mmm....World Cup

So I got a part time gig doing...of all things...writing (please note the irony).

At any rate I wanted to catch up on a few things about the world cup:

First, ABC/ESPN suck. I've long known both of those facts. I stopped watching the Sportscenter and its crappy production value and least common denominator targeting strategy and instead reverted to reruns of the Perry Logan show. The fact of the matter is that ESPN is sucking the life out of sports. No where is that more evident than in the World Cup. In fact there's a great NY Times World Cup Blog article about it here. AT this point, more people are tuning in to Univision to watch the games. If only Univision had an HD feed!

Second, the US, despite what many claim, did not flame out of this tourney. The US's group was one of the two most difficult groups in the entire cup. The US were legitimately one call away from having a shot at advancing to two calls away from beiing in a position to win the group. They played like the Texans against the Czech, responded with heart against Italy, and then were sucker punched against Ghana (though Ghana played with my upfield passion that the US with the exception of Clint Dempsey).

Third, Clint Dempsey (East Texas reprezent) and Eddie Johnson are the future of American soccer. They have a flair and fearlessness that most American soccer players lack, whether it be becuase of lack of talent or over-respect for European players (read: Landon Donovan).

So, who looks good? Germany and Argentina look like the two best teams....unfortunately they play on Friday instead of in the finals. Tomorrow, Brazil v. Ghana and Spain v. France should both be highly entertaining matches.

Back to the grind stone....enjoy studying for the bar.

World Cup Observations I

Over the next 30 days I’m gonna try to post some observations on all the beautiful games I’ll be watching when I’m not looking for a job (every one who knows me, knows I’m not taking the bar because of the World Cup, so that last statement is sure to have drawn a few laughs).

I.) Everyone loves smooth balls, unless you have to handle them. This is exactly the case in this years Cup chase. Evidently, this year’s official World Cup soccer ball is made using a special engineering technique which makes the ball seamless and perfectly round (or at least as perfectly round as man is capable of producing). This means the ball dances without spin, wreaking havoc on opposing goal keepers. Expect to see many more shots from outside the 18 (that would be the penalty box for you nubes). Germany had two long distance goals on Friday, and already you are seeing more and more attempts from between 20 and 40 yards out! This could make for a very exciting World Cup.

II.) Trinidad & Tobago is not a tobacco store at the Galleria. It’s the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup and did so as the fourth qualifying team from the CONCACAF region (the US’s region, where Mexico and Costa Rica also qualified). In their first ever Cup match against perennial “always the bride’s maid and never the bride” of European soccer, Sweden, T&T: (1) lost their star, starting goal keeper to injury during warm-ups, (2) started their 37 year old back up who played for Howard University in 1988, (3) lost key defensive midfielder Avery Johns to a red card, (4) and were forced to play a man down for roughly 1/2 of the game. Still, T&T fought out a 0-0 draw behind the folkloric play of back up goal keeper Shaka Hislop. My roommate, a soccer watching neophyte, was sold on the sport after being thoroughly entertained by this David v. Goliath match, despite the fact that no goals were scored and it ended in a tie (but a moral victory for T&T).

III.) While everyone else is picking Brazil, and being the contrarian that I can tend to be, I’m choosing Germany as my favorite to win the Cup. Their new attack minded coach, Juergen Klinsmann, and home field advantage should be enough to carry them easily through the first round. If Friday’s 4-2 victory over Costa Rica was any indication, this team is nasty as hell, even without their best player (Michael Ballack) and with national hero and goalkeeping legend Oliver Kahn on the bench.

IV.) Tomorrows game between the US and the Czech Republic will be the most important match for the team this year. In the last two Cups, only one team (Turkey) that lost their first match advanced out of the first round. Lucky, the Czech’s have been plagued by injuries to their most vital players of late, including stars Pavel Nedved, Milan Boros, and 6’8” forward Jan Koller. Of course these are just injury reports, who will and won’t actually play is always info held close to the vest. In order to win the US will have to have great wing play from Bobby Convey (whom I have very high expectations of) and great defense from the US back line (I’m talking to you Gregg Berhalter). Kickoff is at 11am. Sam’s Army will be at Fado’s on 4th, with another contingency watching at Ringer’s. Wear red, unless you’re a Czech commie bastard (how ironic is that).

The Job Search Continues

So I've sent out about 50 resume/cover letter combos with little or no waves made. And now the World Cup is upon us. Fucking wonderful!

Already the bulk of my focus has shifted to The Beautiful game. This NY Times blog has become a daily fixture in my media mix.

Here's something to whet your excitement:



For those really bored readers, check out Frank Zappa sticking it to the man on CrossFire.