Title with a pun on the word draw
14 Comments Published by Cardillo on December 4, 2009 at 12:03 PM.
Hey gang.
Trying a different approach, since ESPN is on air for three hours.
During the duration of the draw, I'll just throw up some bullet points, meandering thoughts, etc. Consider it a modified live blog. Or I'm just too lazy to set up a Twitter account.
After that, and I post some other stuff elsewhere, I'll chew on some U.S. analysis. F
As always feel free to chime in.
* Love the inclusion of Efan Ekoku on the ESPN panel. He always brings a rational side to Premier League telecasts.
* Steve McManaman? Sure he must absolutely looooooove Bristol.
* Bob Ley? "Teary" Henry? Huh?
* Ummm....that ESPN promo with a healthy Oguchi Onyewu running with the ball at his feet. Thanks to rub it in.
* Yes!!! Lionel Messi's feet still taste like timber is a crackling fire.
* Not sure which American-centric term I dislike the most, Team USA or EPL?
* Mark it down right here. The Thierry Henry handball imbroglio will be the best thing that happens to France ahead of the World Cup aside from Raymond Dommenech finally getting fired. Les Bleus have simply too much talent and to rile them up. Don't you think reading literally thousands of stories how the French don't deserve to be included in the tournament is only going to galvanize them, kind of like the Italians in 2006 with the whole Juventus match-fixing scandal.
* One thing I haven't read in the last two days about the draw is that pretty much EVERY scenario sets up for tough groups for every team. You really can't spread out three creampuffs (South Africa, New Zealand and North Korea) in every group.
* FIFA is probably going to rue not adding a pair of officials behind the goals, but then again since nearly every ref seems incompetent, would two extra necessarily be a good thing? To save yourself a lot of headaches just channel your inner Mike Francesa and realize FIFA is "lawst."
* Only took 30 minutes for a David Beckham sighting. Isn't it an indictment on England that Goldenballs is still being considered? More importantly, does anyone in America care?
* And why is John Harkes talking about England? Can we get a cutaway to McManaman trying to contain his laughter? Eisch.
* This is putting me to sleep.
* Question -- what's the only thing more insufferable that a know-it-all American soccer fan? Answer -- a bar full of them at Nevada Smiths.
* Googling the girl in a Plavix commercial and finding out she was Roger Sterling's daughter in 'Mad Men' might be the highlight in the last 20-odd minutes. (Elizabeth Rice, if you care.)
* Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon, but I zero interest in anything that doesn't have to do with sports.
* Mad props to Jerome Vlacke. The double-face kiss on Charlize Theron took major stones. Well done sir.
* Zzzzzzzzzzz
* Is Charlize Theron reprising her role from 'Arrested Development'? Where is Mr. F?
* Away we go....
* Group A -- South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
* Group B -- Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
* Group C -- England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia.
* Group D -- Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
* Group E -- Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
* Group F -- Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
* Group G -- Brazil, North Korea, Cote D'Ivoire, Portugal
* Group H -- Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland
* Wow...Mexico huge break getting South Africa. Dammit.
* Double wow...US/England. Should be awesome. ... Let's not poo-poo England though. Man-for-man they are still better than the U.S. In comparison, yes, England isn't as bad as Brazil/Spain but really, it's still England.
* Not sure which will be more tedious, the 1776 references or the 1950 for US/England.
* My heart skipped a beat when I thought the Elephants were landing with the U.S. Phew.
* Algeria...thank god. Not bad, but still, a ALL TIME TRAIN DODGE ... for the moment.
* Through the first three pots, nothing looks exceedingly difficult, pending the Brazil/Cote D'Ivoire group. England might in fact have the biggest beef, getting the U.S.
* Attaboy Efan, "It's not a hard group, Algeria and the U.S."
* Alright! Alright! Alright. I love Slovenia in 'FIFA 10' but the U.S. avoided a nightmare. This broke as best as it could.
* So Brazil/Portugal/Cote D'Ivoire...who did the Elephants piss off? Two straight brutal draws?
* Italy, jeez did they pay off Sepp Blatter?
* Pencil in Spain for 3-0-0.
* Looking at a map of South Africa, the U.S. caught another break since its three venues -- Rustenberg, Pretoria and Jo-Burg are all close to each other. (I think I might actually try going now, assuming I get tix through the USSF.)
* Overall, pretty balanced. The fact that the potential No. 1s in France/Portugal landed with South Africa and Brazil/North Korea balanced out the groups.
* Maybe we get put to bed the idea that FIFA is against the U.S. To think FIFA could rig the draw, with the particulars pulling the balls is like saying the Los Angeles PD arranged an elaborate plan to frame O.J. Simpson. Oh wait...
* Be back in a little bit. Feel free to chime in.
* One more thing, I want to start a movement to retire the term "Group of Death." It just seems so played out, doesn't it?
* Coup for ESPN ... FABIO F'N CAPELLO. Too bad his English lead him to stereotype jokes. Well, at least not the type of stereotypes seen on "Jersey Shore."
* Biggest shock of the day, Bob Bradley admitted it was a favorable draw.
* Martin Tyler in HD...it just broke my television.
Trying a different approach, since ESPN is on air for three hours.
During the duration of the draw, I'll just throw up some bullet points, meandering thoughts, etc. Consider it a modified live blog. Or I'm just too lazy to set up a Twitter account.
After that, and I post some other stuff elsewhere, I'll chew on some U.S. analysis. F
As always feel free to chime in.
* Love the inclusion of Efan Ekoku on the ESPN panel. He always brings a rational side to Premier League telecasts.
* Steve McManaman? Sure he must absolutely looooooove Bristol.
* Bob Ley? "Teary" Henry? Huh?
* Ummm....that ESPN promo with a healthy Oguchi Onyewu running with the ball at his feet. Thanks to rub it in.
* Yes!!! Lionel Messi's feet still taste like timber is a crackling fire.
* Not sure which American-centric term I dislike the most, Team USA or EPL?
* Mark it down right here. The Thierry Henry handball imbroglio will be the best thing that happens to France ahead of the World Cup aside from Raymond Dommenech finally getting fired. Les Bleus have simply too much talent and to rile them up. Don't you think reading literally thousands of stories how the French don't deserve to be included in the tournament is only going to galvanize them, kind of like the Italians in 2006 with the whole Juventus match-fixing scandal.
* One thing I haven't read in the last two days about the draw is that pretty much EVERY scenario sets up for tough groups for every team. You really can't spread out three creampuffs (South Africa, New Zealand and North Korea) in every group.
* FIFA is probably going to rue not adding a pair of officials behind the goals, but then again since nearly every ref seems incompetent, would two extra necessarily be a good thing? To save yourself a lot of headaches just channel your inner Mike Francesa and realize FIFA is "lawst."
* Only took 30 minutes for a David Beckham sighting. Isn't it an indictment on England that Goldenballs is still being considered? More importantly, does anyone in America care?
* And why is John Harkes talking about England? Can we get a cutaway to McManaman trying to contain his laughter? Eisch.
* This is putting me to sleep.
* Question -- what's the only thing more insufferable that a know-it-all American soccer fan? Answer -- a bar full of them at Nevada Smiths.
* Googling the girl in a Plavix commercial and finding out she was Roger Sterling's daughter in 'Mad Men' might be the highlight in the last 20-odd minutes. (Elizabeth Rice, if you care.)
* Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon, but I zero interest in anything that doesn't have to do with sports.
* Mad props to Jerome Vlacke. The double-face kiss on Charlize Theron took major stones. Well done sir.
* Zzzzzzzzzzz
* Is Charlize Theron reprising her role from 'Arrested Development'? Where is Mr. F?
* Away we go....
* Group A -- South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
* Group B -- Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
* Group C -- England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia.
* Group D -- Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
* Group E -- Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
* Group F -- Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
* Group G -- Brazil, North Korea, Cote D'Ivoire, Portugal
* Group H -- Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland
* Wow...Mexico huge break getting South Africa. Dammit.
* Double wow...US/England. Should be awesome. ... Let's not poo-poo England though. Man-for-man they are still better than the U.S. In comparison, yes, England isn't as bad as Brazil/Spain but really, it's still England.
* Not sure which will be more tedious, the 1776 references or the 1950 for US/England.
* My heart skipped a beat when I thought the Elephants were landing with the U.S. Phew.
* Algeria...thank god. Not bad, but still, a ALL TIME TRAIN DODGE ... for the moment.
* Through the first three pots, nothing looks exceedingly difficult, pending the Brazil/Cote D'Ivoire group. England might in fact have the biggest beef, getting the U.S.
* Attaboy Efan, "It's not a hard group, Algeria and the U.S."
* Alright! Alright! Alright. I love Slovenia in 'FIFA 10' but the U.S. avoided a nightmare. This broke as best as it could.
* So Brazil/Portugal/Cote D'Ivoire...who did the Elephants piss off? Two straight brutal draws?
* Italy, jeez did they pay off Sepp Blatter?
* Pencil in Spain for 3-0-0.
* Looking at a map of South Africa, the U.S. caught another break since its three venues -- Rustenberg, Pretoria and Jo-Burg are all close to each other. (I think I might actually try going now, assuming I get tix through the USSF.)
* Overall, pretty balanced. The fact that the potential No. 1s in France/Portugal landed with South Africa and Brazil/North Korea balanced out the groups.
* Maybe we get put to bed the idea that FIFA is against the U.S. To think FIFA could rig the draw, with the particulars pulling the balls is like saying the Los Angeles PD arranged an elaborate plan to frame O.J. Simpson. Oh wait...
* Be back in a little bit. Feel free to chime in.
* One more thing, I want to start a movement to retire the term "Group of Death." It just seems so played out, doesn't it?
* Coup for ESPN ... FABIO F'N CAPELLO. Too bad his English lead him to stereotype jokes. Well, at least not the type of stereotypes seen on "Jersey Shore."
* Biggest shock of the day, Bob Bradley admitted it was a favorable draw.
* Martin Tyler in HD...it just broke my television.
Labels: 2010 world cup, USMNT, world cup draw
I have been wondering? What do Messi's feet taste like?
Has Becksy learned NOTHING from ridiculous World Cup haircuts past. This isn't the tournament yet, but DB has to know that this footage of him with mohawk will linger as long as a greeezy Italian ponytail or Fatnaldos forhead half-moon.
Any thoughts on ESPN sending Simmons' buddy to Nevada Smiths? Seems like showing the dedication of soccer fans in this country might be insightful to the general public (oops, the general public is NOT watching a tourney draw in the middle of their workday).
How did this event become a bigger spectacle than the Grammy Nominations Concert?
The crazy girl in the Progressive Insurance commercials (her name is apparently Flo) was/is ALSO on Mad Men. She played one of the operators.
Yes, this IS more interesting than the BS draw pre-game.
Do South Africans think Charlize has 'sold out' because she has eradicated all traces of her native accent. Or is that a plus, because she no longer sounds like an 'oppressor.'
Beckham was much more careful with his Charlize kiss. Posh is watching.
That female SA soccer player IS pretty hawt.
Why pretend to draw the first ball with SA on it. Isn't that lanting the idea of a fixed draw?
Can you tell the shots of Dunga in the audience from the shots of Capello in the audience?
Wow, that was almost the best possible draw for us. No excuses now boys. Brazil and Ivory Coast got screwed. Who did Italy bribe to get that group? The rest of the groups look fairly balanced and competitive.
No completely weak groups. Group G looks the toughest, but still with one weak side (North Korea).
The blokes on SkySports are giddy with the group England has drawn. They say nice things about the US but they are trying to not giggle with joy.
The banter between Charlize and the FIFA SecGen was all kinds of awesome trainwreck. That being said, she looked phenom.
I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about the ESPN coverage. Bob Ley is class, but Lalas is a douchecanoe. The Nigerian International seems on the panel seems grounded, logical and insightful, i.e. the anti-Tommy Smyth. We needmore of that. I'm still figuring out what McNanaman is bringing to the table.
I really really like that we get England first. We're better off as underdogs -- and if overperform (or they choke) we'll be set getting through the second round. And even if we don't get a point against them -- there are points to be taken from Algeria and Slovenia (as compared to getting Brazil and Portugal in the GoD.)
Why does CdI not go in Group C?
Wtf?
I think our region as a whole lucked out. Honduras has a tough game with Spain, but with a little luck can get points from Switzerland and Chile and advance.
Mexico is bascially a seed in Group A behind France. As long as they dont screw it up against Uruguay, they might even have a shot at winning that group with a good result against France and would then be able to aviod Argentina in the first knockout round.
As for US, any points against England would be great, only to avoid Germany who should win their group going away. Slovenia actually reminds me a bit of the US though, the sum of the parts is better then the individual, but they are the one EU team without a "name" star.
For all the talk about US not being a seed, having CONCACAF have a good tournament, might get some people to back off the criticism of it.
On another note, how many goals does North Korea give up?
Now on Sky, they just got done phone interviewing DMB from Glasgow and now a satellite hook-up with Max Bretos (?) for FSC. Lots of extra US coverage on Premiership coverage between now and the end of the season. That is look for Spector's American-ness to get mentioned on every WestHam match.
I am avoiding ESPN for the onion-bag factor.
--RE: Why does CdI not go in Group C?
Because the South American seeds (Argentina and Brazil) can't get a South American opponent from Pot 3, the first two African nations drawn go to Argentina and then Brazil. They talked about it VERY briefly before the Pot 3 draw if you were watching the telecast.
From Anonymous - "As for US, any points against England would be great, only to avoid Germany who should win their group going away"
uhh... what?