04/20/24
June 20, 2010
SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
It wasn't me, it was Bismarck. I merely weighed in behind him. Great result for the Kiwis all the same. Thought Wood had won it for them with that shot towards the end.
posted by JJ at 12:22 PM on June 20, 2010
If that was a foul (and yellow card) on the NZ defender grabbing De Rossi, then more than half the Slovenia defenders should have gotten yellow cards during the mugging of the US on the "phantom foul" call.
posted by grum@work at 01:16 PM on June 20, 2010
From Darke and McCoist at the ESPN announcer's desk, overlooking the scene on the field:
"Here we sit high above, unbiased toward the outcome..."
I almost gagged on my haggis. Their game call was entertaining, but no one would think to call it unbiased.
posted by beaverboard at 01:24 PM on June 20, 2010
Will Findley not be able to play in the third game this Wednesday since he received a second yellow in the second game? I would think FIFA would review calls since replay showed that not only was the handball he was carded for non-intentional, the ball hit him in the face and then glanced off his hand.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:32 PM on June 20, 2010
Their game call was entertaining, but no one would think to call it unbiased.
No. If I was an Italy fan, I would have busted the TV between their play & the commentary.
posted by yerfatma at 02:28 PM on June 20, 2010
If I was an Italy fan, I would have busted the TV between their play & the commentary.
Surely "enjoying Italy's prima donnas getting shown up by minnows" is the very definition of neutral commentary? The only people who don't hope for a rotten fruit welcome committee for the Azzurri are their fans.
First outbreak of handbags at dawn towards the end of the Brazil-CIV match, which was a bit disappointing; increasingly likely that no African team will get out of the group stage.
posted by etagloh at 04:29 PM on June 20, 2010
Ugh. That second yellow on Kaka just reminded me why I got so fed up with the Football World Cup four years ago.
posted by ursus_comiter at 04:36 PM on June 20, 2010
increasingly likely that no African team will get out of the group stage.
Ghana leads their group, and only needs a draw to guarantee progress to the round of 16. Even if they lose, they'd still move on unless Serbia wins AND scores at least 2 goals.
BTW, the Ivory Coast team should be ashamed of how they finished that game.
posted by grum@work at 04:39 PM on June 20, 2010
JJ had me turned around about De Rossi's dive in the last game. Not believing it today.
Yeah. I won't be busting out the CSI lab for De Rossi today. Not just because he "fell over" an Ipswich player.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 05:14 PM on June 20, 2010
That second yellow on Kaka was ridiculous. As you said elsewhere, there should be post-match fines or even cards for diving like that.
posted by rcade at 07:11 PM on June 20, 2010
That second yellow on Kaka was ridiculous.
Karma sometimes takes eight years to arrive.
By my reckoning, New Zealand will play Australia in the World Cup Final in 2018.
posted by owlhouse at 09:18 PM on June 20, 2010
First outbreak of handbags at dawn
I have no idea what this means, but I love it.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:55 PM on June 20, 2010
The exact origins of 'handbags at dawn' or 'handbags at ten paces' are lost in the mists of sporting history (some time in the 1980s) but the meaning's the same: a confrontation that's all sound and fury.
Just wanted to share a nice BBC guest spot from Craig Johnston (ex M'Bro/Liverpool, designer of the Predator boot, and former hair model) on why the Jabulani is "a disgrace", and Clarence Seedorf, the star of the BBC's coverage, putting the ball to the test.
(I'm pleasantly surprised that much of the BBC's non-match video is accessible outside the UK.)
posted by etagloh at 11:06 PM on June 20, 2010
The problem I have with people complaining about the ball is that I've seen players make some amazing shots with it that have gone in (or required a great save to keep it out). Of course, those shots came from Forlan, Ronaldo, Maicon and Donovan.
So, in summary, good players make good shots with this ball, not-so-good players make not-so-good shots.
posted by grum@work at 12:33 AM on June 21, 2010
In summary, even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day. I don't think there can be too much argument with what Craig Johnston had to say about it - less drag means less control - which to me means the shots going in or hitting the post are more lucky than good.
posted by JJ at 05:15 AM on June 21, 2010
Handbags at dawn? I'm not sure what it means, but it reminds me of this photoshop from a long time ago.
posted by grum@work at 08:22 AM on June 21, 2010
I think Seedorf's demo puts the meat to the bones, demonstrating how he has to modify his passing and shots from distance.
Johnston's wrong to focus on stitching -- the Teamgeist was moulded as well -- but the reduction in panels and the exterior ridging definitely have an effect similar to the cheap plastic 'floater' balls of childhood, converting power into elevation. (Check the comments there for anecdotes that ring true for the tournament, and this New Scientist letter from 1997 about the reverse spin of the ten-bob swerver.)
posted by etagloh at 12:40 PM on June 21, 2010
JJ had me turned around about De Rossi's dive in the last game. Not believing it today.