cryptique

Never played either of those. My brother and I used to play a soccer version of racquetball that we made up -- basically, find an empty racquetball court and play with a soccer ball, allowing two bounces between plays instead of one. You can touch the ball as many times as you want on each play (so juggling is a useful skill). There were more rules, but this was about fifteen years ago so I don't remember them any more. For instance, I seem to recall some rules to prevent juggling the ball up to the wall and dumping it there, but damned if I can remember what they were.

Tivo = old skool?

Yes. This is infuriating. They won't even show all the goals from the first half (assuming there were any). After the match, we again are deprived of goal replays. This is not unique to the current World Cup coverage. For some reason, American telecasts seem to always screw this up.

JeterBeckham is overrated.

We've had commercial-free football here for years. Yes, there are tons of ads before and after the game and during halftime, but aside from that we just have to endure a logo in the corner of the screen and an occasional mention from one of the announcers (something along the lines of "this portion of today's match is brought to you commercial-free by Budweiser," which itself is a commercial, but it's tolerable).

I think it's safe to post scores in this thread. If you don't want to know, don't read this one. I hope I get a chance to see a rebroadcast of the end of the Japan-Australia match. Three goals in eight minutes at the end! Holy shit!

You're forgetting that the Czechs are ranked 2nd. The U.S. is 5th in the latest FIFA rankings.

So I've read that the Czechs are nursing several injuries. Do you suppose the Yanks have a chance today? That is, a better chance than they did already? (I already picked them to draw.)

I really need to move back to England. I'm way behind the times on my British slang.

So your definition of "stonker" is "see: 'belter'"? I'm still not clear as to whether this is good or bad. edit: OK, I'm straightened out now. stonker belter

I doubt it. I'm expecting the Czechs to win, but probably only by one goal. I think the Yanks have an excellent chance of stealing a point. Plus ... remember Portugal in '02? The U.S. may just surprise everyone in that first match.

This stunning piece of investigative journalism is accessible via a link on FIFAworldcup.com. The link is labelled "VIP Columns: Claudia Schiffer's Analysis."

2-1 Deutschland now? What the heck's going on? Everyone knows the opener is supposed to be a nil-nil draw.

Holy cats! Twelve minutes in and they've already traded goals? I really wish I weren't stuck at work.

I think the diarrhea story is probably a ruse. I mean, would you want to slide-tackle a guy who has explosive diarrhea? England should have no problem with ball possession.

I agree about Australia, though that's not the easiest group to get out of. I think they'll take care of Japan, though, so it'll all depend on what Croatia brings. I think we can assume that Brazil will win the group. I also (optimistically) agree that Italy won't get out of their group, but doubt it'll be that much of a shock to anyone but the Italians themselves. They'll blame it on the scandal, but they're in a really tough group and if the Americans come to play, the Azzuri could find themselves heading home early.

This must be some kind of record for longest Pink Floyd-related thread without an essox500 sighting.

Oooohhhh yeah. Jimmy Kimmel's one lucky sumbitch.

I have every TBS album (including the new one) except the compilations, and they all have their charms. Hard to say which one is my favorite, though I'm partial to 0898 for some reason. What's everyone's favorite?

I'm over Fresca. I'm kind of grossed out by the fact that there's vegetable oil in it. Same goes for Diet Squirt, which also used to be a favorite of mine. It's weird how finally reading the label can put you off of something that you've enjoyed for years. Somehow, mentally, I just can't get past that vegetable oil.

Not the two-liter bottle, though. I've probably drunk nine cans of the stuff today.

I wouldn't kick her ^ out of bed for eating crackers, but she's never really done it for me.

Chinaglia was with the Cosmos for that game ... don't remember about Beckenbauer. The Sting had the guy who had one of my favorite footballer names: Arno Steffenhagen! Ah yes, the Rowdies ... and the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers ... San Jose Earthquakes ... L.A. Aztecs ... Seattle Sounders ... New England Tea Men ... Detroit Express ... San Diego Sockers ... Minnesota Kicks ... I know I'm forgetting a whole bunch of 'em. What a great league that was.

The Chicago Sting were more fun to watch. Or maybe I'm only saying that because I was a Sting fan. I've seen a lot of professional soccer in my life -- World Cup, international friendlies, NASL, English Premier League (though back then I think it was just First Division) -- and to this day the match I enjoyed the most was the 6-5 shootout victory for the Sting over the Cosmos at Wrigley Field, probably sometime in the early '80s. Unbelievable match, featuring many of the best players ever to play in the old NASL. (Pele had already retired, sadly.)