Mike Kieran

I feel bad for Messi because he will always be compared to Maradona. I was seeing people ripping Messi apart because Argentina didn't win. While Maradona was quite possibly the best ball handler that I will ever see, he is a horrible human being who begrudgingly would pass the ball. Lionel Messi had no support on Germany's end of the pitch. Without Di Maria playing, Argentina's offense became average. Maradona was surrounded by great players in 1986 and didn't do much better in his other world cup appearances. He was an even bigger failure as Argentina's coach. One player cannot carry an entire team. Germany had 11 men playing as a machine.

A well deserved win in a hard fought game.

I wonder who wants tickets to that game since it amounts to no more than a friendly. The funny thing is that The Netherlands will probably be playing less defensively.

Or Holland.

This just in: Who would have thought that there would be a worse defense against Germany than the Maginot Line? U.S. Soccer's new motto is "At least we're not Brazil!"

My apologies. I meant to say not as as accepted instead of tolerated. You're more likely to be yellow carded for physical contact in the southern European leagues than in the more northern leagues.

We must also realize that there really is no uniformity in refereeing because each league emphasizes different things. Taking a dive/drama is more acceptable in South America and the southern European leagues while physical contact is not tolerated. In Northern Europe, the style of soccer is more physical (I've seen Premier League games that I swore two players were trading punched all the way down the field) and you are more likely to see a yellow card for taking a dive. Different referees call different games.

Have you seen the teeth on this guy? That's megabytes.

I would have pressed criminal charges against him.

I really think that he needs a 1 year ban. He's only going to do it again. While my Premier League team is Liverpool, this sociopath needs to be removed from the game. 4 months doesn't make a dent in his bank account. Who would have ever thought that there was someone that makes Diego Maradona look like a quality role model. The world is going bat crap crazy.

I would be hard pressed to believe that the United States will beat Germany decisively. I also know that Germany will move on to the Round of 16, so they don't need to wear themselves down. To me, the real pity is that Bosnia didn't advance and they played some great games.

Maybe he overheard a waiter suggesting "you must try the shoulder."

And they only play games at night.

I'm sending you the bill for the dry cleaning that I had to do to my pants because I wasn't able to make it to the bathroom in time. :rofl:

Do they have enough dental surgeons for that? There's a lot of teeth. I have a better solution. I had his shoulder on a bed of fava beans with a nice chianti.

I pity the fool that comes into my penalty box! I pity the fool!

I was very annoyed that they slowed down the attack in added time. When you allow Portugual to keep taking those shots, you increase their chance of scoring.

Nuff said. But didn't Ronaldo look pretty? He will make a fine wife in prison. Not only was his performance dismal, but he looked like a drag queen. Execpt for the final 5 seconds, The United States played the best soccer that I've ever seen from them.

20 years ago that was the case. There's a bigger grass roots following now. Just remember, "soccer mom" is more of the American lifestyle than it was previously. Soccer leagues have increased exponentially. Programs are starting for kids as young as 1 year old. When my daughter is born in November (fellow Scorpio), SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and I are signing her up so that we can work on her motor skills.

If you count population int the factor, then the United States trumps all. We probably have more people playing soccer than in all of Europe and, for that matter, more facilities/soccer facilities at our disposal. By that formula, the United States should dominate soccer. It's not about population, but about player development, preparation, and strategy. When I think of English soccer, I think of a bull in a china shop. Premier League is a lot more physical with less emphasis on finesse/ball handling than Serie A and La Liga.

I'm not going to lie. Italy also had a lot of luck on their side against England. I'm nervous about today's game against Costa Rica. They play much harder than I've heard people give them credit. South America's World Cup contenders used to be Argentina and Brazil - and that's it. This year, there are some good teams from the Land of Great Dancers, making for some interesting soccer.

As mentioned in my post earlier, against Italy, England played a good first half. Like you said, when England opens up their game (in reference to the flowing movement) they are dangerous. Unfortunately, they couldn't complete the kill and they completely lacked positional awareness. Italy didn't steal a lot of passes from England, England turned it over.

Before the tournament, I was constantly criticized for claiming that Rooney is one of the most overrated players in the game (This distinction also goes to Cristiano Ronaldo). I'm finally getting the evidence to support my claim. From the way that I see it, England's immediate future is in Sturridge and Sterling. England has opened up the game more, but they need a faster crowd to play up to win with it. England's FA has a lot of tough decisions ahead. As an Azzuri fan, I was a little nervous in the first half on Saturday night. I thought that England had outplayed the Italians, they just couldn't get it in when they had open lanes (3 times). Like Italy 4 years ago, they have to let go of players living off of their names and go with players that can win.

I was told on on tour of the brewery in 2008 that they received grain by rail. I just figured that they didn't receive by rail any more. If I understand correctly, the Vermont Railway uses the brewery as a passenger station stop. maybe that's what the tour guide meant. Then again, the tour guide was a bit like Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli character in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuENFR-9phU. He knew every bit of information about the various brews though.

Ian, With all this talk of fine consumable beverages, I wonder why you don't have a rail served micro brewery. Magic Hat Brewery in Vermont is served by rail (covered hoppers, but other cars could be used also). I fell in love with their elixer called Circus Boy. Great Stuff. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Magic+Hat+Brewing+Co/@44.42897,-73.213411,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x4cca7c75522df297:0xe54dc4c8feb0f6a?hl=en