World Cup Runneth Over for Spain
Posted: July 11, 2010 Filed under: Soccer, Uncategorized, World Cup | Tags: penalty kicks, Spain World Cup, The Netherlands World Cup, vuvuzela, World Cup, World Cup instant replay 1 Comment »
Well, Spain lived up to the favorite’s role and won its first World Cup, beating The Netherlands 1-0 in extra time.
The Spanish had reached five Cup quarterfinals — in 1934, 50, 86, 94 and 2002 — but never advanced beyond that….until this year.
Meanwhile, The Netherlands are now the Brooklyn Dodgers of World Cup soccer. The Dutch made the finals for the third time, but came up empty once again. Previous losses were to West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978.
Three random thoughts on the World Cup:
No Shootout
1. Thankfully somebody scored in the extra time, thus avoiding a penalty kick shootout for the championship. the way Brazil beat Italy in 1994 and Italy defeated France for the 2006 Cup..
IMHO, elimination games — and especially championship matches — should be not be decided by artificial shootouts. Go to sudden death overtime.
And if there’s a concern that the games might last too long, play the OT with less players and open up the field.
Yes Replay
2. Go to the replay to confirm questionable goals. Hey, I’m not an instant replay freak — it’s overdone in the NFL, for instance. But it’s foolish not to use the technology that’s available today to ensure the right call is made.
Not advocating replay for offsides calls, penalties, etc. Just goals.
Vuvezela Music
3. At first, we wondered what was that sound. The vuvuzalas sounded like a swarm of bees, and they were obnoxious in the beginning. But as the World Cup rolled on, they became the defining sound of the 2010 World Cup.
When in South Africa, do as the South Africans do.
Quick Hitters: SportsLifer Observations
Posted: June 13, 2010 Filed under: Baseball, Basketball, college basketball, college football, Hockey, Uncategorized, World Cup | Tags: Bill Buckner, college conference shifts, Jack Nicholson, Patrick Kane, Randle P McMurphy, Robert Green, South Africa, vuvuzela, World Cup 3 Comments »
Listening to all those annoying vuvuzela horns at the World Cup in South Africa reminds me of a swarm of bees. Commentators have described the sound as “annoying” and compared it with “a stampede of noisy elephants,” “a deafening swarm of locusts,”a goat on the way to slaughter” and “a giant hive full of very angry bees.”Ouch, dammit, just got stung!
Not a big soccer buff, but that gaffe by England’s keeper Robert Green that handed the United States a goal and ultimately a 1-1 draw with the favored Brits brought back memories of Bill Buckner.
BTW, why is England called England in the World Cup and the UK everywhere else?
These college conference shifts are making me dizzy. If this merry-go-round somehow turns into a football playoff system, it’s all good. If not, it’s bookkeeping .
Could’ve made some nice coin betting that Francisco Cervelli would have the same amount of RBIs as Joe Mauer (27) going into play on June 12.
Pete Carroll got out of Dodge just in time, leaving those USC penalties in his wake.
Playoffs make for strange heroes. The endearing image of the NB
A Finals so far is little Nate Robinson hugging Glen “Big Baby “Davis aka Donkey and Shrek, shown right.
If we were living in an alternative universe and Butler’s Gordon Hayward had made that half-court heave to beat Duke, would it have gone down as the best shot in history? That’s a tough one, but well, the answer is yes. It beats Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beater, as well as any of Michael Jordan’s game winners. Jerry West made a 63-foot shot to send a playoff game into overtime in 1970, but the Knicks went on to beat the Lakers that night. Then there was Gene Sarazan’s double eagle at the 1935 Masters. And Bobby Thomson’s shot heard round the world, that helped the Giants win the pennant in 1951. Would any of those top Hayward? Not in this alternative world.
Speaking of college hoops, why is Jim Calhoun hanging on at UConn.
Is there a better Jack Nicholson than Randle Patrick McMurphy in “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”? How about here’s Johnny, Jack Torrance, in Stephen King’s “The Shining.” Or Melvin Udall in “As Good As It Gets.”
Tom Izzo isn’t taking that Cavaliers job unless he knows LeBron is coming back.
Do you think Patrick Kane would trade his name on the Stanley Cup for an Olympic gold medal? Kinda wondered the same thing about Sidney Crosy, but he’s already got both.
Is Brett Favre retired yet?
