C.R.E.A.M.

Get the moneys. Dollar, dollar bill y'all.

I just paid $400 for two nosebleed tickets for a pre-season practice game that will probably not feature the biggest names of the sport playing for arguably the two most famous soccer teams on this planet (Manchester United and Barcalona). I'm not bitching. I didn't have to pay for this. It's just an example of how much money is flowing here. The game is a "sellout" (you can still pay scalpers for tickets).

Another example...

Doha, Qatar has an average high temperature of over 100° F in June. It has a dreadful human rights record regarding its migrant worker population.
Yet, this country was selected as host of the 2022 World Cup.

We'll move the tournament to November and December when it's cooler (despite being mid-season for the major leagues in Europe), FIFA says.

We'll investigate the poor working conditions, FIFA says.

By the way, Qatar is the richest country in the world by GDP per capita.

Finally, finally, this organization is being taken down.

For soccer fans worldwide, it's been a long time coming.

This bribery scandal could be the biggest in history. We're talking billions of dollars.
It's about damn time.

Happy Pills?

Is it me, or do the US Men look miserable out on the field? I don't mean the way they're playing, but their lack of joy at playing. Donovan hinted at his occasional lack of passion recently, but it feels like no one on that team is having fun.

Taylor Twellman mentioned during yesterday's broadcast that the boys might be tired. They're definitely playing like it now. The mood of the team just seemed dour. It's a sharp contrast to their smiling, positive coach.

I makes me wonder if Jürgen turns into Mr. Hyde during practice. Grinding them down behind the scenes.

Okay, enough German S/M Nazi fantasies. :)

I gotta agree with Twellman. They look like they need a day or two off. It wouldn't surprise me if Guatemala pulls off the upset on Tuesday.

Wow.

Yup. Spain took 'em out behind the woodshed and they ran away with their pants down.

I know it was a makeshift crew to start the game, but daaaamn. Have some organization boys.

That said...

I've had my doubts about Michael Bradley lately. He redeemed himself well this game, he brought some much needed stability and calmness to the midfield when he came in second half. Deuce did his part too, but I still think he should be a target forward. Props to Cherundolo for holding up his side of the defense.

----

Speaking of Whoop-Ass. Costa Rica's put five past Cuba thus far. I'm liking the Cuban's generic adidas jerseys.

Chuck Blazer fired...then not.

The fun for FIFA and CONCACAF continues:

If I'm Chuck Blazer,

Go get 'em Bear.
(thanks to CrushTheNeoCons and Warner Bros. for the video)

Day 17 - Ruh row

To the tune of Rule, Britannia!:

O dear England,
her fans too blind to see,
you're the Queen of Mediocrity.

Well, they might be seeing it now. At least we US fans weren't expecting them to win the whole thing. Missed goal call or not, y'all got your ass whooped.

Same with Mexico. I was cheering for ya, but damn, Argentina made you look like an amateur side.

Day 12

Congrats to Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and South Korea for making it through. South Africa made Mexico sweat for a bit, but it was nowhere near the excitement of Nigeria/South Korea. Yakubu with the miss of the tournament. Even the penalty he scored moments later won't ever wash the taste of that miss out of his mouth.

As good as it looks for South America, is as bad as it looks for the African teams. I'm rather sad about that.

My focus now is trying to figure out the ways the U.S. can avoid Germany in the round of 16. :)

Day 11

Nothing to see here...move along.

Looks like scores stayed true to form.
Adios mi amigos de Honduras.
(hope I got that right) :)

Portugal...damn. Adios Ivory Coast.

Day 7

Looking at how Group A and B are shaping up brought up an interesting point. Since Mexico and Uruguay are now tied with 4 points with France and South Africa only having 1 point, all Mexico and Uruguay need to do is tie their final group game and both are through.

However there is one reason for Mexico and Uruguay to be competitive...Argentina. Whoever finishes second in the group will most likely face Argentina in the Round of 16.

For a similar reason the U.S. needs to not just win their next two games, but score as much as possible to win Group C. If things fall into place, they'd avoid Germany, and have a reasonable chance to make it to the semis by avoiding the big dogs.

Day 6

Well done Swiss. It made me flash back to the Confederations' Cup and the upset by the US.

Pity poor South Africa. I personally think the guy dove to get the keeper tossed, but it's still a huge blow for their chances of getting out of the group. Then again France is imploding before our eyes. The France/Mexico match becomes much bigger in determining the outcome of this group.

Day (wait, did Germany just score again?) 3

Die Mannschaft whipped it out and smacked it across some Aussie faces today.

My man Dracula's a ref in the World Cup!

I was gonna talk about how good Ghana looked to...
(Germany scored again!)

The U.S. and England better go through after watching that hot mess of the other two teams in the group.

Day 1 thoughts

South Africa/Mexico was a joy to watch. I usually cheer for Mexico against other teams, but because of what South Africa's been through, my heart was going for them. Fun game to watch. Watching Archbishop Tutu dancing after the fabulous goal by Tshabalala was the embodiment of that joy.

I see what they mean about the ball. That thing's lively. Lots of players were skying free kicks and crosses.

Watching Lalas and Ruud together during the breaks of the Uruguay/France game was entertaining in its discomfort. I don't think Lalas looked at Ruud until the post game wrap up (I bet a director pointed it out to Alexi). Read The Beckham Experiment to find out why. :)

Martin Tyler, just call the game, please. The moment you start waxing poetic about stuff other than soccer, it's kind of embarrassing. Your broadcast partner today was just as bad. There was some "African rhythms" comment that was just cringe-worthy.

Uruguay/France was the kind of game that soccer haters point to. I can't blame them here. What a slog of a game.

Gosh, I wonder what's on tomorrow?

;)