2010 NFL Preview

Are you ready for some football???  I sure am.  Tonight is the first game of the 2010 National Football League schedule.  First up is the Minnesota Vikings playing at the New Orleans Saints.  This game is a rematch of last years NFC Championship game that New Orleans won and then ended up winning the Super Bowl.  Both Minnesota and New Orleans had high powered offenses last year that scored a ton of points and you can expect more of the same this season with both returning a majority of their offensive firepower.  But this is just the start of what should be a great season of football.

Most people know that my team is the Green Bay Packers and this season I am feeling a bit antsy.  Last season the Packers lost in a shootout with the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs.  This year the expectations are extremely high, many are saying Super Bowl or bust.  I've spent the last couple days reading expert opinions and many have the Packers reaching the Super Bowl and some even have them winning it.  Most fans would probably love hearing that their team is good enough to make the Super Bowl, but to me that's a lot of pressure and can lead to major disappointments.  I did have the chance to see the Packers play in Seattle this preseason and they did look great, but you never know what will happen once the games start to count.  When you look at the Packers schedule you will see many tough, but winnable games.  Their first opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles, who are starting a new quarterback, Kevin Kolb.  The Packers on paper should easily win the game, but playing in Philly is never easy.  The Packers also play in a division that includes the Minnesota Vikings and Brett Favre and everyone knows that storyline.  Hopefully this season the Packers can go out and beat Favre.  The Packers will also play Dallas, the NY Jets, the Niners and New England, all Super Bowl contenders.

The expectations for the Packers are high and I would love for them to win the Super Bowl, but I'm not sure if I can handle another Super Bowl loss.  This is my favorite time of year and I will enjoy watching how the season plays out.  Hopefully all will work out and the Vince Lombardi Trophy will be coming back to the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin.  GO PACKERS!!!!!

World Cup Final

Ladies and gentlemen, today is the day we have been waiting for, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.  For the past month the best soccer the world has to over has been on display in South Africa.  Today it all comes down to a historic match between the Netherlands and Spain.  Neither team has one the World Cup before.

To reach the finals, the Netherlands had to win Group E, then beat Slovakia (2-1), Brazil (2-1) and Uruguay (3-2).  All games were close and extremely enjoyable to watch.  The Brazil game wasn't 100% watchable since I wanted Brazil to win, but as a soccer fan it was a good game to watch. The leading scorer for the Netherlands is Wesley Sneijder who currently has 5 goals, putting him in a tie for the Golden Boot, which goes to the leading goal scorer throughout the entire World Cup.

For Spain to reach the finals, they had to win Group H, then beat Portugal (1-0), Paraguay (1-0), and Germany (1-0).  Looking at that road to the final, you can tell they had a tough road.  Portugal was ranked the 3rd best team in the world and Germany was probably the hottest team in the World Cup.  Spain also has a player on their team that is tied in the lead for the Golden Boot, David Villa.  Villa has actually scored 5 of the teams 7 goals.

When you look at both teams, it's hard to determine which one will win the game.  Spain has been winning low scoring games showing that they are strong defensively.  Netherlands has been showing that they are strong offensively by winning high scoring games.  So which style of play will win when it all matters?  I put my money on Spain, I mean they do always say defense wins championships.  But I also feel that Spain has the quality of players with David Villa and Fernando Torres to score plenty of goals to win the game.  I have a feeling this game will be a classic and go down as one of the greatest World Cup games ever.  No matter who you want to win, enjoy the last game in what has been a great month of soccer.

USA vs Ghana 2nd Half/Extra Time

I don't know what Coach Bradley said at halftime but whatever it was it fired up the US soccer team.  The USA came out for the 2nd half with an energy and fire that was missing in the 1st half.  They were able to start getting decent shots on goal and put Ghana on their heels.  In the 62nd minute, the US finally caught a break when Clint Dempsey was fouled in the penalty box.  This allowed Landon Donovan a chance to take the penalty kick.  Donovan waited for the ref's whistle and once that sounded he kicked the ball and hit the right post, the ball sneaking into the goal.  Finally the US was on the board and the score was tied 1-1.

For the rest of the game the US tried hard to score again, but nothing went their way.  Ghana seemed content and didn't really have any chance at scoring.  Since nothing was going the American's way, the game ended in a 1-1 tie, but since this was the knockout round their would be another 30 minutes of play and if it was still tied after that, the game would come down to penalty kicks.  Three minutes into the overtime play, the US defense once again gave up a ball and Ghana was on the run and scored a goal that should never have happened.  This goal completely deflated the US.  They seemed to lose all the energy they had and Ghana was able to control the game.  The final whistle blew with the score Ghana 2, the US 1.  The US players dropped to their knees in despair while the Ghana players jumped in the air in celebration.

To me the US weren't that impressive during the World Cup.  They never played to their potential until their backs were against the wall, whether it was being down 2-0 to Slovenia or waiting until the 90th minute to finally score against Algeria.  Playing that way will catch up to you sooner or later and it did against Ghana.  Hopefully in the next few years the US will learn to start a game and not allow early goals and maybe score some themselves.  Heres to 2014 where hopefully the US can show the world they are ready to play with the big boys like Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Germany and Brazil.

USA vs Ghana - First Half

Unless you have been living in a cave, you know that the USA has advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Their opponent in the first knockout round is Ghana, the only African nation left in the World Cup.  Ghana and the USA have only played once and that was in the 2006 World Cup when Ghana defeated the US in the last game of group play eliminating the USA.

The USA apparently loves giving up early goals in games.  They did it against England in their first game.  Slovenia in their second game and were inches away from giving one up against Algeria in their third game.  So is it really surprising that the USA gave up a goal in the first 5 minutes of the game?  The goal wasn't even that pretty, the defense just gave the ball away near midfield and Ghana was able to counter and score.  From what I can tell that goal hasn't even woke up the US yet.  They are playing sloppy, giving up cheap fouls and have only really had one scoring chance.

The first half of this game has been extremely disappointing and boring.  I hope the US coach is able to give an inspiring halftime speech because they aren't playing like they want to win.

2010 FIFA World Cup: Week 1

The first week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is almost over.  So far the first week of action hasn't been a disappointment.  Here are some of the highlights so far.

USA-England:  There was a lot of hype leading up to the game and I'm not quite sure the game lived up to it.  England was able to score a goal within the first 4 minutes which caused me to feel that it was gonna be a long game.  The US defense seemed like they didn't want to defend England giving them plenty of chances to score other goals.  The US offense couldn't get anything going.  Luckily in the 40th minute the US was given a gift when the goalie for England misplayed the ball and let it bounce of his hands into the goal.  When I saw Clint Dempsey kick the ball and it hit the goalies hands I thought the ball was stopped so I looked away and missed the ball slowly roll into goal.  There were a couple of chances for both teams in the 2nd half, but neither side was able to capitalize.  The game ended in a 1-1 draw giving both teams just 1 point in group play.  Next up for the US, Slovenia on Friday.

Spain-Switzerland:  Spain is a team that many feel have a chance to win it all.  In my ESPN Bracket Predictor, I selected them to make it to the semifinals.  Switzerland isn't necessarily a bad team, but when going up against Spain, you would expect Spain to dominate.  When you look at the stats of the game Spain appeared to have complete control.  Spain possessed the ball for 63% of the game and had 24 shots compared to Switzerland that had only 8 shots.  But in the 52nd minute Switzerland was able to put one of their shots in the goal and pulled off what many believe to be the biggest upset of the first round.

Germany-Australia:  Australia has a little place in my heart since I took them to the World Cup championship in the 2006 FIFA World Cup video game on the Gamecube.  Unfortunately they had to play the mighty Germany in their first game of the 2010 World Cup and boy to Germany give it to Australia.  Germany dominated the game and scored 4 goals.  The most by any team in the first series of games.  It was hard to not feel bad for Australia, they were dominated in every phase of the game.  Germany looked great and potentially dangerous for any team that has to play them after group play.

Group of Death:  The first big game in the Group of Death was played between Ivory Coast and Portugal.  Both these teams know it will be hard fight to advance since Brazil is in their group.  I had some pretty high expectations for this match but of course was disappointed when the game ended in a scoreless draw.  Either team played exceptionally well.  In the other game within this group, Brazil put on a fairly impressive performance against North Korea, winning the game 2-1.  The first goal of the game for Brazil was scored by Maicon and so for has got to be the best goal of the 2010 World Cup.

These are just a few of the things that have happened so far.  I hope to bring more updates about the World Cup soon.

2010 FIFA World Cup Preview

Today beings the greatest month in sports that only happens every four years, the FIFA World Cup.  This time the World Cup takes place in South Africa and it is the first time the World Cup has been held in Africa.  The World Cup is made up of 32 nations that go through an extensive qualifying process.  Those 32 nations are then separated into eight 4-team groups, where only two teams from each group advance.

One of the most anticipated matches of the World Cup is the United States versus England.  That takes place tomorrow, June 12th.  I think the game will either end in a draw (tie) or England will win by one goal.  One of the best groups in the World Cup has to be Group G and is made up of Brazil, South Korea, Ivory Coast, and Portugal.  It's hard to say what two teams will advance from this group but I believe it will be Brazil and Portugal.

When it comes to predicting a champion I have to go with my favorite team, Brazil.  There are other teams that are capable of winning the World Cup though.  I wouldn't be surprised if Portugal, Spain, or Argentina walk away champions.  Keep checking back throughout the next month, I plan on watching as many of the games as I possibly can and will try to give my opinions on what happens.  Also I will be posting the bracket I picked over on ESPN.com in their World Cup Bracket Predictor.

Enjoy the next month watching the greatest sport in the world!!!