Tag Archive | "world cup"

Spain wins FIFA World Cup


JOHANNESBURG – Spain won its first ever World Cup Title when Andres Iniesta scored late in extra time to defeat Netherlands 1-0.

The Netherlands who failed to win the finals game in 1974 and 1978 failed again in their third attempt to take home the title in a game kept tied through regular time because of key saves from their goaltender, Maarten Stekelenberg.

The game got chippy with a lot of extra body contact causing a finals record 12 yellow cards to be handed out and causing the Dutch to finish the match with 10 men.

Attendance for the game was announced at 84,490.

Stats: (updated/changed off FIFA.com website July 11, 6:58 pm)

Netherlands                       Spain

13(5)                                      18(6) – Shots (on Goal) 

28                                               19    – Fouls

6                                                     8 – Corner Kicks

7                                                    6 – Offsides

43%                                         57% – Time of Possession

7                                                    5 – Yellow Cards

1                                                      0  – Red Cards

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Posted in Features, Recent Buzz, UncategorizedComments (0)

Giants fans, take cue from World Cup fans!


Sitting in a bar with a frosty pint at 7:30 a.m., you tend to learn a thing or two. The heightened awareness that comes along with rising with the stark morning sun combined with ordering several foreign beers amidst a crowd chanting “U-S-A!, U-S-A!” opens you up to new experiences.

For me, it was the beauty that lies within America’s torrid love affair with soccer. (I’m not sure when we voted on this, but apparently we all decided that we were going to become soccer fans – if only for a month.)

The low-scoring nature of soccer has caused its fans to evolve, to move the goal line, so to speak. Sitting at a sticky counter, elbow to elbow with this guy, I learned that the joy in watching soccer isn’t in the goals, but in the chances your team has to score these evasive goals.

To make life easier, I’ve adopted this philosophy with the San Francisco Giants.

The shortcomings of the Giants offense has been well documented – honestly I’ve seen more scoring take place in line for a Star Wars movie. And the agony the lack of runs cause, seemingly on a night-in-night-out basis (see Dodgers 4, Giants 2), has spoiled too many opportunities to celebrate.

To amend this dire ineptitude of scoring, try this the next time you’re at the yard – third base is the new home.

A base runner that safely advances to third is the baseball equivalent to a “scoring chance” – and the Giants have a lot of these. So the next time you see Giant on third, stand up, cheer, raise your arms in victory, hug the nearest stranger next to you, and blow your Vuvuzelas. Honor the beauty, the physical poetry that is a near-run, and then imagine the bliss of an actual run.

Once we learn to re-frame the archaic goals we have had in place as baseball fans and look to the progressivism of soccer, the pesky runner stranded at third won’t seem like a missed opportunity, but instead it will stand as a time to cheer — at least until the next double play.

My World Cup is half empty – Schuepp’s Scoop

Fixed game in 1982 World Cup creates schedule change – Sports Climax

French World Cup team continues their circus act – Sports Climax

Re-printed with permission of the author.

Theo is a staff reporter and feature writer for the Marin Independent Journal where he covers local prep and college sports. As an Associate Production Manager for ESPN, he helped produce Sunday Night Baseball among other national ESPN and ABC Sports telecasts. In addition to his contributions to Sports Climax, he is a columnist for Examiner.com and is the play-by-play voice for Sonoma State University baseball and softball.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Posted in MLB, Theo's BenderComments (0)

French World Cup team continues their circus act


SOUTH AFRICA – The prime things France has to swank about is the Eiffel Tower, a 1998 FIFA World Cup and Napoleon and one of those was a 5-foot midget with a tiny penis complex.

In this year’s FIFA competition, France’s team has shown a personality many outsiders believe runs parallel their country’s.

After tying vast underdog Uruguay then getting their asses handed to them by Mexico 2-0 in their second game, team star, Nicolas Anelka, threw a temper-tantrum and was said to have given his coach, Raymond Domenech, a severe vulgar tongue lashing.

The coach’s response was sending Anelka back home to France to sulk in his tears after the player refused to apologize and smooth things over but the French team’s Cirque Du Soleil act didn’t end there.

The following day when the team’s bus arrived to practice for their final game in this round, the players had a get-together and refused to take the field and train leaving the team in so much turmoil, their team director resigned to get as far away from the fiasco as possible.

The French a ‘bunch of quitters’ . . . sounds familiar doesn’t it? Where’s that 5-foot tyrant with the penis complex when they need him.

Back to the French FIFA fiasco, after the incidents, the coach ripped his players:

“I tried to convince them that what they were doing was an aberration, an imbecility, a stupidity without name.”

Without a name! We have plenty of names for that here in America and one is called being a bunch of pussies. And if the word ‘pussies’ offends you then insert ‘Quitters’, ‘cry-babies’ or ‘Dickheads’.

The Frenchies did return to work out on Monday prepping for their match against South Africa on Tuesday in their Group A match. The leapers need a win to hold on to any mathematical chance of moving on to the next round.

Oh BTW, France’s captain, Patrice Evra, may be stripped of his role as captain, a position he has held for just five games for initiating the mutiny against his coach.

“I haven’t picked the team yet, we will see tomorrow.” Domenech said. “It’s sad.”

For some yes it is, but for others it’s happiness and justice. There’s a reason NHL top draft picks like Eric Lindros refused to go play in French-speaking Quebec for the Quebec Nordiques team when he was coming into the league. NHL players were treated like scum and basically ignored in the Nordiques’ locker room and around the town since they were English-speaking people. The French have long ago earned their reputation for reeking arrogance, blow your vuvuzela to that!

I have travelled several countries in Europe including Italy, Greece, Croatia, England and yes France; the ONLY country I have ever been to where I was treated with total disrespect from the time I stepped onto their soil.

Back to the FIFA thing because it’s getting even worse, when Coach Domenech was asked if some players had told him they do not want to play the game, he stumbled around the question.

“It is a possibility that we will finalize [the roster] tonight with the staff to see what team we put in place.”

Well whatever team the French put out on the field, expect some sort of boilover from their embarrassing Circus act, and if you are like a lot of people, you will enjoy every minute of it. Bring on the Freedom Fries!

MORE FIFA World Cup:

It’s time for America to embrace FIFA horns – Sports Climax

My World Cup is Half Empty – Schuepp’s Scoop

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Posted in FeaturesComments (2)