Tag: sports

Uruguay v England

This is the game where we discover if England are a second-rate or
third-rate team. I didn’t think they showed much against Italy, but
then, Italy is one of the premier defensive teams and it’s easy to look
hapless and out-of-sorts against Gli Azzurri. Uruguay is always underrated and forgotten, but they are always a talented and technical team that can give absolutely anyone trouble. I’m looking forward to this one.

And in the meantime, I’m going to sit down and enjoy Columbia v Ivory Coast. Couldn’t care less who wins, but it should be entertaining enough.

UPDATE: yep, it was entertaining. Drogba had a chance to pull it level, but Columbia wins without too much trouble. The African teams just are not at the same technical level as the South American teams.

FIRST HALF: Tough miss by Rooney, but the cross to Suarez and his subsequent header were things of beauty. Nice active match between two good teams who are focused on attacking the goal.

SECOND HALF: Lovely team goal and easy finish for Rooney. But Suarez plays the miss – ALWAYS PLAY THE MISS – and puts away the long ball from the goalie that Gerrard deflected backwards. A pure striker’s goal. You can always tell the true striker, because he a) shoots on goal, and, b) doesn’t drill it right at the keeper. A good win for Uruguay, although there is no way they should have left Alvaro Pereira in the game after he was kneed in the head by Sterling.

Japan vs Greece has been a snoozer. The Japanese simply have no idea how to attack, even though Greece is down to 10 men after their captain picks up a pair of stupid yellow cards. 

What we have here is an opportunity

The politically correct brigade has gotten the USPTO to remove trademark protection from the Washington Redskins for the second time:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled six federal trademark registrations for the name of the Washington Redskins, ruling that the name is “disparaging to Native Americans” and thus cannot be trademarked under federal law that prohibits the protection of offensive or disparaging language.

The U.S. PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a ruling in the case, brought against the team by plaintiff Amanda Blackhorse, Wednesday morning.

“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered,” the board wrote in its opinion, which is here. A brief explanation of how the Board reached its decision is here.

Setting aside the possibility that this decision will, like the 1992 case, be overturned, it is apparent that the anti-Redskins activists, most of whom appear to be in the media, are counting on Daniel Snyder to behave like the greedy monopolist of their fantasies.

The thing is, the value of Redskins-branded merchandise is relatively trivial compared to the overall value of the teams. Teams only make about $5 million per year from their merchandising and there is already a considerable amount of knockoffs available. For example, I once saw a guy lifting at a gym in Italy wearing a Minnesota Vikings shirt. The only sign that it was a knockoff was that the Vikings running back featured on the shirt was #33, and I knew the Vikes have never had a notable running back with that number.

But there is a very real potential benefit to Snyder and the Redskins in the loss of the trademark, because an increase in the production and distribution of Redskins merchandise could lead to the Redskins truly becoming America’s Team in a way that the Dallas Cowboys are not. And with or without the Redskins trademark, Redskins gear can’t be sold as Official NFL gear by anyone anyhow. But whether the PTO board’s decision stands or not, I think the loss of the trademark is very unlikely to create any significant pressure on Snyder to change the team name, despite the media’s bizarre portrayal of the decision as “a landmark”.

Holland v Australia

One wouldn’t expect the Socceroos to give the Oranje any trouble. But aside from Robben’s one excellent run – although seriously, if you’re a defender, why are you not committing for fear that Robben might pass off – the Netherlands have shown none of the flair they did against Spain. Australia is not only controlling the ball, Cahill’s volley off a 40-meter across-the-field pass is the goal of the tournament to date. It finishes 3-2, but Australia was more than respectable.

UPDATE: Chile is DESTROYING Spain. It’s 2-0 and the Chilean midfield is running circles around the Spanish players. Shades of France completely failing to defend its crown in 2002.

Brazil v Mexico

This promises to be an enjoyable game, as well as determining whether
the home team is a legitimate contender for the title or not. The
Germans look fearsome; the USA looks tactically competent, but
insufficiently athletic and technical to hope for more than a draw
against Portugal and a possible second-place finish on goal
differential.

Germany v Portugal

Great result for the USA, if they can beat Ghana today. Germany’s destruction of Portugal, complete with a red card and an injury, has Portugal reeling and should set the USA up nicely… if they can get at least one point from Ghana.

YOWZERS! 31 seconds in and Clint Dempsey nutmegs a defender, manages to pull the ball along with him, and slides it home off the post! 1-0 USA.

Switzerland v Ecuador

I’m enjoying the results to date. Here is hoping that the doughty Swiss can continue the theme. Hopp Schwiiz!

I didn’t actually think the English were bad, and Sterling is clearly a player to watch. But they simply weren’t strong enough to break through the Italian catenaccio-style defending. Some may find it boring to watch, but I’ve played with Italians long enough that I’ve come to respect the defense-first philosophy.

And Pirlo… what can you say about a playmaker still playing at this level at 35? It’s unbelievable. Remember, those midfielders are covering the equivalent of up to three 5k races in only 90 minutes, with only one break in the middle. Calcio isn’t as violent as MMA, NHL, or the NFL, but it is a brutal sport in its own way. There is a reason why even superlatively great players like Brazil’s Kaká are done as internationals at 32 and there is talk of England’s Rooney being washed up at 28.

UPDATE: Switzerland was robbed of one game-winning goal (seriously, what is it with these terrible assistant referees and their dreadful offsides calls?) but a PHENOMENAL slide tackle to stop a dangerous shot in the area, followed by a GREAT advantage call by the referee, led to a long counterattack and goal with 14 seconds left in injury time. 2-1 Switzerland!

England v Italy

I like Italy here, even without Buffon. I don’t think England is the first-rate team the English are so firmly convinced that it is. I don’t think Italy has it to win the Cup, but they should win the group.

We had our year-end 9×9 tournament today. What a disaster. I repeatedly felt like Lens watching Robben taking on two defenders and the goalie instead of simply passing the ball to the guy standing in front of the empty net. The important difference being that my teammates aren’t Robben and we scored only one goal in four games.

I put it down to too much World Cup watching. Everyone suddenly thinks they’re considerably better than they are. In any event, this would be your open World Cup post.

Now the fun begins

The Tokowitz releases the hounds:

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s team of lawyers has hired four private investigation firms to dig up dirt on the NBA’s former and current commissioners and its 29 other owners, said a person familiar with Sterling’s legal strategy.

Investigators were given a six-figure budget over the next 30 days to examine the league’s finances, allegations of previous discriminatory conduct and compensation to past Commissioner David Stern and current Commissioner Adam Silver, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday night on condition of anonymity. The person wasn’t authorized to talk publicly.

The person said the investigators also are looking into whether other owners made any off-color jokes, or racist or sexist remarks.

“The gloves are off, as they say,” the person said. “Have them dig up all the dirt they can find.”

Here is the interesting thing. If the NBA’s legal position is so strong, why was Adam Silver not only insistent upon Mrs. Sterling indemnifying it, but so quick to make a point about Sterling effectively suing himself? Sterling obviously decided to call Slender Man’s bluff.

It should be entertaining to see what happens if the dirt-digging team comes up with dozens of comments worse than anything Sterling was recorded saying.

Spain v Netherlands

Mexico v Cameroon is first, but I can’t imagine Mexico having too much trouble with the Indomitable Lions. The more interesting game is the defending champions beginning their title defense against one of the traditionally second-rate teams of the tournament. If Spain blows the Dutch away, they may have a real shot at toppling Brazil in Brazil, especially after last night’s lackluster performance.

I do enjoy the Spanish style, especially the way they stretch the field horizontally with their wingers. But I’ll be pulling for the Dutch on behalf of our friends and two of my teammates.

UPDATE: Not a bad game by Mexico. Two goals disallowed for offsides, one of them wrongly. The goal that finally won the game was an excellent example of two important attacking principles: 1) put your shots on goal and hit them hard enough to create a rebound if the goalie stops it, and, 2) don’t stand and watch your teammates’ shots, follow them in.

UPDATE 2: TOTAL FREAKING FOOTBALL! That was an EPIC devastation of Spain in the second half. Diego Costa did nothing except win an unmerited penalty (albeit one that was all but impossible for the referee to see was a clever dive) and David Silva was the only Spanish player worth mentioning. First the Dutch successfully attacked through the air, then Robben took over completely as the field opened up. Crushing the defending world champions 5-1 is an impressive start indeed.

World Cup kickoff

Brazil vs Croatia. The World Cup. The Groups. Discuss freely amongst yourselves.

UPDATE: Severely underwhelmed by Brazil. Croatia was the better team, and indeed, probably should have won 2-1 rather than losing 3-1. Instead, Brazil was gifted a penalty on a dive, then Croatia was robbed of a goal on a nonexistent foul before Oscar scored the finishing goal in injury time.

I did think Oscar’s kiddie-style toe-kick from outside the box was clever, though, as it caught the goalie completely off-guard. But it was surprising to see the that it was the Croatian midfield successfully playing keepaway, and not the Brazilians.