Skip to main content

Ready for Germany 2006?

If you have no idea about that which I'm writing, you probably should still read on. Maybe you'll learn a bit. The U.S. Men's National Team (Soccer) played Trinidad and Tobago last night in the Second Qualifying Phase of the CONCACAF Region. We(the U.S. team) still trail Mexico by one point in the standings. That however is a bit trivial, since the top three teams advance to the World Cup. Here's a peek at the current standings: http://www.ussoccer.com/home/teamhomepage.sps?iType=8215 . With only 4 games remaining, the U.S. is almost assured of a World Cup birth in Germany next year. Next up is arch-rival Mexico, a team of unrivaled passion and extraordinary skill. Thankfully, this game is on home soil, lest we allow our record to plummet to even greater depths in the loss column. (We have never won in Mexico City.)

There is much promise for this group of players. There is much talent for Bruce Arena (coach) to choose from. Only time will tell if this will be another great World Cup for the U.S. of A.
Tune in to Telemundo at 8 ET on September 3rd to catch the game. Go USA!!!

Popular posts from this blog

No Zion, No Problem? Not So Fast.

Everyone in the media has wanted their piece of the pie with Zion this year. Each highlight reel dunk and spectacular block has only increased the media fervor and number of followers. As Duke looks to face Syracuse, and presumably Virginia Tech as well, without Zion, let's consider what Duke looks like without Zion, and what it must do against Syracuse to leave the Carrier Dome with a W. DUKE WITHOUT ZION Duke without Zion is not a cart without a horse. But it might be a sports car without its turbo. Or maybe a chef without her secret sauce. Here are the main points to consider: MAIN POINTS - A Five Spot 1. Without Zion, Duke can’t play “position-less basketball” since all bench players have limitations. Not only is Zion our best two-way player (offense and defense), but he also allows the greatest roster flexibility in terms of building around him. He wreaks havoc wherever he is on the floor. We don't have another player like that, certainly not from the bench
Read more

Processing US Women's World Cup Final loss

Without a doubt, this year's Women's World Cup was the most entertaining (on this side of the pond, as they say) since the 1999 edition of the global tournament. The USA's performance and "never say die" attitude endeared this team to many American fans rather quickly, which was no more apparent than when the team stormed back to tie Brasil in 120+ minute, before going to win in penalties. Unfortunately, the dream ended in penalty kicks to a resilient Japanese side who was more fit for the task. Here's my attempt to process and set expectations on yesterday's US loss: 1. The best team doesn't always win in soccer. Sometimes, even the most dominant team in a particular game doesn't win that game. (HT: Grant Wahl , Sports Illustrated) 2. Here are some notes on penalties ending this game: (a) Tough on USA, since Japan had data on US shooters, since they had just seen them against Brasil. There are players that take their penalties the same direction
Read more

BCS Postseason Analysis

If the controversy surrounding the BCS System and college football bowl format, it certainly is the most complex and misunderstood controversy. The morning after the BCS championship game, here are three talking points: 1 - We're closer than ever to seeing a change in the traditional bowl format. The 2011 bowl season again proved how difficult it is to sell out every bowl game. This usually results in the participating schools having to eat the cost of those tickets. That trend can't continue. Playing in a meaningless bowl game actually costs some schools more money than they make by participating in the game. You can read about one instance of this happening here , involving the 2011 Virginia Tech football team, which made it to the Orange Bowl. The school had to eat 9,500 tickets it couldn't sell. They lost a total of $421,000, and it could've been a lot worse. 2 - The BCS isn't the enemy of the playoff system. In fact, they could actually be really good friends
Read more