Comments | kevin_standlee: What a Weird Pair of Games

kevin_standlee

What a Weird Pair of Games

Jun 17, 2006 14:14

Because we needed to get over to the Seaside Convention Center (about 50 meters from the hotel) this morning, I only saw the first part of the Ghana-Czech Republic match this morning, but I saw Ghana score the first goal. Lisa was bemused by me whooping and hollering over it. I was even more excited when we came back just before noon and I saw ( Read more... )

world cup, soccer

Comments 8

debgeisler June 18 2006, 01:47:12 UTC

Heh. It was sounding a lot like the last few weeks of the baseball or American football season here earlier, as we did the math. Mike started that earlier (even before the US game was televised, so we didn't know about the tie), and it's just gotten worse.

Being a sports fan (especially, as he is, a Cubs fan) means spending a lot of time saying, "well, if this happens, then that happens, then someone kills a seagull with a pop fly, we could end up in the wildcard slot."

thirdworld June 18 2006, 06:56:33 UTC

I'm just glad that an African team won a game finally, after 2 draws and some losses. African teams are better than their showing and would be much better if FIFA spent some of those absurd amounts of money they are earning on football development programs in Africa. I was rooting for the USA against Italy and was far more impressed with their play this time around. They needed to play like that the last game. I expect that Ghana vs. USA is going to be a cracker, with everything to play for, but the USA will have to look out. Ghana look the better team.

thirdworld June 18 2006, 07:28:45 UTC

I must add....

( ... )

kevin_standlee June 18 2006, 07:31:18 UTC

Rub it in, why don't you?

Go To Bed, Grant.

thirdworld June 18 2006, 07:33:57 UTC

I was annoyed too.

tanngrisnir June 18 2006, 11:36:54 UTC

I missed a chunk of this, why did the two US players get sent off? (I saw the Italian red card, and that was completely justified.)

kevin_standlee June 18 2006, 15:40:07 UTC

The first US player to be sent off was a direct red for a spikes-up tackle; however, I don't think it was severe enough to be a direct red; probably a yellow for dangerous play.

The second sending-off was a second yellow on what I thought was a fairly ordinary sliding tackle. I didn't think it was a cardable offense, although it was probably a foul. At most, the ref should have told the player (who was, remember, carrying a yellow card already), "Final warning: one more foul and you're gone." Not all fouls are created equal.

I agree that the original red card to the Italian player was justified. An elbow to the face drawing blood is pretty nasty.

tanngrisnir June 18 2006, 18:39:00 UTC

Ah, they are fairly strict about both spikes-up tackles and sliding tackles. Understandable since both can result in injury to the other player. It can seem harsh if they were not egregrious examples of the offences.

This is, after all, a competition where one of the Argentinian players got a yellow card for putting the ball in the net because he had not heard the whistle when he was offside.