Was This the Best Football Offseason Ever?

I say Yes! Why was it? Was this the best draft class ever? Was it because the Bears got some of the top free agents? How about USC being suspended from post season play? All good reasons to think it was a good offseason, but no. There has not been a lull in sports since the final seconds ticked off the Saints Super Bowl win over the Colts. Think about it, the Super Bowl was played on February 7th, 2010. Let’s take a look at what’s happened since then.

Just five days after the Super Bowl the Winter Olympics began. The Olympics started February 12th and went all the way through the month of February (normally the most boring sports month of the year). Even if you don’t normally get caught up in the Olympics, it was hard not to follow the USA hockey team on it’s way to the Silver Medal. It was even harder to avoid Olympic hockey if you were a Blackhawks fan who send 6 players, all of whom played in the Gold or Bronze medal games. The USA set the record for medals in a Winter games while their neighbors to the north took home the most Gold Medals in a good showing for the host nation.


Once the Olympics were over, the Madness of March was upon us, which means the greatest sporting event in the country, NCAA Tournament. The conference tournaments had some dramatic moments.

Not to be outdone, the NCAA tournament might have had the greatest first day ever . March Madness kept us entertained rolling into April as the nation watched Butler go home to Indy and play in one of the most exciting championship games ever, while missing, only by a matter of inches, what would have been the greatest shot in basketball history.


Right as March Madness was winding down, baseball started. I will be the first to admit that the baseball season is too long. Saying that, there is something special about watching opening day and baseball becoming part of your everyday life once again.

Along with baseball starting up, The NHL and NBA playoffs started. Chicago, Boston and Denver were lucky enough to have teams in both playoffs. The NBA’s oldest rivals met in the NBA finals that went to Seven games. Chicago was all wrapped up in the Blackhawks who nearly choked out of the playoffs in the first round to Nashville, only to dominate it’s way to its first Stanley Cup since 1961. After they won it, Chicagoans had fun trying to figure out which player was drinking with the cup at which bar for the next week or so.

About the time the NBA and NHL playoffs were wrapping up, the world turned it attention to sports for the second time in 6 months. On June 11th The World Cup of Soccer started in South Africa which was the first time the continent of Africa ever hosted a World Cup. Two of the top three favorites had never won the World Cup (Spain and Netherlands) while traditional powers Germany and Brazil looked tough to beat.

USA had high hopes after a great performance at last year’s Confederations Cup only to struggle in their first game against England and the first half of their second game against Slovenia. USA made a dramatic comeback to tie (should have won on a disallowed goal) Slovenia and keep their chances alive. Then, in the most dramatic play in USA soccer history, Landon Donvaon scored the game winning goal in extra time to not only send USA through, but win their group. Spain went on to win the World Cup winning each of their elimination games 1-0, included the World Cup final where the scored during the second extra time period.

The World Cup wrapped up July 11th, which was only a few days away from “The Decision”. The most hyped NBA Offseason in history was as crazy as everyone expected. Rumors were being reported as fact while news outlets were desperately trying to find any indication of where the players were leaning. It came to a dramatic conclusion as Lebron James announced he was “taking his talents to South Beach” to play with Team USA friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.




After most of the dust had settled from the NBA offseason, you can look up and see the month of July is almost over, which means, as amazing as it sounds, teams start reporting to camp. Football is back upon us. If only every off season was so nice.

World Cup in the Rearview Mirror

Since we have four years to go until the next one (Rio, baby!), it's definitely not too late to look back on South Africa 2010. It was a tournament with some of the most exciting soccer action I've ever seen, and also some painfully awful play.

I gotta say, doing the pool was a blast -- I probably feel better about it because of Spain, but really everybody had a shot at one of the two rounds. Now where's my money at?

THE ARMCHAIR SUPERSTAR AWARDS: WORLD CUP EDITION



Most Valuable Player: Diego Forlan, Uruguay Forlan was inspirational, scoring five goals, all from long range, while leading La Celeste much farther than anyone expected.

Honorable Mention: David Villa/Iker Casillas/Xavi/Carlos Puyol, Spain, Thomas Muller, Germany


Least Valuable Player: Federico Marchetti, Italy Okay, so you lose the world's best goalie in Gianluigi Buffon early in Game One. You'd think they would bother to have a decent sub on hand, no? Marchetti failed to stop a single on-target attempt over the next three games. Just one stop and Italy had a good chance to advance. Just one! Observe his awfulness below.



Dishonorable Mention: So many to choose from! Altidore/Gomez/Buddle, USA, or anybody from France/Italy/England, basically.

Best Match: Uruguay-Ghana The early goal by Ghana from long range and the answering Forlan 35-meter strike were both things of beauty. Midfield and defensive play was clean and beautiful to watch for the most part. The drama of two underdogs in the Elite Eight made for high excitement, and the ending?

Oh, that ending.

Ghana's first two shots on goal in late extra time barely rejected, the third denied on a desperation handball by Luis Suarez, the ensuing PK and MISS (!!!) by Asamoah Gyan (that's karma for diving in the late going against USA), and the final, beautiful penalty kick by Sebastian Abreu ("The assassin"), lofting it gently into the center of the goal... what a game. What a game.

Honorable Mention: USA-Algeria, Spain-Portugal

Worst Match: Brazil-Portugal Okay, so you're two of the best teams in the world. I understand that you both want to advance to the second round, but seeing guys like Melo, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, etc. basically just loaf around all game when we know they're capable of so much more?

I would have wanted my money back on this one, had I bothered to watch the whole thing. Come on guys! You have a history of colonial oppression! WTF?
Dishonorable Mention: Any French game, Spain-Netherlands

Most Inspiring/Surprising Team: Germany They were young, they were fast, they shocked the world with a significant break from what German soccer is supposed to be. Most of all, they were fun to watch.

Honorable Mention: Ghana, Uruguay, USA, Japan, Spain, New Zealand

Least Inspiring/Most Disappointing Team: France Granted, the French weren't defending a title, and everybody knew it was something of a team in flux. But one loss and the Frogs started doing what they do best - backstabbing, blaming each other, and surrendering in spectacular form. What an implosion.

Dishonorable Mention: North Korea, Italy, England

Biggest A**holes: TIE between Netherlands and The Referees The case for the Netherlands is simple. They are a team full of whiny, arrogant players. They yell at each other, they yell at the refs. Oh, and they play filthy, dirty, uninteresting soccer.

Nigel De Jong's kung fu kick into Alonso's chest should have been an auto red. As it was, it was one of 14 yellows (14!) assessed during what was supposed to be the biggest moment of the Cup. Thanks, d-bags.
The case for the refs? A terrible mystery call against the US by a Malian with no business in the Cup. An obvious blown goal in England-Germany that would have profoundly changed that game. Numerous questionable off-sides calls. FIFA better do something, because they're starting to give the NBA a run for its money.

Best Goal: Landon Donovan vs. Algeria With extra time winding down, this was the goal that the US absolutely HAD to have.

It capped an immensely frustrating game, watching America's forwards (see: Least Valuable Player Honorable Mention) be slow and unispired, like the Algerian goalie had some sort of America Kryptonite in his pocket and strewn around the box. (note: White Castle?) And it was just a hugely heads up play by Donovan.



Honorable Mention: Landon Donovan vs. Slovakia (in yo' FACE!), Diego Forlan vs. Ghana, Carlos Puyol vs. Germany.

THE ACSS WORLD CUP POOL AWARDS:

Winner (Round 1): Steve Noffke Three out of four of his teams (Germany, USA, South Korea) advanced to the second round, and Switzerland scored some serious points, too, with a win and a draw.

Winner (Round 2): Mark Fodor Got two teams into the Final Four, and Spain was the class of the tournament by far.

Worst Luck, Draft Edition: Dan Noffke Getting England and France at No.'s 8 and 9 had to look great going in. Actually, they were outplayed by Dan's last two choices, Australia and Japan. Ouch.

Worst Luck, Elimination Edition: Ryan Parrent Ghana got handballed out of the Final Four by Luis Suarez, and Netherlands made it to the final only to stink up the joint.
Best Pick, Top 16: Uruguay went No. 15, and finished fourth. That's the definition of a steal.

Worst Pick, Top 16: Italy at No. 3. The saddest part is I offered to trade for them and was rejected. Every other first round team at least made the elimination stage.

Best Pick, Bottom 16: Japan at No. 25 scored good points and almost beat Paraguay in the first round of elimination. That gives them the edge over New Zealand (2pts, picked last), South Korea, Switzerland and Ghana, also great value picks.

Worst Pick, Bottom 16: Both of mine. Denmark was outscored by five teams below them in the draft. North Korea laid an egg while New Zealand would have scored me enough points to sweep both rounds. And their captain guaranteed advancement! That's the last time I trust a Commie.

Who can't wait for Brazil 2014? THIS GUY! (oh, and her)
Okay, fine. Her too.

See y'all there.

The Cat Poop-World Cup Correlation

I don't really have a whole lot to add to this, except thank you Slate. And clearly this is a subject for further study.

"Landon Donovan Needs a Cat," by Patrick House

And, proof.

ACSS World Cup Elimination Stage

After Japan's shootout loss to Paraguay today and Spain elimintating Portugal, ACSS World Cup Challange only has 5 players left. Here is a list of which players have what teams heading into the round of 8.

Dave Weir
Brazil
Paraguay

Mark Fodor
Spain
Uruguay

Ryan Parrent
Netherlands
Ghana

Colin O'Shea/Newman
Argentina

Steve Noffke
Germany


Eliminated
Dan
Derek
Tim

England's Non Goal vs Germany

Whenever I see a controversial play like the England non-goal goal against Germany, I can’t help but think of one play in particular.


I immediately think of the AJ Pierzynski dropped third strike in the 2005 ALCS against the Angels. I think, these plays are surprisingly similar. In both situations the player had no idea what happened, but since they didn’t hear a whistle or feel the catcher tag them out, they realized that the play was still alive. The German goalie, Manuel Neuer, claims he did see the ball go well over the goal line. He did the logical thing and picked up the ball and sent it down field. The NY Times reported Neuer’s post game comments,

“I tried not to react to the referee and just concentrate on what was happening,” Neuer said on Sunday in remarks quoted in the British press. “I realized it was over the line and I think the way I carried on so quickly fooled the referee into thinking it was not over.
“Then I saw it on the television in the doping control office and saw what actually happened,” Neuer said of the goal that would have tied the Germany-England game at 2-2 in the first half. “And, yes, it was over. It should have been a goal for England. Probably about two meters.”

Now, I know what most of you out there are thinking. That was a dirty play, he should have stopped play and allowed the goal to score. While this is the case, his decision was also a smart one. He put the ref in the spot to make the call. If the ref saw it correctly and awarded England the goal, the result would have been the same as it would have been if he stopped playing. However, because of his actions the ref had to make a call, and incorrectly called in favor of the Germans.


AJ’s 2005 play was also very heads up play. AJ did not see where the ball was caught or if it was in fact dropped, but he knew it was low, and he didn’t get tagged, so he ran to first. He put the ump in the position to make the call, and the ump called in favor of AJ. Here are AJ’s comments on the play “I didn't hear him call me out, so I thought, I thought for sure the ball hit the ground. I watched the replay 50 different times and I still don't know. The third strike is in the dirt, you run. Josh didn't tag me, I think he thought he called it, and I just ran, and luckily it worked out.”

I know the haters will be out from England fans, just like the haters came out from the Angels fans five years ago. All I ask is, before you get down to hard on AJ or Neuer if they were playing for your team?

The Real World Cup Begins: Dark Horses and More

The elimination rounds of the World Cup began with a bang today, as Ghana knocked off the United States for the second straight tournament, repeating the 2-1 heartbreak of 2006.

Ghana's Black Stars, the sole surviving African team, set up a quarterfinal match with a surprisingly good Uruguay squad. But more on that to come, so read on, my friends!
(View group results and bracket here)

Look, we all know who the favorites are in the Cup. The top ten of the FIFA world rankings table is heavily represented, as only Italy, France, and Croatia missed the party.

The French did what they do best (choke, surrender, complain), and Italy was just plain old. Croatia didn't even make the tournament.

Brazil and Spain have got to be heavily favored now that all the chips are on the table. But if this tournament has been one thing so far, it's been unpredictable. Spain has already lost once, to Switzerland, and Brazil let a pitiful North Korean team hang in against their supposedly fearsome squad for way too long.

So let's take a look at the lower-ranked teams who are gunning for glory in South Africa, and see if any of them have a shot to shock the world in July.

No. 45 Japan is the lowest ranked side in the Round of Sixteen. In the past, the Japanese have had a reputation for being solid, yet boring and uncreative.

Hmm. Sounds a lot like the American squad I just saw knocked out! What it doesn't sound like is the actual Japan of 2010. Keisuke Honda, especially, has been impressive.

Japan won two out of its three games in Group E, dominating Denmark 3-1 and surviving a top-20 Cameroon squad 1-0. Their lone loss came against the Netherlands, who along with Portugal, Argentina, Spain, and Brazil round out the consensus top five.

Japan will match up with No. 31 Paraguay, with the winner of that game taking on the survivor of a potentially epic Spain-Portugal tilt. I think they have a good shot against Paraguay, the Group F champs, but advancing to the semis by topping one of the Iberian giants would be nothing short of a miracle.

Still, I like what I've seen from this team so far.

Slovakia (No. 34), Ghana (No. 32), and Paraguay (No. 31) are the other surprise teams to crash the knockout round.

It would kinda be cheating for me to pick Ghana to advance, since they already won today. I think their matchup against Uruguay (No. 16) is going to be extremely interesting.

Ghana plays good defense, packing a lot of men into the box with terrific team speed to punish slow-moving attacks like the States'. I also love the way that their midfielders play together - they seem to all be on the same page with crisp, competent passing.
Uruguay, on the other hand, can counter with great attackers in Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, who scored a pair of goals against South Korea this morning. This pair has the speed and creativity to create some real problems for Ghana.

The Uruguayans also played great defense throughout the group stage - they didn't allow a single goal against France, South Africa, or Mexico.

For my money, the winner of this game will be your World Cup bracket-buster, because all of the other underdogs face nasty first round opponents.

Slovakia drew the Netherlands (no chance, right?), while shorthanded Chile (No. 17) faces a familiar opponent in Brazil.

Their all-time record? Not pretty. Brazil has won 46, lost six, and the sides have drawn 12 times. I'd give it about a 95% chance that the favorites will be advancing on that side of the bracket, setting up an epic battle in the quarters.

This could play into the hands of the winner of Uruguay-Ghana, if play gets chippy and players get ejected. The Netherlands is a notoriously assholey side. And Brazilian star Kaka already has one red card in this World Cup.

That leaves us with just one dark horse (caballo negro?) to discuss, and No. 18 Mexico got a tough draw in an Argentina team which is firing on all cylinders after sweeping through the group stage. Much as I'd like to predict an upset here, I think Maradona and his stars Gonzalo Higuain (three goals so far) and Lionel Messi (no goals, he's overdue!) will make short work of El Tri.

Here's how I'd rate the fourteen remaining teams' chances of making the final.

Will be pissed if they don't:
1. Brazil
2. Spain
3. Netherlands

Won't be surprised if they do:
4. Portugal
5. Argentina

A decent chance:
6. Uruguay
7. Germany

An outside shot:
8. England
9. Ghana
10. Japan

Signs point to "no":
11. Paraguay
12. Mexico

Would be a miracle:
13. Chile
14. Slovakia

And there you have it! Tomorrow we get England-Germany (The Blitz II - gotta love that World War Two bad blood) and Argentina-Mexico. Should be another great day of soccer in South Africa!

FINAL ACSS WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE STANDINGS

This was an extremely close race and it came down to the closing minute of the closing game.

1st Place: Steve 19
2nd Place(tie): Dave 18
2nd Place(tie): Ryan 18
4th Place: Colin
5th Place (tie): Dan 16
5th Place (tie): Mark 16
7th Place (tie): Derek 13
7th Place (tie): Tim 13

Final Scores

Dave Weir 18
Brazil 7
Greece 3
Paraguay 5
New Zealand 3

Mark Fodor 16
Spain 6
Uruguay 7
Denmark 3
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 13
Italy 2
Mexico 4
Chile 6
Algeria 1

Ryan Parrent 18
Netherlands 9
Ivory Coast 4
Ghana 4
Honduras 1

Colin Newman/O'Shea 17
Argentina 9
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 4
South Africa 4

Steve Noffke 19
Germany 6
United States 5
Switzerland 4
South Korea 4

Tim Transon 13
Portugal 5
Serbia 3
Nigeria 1
Slovenia 4

Dan Noffke 16
England 5
France 1
Japan 6
Austrailia 4

ACSS Updated Standings

These are the updated standings after Groups A,B,C,D,E,F & G have finished play. With the North Korea loss and the Brazil tie, the tournament all comes down to one game. Switzerland vs Honduras. If the Swiss win or tie, Steve wins. If Honduras wins, Ryan wins.

I have also included a list of teams advancing again.

Dave 18
Steve 18
Colin 17
Ryan 17
Dan 16
Derek 13
Mark 13
Tim 13

Teams Advancing

Dave
Brazil
Paraguay

Mark
Uruguay

Derek
Mexico

Ryan
Netherlands
Ghana

Colin
Argentina
Slovakia

Steve
Germany
United States of America
South Korea

Tim
Portugal

Dan
England
Japan

Scores

Dave Weir 18
Brazil 7
Greece 3
Paraguay 5
New Zealand 3

Mark Fodor 13
Spain 3
Uruguay 7
Denmark 3
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 13
Italy 2
Mexico 4
Chile 6
Algeria 1

Ryan Parrent 17
Netherlands 9
Ivory Coast 4
Ghana 4
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 17
Argentina 9
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 4
South Africa 4

Steve Noffke 18
Germany 6
United States 5
Switzerland 3
South Korea 4

Tim Transon 13
Portugal 5
Serbia 3
Nigeria 1
Slovenia 4

Dan Noffke 16
England 5
France 1
Japan 6
Austrailia 4

Cubs vs White Sox Part II with a side of World Cup

Big Day for ACSS fans today. Today will be the conclusion of the ACSS World Cup Pool. Up to 4 people can still win in any given scenarios. That action is at 10:00 and 1:30 CST. Then The Cubs will play on the Southside today as they take on the White Sox at 3:05. So busy day in front of the TV.


LET'S GO WHITE SOX

The Clinton-Bocanegra Defense Summit

Via Deadspin, via Luke Winn. This is after the USA advanced yesterday.
Yup, that's right, Ol' Bill (best president ever) got down on the Team USA victory celebration. Good man.

ACSS World Cup Standings (featuring teams that are moving on)

Below is the updated standings after groups A,B,C,D,E & F have finished play. In a new section I have listed off the teams that each guy has advanceing. With Italy and Cameroon losing today we have only 4 guys left who can win. Dave Mark Ryan and Steve.

Steve 18
Colin 17
Dave 17
Dan 16
Ryan 14
Mark 13
Derek 13
Tim 12

Teams Moving On

Dave
Brazil (still playing but has clinched a berth)
Paraguay

Mark
Uruguay

Derek
Mexico

Ryan
Netherlands
Ghana

Colin
Argentina
Slovakia

Steve
Germany
United States of America
South Korea

Tim
NONE

Dan
England
Japan


Dave Weir 17
Brazil 6
Greece 3
Paraguay 5
New Zealand 3

Mark Fodor 13
Spain 3
Uruguay 7
Denmark 3
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 13
Italy 2
Mexico 4
Chile 6
Algeria 1

Ryan Parrent 14
Netherlands 9
Ivory Coast 1
Ghana 4
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 17

Argentina 9
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 4
South Africa 4

Steve Noffke 18
Germany 6
United States 5
Switzerland 3
South Korea 4

Tim Transon 12
Portugal 4
Serbia 3
Nigeria 1
Slovenia 4

Dan Noffke 16
England 5
France 1
Japan 6
Austrailia 4

Italia, Italia, (expletive deleted)

As many of you know, I spent the 2006 World Cup living in Verona, Italy, which is a city about two hours west of Venice and east of Milan. As a result, L'Azzurra will always hold a special place in my heart. Their epic run to the championship, with Gianluigi Buffon's star turn in goal and the infamous Zidane head-butt and shootout to finish it, is easily one of my Top Ten Sports Moments.

Speaking of which... I'll get on that, at some point. I'm sure Noffke is dying to resurrect the franchise.

Anyway, today Italy completed their fall from grace with a 3-2 defeat to a motivated Slovak squad that wouldn't have been able to hold 2006 Italia's jock. Highlights here. Much like the USA game yesterday, this one gave me a palpable sense of desperation while watching. However, the differences are crucial.

Guys who were the heart and soul of 2006 Italia were on the sidelines watching, Buffon looking like more of a coach than the beast who allowed a lone goal (an own goal no less) four years before, Gattuso looking homeless, Pirlo finally reaching the pitch in the 56th minute, where he ignited that famous Italian attack of four years ago.

But it was too little, too late. Substitute goalie Federico Marchetti was terrible all Cup, failing to make more than a single save in all of Group F action. He choked again in the closing minutes of this one, letting a Slovak substitute bounce a loose ball in, while Italian fans had visions of Buffon enveloping the rock authoritatively and starting a fast break.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Long story short is, Italia let itself get old and stagnant, and didn't do a whole lot about it. Cannavaro had clearly lost a step. Buffon and Pirlo being hurt definitely didn't help. If those guys are in, it's a different story.

It could be worse. Unlike the dirty effin' Frogs, at least L'Azzurra didn't fall into backstabbing and squabbling amongst themselves after an ignomonious Cup exit.

In the end, these players will not be remembered for 2010. All this was was a sad postscript to one of the great World Cup runs, and much like when the White Sox are mediocre, I can always remember that title just a few years ago. Cubs fans, France fans, choke on that!

ACSS World Cup Standings

This are the standings after Groups A,B,C,D & F have finished play. Things are getting really tight. Five guys still have a shot to win with some big games coming up.

Also, Dan and Fodor have made some proposals in the comments. In the previous entry. Please everyone let me know your thoughts. Here's what i'm gathering so far.

Redrafting

For
Fodor
Dan

Against
Tim
Colin
Steve
Dave

Doesn't Care
Derek

Winner Take All

Against
Fodor

For
Tim
Steve
Colin
Dave
Dan (assuming he can't repick)

Doesn't Care
Derek

So, we need to do some politicing to figure out what we want to do.


Steve 18
Dave 17
Colin 17
Dan 13
Derek 13
Mark 13
Tim 12
Ryan 11



Dave Weir 17
Brazil 6
Greece 3
Paraguay 5
New Zealand 3

Mark Fodor 13
Spain 3
Uruguay 7
Denmark 3
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 13
Italy 2
Mexico 4
Chile 6
Algeria 1

Ryan Parrent 11
Netherlands 6
Ivory Coast 1
Ghana 4
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 17
Argentina 9
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 4
South Africa 4

Steve Noffke 18
Germany 6
United States 5
Switzerland 3
South Korea 4

Tim Transon 12
Portugal 4
Serbia 3
Nigeria 1
Slovenia 4

Dan Noffke 13
England 5
France 1
Japan 3
Austrailia 4

ACSS World Cup Standings

These are the standings after Groups A, B, C and D have finished play. Start drawing up your sceanrios to see how you can win.

Steve 18
Dave 15
Colin 14
Dan 13
Derek 13
Mark 13
Tim 12
Ryan 11



Dave Weir 15
Brazil 6
Greece 3
Paraguay 4
New Zealand 2

Mark Fodor 13
Spain 3
Uruguay 7
Denmark 3
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 13
Italy 2
Mexico 4
Chile 6
Algeria 1

Ryan Parrent 11
Netherlands 6
Ivory Coast 1
Ghana 4
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 14
Argentina 9
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 1
South Africa 4

Steve Noffke 18
Germany 6
United States 5
Switzerland 3
South Korea 4

Tim Transon 12
Portugal 4
Serbia 3
Nigeria 1
Slovenia 4

Dan Noffke 13
England 5
France 1
Japan 3
Austrailia 4

ACSS World Cup Standings

These are the offical standings after Groups A & B have finished play.

Things are really starting to get intresting. Colin has had 2 teams play 3 games while Ryan has 0. All others have had 1 team play 3 games.

I am sorry to say that Dan has offically been eliminated. Even if his 3 remaining teams win, giving him 16 points, Dave is assured of two points in the Paraguay New Zealand game.

Dave 15
Colin 14
Derek 13
Mark 13
Steve 12
Tim 12
Ryan 11
Dan 7




Dave Weir 15
Brazil 6
Greece 3
Paraguay 4
New Zealand 2

Mark Fodor 13
Spain 3
Uruguay 7
Denmark 3
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 13
Italy 2
Mexico 4
Chile 6
Algeria 1

Ryan Parrent 11
Netherlands 6
Ivory Coast 1
Ghana 4
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 14
Argentina 9
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 1
South Africa 4

Steve Noffke 12
Germany 3
United States 2
Switzerland 3
South Korea 4

Tim Transon 12
Portugal 4
Serbia 3
Nigeria 1
Slovenia 4

Dan Noffke 7
England 2
France 1
Japan 3
Austrailia 1

Cheering for Mexico. Is that an American Thing to Do?

Mexico is playing for its World Cup life today. It is sitting in a pretty good spot to move on, but still has a scenario in which they could be eliminated from the tournament today. I for one am cheering for Mexico to move on and do well in the elimination round. My question to all of you is, as an American fan, should I be doing this?

As you may or may not know, El Tri is Team USAs biggest rivals. They are rivals for obvious reason like, currently being the two most successful teams in CONCACAF as well as sharing a border. USA has never won in Mexico (0-23-1) and has only held the lead in Estadio Azteca(Mexico’s home field) for a grand total of 10 minutes, which happened last year. Bill Simmons wrote a good article about that game which gives a good feeling of how intense Estadio Azteca is for the American Team and the American Fans. Mexico views defeating team USA as a source of national pride, even if the feeling isn’t reciprocated, Team USA feels the intensity.

So why would I be cheering for Team USA’s biggest rival? It’s the same reason I cheer for the Big Ten in out of conference games and bowl games. It’s because they represent North America. They represent a brand of Soccer that represents us. When Ohio State played in back to back national title games and lost to the amazing “speed” of the SEC, all of a sudden every single team in the Big Ten got stereotyped as big, slow and outdated. Was that a fair assumption to make? Of course not, but that was the story everyone else kept repeating; If these guys got beat so badly and they beat everyone in their league, clearly the league is bad. So every year, I cheer for Big Ten teams that I normally vehemently despise because I want every else to recognize how strong the league is. This is the same reason I’m cheering for Mexico. If Mexico and USA (and Honduras) do well in the World Cup, the world will start taking North American soccer a little more seriously and give both teams that much more respect.

The other reason I am cheering for Mexico is I know how much it would mean to their fans. Yes I know the European, African and South American fans are all just as passionate, but most major soccer powers have won a world cup. Mexico is still looking for their first. No team from North America has ever won the World Cup, if any team does, even if it’s Mexico, that’s something worth celebrating.

ACSS World Cup Standings

These are the standings after each team has played two games.


Dave 15
Derek 13
Steve 11
Tim 11
Ryan 11
Mark 10
Colin 8
Dan 7




Dave Weir 15
Brazil 6
Greece 3
Paraguay 4
New Zealand 2

Mark Fodor 10
Spain 3
Uruguay 4
Denmark 3
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 13
Italy 2
Mexico 4
Chile 6
Algeria 1

Ryan Parrent 11
Netherlands 6
Ivory Coast 1
Ghana 4
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 8
Argentina 6
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 1
South Africa 1

Steve Noffke 11
Germany 3
United States 2
Switzerland 3
South Korea 3

Tim Transon 11
Portugal 4
Serbia 3
Nigeria 0
Slovenia 4

Dan Noffke 7
England 2
France 1
Japan 3
Austrailia 1

World Cup Standings

These are the standings after all games played going into the USA/Solvenia Match

Steve: 10
Dave: 8
Colin: 8
Derek: 8
Ryan: 7
Tim: 7
Dan: 5
Mark: 4


Dave Weir 8
Brazil 3
Greece 3
Paraguay 1
New Zealand 1

Mark Fodor 4
Spain 0
Uruguay 4
Denmark 0
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 8
Italy 1
Mexico 4
Chile 3
Algeria 0

Ryan Parrent 7
Netherlands 3
Ivory Coast 1
Ghana 3
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 8
Argentina 6
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 1
South Africa 1

Steve Noffke 10
Germany 3
United States 1
Switzerland 3
South Korea 3

Tim Transon 7
Portugal 1
Serbia 3
Nigeria 0
Slovenia 3

Dan Noffke 5
England 1
France 1
Japan 3
Austrailia 0

Shoulda Gone With My Gut

Spain: The favorite. The safe pick. I had to take 'em at No. 2, right?

Uhhhh...

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=264073&cc=5901&ver=us

1-0 Switzerland. The same Switzerland that I almost picked at No. 15.

I think you rigged this thing, Noffke.

Oh well, at least Uruguay got a tie for me.

ACSS World Cup Standings

Here are the standings after all teams have played 1 game

Steve: 10
Ryan: 7
Dan: 5
Colin: 5
Derek: 5
Dave: 5
Tim: 4
Mark: 1


Below is a breakout of the teams

Dave Weir 5
Brazil 3
Greece 0
Paraguay 1
New Zealand 1

Mark Fodor 1
Spain 0
Uruguay 1
Denmark 0
North Korea 0

Derek Wilson 5
Italy 1
Mexico 1
Chile 3
Algeria 0

Ryan Parrent 7
Netherlands 3
Ivory Coast 1
Ghana 3
Honduras 0

Colin Newman/O'Shea 5
Argentina 3
Cameroon 0
Slovakia 1
South Africa 1

Steve Noffke 10
Germany 3
United States 1
Switzerland 3
South Korea 3

Tim Transon 4
Portugal 1
Serbia 0
Nigeria 0
Slovenia 3

Dan Noffke 5
England 1
France 1
Japan 3
Austrailia 0