World Cup

[SFlonghorngirl]

Anyone else excited about this? I watch EPL and La Liga sometimes but more interested when Champions League play.

Besides USA, I'm rooting for Spain and Argentina.

As many of you might know, I'm a foodie and love cooking. For Spain's match, I'm preparing paella and have Iberico jamon and premium anchivoes on hand. Pairing this with Rioja wine from Spain.

For the Argentina's match, I'm making a ribeye steak with chimichurri sauce, roasted potatoes, and pairing with an Argentine Malbec.

 

[streettopeschel]

Pretty much the only time i give a rip about soccer.

nice menu choices. i think for England's matches, i'll slam some Newcastle's or Bass ales.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Here's some World Cup eye-candy for you, SFlonghorngirl

Close ups of each team's crest

 http://www.sportingmerch.com/#/world-cup-2014-crest-rankings/

Interactive chart of each team's historical kits

http://www.zalando.co.uk/international-world-cup-football-shirts/

 

[Lukus Alderman]

I cheer for nobody but the USA.

'Merica!

 

[streettopeschel]

I cheer for nobody but the USA.

'Merica!

 stock up on your Capri Suns and orange slices Lukus. it's a long tournament.

 

[SFlonghorngirl]

Here's some World Cup eye-candy for you, SFlonghorngirl

Close ups of each team's crest

 http://www.sportingmerch.com/#/world-cup-2014-crest-rankings/

Interactive chart of each team's historical kits

http://www.zalando.co.uk/international-world-cup-football-shirts/

Thanks for this!  I love this stuff!

 

[Juan]

Jozy

 

[Juan]

The Deuce

 

[Juan]

Michael Bradley

 

[Juan]

Last time, 91st minute v. Algeria

 

[SFlonghorngirl]

World Cup Schedule

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/

Brazil is 2 hours ahead of CST.

Man, I have to do girly things this weekend instead of sitting on couch watching soccer and golf. -_-

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

 

[Juan]

http://bit.ly/1pjRURq

 

[Juan]

From the AEI - Arguing that soccer is not a socialist sport

When my beloved colleague Marc Thiessen was young and irresponsible, he was young and irresponsible. He would write things like â€œSoccer Is a Socialist Sport†without realizing that they would float around the internet forever. But as Marc has aged and matured, he has probably come to see the errors of his ways. In case he hasn’t, let me explain.

Unlike the major American professional sports, failure is not rewarded and incentivized in soccer. There is barely any revenue-sharing between teams; teams invest in young players, often from as early as age 10 on; there are no salary caps for players; you don’t get to draft better players if you perform poorly; and you can definitely go out of business, so to say, by getting relegated.

Now compare this to the NFL, the hippie commune that organizes what Americans call “football.†The NFL enforces not just minimum wages, but maximum wages as well. New players are selected from a common pool. The worst team gets to pick first, because glory through sacrifice and suffering is not valued by those who believe that religion is the opium of the people. Where does this common pool of new players come from, you may wonder? They are generally trained by the State through a network of “colleges.†If you lose every single game of the year, you get to play in the same league the next year: no one is either too big or too small to fail, because every team is apparently systemically important. And it doesn’t stop there: perform poorly enough and you will receive payouts from a TARP-like fund called the “supplemental revenue sharing program.â€

Sounds like socialism to me, unlike soccer. As George Will says, the NFL produces “violence punctuated by committee meetings.†Does that remind you of the Soviet Union, Marc?

Hold on. Marc has another argument: soccer players aren’t allowed to use their hands, which is somehow socialist. Marc believes that only opposable thumbs distinguish man from beast; I believe that a much more crucial distinction lies in our sense of morality, in our ability to decide what to do with our opposable thumbs. As Lord Acton declared: “Freedom is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.†Soccer offers us a scheme of ordered liberty, not the crazed violence of beast-like warriors.

Then again, all of these arguments are designed to appeal to reason alone, and maybe what Marc needs is an appeal to his inner neocon. What triggered his fury in writing about the supposedly socialist nature of soccer was the disappointment expressed by some over America’s elimination in the World Cup. Marc: you should share in that disappointment. For America’s elimination could be a valuable teachable moment: when you choose the path of isolationism, you will ultimately pay a price.

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/06/soccer-is-obviously-not-a-socialist-sport/

He was responding to this article arguing that Soccer is a socialist sport  http://www.aei-ideas.org/2010/06/soccer-is-a-socialist-sport/

 

[Juan]

Our opponent in Game 2

https://vine.co/v/Mje7I9v5pUO

 

[Juan]

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

 

[Juan]

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

 

[Juan]

We have the toughest draw.  No other pod has 2 top 5 seeds.  Only one other pod even has 2 top 10 seeds and they are #7 and #9.  Even our low seed draw Ghana is tough.  Some people question the objectivity of the fact that US/Klinsmann just happened to land in Germany's pod (presenting a question like the NBA lottery has had in the past).  Doesn't this result smell like the NCAA putting us and aggy in the same baseball regional?  At least the NCAA admitted they did it on purpose.

Regardless of these numbers below, the other two badass groups are Spain/Netherlands/Chile and Uruguay/Italy/England.
 
With the way they do the seeding pods, the USMNT (coming from CONCACAF) will never be able to claim easy draws ( i.e, we wont get in a pod with the Asian pod team).  The way to avoid this is to become a seed ourselves.  We had an argument for one this time but did not get it.  In the future, this needs to be a gol!

Or, here is another way to have a fairer draw.  This one works closer to the March Madness draw, with some sensible geographical exceptions --  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/03/upshot/world-cup-draw-simulation.html
 
 

 

[Juan]

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011