Well, this stinks. The U.S. team is out, as well as Argentina, my pick to win it all. Looks like I've got to start all over on my picks. The good news is I went 3-1 on my quarterfinals picks. Time for a quick pick 'em and go.
Semifinals
Uruguay v. Netherlands: It's amazing how we went from four South American teams to one, versus three remaining European teams. It's tough to pick against the Netherlands as they have played great throughout the whole tournament. They edged out Brazil by scoring two straight goals after Brazil had scored first. On the other hand, Uruguay impressed me early on and I felt they could be a real darkhorse in this tournament. Some may argue that they should not have won their game against Ghana due to the late handball, but really, Ghana should have scored that PK. I've gone back and forth on this game multiple times, but now I've finally made up my mind. Uruguay pulls off the upset and moves on.
Germany v. Spain: This game is a little easier to pick. No offense to Spain. After all, they were the favorites coming into the World Cup and have recovered from their opening loss to Switzerland. But, Germany has dominated from the beginning, and then recently dismantled Argentina 4-0. This is a team on a mission. Germany moves on to the finals.
One quick note. Since Argentina is out, looks like I need a new pick to win it all. Who better but the team that eliminated Lionel Messi and the Argentinians? Germany is my current favorite.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Free Agency Frenzy and World Cup Quarterfinals
July 1st is here and the mayhem has begun. The most anticipated free agent period of recent history (maybe even all-time) is open. Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, and other extremely talented players are all out on the market, and the teams have begun to jockey for position to land these big stars first. But of course, it all revolves around one man: LeBron James. Here's a quick summary of the teams most in the running to sign him.
Miami Heat
Reasons to sign: The allure of Miami beach is a great outside point for the Heat's presentation. There is a good chance that Dwyane Wade will return to Miami, and the team could also lure in top power forward Bosh. With those two and LeBron, there's almost a guarantee that Pat Riley would take over as head coach.
Reasons not to sign: Signing Wade, Bosh, and James would be impossible for the money all 3 are seeking, so LeBron would have to take less money to sign with the Heat (it would still be a ridiculous amount of money for us mere mortals, but a comparison is a comparison). While Miami has a great climate and nightlife, the fan support is, like most Florida sports teams, slim. The crowd number every night at American Airlines Arena is never near capacity. Finally, all the critics would question whether this was Wade's team or LeBron's team, and also if LeBron could win a championship as the star, as opposed to winning one as Wade's sidekick or equal.
Los Angeles Clippers
Reasons to sign: ...Umm...well, they do have some young talent with Blake Griffin coming back from injury. Aside from that, this is pretty much a joke.
Reasons not to sign: I could probably fill multiple blogs with this section, but I think I'll just slim it down. The Clippers have a history of being cursed, not only with bad seasons, but with star players that end up spending more time with the trainer than on the court. Also, there's no way LeBron wants to be in the same town as Kobe, where he and his team would play second fiddle.
New Jersey Nets
Reasons to sign: Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire and new majority owner of the Nets, has promised to spend the money necessary to turn the Nets into a championship team, and has already hired Avery Johnson as the new head coach. Rap mogul Jay-Z also is an icon to lure LeBron to the Nets, who will relocate to Brooklyn in a couple years. He would also be surrounded by young talent, including Brooke Lopez, Devin Harris, and newest draft pick Derrick Favors.
Reasons not to sign: The team is coming off a 12-win season (for those of you who aren't great at math, that's 70 losses). And while this is a talented young roster, there's no guarantee they can land another big free agent star to help LeBron out. Plus, like the Clippers, this team plays second fiddle to nearby rival New York Knicks.
Now we get to the 3 main candidates to land LeBron James on their squad.
Miami Heat
Reasons to sign: The allure of Miami beach is a great outside point for the Heat's presentation. There is a good chance that Dwyane Wade will return to Miami, and the team could also lure in top power forward Bosh. With those two and LeBron, there's almost a guarantee that Pat Riley would take over as head coach.
Reasons not to sign: Signing Wade, Bosh, and James would be impossible for the money all 3 are seeking, so LeBron would have to take less money to sign with the Heat (it would still be a ridiculous amount of money for us mere mortals, but a comparison is a comparison). While Miami has a great climate and nightlife, the fan support is, like most Florida sports teams, slim. The crowd number every night at American Airlines Arena is never near capacity. Finally, all the critics would question whether this was Wade's team or LeBron's team, and also if LeBron could win a championship as the star, as opposed to winning one as Wade's sidekick or equal.
Los Angeles Clippers
Reasons to sign: ...Umm...well, they do have some young talent with Blake Griffin coming back from injury. Aside from that, this is pretty much a joke.
Reasons not to sign: I could probably fill multiple blogs with this section, but I think I'll just slim it down. The Clippers have a history of being cursed, not only with bad seasons, but with star players that end up spending more time with the trainer than on the court. Also, there's no way LeBron wants to be in the same town as Kobe, where he and his team would play second fiddle.
New Jersey Nets
Reasons to sign: Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire and new majority owner of the Nets, has promised to spend the money necessary to turn the Nets into a championship team, and has already hired Avery Johnson as the new head coach. Rap mogul Jay-Z also is an icon to lure LeBron to the Nets, who will relocate to Brooklyn in a couple years. He would also be surrounded by young talent, including Brooke Lopez, Devin Harris, and newest draft pick Derrick Favors.
Reasons not to sign: The team is coming off a 12-win season (for those of you who aren't great at math, that's 70 losses). And while this is a talented young roster, there's no guarantee they can land another big free agent star to help LeBron out. Plus, like the Clippers, this team plays second fiddle to nearby rival New York Knicks.
Now we get to the 3 main candidates to land LeBron James on their squad.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Round of 16 begins
The Group Stage is now complete and we have seen some marvelous games as well as some boring games; we have heard some great stories, some bad stories, and even some weird stories. Here's what I will remember from the games so far.
The 2006 World Cup final game matched France against Italy. This year's Round of 16 features...neither. If you had told a soccer fan 4 years ago that either of those would be eliminated this early, they would have laughed at you. But honestly, it's not that surprising now. When you build a national team, you need to find a great mix of intelligent, experienced veterans and athletic, energetic young players. Italy's team was filled with only veterans and in the end they just got outplayed.
On paper, France looked pretty good. If you had run a simulation with FIFA 10, France would have beat all their opponents nine times out of ten. But that's one of the great things about sports: intangibles. Fan support can become a confidence boost for teams sometimes and spark a great upset; on the other end of the spectrum, controversy and scandal off the field can negate any skill advantage a team may have had. This team's self-destruction has to be one of the worst any sports team has ever displayed (definitely the worst I've ever seen).
One annoying story about the games was the number of 0-0 or 1-1 ties we saw. I was glad to see this run broken by Germany beating Australia 4-0. Not to be outdone, Portugal beat North Korea 7-0. Now those are not good games, but it is nice to see some action. There were so many games that teased the casual fans into thinking, "Ok, something has to happen soon, right?" and then nothing would.
Finally there was U.S. soccer. The team has some high expectations from fans and analysts. The U.S. was served a bit of luck when the English keeper muffed an easy save to give us the draw. Then, after giving up 2 goals against a country most people cannot even find on a map, the team came back to earn the draw. Unfortunately, we should have completed the comeback with a win, but a bad call sparked the huge controversy and left fans thinking "how much of a difference will that disallowed goal make?" And then final game, where we ALMOST got screwed again, and this time would have kept us out of the knockout round. But then there was the image that will forever live on in U.S. soccer history: Landon Donovan netting the goal in stoppage time and sending the Americans to the next round.
Here are the teams moving on along with the picks I made in a previous blog.
The 2006 World Cup final game matched France against Italy. This year's Round of 16 features...neither. If you had told a soccer fan 4 years ago that either of those would be eliminated this early, they would have laughed at you. But honestly, it's not that surprising now. When you build a national team, you need to find a great mix of intelligent, experienced veterans and athletic, energetic young players. Italy's team was filled with only veterans and in the end they just got outplayed.
On paper, France looked pretty good. If you had run a simulation with FIFA 10, France would have beat all their opponents nine times out of ten. But that's one of the great things about sports: intangibles. Fan support can become a confidence boost for teams sometimes and spark a great upset; on the other end of the spectrum, controversy and scandal off the field can negate any skill advantage a team may have had. This team's self-destruction has to be one of the worst any sports team has ever displayed (definitely the worst I've ever seen).
One annoying story about the games was the number of 0-0 or 1-1 ties we saw. I was glad to see this run broken by Germany beating Australia 4-0. Not to be outdone, Portugal beat North Korea 7-0. Now those are not good games, but it is nice to see some action. There were so many games that teased the casual fans into thinking, "Ok, something has to happen soon, right?" and then nothing would.
Finally there was U.S. soccer. The team has some high expectations from fans and analysts. The U.S. was served a bit of luck when the English keeper muffed an easy save to give us the draw. Then, after giving up 2 goals against a country most people cannot even find on a map, the team came back to earn the draw. Unfortunately, we should have completed the comeback with a win, but a bad call sparked the huge controversy and left fans thinking "how much of a difference will that disallowed goal make?" And then final game, where we ALMOST got screwed again, and this time would have kept us out of the knockout round. But then there was the image that will forever live on in U.S. soccer history: Landon Donovan netting the goal in stoppage time and sending the Americans to the next round.
Here are the teams moving on along with the picks I made in a previous blog.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
U.S. Soccer gets screwed, almost gets screwed again, but then we found a hero
U.S. soccer was falling into its usual pitfalls. The defense had allowed two goals to Slovenia in the first half, and the offense had limited opportunities to score. Our hopes of advancing to the next round began to look less and less likely.
Then 3 minutes into the second half, Landon Donovan single-handedly brings the U.S. back into the game by netting a goal right over the keeper. Then at the 82-minute mark, Michael Bradley, the coach's son, hit the ball in off the bounce, and the game was tied. The United States had completed a great comeback from 2 goals down and looked alive again in the standings.
But they were not done. Four minutes later, Maurice Edu nets a ball off the Donovan free kick and the U.S. takes the lead! That is, until referee Koman Coulibaly of Mali blows his whistle and the goal is waved off. Why? We still do not know, and we may never know. I've watched the replay a dozen times at least and I still don't see a call against the U.S. No one was offsides, and if there was any foul to be called, it should have been against Slovenia. So, the United States team got screwed, and only earns one point instead of three.
Then 3 minutes into the second half, Landon Donovan single-handedly brings the U.S. back into the game by netting a goal right over the keeper. Then at the 82-minute mark, Michael Bradley, the coach's son, hit the ball in off the bounce, and the game was tied. The United States had completed a great comeback from 2 goals down and looked alive again in the standings.
But they were not done. Four minutes later, Maurice Edu nets a ball off the Donovan free kick and the U.S. takes the lead! That is, until referee Koman Coulibaly of Mali blows his whistle and the goal is waved off. Why? We still do not know, and we may never know. I've watched the replay a dozen times at least and I still don't see a call against the U.S. No one was offsides, and if there was any foul to be called, it should have been against Slovenia. So, the United States team got screwed, and only earns one point instead of three.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Final Group Stage Picks, NBA Finals and a new thing
The ultimate NBA rivalry has come down to a Game 7, of course. Did anybody really expect anything different? It's the NBA playoffs, therefore, it has to last as long as possible. Seriously, this is ridiculous. The first playoff games were played in mid-April, and we are STILL not done in mid-June. That is 2 whole months! Why?
For one thing, every series is best-of-7, and that itself is bad enough. I would love to see 3-5-7-7 format, or at the very least make the first round 5 games again. But then, teams will get multiple days off between games, maybe even a week between series. And Mark Cuban tries to complain that the NFL is arrogant because they schedule the Draft to primetime, bumping a playoff game. Why not? There's gonna be another hundred playoff games before we're done. Every other sport (with the exception of college football, but that is a whole different level of stupidity and discussion for another time) ends its playoffs in a month. Even the World Cup will only last one month. It's just plain ridiculous.
But enough of that rant. We're down to one game left. Boston at Los Angeles. Every analyst you listen to has been talking about how great this series is for basketball because all the history and bad blood between these teams will stall free agency talk. First of all, no it will not. This is one of, if not THE, most exciting free agent classes in the history of sports. LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh, Johnson, Nowitzki, Stoudemire, and a number of others good players. There is no avoiding this talk. If that bothers you, get over it, because it's not going anywhere until the dust has settled and everyone has a contract.
For one thing, every series is best-of-7, and that itself is bad enough. I would love to see 3-5-7-7 format, or at the very least make the first round 5 games again. But then, teams will get multiple days off between games, maybe even a week between series. And Mark Cuban tries to complain that the NFL is arrogant because they schedule the Draft to primetime, bumping a playoff game. Why not? There's gonna be another hundred playoff games before we're done. Every other sport (with the exception of college football, but that is a whole different level of stupidity and discussion for another time) ends its playoffs in a month. Even the World Cup will only last one month. It's just plain ridiculous.
But enough of that rant. We're down to one game left. Boston at Los Angeles. Every analyst you listen to has been talking about how great this series is for basketball because all the history and bad blood between these teams will stall free agency talk. First of all, no it will not. This is one of, if not THE, most exciting free agent classes in the history of sports. LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh, Johnson, Nowitzki, Stoudemire, and a number of others good players. There is no avoiding this talk. If that bothers you, get over it, because it's not going anywhere until the dust has settled and everyone has a contract.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Group C and Thank you, Robert Green
Yes, I'll admit it. I thought we were dead in the water. 4 minutes into the game and England scores through terrible American defense. And then even when we got the ball moving, nobody was taking any decent shots, except for Altidore's missed header. But then the soccer gods smile upon America (well put Lalas) and Clint Dempsey, the Nacogdoches, Texas boy, fires a shot right into the English keeper's hands...and it rolls past into the goal. Robert Green is the American MVP!!
Really? Of course not. It was Tim Howard, hands down. The American keeper lived up to expectations and played amazingly tough and amazingly quick. He made some clutch saves that kept it a 1 goal game for America, and then some more clutch saves to hold the tie. Altidore also showed bursts of his speed and agility, burning England's defense to nearly net a goal. As an American soccer/football/futbol fan, you have to believe that what just happened was a victory. 1 point is better than none. And with that, here is Group C.
Really? Of course not. It was Tim Howard, hands down. The American keeper lived up to expectations and played amazingly tough and amazingly quick. He made some clutch saves that kept it a 1 goal game for America, and then some more clutch saves to hold the tie. Altidore also showed bursts of his speed and agility, burning England's defense to nearly net a goal. As an American soccer/football/futbol fan, you have to believe that what just happened was a victory. 1 point is better than none. And with that, here is Group C.
Friday, June 11, 2010
World Cup Preview and the American View of Soccer
Soccer and baseball are actually very similar sports in terms of how people watch them. True fans of each sport love every moment. Purist soccer fans get excited for every pass, every corner kick, free kick, and every shot in the general direction of the goal. Similarly, the same level of baseball fan loves the strategy of each pitch and every manager decision; the bunts, steals, and specifically placed pitches.
On the other side of the spectrum is the casual fan who isn't as interested in the little things. People who say baseball is boring only like seeing huge home runs, curveballs that buckle the batter's knees, fastballs in the triple digits, and amazing diving catches. This is how I imagine most Americans view soccer. And the 0-0 game that Uruguay and France played earlier will just add to argument that soccer is a boring, international sport. The casual fan wants amazing goals, clutch diving saves from the goalies, and most of all, an actual ending to the game, not a draw (more on that game in a bit).
If the U.S. loses early in the tournament, these kind of fans may lose interest. Which brings up another interesting point. Besides the U.S., how do American soccer fans choose which country to root for? I personally know people rooting for Mexico because that's where their parents came from, but what about others?
I have 3 theories for other teams to root for: 1) American soccer fans watch European soccer, then root for players from their favorite team (such as Ronaldo from Real Madrid) rather than the country itself, 2) they root for high ranking teams like Brazil, knowing they'll be in the tournament longer, or 3) they choose to root for or against teams because they like or dislike the country being represented (example, many Americans dislike France, therefore they root against them.)
But enough about that, on to the World Cup itself.
On the other side of the spectrum is the casual fan who isn't as interested in the little things. People who say baseball is boring only like seeing huge home runs, curveballs that buckle the batter's knees, fastballs in the triple digits, and amazing diving catches. This is how I imagine most Americans view soccer. And the 0-0 game that Uruguay and France played earlier will just add to argument that soccer is a boring, international sport. The casual fan wants amazing goals, clutch diving saves from the goalies, and most of all, an actual ending to the game, not a draw (more on that game in a bit).
If the U.S. loses early in the tournament, these kind of fans may lose interest. Which brings up another interesting point. Besides the U.S., how do American soccer fans choose which country to root for? I personally know people rooting for Mexico because that's where their parents came from, but what about others?
I have 3 theories for other teams to root for: 1) American soccer fans watch European soccer, then root for players from their favorite team (such as Ronaldo from Real Madrid) rather than the country itself, 2) they root for high ranking teams like Brazil, knowing they'll be in the tournament longer, or 3) they choose to root for or against teams because they like or dislike the country being represented (example, many Americans dislike France, therefore they root against them.)
But enough about that, on to the World Cup itself.
Introduction
Welcome to the Random Guy's Sports Blog. My name is Tyler. I'm posting this first blog to introduce readers to myself and what I will be talking about.
First off, myself. I'm a junior at Baylor University, currently majoring in journalism. Despite this, the last time I wrote about sports continuously was high school, so this blog is long overdue. I'm from Houston, so my favorite teams are the Rockets, Astros, and Texans, and I also root for the Texas schools in college basketball and football. This bias may come out every now and then in my blogs.
If you walked in my apartment at any given time of day, the TV would probably be set to ESPN. I watch SportsCenter every day and watch a lot of sports commentary shows (Around the Horn, PTI, Sportsnation) and draw a lot of my information from these shows, as well as ESPN.com.
Besides sports, I'm also a big video game nut. Right now I'm big on Call on Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which I play probably every day with friends back home. I'm doing this quite often lately because I'm in Waco for summer school, while all my friends are back in Houston, so really watching sports and playing video games is all I can do. I miss my friends back home and hope to hang out with them after summer school and before the fall semester starts.
ContentMy blogs will always be about sports and sometimes the outside issues surrounding them. Having said that, I'm just not interested in some sports or leagues. My favorite sport is football, NFL and NCAA, and typically this is the sport I'm most passionate about. I also love the MLB, NBA, and college basketball.
I do not talk about college baseball, hockey, tennis, or NASCAR, because these just do not interest me whatsoever. I do enjoy soccer. I would probably rank it as my 4th favorite sport, behind football, baseball, basketball, but the problem is there's so many leagues that I just don't have the ability to follow it completely. I am very interested in the World Cup though, and many of my upcoming blogs will probably be about it.
Well this is the end of my introduction blog. For those who read this, I love to hear other people's opinions on sports, even if they do not agree with mine. If anyone would like to talk sports or suggest topics I can talk about, let me know, and be sure to follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/TXler
First off, myself. I'm a junior at Baylor University, currently majoring in journalism. Despite this, the last time I wrote about sports continuously was high school, so this blog is long overdue. I'm from Houston, so my favorite teams are the Rockets, Astros, and Texans, and I also root for the Texas schools in college basketball and football. This bias may come out every now and then in my blogs.
If you walked in my apartment at any given time of day, the TV would probably be set to ESPN. I watch SportsCenter every day and watch a lot of sports commentary shows (Around the Horn, PTI, Sportsnation) and draw a lot of my information from these shows, as well as ESPN.com.
Besides sports, I'm also a big video game nut. Right now I'm big on Call on Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which I play probably every day with friends back home. I'm doing this quite often lately because I'm in Waco for summer school, while all my friends are back in Houston, so really watching sports and playing video games is all I can do. I miss my friends back home and hope to hang out with them after summer school and before the fall semester starts.
ContentMy blogs will always be about sports and sometimes the outside issues surrounding them. Having said that, I'm just not interested in some sports or leagues. My favorite sport is football, NFL and NCAA, and typically this is the sport I'm most passionate about. I also love the MLB, NBA, and college basketball.
I do not talk about college baseball, hockey, tennis, or NASCAR, because these just do not interest me whatsoever. I do enjoy soccer. I would probably rank it as my 4th favorite sport, behind football, baseball, basketball, but the problem is there's so many leagues that I just don't have the ability to follow it completely. I am very interested in the World Cup though, and many of my upcoming blogs will probably be about it.
Well this is the end of my introduction blog. For those who read this, I love to hear other people's opinions on sports, even if they do not agree with mine. If anyone would like to talk sports or suggest topics I can talk about, let me know, and be sure to follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/TXler
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