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Originally posted by ZorroTheFox:
yes, but do we really want them to spen time chewing on peanuts when they could be chewing other salty nuts >;o) ........Z

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quote:

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Originally posted by snupy:
Wouldn't that hurt?

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only if they bite too hard......Z

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Originally posted by Bregalad:
That's two World Cup favorites eliminated in the first round: France and Argentina. Italy faces elimination against Mexico tomorrow and Portugal has to win on Thursday or they'll be on the next flight back to a country where politics is the only thing more talked about than football.

This really has been the Weird Cup. The only undefeated federation at this point in the tournament is CONCACAF (North and Central America), the group other federations normally use to wipe their feet.

Much to the surprise of many the host countries, Japan and Korea, are also well placed to make it to the next round.

Scanadanavia is making a fantastic showing at this year's cup. Yesterday ze Danes outplayed Zidane to win Group A and today the Swedes held off a late charge by the Argentines to grab first place in Group F.

Now I need to get some sleep. This staying up until 1:30am (or 2:00 as it is right now) every night is really starting to wear me out. My boss will not be amused if I fall asleep at work tomorrow.

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Time for reflection

While many think that a shift of power in the football world was signaled by this world cup, I disagree. There were a lot of fluke events and variables that won't be repeated in Germany 2006. One thing is that it will be in Germany (I'm so smart!) and not in Korea; those that didn't think the Koreans got a little (not much, but enough) help from the referees are in denial... or Koreans themselves. They always seemed to get offsides calls in their favor to disallow a certain goal. With their speed and endurance, they are a quality side but up there with the best? Not yet...

The Group of Death factor:
the luck of the draw decides this, and Argentina and Nigeria fell to it. If those either of two teams were in another group (look at Brazil's group: Turkey, Costa Rica, China... although Turkey should have defeated the Brazilians if it wasn't for Rivaldo taking a dive ) then they would have most likely advanced to the knockout stage and it would have been a whole different second half tournament.

France:
No Zinedine Zidane means no France. No... you shut up. Don't name people like Thierry Henry or Youri Djorkaeff... they're nothing compared to Zidane. He makes or breaks France. If he was there and healthy Senegal might not have had their dream run.

Germany and Brazil:
Germany had such a lucky schedule of games. Their opponents were as follows: Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Cameroon, Paraguay, USA, Korea, Brazil. Against the more reknowned footballing nations Ireland (a stretch) and Brazil, they managed a 1-1 draw and 2-0 defeat. Against Paraguay, USA, and Korea they slipped by with 1-0 victories. And the US really should have defeated them. I watched every single minute of that game and they had the possession and the chances. But Oliver Kahn was a wall and there was a handball on the line that wasn't called! grrrrrrrrr (I'm not bitter, I swear )

Brazil had a similar schedule of games, but generally outplayed all of their opponents. NOT in the first game where a Turkish player kicked a ball at Rivaldo's shin and then he falls down holding his face. The Turks had a good attack and should have won that game. However, the Brazilians defeated the Turks in the semifinals (fair and square for the most part) to redeem themselves in my eye. Also, the Brazilians had a come back win against the English with only ten men for much of the second half, although it was a lackluster effort from the English offense; they really never got anything going.

Best games/goals of the tournament:
Robbie Keane in extra time to equalize the score against Germany
USA over Portugal 3-2
Senegal 3 - Uruguay 3
the sigh of relief after Beckham got the penalty in against Argentina
Spain 1 - Ireland 1, Spain 3-2 on penalties <-- doesn't get much more exciting than that
Jung Hwan Ahn getting a golden goal in the 117th minute to boot out Italy

no really special goals like Bergkamp's goal against Argentina in France 98...

-- Jack's Summer Nostalgia