So I don't want to brag but I've watched all of the World Cup games lives so far this summer. And I'm obviously a US fan but I don't think I'm being biased when I say that they have played the 3 most exciting games in the tournament. There have been other great games but nobody really had 3 straight nail biters.
Apparently the US got tired of the first script they were following. Going behind early only having to comeback was getting old so after 2 games of the same old same old they went with something even better. The old almost-score-5-or-6-times-only-to-have-to-score-in-injury-time was what they went with and it was killer.
I'm thinking that Landon Donovan's goal in the 91st minute that sent the US through to the Round of 16 has to be one of the all time greatest plays by one of the teams that I follow religiously.
Other plays that immediately come to mind:
Jeff Green last second shot vs Vanderbilt - Sweet 16 2007
Jon Wallace three point shot to force OT with UNC - Elite 8 2007
Nick Rimando PK save vs Dempsey - 2004 ECF
Darrell Green knocking down a pass on the goal line vs Vikings - 1987 NFC Championship
Darrell Green returning the punt vs the Bears - 1987 Divisional Playoffs
I'm sure I'm forgetting other great plays but that's what I got right now.
Back to the US v Algeria game:
Why was Algeria playing for a draw most of the game? Luckily they were trying to score late or the US might not be playing tomorrow.
Tim Howard needs more credit for the goal. His throw was huge.
I was glad to see Beasley get on the field. I thought the Yellow was bogus.
Bradley made really good subs.
It's hard to believe that Demeritt plays for Watford. As an Arsenal fan I'd rather him being on the bench than Silvestre.
The rest of the teams that went through on Wednesday:
I had England going through before the tournament so I'm not too surprised. What a bummer for Slovenia. They lose their game and hear that the US is tied so they were probably ok. Then a few minutes later they find out they are out of the tournament. OUCH.
Germany went through to the next round. I think everybody had that one. I had Ghana going through as well but WTF happened to Serbia? Talk about blowing it. I guess credit goes to the Aussies but what a brick by the Serbs.
I got all of the teams in C and D correct. I just had the teams in C flipped. I'll take it.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
world cup 2010 - 4 teams gone
Well for whatever reason I can't seem to find the time to blog everyday so I'm just going to start over with the last games of the first round. The "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here" round.
Every team was alive going into today's games. Some teams needed help but everybody still had their chances on the field.
I have been giving the African team's the benefit of the doubt more often than not in my Yahoo! Pick'em league and I've been paying the price for two whole weeks now.
It's a bummer that South Africa didn't advance. Especially at the expense of the Mexicans but they just didn't deserve it. Raise your hand if you had France last in this group? I always root for France but they were just straight sauce over 3 straight games. I'm sure there are a lot of Leprechauns out there getting smashed tonight because France went out like they did. I'll never know how they kept that coach after the horrible showing in Euro '08. It didn't make sense then and it makes even less sense now.
Nigeria. I really thought they could get through today. You knew Argentina was going to beat Greece. So all they had to do was beat South Korea in a winner take all death match. Yakubu had a tap in. That's all he had to do. Even without that they were just peppering the net over the last 20 minutes or so in a last ditch effort to make the Sweet 16 . It made for some of the best action of the tournament so far.
Another 4 teams go home or somewhere besides South Africa after tomorrow. I hope the Yanks can figure out a way to stay on Safari for a little while longer.
Every team was alive going into today's games. Some teams needed help but everybody still had their chances on the field.
I have been giving the African team's the benefit of the doubt more often than not in my Yahoo! Pick'em league and I've been paying the price for two whole weeks now.
It's a bummer that South Africa didn't advance. Especially at the expense of the Mexicans but they just didn't deserve it. Raise your hand if you had France last in this group? I always root for France but they were just straight sauce over 3 straight games. I'm sure there are a lot of Leprechauns out there getting smashed tonight because France went out like they did. I'll never know how they kept that coach after the horrible showing in Euro '08. It didn't make sense then and it makes even less sense now.
Nigeria. I really thought they could get through today. You knew Argentina was going to beat Greece. So all they had to do was beat South Korea in a winner take all death match. Yakubu had a tap in. That's all he had to do. Even without that they were just peppering the net over the last 20 minutes or so in a last ditch effort to make the Sweet 16 . It made for some of the best action of the tournament so far.
Another 4 teams go home or somewhere besides South Africa after tomorrow. I hope the Yanks can figure out a way to stay on Safari for a little while longer.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
2010 world cup day 2
Day 2 of the World Cup was all about an early 4th of July celebration. My thought was to ring in the festivities with a waffle bar but nobody else was game as evidenced by the complete lack of any sort of turnout.
Luckily Brendan and I were able to use out time wisely as we transformed an idea into a reality by redecorating Welcome to Rick's.
Day 2 would also mark the first time that I changed a game pick just before kickoff. I switched a Nigerian win to that of an Argentinian. It worked out well but I generally think it's a bad idea to do that type of thing. I'm confident that it will bite me in the ass before this tournament is over.
What else happened? We saw a commercial for a show called Dance Your Ass Off that showed some incredible promise. It was immediately added to the DVR to-do-list. I mean who doesn't want to watch fat people dance?
Lars Lagerback. We have a winner for the name of the tournament. I could say his name 100 times in a row and find it funny 100 times in a row. I should also point out that I say it a retarded accent. I hope that I've painted you one hell of a picture.
Oh right, that USA game that I talked about earlier. So that finally came on. I was a little upset at the lineup. I'd rather have seen Buddle than Jozy. Torres than Clark. JD and Mike showed up just around this time
Did I mention that I bought an incredible amount of beer with various levels of potency? Well I did.
As everybody knows, England scored real fast thanks to a non-marking situation. My first instinct was to throw my beer bottle at the TV. My second instinct was to tell everybody to relax because the US was never going to shut them out. Sure it was a bummer they scored so quick but it's never a good time to give up a goal. I'm glad that I ignored my first instinct.
It's really hard to watch a game like that. There is so much stress and tension that I'm physically uncomfortable. Getting into halftime at 1-1, you just really wanted the 2nd half to be canceled. Or at least I did.
If there was one thing that would have caused me to destroy my TV in the 2nd half, it would have been watching Crouch do the Robot after scoring a game winning goal. That would have been the worst.
So you grab the point and you move into a "must not lose game" on Friday. Not must win. Must not lose. Big difference.
If you are really feeling it, you are now in a two game goals contest against England. I'm not sure that the US is good enough to think that way just yet. But it would be cooler if they were.
Luckily Brendan and I were able to use out time wisely as we transformed an idea into a reality by redecorating Welcome to Rick's.
Day 2 would also mark the first time that I changed a game pick just before kickoff. I switched a Nigerian win to that of an Argentinian. It worked out well but I generally think it's a bad idea to do that type of thing. I'm confident that it will bite me in the ass before this tournament is over.
What else happened? We saw a commercial for a show called Dance Your Ass Off that showed some incredible promise. It was immediately added to the DVR to-do-list. I mean who doesn't want to watch fat people dance?
Lars Lagerback. We have a winner for the name of the tournament. I could say his name 100 times in a row and find it funny 100 times in a row. I should also point out that I say it a retarded accent. I hope that I've painted you one hell of a picture.
Oh right, that USA game that I talked about earlier. So that finally came on. I was a little upset at the lineup. I'd rather have seen Buddle than Jozy. Torres than Clark. JD and Mike showed up just around this time
Did I mention that I bought an incredible amount of beer with various levels of potency? Well I did.
As everybody knows, England scored real fast thanks to a non-marking situation. My first instinct was to throw my beer bottle at the TV. My second instinct was to tell everybody to relax because the US was never going to shut them out. Sure it was a bummer they scored so quick but it's never a good time to give up a goal. I'm glad that I ignored my first instinct.
It's really hard to watch a game like that. There is so much stress and tension that I'm physically uncomfortable. Getting into halftime at 1-1, you just really wanted the 2nd half to be canceled. Or at least I did.
If there was one thing that would have caused me to destroy my TV in the 2nd half, it would have been watching Crouch do the Robot after scoring a game winning goal. That would have been the worst.
So you grab the point and you move into a "must not lose game" on Friday. Not must win. Must not lose. Big difference.
If you are really feeling it, you are now in a two game goals contest against England. I'm not sure that the US is good enough to think that way just yet. But it would be cooler if they were.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
2010 world cup day 1
For some reason Kilroy's opened up at 9am for the opening game of the 2010 World Cup today. I mean it's cool that they did that but I'm not really sure why they decided to open up 2 and a half hours earlier than normal. Mexico v South Africa didn't seem like a huge draw to me but I appreciated the gesture and I figured that I might as well go up there to support the early opening so that they might do it again in the future.
And they had a breakfast bar. I love breakfast when other people cook it.
So they had about 8 people up there when the game started. About 20 when it ended. That's about what I figured. The breakfast bar was only eggs and bacon. If there had been some hash browns involved I would have given it a passing grade. There was a special on Miller Lite but I opted for the Mimosa's. Not bad.
Highlights: Kilroys thought the first game started at 9am. It started at 10am. The bartenders were kind of annoyed at that.
Vuvuzelas - I like them. Bartenders hated them in 2009 and they still do.
Yahoo Pick'em - I'm playing in a pick'em league and I got both of today's games right. I even got the score right in the first one. I doubt that happens too often.
Mexico v South Africa - Very entertaining game. Most people didn't know the offsides rule. I was rooting for the Bafana Bafana but I wasn't surprised that Mexico was able to equalize.
France v Uruguay - Awful game. Why didn't France get a new coach after the Euros? Why doesn't Ribery ever pass? Why does Evra suck for France but not Manchester United? France is my 2nd favorite team because it's basically a rough outline of Arsenal. Sure Uruguay makes the games ugly but they should have taken 3 points today. That might come back to get them. Things like that usually do.
And they had a breakfast bar. I love breakfast when other people cook it.
So they had about 8 people up there when the game started. About 20 when it ended. That's about what I figured. The breakfast bar was only eggs and bacon. If there had been some hash browns involved I would have given it a passing grade. There was a special on Miller Lite but I opted for the Mimosa's. Not bad.
Highlights: Kilroys thought the first game started at 9am. It started at 10am. The bartenders were kind of annoyed at that.
Vuvuzelas - I like them. Bartenders hated them in 2009 and they still do.
Yahoo Pick'em - I'm playing in a pick'em league and I got both of today's games right. I even got the score right in the first one. I doubt that happens too often.
Mexico v South Africa - Very entertaining game. Most people didn't know the offsides rule. I was rooting for the Bafana Bafana but I wasn't surprised that Mexico was able to equalize.
France v Uruguay - Awful game. Why didn't France get a new coach after the Euros? Why doesn't Ribery ever pass? Why does Evra suck for France but not Manchester United? France is my 2nd favorite team because it's basically a rough outline of Arsenal. Sure Uruguay makes the games ugly but they should have taken 3 points today. That might come back to get them. Things like that usually do.
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