Copa Mundial Procrastination

I was all set to head out to a few stores (grocery store, Lowe's) this morning after my morning run, but there was a problem: Germany v. Sweden. Fortunately, Deutschland scored twice in the first 12 minutes, so at the 30 minute mark I hit the road. With the U.S. out, Germany is my team now, and boy are they easy to root for. They play an exciting form of football, not at all like England's matches thus far, which have been some of the most boring in the tournament. With the capricious nature of goals, why hang back and wait for opportunities? Keep attacking, like Germany does! It's not only an entertaining form of football, but I think it's sound strategy as well. I was actually quite surprised that the final was 2-0, and that the home side didn't tack on a few more goals. Their defense - what I saw of it - looked solid as well. Next match versus Argentina won't be so easy (have I mentioned that I don't give Mexico much of a shot?).

Milena pointed out that for my group play predictions, I was three for eight. Not too bad, but I was hoping for at least fifty percent. What was I thinking with the U.S. and Iran picks?!? I should have known better than to pick the Great Satan and a member of the Axis of Evil to advance out of group play.

New blog links to your right - Aunty Milly and the Calscape.

25 MPH Electric Car Doesn't Cut It

In the same way that huge SUVs can adversely affect others' safety, and also effectively limits car buying choices, this all-electric car with a top speed of 25 mph is a similarly bad idea. Just as driving an Excursion or a Suburban means that anyone who buys a small car lives in fear of getting mashed into the grille on the highway, drivers on city streets shouldn't have to worry about minor accidents caused by a car without enough power to get up hills, which have the potential to become major accidents because the car is designated as a Low Speed Vehicle (and thus is exempt from airbags). Besides, who drives the speed limit in 25 mph zones anyway? Typical speeds in these zones are 30-35 mph; 25 mph is really incredibly slow. There are humans that can run about that fast, and if a cheetah happened to be chasing you, it would be able to catch you twice and still have some speed to spare. I'm all for low-emission vehicles, but this one just strikes me as a flawed product with extremely limited usefulness. Hell, tamed cheetahs with saddles would be a better idea.

Give 'em the Boot

The U.S. World Cup squad, that is. I'm not going to comment much on the game, since I didn't get to see even a minute of it, but I think it's telling that the guys who have done well attacking the goal are guys that don't normally start for Bruce Arena - Eddie Johnson had several nice chances in the Czech game when he came in late, and Clint Dempsey started the last two games after seeing no action in the first, and scored the only goal for the U.S. (not counting the Italy own-goal) in three games. The U.S. entered the World Cup with nothing to lose, and played with a timidity that indicated otherwise. Maybe with a new coach, and with the most aggressive and creative players starting, the U.S. will have a better result in South Africa in 2010. There will be plenty of new blood then, since mainstays Reyna, Pope, McBride, and Keller will (should?) all be retired from national team play by then.

Still plenty of World Cup left though, now that the U.S. and other weak sides have been eliminated. For what it's worth, weekend matches that I'm looking forward to are Holland-Portugal and Germany-Sweden. Also, England-Ecuador smells like an upset, but I'm doubting that Mexico will give Argentina many problems.

Finally, my mom sent me this amazing futbol-related video, here's the originating web page (it's a blog, but one that actually entertains!). The video she sent me was from this guy's 2 June entry. As my friend Neal used to stay - and probably still does - mad skillz.

U.S.-Italy Relations

The U.S. earned a point by drawing with Italy yesterday in what was an even more physical game than Germany-Poland (which was one of the best matches of the tournament thus far; Germany won 1-0 on a spectacular late goal). I didn't get to see the first half - we were driving down to Cal's surprise 30th birthday party, and yes, he was surprised - but by its end, both teams were playing with 10 men as a result of two red cards. In the opening minutes of the second half, defender Eddie Pope received an undeserved yellow, which, coupled with a first-half caution, meant ejection. The U.S. played 9 to Italy's 10 for the remainder of the match. I didn't see either of the goals (both came in the first half), but the officiating was certainly suspicious, especially in light of the fact that the referee was suspended back in 2002 for unspecified irregularities. Hmmm. Anyway, the U.S. still can advance, but they obviously must been Ghana on Thursday.

A quick thought on Cup coverage; I think ABC/ESPN is doing an admirable job, but the lack of coverage from other outlets is discouraging. Get this - on our way down to Cheverly yesterday Jenny and I managed to find an Italian language broadcast of the match (on AM station 730), but not an English broadcast.

Concrete Jungle

There was a big drug bust in the city, not too far from our house, on Tuesday night. Four hundred pounds of marijuana was seized, including some plants that were 4 feet tall. 33 year-old John Arbuckle was arrested. No word on whether Garfield or Odie were taken into custody.

Middle-Aged Man

Of course I'm kidding. I fully expect the life expectency to hit 120 by the time I'm officially old. So when my good friend Callahan turned 30 yesterday, I hope he thought of it start of the second quarter.

And what better way to celebrate the big 3-0, than to start your very own blog? Or, at the very least, publicize the blog that you started back in January. But maybe I should give Cal a break - the guy is freakin' old, he probably just forgot until recently that he had started it.

Cup Update v2.5

We wheeled our office's TV out today to catch some of the USA-Czech match; we managed to tune in a somewhat fuzzy but watchable Univision signal, and saw most of the first half. At the half, the USA seems simply outgunned by a much bigger Czech side. The Czechs bring so many people foward, and almost all apear to be taller and/or stronger than the Americans marking them. I would guess that the US wants to try to use its speed more in the second half, and create some opportunities with fast counters.

The two Czech goals came on a perfect header from the 6, and a perfect strike from about 20 yards out. Meanwhile, the best chance for the US came on a pretty shot by Claudio Reyna that hit the post and rebounded back into play - no US player was nearby, though.

Cup Update, Part Zwei

Caught 2 more games, and halves of two others, since the last update. I'd have to say that Holland has been the most impressive team I've seen thus far, while the Eurotrash team award has to go to Serbia & Montenegro (with Sweden a very close second) - lots of half-shaven guys, a few mullets as well.

Sweden 0, Trinidad & Tobago 0: What can you say about the T&T effort. Last-second GK change, playing a man down in the second half - a fabulous defensive effort. Keeper Shaka Hislop, who played in college at Howard, was phenomenal. Sweden demonstrated the importance of finishing, a lesson that group leader England also needs to learn, and quickly. They dominated possession (60/40), were up a man for nearly half the match, and didn't get it done.

Netherlands 1, Serbia & Montenegro 0: Like I mentioned earlier, Holland looked sharp. I'd be surprised if there were a better passing team (other than Brazil, of course) in the tournament. I only saw the first half, and was somewhat surprised that Holland didn't score in the 2nd half. Also, I dig the all-orange look. The S&M defense was very good, but the one lapse was all the Dutch needed.

Mexico 3, Iran 1: I only saw the 1st half of this one as well, but Mexico looked really good. I was unsure if they'd make it out of the group, because they historically haven't played well in Cups hosted in Europe. But they look tough, and Iran was no pushover. Mexico kept the pressure on constantly in the first half, and was awarded a ton of free kicks. When I saw the final a bit late in the day, it wasn't too surprising. After seeing the Portugal match (see below), I'd say that Mexico should win its group.

Portugal 1, Angola 0: Another inspiring performance by an African squad, another mediocre performance by a heavily-favored European squad (see: England, Sweden). Portugal seems to have a ton of talent, but other than the first 20 minutes, didn't really do a whole lot. Yes, Angola's defense was solid - as solid as their attack was ineffectual - but still, Portugal had plenty of chances that they didn't convert. Maybe John Harkes is right, some of these favored teams seem to be easing into group play, not trying to do too much. Not what I'd call a winning strategy, but hey what do I know.

One final thought; I dig Harkes' commentary much more than his former teammate Marcelo Balboa's. Harkes brings some interesting insight, is obviously better-researched and more familiar with the top Euro-leagues, and stays positive and entusiastic. Balboa, while knowledgable, dwells on negatives and doesn't add much, in my oh-so-humble opinion.

Cup Update, Part 1

I've managed to catch two of the three matches played thus far, Poland/Ecuador and England/Paraguay. Impressions:

Ecuador 2, Poland 0: Poland looked terrible on defense against Ecuador, and while their players in front looked capable, they really didn't demonstrate that until the last 10 to 15 minutes. Ecuador, meanwhile, was aggressive but also picked their spots well. They sure took advantage of the Polish defenders, who were often just standing around.

England 1, Paraguay 0: A Beckham free kick lead to a Paraguay own-goal when Gammara tried to clear with a header. He ended up helping the ball into the corner of the net. It seemed as though the keeper probably could have gotten to Beckham's kick otherwise. England played relatively passively throughout much of the remainder of the match. Watching this match made me wonder what would happen if Beckham played in the middle - every time he touches the ball, there's the potential for something fantastic to happen, but he often doesn't touch the ball that much because he plays so wide on the right.

World Cup Predictions

There's some large international sporting event starting today, with that in mind here are some predictions for standings at the end of the group round, just for fun, as if I know what I'm talking about (teams in bold move on, 3rd and 4th teams, better luck in South Africa). I would add commentary and defend these choices, but who am I kidding, most are just based on hunches anyway; I have no real in-depth knowledge of any of these teams. Although I'd be a happy guy for never again reading anything about Wayne Rooney's foot. Surely England isn't the only nation hyperventilating about its team, um squad, er...side - it just has the greatest concentration of tabloid/football press available to cover it, unfortunately.

A: Germany, Ecuador, Poland, Costa Rica
B: Paraguay, England, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago
C: Netherlands, Argentina, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro
D: Portugal, Iran, Mexico, Angola
E: Czech Republic, USA, Italy, Ghana
F: Brazil, Japan, Australia, Croatia
G: Switzerland, France, South Korea, Togo
H: Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

A Bizarre Draft Option for the Orioles

I'm not sure what I found more shocking in this article, that the Orioles are actually contemplating drafting Jeffrey Maier, or that Scott Erickson is still pitching in the majors.

Free Art in Baltimore

According to the Post - funny, I couldn't find any mention of this in the hometown paper - those uppity Baltimore art museums, the Walters and the BMA, are no longer charging admission fees, starting October 1st. Finally, free art for the locals other than crime scene chalk outlines!