World Cup 2010

Not too much different than selling the rest of the world on american football. They were checking on the relatives of Tom Brady's gf, Gail B, who is from a small town in Brazil about what he does for a living. They did not say americal football was boring, just that they could not figure what the teams were trying to do.

So, it's a cultural thing, exposure and assimilation being necessary components to enjoying the sport. Just saying it's boring, is just a display of arrogance and ignorance. The landscape will be very different in the US in 8-12 years, when they might host the World Cup again.

Anybody want to predict the Brazil v N. Korea game? My take is Brazil 5-1.

[QUOTE=Black Shirt]Anybody want to predict the Brazil v N. Korea game? My take is Brazil 5-1.[/QUOTE]I say 3-0 Brazil. I will be shocked if N. Korea even scores.

[QUOTE=Schmoj]I say 3-0 Brazil. I will be shocked if N. Korea even scores.[/QUOTE]Guess how many touches NK will get

Heading over to Gibralter to watch the murdering scumbag North Koreans versus Brazil.

[QUOTE=Wild Walleye]Guess how many touches NK will get[/QUOTE]Jeezus, I don't think anyone was expecting that.

[QUOTE=Schmoj]I say 3-0 Brazil. I will be shocked if N. Korea even scores.[/QUOTE]Ok, I guess I'll be eating those words. Kudos to the PRK for making it an interesting match.

Wow, a goal for the ages! Maicon must have some extra toe action on that goal, or is it the new ball.

And finally, a game worthy of the World Cup, played with skill, stamina and courage by both teams. Right from the start, Brazil did not disappoint, the samba magic was there, Robinho with his scintillating ball control made numerous runs at the N Koreans. Goals might have come early had Kaka been his usual assured self. But give credit to the N Koreans, who might be the fittest team in the tournament. Their defence was equal to the impossible task that was required. Fitness, speed and precision were their trademarks in 1966 when they burst on the scene and surprised the old soccer order. This time, they brought the same qualities, but modern professional soccer has improved physical fitness levels overall, so that is no longer a surprise factor. Even so, their goal was a result that they were going strong till the end.

I see both teams advancing, is it possible that the 2 Koreas will meet later? I hope so, it will be a dream match-up.

My bad, I forgot about the make-up of Group G, this is the Group of Death. Brazil might try to help Portugal, the land of their forefathers.

One more time, Brazil, Brazil.

Got to love the KIWIS, "All Whites." No Politically Correct BS in their vocabulary.

North and South Korea, now, that would be a match.

Have good day everyone.

[QUOTE=Damman]Got to love the KIWIS, "All Whites." No Politically Correct BS in their vocabulary. [/QUOTE]They also have the All Blacks.

[url]http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/buzzkill-vuvuzelas-ruining-world-cup-experience--fbintl_ro-vuvuzela061410.html[/url]

And I thought I was the only one that noticed the annoying background noise.

Thanks,

Jackson

[QUOTE=Jackson][url]http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/buzzkill-vuvuzelas-ruining-world-cup-experience--fbintl_ro-vuvuzela061410.html[/url]

And I thought I was the only one that noticed the annoying background noise.

Thanks,

Jackson[/QUOTE]Yes, an irritant.

Here's one more column on it:

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/sports/soccer/16vecsey.html?ref=sports[/url]

Right, they are annoying just about everybody except the people blowing into them.

But just when you thought it couldn't get worse, yesterday there was a report on TN that you can get a vuvuzela ringtone for your phone.

Ringtones in general drive me crazy, but this is annoyance squared.

All I need is a vuvuzela ringtone going off in the middle of a movie.

Could be the last phone call the motherf**k ever receives.

I can only imagine the pain of being there live.

[QUOTE=Schmoj]I can only imagine the pain of being there live.[/QUOTE]Not much difference from crying babies in a 10-14 hrs. Flight. And it's only for about 2 hrs with a break at halftime.

After the first 16 games [all teams having played one game each],

There has been 11 unders /1 over /4 pushes. The only game that went over was Germany. The total on most games has been 2, with a few games being 2.5 It doesn't get any easier than this!

I expect the next round to be primarily unders also.

[QUOTE=Seismo]After the first 16 games [all teams having played one game each],

There has been 11 unders /1 over /4 pushes. The only game that went over was Germany. The total on most games has been 2, with a few games being 2.5 It doesn't get any easier than this!

I expect the next round to be primarily unders also.[/QUOTE]In the first of the 2nd games, I took the over! And won, on Uruguay 3:0. Ok, so I needed a lucky goal in the last minute of stoppage time.

The under has been wonderful. But as teams are striving to go through to the knockout round, I expect more risks to be taken to acheive wins, and goal differential advantage, so I think there will be a lot more overs in the 2nd, and especially the 3rd, games of the initial stage. Could be wrong.

Think Argentina showed up to play their "A" game today.

[QUOTE=Damman]Think Argentina showed up to play their "A" game today.[/QUOTE]Looking great until Demichelis fell asleep at the end. Samuel, Argentina's best centerback, is out with a hamstring.

[QUOTE=Doggboy]Looking great until Demichelis fell asleep at the end.[/QUOTE]Took the wind out of my sails. If Messi could just close the deal. The guy is amazing.

[QUOTE=Seismo]After the first 16 games [all teams having played one game each],

There has been 11 unders /1 over /4 pushes. The only game that went over was Germany. The total on most games has been 2, with a few games being 2.5 It doesn't get any easier than this!

I expect the next round to be primarily unders also.[/QUOTE]Maybe it's time to go for a parlay.

[QUOTE=Seismo]After the first 16 games [all teams having played one game each],

There has been 11 unders /1 over /4 pushes. The only game that went over was Germany. The total on most games has been 2, with a few games being 2.5 It doesn't get any easier than this!

I expect the next round to be primarily unders also.[/QUOTE]Three matches so far in Game 2's: Over 3, under 0! Seismo, I hope you didn't press your highly successful Game 1 strategy too much so far! I also hope this recent trend stops for the moment-- I have the under in France Mexico this afternoon!

BTG

AP reported a story from South Africa of an older man who was killed by his wife and 2 grown children over a clash about what tv channel to watch. He wanted to watch the Germany game, and the rest of the family wanted to watch a gospel show. When he got up to change the channel manually after having been refused the remote, the rest of the family assaulted him.

It happens every World Cup.

Wow, what a comeback by good ole USA! And robbed of a winner by the referee. So now, it looks like whoever scores the most against Algeria will go through from the group. Unless Algeria does the impossible and beat or tie England.

[QUOTE=Black Shirt]Wow, what a comeback by good ole USA! And robbed of a winner by the referee. So now, it looks like whoever scores the most against Algeria will go through from the group. Unless Algeria does the impossible and beat or tie England.[/QUOTE]The USA completely fucked by that piece of shit ref. Check that cocksucker's bank account in the next few weeks.

[QUOTE=Black Shirt]Wow, what a comeback by good ole USA! And robbed of a winner by the referee. So now, it looks like whoever scores the most against Algeria will go through from the group. Unless Algeria does the impossible and beat or tie England.[/QUOTE]If England wins out and the USA wins the last group match we go through. That's the most likely scenario to help us overcome being fucked like a dog today. I'd like to strangle that cheating cocksucker of a ref.

[QUOTE=Doggboy]The USA completely fucked by that piece of shit ref.[/QUOTE]The boy (ref) would need an armed escort if he made a call like that against Argentina.

Seems like the major European countries are not doing so well? The Cup looks like it may become a South American event?

[QUOTE=Damman]The boy (ref) would need an armed escort if he made a call like that against Argentina.

Seems like the major European countries are not doing so well? The Cup looks like it may become a South American event?[/QUOTE]So far no South American team has lost. The French stink and are on their way out, Italy is only a little better and it looks like their goalie (best player on the team) might be out with a bad back. Germany looked mortal today. Spain was overconfident and are looking up from the bottom, but will probably go through.

The South American teams play with more passion and creativity.

I'd still like to find that asshole ref and unscrew his fucking head.

On the slightly brighter side, it's definitely possible that England could win their last two matches and the USA could beat Algeria. The dark side of that is that England are noted WC pussies and you can't fucking rely on them for a thing.

That ref's Wikipedia page already assaulted.

[QUOTE=Doggboy]I'd still like to find that asshole ref and unscrew his fucking head.[/QUOTE]Doggboy, you have missed your calling, need to be a color commentator on ESPN.

The best part of this World Cup thing for me is watching my Argie friends. The passion and animation in their actions is a site to behold. I get to laughing so hard and keep telling them it is "only a game." They look at me and "wonder what is with this Gringo?" Quite an experience.

My apologies to my friends from the mother country, pero por favor! What a gutless performance today. The english 11 stood around for 90 minutes and did next to nothing. They all looked tight as snare drums.

I was wrong in an earlier post. The USA can still progress even with England's draw. What a pitiful group.

[QUOTE=Doggboy]My apologies to my friends from the mother country, pero por favor! What a gutless performance today. The english 11 stood around for 90 minutes and did next to nothing. They all looked tight as snare drums.

I was wrong in an earlier post. The USA can still progress even with England's draw. What a pitiful group.[/QUOTE]I was in Mexico City yesterday and watched the Mexicans thoroughly outplay the French. How satisfying was that? They were partying in the streets with everyone driving around, hanging out of cars and waving Mexican flags. It was good to see for a country that usually has so many setbacks. Pity that I couldn't stay for the night.

Turning to the USA and England, I think the tiebreaker rules are:

1. Total points (obviously)

2. Goals differential.

3. Total goals scored.

I mention this because there is a fair chance that USA and England will be tied on #s 1 and 2, above, after the next match. If one team wins and the other loses or draws its next match, then the they would have a different # of points, so there would be no need for a tiebreaker.

But, if both finish with the same result next match, then it gets interesting. For instance, if both teams win their final match 2-1, or tie again at 1-1.

Then, the third tiebreaker would come into play -- total goals scored in group play. With the USA having scored two today, they are ahead in that category.

Can anyone confirm whether or not the above is how it works?

If the US beats Algeria, Slovenia needs at least a tie with England to go through. So that is one advantage that the US has, but my gut instinct tells me that England will beat Slovenia. That means Slovenia could be looking from the outside despite their great start. Regardless, USA needs to win and win big to maximise the group outcome.

[QUOTE=Stan Da Man]The third tiebreaker would come into play -- total goals scored in group play. With the USA having scored two today, they are ahead in that category.

Can anyone confirm whether or not the above is how it works?[/QUOTE]I guess the key way to look at this is that the World Cup tie breakers are in the completely opposite order of the ones we're used to in the US looking at say, college football conference stuff. We think of "head to head" as the first tie breaker. In FIFA land, that only comes in AFTER: total points, goal differential, and total goals scored. And since, in this case, the only teams we can tie with are England, or Slovenia (but not both) and we tied both of them, head to head cannot solve anything. So as I read it, if we end up in any ties, with equal goal differential and equal total goals with anybody, we're going to draw lots.

Somebody let me know if I've got this wrong.

In any case: If the US wins vs. Algeria, they have 5 points, and they advance, no matter what: as follows-- If England wins, then Slovenia only has 4 points, so England and the US advance. If Slovenia wins, Slovenia has 7 points and wins the Group, but our 5 points will beat England's 2 and Algeria's 1, and thus we advance. If England and Slovenia Draw, we're tied with Slovenia at 5 points, but England only has 3, so we advance.

Now, I happen to have a pretty big bet that the US wins the division, so I personally care that we not just advance, but finish first. That can happen with a US win, and an England win, IF we beat Algeria by more goals than England beats Slovenia, OR, if we beat Algeria by the same amount of goals as England beats Slovenia, but England's goal total isn't 2 more than ours. I can also win my bet if we win and if England and Slovenia draw (which means we're then tied with Slovenia, not England) AND that we outscore Algeria by more than 1 goal.

If Slovenia beats England, the US can still advance to the knockout round by winning, but we can't win the Group.

Clear as mud?

From the NYTimes:

* If the Americans beat Algeria, they will have 5 points. That would leave them in first or second place in the group, no matter the outcome of the Slovenia-England finale in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday, a match that starts at the same time as the United States-Algeria match.

* If the Americans draw with Algeria, they will have 3 points. In that case, they could advance only if Slovenia beats England, or if England draws with Slovenia by a low score. If England draws with Slovenia while the United States draws with Algeria, and England scores two more goals in their draw than the Americans score in theirs, they will have identical records. In that case, lots will be drawn to determine which team advances to the knockout phase.

* If the Americans lose to Algeria, they will have only 2 points and will be eliminated.

Under World Cup rules, the first tie-breaker if teams are tied in points is goal difference. If that is tied, the team that scored more goals gets the nod. If that is tied, there are a few head-to-head tie breakers before a drawing of lots determines which team goes through.

As the World Cup progress to the 2nd round, we are seeing the humbling of the traditional European soccer powers. Loaded with high paying stars, Italy, France, Germany and England have not been able produce the soccer that these same players have produced for their clubs. Perhaps, Spain can make a return to the soccer they have been producing the last 2 years.

So what gives? The long soccer season? Stars not given their club roles? What is clear, the rest of the world is catching up. There are no more automatic wins anymore. Hope somebody saw the trend and make a killing betting that way.

[QUOTE=Doggboy]From the NYTimes:

* If the Americans beat Algeria, they will have 5 points. That would leave them in first or second place in the group, no matter the outcome of the Slovenia-England finale in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday, a match that starts at the same time as the United States-Algeria match.

* If the Americans draw with Algeria, they will have 3 points. In that case, they could advance only if Slovenia beats England, or if England draws with Slovenia by a low score. If England draws with Slovenia while the United States draws with Algeria, and England scores two more goals in their draw than the Americans score in theirs, they will have identical records. In that case, lots will be drawn to determine which team advances to the knockout phase.

* If the Americans lose to Algeria, they will have only 2 points and will be eliminated.

Under World Cup rules, the first tie-breaker if teams are tied in points is goal difference. If that is tied, the team that scored more goals gets the nod. If that is tied, there are a few head-to-head tie breakers before a drawing of lots determines which team goes through.[/QUOTE]That makes "Prefect Sence"

Exon

Now is the time to concentrate on Paraguayan pussies, they should be in good mood after the win over Slovakia, and the humping should be more spirited for sure.

[QUOTE=Black Shirt]As the World Cup progress to the 2nd round, we are seeing the humbling of the traditional European soccer powers. Loaded with high paying stars, Italy, France, Germany and England have not been able produce the soccer that these same players have produced for their clubs. Perhaps, Spain can make a return to the soccer they have been producing the last 2 years.

So what gives? The long soccer season? Stars not given their club roles? What is clear, the rest of the world is catching up. There are no more automatic wins anymore. Hope somebody saw the trend and make a killing betting that way.[/QUOTE]After Paraguay's win today, the South American teams remain undefeated. Very impressive.

France is a good example of the mess in Europe. A lame duck nutjob coach, one player sent home yesterday for an expletive filled tirade directed at the coach, apparently a coaching staff member left today, and they had to cheat with an obvious handball to even squeak by Ireland to make it to the WC to begin with.

And, they have these strange black electric tape looking stripes on their jerseys that remind me of some sort of B & D reference.