What a Day

I don't know if I have anything particularly insightful to add, but what a day. First Landon Donovan scores in the 91ST MINUTE off of a Clint Dempsey, allowing the US to advance to the knock-out round of the World Cup. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are tied at 59-ALL in the fifth set at Wimbledon. The match has lasted 10 hours total; the fifth set has gone on for 7:06 alone. The second longest match in tennis history was only 6:33. And I think the guys only took one bathroom break today.

I'm excited. I'm exhausted. And I didn't participate in any form of international sport today. Let's hope tomorrow is just as fun.

World Cup Overload!!

So today is a special day in the world of soccer. It is the day that the United States announced the 23 man roster they will be taking to the World Cup ANNNNDDD it is the day that FIFA released their final rankings before the tournament begins in 15 days. So extra special goodness all around. And it kind of makes up for the US's defeat at the hands of the Czech Republic 4-2. Joy. Small rant: typical US soccer consists of 15 min of really good play and then 60 or so of playing back on our heels, crap play where we usually get scored on regardless of whether we're winning or not. All of this capped off by maybe, MAYBE the last 15 min of us playing hard. In the Confederations Cup last summer (the prequel to the World Cup) we amazingly outright beat Spain 2-nil and then went up 2-nil against Brazil only to let Brazil come back and win it in the last 20 min of the game. So yeah, the US has much to prove this year. "Endurance" is the key word as well as "depth" and "certain spark." Does the US have these qualities of winning teams? It's iffy.

Coach Bradley's 23 man roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann, and the favorite Tim Howard. (All play in England's top league the Premier League. In my opinion the best league in the world.)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (veteran), Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo (veteran), Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Oguchi Onyewu (veteran), and Jonathan Spector. (Bornstein is the only one who plays in Major League Soccer, everyone else plays abroad.)

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (surprise!), Michael Bradley (NOT surprising at all, he's Coach's son, but still a good player), Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey (veteran), Landon Donovan (MAJOR veteran), Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber (love him), Stuart Holden, and Jose Torres. (Donovan is the only one who plays in Major League Soccer, but it doesn't really count because this past season at Everton was in a word, breakout and crucial for him.)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle (small surprise), Robbie Findley, and Herculez Gomez (BIG surprise considering he came out left field and is tied for the most goals in the Mexican League, the only American to ever do this in a league outside the MLS.) Buddle and Findley play in the MLS.

Bradley's roster looks promising...except in the defense category.

Forwards are scrappy with speed and something to prove. After the horrific car crash in October that left Charlie Davie struggling with tough rehab and his remarkable recovery to being able to walk, run, and play again, Davies still wasn't included in the roster. That will put an interesting spin on things. With up-and-coming Gomez and outstanding, quick Jozy Altidore, we may have a shot at scoring some amazing goals. Edson Buddle's going to be an outside man. He has the ability, but can he perform considering his last international match with the US was in 2003...? This list could go either way.

Midfield is solid. Dempsey and Donovan will lead the charge, Beasley's experience will carry him only so far, and the work rates of Bradley, Feilhaber, Holden, and Torres will lend much needed coverage in the middle plus speed on the wings.

Defense is a sore subject with me. Onyewu has been a question mark since his knee injury 6 months ago (not to mention his less than stellar performance in the 2006 World Cup) and if last night was any indicator, our defense could be shaky. Look to Cherundolo, Bocanegra, and Onyewu to lead this back squad. DeMerit, Bornstein, and Spector haven't been completely consistent as of late, but they have chances to rise to the challenge. BUT, but, but, but we have one of the top 10 goalies in the world...Mr. Tim Howard!! Howard has experience, skill and fire that will save our butts. But he can only do so much... It's not the goalie's fault if you get scored on. It's the other 10 men on the field the ball went through to get to the goalie. It's like blaming your last batter for the strike out that lost the game or blaming your safety for the opponent's touchdown. Or something...

As mentioned earlier the words of this year's World Cup for the US are "endurance," "depth," and "certain spark." Overall it's a solid roster, our veterans are going to be heavily depended on, and the newcomers could pull some fantastic moves.

FIFA rankings!! No surprises...ugh.

Top 10:

1--Brazil

2--Spain

3--Portugal

4--Netherlands

5--Italy (defending champions)

6--Germany

7--Argentina

8--England

9--France

10-Croatia

*The top eight hasn't changed since last month. The US holds steady at #14.

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html

Slovakia! Slovakia! Slovakia? It feels like the very first time.

Hello! I am your guest blogger for this very special once in every four years event, the World Cup! OlympicSportsNews blogger has graciously allowed me to post and so I will be giving you news, tidbits, updates, and lovely facts about this year's 2010 cup in South Africa which starts in 23 days. To kick things off Slovakia is making headlines today. As with Korea DPR in 1966, the Republic of Ireland in 1990, Nigeria in 1994, Croatia in 1998, and Senegal in 2002 first timers have a tradition of performing outstandingly, beating soccer giants such as Italy, France, and Argentina, and making it to at least the quarter finals. Slovakia could be 2010's team. Since splitting off from former tough soccer competitor Czechoslovakia in 1993 (runner-up to Italy in 1934, runner-up to Chile in 1962, and European champions over West Germany in 1976), the Czech Republic has faired quite well in international competition and now it could be Slovakia's turn. Slovakia beat powerhouses Poland and the Czech Republic to finish first in their European qualifying group; and they could steal some press coverage and fans from hometown favorites South Africa. As Slovak captain Miroslav Karhan puts so well, "qualifying for the World Cup is important for the identity of our young nation." They're going to need all the luck of first timers as they go up against defending champions Italy in their group stage as well as tough competitors Paraguay and New Zealand. Don't count them out yet, things could be very interesting and the World Cup doesn't disappoint.

For more information on Slovakia click here:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1212824/index.html#slovakia+nothing+like+first+time

Sports Illustrated's World Cup preview edition hits newsstands today. Some of the more optimistic writers are now putting the United States higher in the rankings. In the World Cup anything's possible.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/toc/11423/index.htm


Next time: A breakdown of group stages and the list of past winners to give background to this amazing sporting event.

News and Notes

American Sarah Hammer set a world record of 3 minutes 22.269 seconds in the 3,000 meter individual pursuit in track cycling at the Pan American Cycling Championships.

Bob Bradley announced the 30-man roster for the US's World Cup Team. Standout forward Charlie Davies is not on the roster following an October car crash.

Pacman Jones signed with the Bengals. He'll fit right in...

2008 judo Olympic gold medalist Tong Wen tested positive for Clenbuterol and has been suspended for two years. The IOC will decide if she will keep her medal.

Ice dancers Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre officially retired.

Michelle Kwan, aka my favorite figure skater since she was a 14-year-old in 1994, gave a commencement address at Southern Vermont College. Videos can be found below.

Iran's Women's Soccer Team Will Play in Youth Olympics

The Iranian women's soccer team will be allowed to play in the Youth Olympics after agreeing to wear "a cap that covers their heads to the hairline, but does not extend below the ears to cover the neck." I am happy that they will be allowed to compete in the tournament, though I think the dress restrictions were ridiculous to begin with. In this case, I do not agree that a hijab is a safety concern; they are not particularly loose fitting and tuck into a shirt. It is just as much of a safety concern as a ponytail.

FIFA's other argument for banning hijabs is that they do not allow any religious symbols on the field. This argument has more bearing in my mind, but it is more important to allow teams to play than to ban them over clothing. I am glad that a compromise could be reached.

News and Notes

The IOC has supported FIFA's decision to bar the Iranian women's team from the Youth Olympics because the IOC believes it is up to individual governing bodies to establish and enforce rules. Though I can see why they would be hesitant to set a precedent, I still find this to be a very disappointing decision. I plan on exploring the nuances of this issue a bit more when my life calms down a little (probably sometime next week).

Caster Semenya's lawyers told South African press that gender test results have shown that she can compete as a woman. A more contextualized look at this is also coming.

The official investigation into Nodar Kumaritashvili's death concluded that there was no one cause.

Send good thoughts to tennis great Martina Navratilova who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Routine of the Day:

Soccer Team Out of Youth Olympics

The Iran women's soccer team has been kicked out of the Youth Olympics because players wear hijabs, which is against FIFA rules. The handbook specifically state that “basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or personal statements.” Frankly, this is bad politics for FIFA. While there would be potential safety issues with a loose-fitting hijab, a tighter one should cause no issue because it is basically like playing with longer hair. Unless Elizabeth Lambert is on the opposing team, that is not an issue. Thailand has been nominated to take Iran's place.

Butler lost to Duke for the men's basketball NCAA title. They had two shots at the end that almost went in but rimmed out. I love smaller schools, mid-majors, and good stories, so I definitely jumped on the Butler bandwagon. It would have been cool to see. Maybe posting Trent Dimas last night was wishful thinking for the Bulldogs?

In my favorite cult sport, curling, the American team currently sits at 2-3 in the men's world championships. Pete Fenson, the 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, is the skip for this team as well. Fenson owns Dave's Pizza, the best pizza place in Bemidji, MN. If you're in the area, you should go. I recommend pineapple pizza and cheese sticks.

News and Notes

My favorite story of the day, the case of the Chinese curler. Wang Fengchun, the team's skip, was not allowed to attend the celebration for Olympians in Beijing, but was instead sent immeadiately home to Harbin. The team manager Li Dongyan said that "It'll be very helpful to heavily slap him down him with pain," but that they hope to bring him back to the team if his attitude improves. Wang wore a USA cap on the plane home and his father is rumored to have had a heart attack upon hearing that his son had been sent home. Gotta love sports under communism.

American Margaux Isaksen finished second in the first modern pentathlon event of the season. Germany's Lena Schoneborn won the event. Christie Ramapone, the captain of the US Women's National Soccer Team gave birth to her second daughter on Saturday. Seven-time Olympic medalist biathlete Kati Wilhelm of Germany has decided to retire at the end of the month to focus on her studies. It is nice to see that, even in an era of professionalism, athletes still makes this decision sometimes. Bode Miller will miss the last week of the world cup season due to an injured ankle. Indoor track world championships begin on Friday.

After the compulsory dance, Russians Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov hold a three point lead over Americans Maia and Alex Shibutani at the junior world figure skating championships. Russians Ekaterina Pushkash and Jonathan Guerreiro are in third.