World Cup

Nederlanders

Did any Dallas Cowboys make the US team?

yes but if they win and they will beat Iran they are going to be crazy in the streets all day. and I will be with them.

Fountain of youth?

USA ?

World Cup fever

?MIERDA!

No joy in Mudville. Czechs 3, USA Bupkiss.

If we lose to Italy, I'm gonna start wearing a Maple Leaf and saying "eh" and "oot".

Quote:

Originally posted by Oso No joy in Mudville. Czechs 3, USA Bupkiss. If we lose to Italy, I'm gonna start wearing a Maple Leaf and saying "eh" and "oot".

USA Lost ?

Czech versus U.S.A. amounted to a soccer lesson.

BAJA???

don't try to get any business done on friday morning.

Disappointing Coverage

May not be that much to cover. Over 3,000 Brit hooligans have been turned back.
http://story.brazilsun.com/p.x/ct/9/id/aead9e1634cc4608/cid/...

Since you hate soccer and only like the violence, why don't you watch Stanley Cup Hockey?

"if you have nothing to say, the best thing is to ... shut up!" - Roberto

Of course, you would have to recognize the existence of the condition.

did you see that golly they had, he was something

NOBODY is watching Hockey.

El Mundial de las Sorpresas

This morning Argentina put in one hell of a performance that's going to be hard to beat. They look like the champs if they can keep this up.

And this is from a Dutchman

Looking ahead

On of my customers, a casual soccer fan and using a standard sports cliche suggested that maybe Mexico was caught 'looking ahead' to the next match.

"They're Mexican footballers", sez me.

<Pregnant pause>

"Oh, right"

Stirring ? Who Me ?

A very good morning to all the soccer fans AND the turd on the shower room floor as well!

Not even inane non-sequiturs can spoil my mood. It's Poppa Day weekend. Mine's been gone awhile so I don't have to buy anything. Al contrario, I got a new recliner to park my nalgas in. The Persians just got handed their second loss. More games ahead and it'll be too hot outside for yard work (As if I needed an excuse to sit on my burro)

I think I could even be philosophical about a loss to Italy today, IF it's clearly due to superior skills and we play our hearts out instead of standing around with our thumbs up our butts. Another P poor performance COULD ruin the day. But that's not positive thinking...

USA! USA! USA!

?Ghana ganando!

1-0 over Czechs at the half, whoodathunkit? If the Africans can keep it going through the second half it's spozed to be good news for us, but I forget exactly how. At the same time, it doesn't reflect that well on us, having our butts handed to us by the second ranked team in the world then seeing them stopped by newbies

We're already in trouble.

Not to worry,
If the Argentinians keep playing the way they played against Serbia, there's no team going to beat them, including the Brazilians. Poor Holland plays them next Wednesday and if the perform like they did against Ivory Coast, it's going to be a humiliation. And that from a Dutchman

?GANA GHANA!

Oh, so thaaat's why we were cheering for Ghana! It means we are not eliminated even if we do lose to Italy.

THANK YOU, GHANA!

The U.S. is trying hard, that's for sure. But, besides the goal Italy scored against itself, have they managed to put together a decent play yet?

Well, Bruce, I was almost convinced.

didn't jimmie the greek have an opinion, also?

1-1

Like kissing your sister? Well, in this case we got some tongue

...and the winner is:
Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay.

The prize?
Absolute WORST referee of 2006. If that SOB judges another game then FIFA is crookeder than anyone imagined.

"Hard-fought" would be an understatement for this one with 9 against 10. Good work by "Pi?ata" McBride. Even Beasley would have redeemed himself if his goal hadn't been disallowed.

Now, we just gotta beat Ghana and hope Italy beats the Czechs.

Bill, does that mean you actually watched it

Pretty much sums it up, A gracious nod to Keller, who definitely did his job well today.

When the 2nd red card against the US came out could anyone read the lips when they showed the US coach ranting? He was spitting fire...

Quote:

Originally posted by Oso Quote: Originally posted by Roberto Oso (and anyone else who think they might be able to understand Italian), check this out: http://www.repubblica.it/speciale/2006/mondiali/dati/dirette... Pretty much sums it up, A gracious nod to Keller, who definitely did his job well today.

Yes, especially in the end - I really didn't think he'd get that acrobatic tap from Del Piero.

Dept. of wretched clich

Non-contact sport?

I'm ready for tomorrow , I cant wait for Mexico to Winn

USA

now Mexico is in big trouble

At least they made it to the "Octavos de Final". Had to hit the road halfway through the Argentina/Holland match. Listened to the rest on AM radio in Spanish. Ended zip-zip, which means Mexico faces Argentina Sunday (I cannot explain why). And yes, this is trouble.

Just an afterthought: It may not be necessary to explain that my previous reference to "turd on the shower room floor" was purely metaphorical in nature but I wish to clarify that anyway, just in case anyone took it personal. I suppose I could have used "fly in the ointment" but the former seemed more sports related.

Vandenberg: One of my employees asked why your country is called "Paises Bajos". I explained that it was mostly at or below sea level and much of the territory had been recovered from the sea by building dykes, dams and levees. "Isn't it in danger of flooding from storms etc.?" "Yes," I said,"but they know that so they invest in technologically advanced protective systems. That's why New Orleans has asked advice from Dutch experts to prevent another Katrina." This discussion brought other questions, such as why it is PaiseS, NetherlandS, etc. in plural rather than singular? Why isn't it simply "Holland"?

Other than "Stoner Heaven", just what is the "official" name in Dutch, English and Spanish? Enlightenment please...

Tough either way. Now they need to wear sunglasses to avoid being blinded by all that glare from the stands where Maradona is wearing two diamond earrings and a diamond necklace- looks like a gay pimp.

Hey Den.....

?MIERDA!

Tempting to blame it on bad calls from bad refs and there certainly were some, but in the end we just didn't have it.

At least I can still cheer for Mexico.

Congrats to Italy. And Ghana.

Not to speak of whining Mexicans.:moon::moon::moon:

Bruce Arena must go. He has completely gutted any spirit and desire the US team had before bracket play. Can't blame the players 'cuz this is the best and most experienced team would could field. At no other time has US Soccer had as many of its players playing in Europe or the Premier, so it ain't the players. The last 20 minutes of the Ghana game showed that. It's the coaching. Bad calls are just that, everyone gets them so they're never a factor. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes not. Nope, it's the coaching. Who the hell starts a "must win" game with a 4-5-1!?!? Get a grip! In the second half, Ghana wants to protect their lead and guess what - they go to a 4-5-1 - perfect DEFENSIVE move. Why the hell does US Soccer insist on having an "american" coach. This is the only federation that does this. US Soccer has it's head so far up its @ss that we will never get anywhere unless they all resign. Jeeez...look what they did to the women! They took all their world cup money, and left a crappy coach to blow the next cup! Sounds familiar? Hienrichs should never have been the coach!

...and don't get me started on Dave O'Brien, the commentator. My god, go back to whatever sport you were doing because you certainly have no clue about this one! He can't get the cadence right, has no clue about momentum, won't shut up....jeeez what a loser. We'd be better off with that guy who announces the horse races fro Hollywood park and Del Mar. At least he has some passion.

Crimony....don't get me started......

Anyway, Germany looks solid, as does Argentina. Dark horse would be Ecuador or Portugal. Sorry to say but I don't thing Mexico has the gas.....they're out of shape....too many of Tias's tamales after practice!!

Sculpin, I agree with much of what you said - especially the commentator part, where I agree with all you said, but to me the biggest lack is in understanding the game, tactically. Compare them to the Mexican commentators, or any of the European ones.

This U.S. team was hyped beyond it's capabilities, which seem to be few, aside from being physically fit. Remember Alexei Lalas predicting that this World Cup would be between the U.S. and Brazil?

The level of experience of this formation, compared to teams like Germany, Italy, England, Brazil, Checksolovakia (oops, they're the Chek repulbic now), Holland, (even France) and most of the other teams in this tournament is minimal. Frankly, that's pretty hard to bridge. I think it's pretty amazing that the U.S. got where they did. Most of the players in this cup are professionals that play in outstanding national leagues on a daily basis, where they make millions of dollars a year. What does the U.S. have - the MLS? Please! And, though there are undoubtedly some good players in the U.S. formation, look at the depth of the other teams.

The coaching is an important piece for sure, but the experience factor plays there as well. What's Arenas background? Again, the MLS, UVA and (oh yeah) the U.S. national team. It's a different league altogether and a lot of work needs to be done before the U.S. can field a team to compete at the highest levels in the world and hope to win. Remember, they scored ONE goal in all three games.

As far as predictions, I don't know, but Italy looks pretty good to me.

[Edited on 6-22-2006 by Roberto]

Don't worry, you won't suffer any longer. With the exception of Univision, network interest in the rest of the tournament will sink to Mr.BillM's level. Look for an occasional soundbite on ESPN and absolutely nothing further from ABC.


Might as well watch the rest on Univision etc. and improve your Spanish. The more that goes in one ear, the less that comes out the other. SOME of it has got to get stuck in the middle.

[Edited on 6-23-2006 by Oso]

And without any fear of conflicting emotions.

And if Mexico bites the dust... Well, aside from my somewhat mandatory first two allegiances, my favorite national team has always been and probably always will be...

BRAAAAAAAASsiere

The kind that fastens in the rear

That holds the things I love so dear

BRASsiere, BrasSIERE

dum dum dum da da da da da


Slumbering through the first half with ?JAPON! actually leading 1-0, Brazil finally woke up with a classic Ronaldo header in the first minute of stoppage. Then the "old" Cariocas came back with a vengeance, whipping the Nips like a rented mule 4-1.

I'm almost ready to put money on Brazil to win the cup one more time...

If nothing else, they've always got the best looking fans. Anybody remember the focus on Ronaldo's girlfriend 4 years ago?

USA Ghana way.

Well, I was wrong. ABC is covering Germany-Sweden in the first game of the second round/round of 16/octavos de final (take your pick).

The blizkrieg is on with the Krauts 2 up in the first 15 min. , 2-0 at the half with the Swedes looking f....ed- playing with 10. Lucic out on a second yellow.

Overzealous refs seem to be a feature of this World Cup, more yellow flowing on the pitch than the mens rooms.

ESPN or Univision for the Mexico-Argentina match

Beckenbauer?

Yeah, love 'em.

Me too, once every 4 years is pretty much the only time I get excited about any sport. The level of play is so much more intense because the stakes are so much higher.

that would be a dream come true. but I'm afraid that is all it is a dream. but I will be rutting for Mexico all the way

Quote:

Originally posted by Bruce R Leech Quote: I will be rutting for Mexico all the way I love Mexico too, but not that way!

Hallelujah