Long, exhausting soccer day yesterday.  It exemplified everything that is wrong with the sport.  In the first game, Germany lost to Serbia. The referee took control of the game with 9 yellow cards and 1 red card. There was no reason for nearly all of them. The ref, effectively, decided GROUP D through his officiating.  It was nauseating.  In USA versus Slovenia, the ref disallowed a goal in the 84^th minute.  This stuff should not happen at the World Cup.  Also, the US team is now down a player for their final game against Algeria because the ref gave a yellow card to US striker Robbie Findley.   The ref thought the ball hit him in the arm, but it actually struck his face. Will the mistake be overturned? Doubtful. The England versus Algeria game was one of the better-officiated games in the tournament, for what its worth. FIFA will take 1-for-3 in terms of upholding the integrity of the sport.  FIFA would actually be proud of that.

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USA vs Slovenia is up today. I will be live blogging it here at MLD. US should get a win. Everyone says a tie is alright, but it is not. A tie really puts a lot of pressure on the United States in their last game against Algeria. Not only must they beat Algeria, but they would have to win BIG.

Anyway, in terms of lineups: Jose Torres is in, Ricardo Clark is out. Torres is smaller, faster, and more offensive minded. Only issue with him versus Clark is that Torres is small going against a bigger Slovenia side. Slovenia should be too slow to keep up with him.

One more thing: I hope Hercules Gomez gets in the game later. He has been solid lately and brings life off the bench.

Check out other World Cup coverage on My Latest Distraction before the game.

LIVE coverage begins here:

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As the second games in the round robin start up there should be more goals.  Hopefully the nightmare of the first week is now over.

June 17, 2010

GROUP B

Argentina 4 – 1 South Korea

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Thankfully, June 16, 2010 will be considered “The Day the World Cup Became Interesting.”  First, Chile, though only winning 1-0, is the most exciting non-Brazil/Germany/Spain team in the tournament. They play three strikers, which means they are always pushing to score. They are like the Phoenix Suns of soccer, if that is possible.  Second, Spain lost. More on that later.  Third, Uruguay scored three goals in one game.  That was fun to watch.

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And so it comes down a deciding game seven in the NBA Finals this year between the league’s two most successful franchises. The Lakers and Celtics have won 32 of the league’s 63 NBA Championships between them, and that’s enough for me to not care at all about this year’s finals. Any and all rooting interest I had was lost back in November when it was clear the Sixers weren’t going anywhere.

In preparation for tonight, check out all of this season’s NBA posts here on My Latest Distraction. You’ll notice a pattern that has nothing at all to do with Boston, Los Angeles, or any other team that made the playoffs this year.

The last game of the NBA post-season airs tonight on ABC at 9PM EST. Congratulations to whichever team wins. You did it again!