Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 7/10 & 7/11

Are these the final Pando! or Gordos?  Only Sammy knows.  In the meantime, read what he had to say about the 3rd place match and the ugly final match.

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 7/7

Sammy felt it was an odd semifinal.  Read what he has to say!

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 7/6

What makes a shot a PANDO?  Read Sam's recap of the 1st semifinal.

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 7/3

What did the Brazil papers have to say?  Also, do you agree with Sammy's Pando! All-Star team thus far?  Read all about it!

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? DOUBLE FEATURE!

Both games PANDOs!  What a great day for soccer.  Read Sam's recap here.

And as a BONUS, Sam recaps the USA's performance and why he is on Fantasy Island and who he thinks will start in 2014...

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 6/29

Did Sammy think the PAR-JPN match was a gem?   What does he mean by "entertainment chasm"?  Read all about it in his 24th issue of Pando! or Gordo?.

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 6/28

Is Sam impressed by NED's win?  What headlines did he pull from the English newspapers?  Find out!

Sam's Musings on direction of USMNT...

Sammy writes (and don't forget his Pando!orGordo? daily newsletter):

FOMI ON THE NEXT US MNT MANAGER .. .. If there is one thing that the cataclysmic ENGLAND disaster, and to a smaller extent the RUUD GULLIT experiment, shows us is that you MUST have someone familiar with the US Soccer environment at the top, or near it .. .. I do think in 2014 the US MNT players will need to hear a new... voice, but it would be criminal to allow Coach Bradley's knowledge, expertise + work ethic go to waste > Make him a very lucrative offer to become a TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, or DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS .. .. That then allows you to get a younger, vibrant coach with a grasp of the INT scene .. .. Stick an experienced head next to him on the bench (Sarachan?) along with someone like Marco Etcheverry, Cabrera, Sorber or Jones .. .. If we can keep somene like Coach B in a position to oversee the program, then USSF can gamble a wee bit on a young coach .. .. Any suggestions?

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 6/27

Has Sam recovered from yesterday?  Does he believe the refs are doing great ;-)  Read all about it!

Sam's Pando! or Gordo? 6/26

How is Sam handling the USA defeat?  So bummed that there wasn't even a BBC ticker today?  Check out his latest newsletter now!

BTW, just like that, HWCI.com is back up.  Also, let's welcome Albert (A to the Z is his author name, O Fabuloso is his entry nickname) to this blogsphere with his first post today.

'Hi Bianca!' .. .. huh? .. ..

ohhh -- now i get it .. .. Sammy

Sam's Pando! or Gordo? 6/24

Some great matches today... what did Sammy have to say about Italy's performance and how did Lindsay Lohan get a mention??

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 6/23

How delirious was Sam on the USA's win?  Read all about it!

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 6/22

Sammy, no mention of the numerous Gordos by Nigeria??  Here's Sam's latest (pdf)...  Will be getting these to html tomorrow.

Also, Sammy sent a funny... At least we're not as bad as France...

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo? 6/21

PDF file here if you can't wait...

Goals, Goals, Goals!

Paraguay's 2 goals made the total in the second round of matches 26 in just 11 matches, which is one more than the entire first 16 games (25).  Teams are now playing for the win after a very conservative first round of play.  The day ended with 32 goals in 13 matches (2.46 goals/match) with 3 to go.

FIFA really needs to have a review of every yellow card.  Kaka's second yellow was atrocious and continues the poor refereeing.  But FIFA could overturn it, but FIFA is what FIFA is.  Luckily Brazil has qualified and don't need him for the final match.  Coin Tossed and I Hate Vodka Alot are the only two who didn't put Brazil through.

The latest Pando! or Gordo? is now online and don't forget his weekend special.  Latest standings and results are posted.

UPDATE:  Group F scenarios...

Group F       
    P W L D F A GD Pts
PAR 2 1-0-1 3 1  2  4
ITA 2 0-0-2 2 2  0  2
NZL 2 0-0-2 2 2  0  2
SVK 2 0-1-1 1 3 -2  1

***Group F Scenarios
~REMAIN: SVK-ITA, PAR-NZL
~NOTE: PAR>SVK, ITA=PAR, ITA=NZL
y-PAR W or T&ITA T/L or (GD/GF/DL) T&ITA W
y-(GD/GF/DL) ITA W&PAR T or (GD/GF/DL) W&NZL W
y-NZL W&ITA T/L or (GD/GF/DL) W&ITA W
x-PAR W/T or L&ITA T or (GD/GF/HH) L&SVK W
x-ITA W or T&NZL L or (GF/DL) T&NZL T
x-NZL W or T&ITA L or (GF/DL) T&ITA T
x-SVK W&PAR W/T or (GF/GD/HH) W&PAR L

Pando! or Gordo? Weekend Edition - Futbol is Wonderful

Sam has provided a little extra for us.  The latest newsletter!

Sam's Latest Pando! or Gordo?

Just six days after praising the refs he has made a 180 thanks to a card-happy ref  in GER-SRB and inconsistent and poor ref in USA-SLV.  Read the latest which I have titled "Hold Your Man!"....

Status Quo

Nothing changed in the standings as there were two ties and everyone picked Brazil (except for Coin Tossed).  Corner Kick Kid, Dime 23, I R Winner! Part 2, LeftyRodriguez, and Rivas all have 7 points (of 8 possible).  Japan's win (which I can't believe I didn't even pick them in my 2nd entry at least -- boy I thought they really had no chance) yesterday prevented anyone from being perfect.  So, the three teams  who would be good bets to not score a goal in the World cup, have all scored (Japan (W), New Zealand (T), and North Korea (L)).  Which leaves powerhouses such as France and Portugal goalless.  Was eating at O-Nami's (all you can eat, better than average sushi!  Recommended!) watching the 2nd half and when North Korea scored, there were some cheers coming from the other room.  I wonder if I should report them in :-)  But at least North Koreans can actually see one highlight from the match from state-controlled TV.  Although Brazil's first goal could've been a GK mistake since he got beat nearside, but in reality, it's Brazil and every indication was that Maicon's only option was to cross and the GK played the percentages.  Whereas the English and Algeria's GKs misplayed the ball and the Paraguay's GK misjudged his jump, the PRK GK just made a calculated decision that didn't work out (what a wicked shot by Maicon though).

Sam's Pando! or Gordo? is up to nine issues already and you can always find the latest by clicking on the Pando! or Gordo? tab above.  Also, on that page you can read Sam's 2006's newsletters (called "Clap! or Crap?").

Seeing Red

Well, the hwci.com site is still down, though it looks like email might now be coming through.  Case in point, here is Sam's latest Pando! or Gordo? analysis.  In the meantime, the Results, Standings, and Distribution pages have been redirected so those green tabs will still work.  Speaking of standings, Dime 23, I R Winner! Part 2, LeftyRodriguez, and Rivas are perfect with 5 points.  Coin Tossed, as the name implies, is last with 1 with both of my picks (Futbol Fabone Four and Zulupalooza) tied for 2nd to last with 2 points.  Where are the Italians with their match-fixing skills?  I need them :-)

All 3 matches today featured red cards with the team receiving one losing all three.   And Group C featured another GK blunder, this time by Algeria's GK who tried to do a volleyball move as the easy save turned into disaster and puts Slovenia (picked by 44) on top of Group C putting pressure on the English and Yanks.  Ghana (picked by just 18) got the first PK of the tourney on an embarrassing handball by favorite Serbia in the box.  Incredibly, there was another dumb handball, this time putting Slovenia Algeria down a man.  Germany (picked by all but one) finished fast and furious in a 4-0 pounding of the Socceroos (:-().