TRF and a Juggling Monkey

TRF was NOT fun. I mean, well, ok...I had fun. But, only because of the companionship. It was too hot and muggy to be comfortable; and with the exception of the fabulous Iris & Rose ( I love you, girls!) the musical entertainment is seriously lacking. All of the groups that I've been going to see for years are gone. No more Queen Anne's Lace, Bard O'Neill, Shantyman, Flying Fish Sailors or Rogues. What we have left is the overhyped Tartanic, Jim Hancock (who's worth seeing, really), Gypsy Guerilla Band and a very loud e Muziki. *bah* In fact, I was so frustrated with the entertainment, I composed and sent a letter to TRF. Then I thought, hey, I'm a programmer, let's make this available for others. So, a little bit of quick coding and here's a letter that you, too, can send to TRF to voice your concern. Please send a copy. TRF needs to know how negatively they have impacted the faire. Arsenal did win over the weekend on a brace from RVP. However, they had to come from behind to do it. Had an interview two hours ago. Went well, I think. Will find out in a week or two. Until then, amuse yourself with some monkey football. Wastrel On! (Listening to: New Year's Prayer by Jeff Buckley)

TRF, Arsenal & Flickr

It's that time of year again. Yep, TRF starts tomorrow morning. (You can check out their hideous website for more info). This will be the first time in years that I'm not going down every weekend. Although Marita Beth is working it, I'm not and thus don't feel quite the need to be there. The reasons are many-fold.

• The TRF managmeent has so dramatically reduced the entertainment budget that I fear I won't be adequately, well, entertained. As much as I love Iris and Rose, I don't really see myself spending all day every day at the Sea Devil Tavern.
• Marita Beth is working. Kelly is working. Hell, nearly all my friends are working; which means they won't have time to hang out & drink with me.
• The drive is damned long.
• Boarding my Border Collies, 'Tia and Cormac, is getting prohibitively expensive. I can justify it a few times during the run, but if I do it every weekend, there goes the disposable income that I'm trying to set aside for Dickens on the Strand in December.

What a pickle, wot? Flagrant Disregard is brilliant! The Flickr tools built here are simply wonderful. I'm sure much of it is due to some SDK or other that Flickr/Yahoo has released, but the result is amazing. Below is my profile, as built by the FD Profile Tool.

Arsenal are going into the weekend without (again) their core defence. We sold Ashley to those fucks on the other side of London Chelsea and in return we got Gallas who's now out for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury. Senderos got injured at the World Cup and still isn't back and his compatriot Djourou is now facing a late fitness test. Arsene, for some weird reason, still has faith in that useless Song kid, and is talking about putting him or Gilberto in that centre-half spot. Gilberto I can deal with, he's capable enough, but Song *shudder*. If he plays Gilberto there, then hat could leave the door open to place Baptista and Fabregas in the middle of the pitch; that's a pairing I can't wait to see work. But, 10 years at the helm and he's not made that many mistakes. I've got to keep my faith with the man. Come on the Arsenal. That's it for today. Wastrel On! (Listening to: )Louie's Return by Brother)

Happy Anniversary, Arsene

Arsene Wenger celebrates 10 years at the Arsenal today. And what a ten years it's been. The man, now the legend, arrived from relatively unknown Nagoya Grampus Eight and brought with him unique insights and philosophies of the world's game. He brought with him dieticians and psychologists and a training regime that other English clubs have since adopted. It can be argued that Arsene has had the greatest impact on English football of any football manager in the history of the sport. He certainly is the most effective of the long string of Arsenal managers. Have some footy of my own tonight, but aside from that it's right dull around here. That all for now, Wastrel On! (Listening to Susan Tedeschi)

3 Points to the Arsenal

Arsenal took 3 more points and a giant step toward topping the group with a nice win over Porto at the Emirates. Thierry Henry scored his second header in as many games, that goal also being his 50th in European competition. Here's to 51. Alexander Hleb also stuck the onion in the bag with a long-range shot making the game a 2-Nil victory on the papers, but a massive morale boost in the heads of the lads. Elsewhere, but still Arsenal-centric, the FA passed down a nine-month immediate ban with a further nine-month suspended ban for Jonathan Barnett, the cheeky bastard agent that authored the move of Ashley Cole from Arsenal to Chelsea. I maintain, though, that Arsenal got the better end of that deal by acquiring William Gallas and £5 million. Although, sadly, it appears that Gallas is out having suffered an injury in the Porto game last evening. Apparently, a hamstring injury that looks serious enough that Arsene is a bit worried. Fine way to spend your 10th anniversary with the club, eh? Oh, and what do you know, but I finally agree with something that that banausic, greedy, self-effacing head of FIFA, Sepp Blatter said. He wants to get rid of penalties as a deciding factor in World Cup finals. I can't agree more. In fact, I've always considered a game in any competition ending in penalties or "sudden death" to be a "tragedy" (that's Blatter's word, too). In the case of penalties, it reduces a team-game to a one-on-one situation; there's no call for that. In the "golden goal" or "sudden death" game, one stroke of good, or bad luck can destroy the dreams of millions with no hope of recovery because all of a sudden the game is over. I hate this solution even more than penalties. Now, were I as vain or pompous as Blatter, I might think that someone was spying on me and my emails. I had a fantastic email correspondance with my father recently where he, too, was decrying the penalty system. He put forth a system wherein you would gradually reduce the number of players on a pitch over a period of time. This is exactly what Sepp Blatter is proposing. Blatter has indicated that serious discussion will begin very soon and that a solution will be in place in time for the South African games in 2004. Let's hope so, because once again, the current system of deciding a game on penalties is a "tragedy" and cant' be allowed to continue. Spelunkers unite! That's it for now, kids. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Moses (Live) by Coldplay)

Looking forward

Hamburg is behind us, and it's time to cast our eyes to the weekend. Here's hoping we can capture some of that sparkle we had in Germany and use it on domestic soil. The weekend is fairly shimmering with mounting excitement. Arsenal travel to The Theatre of Stains to take on Fergie and his boys while the Reds from Liverpool make a journey south to tackle Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. I think it's a no-brainer as to which teams I'd like to see emerge on top of the blood-stained bodies of their opponents. The last time ManU(re) went 5 games winning, they went on to a full 10 games with out a loss or a draw. We'd really like to not see that again, because at the moment, ManU(re) are definitely the horse to stop. Of course, everyone wants to see Chelsea slip up. You're the man Liam! Back to Arsenal now; the Gunners make the trip to OT with both TH and RVP listed as doubts. Henry is still struggling with the knock he picked up on international duty, while van Persie gathered some sort of hip problem in the game against Hamburg the other night. Perhaps during his dive? On the otherhand, it appears as though Toure will be included in the squad even though he hobbled off the pitch barely 30 minutes in on Wednesday night. That's good news, because Fergie reckons that stocky little shit, Rooney will come to full maturity in the game and slip 20 goals past Lehmann. Whatever. Climb back inside your wine bottle, SAF, you belong there. That's it for now. I'm done being sick and back at work listening to Pandora's Music Genome. and feel free to send me any White Buffalos you run across.

Champion's League and bits and bobs

Champion's League, phase one of the group stage and Arsenal have found themselves in what appears to be an easy group, on paper anyway. We'll see Hamburg later today followed by FC Porto on the 26th of September (I'm a bit worred about this one) and then the last match of the first round of Group G against CSKA Moscow on October 17th. Then the reverse legs kick in. On paper, the Gunners are the best of the four teams; but the proof is on the pitch, or so they say. It sure could have been worse, though. ManU(re) are playing the Celtics today at Old Trafford in Group F, a group that also includes Benfica and FC Copenhagen. Yeah, I'd have not wanted the Arsenal in that group this year. Nor, I think, would I have wanted Group A which includes both Barcelona (last year's winners) and Chelski. I'll take our Group G opponents thank you very much. It turns out that Henry's injury is actually a foot injury that he picked up in the French international match last week. They doped him up with injections for the M'Borough game, but are choosing to rest him for this first CL match away to Hamburg. That, however, could throw some confidence in the path of a young Theo Walcott or perhaps to newcomer, Baptista both of whom have travelled with the team to Germany. And truthfully, I feel that he will be much more needed Sunday against ManU(re) than he will be today. So, good on you, boss. Right call. In other bits and bobs, it seems that Hoyte thinks he's good enough to replace Ashley. Whatever, Justin. You're deluded. You're not nearly the player that Ashley was and keep talking to the press like this, folks will start comparing you unfavourably to that wanker over at Chelsea. Gallas is a better option in the left-back role. Hell, Flamini is a better option. Give it up, son. I think that's all the important bits today, because frankly no one really cares who threw that pizza at Fergie, so long as it hit the bastard. Still sick, but hanging in there. So, perhaps a beer or a $17 million baby bigfoot is on the tap for me today. Until then, Wastrel On! (Listening to: Zealots by the Fugees)

Three games in...

It's three games into the season for the Arsenal (4 for nearly everyone else) and the boys still have not managed a win. They've not won at home, they've not won away; within the EPL that is. On the European stage, they're doing just fine having slotted Dinamo Zagreb to a 2-1 loss at the Emirates. Yes, just fine on the European front. But, if you can't win the EPL, where does that leave you? I'm positive it's not the announcer's fault. I'm equally positive it's not the length of the grass, although Wenger is just as unhappy about the height & depth of the pitch (so fix it already, it's your damn stadium, correct the issue and move on; this is a no whinging zone). So what is it? The Cole saga? Which, by the way, continues as the wanker serialises his "book" in the Times. The Reyes/Baptista swap-a-roo? The Walcott & Denilson hype? Maybe, the Arsenal just aren't as good as they used to be? Now, as I started this, we are only 3 games in; there are 35 more games to go in the Premiership and we will make up the ground. But, for my money, Mr. Wenger needs to get his team gelling on and off the pitch in ENGLAND. I realize the monetary need for Champion's League football and sure as hell not advocating a slow down of our progress on that stage, but dammit, the boys need to win a game in the Premiership. The game this upcoming weekend against ManU(re) would a great way to do that. That being said, the Arsenal are on their way to Hamburg to take a bite out of that little team in the first leg of this round. They are, however, making the trip sans Henry who picked up a mysterious foot injury in training yesterday. Yikes! Of course, since he's only scored once for us in the EPL and is still looking for his form, maybe the injury and subsequent rest from football duty is a good thing. Furthermore, it would appear that Arsene Wenger is not a fan of Ashley Cole's writing style while Fabulous Fabregas has agreed, verbally, to put pen to paper on a new 8-year contract with the Arsenal. In a radio interview, Cesc said: 'Everything with my new contract is agreed and next week I will sign it. ' That, my good friends, is excellent news for the Gunners. Fabregas will, no doubt, be one of the forces in EPL in a few short years. The boy has already gone from a no-starter, no-name to a star in the Spanish side. That's damned impressive. Right, that's all for now. I'm sick, my head feels like it's a mile wide and i don't believe in 6000 year old dinosaurs. Right. Ohh, and feel free to send killer frisbees my way. Wastrel On. (Listening to: Guilty by Tora Tora)

Transfer Window Slams Shut

and, typically, there was an insane flurry of players being tossed through the barely open window at the last minute. The big news is that Ashley Cole, embittered and unpopular, has finally brokered a deal that lands him at Chelsea. In return, Arsenal get £5 million and William Gallas. So, one embittered, unpopular, unhappy player for another but Arsenal get a monetary pie-topper. Sweet. It seems that everyone is happy and/or relieved that the longest transfer talks in history are finally over. It also appears that the other vocal, unhappy player on the team has finally run home to hide behind Mum's skirts. Yep, Jose Antonio Reyes has gone to Real Madrid in exchange for Baptista. And it's about bloody time, too. His constant whinging was really starting to grate; and since he wasn't all that effective a player for the Arsenal, I'm happy to see him off. I'd happily kick his arse on the way out the door if I but could. The word is that this transfer, in reality, consists of two year-long loans with the option to purchase at the end. So, we could very well be saddled with that whingy mum's boy again on the back side of his contract. In one final "quick, push him through the window" effort, it is reported that Arsene has signed the Brazilian Under 19 captain, Denilson. If so, that's excellent news. He could be a fantastic foil to either Baptista or Fabregas in mid-field. But, of course, he'll need to get a work-permit first so it may or may not happen. I see a lineup coming that sets my heart to flutter. GK: Lehmann, LB: Flamini, CB: Toure, Gallas, RB: Eboue, LM: Rosicky, CM: Fabregas (Baptista), Gilberto, RM: Ljungberg, ST: Henry, van Persie. now, if they can only get rid of their ridiculous need to score the perfect goal and just drop the bloody ball in the net; from long-distance if necessary. It doens't have to be waltzed in after a prolonged wine & dine session. Just shoot. That's all the news today. It's friday and I'm thirsty. (Listening to: Cathouse by Faster Pussycat) Wastrel On!

been a while

I know it's been a while since I last wrote. And, I shan't be writing long this time, either. But, this is fuckin' funny.
Ever feel like something just makes you want to punch a baby? Wastrel On!

The Fairer Sex

I've just come from watching the US ladies national team win over the Swedish ladies national team in Blaine, MN. There are a number of conclusions that can be drawn from this match. First, the officiating pretty much is awful at every level of every sport. Second, it's hot everywhere in the US right now. As I write this in North Texas, it's 99 degrees Farenheit outside my front door. In Blaine, MN, where the match was held it was 97 degrees Farenheit but with heat index and the fact that stadiums in general tend to trap heat, it measured 119 degrees on the pitch. I don't care where you are, that's hot. However, the one thing I noticed during the match that I will focus on here, is that ladies truly are the fairer sex. Now, in this case I'm not referring to their physical beauty because that's pure opinion (and in my opinion, there were 23 beautiful ladies on the pitch at all times--I'm including the centre official). No, I'm referring to the fact that they play fair, and have a sense of fair play around them. In the game, there were only 2 cards (yellow) given in contrast to any given game in the recently passed World Cup. Neither of those cards were non-deserved, they were given for true fouls and were deserving of the card presentation. Contrast that with how many cards were given in the World Cup because the official was duped by play-acting and you begin to see my point. How many time during the World Cup did a slight push result in the pushed player rolling about on the ground for an extended period in a protracted effort to get the other player sent off. This simply did not occur in the ladies match I just watched. It can't be because the ground is any harder or because they fell more or more violently. No, it's simply because the men, unlike the ladies, are banal & base in their instinct and choose to cheat rather than win fairly. I urge the professional side of the game to look, watch & learn from the ladies. They truly are the fairer sex in football. Wastrel On!

Australia v Italy

and I'm rooting for Australia. Mostly because they've never been this far in this tournament, but mostly because Italy are a bunch of cheating, whinging cowards with no regard for the beauty of the game. but, my gods who developed this inane 4-5-1 system and why is everyone using it? Australia will be lining up in this formation with Viduka the only man up top. Senseless. Viduka is a helluva striker, but the man needs a partner to play off. He no longer has the speed or stamina to go one-on-one with these back 4 boys. Give him Kewell or even Emerton to work with and the game balance will flow much nicer. Francesco Totti is out for Italy which will work in Australia's favour. Now, if we can get the officials to be up to the task as well as the players, we should be in for one cracker of a game. The Australians are very hard-working, strong & enterprising, while the Italians are very technically gifted, even if they are sore-losers. And the game is on. I'll report back mid-way through. And, again, thanks to Eurosport for allowing me the option of reading these games while they're happening. Cheers to that. **UPDATE** The teams leave the field for the dressing room very nearly even on all accounts. 50-50 possession. 1 yellow card apiece. Similary corner & offsides counts. It's beena very even contest proven in fact by the 0-0 scoreline. Of course, we all know it can't stay at that score, there has to be a winner in this game. Come on the 'Roos! And the second half has started. Tim Cahill for Australia almost immediately gets a yellow card for leading with his arm. He knows better than that. But, as if in effort to outdo the Aussies, the Italians go for a straight red card...and get it. On the 50th minute Materazzi hacks down a breaking Bresciano to gain a red card for his team. Let's hope this doens't disintegrate into a match like yesterday where there were more cards than passes. With that red card the immediate tide has shifted. It's all Australia now and Buffon is having to make save after save. More later. When is a penalty not a penalty? When it's given to a whinging Azurri after he trips on a blade of grass in the 90th minute of a must-win game. Australia lost because of a single bad call. The teams had held each other to a scintillating goal-less draw and the game was set to head to overtime. But no. Instead a very dubious penalty was awarded and the Italians scored to send them through and the Aussies home. Damn the luck. Wastrel On! (Listening to KTU & Adrian Belew)

Portugal v Holland

in one of the most ridiculous displays of officiating gone bad that I have ever seen, Portugal advance to the Quarter Finals 1-0 on a fantastically worked goal by Maniche and the Portugal team. However, the 2 Red cards and numerous yellows sustained by the Portugese in the match will not treat them well as they have to play England next. In all 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards were issued in a game that the Russian official had no control of. Sepp Blatter was reported as saying that the official effectively yellow carded himself in the match and that his standard was not up to the standard of the other people on the pitch. Personally, I believe that a Red card early in the match for a horrendous tackle on Ronaldo rather than the yellow that was given, would have offset much of what happened later. The early authoritative stamp may have curtailed some of the high-jinx that occurred later. The players don't have to play dirty, they just do because they can. Prove to them at the start of the match that they can not, and you have tossed sand on the sparks before it erupts into a full-fledged fire. Listening to KTU Wastrel On!

National Anthems and National Athletes

indulge me if you will. I am, by my own admission, not the most patriotic of individuals detesting as I do most of this administrations policies. However, were I lucky enough and good enough to be selected to play for my country in any sporting event you can bet your arse that I'd be belting out the national anthem as it was being played before the event. These athletes who stand in their team line and look sour-faced, as if they don't even want to be there put a bad face on the nation. Were it up to me, I'd make it mandatory that your entire staff, including the prima donnas on the pitch, sing during the national anthem. The exceptions being a) your anthem has no words or b) it's a cultural thing to not sing the anthem. The South Koreans in the first round, for instance, did not sing their anthem. Not a single player uttered a single word; however, their patriotism was so apparent in their body language that it wasn't necessary that they sing. Each player has his hand on heart, his head bowed and most had their eyes closed. They cared. Contrast that to God Save the Queen as just played for the English team. Sure David Beckham was singing, he's the media darling and wouldn't be caught not singing. However, dour faced, petulant Rooney couldn't be bothered to show even the slightest amount of pride. And that pasty Swede, I don't care if he's not English, he's coaching the English national team, sing the damn anthem!! I could say the same for the Ecuadorians (who are currently playing England) and for most every other nation out there, including the United States. Boys, you're playing for your country, show some pride, some solidarity and lift your voices with your nation. Wastrel On.

England v Ecuador

and England have to step it up. Sven lost the plot several months ago, and it's up to the players to re-find it. They have looked woeful and out of sorts since the first kick-off of their first game. Today they have a chance to set all that to rest, but can they get past the massive injuries and bad coaching decisions? For reasons defying most coaching logic, they are starting in a 4-5-1 with Rooney up top i the lone striker role. It has been proven time and again that this formation does not work with the England squad, yet Sven insists on continuing with this. Rooney hasn't played a full 90 minutes since he broke his foot in May, and I don't expect him to today with all the running he'll have to do as the lone striker. The match is being played in Stuttgart where it is currently 92 degrees Farenheit which has to favour the Ecuadorians. We'll see. To the England squad, "Sven is leaving, boys. Win this one for your country. Ignore the madman at the helm." Prediction 1-0 England **UPDATE** Ecuador has the first real chance in the 12th minute. A rare mistake by John Terry gifts Tenorio with the ball with only Robinson between he and the net. Thank the gods for Ashely Cole, the best left back in the business. From out of nowhere, he comes streaking in to deflect Tenorio's on-target shot up and onto the bar. So, a corner kick instead of a goal. We'll take that...and thank you, Ashley Cole. **UPDATE** These two teams have only met once before, 26 years ago and at that time, England emerged the victors. I expect that that game was considerably more entertaining than this one. Neither team has managed to get anything going and the flow of the game is consistently being interrupted by bad passes and fouls. From both teams. Although England does seem to have the edge in shots, none of the shots have been very good and have not tested the Ecuadorian keeper at all. The thing that beggars belief in my mind is the size & experience of the Ecuadorian back line versus the size & experience of the potential England front line. Only one of the four Ecuador fullbacks even reaches 6' which would give a massive advantage to England if they had Crouch's 6'6" frame in the mix. It would also revert the lineup back to the "we know it works why don't we use it" 4-4-2 formation instead of this useless 4-5-1 that Sven insists on. **UPDATE** An absolutely tepid, tea-sipping affair here. Nothing exciting going on barring the golden opportunity that went begging for Tenorio. At this stage of the game, Terry's mistake and Cole's cover has been the most exciting aspect of the game. Once again, Sven proves he's not the manager he thinks he is. Let's hope for some changes in at least the tempo if not the England lineup. Otherwise it'll be England going home, rather than the underdogs, Ecuador. **UPDATE** The second half is underway and this troubling stat has just come to light. England's record when tied at half-time in World Cup play is 9-9-10. Since there cannot be a draw when this game concludes, we can only hope that the record will be 10-9-10 when it's all said and done. Alexi Lalas, the ex-US national and half-time commentator for ABC in these World Cup games believes that this game will go to penalty kicks. The way these two teams are playing, I can't really refute that. **UPDATE** The 60th minute and David Beckham converts. An absolutely stunningly, inch-perfect deadball into the lower corner gave the Ecuador keeper absolutely no chance. It seems to have sparked the English team, they're playing with more urgency and pace right now than I've seen in their 4 games thus far. Although David Beckham has his critics, me among them, this is why the man is in the squad. He's lethal in these situations, probably the very best in the world. If only the remainder of his skillset was up to the media-spin that is created around him. and now, only 5 minutes later, Beckham is heaving. The man is dehydrated and out-of-shape and throwing up on the pitch. I've watched a lot of football all over the world, and at the professional level, I've never watched a player throw up on the field. I hope he's well. The English goal has galvanized the Ecuadorians, too. They seem more full of life now as well. They know they have to score to escape the penalty of going home. But the England fans are doing every thing they can to suppress the Ecuador spirit. Every few moments, it seems God Save the Queen echoes through the stadium and rings the ears of all the players involved. The 12th man, in the form of the fans is alive and kicking in Stuttgart. **UPDATE** 87th minute and England replaces Beckham, who has continued to look ill, and ill-at-ease, with Lennon. Lennon will spark the team and bring some much needed urgency and skill to that right-halfback position. Beckham handed off the Captain's band to John Terry (I believe, although it could be Lampard). England will be content to just hang onto the ball and waste as much time as possible. But, like what happened in the England v Sweden game, it only takes one mistake to force a draw. And the three additional minutes can be an eternity. As the saying goes, it only takes a second to score a goal. With less than a minute left, Gerrard comes off to make way for Stuard Downing. And we still haven't seen Theo Walcott. What exactly was Sven thinking, including the boy in his squad and not blooding him at all. Some sort of weird fear vs. honour thing going on? And that's it. England move into the quarter finals while Ecuador go home. And the only goal of the very dull match coming from a spectacular free kick by David Beckham. They'll have to play much better than this in the Quarter Finals as they face either Portugal or the Netherlands (that game is coming up next) if they want to win that game. As a matter of record, England have made it to the Quarter Finals in 4 of the last 5 World Cups. But this year, I think it's more down to luck than skill or tenacity. That's it. I'll be watching the next game at my local, so might not get the report in. More to come, Until then, Wastrel On!

Knockout Stages - Day 1

I missed the opportunity to write in my thoughts on the last couple of days; so instead of trying to remember what happened and who did what and when, I'm just moving on through to the knockout stages with the teams. The Germany/Sweden game in Munich starts in 20 minutes and I am primed and ready. According to Reuters, more than 100,000 fans have descended on the German city to watch the game. Obviously not all of them can go to the game, so the city has set up viewing areas scattered about the beauty that is Munchen. At Olympic Park, more than 30,000 fans can watch the game on massive screens while enjoying the beautiful day. While at the English Gardens another 7,000 can enjoy oompah bands and beer leading up to the game then relax and watch the match. I'm torn on the game, but I think my bottomline is for Germany! Even though the Swedes boast one of my favourite players in Freddie Ljunberg (Arsenal man), I did live in Germany for three years. It's in Germany where I kicked my first football and developed a life-long passion. It's in Germany where I watched my first football match. And even after returning to the US, Soccer Made in Germany, the PBS production, was a weekly event in our house. So, Germany will take this one 2-1 and advance. **UPDATE** it's only the 5th minute and Germany have a one goal lead by a massive goal poach from Podolski. A sublime turn by Klose left him one on one with Isaksson. Isaksson tripped him up that on another day with another official likely would have been a penalty, but Podolski following up the movement pounced on that spilled ball and struck it with some authority into the net. And now, in the 12th minute, Podolski buries another one. It's 2-0 to the Germans with both goals being authored by Klose and published by Podolski. Sweden better find the plot if my prediction is to hold true. and yes, I have ever right whinge about "Americans not understanding the sport." Despite the commentators on XM Radio who are, apparently quite tired of the whinging, Americans by and large do not understand the sport. They cannot comprehend how a game can be played for 90 minutes and not produce a winner. They cannot see how a 90 minute game that produces no scoring can be exciting. Doubt me? Come to my local and try to talk to the regulars gathered around their beers and margaritas about soccer. You'll get blank stares or inane, peurile arguments about how boring & dull it is, while they glance constantly at whatever golf tournament happens to be showing on one of the numerous televisions. Yes, I have a right to whinge. **UPDATE** It's all Germany now. Shot after shot after shot on Isaksson's net and in the 35th minute a second yellow card to a Swedish player sends him to an early shower. Sweden have an enormous task ahead of them, two goals down and now a man down. If they have any desire to remain in Germany, they must refind their drive. It was always going to be difficult playing a very strong German team in Munchen, but now the task is gigantic. **UPDATE** It is half-time and Germany lead Sweden into the dressing room by 2 goals to nil. Sweden now face the monumental task of returning to the pitch for another half, demoralized, dejected, 2 goals and 1 man down. Can they do it? Can they come back from the deficet? Anything, anything at all is possible in football. Will they do it? I think not, but I'd sure like to see them try and in the process score a goal. **UPDATE** Second half underway and Sweden come out with authority and reason. Henrik Larsson is taken down in the German box and is awareded a penalty for his efforts. A lifeline for Sweden and Larsson steps up to take it. Oh my, over the net and Germany maintain their 2 goal lead on the poor Swedes. The Swedish fans can't believe their eyes. They've come so far, this team in yellow & blue. But, being only 4 for 7 in their World Cup history on penalty kicks says that that is not the way they're going to win this game. **UPDATE** Isaksson is far and away the best player on the swedish team for this match. Aside from two blisters from Germany, he's kept out no less than 6 crtical in-the-net rockets. Sadly for him, it looks like he's headed home. But, his performance today certainly proves to me the validity of Arsene Wenger's interest in the keeper. Perhaps in the close season we can entice the man to come and give Lehmann a challenge for that Arsenal number one. With less than a minute to go (plus stoppage), Germany sits on the verge of a third consecutive clean-sheet and advancement to the quarter-finals. The winner of this game will play the winner of today's next game, Mexico v Argentina. And that's a match who's outcome I can't predict because I'm just not sure which team I most wish to see lose. I'll probably head down to my local, and despite the vacuous stares and diffidence, I'll enjoy the game. Must be just seconds remaining and yes, Germany has elminated Sweden with a 2-0 victory. Plenty of hugs & kisses await the German team, while tears and sadness await the Swedes. Germany have now played 287 minutes of football without conceding a goal and have reached the quarter finals in 15 of 16 World Cups, a truly remarkeable pair of statistics. Argentina v Mexico was everything a game could be. It had drama, spectacular passing, and one of the most spectacular goals you'll ever see. Maxi Rodriguez took the ball on a long switch off his chest and volleyed it across the face of the goal into the upper 90. This occurred in the second half of overtime to give Argentina a win. The possession and dominance see-sawed through the entire match with neither team truly dominating. Mexico did score first, but then they scored again, in the wrong goal 5 (or so) minutes later to even it up. That was the last goal scored (in the 12th minute) until that wundergoal in overtime that gave Argentina the game. And with the win came the realization that they now face Germany in the next round. More tomorrow. Until then, Wastrel On!