anyone interested in the world cup?
 

its crazy over here, and were not even in it. Should be a great month. Soccer is my 2nd fav sport after racing. I like spain, portugal and the czechs to cause a slight upset. Brazil are vulnerable in defence and England are overated.

Well, I like Spain and Brazil...will root for Team USA (I guess we're in it, hell if I know)...Spain has impressed me in the past and Brazil always is a factor so those should be OK picks but really, I don't feel qualified to say much!

Germany didn't look too bad this morning against an overmatched Costa Rica

in the u.s, soccer is for kids that cant cut it in baseball or football...... i guess i will go with the team from argentina.

Let's give Soccer proper respect.

Where would the NFL be without Soccer style kickers? Ever see old black and white film from the 60's with kicker's lining up straight to kick the ball?

This is the HUGE contribution Soccer has made to the American sports scene. The 5'-6" 150lb guy on the team now stands at an angle.

Things are still in the stone age for the long snapper though. When oh when will someone figure out a new way to hike the ball?

Jamaica is my pick

ENGLAND
ENGLAND
ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!

nuff said...2nd is the hopes that the US pulls off a miracle

third--ehh how can you not like Brazil

One time in four years I'll watch soccer, and this is it. Hate to go for the favorites - Brazil - but they seem stacked, plus I love the one name thing! Germany looked good opening and the home country has made the final in something like 11 of 18 Worlds Cups. A longshot? Lets look at Mexico!!!

My thoughts so far on the world cup

Iran- sucks enough said
England better play better football or they wont get past the 2nd round
Germany-Their backliners better wake up or someone will destroy them
Portugal- Looked okay in their opener will need to improve more to compete
Argentina-Looked very strong beating up on the ivory coast.

yeah skippy, so far only argentina and portugal seem good enough to win it. Germany were shocking in defence. any half decent team will destroy them. England love to hype their team up but were poor. they badly need wayne rooney back in their squad. no chance without him. Some decent games today. the US might pull off a shock against the czechs. they were the best european team 2 years ago, but most of their players are nearing retirement. Italy should win tonight but will not have it their own way against Ghana. All the African teams have looked physically strong and are tough to beat. anyway, should be some good games today!

funny article
 

from the racing post mixes football with racing.

http://www.racingpost.co.uk/news/rp_...=wrap_12_06_06

some background info, the horse that is highlighted, Quito just ran his 100th race and won it for his 18th win and at 9, is better than ever, and is a personal fav of mine. Oh and he is a rig!!

I'm more than a bit disappointed in that EFFORT. I can handle being beaten as the Czechs are a great team, but the lack of effort, passion, and will is almost depressing for those of us that hoped for a strong showing - whether that showing would take us far or not.

They are getting RIPPED apart by the media here. As disappointed as I am, it's kinda funny to see analysts tearing this team apart. Hopefully the team doesn't shy away from the embarassment and atleast go down swinging. They have plenty of weapons to do some damage in the next two games, but I want to see some friggin LIFE on the pitch.

I almost threw up by the effort of Ronaldo today
as a coach it's disgusting when you see talent
play with such lack of motivaton
Ronaldinho was great
but really the Croats outplayed them
and should have won
if they didn't kick the ball right to the goalkeeper every time
I wouldn't play Ronaldo the rest of the group play
I'd stick with Robinho
the Americans are doomed
how did the FIFA's #5 ranked team get placed with #2 Czechs
and three time champ Italy?
My neighbors are Argentines
so I'm rooting for them
but I'd really like to see a 1st time winner

The U.S look absolutely putrid. Watching them is like watching a screenplay. it seems everything is scripted out. We need more free-wheeling in our offense. And kasey Kellar needs to show the hell up.

Free-wheeling offense? How about any offense. Reyna is the only player that generates anything.

YES i am very interested in the World Cup.... I am interested in the World Cup ending! When is that?

From what I've read over here, the FIFA rankings have been criticized intensely, and our collapse has given a lot of people ammunition to keep tearing into them.

We're off to watch our match against Italy at a football-crazed pub Saturday. It should be painful, but someone has to cheer us on (or cringe and hide behind the pint, either way).

I grew up playing soccer/football and loved it, so I enjoy the World Cup. It's really great being in the UK -- I don't think I've ever seen so many car flags supporting the team anywhere.

Q UOTE=Gander]YES i am very interested in the World Cup.... I am interested in the World Cup ending! When is that?[/quote]....;)

Where is the respect...? How many fat players do you see on a soccer field compared to a football or baseball field? Cmon Gander, you are into fitness. These guys are totally fit or they sit.

I will say it is an aquired taste much like baseball. The sport is deeper than the score. Its hard for some people to appreciate unless you have played. This sport in damn tough to play. When you see teams pass the ball and move into opens space so efficiently and set up a shot that misses, there is still beauty in the play. Its kind of like a pitcher setting up a guy for a high tight one for watch that one strike 3. We might love it, but people who dont know the sport look and say what is the big deal? You got to move for 45 minutes straight sprinting and cutting in between. And then do it again.

It is a fantastic sport and a wonderful exercise in team cohesion.

A change: If a guy has to be carted off the field on a stretcher, he is out of the game and a substitution must be made. He must also sit out the team's next game as he must have been severly injured. They fake way too much to catch a breath.

If he is knocked down and cannot get up, he has 40 seconds before a stretcher is brought on... and once the stretcher is on the field a player must come off and be substituted for.

pgardn rules of soccer: Article IV subsection 32a Verse III(c) pslam G5

I could care less what kind of shape they are in. Just being honest here. I'd much rather watch out of shape overweight guys play baseball than a bunch of very athletic soccer players run around a field (thats way too big by the way) for one hour and score maybe one goal. They need to do something to make this a more offensive game.

They should shrink the field down in size and increase the size of the goal.

When is this over anyways?

Never.

Because I am tired of watching fat, tabacco chompin, spittin, fat guys that stand around.

What kind of sport lets Barry Bonds on the field to play defense. How IN GOD'S NAME can you call baseball a sport when a guy that cannot even run, can play in the outfield?
Now that my friend, is a joke.

Gander if you learned to love baseball, you can learn to love soccer. (Not that you want to)

Never will I be a fan of soccer. Add that to car racing and bowling, this I am sure of.

And how can you be so sure everybody on those soccer fields are clean? You mean there is absolutely no one who cheats with a banned substance?

Not a soccer fan at all, I would never watch it, but lots of people like it, so to each their own...

The best arguement I have seen for why Baseball and Football are better, is because something can happen on every play with those sports. Even if if is a 0-0 Baseball Game, 1 swing of the bat can change it, the Reds were 0-0 going into the 11th the other day and with one swing of the bat Adam Dunn won the game, at least there's the anticipation something can happen, same thing in Football...

And with the fat Football Players, those are some of the biggest, strongest, fastest people in the world, people do not understand how violent of a game Football can be, someone once compared it to having a car wreck on every play. The speed and size these guys carry is unbelievable...

Heck, I am susupect of all sports. Except bowling and car racing. I know there are high school kids at almost every school in the district I teach in that used them (majority are football and body-builders). The testing of high school kids is the next step.

I did not say anything about soccer players being clean. Or Barry.

I am just asking how can a guy that cannot even run play in the outfield. What kind of sport that involves some running, on occassion, allow a guy that cannot even run to be in the OUTFIELD. Dont they have to chase down balls?

watch the second goal that argentina scored today, brilliant..Soccers the most popular sport for a reason..

Yeah Brock, cause we live in a strange world inhabited by strange creatures! Watching soccer is like watching grass grow except with grass at least you can smoke it at some point!

somer, im abig fan of american football, baseball, basketball and hockey, basically any sport imaginable, but football is amazing. only racing beats it in my mind. The great thing about football is no matter where you are in the world (except the states and canada) you can talk football to the locals even if you dont know the language!

this is the cruelest beating I've ever witnessed (6-nil)
people who say a sport is boring usually don't knopw how to watch the sport
I've heard boxing is boring, soccer, curling, hockey, horse racing even
but there are intricacies you look for in the game that make it interesting
I guess what I mean is soccer is not for the casual viewer
but those who are astute on the game and how it is played
or supposed to be played, to really appreciate it

argentina showed today how to play the game! beautiful, really. on the other hand, england, yesterday despite winning were shocking!

No I'd much rather watch grass grow.

I think some of the little things that soccer players can pull off are amazing. They get a pass rocketed to them and they have the perfect touch with almost any part of their body to put the ball down right at their feet. Its amazing. When I played a little, that first touch, getting the ball down to where it is controllable is absolutely critical. But if you have not played it, you would not know it. I can hit 3's in basketball all day, or freethrows, thats easy. I'll be damned if I can put a soccer ball right at might feet on a tough pass. I guess thats what I get not growing up with the sport in elementary school, when a lot of muscle memory is established.

There are 1000 other little tidbits like that in soccer.

Soccer is o.k. to watch if the players are making skillful passes(like Argentina did today.)If not,it is like a real bad hockey game.

Passes? You watch a sport for passes? Its like watching baseball to see routine double plays. I'm no huge fan of hockey but at least they fight and get roughed up. Anyone know why the soccer players wear their socks damn high? Real bad fashion going on out there.

Shin guards are often held in place by the high socks. And shin guards are extraordinarily important. Hurts like hell getting kicked in the shin, even with them on. Some of the shin guards even have the extra ankle pads on the outside and inside so if someone slides into you with cleats, your ankles dont get stabbed. In soccer, the knee down is where the pain usually occurs.

But like I stated before, they fake for rest a whole lot.

These guys take more dives than pro wrestlers...now there's an idea, maybe Vince should field his own soccer team...The Big Show in goal, Triple H, HBK, bring Nick out of retirement...would sledge hammers and chairs get you red carded? First guy who takes a dive in front of the Undertaker gets tombstoned...that would slow that crap down!

It really is to each their own -- baseball bores me like no other sport, but I love a good World Cup match. It was pandemonium yesterday at the pub when we thought our second goal counted...damn, an upset of Italian would have been amazing. I think soccer's one of those sports that's made better with a good crowd. We had such a blast yesterday: Italians at one table, Americans adjacent, beer flowing...here's hoping our match with Ghana is good, too.

Absolutely ...

... the athletes are great ... but the sport is a complete snoozathon.

After 26 games ... a total of 61 goals had been scored ... an average of 2.3 per game by BOTH teams ... and only about half of those resulted from game action ... the rest coming on penalty kicks and corner kicks.

As Joanne Worley used to say on "Laugh-In" ... BOOOOOOORINGGGG !!!

Yeah ... they do seem to be a bunch of girly-men ... don't they? ... lots of swooning, writhing, and grimacing every time they get a boo-boo.

Sorry, but soccer just doesn't do it for me.

Lots of running around yet hardly any meaningful action. BORING.