Friday, June 22, 2012
The Miami Heat are NBA Champions!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Euro 2012 quarterfinal #1: Czech Republic-Portugal
| CZECH REP. |  | 0 | : | 1 |  | PORTUGAL |
| Ronaldo 79' |
My match rating: ★
An excruciatingly boring match temporarily jolted awake by a stellar goal and then quickly re-precipitated into nothingness. Sounds like a typical match in a knock-out stage at a major international tournament!
I might be doing some undue folk psychology here, and if so I apologize... but it seems to me that both teams had too much to lose and played as if the only important thing was not losing it. That mindset is understandable, as both football federations have reaped much less than they have sown in the last decade, but inevitably it gives rise to boring and annoying matches.
It would be unfair to say that both teams parked the bus. Instead of parked buses, we saw two stalled buses. On ESPN, Alexi Lalas said that Portugal prevailed because they had patience. Sure, if we want to put it that way... Both teams had "patience," in the sense that both tried to out-exhaust, out-pass, and out-wait the opponent. That looks pretty good when Spain do it, but these two aren't Spain.
Instead, as usual in these matches, what breaks the tie is a star play, the proverbial rabbit pulled out of a hat, a lightning bolt from a clear sky, an ace up the champion's sleeve, or <insert here the horribly cliched metaphor of your choosing>. BRonaldo's hair stylist was once again effective and the madridista delivered when it mattered. That header was difficult to make and he deserves praise. I am not jumping on the "Ronaldo is the world's second best player right now" bandwagon, because that is false; but he is very talented, won half Liga, and single-handedly took Portugal past the group of death and now into the semis. Not bad for a douchebag.
Portugal will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Spain and France. Whoever advances, it will be interesting. Spain-Portugal is a local derby and there is pretty bad blood between the two nations, in football if nothing else, so that's always fun. But France-Portugal is the richest rivalry, and the two seem to have a knack for meeting in the end stages of major tournaments! At Euro 1984, France beat Portugal in an epic semifinal, one of the most exciting matches in European football history. Tied at the 90, the teams scored three goals in extra time, including Platini's gorgeous winner; France would then defeat Spain in the final, securing their first major title since the 1930s. Sixteen years later, at Euro 2000, again France defeated Portugal, again in the semis, and again in extra time, in a tense match decided by a controversial handball and a penalty. This time too France would go on to win the tournament, defeating Italy in the first and only major international final to make use of the "golden goal" to determine the winner. And as if all that weren't enough, France once again defeated Portugal at the 2006 World Cup, again on a penalty during the first half of the semifinal. That time, though, France would go on to lose the final to Italy in an epic and much-hyped rematch of the 2000 European final (think Zidane and Materazzi: a prime cut of football lore right there).
So it seems that when these two meet, they make it count. We'll see if we witness another chapter to this saga!
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My man of the match: BRonaldo (P)
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
I might be doing some undue folk psychology here, and if so I apologize... but it seems to me that both teams had too much to lose and played as if the only important thing was not losing it. That mindset is understandable, as both football federations have reaped much less than they have sown in the last decade, but inevitably it gives rise to boring and annoying matches.
It would be unfair to say that both teams parked the bus. Instead of parked buses, we saw two stalled buses. On ESPN, Alexi Lalas said that Portugal prevailed because they had patience. Sure, if we want to put it that way... Both teams had "patience," in the sense that both tried to out-exhaust, out-pass, and out-wait the opponent. That looks pretty good when Spain do it, but these two aren't Spain.
Instead, as usual in these matches, what breaks the tie is a star play, the proverbial rabbit pulled out of a hat, a lightning bolt from a clear sky, an ace up the champion's sleeve, or <insert here the horribly cliched metaphor of your choosing>. BRonaldo's hair stylist was once again effective and the madridista delivered when it mattered. That header was difficult to make and he deserves praise. I am not jumping on the "Ronaldo is the world's second best player right now" bandwagon, because that is false; but he is very talented, won half Liga, and single-handedly took Portugal past the group of death and now into the semis. Not bad for a douchebag.
Portugal will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Spain and France. Whoever advances, it will be interesting. Spain-Portugal is a local derby and there is pretty bad blood between the two nations, in football if nothing else, so that's always fun. But France-Portugal is the richest rivalry, and the two seem to have a knack for meeting in the end stages of major tournaments! At Euro 1984, France beat Portugal in an epic semifinal, one of the most exciting matches in European football history. Tied at the 90, the teams scored three goals in extra time, including Platini's gorgeous winner; France would then defeat Spain in the final, securing their first major title since the 1930s. Sixteen years later, at Euro 2000, again France defeated Portugal, again in the semis, and again in extra time, in a tense match decided by a controversial handball and a penalty. This time too France would go on to win the tournament, defeating Italy in the first and only major international final to make use of the "golden goal" to determine the winner. And as if all that weren't enough, France once again defeated Portugal at the 2006 World Cup, again on a penalty during the first half of the semifinal. That time, though, France would go on to lose the final to Italy in an epic and much-hyped rematch of the 2000 European final (think Zidane and Materazzi: a prime cut of football lore right there).
So it seems that when these two meet, they make it count. We'll see if we witness another chapter to this saga!
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Euro 2012: group D third round possible outcomes
At the end of the three group matches, two or more teams may be tied; perhaps even all four. Rematches or penalty shootouts are impossible at this stage, so UEFA's tie-breaking regulations apply. Click on the link to read them entirely, or you can read my quick summary instead.
Below are all nine possible scenarios in Group D. This group is matched with group C, so its winner will play Italy and its second will play Spain in the quarterfinals. Ay ay ay!
Below are all nine possible scenarios in Group D. This group is matched with group C, so its winner will play Italy and its second will play Spain in the quarterfinals. Ay ay ay!
Click to enlarge. Right-click and save to download.
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Monday, June 18, 2012
Euro 2012 funnies, part 3
Ronaldo and Mereiles get busy after each goal... but Moutinho disapproves!
The elimination of World Cup finalists Holland makes for an easy joke...
...as does the Czech national flag...
Some matches, then, may have serious political implications!
I have a feeling that the Ukrainians will soon be feeling the same way...
To conclude, BRonaldo again. Because he deserves it, and because LOL.
Euro 2012: group C third round possible outcomes
At the end of the three group matches, two or more teams may be tied; perhaps even all four. Rematches or penalty shootouts are impossible at this stage, so UEFA's tie-breaking regulations apply. Click on the link to read them entirely, or you can read my quick summary instead.
Below are all nine possible scenarios in Group C. It's not going to be easy for Italy, so let's hope that Spain and Croatia are honest and don't fix an easy draw with lots of goals (but see some reflections on that here...)
Below are all nine possible scenarios in Group C. It's not going to be easy for Italy, so let's hope that Spain and Croatia are honest and don't fix an easy draw with lots of goals (but see some reflections on that here...)
Click to enlarge. Right-click and save to download.
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When tennis turns violent
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| I may or may not have picked this picture for the uber-cute ball girl... |
When he failed to return an easy shot, Nalbandian kicked a line judge! Well, not exactly. He kicked a board on the side of the court, a board behind which -- like, two inches behind -- sat the baseline judge. A piece of wood splintered off the board and opened an inch-long gash in the old man's leg. The judge was visibly upset, as was the crowd. Minutes later, the chair umpire announced that Nalbandian was disqualified due to unsportsmanlike conduct. His opponent, Marin Cilic, was thus declared champion by default.
The twist is that someone (maybe the judge himself, maybe a crowd member) filed a complaint for assault, and now the London Metro police are investigating Nalbandian and the whole incident. Meanwhile, ATP has ruled that the Argentine will lose all of his prize money won at Queen's and may be fined. No word yet as to whether he will be allowed to play at Wimbledon next week... but even if he does, you can bet that the crowd won't have forgotten.
See the video here and read the report here.
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