2010 World Cup

Oh how I love soccer, the beautiful players playing the beautiful game. This year's cup has been a bit strange. England has drawn for both of its opening games. Spain lost its first game. Germany lost its second game. And the US actually has a chance of making it to the next round. Apparently the African teams want to show off their chests as all of them are wearing tight fitting shirts. ESPN just figured out that they should put the team colors on the ever present score bar. And finally, the universal sign for "that was a nice pass but I missed it" is a thumbs up. I look forward to second half of group stage.

le tour de france

I live in a pretty active city. All of these crazy people who love to do outdoorsy stuff like ride bikes for miles at a time, even in this heat. However, it is hard not to at least learn about it. Enter Le Tour de France. Hundreds of miles of impressive sportsmanship upon the luscious landscape of France. It is hard not to like it. Plus I can watch video or read headlines of the events in French and feel like I am practicing. Finally, the color is yellow, my favorite. It is who is wearing the yellow jersey that passes as news and with the bright sun keeping me indoors these days, Le Tour is a welcome relief.

found my team

My love for soccer knows no bounds. That is to say it knows no state boundaries. I watched the Seattle Sounders play today on Fox Soccer Channel. They seemed to walk all over Toronto FC beating them 2-0. I have had a hard time getting behind the Houston Dynamo simply because they have been very inconsistent. But Seattle looked glorious in their bright green kits sporting xbox 360 live sponsors. I may have to support the new expansion team this year and forever more.

wait for it

So worth the 27 seconds.  Du beau foot!

friendly games

How fun is the summer of even years? While the USA is befuddled with basketball rehashes and political questions, Europe goes to bat. There is nothing like a cup to bring football lovers to their feet. For twenty days, Europe and the world watches and waits to see who makes it to the end. The official site is quite good with widgets to add to iGoogle and a custom page for anyone who signs up for a free account. Well done, UEFA.

The US Men's team also gets some good practice against number one Argentina in an interntaional friendly. Good clean fun, all of it.

soccer frenzy

How great is it to have soccer back in full swing.? With Beckham scoring his first MLS goal and the returning champs, the Houston Dynamo having an exciting opening home game against FC Dallas. I decided to drive to Houston this weekend to partake of the game, enjoying the residents stopped for bluebonnet pictures with their kinds on the way. It was a cloudless day and I had forgotten my sun screen. How lucky was I that they were giving away orange hats to the first 10,000 fans.? It still did not stop my arms from burning though. Though Onstad was hurt in the first ten minutes and the MLS rookie keeper let two slip by, the Dynamo came through in the end to tie 3 - 3. It was tremendously exciting and reminded me why I love the game in the first place. It is great that ESPN2 is showing double headers on Thursday, HDnet is showing games on Saturday, and Fox Soccer Channel is rounding it out even showing the CONCACAF cup. If you are not watching, dig in because it is the best game around these days.

legano, ni legano, is gray area

Cutting Edge quote there. Too bad I had to miss the goal of the season last night. If you are looking for good soccer, head over to Twellman's

www.MLSnet.com

Hello, David

I only just said the other day that David Beckham's worth is if he can make those shots. You know the ones where he is 30 feet back and it bends right into the goal. Well, last night he knocked my socks off by doing just that. The first goal of the game at 27', he gets a free kick which soars over the wall in lands right in the back of the net. It was fabulous and a fantastic debut (he played for eight minutes on Sunday but we won't count that). Welcome to the US, David.

Dynamo duds

Well it was exciting. Four goals, two overtime periods, and a PK shootout ending up with CF Pachuca moving on to the Superliga final. I had a blast in Houston cheering the Dynamo but they disappointed me one time too many. Their attacks were few and far between and their middle men could not hang on to the ball. In my opinion, the better team won. The final semifinal is tonight at 10pm EST.

lucky me

More touring of Texas this weekend took me to Ft. Worth and Dallas. I stopped by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History for the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit, the only southwestern location of this tour. It was pretty interesting though I skipped most of the learning centers for kids. I just enjoyed the costumes and models of ships that were used in the films. The keenest thing was you could see how used they were with scuffs on the shoes and little LED lights in the models. While the gloss from the Star Wars universe, for me, has receded, the creativity of the series still rings true. A lot of the creatures, ships, and locations while extreme are based in fact and that will continue to make the fantastical story endure.

After a side trip to the Russel Stover outlet for some sugar free candies for my aunt, I headed to Pizza Hut Park for the FC Dallas - Houston Dynamo soccer game. It was great to be there and it is a great park. However the game was scoreless with little shots on goal. Not the best introduction to my professional game debut. I hope next time, and there will be a next time, is a better game.

Finally, after spending some time with my aunt, we drove to Shreveport, LA for some gambling at the casinos there. Shreveport is no Vegas or Atlantic City, but there are plenty of casinos and shopping. I suck at gambling because I hate to take risks. I cringe at televised poker tournaments watching these thousands of dollars being wasted on cards I know are going to lose. However, that day was my lucky day. I happened to win $172.80 on the penny slots. I should have bought a lottery ticket.

A Gold Cup for the US

Congratulations to the US Men's team who defeated Mexico 2-1 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was a clean match and an exciting game.

On a similar note, I have been to the past two Austin Lightning games and suffered through two 2-0 losses. I hope things improve. I make my way to Dallas next weekend to watch the top teams of the Western Conference of the MLS, FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo. There is no end to my excitement.

Oh my God, the Indians win it!

There are very few sports movies that I enjoy. But the ones I do enjoy, I love to watch over and over again. This weekend I was vegging because, seriously, the past few months have been brutal as far as work is concerned. On HDTV was one of my favorites, Major League, unedited and commercial free. It was beautiful and actually got me in the summer mood, something particularly hard to do with me in Texas. Here, summer started a month ago. My other favorites are Little Big League, Hoosiers, and Field of Dreams. Let us hope they make their way to the HD screen soon.

Are you kidding me?

What a piece of work.

Clarett

Viva Italia

What a game... Fast paced, actual scores, but an unwanted determination from penalty kicks (and a horrible Red Card for Zidane). Still, the Cup was so fantastic this year. I watched most games in HD and despite the horrendous commentators of ABC and ESPN , the coverage was beautiful. From the beginning, the spirit was palpable. Congratulations, Italy. And to both teams, a well played match. Bring on UEFA Euro Cup 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

Don't let it be over...

World Cup 2006. France v. Italy. Isn't that funny that I will be in those two countries in one week. Vive la France mais l'Italie est mon pays de mère. Quel choix.

H

USA is out!

No, the whole country is not coming out. But, we did have a lousy showing at the World Cup. I thought Croatia looked good too but they do not move to next round. Brazil kicks ass, as expected, but let us hope someone makes this a true match!

The world in a cup

The Fèdèration Internationale de Football World Cup is one of my all time favorite things in the world. To me, soccer (football to the rest of the world) is the most athletic and true sportsman game of all games. Two halves of 45 nonstop minutes, running up and down 100 yards in order to put a little ball into a fairly large goal only to find it is not so easy. Oh yeah, and you can only use your feet. It takes coordination, endurance, and a great deal of effort. It is a truly inspiring event when this is done between professional teams. When it occurs between 32 different countries, it becomes a game of spirit and significance. It does not matter who wins, at least not to me, but it is the game that I enjoy and the international cooperation that I relish.

I do not really like the logo for 2006. Too cheery and that's saying something coming from me. However, to my pleasant surprise, google comes through again. I love that they celebrate international holidays and obscure personalities. That they honor the world cup makes me love them even more.

The Buckeyes Tempt in Tempe

I have an affinity with my alma mater that I never thought I would. With my spankin' new TV and watching that game in HD, all I truly missed was script Ohio. Nothing beats the loyalty of OSU fans. Win or lose, Buckeye Pride is something I would stand in a crowd and proclaim to all. What a great season!