scottb

That was shocking! The US played like the team from the first game with simialr results. Few chances and fewer finishes. Absolutely no creativity in attack. Long ball after long ball hoping McBride can get on the end of one, without support up top as well. Still should've won. Stupid error by Reyna and a crazy decision by the ref to give a penalty. Finally scored though. Demsey buried that one. Good assist from Beasley. I think the next step in the US development is to bring in a European coach and lets start working on some offense!

I wouldn't say McBride screwed up to disallow the goal, but is was unusual he is very good in traffic in the box and very rarely is caught in an offside position. I wasn't suprised to see Beasley, at least on the left. I think his days on the right side are history!

Jim, How did you like the 4-1-4-1? (That is of course before it became a 4-3-1) I think it worked well and commend Arena for the change. It's a good way to get Mastroeni, Donovan and Reyna in the midfield which was good. Convey did better today than against the Czechs, Beasely looked better back on the left, although I thought he should've been more aggressive as he was the only one with legs for the last 20 minutes. I liked the changes with Boca and Dempsey (Do you think he reads this board? ) I wasn't sure Dempsey would be ready for the level of Italy but he did well. Donovan looked good in the space in the middle but I think he seems to be too quick to get rid of the ball. He always seems to be looking to make a one touch pass. Usually it's a good one but I think he needs to attack the defense himself more and hold the ball a little longer to draw more attention and make his pass more effective? My one beef with Arena is where was Johnson? With only 9 players how do you end the game with a sub in your pocket and everyone on the field exhausted for the last 25 minutes? He really should have come in. He would have been more than several steps faster than everyone else on the field and may have been able to steal a late one.

Certainly the US was getting the better of play before going down to 9. Even the Italian goal was from a set piece and an error by Eddie Pope. Not from any display of good play. I disagree about the ref. Way too strict wiht the calls. Way too many cards for both sides. The intentional elbow was a straight red but the striaght red on Pablo was a joke. He he would have continued as he started with the yellows the game would have ended 5 v 5. Unfortunate the ref played such a big role in such an important match.

The Czech certainly didn't look as sharp as they did against the US. Hopefully, Italy will be generous and have a similar lapse giving the US a glimmer of hope.

Argentina absolutely whipped S and M. (no pun intended but rather funny ) Kezman (sp?) was just trying to find the quickest way off that field. The adidas ad for Serbia and Montenegro would be Kezman minus 10. Poor guy seemed to be the only one with the self respect to put up an effort. The others were totally whipped into submission by absolute football brilliance! Mexico missed Borgetti. They had their chances but just couldn't take them. Sounds like another CONCACAF team I know. I think if the Italians score first, the US is going to roll over and disappear. If the US can hang on for while or even grab a goal themselves (can't really imagine how that might happen. OK, if I try real hard I can see a McBride header from a Donovan set piece.) I think a game could actually develop. We'll see.

OK, Brazil wins! Give 'em the cup and lets go home.

I think Spain had turned in the performance of the tournament. Not just because of the score but a great display of soccer for a full 90 minutes. Defended well, the keeper got a little bold that one time but overall very tight in back. Looked very cohesive in attack, working very well together as shown in the 4th goal which is my choice for goal of the tourney so far. The problems they pose for other teams is who to mark? Everyone looked dangerous, there's no Henry, Shevchenko, Koller or Klose to shut down. You have to try to contain everyone which obviously the Ukraine was not up to. Also they have great depth. Raul and Fabregast off the bench and the threat doesn't really drop off. I'm very excited by the Spainish. I have pulled for them in previous World Cups and been among the disappointed for all that wasted potential but this year if they keep this up they could hold the trophy come July!

Dmitry, the uproar, the disappointment, the utter disgust that many U.S. fans feel is not due to the fact that we lost. It's all about the way we lost- the way we played. Playing like that, we would have lost to Angola, Trinidad & Tobago, Togo... you name it. THAT is why people are upset. The Czechs are an excellent squad, and they definitely showed it, so it's not about disrespecting who they are and what they did. Yeah, the real scary part is that if the US had caused any problems for the Czechs they may have actually mounted an attack and probably would have scored every 5 minutes! They scored three without even trying! They basically made about 5 real attempts to score and got 3 goals. That's an efficient scoring machine if there ever was one. It really serves as an excellent foil for the US team. The Czechs needed only one chance to cross to put the ball perfectly on Koller's head where the only option was to score. The US crossed 20 or so and none found a target.

Scott, I also got the HD package specifically for the World Cup, and so far I've been more than happy. We have Cox Cable here, they're showing most games in HD. Like you said, the WOW factor is nothing short of breathtaking. I have Cox Cable too. Do you have ESPN2 HD? Is that where all the games are? Our ABC HD channel and ESPN HD channel have only had 2 or three games.

I got the HD package just for the World Cup and have been disappointed that my cable service has only had a few games in HD. We don't get ESPN2 HD on our service so I'm missing most of them. The ones that are in HD are absolutely brilliant! To me things in HD look more life-like than real life!

Well, I hadn't planned on it and wasn't sure I could stomach it, but I watched the US game again. On second viewing my feelings about the game are a little different. Jim, I think you had the right idea about conservative distribution. I've heard people say Donavan checked himself out of the game. I don't think that's the case. He had very little service and McBride had even less. When Donavan got the ball he did some good things, the right things, but unfortunately the final passes weren't there. The fact is our back line, which had most of our possesion, was reluctant or unable to get the ball to the middle. You can see times where Reyna, Donavan and OBrien are showing for the ball and instead our defense pumps it to the wings where it was mishandled, passed back or crossed out of bounds, straight to the keeper or to the defense. The wing play was pathetic. The Czechs defended the wings very well but there were also a lot of chances for crosses which were squandered. How many did Convey waste? The other problem spot was Lewis. Watch how many long balls he plays from the back, bypassing our midfield players altogether. I think after the half, these would've been my subs. Convey out. Demsey in. Beasley to the left, Demsey on the right. Pablo out. Johnson in up with McBride. Donovan back deeper in midfield (I shouldn't have to count this one because I would've started Johnson) Lewis out. Boca in. Like I said the first time, with that early goal, the Czech had us by the balls and defended very well with numbers making it very difficult to take advantage of our strengths. We're just not good at running the "half court offense"

WOW, that was $#!+ !!!! The US were absolutely HORRIBLE!! I was realistic about our chances in that game and defeat was certainly not unexpected but that was totally worthless!!! I don't know where to start... OK, yes I do. Demarcus Beasley was terrible. His only good contribution was getting back on defense after he turned the ball over. I knew the game was over when the Czechs scored first. Today, our best chances were going to come off the counter with Donovan attacking the middle which he did all of twice. Once they scored and could sit back and counter our anemic attacks from the flanks which rarely even led to a service into the box, the game was over. The warmups proved prophetic, no creativity in attack, few chances and fewer finishes. I just hope we can score a goal or two before heading back to the US! The subs were a little puzzling. The obvious choice for me would have been Dempsey for Beasley. He would've certainly provided the energy we lacked and maybe a little excitement on the right. And well, Wolff for McBride needs no further explanation. The only good thing is as an Arsenal fan I'm excited that Rosicky is on his way to London next season!! That was a wicked shot!

Mexico got the result today but they looked shaky. hopefully the win will boost their confidence and they can raise their level in time for the knockout stage. I hope Borgetti is OK to go for their next match. Didn't watch all of the Netherlands match but they played well. Ruud, Van Perse and Robben looked threatening. Portugal looked very good but only managed the one goal. I think they will likely explode on Iran and be firing on all cylinders for the next round.

I find it interesting that the Europeans on the board didn't think the Ecuadorians looked worthy of the tournament. I thinks it's just a different style of play. I saw a team that dominated possesion especially in the midfield. They defended well and made Poland look very bad. They took their chances when they came and won 2-0. A solid performance. No they didn't create wave after wave of attacks like the Germans but should've they? They had the lead and by keeping so much possesion they limited Poland's chances for counters. I see them through behind the Germans.

Expect a lot of great goals in this World Cup just like the two in the Germany match. That ball they are using is JUICED! That ball has produced some great goals in MLS this season and in the hands of the world's best, it's going to be magnificent!

So that's where The Wiggles got their stage moves! I had no idea the Osmond on keyboards composed the music to Pac Man!

The title track is one of my all time favorite tunes.

Does anyone know if Miles' ESP and Miles Smiles are the remastered versions? Most are labeled as such but these are not. Does that mean they just weren't labeled or are they the old versions? Anyone?

I watched the England match vs Jamaica yesterday and boy am I jealous! 6 - 0. The England squd is full of guys who know how to finish their chances. I never heard the final verdict on some of the injuries in that game. Hope everyone is OK.

Around this time in 1988. I got a CD player for high school graduation and brought this home with it. The next day went back for The White Album and another Beatles title I can't remember which.

Where is it available? I can't find it at CD Universe.

USA v Latvia Good news - dominated the game Bad news - only scored one goal I thought the "reserves" actually looked sharper the other night. I've alway thougt Eddie Johnson was a bit overrated. I agree he's got loads of potential and has success at the MLS level but internationally I don't think he's quite there and I hope we're not banking on him at the world cup. Johnson had numerous chances in the first half. Wasted them all. McBride had essentially two chances. The first required one the best saves of the match and the other found net. Yet it seemed that Johnson was the main target. Too many offsides. You get the feeling that even when he gets through 1 v1 with the goalie he's not going to be able to finish. I know it's hard to score when the opposition is just sitting back with 10 guys behind the ball. But there were plenty of chances for everyone and only one goal. I like Beasley but Dempsey has looked more dangerous to me. O'Brien doesn't seem quite ready although there are glimpses of brilliance. Convey wasn't as good as the other night but I might still take him over O'Brien at this point. I actually think we will have more success in the World Cup where the opposition will be better and not packed into the box (unless they get an early lead.) Overall, I'm a little worried now. With that kind of domination you should beat a team 3 or 4 to nil. WE NEED SOME GOALS!!

SNAPPY ANSWERS TO STUPID QUESTIONS was instrumental in my early development as a smartass. Essential reading for any wisecracker wannabe.

Concerning Boca fitting in, Pope has been shakey in the league lately and I could see Boca in left-center with Lewis left. By our assessments I guess I'm an optimist. I thought the first half went pretty well. We possessed the ball well in the midfield. As I mentioned Olsen had some trouble but mostly things were OK. The attack was mostly breaking down at the final pass. If they could clean up that last step, the goals would be there. I think McBride is better at positioning himself to get on the end of those I think he would've score on a couple of those balls in from Convey, Albright and Dempsey.