大象传媒

This afternoon's match against Italy will be a defining moment for US soccer. Either the team shows how well it can play on the world's stage, or it'll suffer another embarrassment and will be the laughing stock of the world.

Here, in the US, the majority of people are unaware that the World Cup is on. However, among die-hard soccer fans, the tournament is getting bigger and bigger.

ABC/ESPN in the States, so far, has seen a TV ratings increase of 62 percent compared to the 2002 World Cup.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

I have enjoyed watching the world cup but the match between the USA and Italy was a gross miscarriage of justice. I feel the referees should be brought to book - some of them are spoiling the World Cup. This particular referee should not be allowed to referee another match. He is totally incompetent. I am fed up of watching players rolling around and getting free kicks for it. For goodness sake let us have some really fair referring. The match belonged to the USA. They lost it through very very bad referring. I am English and proud of it but please let us have fair decisions all round and be allowed to sit back and watch some good football!!!!!!!

What a day for Group E ... the true "Group of Death." No easy games in this group, and it's coming down to the wire.
I'm predicting Italy 2-1 over the Czech Republic, and the USA 1-0 over Ghana, sending Italy and the USA into the round of 16.

Too bad the referee inserted himself into the match so much today ... the two red cards for the US were excessive, and robbed the fans of a more balanced and exciting second half. But all in all, an amazing match.

Nice job USA ... you redeemed yourself! And congratulations, Ghana. What an upset! What a fantastic group!!

Its sad to see this very important match(Italy/USA) was spoilt by poor decisions by the referee. A USA win would have left them with a better chance of qualifying for the next round and Italian win would have send them through. Now USA face Ghana and its going to very hard to win that one given how good Ghana and it looks very likely now that one of Italy/Czech Republic will miss out.

Anti-Americanism rears it's ugly head at the world cup. What a Farce!!! The USA was the far better team today but where denied by the Urguayan Referee. It's become very clear that the world does not want the USA at this party. Shame on Urguay, Shame on the world cup, and shame on Germany for hosting this fradulant event!!!!

I can see why people beat on the referee here, but you need to keep one thing in mind. FIFA tells them to be very hard and not tolerate any fouls at all. This is known. To the players as well. And at least the second US foul was with outstreched legs from behind into the players feet. In the German league you'll get a red card for that as well, because the player has no chance to react and might get seriously injured. The other two red cards were... well, let's say orange. But given the hard FIFA line, a red is kind of to be expected. Anyway, the US played very well and even with 9 against 10 had some chances. So no reason for them to let their heads hang down. Now they'll need to win against Ghana with as many goals as possible and they'll make it into the next round. Should be easy, eh? Just kidding... :-)

Gerry, I understand you're upset, but I don't think, this has anything to do with Anti-Americanism. And I have not heard anybody here in Germany to not want the US here. Actually several people expected them to easily make it into the next round. So relax, sit back, take a deep breath and think again. They might still make it anyway. At least if they fight like today against Ghana (but without some stupid fouls).

Gerry, let me first tell you that I can understand your disappointment.
I agree that your team would have deserved better. Their performance was more convincing than the Italians', even when they were understaffed.
In addition, however, I would like to say that your statement that the world does not want the USA at this party is incorrect. The USA are as welcome at this party as is Iran. Well, to be honest, quite a bit more so.

Your statement is a blow in the face of a host country which, as far as I have been able to observe thus far, has been praised by people from all over the world as superb hosts.

Your "shame"-barrage should fall back on yourself. It implies a global anti-American conspiracy, if I am not mistaken. And this is not very far from paranoia.
Things are a bit different, though, once we assume you have a strong identification with your government and its foreign policies. Large parts of the world, and in particular the western world, too, have been strongly opposed to your government's foreign policies for a few years. If you call that anti-Americanism you are either falling prey to the propaganda mechanisms of your own government's machinery or you are deliberately cheating. I am not the one to judge here - you do it.
Sorry, I may have been carried away here a bit. But so much is for sure: Blaming the Uruquayan (I know you US folks are generally poor in spelling, but at least you ought to be little bit more diligent in dealing with foreign countries (at least spelling-wise)) referee here is simply - ahemm -- ridiculous. Period.
Yours truly, Rolf

I thought the referee was fair with the cards, given the instructions from FIFA about tackles from behind etc etc. As an American, and a fan of the American team, I think they can be imensely proud of their effort today playing one man down for 45 minutes. Michael was right in both posts above. Now for a great result against Ghana!!

Gerry Scott didn't need to post his comment 3 times to show the world he has a well-developed persecution complex. The US played well today but both their red cards, like that of Italy, were quite justified. Get over it Mr Scott, there is no conspiracy!!

I watched the USA v Italy game and really enjoyed it . I thought maybe the Eddie Pope sending off was slightly harsh . McBride clearly interfered with the goalkeepers vision for the disallowed goal so that was a correct decision . I certainly don't think there is any conspiracy against the USA and I think the Germans have been fantastic hosts so far . The USA can still qualify for the next round so don't despair .

Can someone please tell me why Kaiserslauten is called 'K-Town' by the US military? It's very confusing. Perhaps it's something to do with the khaki that they wear there?

Thank you in advance.

Anti-Americanism? Unfair refereeing?

Get real!

The US did nothing to endear themselves to anyone tonight (in a tournament that has been marked by sparkling attacking play and a refreshing absence of cynicism). They came out with their "We're going to war!" attitude...confusing brutality for passion and commitment.

The straight red was justified for a tackle that could have broken Pirlo's ankle quite easily, and Eddie Pope's second yellow was clear cut. No conspiracy here folks, just ill-tempered, ill-disciplined hacking.

I used to enjoy watching the American team, but unless they rid themselves of this Neanderthal style I won't be sorry to see them go out to a Ghanaian team who showed (today) just how football should be played.

The referee was abvoiusly trigger-happy with his cards. The game belonged to the USA, despite missing two players who were sent off undeservedly. The American team has redeemed itself today. The US played the match with the will to win, unlike the most recent perfomance against Chezkoslovakia. Unfortunatly, the refree chose to cross the line and tilted the balance aginst them. I don't agree with Gerry that Anti-Americanism is the motive behind the refree's behaviour. He acted that way because he is a bad refree. Someone on ESPN mentioned that he was sanctioned by FIFA before for bad calls. If true, then FIFA has a resonsibility to fire him. Go USA.

It wasn't pretty, but the US tie today was a defining moment for the US men and US soccer. A brave and valiant display by the US, and they thoroughly deserved the point.

Ladies and gentlemen, maybe Group E is The Group of Death? All four teams playing on Thursday have an excellent chance of going through to the next round.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Oh my goodness, how one silly posting can get folks' panties all in a wad.

While Jerry decompresses a bit (and I think we can all forgive him for hitting the post button three times ... even Brasil and Argentina hit the post excessively now and then), can't we avoid the overgeneralizations regarding American's spelling abilities, Rolf? . . . Especially considering you also flubbed the spelling of the very word you (rightfully) called Jerry out on! For the record, it's Uruguayan Rolf, not Uruquayan, and i'm pretty sure it's "ahem" not "ahemm" ... See how silly this starts to get when we begin grading everyone's posts for grammar and spelling?

Can't we all just get along and enjoy what has been, so far, a joyous World Cup? Nice job to Germany as hosts and the millions of fans who have flocked there and appear to be in great spirits and very well behaved.

As for the red cards, in my humble opinion, the two against the US were excessive. One perhaps, against Pope, was warranted. I'm surprised Arena put him back in in the second half. I predicted to my partner during halftime that Pope would get a second yellow card and be ejected--I could just sense that was where he was headed.

I also do not understand why Arena didn't use his remaining substitution. Putting in some new legs to run with Beasley might have given the US the ability to surge forward more during the latter minutes and maybe grab a goal. Plus, Reyna appeared to be really tiring.

Ah well, you know what they say about hindsight.

Cheers everyone! Enjoy the rest of the Cup!

I think Kaiserslauten is called "K-Town" for the obvious reason that it's spelled with a "k" and K-town is easier to say than Kaiserslauten.

Sort of like how we Americans call Provincetown P-town.

However, this is just a guess on my part, having never been there.

I am brazilian and i have to say i was horrified with this game. Ugly, ugly game!!! I would have liked to see talent and skill on the field but i saw brutallity and disorganisation. The referee was right about the cards and unfortunately he had to be tough and control the agressiveness before it got out of control. That was not "jogo bonito". Professional athletes do not feel proud about hitting their opponents. The americans were persistent but they did not score. At the end they would have lost the game.

OK - My orignal post was too harsh and posted in the heat of the moment (although I only posted once). I apoligize to all Germans as you have been exemplar in your hosting of this event. I still maintain that the referee was absolutely ridiculous in the sending off of the two Americans And in negating the 2nd half goal. I have watched every match of this world cup and have not seen another player sent off for a similar infraction. Having traveled outside of the USA over 100 times in the last 10 years I know first hand the sting of anti-Americanism but still should have been big enough not to accuse the referee and of others on this site of this. I'm sorry to everyone on 大象传媒 for this!!!

I think you forgot about Tostao, Rivelino, the 70's brazilian team. Those are the atheles people should mimic. It is not a matter of have energy to run all over the field. They should be able to finalize well the play and score. The americans did not score a goal. Get a dvd of the 70's final and compare. That was a game to remeber, not this. And i will not lower my standard.

Can someone please tell me why Kaiserslautern is called 'K-Town' by the US military? It's very confusing. Perhaps it's something to do with the khaki that they wear there?

No, it's something to do with the K-aiserslau-Town.

As to the red cards: Don't forget that the first player who got sent off was Italian. At this moment all players should have been warned, but instead of playing more cautiously and exploiting their numerical advantage some US players got carried away with the heated atmosphere and commited unnecessary fouls. At first glance the red cards seemed excessive, but the referee was very close to the action, and the replays showed that he was right.

No other players have been sent off for a similar infraction because no other players commited a similar infraction.

The red cards may have been a little hard but they can certainly be justified. The US played great most of the match but the two fouls that led to the cards where stupid and unnecessary. The referee may have been able not to give at least one of them. But the point is that a good player should not do these fouls to begin with.
The declined goal was clear offside.

In my opinion the US overall where the better team that lost because of two stupid mistakes. And those where the mistakes of the players committing those fouls - not of the referee.

As far as I know the reason for K-Town is that its easyer to pronounce (and write). Kaiserslautern has several large US millitary bases. As far as I know the name K-Town was always common among the US soldiers.

I agree wuth those who said that this group was the true 'group of death'. The Italians looked good at the last world cup, but not great- and in the end the problems of ill-discipline and in fighting amongst team members (which are all too familiar to the Italians) became very evident. The czechs? too old, this was really obvious today when they were vastly out-paced by the ghanaens. The u.s.a. should be happy with their result- most teams in this world cup would be satisfied with a 1-1 draw against Italy, especially when considering the fact that the states finished the game with 9 men. For various different reasons the teams in this group are far more evenly matched than most people would have thought before the tournament started.

Go USA! It may not have been pretty but a point is a point. Before the cup began I was thinking a win over Ghana and a point from one of the others might be all it takes and I felt the US could do that. This point from Italy is huge after the defeat against Czechoslovaka.

Italy was not in top form today (thankfully). They should have created more chances and should have scored with the ones they did. They were caught offside too many times and could not leverage the extra man. Too many balls sailed across the box with no blue shirts to connect.

As for the US, I think they held their own and did us proud. They were pretty dominant in the first half and did not seem intimidated (much) by the Italians. Maybe they should have tried more first time shots rather than dribbling or passing through the Italian defense.

The two red cards were killers though. The second half was a different game altogether. The US were just holding on for the last half hour. But fair play to them 鈥� they did hold on for that all important point.

I think the US can beat Ghana on Thursday and Italy can beat Czechoslovakia. The US can still play better. Donovan, McBride, Reyna, and Beasley just aren鈥檛 making an impact 鈥� maybe third try will be the charm. I wonder if Ghana will come out a little flat against the US on Thursday after their emotional high today.

Keller deserved to be man of the match and made up for his game against Czechoslovakia 鈥� in my humble opinion, while all three Czech goals were excellent, I think he was a little out of position on two of them and could have made the world class saves he is capable of and the US needs in the tournament 鈥� like the ones against Italy today.

The red cards spoiled the game. I don鈥檛 necessarily think the ref was wrong but I want to see 11 versus 11. There has to be a way of dealing with infractions that punish the offending player and not the whole team and the fans watching.

For us here in the US, a special thanks to ESPN and ABC and their televising of all 64 games. I miss the sunrise to sunset coverage I grew up with in Ireland. The only good thing about America鈥檚 ambivalence towards football (aka soccer) is that it is easier to not hear the scores when you want to watch a recorded game.

With regard to which group is the true "Group of Death," I've felt ever since the draw was announced that Group E was the most well-balanced group of all, not Group C. In fact, I think Group B has gone exactly according to plan, with Argentina and The Netherlands clearly the cream of that crop.

If you use the FIFA ratings, Group E is BY FAR the group with the lowest overall average. Here's the total FIFA ranking by groups (adding up the ranking of all four teams) and the corresponding average FIFA rating of each group (dividing the overall total by four, naturally!)

Group A: 113, average rank, 28.25
Group B: 106, average rank, 26.5
Group C: 88, average rank, 22
Group D: 91, average rank, 22.75
Group E: 68, average rank, 17
Group F: 84, average rank, 21
Group G: 133, average rank, 33.25
Group H: 105, average rank, 26.25

So the rankings of the groups, from most competitive to least competitive, based on FIFA rankings, would be:

Group E
Group F
Group C
Group D
Group H
Group B
Group A
Group G

So I guess I'm just curious as to why folks were touting Group C as the "Group of Death" ... it just seems so obvious to me that Argentina and The Netherlands were not going to struggle against Ivory Coast (FIFA ranking 32) and Serbia and Montenegra (FIFA ranking 44), whereas Group E featured the Czech Republic at #2, the US at #5, Italy at #13, and Ghana at #48. And knowing what we now know Ghana to be capable of, this is just an amazingly strong and balanced group.

Anyway, just food for thought. I can't wait for Thursday!!!

As an American I am sorry for the ridiculous anti-american post ( i do hope the world realizes that more than half of america is opposed to american foriegn policy) but that is so besides the point...the Yanks played their hearts out tonight despite a few crazy calls and deserved all the points they could get...the group of death has been fun to watch all around and the culmination should be more fun than ever....I hope the USA can advance far and kill the "america hates soccer" theme once and for all

The first red cards on the US were yellow cards at best for making dangerous plays on the ball. Considering this was Pope's second he should have been, sent off, I think the foul barely warranted a yellow, but the Italians are pretty good fakers and whiners. How many got carried off in a stretcher just to come back on? I saw an American walk off bleeding and walk back on to finish the game. I was proud of the performance the Americans posted still looking to attack down a man, but I was really disappointed with the way the math degraded thanks to a ref.

As an American who's been following the World Cup since 1982 (used to be hard to do here in the States and involved lots of listening to games in Spanish) and has been following the US Men's Team since 1990, I have a comment about anti-Americanism and about lack of US interest in football/soccer. The comment is it's gotten much, much better. The obliviousness/ignorance towards the US team has gotten consistently less and pretty much seems to me to be in line with the team's performance. We deserved to be ignored pre-1994. After 1884, we deserved a sideways glance. After 2002, we deserved some respect but still haven't given Europeans much to go on in terms of assessing how well we'd do. We don't play meaningful games in Europe much, and we've lost scads of them in the past. And the Czech game showed we're capable of continuing that trend. Until we start showing some consistency against European teams, we deserve to be acknowledged but not feared. Interestingly, the Czech game was the first time I'd seen a European opponent that had clearly not taken the US lightly and who had clearly scouted us. As for the interest here in the States, people are talking about the World Cup. All the games are televised. The sports talk radio shows all had world cup segments all morning. True. They were still on about the NBA finals and the US Open, but they were talking about the US soccer team. And I've never really heard that before. They refused to talk about the World Cup in 1994 when it was played here! So it's getting better.

On another note, why didn't Arena use his third sub? Afraid if someone would get hurt, we'd be down to 8?

Why is everyone carping about the ref? We didn't put the ball into the goal, despite lots of chances. That was not the ref's fault. The only one that helped us out there was an Italian.

Oh, and this is clearly the group of death. I'm sure the Italians would love to trade Serbia for the US and the Czechs would love to trade the Ivory Coast for Ghana.

What we have in Group E is a delightful, suspenseful mess. Who will show up on Friday? The US team who played the Czechs? The Czech team who played Ghana? The Italian team that played the U.S? The Ghana team that played Italy?

It may be the official view of the "neutrals" that the various and sundry sendings-off in today's disgracefully officiated match were all "justified," but we all know the "neutrals" (largely a bitter and cynical European-- and largely English -- bunch of hack football writers and commentators) all resent a Yankee intrusion into their beautiful game.

Lets put the boot on the other foot. Lets say this scandalous sending-off debacle occurred to the Italian side in a match against, say, Ghana. The outcry and caterwauling from the Italian press and football establishment would have reached a deafening pitch by this point, with the Italian association head calling for an official investigation into the background of the referee, and other such outpourings of anger and emotion.

The point is, it is Good that the American football public remain bitter and angry about Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda's travesty against the game which took place today, just as it is fine that the residue from the anger of the handball non-call against Germany in 2002 still resides in our minds. We don't need, nor should we rely upon, the views of a dispassionate football media establishment, who posses a widespread distrust of an American intrusion into international football culture, to play any role in our feelings about what transpired in Kaiserslauten earlier today (or yesterday, depending on where you are).

The criticism of the Americans as having employed "brutal" tactics and adopting a cynically physical style of play is also severely unjustified. For starters, the American's approach from the beginning was far more positive and productive than the Italians, and the willingness of Italian players to throw themselves to the ground should not be confused with harsh play by the USA. The Italian free kick which led to their goal was drawn when Totti -- a proven dramatist in his own right and an individual who may posses great skill but I will never respect -- was guilty of egregious embellishment after minor contact.

It will be interesting to see where this growing excessive booking scandal progresses... if certain people are not careful, it may come to foul the tournament.

Jake, with respect, your attitude is very stereotypical of a chip-on-the-shoulder American, believing the whole world is out to get them because they are clearly better than everyone else. I don't believe this stereotype is true, having visited the USA myself, but unfortunately you have just given credence to it.

As an Englishman, I thought the USA battled hard last night. It was a very gritty encounter, the type one often sees in English football against two very physical, very aggressive football teams, on a cold and wet winter's evening. It's all part of the atmosphere of football.

I despise the introduction of politics into a sport. I find it difficult to support England because I can't stand the fact that it is all too often linked with a "we won the war" mentality. It is totally unnecessary. There is no need to read a deeper meaning into what is just a football/soccer game. I simply make my mind up based on what happened on the pitch. So I would think of myself as a "real" neutral.

The USA had a great chance to win this game, but the reckless challenges, when they had already been shown that the referee was not going to tolerate them, were wholly unnecessary, and arguably cost them the game. Agreed, it is not nice for the fans to see a game reduced to 10 v 9 players, as it makes the game far too disjointed, but I don't think the ref had a choice in the circumstances. I certainly wouldn't use the words "brutal" with regard to the US mentality.

There are definitely problems in football, and most of them do come from the players' willingness to throw themselves to the ground at the faintest touch. I agree, the number of cards given out in this tournament is excessive, and it is slowing down the pace of the game; players daren't try sliding tackles any more, which is a shame as football is not a non-contact sport. Too many players spend their time looking for fouls in advantageous positions, hoping to reduce football to a mere exchange of set pieces. This is very true of the way England plays. This is not good for the game.

Overall, I wouldn't say there was bias in the referee. He had little choice but to send off all three players, but having gone two men down, the USA resolve to hold on for the draw was superb, and they were very unlucky not to get more out of the game. The USA are just as welcome at the tournament as any other, and I for one hope they qualify for the knockout stage so that the sport of soccer continues to attract more attention in the USA!

Jake - calm the language down please. The P-word and the W-word used in your post above may not mean much in the US, but here in the UK are considered swearing and would be sensored on our tv networks.

I don't think the referring had anything to do with anti-americanism, in fact watching the replays and anaylsis I saw nothing wrong with the referring. Referring has been pretty consistent this time round and similiar tackles have been given red cards in other games.

Nor do I believe there is any resentment at american "intrusion" into the beautiful game. What intrusion? Now if you were playing in our Euro's that would be an intrusion, but this is a World Cup, the team are there because they came through the qualifiers just like everyone else (except of course Germany, as hosts, but they no doubt would have qualified anyway). If your good enough, you get to play, simple as that.

Yes the Italians roll around at the slighest touch and scream for cards to be given out (as do players on other teams) which is a disgrace, but they would do that against any team they played, not just the US.

Having said that, I did actually want the US team to win last night. On their performances so far, the Italian team is over-rated.

No comment on Jake and all the others, who show some major paranoia here. Not worth it. Regarding K-Town: For the first GIs who were there, the name (if said fast in the local dialect) sounded like K-blabla-town. So they just kept the part they could easily understand. And it stuck. Back to the game: The US team needs to forget about this game (except the fact that they need to be careful with the referees) and focus on the next one, because they HAVE to win that one as high as even possible.

A word for Gerry and all the US fans. Football and the World Cup is not the Olympic Games. Politics do not enter into it. We all only want to see good entertaining talented football. The team that gives that whether the US, Iran, Brazil or whoever will get the genuine football fans support. We don't want to know your politics we want you and everyone in the world who loves the game as friends and footballers.

Those of you who consider themselves students of the game might recollect the teachings of Charles Hughes; a former assistant director of football for the F.A.
His book (Soccer: Tactics and Skills.) and collection of video tapes, IMHO, has not been bettered.
Chris Coleman of Fulham obviously has it on his office shelf, judging by Bocanegra's sterling performance against the Italians. Did you especially notice he did not try any of those stupid and wasteful sliding tackles. All they do is draw fouls and puts you, the player flat on your back and out of the game. Far better to stay on your feet and get between your goal and the ball or at least the other team's player. The least that will happen is you might be called for an indirect free-kick for obstruction. Carlos Bocanegra gave a masterful performance with nary a serious foul. I hope Arena was watching. A sliding tackle should only be made when level with the opposing player and with your outside (to the player) foot, hooking the ball as you do so. Alex Parker on Everton was a master at this tackle and always got the ball and kept possession, to boot. (pun intended).

The Italian players obviously did cross-overs (running across the opponents path in order to be tripped deliberately) in front of the American players, and whatever was necessary to draw fouls in the same area of the pitch that Beckham likes. He obviously learned to do that quite well at The Ferguson Academy. The referees just aren't intelligent enough to spot what is going on. My advice to the American players is to stay on your feet. It's the best way to draw fouls yourself.

When corners are taken, why give yourself a headache (or an occasional elbow!)? Stay 1 yard inside the edge of the penalty area. This will do two things. If the opponents still want to put their arms around you the referee might actually spot the infraction and you get a penalty kick. The corner-kicker should place the ball where it can do some good instead of putting it in the goalie's hands: 40% of goals are scored from dead ball set pieces. Do something different in practice. And please Bobby: stay wide at a corner. Count the number of balls that go over the sheep and run out of play. Get yourself a few goals from the overkicks.

As far as the way the USA played against the Italian side, Hurrah!!!
I think they'll make the semi's.

Against Ghana: be bold! The Coach should withdraw himself from the team and not impede the player's thinking or concentration. Hughes' called this method of thinking for the player dangerous. "...the player may rely entirely on the thinking of the coach and cease to think for himself." That's what happened to Beasley against the Czechs (pp26 of the above mentioned book.)

As an American living in England it's great to see the comments about the match. I was hoping to hear a bit more on ITV but the discussion quickly turned to whether or not Rooney would start!

Not to be pedantic-but the team in our group is the CZECH REPUBLIC not Czechoslovakia. They officially became separate countries in 1993. Czech Republic qualified and Slovakia (or the Slovak Republic) did not!

katie

Re Post 16 by George
George, you've sent me blushing. Can I take that stupid "spelling thing"
back? And I will be practizing the word " U r u g u a y " ... Maybe even " a h e m ". Ahem.

A few notes first:
1) I apologize for the language.
2) I'm not talking politics... if you must know, I stand far outside the political mainstream in the country, but that has nothing to do with any of this.
3) I never said the "World is out to get us," I merely stated what I suppose could perhaps be an inaccurate perception about the European and English football media not respecting the American game, which leads to...
4) Yes, I do have a chip on my shoulder, because I live in a country where I am constantly reminded that this game I love so dearly, "soccer," is a "pussy" sport for "girls." I wish I were exaggerating, but I am not making this up. There is a political disdain for football in this country, and it has even been labeled as an unwanted "European, socialist" influence by the many provincial xenophobes who live in this otherwise great nation.

As for tactics, I play mainly in the central defense on my two local recreational league teams, and rarely leave my feet to making sliding or lunging challenges. A good slide tackle is an important part of the game, but I am always disheartened when watching top-flight International or European league matches and I see reckless, violent challenges. Bill is spot on in his comments in that regard.

Having said that (you knew this was coming) I have seen Many challenges in this World Cup on par with Mastreoni's, and his was the first to draw a straight red card -- and this seemed disingenuous given the potential "make-up call" factor involved after de Rossi was sent off. As for Pope -- who Arena should have subbed off at half time, he perhaps had it coming... but I stand by the fact that on his first yellow, Gilardino made a meal out of minimal contact, and on his second, his boot got to the ball before touching any part of the man. The two, as a collective, did not warrant an ejection.

What I need to Not do is post a comment after spending much of the evening at the alehouse, still full of bile and vitriol after the perceived injustices earlier in the day.

My comments were largely spurned by the dispassionate reactions of many American fans i encountered after the match yesterday... there was a shoulder-shrugging acceptance, a "at least we got a result" attitude, and I fell like we should have expected and deserved more.

I would like to give a shout-out to the George and Dragon, not far from my house here in Seattle, one of the 10-best football bars in America!