I've made it quite clear that I'm not a soccer fan. The World Cup greatly intrigues me. I will never watch English Premiere League or the MLS, but I will watch countries face each other in battle. Today is the kickoff of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Uruguay vs. France is later today and South Africa vs. Mexico is happening at the moment. Since I know nothing about the teams, players, or strategies here's a preview for today's games by SB Nation.Uraguay vs. France kickoffs at 2PM ET/ 11AM PT. Use this thread to comment about that match and about the South Africa vs. Mexico match. Have a good day.
It's feels like only a matter of time until Mexico gets the first goal of the World Cup...
ReplyDeleteMexico has really fallen back after they looked like they were going to score in the first 10 minutes. of course, that also describes any time I go to hit on women...
ReplyDeleteOh sure, Mr. I Don't Have Time to Live Blog the World Cup shows up after I create a thread.
ReplyDeleteOffside is the correct call there...
ReplyDeletebtw, if you bet on EITHER South Africa or Mexico you win!
ReplyDeleteor course, if it ends in a tie, you lose...
This should be 1-0 Mexico. That offsides was a terrible call.
ReplyDelete"@RandBall: Can we get Tim Donaghy's take on that disallowed goal?"
ReplyDeleteThe World Cup refs must be paid by the mob.
How do they determine how much extra time the game goes after the 60 minute mark?
ReplyDelete@JFein that was a correct call on the offside. You can't be behind the goalie to play the ball.
ReplyDeleteThe Mexicans never,ever let calls against them go...
@Keith the referee keeps the official time on his watch and he "estimates" how much time has been lost to injuries and arguments and stuff. so it's completely up in the air and has no outside check on it.
ReplyDelete@Kris: Thanks, I guess I'm going to have to look up the rules ;-)
ReplyDelete@Keith the rules also depend on where you are. I ref high school soccer in Maryland, and here the official clock is kept on the scoreboard and we have nothing to do with it on the field.
ReplyDelete@Kris: I looked up the FIFA rules. I see how the ref adds time now. And your right, it is completely up to the official whether there is stoppage time or not.
ReplyDeleteActually it's Mr. I Will Be Up And Around A Lot During The Day And Won't Be Around Every Day For The World Cup, to you. ;-). Today is fine, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I tweeted some things before you put up the open thread, though...
Actually it's Mr. I Will Be Up And Around A Lot During The Day And Won't Be Around Every Day For The World Cup, to you. ;-). Today is fine, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I tweeted some things before you put up the open thread, though...
"Oh my goodness." - Martin Tyler
ReplyDeleteGOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL...
ReplyDeleteIf South Africa wins this, I think they stand a darn good chance of advancing. I see no threat in the French.
ReplyDeletecountry flags on individual tweets could get awfully annoying
ReplyDeleteMaybe because I became used to it, but the horns aren't bothering me today.
ReplyDelete'If you're not quite a believer, maybe that goal will help change your mind." Martin Tyler
ReplyDeleteIf South Africa wins, I'm betting money against all of Justin picks.
ReplyDeleteSouth Africa should have gotten a PK there..that was worse than the no call on the Flyers against Patrick Kane the other night
ReplyDelete@Keith that's a strategy I might follow as well...
ReplyDeleteTIED GAME!
ReplyDeleteMarquez equalizes for Mexico!
ReplyDeletethere must be some strange conversations between Desmond Tutu and Joe Biden
ReplyDeleteWas Biden wearing a Snuggie?
ReplyDeleteThe Iron Unkind!
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine Brando calling a soccer match. He would come up with cute puns for the players names like, "What Kaka for Kaka."
ReplyDelete1-1 final. Probably the right result...
ReplyDelete@Keith "Messi leaves a messi?"
ReplyDelete/shudders, then needs a shower
That's my biggest problem with Soccer. Matches can end in a Tie.
ReplyDelete@Keith only in pool play. From the 2nd round on,they have OT. I wonder if Donovan McNabb is surprised by this tie?
ReplyDelete@Kris: That's good to know. I guess it's time to work on my Texas to Pac-10 post........
ReplyDeleteOff topic, but congrats to Boise State! It's about damn time they got out of the WAC.
ReplyDeleteI must say it is interesting to see Chris Fowler and Mike Tirico on ESPN's soccer coverage...
ReplyDeleteBoth guys makes sense. They're not over the top like other ESPN personalities.
ReplyDelete@Keith you mean like the guy who got the foul ball in the gut last night, among others?
ReplyDelete@Yep. BTW, that foul ball came from former Giants player Fred Lewis.
ReplyDeleteIt's stunning that Uruguay has not gotten into the World Cup since 1950....
ReplyDelete@ 49er16: Both seem like they are a decent fit for the job, you are right. It is just odd to see them covering a sport they do not normally cover.
ReplyDelete@JFein: Agreed. I always find it weird when Fowler is covering Tennis.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm watching Univision's coverage of the World Cup.
i might get a headache trying to figure out what this Scotsman is saying..
ReplyDeleteOkay, the horns have become increasingly annoying.
ReplyDeleteFrance definitely should have scored on that play
ReplyDelete"What a last hurrah, apart from the headbutt, of course." - Ian Darke talking about Zidane in the 06 World Cup.
ReplyDelete@JFein I am liking this guy Darke. He's really good.
ReplyDeleteYou know what's sad? Univsion's stream is ten times better than the ESPN3 stream.
ReplyDelete@Keith If the streams are bad, then that's not good news for me next week.
ReplyDelete@Kris: The ESPN3 stream is really bad. The picture is fuzzy like ESPN has aluminum on their streaming equipment.
ReplyDelete@ kt: I am glad I am not the only one who finds Ally McCoist difficult to understand. I'm good at picking up accents, but his is very thick.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I already like Ian Darke very much.
Is it just me or does this ref look like he has man boobs?
ReplyDelete@JFein: He's definitely not on the Ed Hochili workout plan.
ReplyDeleteIs Tommy Smyth not working the games?
ReplyDelete@Keith Tommy is on ESPN Radio coverage w/ JP Dellacamera. I'm not so sure if soccer works on the radio.
ReplyDeleteSoccer on radio? That sparks my pet peeve. Sports on radio that isn't baseball. Baseball on the radio works because you can picture what is going on.
ReplyDeleteOther sports on the radio (NFL, NHL, NBA) don't work because the action is too fast. I refuse to listen to sports on the radio other than baseball.
@Keith I think it all depends on the quality of the guy doing the NFL, etc on the radio. Too many announcers have come up doing or wanting to announce on TV, and therefore the lack the ability to describe what they see.
ReplyDeleteKevin Harlan, for one, is very good at football on radio because he's good at description.
@Kris: I hear you, but it's still hard to follow what is happening on the radio because other sports are so fast paced.
ReplyDeleteI've got another example. At night I can pickup the Cleveland station that does Cavs games during the winter, and their announcer is great at basketball on the radio.
ReplyDelete0-0 at halftime. Not exactly very riveting action.
ReplyDeleteUruguay has a player named Victorino on their team.
ReplyDeleteAwesome.