've logged watching the games, the possible scenarios I'm conjured up in my head, the laughs I shared with Alexi and Steve, were all for naught because I couldn't even bring myself to stay up late to watch the final match.
So I did, pulling off one of the most impressive feats I've accomplished in a while. I knew that it would be difficult to stay up until 3:30 in the morning to watch a game I already knew the outcome of. So I did it. For the rest of the day I avoided the internet and sports channels completely. I don't know how I did it, it would be like a crack addict quitting cold turkey, but I did it.
So that's the set-up I successfully avoided all contact with any medium that could possibly notify me of the score...for a good ten hours. I made sure to get the customary Red Bull, which in hindsight, didn't wake me up at all. I don't drink energy drinks or take five hour energy or any of that enough to know, but I wonder if you're supposed to take that stuff before you're tired and let it kick in, or while you're tired and it's supposed to kick in?
So I turn on the TV at one in the morning and notice they're still showing World Cup Live, going through the highlights (I use that term loosely) of the game. I immediately turn the channel. Every two or three minutes I check back and switch back right away so I don't see the score.
Long story short, I happen to switch over at the wrong time...to an image of Spain celebrating. I tried my best, went almost eleven hours, and had now found out the outcome of the game right before it was going to start at 1:45. The wait for something that didn't materialize would be a microcosm of the night.
I was hoping for at least an interesting 90 minutes. A game full of wasted chances, maybe a few great saves, a ball off the post. There were a few nice saves, but overall, I could count the amount of good scoring chances on one hand.
The highlight of the first half was all the yellow cards. The sea of orange in Amsterdam was nothing compared to the sea of yellow on the field. This game combined for 13 yellow cards, and the funny thing is, every single one of them was warranted. Normally when I see this many, I'd have to assume the referee was a little card happy, but that wasn't the case at all. The Dutch just played a sloppy game in the first half. What was it? Four or five yellow cards in a span of a few minutes. One that should have been a red too.
I almost doze off in the 41st minute. I catch myself and start to walk around. I know its going to overtime, and I still have a long night ahead of me. The Red Bull is finished. I'm in this alone now. The same thing would happen in the 85th minute, once again I catch myself.
The only sense of suspense (I like that, sense of suspense. There's probably an obscure 80s band with that name) was during overtime. I knew the game was decided in overtime but not what minute the goal was scored. I mean, come on, it was 3:30 in the morning, that was exciting.
Of course, they made me wait until the 116th minute. I was beginning to think my mind was playing tricks on me and I'd seen wrong. Maybe there wasn't going to be a score. Here's what was cool about Iniesta's goal: it wasn't scored by David Villa. Which means there was a four way tie for goals scored. Thomas Muller, age 20, of Germany had the most assists so he will be awarded the Golden Boot. Not a bad introduction to the world stage.
In conclusion, the World Cup final was not the most exciting of matches, but that really didn't matter. More important to me was how things unfolded to get to that point. I don't care what anybody says, this is by far the best designed tournament in all of sports. As always, worth every bit of the four year wait. Even if it means staying up until 4:15 in the morning to get some sort of closure.

Germany-Uruguay Third Place Match

There's no better way to describe the third place game in the World Cup than to use a boxing analogy. Think of one of the opening fights leading up to Saturday's Pay Per View special. The fight is on national television, the biggest stage, despite very low stakes. Both fighters understand that they have nothing to lose and want to make a splash while they have the opportunity to do so.
The end result is a great fight. Very little defensive fighting. Guys swinging away, often leaving themselves wide open, hoping to deliver a knockout punch. It's never the prettiest of fights, often devoid of technique or strategy, but it's sure fun to watch.
That's exactly what today's third place game was like. Both teams had nothing to lose and they showed it out there on the pitch. The game was wide open and offense minded from the get go. Five total goals were scored in the game on 32 shots. Yes, 32.
Thinking about it, the third place game is the one we should show people to try and get them interested in the sport. Maybe they'll be tricked into thinking every game is like this and start watching. Obvioulsy, I wouldn't want every game to be like this, but for a warm up to tomorrow's final, it was great to see.
In addition to the entertainment value, a few things happened that peaked my interest.
First, goals from Diego Forlan and Thomas Muller mean that there is currently a four way tie for the Golden Boot. I looked it up and apparently, if there is a tie at the end of the World Cup, the tie is broken by number of assists. If there's still a tie, the winner is the player who played the least minutes. I would try and crunch the numbers to figure out who would win if the results stood, but at this point, I'd bet money that either Villa or Sneijder score in the final.
By the way, have there been two players who have helped their stock more than Forlan and Muller this World Cup? Muller went from being a 20 year old who Maradona didn't recognzie to Germany's best player. And Forlan established himself as the best free kick taker in the tournament. In fact, he clanked one of the top post that would have tied this game in the 92nd minute.
Last thought is on how the crowd treated Luis Suarez. Suarez is of course the forward who stood at the goal line at the end of the Ghana game and punched the ball away to save the goal, and what would turn out to be the game.
Was the booing justified? No. And it's not just because of the all too common argument that any player would have done what he did in his position. It's because he served up a win for Ghana on a silver platter. What more could they have asked for? They have their best player taking a penalty kick that will win them the game. He missed. It's their fault for not winning that game, it was given to them.
Booing a player is justified when a player returns to the city of his former team, on a new team, after deliberately throwing last year's playoffs series so he could play for that new team, all the while stringing along his former team despite having very limited contact with them all summer, only to announce he won't be playing for them on national television.
Sorry, I had to do it. Basketball has consumed me at this point. 

Spain vs. Netherlands World Cup Final

After the US was eliminated in the round of 16, my rooting interest in the World Cup was officially over. I still couldn't get enough of soccer, so I continued to watch the games, and decided to just enjoy them for what they were. You can't imagine how much of a relief it is, in a way, to just sit back and watch a competitive sport without a care in the world who wins.
But I have to admit, I did have a rooting interest in the semifinals. I was hoping for a Spain and Netherlands match-up, and I always get what I want. Well, not really. I'm sure you've heard the latest LeBron rumors.
A Spain-Netherlands matchup is so intriguing for a number of reasons. The main one of course being that a new champion will be crowned. Two countries with rich soccer histories and neither has won a World Cup. That will all change come Sunday. Miraculously, Spain has never been in a World Cup final, and the Netherlands, not since 1978. A win for either team will be great for their country and even better for the sport. Here's a few other intriguing story lines for the championship game:
Both teams know how to grind it out. Spain's last four victories have been decided by one goal. The Dutch have won all six of their matches, their last five by one goal. In a championship game that will likely be decided by a goal, both teams have demonstrated their poise in close games.
David Villa and Wesley Sneijder battle it out for the Golden Boot. It's fitting that the two top goal scorers have the chance to put themselves in the lead against each other. While I'm sure neither cares as much about the award as they do the victory, a goal by either would make the moment that much sweeter.
Fernando Torres tries to break his goalless streak. Watching Pedro trying to go one on one rather than passing it off to a wide open Torres during Wednesday's game made me cringe a little. Torres was so clearly open, and Pedro knew it but wanted to try and score for himself. But on the bright side, Torres is still without a goal, and will make the perfect scapegoat should Spain lose in the final.
An all Europe final!!! Ok, I'm not really excited about this, but it wasn't looking good for Europe for a while there. Early exits for the French and Italians, the looming threat of Brazil and Argentina, not to mention Paraguay and Uruguay. Despite the early chaos, things have worked out as planned, sort of. Let Europe have their fun, I say. They did invent the game.

Half the Stage Set For World Cup Final

Who would've thought Uruguay would even be in the position to make it to the World Cup Final? Nevermind the fact they weren't supposed to advance out of their group, it was the way they looked dead in the water during the remaining seconds of stoppage time of their semifinal matchup with Ghana.
FIFA couldn't have drawn up a more exciting finish to the game. I mean, a Luis Suarez handball at the goal line to deny a goal ends up winning the game for Uruguay rather than costing them. Some African newspapers went on to chastise Suarez, calling him a cheater, when in reality, a handball during that situation was the smartest thing he could have done, even if Gyan makes that penalty kick.
After a dramatic, and surely emotional win in penalty kicks over Ghana, Uruguay had to take on the Netherlands, their toughest opponent thus far. Early on, Uruguay appeared to be content with staying back and playing a defensive minded game.
That all changed after a 30 m strike from captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The goal forced Uruguay to open up their game a little bit, as they became more offense minded for the rest of the game.
Diego Forlan found the net for the fourth time this tournament in the 41st minute. His goal came on a beautiful strike also about 30 m out that deflected off of the goalkeeper's outstretched hand. Going into halftime, the game appeared as if either team could win.
Uruguay came into the second half much more aggressive than they were in the first 45 minutes. The Netherlands controlled possession for about 60 percent of the first half. That number dropped to 53 by the end of the game.
The Netherlands would put the game out of reach with goals in the 70th and 73rd minute. Wesley Sneijder scored the controversial first goal of the second half, which almost deflected off the leg of a possibly offsides Robin van Persie. The issue would have been if an offside van Persie could have affected the view of the goalkeeper.
With his fifth goal, Sneijder tied Spain's David Villa for most goals in the tournament.
Three minutes later Arjen Robben followed with a perfectly executed header that deflected off the left post and into the net. Despite a stoppage time goal from Maxi Pereira, the three goals proved to be too much for Uruguay to overcome.
The next step will be the Dutch's final matchup with either Germany or Spain. The Netherlands likely will be the underdog against either team, despite winning all six of their games this tournament. The Dutch are appearing in their first World Cup final since 1978, and are still looking for their first title.

6/26: Worst Day Ever

Slick Rick once said, "It's like a day, where nothing seems to go your way." His quote was in the context of a failing relationship, but for those of us not in a relationship, or who take sports a little too seriously, the line still applies.
Any sports fan can tell you that there's nothing better than having two big games in one day. Especially if these two games don't overlap each other. Such was the case on Saturday when the US and Ghana capped off the round of 16 at 1:30 CT, followed by game 2 of the Cubs and Sox at 6:05 CT.
To keep things in proper perspective sequentially, let's start with the US game. I can't lie, I have a March Madness like bracket of the round of 16 for the World Cup. I penned in each team after they advanced and looked at the thing for what amounted to over an hour. I couldn't get my eyes of off the US road to the Semifinals. It looked so good, I could already envision myself smiling, slowly but surely writing U-S-A into the next two thin white boxes.
Maybe I got ahead of myself, considering the US national team has exactly zero appearances in the World Cup semifinals. If they were going to do it, this was the bracket to do it in.
The US got outworked, out hustled, and were just plain slower than Ghana. Speed is usually an advantage for our strikers, and we didn't have it. We missed at least three easy opportunities that more experienced players would have converted. The officiating was terrible. The amount of yellow cards issued to us in the first half was ridiculous, coupled with the lack of foul calls in our favor.
It was a frustrating game all around. The US gave up their customary goal before the 15 minute mark, and to prove that wasn't a fluke, allowed another one in the first few minutes of the first overtime. Tim Howard let in two stoppable goals, especially the first one in the 6th minute. At the end of the game, rather than compete, Ghana fell to the field and rested for a few minutes while they let time go by. It's frustrating to watch all that, knowing the World Cup experience is over and won't be coming back for another four years.

Expecting the Cubs to win was a little irresponsible on my part. For the third series in a row they will drop their first two games and win the third. That first game should have been the tip off. But no, it wasn't. The season had been so utterly hopeless that splitting the season series with the White Sox, not winning but splitting, was the only thing left I could look forward to.
It took a half inning to know there was no way the Cubs were winning this series. Four runs and a Carlos Zambrano tirade (more on that in a future post) with all of Chicago watching, was all it took to showcase how this team has unravelled. 
I'm not even ashamed to say it. I turned the game off after the top of the 1st. I reluctantly listened to some of it on the radio. I hung out with some friends and was able to keep myself busy enough to miss the first 7 innings of the second game of the series, only to watch the Cubs blow it in the bottom of the 8th. "At least they'll win Game 3," I said after the loss.
On second thought, any sports fan can tell you that there's nothing [Edit] worse than having two big games in one day.  

Dueling Disappointment

A lot can change in four years. Think back to where you were, what you looked like, your life philosophy,etc. I for one, wore clothing two sizes too small, slept on a bed raised three feet below the ceiling, and had a poster of 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, and Suge Knight on my wall. Johan Santana was playing for the Twins, and Mark Prior was still playing. The Bears were in the Super Bowl and the Wisconsin Badgers were the number one team in college basketball for one week.
Seems like ages ago, right? That's because it was. Sometimes we forget that four years is a long time, especially when forecasting World Cup contenders. Four years ago couldn't have seemed farther away for Italy and France, the World Cup champion and runner up in 2006.
The elimination of both squads is not only surprising because of their FIFA world rankings (5th and 9th, respectively), but each team's past success. Italy has won four World Cups, including their 2006 match up with France. France won in 1998 as the host country, defeating Brazil.
Italy has earned the dubious distinction of being the biggest disappointment in the tournament, failing to advance in Group F, which figured to be the weakest group in the tournament. Group F featured New Zealand, the consensus worst team in the tournament, and and two middle of the pack teams in Paraguay and Slovakia. While FIFA World Rankings can and should be thrown out the window once the tournament starts, Italy had to feel pretty good about being the only team in their group ranked in the top 30.
Anything less than 7 points from the Italians would have been a disappointment, so perhaps the bar was set too high. They did have their fair share of nay-sayers, particularly concerned about their age. Age had nothing to do with their failures though. Their overall play was pitiful, especially against New Zealand, scoring only one goal despite outshooting them 7 shots on goal to 1 (23 to 3 overall), and controlling the ball for 57 percent of the match. Italy's failures do not solely rest on Buffon's injury. Aside from the last ten minutes of the Slovakia match, Italy struggled to muster quality offensive possessions.

France is the only team that can compare with Italy's disappointment, maybe even more so because of their complete collapse on and off the field. France was picked by almost everyone to be the top seed out of Group A, and expected to be a strong offensive team if their individual talent could come together. France looked completely lost on offense in their draw to Uruguay, continued that trend in their embarrassing loss to Mexico, and had given up by the time they were defeated by South Africa.
It can be said the only semblance of unity they showed the entire tournament was when they decided to go on strike. In a move that embarrassed them even more than their play, the entire French team went on strike for a day after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after a dispute with team manager Raymond Domenech. Anelka also reportedly got into a heated confrontation with the team's trainer during practice, leading to the trainer's resignation. These chances only come around every four years, and the French national team certainly picked the wrong time for a meltdown.
Come 2014, both teams are hoping a lot has changed.

Kings of the Hill

If you're into just looking at the results, there were no surprises in Group C, as the US and England both advanced to the knockout round with wins Wednesday. Sure, the results tell the ultimate story, but boy did you miss out.
How can you really describe how Landon Donovan scored America's only goal in the 91st minute? Goalie Tim Howard, tossed, no flung, no heaved, the farthest throw of a soccer ball I've seen in my life. And I thought it was hard for a shorstop to throw a runner out. This ball was thrown more than half the length of the field to a streaking Donovan.
The US had numbers, as Algeria was on the attack and not set on defense yet. Donovan cut through the middle of the field and dropped off a pass to Jozy Altidore coming from his right. Altidore beat his defender and snuck a pass to a charging Clint Demspey, who stuck the ball off the goalie. With the goalie and last defender lying on the ground, Donavan easily put the ball in the net off the rebound.
That description doesn't do the goal justice. Not even close. England had just secured a 1-0 win over Slovenia, meaning the US would have to win in order to advance. The US couldn't capitalize off of a slew of good scoring chances, and in a deja vu moment, had another questionable offsides call against them that took away a Dempsey goal in the 23rd minute.
It wasn't looking good, to say the least. Bob Bradley opted for another striker when he substituted DaMarcus Beasley for defender Jonathan Bornstein in the 81st minute. It was about that time when I thought this game would end in a tie. My brother turned to me and said, "I didn't even know Beasley was still on the team."
We were both so frustrated about the US inability to score that we complained about Algeria's offensive strategy. "Those bastards are playing for the tie."
"They do know this is a must-win game for them too?"
And then the goal happened. One of the more improbable moments I've witnessed in sports. Some have called it the greatest goal in US history. I don't know about that, but it sure means a lot to me.
With the US win, they earned the top seed out of Group C. The US and England both finished with 5 points, but the US owned the tiebreaker because they outscored the English by 2 goals in group play. The US will now face Ghana in the next round on Saturday. This should be an interesting match up, mainly to see which team will be the aggressor. Ghana sat back and defended a strong German team and could possibly do the same against an offensive minded US squad. The US also may be best served to clamp down defensively early on so they don't find themselves playing from behind. Something will have to give...
I don't want to jinx anything, but (on paper) the US will have the easiest road to the semifinals. With a win against Ghana, the US would face the winner of Uruguay or South Korea. Compare that to the other bracket which already includes Germany, England, and Argentina. Another bracket will house Brazil and the Netherlands, and the other Spain and Portugal (of course, barring unforeseen results). I like the US chances much better in their bracket than any of the others. Keep your fingers crossed.

Now or Never For US Soccer

Heading into their third game of group play and yet to record a victory, the US is in about as good a position as they could hope to be in for their game against Algeria tomorrow morning. It's simple, if the US wins, they advance to the next round. The ability to control their own destiny is about as much as they could ask for at this point.
Here's the other possible situations in which the US could advance:
US and Algeria draw, Slovenia defeats England. Not a far fetched scenario, especially considering how poorly England as played thus far. However, I wouldn't count on England to lose. They've already played about as bad as they're capable of playing and have still tied both games. If they do lose though, Slovenia will come out of the group with 7 points and the number one seed, and the US will be the two seed with 5 points.
US and Algeria draw, Slovenia and England draw. If both the US and England end up drawing, they'll each finish with 3 points, but the US will advance if England does not outscore them by two goals. Currently the US has scored 3 goals, and England 1. A draw is very possible in both games. The US put themselves in an advantageous position by scoring two goals against Slovenia.
On the flip side, if the US loses to Algeria they will be eliminated. This would be crushing for a team that was expected to make it to the round of 16. This has to be treated as a must win game. There would be nothing worse than drawing Algeria and finding out the English won, putting themselves and Slovenia into the next round. Of course, had the referee gotten the call right and awarded the US their third goal of the Slovenia match, and the win, they would be in a much better position now. But we can't dwell on that now, the US had no business giving up two goals in that game to begin with.
They key to the Algeria game will be the key to every US game from here on out: They have to eliminate the early goal. Playing from behind is a death sentence for the US, especially since a draw doesn't guarantee they advance. They have enough firepower to penetrate the solid Algeria defense, whether the US can maintain their defensive focus in the first fifteen minutes of the game remains to be seen.

North Korea is the Key to Group G

The so called "Group of Death" just got a lot more interesting after the opening round games Tuesday night. The first game between Portugal and Ivory Coast figured to feature the two teams that would be competing to be the second team out of the group. It was a match that featured its fair share of flopping, and quite frankly, Ivory Coast outplayed the favorite Portugal. However, the game ended in a 0-0 tie, leaving each team with a point, and a bit of instability.
A win for either Portugal or Spain would have almost certainly guaranteed them advancement to the next round, but now the landscape of Group G has completely shifted to an unlikely team, North Korea.
Not much was known about North Korea coming into the World Cup, other than they were ranked 105th internationally, and figured to be manhandled in all three games.
North Korea played surprisingly good defense in the first half against Brazil, and even scored a goal towards the end of the game to lose 2-1. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, the Brazilians appeared more sluggish than usual offensively, perhaps overlooking the North Koreans. The goal they gave up also looked like the Brazilian defense had basically packed it in for the night. Despite each team's showing, North Korea will still be the underdog for their next two matches, and Brazil will be the favorite.
So let's assume Brazil wins all three games as they should. This would mean Portugal or Ivory Coast's advancement is contingent upon how they play North Korea. Assuming they both win, goal differential would be used to determine who advances. Portugal gets the first shot on June 21st, and then Ivory Coast on June 25th, the last day of group play.
Just think, the most mysterious team of the entire tournament has the potential to indirectly make the biggest impact on it. Portugal and Ivory Coast can both go far in this tournament, but in order to do that they're going to have to bring their full offensive arsenal against a North Korea team that has proven themselves defensively. Imagine a scenario where Ivory Coast assumes they have to win by two or three goals in order to advance. Now that's a game worth checking out.
Go figure, the "Group of Death" will be decided by the team that was pronounced dead before play even began.

Give Soccer A Chance

You know how there's always that one food you think you hate? You hated it as a kid and possibly through your teenage years, and through some ill-fated turn of events you're confronted with this food again. You must consume this food or risk appearing like an ungrateful bastard.
My food was green beans and it was at my cousin's wedding that I felt compelled to eat them for the first time in about ten years. I always thought I hated green beans. I never liked them as a kid so I assumed that dislike would carry over. Wrong. Green beans are delicious. At my cousin's wedding it was either green beans or hunger. I chose green beans and I'm so glad I did because I had no idea what I was missing.
I know it's a bad analogy, but let me say this, Americans, when it comes to soccer, you don't know what you're missing. I know, games end in ties, even 0-0 ties. Three total goals is an offensive explosion. There's times when the ball is kicked back and forth for a minute or so. But trust me, just try it, you will find it delicious.
The beauty of World Cup soccer is the way the tournament is constructed. There's 8 groups, each consisting of 4 teams. Each team plays the other once, resulting in 3 games per team in the opening round. 3 points are rewarded for a victory, 1 for a tie, and 0 for a loss. The two teams with the most points in each group advance to the next round, resulting in a 16 team bracket exactly like the Sweet 16 in college basketball.
From there on it's win or go home, if the game is tied, they go up to two 15 minute overtimes before heading to a best of 5 penalty shootout. Just think of all the opportunities for drama. Not only can a strong team potentially be knocked out in the opening round if they blow just one game, but in single elimination anything can happen.
I was a typical American. I didn't like soccer because I liked football, basketball, and baseball. I didn't like soccer because I wasn't supposed to like soccer. Soccer was boring, there wasn't enough contact, and definitely not enough scoring.

Long story short, I gave soccer a try in 2002. It was about one or two in the morning, I was eating Doritos and drinking Pepsi like a normal 15 year old does at that time. I was searching for something to watch and nothing was on except the US versus South Korea. Luckily, I had tuned in just before they started and I watched the entire game, hooked. The US struck first, on a mohawk-sporting Clint Dempsey goal in the 24 minute. They held a 1-0 lead until the 78th minute when the hometown team tied it up. The game would end in a 1-1 tie and I didn't care. I was so enthralled with the action that the fact that there was no winner didn't matter to me.
After the game I began reading anything I could find about the World Cup and US national team in particular. Little did I know, the US team had already played a game and defeated Portugal, one of the favorites to win the entire thing in 2002. The US would go on to lose to Poland in their third game, but move on to the next round with a 1-1-1 record, good for 4 points. They then pulled off an improbable upset of Mexico before they were finally defeated by eventual runner-up Germany in the quarterfinals.
I cannot explain the excitement that came with rooting for South Korea to beat Portugal in their opening round matchup. Had Portugal won, the US would not have advanced to the next round. That's one of the great things about group play, and why I think ties make things more interesting. Because the US and South Korea game ended in a tie it opened up the possibility of either Portugal or the US advancing. Had Portugal beat South Korea they would have advanced, but because they didn't the US was able to lose to Poland and still advance, all because of the tie.
Saturday's US-England matchup was probably the most hyped US match ever, so if you didn't check it out, there's probably no convincing you. England scored their first and only goal in the 4th minute, looking like they were about to have their way. Then in the 40th minute, England goalie Robert Green let a routine ball by Clint Dempsey bounce off him and into the net. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, a victory for the US who most expected to lose.
Some things take getting used to. For me soccer was one of those things. Do yourself a favor and watch with an open mind. You'll be surprised at how entertaining soccer is.