World Cup Update #2

From today's matches, I learned many things.

In the Spain vs Switzerland match, we learned Spain is not untouchable. Spain are not perfect and the USA win over Spain was not a fluke. An interesting statistic, no team has ever won the World Cup after losing their first game. You could say that Switzerland's goal was scrappy and bad, but hey, a goal is a goal. They all count the same.

Chile could be the underdogs of this tournament. They play with style and flair almost like a young Brazil team. Yes, they won 1-0 but credit to Honduras. In the final third, they shut down Chile. It took an amazing save by the Honduras Keeper to keep it at 1-0. Chile might be the most underrated team in the tournament.

It was very sad to see South Africa lose to Uruguay. Diego Furlan has proven to be one of the best players in this tournament. He is the first player to score two goals. If you were to ask me, I want Bafana Bafana to get through. This means that France and Mexico would have to tie, then South Africa needs to beat France and Uruguay beat Mexico.

World Cup Update - Day 1

Over the course of the World Cup, I will be writing about the tournament and the matches of that day. I may touch on the NBA finals, US Open and Wimbledon; however I am mostly focused on the World Cup
USA vs. England

Of course, the match that everyone was talking about was USA vs. England. I would have to say the game was okay. good end to end soccer; however, for the American side, England had most of the possession. Now I will say this-- the USA team did get good opportunities but I did no see a sense of urgency from them and frankly, we were lucky to get a point.

Coming Up Next...

Slovenia and Algeria are now pushovers. the Slovenian team is very defensively sound and are organised. however; if we play with pace and let ladon and Clint get the ball we could do some damage. Remember this, a team that lost to Northern Ireland. Algeria are a team that attack well in numbers. However, the defense and goalkeeping are dreadful. This is a team that lost to Egypt 2-0, USA beat them 3-0 in the Confederations Cup last summer.

The Best and Worst

Currently all groups except G and H have played so instead of going in depth, I'll list three teams that impressed me and three teams that did not impress me.

Top 3 That Impressed

1. South Korea - Being as disciplined and attackingly excellent. The Koreans look like they could do damage.
2. Germany - Played amazing without leader Michael Ballack and beat up on Australia that had previously conceded only 1 goal in their last eight matches.
3. North Korea - For being arguably the worst team in the tournament and being in tghe group of death, they held there own against the always amazing Brazilians and at one point looked better than them.

Top 3 That Stuck It Up

1. France - Where do I start? Played awful, got lucky, didn't prove a threat. I don't believe they will get out of the group.
2. Greece - Attacking-wise they are just terrible. Very dull. Need I say more?
3. Italy - Proved what I thought all along. Too old, Too slow, No Quality. Won't make it past the quarter finals.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.

NBA Finals

Hyped up as maybe the best finals ever, the LA Lakers v. the Boston Celtics has lived up to the hype. In every game, one player has stepped up in the game and made a difference.

In the first 5 games, the one common thread that held true. Defense won the game. In Game 1 and 3, LA was able to handle Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce. In Game 2, 4 and 5, the LA Lakers played terrible defense. At one point, I was thinking to myself, "Where are the big men?" Paul Gasol was so critical in Game 1, he really was the difference. With an injured Andrew Bynum, a sick Lamar Odom, Paul Gasol needs to step up if the Lakers plan to win.

I'm going to go ahead and get to my prediction now. The Boston Celtics have played excellent basketball, but their best was at home. Now being on the road, can they produce? All four of their "star" players have already played amazing in a game. I just don't' see it happening again. I believe Kobe is going to Kobe, stepping up and hitting shots. Paul Gasol needs to play big time in the paint and stay our of foul trouble. The Lakers are a very good home team and I see them winning it all.

My prediction: Lakers by 7