World Cup Preview revisited

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Just wondering if my comparisons between World Cup qualifiers and major league teams make any sense at all. With no major shockers in the quarterfinals, we're actually looking OK. The final 8 teams:

Mets, Cardinals, Giants, Braves
Yankees, Twins, Angels, A's

That wouldn't be a shocking ALDS/NLDS lineup at all. Not bad!

Actually, the matchups in the quarters should be great (including two rematches of previous World Cup finals). Unfortunately, the round of 16 games for the most part were not the kind of games that are going to be breeding any new soccer fans in the US.

Playoffs?

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Hey Mets fans, Baseball Prospectus' algorithm places the Mets odds of making the playoffs at 99.5%. It tags them for 99.9 wins. Time to start printing those tickets!

Ay, Papi!

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I'll let Surviving Grady describe just how lucky Red Sox fans are to have David Ortiz:

And another thing: Words are officially useless when it comes to describing Ortiz. Going forward, anyone wishing to describe the unstoppable awesomeness that is Papi should be forced to do so using only George Lucas-approved CGI effects, complete with spaceships, whirling planets, and plenty of 'splosions, because that's what the man is all about. As a last resort, interpretive dance is acceptable, but only if it includes a sequence in which one dancer, representing Ortiz, kicks another dancer, representing a pitcher, in the groin.

Normally, Chill and I are quite supportive of each other's teams, but for this mid-week battle it is on! On another note, I really hope that Pedro does not hear one boo when he is introduced on Wednesday. And I don't want to hear anyone try to rationalize that Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez should get similar treatment. Pedro ruled this town, Johnny Damon was fun.

Yankees go home

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Well that sucked. Luckily as a Red Sox fan I’ve felt this bad after a sporting event many times before, most recently Game 3 of the 2004 Yanks-Sox ALCS. But at least I didn’t have to go directly to the office afterwards after that letdown.

Here’s my 3 words or less review of the key components of the US World Cup 3 and out.

Kasey Keller – left helpless.
Eddie Pope – Retire
Oguchi Onyewu – Ready for premiership
Steve Cherundolo – Impressed
Eddie Lewis – Nicely done
Jimmy Conrad – Fine substitute
Carlos Bocanegra – One huge mistake
DaMarcus Beasley – No heart
Clint Dempsey – My new favorite
Pablo Mastroeni – Whatever
Claudio Reyna – Hit or miss
Landon Donovan – Played scared
Eddie Johnson – Underused, but lazy
Brian McBride – Lonely

Bruce Arena – Overrated. Outcoached. Unemployed.

Refs – Horrible. Card happy.

Dave O’Brien (announcer) – Clueless and annoying
Marcelo Balboa (announcer) – Didn't muzzle O’Brien
Eric Wynalda and Julie Foudy (ESPN studio) – right on

In the end we had a killer group, yes, but if we can’t beat Ghana then we don’t deserve to make the next round. If we only score one goal ourselves, then we don't deserve to make the next round.

I’m sure I’ll have one or two more things to say about the World Cup before it ends, but my heart won’t be in it.

The Winning Side (part 2)

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I wasn't perfect last time in picking the starting XI for the USA-Italy match, but seemed to be on the same page as Arena. He went with Bocanegra/'Dolo whereas I had Berhalter/Lewis, but we had the same idea, sacrificing one fullback who pushes forward well since the midfield would be a bit more offensive minded. I wanted John O'Brien over Pablo Mastroeni as the holding midfielder, and Jimmy Conrad over Eddie Pope as a centerback.

Arena obviously coached a great game, but I will point out that Mastroeni was sent off for a stupid tackle, and Eddie Pope was probably the primary culprit in the Italian goal, then let a ball go by his foot in the box that could have easily been a US goal off of a corner kick, and finally was sent off to put the US down a man for 43 minutes. So who knows, if Arena had fired up his laptop and taken my amateur advice, we may have just won that game! Right...

Anyway, here's my XI for the Ghana game tomorrow, which the US must win to have a chance of advancing. The only decision I struggled with was leaving Clint Dempsey out of the lineup. I had been pimping him to no end prior to the Italy match, he got his chance, and he didn't disappoint.

But, sticking Eddie Johnson in as a striker makes me a bit wary about bringing in Dempsey's poor defensive skills, especially with defensive-minded Mastroeni out after his red card. So, I'll go with Johnson, bring in O'Brien as the holding midfielder to play the middle with Reyna, and would bring in Dempsey early in the second half if we remain tied (or God forbid if we're losing).

US wins, Italy wins, and we're in. 10am tomorrow, or as I would like to call it National "I have a bit of a stomach ache, I'm hoping I'll be in around lunchtime" Day.

Pick your own side here, and leave your thoughts in the comments.

10 days of fun

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I watched Saturday's USA-Italy draw with my lovely wife and our gracious host, Chill. Just how thrilling a game it turned out to be, and how great an event the World Cup is overall, was best exemplified by Chill (if you don't mind me saying so Chill). Although he doesn't profess to be a big soccer fan, doesn't really follow the US team, and if anything may have considered himself a supporter of the Italian team against any other foe, Chill yelled himself hoarse, cursed out every member of the Italian team and the ref, and had yet to sit down by the end of the match. That is what the World Cup is all about, and the US team with their tremendous performance earned every bit of praise it is receiving from the press right now. I hate when sports players are called "courageous" but I can't think of a better word, so I'll just stop.

It is likely I will not be showing up to work til noon on Thursday. And as much as I hated them on Saturday, go Azzuri! If the US and Italy win, they will both go on to the next round.

As for the second biggest story line of the US-Italy match (after the US's balls performance), I will quote a soccer song:

I want a rope, a tree
to hang the referee
I said I'm blind, I'm deaf
I want to be a ref

My other thoughts on the World Cup so far, updating my previous comments:

I had pegged as overrated, and was right: Poland. They really didn't impress, and I believe were the first team officially eliminated from the second round. Same goes for Serbia and Montenegro, which I think I compared to a minor league team; a lot of people thought their strength made Group C the "group of death" but after a 6-0 thrashing by Argentina, I think that has been put to bed.

I pegged as underrated, and was totally wrong: Costa Rica could have benefited from Poland's poor play, but instead will be going home in a couple of days. I was picking with my heart on that one I'm afraid.

We DID get the group of death. I think it's now clear that the US is in the
toughest group. All four teams are alive after two games.

South Korea has the best fans. I know the Brazilian fans get a lot of credit, but I've never heard as much noise on a neutral field as the South Koreans were making against France today. How do they drown out the French fans, who barely had to travel? On a related note, how is it that every South Korea win seems to involve the ref either disallowing a goal that should have counted, or not seeing a goal?

I have to agree with the enjoyable ESPN blogger Simon Davies, who has called England's performance "absolute pants." When I first started talking World Cup, I pointed out that England probably had the highest number of "world class players" after Brazil. Well 4 players I put in that category - Lampard, Gerrard, Ashley Cole, Michael Owen - pants, pants, pants, pants.

France, I wish I didn't pick you for the finals in my office World Cup pool. I'm proud to say that I'm currently in 3rd out of 149 (mostly Brits), but the way France is playing I may be in trouble.

Go USA! Watch this space for my lineup selection, I actually was nearly spot on for Saturday (well apart for leaving out both players who got red cards), so I'll give it another shot.

The winning side

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Bruce Arena may not care, as he is probably already planning his retirement, so here is my rendition of the Italian-stomping side we should put out on Saturday. Create your own here, and post a link in the comments!

He needs to take some chances (Clint Dempsey), and it's likely that the Italians will overload midfield, so we may want to start with 5 across. At half-time, if that's not working, out comes Reyna or Convey for Eddie Johnson. I don't trust him to start, but his fresh legs for the second half could work.

Eddie Pope, Cherundolo, and DaBeasley all need to see the bench after their performances on Monday. We need to score on Saturday, and Beasley isn't helping us offensively. I'd like to have a stronger pure defender in back if we're going to have someone like Dempsey playing (and Beasley on the bench), so I'll go with Berhalter or Bocanegra over Cherundolo. Pope seriously hurt his hand and did not look good on Saturday, so let's give Jimmy Conrad a shot in the middle.

Perfect? Probably not. But we need something bold to happen. Go USA! Don't miss Saturday's game at 3pm, as their run may not last much longer.

A sure thing

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Was there any doubt that when Julian Tavarez came in with a 2-1 lead in the 12th, that he would blow the save?

Was there any doubt that Francona's insistence on having a wild pitcher intentionally walk a man to load the bases would backfire?

To no one's surprise but Tito, Tavarez was forced to groove one with a 3 ball count and the bases loaded, leading to a walk off grand slam. And 11 innings of 1-run ball is wasted just like that.

Are you ready for some futbol?

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With 13 hours to go, I just wanted to re-post my World Cup preview. It's linked here, in its entirety, for those that missed any parts of it.

Also, to get you in the mood, don't miss these videos of highlights of the two most exciting players in the world, FC Barcelona/Brazil's Ronaldinho, and Arsenal/France's Thierry Henry (my personal favorite).

3 Days and the world stands still...

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With just a couple days to go, good news for the US squad:

Claudio Reyna looked to be feeling no ill effects from the hamstring strain that sidelined him for the last two American friendlies...and the same was true for John O'Brien and his various ailments...Eddie Lewis sat out some of the drills, but that was due to the 70-odd minutes he logged in Monday night's closed door scrimmage with Angola.

I'm happy to see Eddie Lewis playing a good number of minutes, and it was also reported that Bobby Convey, who has really impressed me the last couple of weeks, will be getting significant playing time. Whether that is as a starter or sub is still up in the air.

Meanwhile, the US's first opponent Czechs are having injury problems. Having previously deferred on the question, I'm currently falling in the camp of the US won't advance past the first round. But I've been more encouraged the past couple of days, and if the ball can only bounce right on Monday...

Sergio's Movie Preview: June

UNIVERSAL REMOTE

In a new feature, Sergio does the work for you and decides which movies are worth a trip the multiplex.

MUST-SEE MOVIES OF THE MONTH

Cars
Pixar is six for six. Nobody in Hollywood goes six for six. I mean, not ever. It's for this reason alone I'm a little worried for a letdown. But then again, how many times are you going to get to see Owen Wilson have the hots for Bonnie Hunt?
Trailer
(June 9)

Superman Returns
X2 was the best superhero movie since Richard Donner's original Superman. Bryan Singer clearly has the chops for these kinds of movies. Especially interested in seeing Spacey's take on Luthor. I've missed Spacey the last few years. And the music is awesome.
Trailer
(June 30)

I'LL BUY THE POPCORN

The Break-Up
Vince Vaughn has always been a cinematic idol of mine. The word isn't so great on this one, so we'll see.
Trailer
(June 2)

A Prairie Home Companion
I know nothing about Garrison Keillor but with this cast (Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Maya Rudolph, Lindsay Lohan, Lily Tomlin, John C. Reilly, Virginia Madsen, etc.) and this director (the legendary Robert Altman), I'm definitely going to be getting an education. I hope it's funny.
Trailer
(June 9)

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Documentary about the legendary Zen baritone and ladies man. Anyone who's heard "Everyone Knows" and not been awed by the genius of the lyrics needs to get their head examined.
Trailer
(June 21)

MAY WAIT FOR NETFLIX

Nacho Libre
Jack Black wrestling shirtless with a Mexican accent sounds hilarious. Then why am I not more excited?
Trailer
(June 16)

The Devil Wears Prada
I'm into this only because Meryl Streep looks deliciously evil as the Boss From Hell. Plus, the wife is into it, so I might as well accept the fact that I'm going to see it.
Trailer
(June 30)

NO F%$KING WAY

Click
One of the most painful trailers I've ever seen.
Trailer
(June 23)

The Lake House
Keanu and Sandra reunite! Kill me now.
Trailer
(June 16)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
I never saw the other ones so I'd probably be lost.
Trailer
(June 16)

WORST OF THE WORST

The Omen
Hackteur John Moore had the nerve to use real-life footage of 9/11 to make his crappy remake seem "relevent." Repugnant.
Trailer
(June 6)