Viva Espana!

The 2010 FIFA World Cup has finally come to a close, with Spain finally getting the trophy that has eluded their fine football federation for so long. Although it wasn’t as beautiful a game as many World Cup Finals are, the fact is, Spain got it done and they deserved it. Unlike most people in the U.S., I continued to pay attention to the tournament after the United States was eliminated, and I’m glad that I did. I feel that something like the World Cup, which only comes around every four years, is a special kind of event and can be interesting even when there isn’t a specific team that I’m rooting for to win. Since there are many of you that probably didn’t see anything beyond the Round of 16, this video will fill you in on all the great moments from this year’s World Cup. I’m going to miss actually paying close attention to soccer, but there is a slight chance that I’ll still be posting in four years time. I’m not that optimistic that the World Cup in 2014 will be as wide open as it was this year though; with Brazil on their home turf, and with a new coach that will likely lead them back to playing the “Beautiful Game”, it will be their tournament to lose. My extremely early prediction is that they won’t.

Since the World Cup is over, it is very likely that this will be my last post that mentions the World Cup for quite awhile. With that being said, I promised my buddy Neil that I would put his thoughts on the World Cup in a post. If you recall, Neil wrote a guest article about the Six Nations Rugby Cup back in March, so his work is well documented on this blog.

I believe that the World Cup is kind of like the Special Olympics of hockey, and here is why: While the object of both games is to put a ball/puck into a goal:
1. Everything is about 1/4 of the speed.
2. Everyone falls down at the slightest contact despite not being on ice
3. The ball is 10Xs the size (like a little kid’s pencil)
4. The goal is 4Xs the size (Which would ensure more scoring, right? Wrong.)
5. (This one is bad, but…) opponents can’t understand each other
6. Everyone cheers for both teams, win, lose, or draw, because it really doesn’t make a difference as long as you showed up

Disclaimer: I believe that Special Olympians try much harder than most World Cup participants. No disrespect to them is meant.

Considering that I haven’t added much humor in a long time, my thanks go out to Neil for his creative input.

Now that the World Cup has concluded, Major League Baseball is on their All-Star break, and football hasn’t started yet, the sports media has nothing better to talk about than the Lebron saga. Quite frankly, I’m sick of hearing about it. There is only so much you can say, and saying the same thing eleven different ways doesn’t make for particularly interesting TV or radio in my opinion. However, one new piece of news regarding the situation did surface; Dan Gilbert retracted his statement about the Cavs winning a title before Lebron James and the Heat win one. Can someone say “a little too late”? Gilbert has already come off looking like a child with his tirade, and now even Jesse Jackson is in on the roast of Gilbert. Of course, since Jesse Jackson is all about getting attention, you’ll have to read somewhere else what he said about Gilbert, because I will not be a part of the vicious cycle that keeps Jesse Jackson in the news.

Tomorrow is the MLB All-Star game, and although I think that the Celebrity All-Star game (which is currently being played) is much more exciting to watch, I’ll probably tune in because, unlike every other sports’ All Star game, it actually means something. Also, since this is shaping up to be “The Year of the Pitcher”, it could be a great game from a defensive standpoint, which for the most part has been the story in the last few All-Star games as well.

– K. Becks