Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 28 (July 13 - Match Day 25)

> Former US uber-phenom FREDDY ADU, now 25YO, was on trial at Dutch side AZ ALKMAAR the past six days but was told today he will not be offered contract. ..  

Match 64: GERMANY v. ARGENTINA         

Date: Sunday July 13, 2014 

Venue: Estadio do Maracana, RIO DE JANEIRO

PANDO! or GORDO? Pando! (anything would be better than the '10 Final)

  DRESSING ROOM CHALK TALK:

GER > It's good news if you see GER sending balls in from the flanks (77 crosses: 28 left-49 right) - If they are in control of the match they keep the ball in the middle of the pitch .. .. Their offensive build-up usually ends up with a shot in the box - Of their 79 shots, 53 were in the box .. ..

ARG > As GER attacks from the R/Flank, ARG attacks from the L/Flank (107 crosses: 71 left-36 right) .. .. It will be good news if they press to the byline (69 attacking set-pieces; 41 for GER) .. .. Of their 83 shots, they are not afraid on the long-range assortment, 36 of their 83 shots have from above the box .. ..

It all started a bit wonky for GER didn't it? SAMI KHEDIRA pulled up lame in pre-match warmups and CHRISTOPH KRAMER had to be shuffled into the first-11 at the last minute .. ..

ARG allowed GER to do as hey wished in two-thirds of the pitch, dispossessed them in the attaching-third and then countered .. .. When ARG got to the byline there was

Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 27 (July 12 - Match Day 24)

> MANCHESTER UNITED has stopped 2014-15 season tickets sales at 55,000 after a crunch to buy tickets due to the arrival of LOUIS VAN GAAL. ..  

Match 63: BRAZIL v. NETHERLANDS 

Date: Saturday July 12, 2014     

Venue: Estadio Nacional, BRASILIA

PANDO! or GORDO? Gordo?

Again, there is a place for the WC CONSOLATION MATCH, no matter what the media says > It affords the opportunity for a side to win the last of their seven Festival matches and go home with a little bit of hardware .. ..

And, there is nothing wrong with a 90-minute kick-round the day before the Final .. ..

1st  With a pleading, encouraging Brasilia behind them, the poor BRA defence reared it's head again with a terrific release ball from ROBIN VAN PERSIE setting ARJEN ROBBEN free and was hauled down by THIAGO SILVA who was lucky

Issue #9.4.1 "Indoor Soccer? : Striker7"

Thursday, July 10, 2014 

HOST HUMILIATED WHILE ITS RIVAL MAKES FINALGandhi United & JB take the lead; No one guaranteed money

LIVERPOOL, NY (smt) -- Four goals in six minutes?  Really?  Haven't seen stuff like that since following my old Anaheim Splash indoor soccer days where goals would come in bunches all the time (if you take out the 30-45 seconds for goal celebrations, this is probably more like 4 goals in 4 minutes).  Soft 1A-Brazil got routed by an opportunistic 1G-Germany team, 7-1, to throw away their chance to avenge a '50 loss on home soil.   The host teetered throughout the tournament needing a gift PK call vs Croatia, were punchless vs Mexico, and needed PSO vs Chile.  But utter collapse?  Crying?  There goes our first Major League Soccer player to win the World Cup as Julio Cesar was peppered for 7 goals (5 in the first 29'), mostly due to lack of a defense in front of him.  I guess when your team is made up from children's TV shows

Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 26 (July 9 - Match Day 23)

-> NED forced out of their team hotel earlier in the week after outstaying their contract; And which team went out in PKs? Coincidence?.. ..  

Match 61: NETHERLANDS v. ARGENTINA  Qtr                    

Date: Wednesday July 9, 2014   

Venue: Arena de Sao Paulo, SAO PAULO

PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!

Neat, cheeky game of cat-and-mouse by both sides with ARG looking more dangerous early on without being exposed, or broken down .. .. Both sides probed without either side turning the ball over needlessly .. ..

1st  ARG gout out on the flanks when they could, pumping in 6 crosses (1 left; 5 right) with EZEQUIEL LAVEZZI doing most of the labor on the R/Flank .. .. ARG forced 7 attacking set-pieces and kept NED at bay for most

Rio not only place with bad weather

There may have been severe thunderstorms in Rio (prelude to match outcome?) but while watching the BRAvGER match on my Moto X, suddenly everyone's phone started to beep and buzz.  With GER up an incredible touchdown (7-0 for those futbol not football fans), there was a tornado warning where we were working in Liverpool, New York.  This is just the 2nd time I remember such a warning, as the first was when I was driving in San Antonio and heard it over the radio (initial thought:  awesome!  where is it?; secondary thought:  maybe I should get to my hotel quickly) about ten years ago.  Pretty cool (don't think any tornadoes actually touched down) since we were in a safe location but to think if it were a close match, I was going to watch the game at a local bar which wouldn't be as safe.  Thanks, Germany, for piling it on and keeping me safe!

UPDATE: At least four people died in the two converging storms over the Syracuse area.  Prayers to the families who lost loved ones.

Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 25 (July 8 - Match Day 22)

-> A massive lightning storm hit the RIO beach area right at KO of the BRA v. GER match, knocking out power to most of Copacabana Beach ~~ a sign, perhaps?.. ..  

Match 61: BRAZIL v. GERMANY  Qtr             

Date: Tuesday July 8, 2014         

Venue: Estadio Mineirao, BELO HORIZONTE

PANDO! or GORDO? Gordo?

DID THEY, OR DIDN'T THEY?

Did BRA lay down: THEY DID

Did BRA lay down on purpose: THEY DIDN'T

Did BRA prepare enough: THEY DID

Did BRA prepare enough with decent competition: THEY DIDN'T

Today was the 'perfect storm' answer to whether

Issue #8.3.2 "Alive Again : QATAR 2022-Oh Wait!!!"

Archive

Monday, July 7, 2014 

      SEMIFINALS A BATTLE OF EUROPE VS SOUTH AMERICA

Correction to possibilities mean 18 can win money; Bonus prize details announced

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (smt) -- If I'm writing from Minneapolis, this can't be good.  While my flight is delayed until morning (now past midnight, if a pilot can be found), it did provide a nice opportunity to officially roll out the Bonus Prize as we wait for the semifinals in a battle of Europe vs South America.  In years past, I used the Winningest Group as the Bonus Prize but always meant to do Winningest Region (analogous to Winningest Conference in our HWCI NCAA pools).  So that is what has happened.  This means that 43 can still win the Bonus.  Actual possible outcomes will be run after the semifinals are played.  The way the $40 Bonus will  work is that when you picked your Round of 16 bracket, you subliminally were choosing which region would do well in the knockout stage.  Whether you had Spain winning it all or Germany, it still meant you thought a European team would win the tournament.  I've tabulated everyone's picks and the result is now in the updated standings. 

The rules for Bonus1 are

Issue #7.3.1 "The Usual Suspects : WC Glory Days"

Archive

Saturday, July 5, 2014 

                   SOCCER SUPERPOWERS DOMINATE FINAL FOUR

No change at the top; just 4 can win title

CERRITOS, CA (smt) -- The 3 traditional soccer superpowers (10 titles) took early 1st half leads and held on to advance while always the bridesmaid 1B-Netherlands needed the penalty kick shootout (PSO) to advance to the semifinals.  3-time champion 1G-Germany used a 13' goal by Mats Hummells to quell 1E-France, 1-0, to advance to their 4th straight semifinals.  Five-time champion 1A-Brazil used a 7' goal by Thiago Silva to hold off their 2nd straight South American opponent, 1C-Colombia, 2-1, to advance to their 1st semifinal since 2002.  Two-time champion 1F-Argentina used a 8' goal by Gonzalo Higuain to then frustrated 1H-Belgium, 1-0, to make the semifinals for the first time since 1990 (really, no ARG since we started our pool 16 years ago?).  Three superpowers used the early goal to get comfortable and relatively easily held on (ARG went a lot of the 2nd half without a shot on goal until Lionel Messi's stoppage time attempt that was saved).  However, BRA lost Neymar to injury for the rest of the WC and Silva picked up a silly yellow card and will miss the semifinal.

In the most interesting match, three-time runners-up 1B-Netherlands could not

Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 24 (July 5 - Match Day 21)

> BRA Superstar NEYMAR is ruled out of the remainder of the WORLD CUP with a fractured vertebrae.. ..  

Match 60: ARGENTINA v. BELGIUM  L8                  

Date: Saturday July 5, 2014       

Venue: Estadio Nacional, BRASILIA

PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!

1st  Both sides probed early on, feeling each other out, but in the 8th minute a deflected R/Flank cross fell perfectly to GONZALO HIGUAIN in M/Box and he sweetly volleyed the R/Footer > L/Left for an amazing 1-0 lead so early on .. ..

BEL didn't threaten from close in and only after

Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 23 (July 4 - Match Day 20)

Stellar USA center-back MATT BESLER has intense interest from English Premier League & German Bundesliga clubs after a phenomenal WC performance.. ..  

Match 53: FRANCE v. GERMANY  L8            

Date: Friday July 4, 2014 

Venue: Estadio do Maracana, RIO DE JANEIRO

PANDO! or GORDO? Pando!

1st  Both sides probed early, not looking to go bananas in the 88% humidity, GER looked somewhat shaky early with a couple of poor, unforced TOs > Perhaps due to the flu going around the GER Camp?

But, in the 13th minute, it was the indivisible GERs that struck first .. .. Off a FK from TONI KROOS, MATS HUMMELS made a R/Box run and his flashing header came off the bar and into the net .. .. FRA did try to

Issue #6.2.1 "Chalk! : Belgium Craft Beer"

Archive

Tuesday, July 1, 2014 

               ALL GROUP WINNERS ADVANCE; EXCITING EXTRA TIMES

EEChick, The Mighty Mobelfakta, and TheSpecialOneLA tied for 1st; 30 still alive

LIVERPOOL, NY (smt) -- For all the criticism that soccer is the beautiful game and any team can win since it's so low scoring, for the first time ever, all 8 Group winners advanced to the Quarterfinals.  But they all got there in exciting ways with 15 of the 18 goals scored in the Round of 16 occurring in the 2nd half or extra time including two games where 3 goals were scored in the 30-minute extra time.  Luckily the endings have been great so with my limited time to catch games, if I can catch the last dozen minutes or so, it's great.  Whether I'm watching listening to the penalty kick shoot-out (PSO) on the Kidz Spot's speakers on their grand opening, watching our neighbors to the south implode on my Moto X in one of  many ice cream shops in Cooperstown, or watching Team USA rally at a local red-white-and-blue bar with my co-workers as a nice break of a 14-hour workday, this has been a great World Cup.

The first day was all about South America as four of the five teams played.  2B-Chile rallied to tie host 1A-Brazil but in the PSO, BRA jumped to a

Sam's PANDO! or GORDO? # 22 + USA Grades (July 1 - Match Day 19)

MLS Expansion Side, ORLANDO CITY FC sign former Brazil Captain KAKA as their first big-name signing.. ..  

Match 55: ARGENTINA v. SWITZERLAND  R16           

Date: Tuesday July 1, 2014 

Venue: Arena de Sao Paulo, SAO PAULO

PANDO! or GORDO? Gordo?

1  As ARG has looked like they were playing their way into the Festival, they again looked very pedestrian in the first-45 .. .. In their opener v. BIH, they didn't attempt a single cross in the 1H, and while they hit in 7 balls early on, none of them looked very appetizing .. ..

On the other side of the pitch, SUI did carve out a couple of nice chances early on, especially in the 27th minute when XHERDAN SHAQIRI got loose on the R/Byline and his perfect ball > GRANIT XHAKA at the penalty spot ended up being a tame roller right to GK SERGIO ROMERO .. ..

SHAQIRI set JOSIP DRMIC loose with an instinctive release ball and DRMIC was alone, bearing down on ROMERO, but his soft L/Footed chip landed harmlessly in ROMEROs arms .. .. One would think that SUI won't get many more good chances and they have to sink one, or else .. .. 0-0 @ HT .. .. 

2  SUI must have decided to play for ET/PK coming out on the pitch for