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doc-catfish
06-19-2006, 07:40 PM
about halfway through the first half, I found ESPN's announcers so dull and boring that I actually switched the channel over the Univision broadcast. It was in Spanish but at least it sounded halfway lively.

But I have to say, I think I kind of got into watching it on the Spanish channel. Because on the Spanish channel, they are more excited over it. If every sport sounded/looked that exciting, i'd tune in more. On ABC they are just very quiet and make it sound as boring as watching golf, or paint drying. :D

You see, I'm not the only one. ABC and ESPN should think about putting Dennis Miller on their World Cup broadcasts.

And if you had told me that we were going to ignore the NBA and NHL playoffs and have a five page thread on soccer, I'd have tried to sell you a bridge.

SportsWriter2
06-19-2006, 08:01 PM
And if you had told me that we were going to ignore the NBA and NHL playoffs and have a five page thread on soccer, I'd have tried to sell you a bridge.
Yeah, but we already know from the Olympics that NBA and NHL teams aren't the best in the world. So F them.

On a side note, I plan to catch up with Katrine on posts while she's homeless, IP-less, or whatever she is. Maybe she hooked up with the new Superman or Mark Cuban. :)

Richard_Head
06-21-2006, 10:10 PM
If you want to know why Americans really don't care about soccer/football, all you need to know is this: for the second time in three World Cups, the leading scorer for the American team is a player on another team.

CPKinda hard to score when you don't take any shots, I think they've got 1 shot on goal in their first 2 games, gotta do better than that. USA vs Ghana tomorrow, they need a win and a Czech lose to move on.

kikin
06-22-2006, 07:36 AM
USA vs. Ghana Live on ESPN (10AM EDT)

Vyanka
06-22-2006, 09:44 AM
http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/

Enjoy!~

kikin
06-22-2006, 10:26 AM
Enjoy!~
A friend of mine gave me the whole CD last night. Frankly, the models aren't pretty enough to keep my interest.

The_Oceans
06-22-2006, 11:08 AM
Well, the USA's out of the World Cup. 2-1 loss to Ghana, so Italy's 2-0 victory over the Czechs didn't matter.

I didn't think the Americans played awful, but outside of Beasley's play to set up Dempsey's goal, and McBride's diving header that beat the keeper, only to hit the post, I didn't find their play all that inspiring. And once they fell behind the first time, I was sure they'd find one goal, but wasn't sure how they'd get two. And the penalty on Onyewu was iffy - probably the correct call if you're picking nits, but should've been let go.

Oh well, I'll still wear my USA shirt with pride...and throw my support behind England for the rest of the Cup.

Phil-W
06-22-2006, 02:49 PM
Oh well, I'll still wear my USA shirt with pride...and throw my support behind England for the rest of the Cup.

Which, judging from the way England are playing, won't be much longer.

Sigh....

Phil.
(AKA a Brit).

Richard_Head
06-22-2006, 04:20 PM
A friend of mine gave me the whole CD last night. Frankly, the models aren't pretty enough to keep my interest.Huh??

kikin
06-22-2006, 04:50 PM
Huh??

http://www.sex-worldcup2006.com/home.php

Richard_Head
06-22-2006, 05:01 PM
http://www.sex-worldcup2006.com/home.phpthe huh was about your comment that the models on that link weren't good looking enough to hold your interest. let me say it again "huh?".

doc-catfish
06-22-2006, 05:41 PM
USA will go 0-2-1 in pool play and not advance.
Did I not call it or what? :D

SportsWriter2
06-22-2006, 06:00 PM
Did I not call it or what? :D
You have the knack, doc. I was in a pool for Mark Cuban's total fines in the NBA finals. I took the $100-125K box, stupid me. ::)

kikin
07-01-2006, 06:58 AM
two good ones today:

England vs Portugal @ 11AM EDT on ABC

Brazil vs France @ 3PM EDT on ESPN

Richard_Head
07-01-2006, 01:54 PM
Well so much for my Brazillian pick. It's an all European final 4 (Italy vs Germany, Portugal vs France). For some reason the south american teams tend to have trouble in Europe. I guess the Germans have to be the clear favorite at this point.

yoda57us
07-02-2006, 08:50 AM
Last night I visited my favorite all-Brazilian club and spent a few hours consoling the ladies...it's a tough job but someone has to do it.

doc-catfish
07-02-2006, 09:01 AM
Does anyone know if these guys make any money for playing for their respective country?

I don't know about you, but it seems that some of the play I've seen from these "marquee" players who usually play for elite European football clubs has been a bit lackadasical. Granted I don't watch soccer that much, but I feel for some reason I'm watching a bunch of professionals taking it easy because they don't want to get hurt and potentially impede the ability to make money once the WC is over and they have to go back to club soccer.

kikin
07-02-2006, 09:57 AM
Yes, they get paid. Except players from poorer countries that can't afford to pay their players.

But more importantly, all of the players would do it for free if it meant getting a chance to play in the most prestigious sports tournament in the world. Just being in the World Cup is an honor that most soccer players would give their right arm to be a part of. It is a very big deal.

It's difficult to play as a team with players you're not familiar with. That may be why many marquee players were not as effective as they should have been. World Cup play is for personal and national glory and players give it their all. No holding back.

Also in a World Cup game, any given team can beat any other team on any given day regardless of who has the bigger marquee players. That's what makes it such a "beautiful game".

Richard_Head
07-02-2006, 10:07 AM
But more importantly, all of the players would do it for free if it meant getting a chance to play in the most prestigious sports tournament in the world. Just being in the World Cup is an honor that most soccer players would give their right arm to be a part of. It is a very big deal.That is certainly not something you see in a sport like say BASKETBALL where all the crybabies multi-millionaires have no interest in representing their country>:( .

Richard_Head
07-02-2006, 10:09 AM
Last night I visited my favorite all-Brazilian club and spent a few hours consoling the ladies...it's a tough job but someone has to do it.Yeah, I was pulling for the Brazillians. How can you not?

http://www.grupo-utopia.com/blog/isou/5383.jpg

Richard_Head
07-02-2006, 10:14 AM
I was pulling for the Koreans also.
http://www.strangecosmos.com/images/content/117550.jpg

Phil-W
07-02-2006, 01:02 PM
two good ones today:

England vs Portugal @ 11AM EDT on ABC

Brazil vs France @ 3PM EDT on ESPN

Must be a different interpretarion of the word "good" to mine.

England were crap, (and I'm English). They never gelled as a team, their performances were unconvincing, and judging from the penalty shoot-out, they never practiced taking penalties.

Apart from that England were superb!

Phil.

doc-catfish
07-04-2006, 03:21 PM
Wow. What a wacky ending to that semifinal. My condolences to the German players, you just don't lose a match much harder than that.

Now I just hope Italy wins it all, so we Americans can brag about tying the "World Champions". Hee hee.
:D

Cally
07-04-2006, 03:28 PM
Okay I just want to say this...

ITALY RULES!!!!!!! WAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Ahaha im almost ready to run around with an Italian flag at work(im italian can ya tell?)

smartcookie
07-04-2006, 04:06 PM
I'm sad for all of the German fans, but the Italians had better stamina and to score twice in the last several minutes...was incredible. Well done, Italy. Forza Italia!

NoCoverLover
07-04-2006, 04:26 PM
Italy did a good job against Germany, that I will say!

I want to see Portugal knock off France, because if France were to somehow take it all, there won't be much of a party around here. :(

Either Portugal or Italy could go all the way. It'll be crazy here in either case, but way crazier if Italy wins!

Cally
07-04-2006, 10:22 PM
If it ends up Portugal vs Italy in the finals im seeking an underground sheltar for about a month because it will be serious riots around here.

sander8son
07-06-2006, 09:47 AM
i never knew how many itallians there were in montreal, until after the game and ALL night long people were honking their horns and running up the streets with itallian flags... fyi, im a huge germany fan. that sucked. lol.

Cally
07-06-2006, 10:42 AM
It sucks Portugal didnt make it to the finals. I was really looking forward to the riot in Toronto with that game :(

Richard_Head
07-09-2006, 07:36 AM
The big game is tomorrow, Italy vs France for the title.

I'm pulling for those crooked Italians, go Italy.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/07/03/sports/s123350D63.DTL

Cally
07-09-2006, 08:08 AM
Im torn between France and Italy. My mom is from Paris, dad is from Italy... at heart im Italian so im thinking im going for Italy.

zwomanzzzz
07-09-2006, 11:49 PM
burt? :O

dlabtot
07-10-2006, 12:00 AM
Go France!

NoCoverLover
07-10-2006, 01:35 AM
I'll root for Italy. Go Italy!!

Either way it's going to be insane in the city tonight, especially if Italy wins! The Italians are already whooping it up down here and it's only 3:30 in the afternoon!

Richard_Head
07-10-2006, 02:47 AM
I hated seeing the World Cup decided on a shoot out. At least it was the Italians who pulled it out. What the hell was Zidane thinking BTW?

Impressions of World Cup 2006:
1) USA is still far far away from contending
2) Too little scoring once again for my tastes
3) Very poor officiating, way too many yellow cards
4) Way too much flopping

NoCoverLover
07-10-2006, 02:49 AM
At least shootouts lead to some excitement that us North Americans are always complaining is lacking.

Damn, that was an exciting way to finish things!

Let's get this party started!! ;D;D

Phil-W
07-10-2006, 05:33 AM
I think tomorrow will be interesting as to why Zidane did what he did.

I'm guessing the Italian player said something to him to provoke the head butt - and it must have been a humdinger of a comment for Zidane to see red.

Great pity really, cos he had a great career - and now he'll always be remembered for the way it finished.

How to avoid penalties? Play 30 minutes of extra time, normal rules. If no result by then, have further 5 minute periods of extra play, but take one player off per side for each extra five minutes. The game is won when the first goal is scored.

Phil.

Vyanka
07-10-2006, 07:26 AM
HeadButt! http://imagesocket.com/images/zidane29b.gif

Vyanka
07-10-2006, 08:04 AM
haaaaa..

http://home.comcast.net/~fernandof/images/zidanefrancefighter5vw.gif http://home.comcast.net/~fernandof/images/zidane2.gif

doc-catfish
07-10-2006, 05:49 PM
My parting shot on WC 2006. I shall link to this site again, because let's face it, with respect to these two points the author is absolutely spot on: </a>

http://www.soccersucks.net/soccer_sucks.html

Soccer is not objective. There is no play clock. The game doesn't end after the clock has run down. This adds bias, subjectivism and appeals to lower intellects, and it destroys the drama from last second victories. Contrast such clumsy timekeeping (shame on the Swiss, who should know better) and the lack of any discernable strategy with the strategic precision of the two-minute drill in football.

I'm sorry, but last I checked, FIFA does not have an instant replay rule. (Many FIFA participating nations can't afford scoreboards, let alone giant video monitors). As idiotic as Zidane's infraction was, if no live official saw it with their own eyes, then he shouldn't have been ejected (ahem, red carded) over it. This just lends credibility to the widely held complaint that soccer officials just sort of make the rules as they go along, and don't consistently enforce the rules they do have.

and of course...</a>

Soccer is not objective, part two. The lack of offensive chances leads to ties, which, as we know, suck. Soccer's "solution?" Let's randomize the result (in those cases where a tie suddenly becomes an affront, the "World" Cup) by having penalty kicks.

...which is exactly what happened in four of the sixteen knockout round games. I'm sorry again, but part of the reason, so many soccer games, particularly at the elite level, end in ties has to do with the structure of the game. </a>

Fundamental rules changes in the rules of the game are the only way you are going to alleviate this problem. Fewer players per side from the get-go (like nine), and even fewer in continuous, aka until someone scores overtime (like eight) would be good. A slightly smaller field might also help.

Now lets see how my prognostications fared:

Of the 64 matches, there will be 30 matches with no more than one goal</a> scored at the end of regulation by (http://scored%20at%20the%20end%20of%20regulation%20by)bot h teams.

Actual result: 21 matches with one goal or less by end of regulation.

Of those 30 matches, 13 will be 0-0 ties.

Actual result: Eight (0-0) ties at end of regulation. Total ties at EOR: 17

Of those 13 0-0 ties, 10 will end up being decided by penalty kicks.

I kind of screwed this one up because I forgot to take into account that group matches have no OT, and hence no PKs. But anyways there were six matches in the knockout stage that needed OT, and four of them were decided by PKs.
</a>

kikin
07-10-2006, 06:31 PM
I do agree with you that they should not show replays in the stadium because the referee's judgment may be unduly influenced by it.

On the other hand, I disagree with the rest of your assessment. The rules are fine as they are. FIFA has been doing this for decades. Just because some of us have just happened on the game does not make us experts. Learn to love the game as it is or forget about it. It's a beautiful game and the rules of the game do not cater to a culture of consumerism or TV histrionics.

A generation ago, the major reason the major TV networks never broadcast a soccer game was because there are no time-outs for commercials every 5 minutes or the dreaded "TV timeouts". I'm glad FIFA didn't change the complexion of the game to accomodate commercials. And I hope they never change just to appease us in this country.

If what you're looking for is continual non-stop edge-of-your-seat excitement in a sport, then watch GOLF.

It's called "the beautiful game" for a reason. One must understand and appreciate the nuances of the game to truly enjoy it.

Having said that, ZIDANE is an idiot.

Vyanka
07-11-2006, 06:48 AM
Someone told me that Zidane was called a "dirty terrorist" by that player he head butted.

Vyanka
07-11-2006, 07:19 AM
That's really fucked up what he said. Z, should've brushed it off. He just gave that guy the pleasure.

Neville
07-23-2006, 06:36 PM
Bugger, didn't even notice this thread was around. Anyway, I lost all interest in the World Cup once England went out (feebly again, I might add). Actually, I didn't - I'm a mad (long-suffering) football fan.

If anyone's interested Zizou got banned for three matches (which is symbolic since the bloke's retired) and Materazzi got banned for two, which I felt was a bit harsh. Materazzi's a bit of an irritating and annoying arsewipe, but to get banned for a couple of matches for a standard "how's your mum" sledge (apparently there was no racist intent or anything) seems to be a slight overreaction by FIFA. Who hasn't gotten sledged playing competitive sport? In fact, had Zidane not been the target of his sledge, I doubt he'd have even been investigated.

Essentially the bugger got banned for Zizou's lack of self-control. Poor chap. :D