June 26, 2014

SportsFilter: The Thursday 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.

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 23 comments

Ghana is giving Cameroon a run for its money in the World Cup Chemistry race, suspending KPB (who probably wasn't going to play) and Sulley Muntari (who was already out due to two yellow cards). By the way, why isn't the game-day state of Sulley Muntari's shorts more of a story? How does he play with his ass hanging out in the breeze?

posted by yerfatma at 08:19 AM on June 26, 2014

A Ghana player in the first match let his drawers droop too. They had some kind of funky pattern just like the collars on that uniform.

In other news, it was curious timing on the red card in yesterday's France/Ecuador match. If Antonio Valencia's tackle was so egregious that it earned a red (which it was), why did the ref wait after Lucas Digne was treated for several minutes before calling it? The ref either saw red or he didn't.

posted by rcade at 08:30 AM on June 26, 2014

posted by grum@work at 08:31 AM on June 26, 2014

Don't expect the Ghana team to be putting up much of a fight against Portugal. It sounds like the team is in full meltdown mode, a la France 2010.

posted by grum@work at 08:35 AM on June 26, 2014

Given the recent medical concerns, it will seem weird when Portland doesn't take Embiid in the draft.

posted by beaverboard at 09:15 AM on June 26, 2014

Does anyone else think we've been shorted on crowd shots of attractive fans during this World Cup?

posted by rcade at 10:04 AM on June 26, 2014

A Ghana player in the first match let his drawers droop too.

Same guy.

It sounds like the team is in full meltdown mode, a la France 2010.

Listening to Football Weekly this morning about how the Ghanaian players demanded the money in cash, not as a bank transfer, made me appreciate one of those "hidden privilege" things people talk about: it would never occur to me to not trust the banking system so much that I would prefer to be handed $100,000+ in cash in a country famous (fairly or not) for its pickpockets and then go through customs and whatever hassle it must be to move $100,000 in cash back out of a country, though possibly (as suggested on the podcast) FIFA can make that happen as a rounding error in one of their duffel bags.

We had guests this weekend and I subjected them to about 10 hours more of World Cup games than was fair. I explained I always root for the African teams because they are treated like black quarterbacks used to be (he said, hopefully) in the NFL; that many of the African teams have white head coaches because the standard line is they are wonderfully athletic and improvisational but need a white man to impose order and discipline. It drives me nuts at least one team every tournament feels the need to encourage that myth.

posted by yerfatma at 10:08 AM on June 26, 2014

Does anyone else think we've been shorted on crowd shots of attractive fans during this World Cup?

Triumph of the Will-I-Ever!

posted by yerfatma at 10:10 AM on June 26, 2014

Did I miss the final standings of the NHL playoff pick 'em contest that we had?

posted by NoMich at 10:39 AM on June 26, 2014

No. I'll post it soon. Probably on World Cup-less Friday.

posted by rcade at 10:41 AM on June 26, 2014

Does anyone else think we've been shorted on crowd shots of attractive fans during this World Cup?

To be honest, I'm kind of glad they've stopped doing that as often.
I'd prefer to see shots of the happy/sad fans in general, or those in outrageous costumes, but searching out the crowd for the women seems a bit...unseemly.

That said, boy-o-boy is that German fan gorgeous.

posted by grum@work at 11:18 AM on June 26, 2014

There was a question on an old Men in Blazers where someone asked why the EPL didn't have "Honey shots". They replied it was down to two factors:

1. The game doesn't really stop.

2. They do, it's just as an America he was mistaking the honeys for 275 pound Liverpudlian men.

posted by yerfatma at 11:41 AM on June 26, 2014

It's nice of FIFA to have a commercial about fighting the fixing of things.

posted by bender at 04:58 PM on June 26, 2014

Going to Celtics draft uparty tonight. Will try to comment as things go. Using wife's tablet. Please excuse typos.

posted by Howard_T at 06:29 PM on June 26, 2014

The photo of the German fan is quite alluring, but also reminds me that one of the great tragedies of the 2010 WC was that South America sent the wrong Riquelme to the tournament.

posted by beaverboard at 06:49 PM on June 26, 2014

On a related note, if Count Suarez wants to begin making peace with Italy, I think we've found him a date for the prom.

posted by beaverboard at 06:59 PM on June 26, 2014

Letter from Gino Odjick

posted by tommybiden at 11:03 PM on June 26, 2014

Looking at the knockout stage, it's an interesting quirk that of the 5 South American teams who advanced (out of 6 in the tournament), 4 of them ended up in the same quadrant.

posted by bender at 11:19 PM on June 26, 2014

Yes - the way the stage fell means only one of Brazil, Chile, Colomiba and Uruguay can make it to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Ann Coulter doesn't like soccer.

posted by Mr Bismarck at 11:27 PM on June 26, 2014

Anyone who habitually wears little black dresses at 10 in the morning is headed straight for the trunk of Greg Maddux's car.

posted by beaverboard at 01:01 AM on June 27, 2014

Gino, Gino, Gino.

That's some shit right there, Tommy.

posted by tahoemoj at 01:40 AM on June 27, 2014

that South America sent the wrong Riquelme to the tournament

Nice Brazucas.

posted by owlhouse at 03:09 AM on June 27, 2014

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