Quarterfinals!

Its been a while since I've written about the World Cup, but its one more time than Peter King has. I'm not feeling up to discussing the USA in depth, but they were flat and didn't leave it all on the field. The defense continued to have holes, Howard didn't have a great game and we kept squandering chances in front of goals. You can't advance in the World Cup playing like that. Its too bad. I think our boys will regret their performance for a long time and will also feel like they didn't leave it all on the field. Coach, lets not go with Ricardo Clark and Robbie Findley any more. I'm done with them. I'm not sure if I want Bradley to return. 4 years in charge is long enough and its time for a new perspective and a new way to do things. I just hope the USA splashes the cash and pays for a top notch manager and one that will be willing to adapt to the changing nature of the game and will use cutting edge training methods. They also need to give the new manager as much control over the entire system as he wants. But, I wouldn't be surprised if Bradley returns.

Be honest with yourselves England. You weren't going to win that game even if you count Frank Lampard's goal. I'm glad this happened to England; USA getting hosed on a call created a minor stir, a "bigger," and I laugh when I type that, a "bigger" team like England at least generate more buzz and attention when they are victims of a shambolic call (in this case a no call). Something either has to be done to allow the officials to conference on those calls, or there needs to be some sort of replay system, at the very least on whether or not a goal was actually scored.

Germany were fantastic on the counter attack and England were slow and completely disorganized trying to get back to defend Germany's counters. Thomas Mueller has had a great tournament for the Germans and has been one of the best players in the tournament.

Brazil are really good. What a shocker. Duda's team continues to play good defense and steamrolled Chile today. Lucio is great, its as simple as that. He's making central defense an art at both Inter Milan and with Brazil. While Chile enjoyed good possession they couldn't finish and Brazil made them pay. It didn't help that Chile had three critical players sitting due to yellow card accumulation/suspension. Its not the most beautiful Brazil team, but they remain effective.

Tomorrow's big match is the battle of the Iberian Peninsula as Portugal take on neighbors Spain. I don't buy that much into the FIFA rankings, but its the battle of 2 of the top 3 rated teams in the world. Portugal's ranking doesn't seem to reflect their recent form and I think it will be tough for them to win. Spain are so deep and talented, Ronaldo will have to play an inspired game to lead Portugal to victory.

But most of these feels like we're killing time until Germany/Argentina on Saturday. It has the makings of a classic. Can Maradona lead his team to the Semis? Can he keep his composure? Can Higuain continue to poach goals? Can this young German team continue to impress and can Podolski and Klose continue to score goals? Lots of questions to be answered and has all the makings of a classic. Also remember that this is a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Quarterfinals where Germany beat Argentina on penalties.

Briefly on Landon Donovan perhaps fathering a child with an English woman: I'm actually reassured, he's just like every other American professional athlete. Way to go Landon!

What have we learned so far?

I spent the better part of Saturday amongst friends and the wifey watching the USA/England game and then embarking on a marathon bar brawl through Carmel, IN. The cool part was the fact that the bar where we watched the game was full and it was full for the game, not for some other reason. That being said, it was a young crowd, maybe because it was a bar or maybe because the younger generation(s) have more of an interest in the game as we have grown up in a more tech friendly/internet, globalized, everything all the time place and have been exposed to more international football. Another argument for another day.

Anyways, onto football...

USA 1, England 1. If you are American, for the most part, it felt like a victory, taking a point from the English. The English media had really talked up their team and did not seem to take America seriously. Too bad for them. USA created some decent chances and were a couple of Robert Greene saves away from winning 3-1 or 3-2. England also had their chances, but Tim Howard had a massive massive game and showed why he is one of the highest regarded keepers in the English Premiership.

The sad thing about this game is that it is going to be remembered for Robert Greene's "howler," as the commentator put it...rather than a game where USA played tough, created some good chances and were generally able to shut down Wayne Rooney. Or a game where England started brilliantly, looked dangerous in attack in certain moments, but had trouble breaking down USA and Tim Howard. Nope, it will be the Robert Greene game, especially if somehow this result enables USA to finish top of the group and dodge Germany in the round of 16. I know, I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but thats the way this thing could be viewed...you never know.

I'll pile on and be 'doom and gloom' even though it may not matter. Lets not forget that the bulk of this England team is the same England team that failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Maybe...GASP, they aren't that great. Maybe they are and maybe the manager has made a difference and they are just off to a slow start. Like I said earlier, you never know...at least at this point in the competition, but, I think its worth pointing out that this team and the Euro team are quite similar.

There has been lots of talk about the ball (jabulani) and about the Vuvuzelas. The ball is the ball and everyone had the chance to train with it, get used to it, etc. So, boo-hoo, get over it. Complaints about the ball happen at every major tournament. As for the Vuvuzelas...unless your TV is specifically tuned to this sound, it just sounds like bees buzzing in the background, let it go...it is a part of the tournament experience in South Africa...if you don't like it, don't schedule the tournament there. I'd rather hear that than hear English fans singing away the game against USA, maybe not, but you get my point. Also, FIFA had a chance to address this issue during last summer's Confederations Cup and chose to take no action during or after the Confederations Cup. The players were aware that this horn would be in use by the fans. So Leo Messi, I know it makes communications tougher, but perhaps Mr. Maradona should have practiced with an elevated noise level prior to the World Cup. Teams from all sorts of different sports practice with pumped-in noise in order to better simulate a stadium environment...and every World Cup team had a chance to do that prior to the tournament.

Germany 4, Australia 0

USA better hope they win their group, because Germany looked terrifying. Great finishing, ice water veins in front of goal, and stout defending have made Germany the most impressive team so far...Brazil and Spain have yet to play. Podolski (Cologne) and Klose (Bayern Munich), who had terrible seasons for their club teams in Germany, scored the first two goals of the tournament for the Germans. It makes Low look like a genius of a manager and atones for not bringing the in-form Kevin Kuranyi to South Africa.

Aside from the Germany game, this has been a low low scoring tournament with 11 of the 26 teams that have so far failing to score a goal in their opening match. There have also been two 0-0 encounters (France/Uruguay, Ivory Coast/Portugal). Some have blamed the ball for the low scoring due to its unpredictable ball flight, but by that rationale one could also argue that the unpredictable ball flight should or could confuse goal keepers and lead to more goals. I think we'll know a lot more of how this tournament is going to unfold in terms of goalscoring once we see Brazil and Spain play and notch another round of group games.

I will admit my first wrong prediction. I had Japan finishing bottom of their group...which could still happen, but now that they have three points, they are in the drivers seat to advance. Honda's goal was well taken and poised. He collected the ball, kept his composure and was able to score the goal; well done and I eat my words.

I'm not surprised by Italy's result, they are historically slow starters and credit must be given to Paraguay for hanging on and not conceding a second, momentum had swung in Italy's favor. The injury to their keeper, Gigi Buffon worries me because if his nerve problem is as bad as it sounds, we may not see him for the remainder of the tournament, which is a shame because he's one of the very best in the world and is entertaining to watch. Age and ability to score the necessary goal look to remain Italy's major concerns, but they've been here before and should be able to handle the stress of the tournament, I still like them to make it out of their group.

I didn't get to watch the Ivory Coast/Portugal game, but it must have been a drag to watch two of the best goal scorers in the world (Drogba and Ronaldo) fail to find the back of the net. If Brazil get the points against North Korea, that group is well on its way towards being a slam dunk for Brazil. The race for 2nd could be very very interesting.

Thats all for now.

World Cup Preview

So I'll do what everyone else has done and write some sort of analysis or prediction of the World Cup. This isn't the NCAA tournament, there are no Cinderellas, if there are any, they go home fast. Butler doesn't make the final in this world. VCU doesn't beat Duke in this competition. The big bad boys, the Dukes of the world advance...the Germanys and Brazils advance. Hopefully this World Cup will buck that trend, but I won't hold my breath.

I won't go through the banality of each group game, but will simply give my winners and runners up in each group and go from there. My spelling and grammar will get worse and worse as this goes on.

Group A:

France, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay

Trend: The host nation always makes it out of the group stage.

Biggest Story: France is a disaster. They qualified on a handball goal. Their coach, Raymond Domenech, believes in astrology and has been rumored to pick his team based on the stars. He's been on the hot seat for 2 years and has alienated many of the talented reserve of French players not making the trip to South Africa. His team is old and has played poorly in warm-up games. I don't think that warm up games really matter, but losing 1-0 at home to China should never happen under any circumstance to this French team. Oh and Domench's most talented player is in the midst of a prostitution investigation in France...good job Frank Ribery. That being said...this team has plenty of super talented players and has my favorite named player in the world, Andre Pierre-Gignac. Say his name in the shower, say it with a French accent, its fun. I wouldn't be shocked if they got their act together, but I'll pick them to NOT make it out of the group

Winners: South Africa will have the home crowd, they are undefeated in their last 10 games. If the USA can make it out of its group in 1994, South Africa should be able to do the same and keep the trend alive. I also like Mexico (to win) out of this group, unlucky result against England in a warm-up game a couple of weeks ago. I like Uruguay as the dark horse should Mexico slip up or South Africa come back to earth.

Group B:

Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea

Trend: Greece have never won a game at the World Cup

Biggest Story: Crazy Diego Maradona. Just a couple of weeks ago, Maradona, the manager of Argentina, ran over a reporter with his car and then told the reporter what an asshole he was. He now has a Fidel Castro-esque/Unabomber beard and will undoubtedly be the most quotable figure at the tournament. Is he a mastermind or insane? I'm not sure, but I can't wait to find out. They are one of a few teams that have "an embarrassment of riches" in attack with the likes of Leo Messi (Barca), Higuain (Real Madrid), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), and two Argie based legends in Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors) and Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes de la Plata). Their attackers are considered some of the very best in the world. Maradona's challenge will be to find a way to get the right combination of the above-listed attackers on the field. Surprisingly, Maradona did not call up Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti from European Champions Inter Milan.

Winners: Argentina is too loaded, no matter how nuts their coach is...too much talent, they will advance and win the group. Greece are disciplined and still have some players from the 2004 European Championship winning team. I like their discipline and their German manager Otto Rehhagel. Also, how can you pick against a team with a player named Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Dark horse: Nigeria.

Group C:

Algeria, England, Slovenia, United States of America

Trend: WAG's. Will England's wives and girlfriends go on shopping sprees and dance on bars like they did in Baden Baden in Germany in 2006? I'm not sure this is a trend, but its hilarious either way.

Biggest Story: England England England England England. Is there a country that is more obsessed with their national team than England? Doubtful. As always...expectations are huge for the English and anything short of a semi-finals appearance will be deemed a failure. They have a brilliant Italian manager in Fabio Capello. But for England to win the World Cup they will have to do something that no wining World Cup team has ever done: win the World Cup with a foreign manager. That's right...no World Cup winning team has ever won the World Cup with a manager from a different country. Can England live up to the expectations...I have no idea, this team is a wild card to me, I could see them coming together and winning the whole thing and I can also see them completely melting down.

Winners: Whoever wins the USA/England game will win the group, if its a tie, I like England to win the group. I expect the USA to make it out of this group, this is the best American team we've ever sent to the World Cup and Bob Bradley seems to have these guys believing in themselves and unlike 2006, they have a quiet confidence, not a false confidence. English media maintains that England are more skilled at every position except goal keeper...I imagine that has become billboard material. I'm most afraid of Aaron Lennon for the Americans, his pace will destroy a player like Bornstein. Dark horse: Slovenia. I don't like Algeria at all...their manager has benched their team captain for the first game claiming he is "out of form." Not a good sign.

Group D:

Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia

Trend: This is Australia and Ghana's second straight appearance in the World Cup.

Biggest Story: Germany's injuries. Germany lost their first preference keeper Rene Adler, their team captain Michael Ballack, midfielder Christian Traesch, and defender Heiko Westermann. But, if there ever was a team that historical overcomes pretty much everything to advance, its Germany. Joachim Low is a great manager and some have speculated that he was the brains behind Jurgen Klinsmann and Germany 2006, he also has the trust of his players.

Winners: This is a relatively boring group and major upsets would have to happen to make it interesting. Germany should win the group, too much skill, pedigree and belief. If Michael Essien were playing for Ghana, I would have picked them to advance, but I like Serbia to make it out of this grow. Austrialia's Socceroos: I'm glad you won't advance, you have by far the lamest team nickname. Dark horse: Ghana.

Group E:

Cameroon, Denmark, Netherlands, Japan

Trend: Netherlands drama. Somehow there is always drama with the Netherlands...whether it is player v. player, coach v. player, hot tub babes v. players (World Cup '74), it is always something with the Dutch. What will the drama be this year?

Biggest Story: The Dutch. This is also the all-name team. Look up their roster and read through it, good luck. This is another team with an "embarrassment of riches." In attack they have Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Rafa Van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) and Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan). Again, much like with Argentina, it will be a challenge to find the right combo of players with this much talent to pick from. There is also concern that Sneijder and Van der Vaart can't play together like they couldn't when Sneijder was at Madrid and is similar to the dilemma facing England with Gerrard and Lampard.

Winners: Netherlands and I have no idea. Definitely not Japan. If there were a team that I'm confident will finish bottom of the group...Japan is that team. For me, its a pick-em between Denmark and Cameroon. If Eto'o plays like he's capable, he is a handful and could make Cameroon dangerous, but he is a mercurial player. OK, I've talked myself out of Cameroon and will take Denmark to finish second.

Group F:

Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia

Trend: Only Italy and Brazil have won back-to-back World Cups

Biggest Story: Italy's age. The Italians are the defending champions and have brought a very similar squad to South Africa. This Italian team does not lack experience but does lack pace. Depending on how this team plays defensively, they may not require a ton of speed, but if they go down a goal or two, it is hard to see this Italian team exploding back in a game with multiple goals. Their best attacking option is Antonio Di Natale who had another monster season at Udinese. Their creative midfielder, Andrea Pirlo from AC Milan is set to miss the first match due to injury. Italy may have the best goal keeper in the competition in Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) and should be a stout defensive team that will be tough to break down. Traditionally, the Italians are slow starters that tend to peak at the best times later in the competition.

Winners: Italy and Paraguay.

Group G: the "Group of Death"

North Korea, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal

Biggest Story: Flop of a group. When the draw was originally made, this group was immediately identified as the group of death. My first prediction: this group will be a cake-walk for Brazil. Portugal has struggled for form in qualifying and will now be without Manchester United play maker and speedster Nani. The Ivory Coast may be without one of the greatest strikers in the world in Didier Drogba (Chelsea) who broke his arm in a warm-up friendly against Japan. What Ivory Coast have in attack, they may not have in defensive poise. The wild card is North Korea, the team that the experts know the least about at this World Cup. I'm not sure they even exist. This group also wins the award for "most likely to have a superstar explode, do something stupid and be sent off" (yes, I am referring to you Drogba and Ronaldo).

Winners: Brazil should easily win this group and second will be the reward for either Cristiano Ronaldo or Didier Drogba. Ronaldo is healthy and is a better all-around player. I like Portugal to squeak through this group and into the second round. If Drogba were healthy I'd fancy this group more as the "group of death," but if he isn't 100%, this group becomes much easier for Portugal.

Group H:

Chile, Honduras, Spain, Switzerland

Trend: Spain went undefeated in qualifying and have only lost once in the last 2 years (to the USA)

Biggest Story: Spain. This team and Brazil are the two favorites to win the tournament. Spain is the last team with an embarrassment of attacking riches with David Villa (Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Liverpool, for now), Pedro (Barcelona), Jesus Navas (Valencia), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona). I'm going to stop, every player on this team is great and can score goals when necessary. They have the best individuals, but I'm not sure they have the best team. They are the defending European Champions and it will be interesting to see how they play having the 'favorites' tag attached to them. This team is solid from top to bottom. All of their players play for massive clubs and have played in some of the biggest games for both club and country played in recent memory. They should cruise and win this group.

Winners: Spain should win the group, I like Chile to finish second. Chile had a great qualifying run in CONMEBOL in South America and finished second in qualifying to Brazil. This team could be the dark horse of the entire tournament and could be a team to sneak into the quarterfinals. Switzerland won't be an easy out (except for Spain) but I expect Chile to get the job done and advance out of this group.

Who wins and how far does USA advance?

Tournament Champion: Its not original but I like Brazil. I like Brazil not because they are have attacking flair and all that other nonsense. I like Brazil because Dunga is a defense first manager and because he's going to play that style while still having some of the best attacking players on the planet to score goals. Unlike the Brazil of 2006, this Brazil will play great defense and will be able to absolutely smoke you on the counter attack. A player like Dani Alves (Barcelona) would be starting for any other team club or country on the planet, but Brazil is so deep, he will likely have to play behind Maicon (Inter Milan).

USA Outcome: If USA can beat England and top Group C, I think they could go as far as the semi-finals, because the draw looks favorable (if things shake out as predicted) and in the World Cup, they usually do. If they finish second in the group, USA will likely be eliminated by Germany in the round of 16. Winning the group is critical in order to advance in the tournament. Not getting out of the group would be a severe disappointment for the USA and would mean that the USA has still not been able to play the best when it matters the most. I think USA finishes second in the group and is eliminated in the round of 16.

Player of the Tournament: Leo Messi. It has to be. He's had one of the greatest club years in recent memory, I'm not sure his entire team will be good enough to win the tournament, but I think he could be the tournament's most outstanding player and will be responsible for at least 2 ridiculous, unbelievable, how'd he do that goals. Of course, the greatest question worldwide has been, can he repeat his club form for country. If he does, Argentina could win the whole thing.

Golden Boot Winner: Since I have Brazil advancing the farthest, I'll take Luis Fabiano of Brazil to score the most goals in this tournament. I think 5 or 6 goals will win the golden boot in this tourney. The great teams have so many great players that I expect that the goals will be shared amongst teammates for the most part.

Goat of the Tournament: Whoever misses a penalty kick for England when England are eliminated on penalties. It will happen...its a 'when' not 'if' situation.

couple of thoughts

If you want a bandwagon to jump on, I'll say it again: has to be Manchester City. The speculation continues about Mourinho and if Inter fail to win the Champions League he will likely go to City. Also, I read an article today indicating that City are going to develop property around Eastlands, in some of the poorer areas of Manchester. Not only will this generate more profit...eventually, but it will help make City a more desirable place for players to go and turn it into more of a sports complex and entertainment center. Development will also provide Manchester City with some cachet to try to keep up with their cross-town rivals.

Wayne Rooney is killing it right now. He has 36 goals in all competitions this year. He is turning into one of those "beast mode" players that seems to be able to do whatever he wants whenever he wants. (a short list of other recent beast mode players include Kaka (2007), C. Ronaldo (2006 - present), Ronaldinho (2004-2007), Messi (2006 - present), Drogba (whenever he actually feels like competing), Henry (Arsenal days). I am by no means a Manchester United fan, but this guy is ridiculous to watch. It will be interesting to see if his club form will carry over in the World Cup. If it does, and this feels weird even typing this, Wayne Rooney is hands down world player of the year (whether it is the Fifa award or the Ballon D'or) and yes I know the Ballon D'or is for a European based player, but it is regarded as one of if not the most prestigious individual awards to win. List of recent Ballon D'or winners: Messi, C. Ronaldo, Kaka, Cannavaro, Ronaldinho, Shevchenko, Nedved, Ronaldo, Michael Owen, Figo, Rivaldo. So, after looking at that list, Rooney could be in rare air and become only the third English player to win the award since 1978 (Kevin Keegan, Michael Owen).

I have to touch on Real Madrid. I am not surprised at all that they crashed out of the Champions League. Real's line-up at the first leg in Lyon was laughable and Pellegrini has been rightly criticized for it. They need stability at the manager spot, and they need roster stability. I don't think they should freak out and try to overhaul their roster or try to bring in another individualistic creative playmaker - they already have too many of those. Manager-wise, I don't think Pellegrini is the "man" for the job. I think Juande Ramos was a better choice to manage this roster (he was Real's care-taker manager last year after they fired Bernd Schuster mid season, Ramos had managed Sevilla before crashing and burning at Tottenham). Ideally, Jose Mourinho is the right guy for this job. His focus is defensive and that is and will continue to be this team's problem.

Big Post

I haven't discussed soccer in a while and have probably annoyed people with forwarded articles. This is going to be a mega post.

1. Robbie Keane to Celtic from Tottenham: The January transfer window has closed and there weren't any "major" deals. The biggest deal was Tottenham (former Liverpool) misfit Robbie Keane's transfer to Celtic. Keane is Irish. Celtic is a club he has always admired. I think this transfer fits him well. Celtic have recently lost one of their best attackers to Birmingham of the English Premiership. Celtic sit well adrift of crosstown Glasgow rivals Rangers and perhaps his signing will spark life into what has been a lifeless season for Celtic (bounced out of Europe early, and I also believe they are out of the Scottish Cup). Although, it may take transition time, they dropped his opening game on the road at Kilmarnock.

2. The firing of Juventus' manager: no one should be shocked by this. Ciro Ferrara was not getting the results expected at Juve no matter what their current talent level may be. But, Serie A is fairly wide open this year aside from top spot Inter Milan which simply has had too much time and stability (even considering the transition from Mancini to Mourinho) and the ability to amass a solid roster. Inter remains a great destination for potential transfers to go to as they continue to rack up points and stay in competitions and have been the most consistent team in Italy for the past 4 years. The Inter/Chelsea round of 16 champions league tie remains the most intriguing match-up of the first champions league knock-out round. Even though England and Spain have stolen some of the spotlight from Serie A, Inter remains the most viable team for major transfers to go and as such, Inter continue to get the bigger names and success. It would take a collapse of historic proportions for this Mourinho led team to not win their fifth consecutive Scudetto.

3. The Pompey disaster: Portsmouth cannot get their act together. They pay their players late, they just had a transfer ban lifted (for no identifiable reason), Avram Grant has been completely handcuffed. The club is a disaster and at this rate, after relegation to the English Championship, they will be lucky to stay up and not get relegated to English league 1 the next year. Speaking of the lower divisions, former European Champions Nottingham Forrest are in a great position to crash the party and be in the Premiership next year.

4. Manchester City/Carlos Tevez: if you like anti-teams, Manchester City is your current team (until they get good and begin to win everything). Tevez' animosity towards Manchester United was palpable. I loved every second of it; from his taunting the United bench and higher ups, to seeing Neville flip him the bird in retaliation. Fantastic, but a shame they weren't able to win the tie and advance to the Carling Cup final. Manchester City are a fun team to watch because you just don't know what is going to happen.

5. Spain: my favorite league. Barca continue to stay on beast mode. Real Madrid can't quite get it together enough. But, holy god, did Jose Maria Guti have maybe the best assist of the year against Deportivo La Coruna. It was a no-look back heel flick to Karim Benzema. Injuries have made this Real team have to call on players to step it up. I love Higuian, but it is good to see Benzema stepping up (2 goals against Depor), and to see Guti continue to baffle analysts as his assist really turned back the clock. I haven't been intrigued as much by a player as I have been with Guti. He has so much potential, but has played a long time, and seems like he has the ability to decide when he wants to participate and be a genius, and when he could simply care less.

6. Happy to see my Norwich Canaries leading the charge in English League 1 (although some have two games in hand).

Current Thoughts

I started tweeting way too many thoughts and figured it best to just write a short blog post instead.

Mark Hughes getting fired:

I'm not sure he exactly deserved it, but i see this as a profile switch. Basically, Mancini is a higher profile coach and could likely attract bigger talent than Mark Hughes could (it still is Man City, and it is a Man City that has yet to have a high profile season). Mancini is good, but people will argue that 2 out of the 3 Scudetti that he won in Italy with Inter Milan weren't really true (1 was awarded after it was stripped from Juventus, the other was after Inter's main rivals suffered point deductions due to match fixing).

I'd like to see Real Madrid sign another defender. They keep getting dinged up and haven't exactly been convincing on the defensive side of the ball.

I'm not a huge fan of the Landon Donovan move to Everton. Yes, I think it is good experience, yes it may help him develop as a player, bla bla, I get all of that. But, I don't like it for a couple of reasons. First: Everton are sitting in 15th in the midst of a relegation battle. It is a far from ideal situation to put Donovan on a mediocre team. He may struggle since the team as a whole has struggled. Second: He's basically going to have to play football for 365 days. While experience is good and he will be "in form" he may also be completely exhausted by the time the World Cup rolls around, I'd rather have a fresh Landon Donovan than one who scored a few goals and helped Everton avoid relegation.

Thats all for now.

College Football Picks Week 10

It is the time of the year where I start getting bitter about college football. I think that will translate into this blog:

Vanderbilt @ #1 Florida: With Spikes suspended and not able to gouge peoples eyes out, this may be a tougher game for Florida. Just kidding, Florida will find some other way to cheat, get help from the officials, or play dirty. Florida wins big.

#9 LSU @ #3 Alabama: Home game for Alabama, they keep finding a way to do it. LSU doesn't commit many turnovers, so this could be a tough one for Alabama. I'll take LSU in a close upset.

#21 Wisconsin @ Indiana: Indiana is an impossible team to explain, other than the fact that they always lose. Wisconsin wins based off of another terrible officiating call or three.

Navy @ #22 Notre Dame: This game features teams with two completely different styles. Navy has had games recently where they don't even attempt a pass. Then there is Notre Dame which is one of the best passing teams in the country. I'll take Notre Dame....its Navy, come on.

Florida State @ Clemson: FSU's defense is terrible. If FSU loses this game, they are going to have a really really hard time getting bowl eligible. I think Clemson wins at home in Death Valley.

#16 Ohio State @ #11 Penn State: This is the game of the week in the big ten. Night game, white out. I like Penn State. Lets also not forget that Purdue beat OSU this year...so that scares me off of OSU.

Kansas @ Kansas State: The battle of Kansas. Both teams have a chance to get bowl eligible. I like Kansas State. This is Bill Snyder's second time coaching Kansas State, and he's the guy that put them on the map the first time. Kansas has struggled lately and their early weak schedule is shining through now.

Duke @ North Carolina: This game reminds me a lot of when IU and Kentucky play in football. UNC is like Kentucky in the football matchup, almost always better than IU and Duke. But, shockingly, Duke is one win away from bowl eligibility this year as is North Carolina. I hate both of these schools in terms of basketball and I don't really care or know anything about them in football. But, I believe in Butch Davis, as he was the guy that built the team at Miami that Larry Coker took to the BCS championship in 2001. UNC wins.

kind-of a weak sauce week in College Football