There have been 33 goals in the last eight 3rd place games so no reason to think today is anything but a free flowing game when Uruguay face Germany. German striker Miroslav Klose needs a goal to share the all-time World Cup goal title, two to own it.  Can't imagine anything other than a German win today, and that indeed is the pick for today.


Tucker Max on Tiger Woods, with a side of LeBron James: "Poor Tiger Woods. His whores took his dignity, his wife took $750mil, and LeBron took his 'Biggest Fuckface in Sports' title."  Must've forgot about the Old Has Been.

Green Bay Packer DB Charles Woodson says his QB Aaron Rodgers is the "best quarterback in the league."  That's so cute when guys confuse "league" with "city" or "division". 

Check out these MMA rankings and pound-for-pound rankings.  Still find it hard to believe Roy Nelson is ranked top ten in anything.

Was the Nigeria/Greece World Cup game fixed, with some Nigerian players on the take?  Could well be, if you believe this piece.  To add fuel to the fire, there was talk before the tourney that the Nigerian players were in a pay dispute with their federation, opening the door for the vultures to pounce.

Toronto FC look to push their unbeated-at-home-in-a-calendar-year streak ever closer to a year today when they host the Colorado Rapids today with a noon kickoff.  I suspect they take all three points today unlike recent games where they start and finish with a draw.

Love the LeBitch quote to the right here.  How very Bryan McCabe of him to ignore his own words.  It was McCabe, mental midget that he is, that once famously said he'd "never" play under a salary cap in the NHL.  Great cover in the Cleveland Plain Dealer above, too.

Back tomorrow with your World Cup pick, and that's despite what is a combo celebration tonight of the birthday of yours truly and a good friend's bachelor party. Man's game, this!

Alex Jones - famed conspiracy theorist and fear-monger at infowars.com - goes off about LeBron James and his decision and what it means in the grand schem of things.  Don't always agree with Jones, or his methods, but he's crushing it here.

Three all-me-go's

The best part about LeJudas announcement yesterday, other than the world now knows and can move on from the tedium of LeBrett updates?  The letter to Cleveland Cavalier fans from owner Dan Gilbert, in which he annihilates LeDouche.  Another report had Gilbert calling him LeQuitter for his playoff performance against Boston.  Amazing stuff.  As for his bit about promising the Cavs win a championship before the Heat do, is there a fan anywhere - other than Miami Heat fans, of course - that doesn't hope it works out that way?  Suddenly, the Cavs are everyone's fav second team.

Miami reporter Dan LeBatard looks at how the deal came together and credits Dwayne Wade with brokering the deal and allowing the Heat to work around tampering rules.  We'll see if things work so smoothly come their first playoff series when they get pushed.

I'm not sure how many rings the Heat will win, but they're definitely in the early lead for most knee braces on under-30 players.  Have fun with that.  "Paging Dr. Andrews..."

Chin up, New Yorkers. Your fine city and horrible hoops squad may not have signed LeBron James, and saw David Lee skip off to the Golden State Warriors of all teams, but at least your Yankees are getting another Lee in town by all indications, perhaps in time to see him start for you tonight instead of against you.

Cleveland Cavalier season ticket holders have their money in for 2010/2011.  Wonder if they're at all angry now?  Funny that Gilbert neglected to mention that bit in his bombs he delivered last night.  And speaking of ticket sales: good luck with that, Toronto Raptors.  Memo to the Toronto Blue Jays: you're no longer the worst draw in town real soon.

The Globe & Mail looks at the battle between Nike and Adidas for soccer supremacy.

Very classy of Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo - the fat one, not the Portuguese pretty boy - to warn current Brazilian national team member Felipe Melo that he might not want to vacation in Brazil after scoring an own goal in Brazil's elimination at the hands of Holland last week.  Don't recall anyone warning Ronaldo after his famous meltdown before the 1998 final against France in which he then played like a zombie.

The last time so much talent got together on one team to grab a ring was the 2003-04 LA Lakers with Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neill all together, and we know how that turned out.


Should Holland win the World Cup on Sunday, that would complete one hell of a season for midfielder, and Manchester United target, Wesley Sneijder.  He's already won the Italian league with Inter Milan, captured the Champions League there as well, and is now on the verge of the ultimate prize.  Not bad for a guy who along with teammate Arjen Robben, was deemed expendable by Real Madrid just a year ago.

I normally don't reference things that appear in the message side of the blog, but had this one saved up from Bill Simmons after yesterday's edition (later referenced by BigHeadedJerk) and it is well worth a read even today, after we know where LeBron James ended up.  Bonus points to The Sports Guy for crushing the notion that Chris Bosh is a superstar.


Finally today, check out the World's Largest Skateboard.  Amazing.

Spanish Fly

Shame on me for missing the great headline at the right a couple days back.  Better late than never, right?

Speaking of "better late than never," Spain finally showed the form everybody had just begun to think had disappeared during their Euro 2008 win yesterday against Germany, a 1-0 semi-final win for the Spaniards that assures Sunday that they or Holland will become a first time World Cup Champion.  Back was the creative and urgent side that chased relentlessly when without the ball, forcing Germany into a lot more mistakes than we're used to seeing of the Germans.  Germany looked strangely flat aside from Mesut Ozil, who was fantastic.  No matter what happens Sunday, you have to assume Germany enter Euro 2010 as the favorites to win.

Check out these 11 hilarious sports commentator announcements.

New France coach Laurent Blanc is outraged by the attitude and antics of the 2010 entry into the World Cup.  And in other news, the sky is blue.

It is a good thing that Chris Bosh has dropped the "I want to be the man" act.  I really don't think he could lead Lindsay Lohan to a bottle of booze or pills with a GPS.

LeBron James is expected to end the ridiculous torture today and announce his decision at 9pm tonight on ESPN in the U.S., and The Score in Canada.  Some indications that New York may be back in play, though possibly not, says ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd who brought the "Delonte West tapped 'bron's mom" story (hear it at the end of today's entry), while others think Miami is the spot.  And the most accurate story in my estimation comes in this piece from Deadspin under the somewhat cryptic title: LeBron James is a Cocksucker. Great read.  Love Jason Whitlock glossing him "LeBrett James".  Nice.  Prediction: that Delonte West story gets run tomorrow, in full, at the latest.

And speaking of sucking cock, how about porn star Bobbi Eden, who has vowed that if Holland win the World Cup, her and a couple of colleagues will blow the crotch vuvuzelas of all 65,000 - and climbing - of her Twitter followers.

Cowherd on LeBron's mom...

Dutch oven!

Make that 10 straight winners for yours truly, albeit picking straight up advancers.  Holland and Uruguay each traded long range goals in the first half before the Dutch scored a pair in short order with 20 minutes to go or so and make it 3-1.  Cruise to the win?  Not on your life.  Uruguay came back and scored a beauty off a set piece and there were more than a few anxious moments for Oranje as the clock wound down in a fantastic game that finished 3-2.  Come to find out that is the first time in decades that a semi-final winner has scored three, so great to see an open game like that.  Today's has the potential to be as entertaining.  No need to get into the breakdown of it, as that was covered on Monday, but Germany is the pick as we shoot for 35-27 to set up a border war for Sunday's final.  If you've not heard about the psychic German octopus, which has been tremendously successful picking Germany's results, it took Spain to win today.  But, it picked Germany in the 2008 Euro Final to beat Spain and that went the other way, so maybe it comes back today?

Seven Most Bizarre Sporting Rituals.  Exactly what the title says.

Dave Hirshey at ESPN.com picks his starting 11 for the World Cup.  That's the all-stars, for those needing it dumbed down.  Tough to argue against any of these, especially the midfield, though Landon Donovan and Andres Iniesta deserve honorable mention.

A fan at The Ballpark in Arlington fell from the second deck last night, his fall broken by fans.  Imagine how different things would've finished had the game in Toronto?  The guy would have been a bloody stain on a sea of empty blue seats.

ESPN's Chris Jones took a dig at Paraguay in a World Cup column and received more than a little hate mail in response.  Check out some of his replies to those messages.  Love the one in which he responds to one diatribe that pieces like his lead people to believe that Americans are smug and arrogant with this gem: "As a Canadian, I'm glad to have furthered the stereotype that Americans are smug and ignorant, which of course they are."  Great stuff.

Each of the last six years, the first MLB team to win 50 games has made the playoffs.  First to reach 50 this year?  Some team from The Bronx, New York.

New Jersey Nets owner Mikhael Prokorov says that Chris Bosh will join Dwayne Wade in Miami.  He's sounding pretty prophetic at the moment, as that's what appears to be happening.  LeBron James will take to ESPN tomorrow night at 9pm to announce his decision.  I hope they all have horrible careers going forward.  Love James referring to himself as "King" on his new, and sure-to-be-dull Twitter feed.  Don't recall Michael Jordan ever referring to himself as "Air".

JaMarcus Russell was arrested at his home and charged with possession of a codeine syrup.  A 300lb dude downing syrup?  Who'd have guessed?

If you ain't for the Dutch, you ain't much...

A BlackBerry opened to the wrong day on the calendar can lead to thinking today's World Cup semi-final is Germany facing Spain, when it is in fact Holland taking on Uruguay.  That transgression aside, thinking this game screams Holland win. Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder have proven big forces in attack for the Dutch, who traditionally enter a major tourney a house on fire and a stylistic favorite. This one has been a bit slower to build, but that has translated to a deep run and they've got everyone's attention after a big win over Brazil in the quarters on Friday. Uruguay, as mentioned yesterday, rode a lucky break in the dying moments to a penalty kick win over Paraguay, and of course will be minus Luis Suarez for that huge save, though Diego Forlan has been dynamite as far as I'm concerned and will pose plenty of concern for the Dutch defence. In the end, I think the Dutch can smell the final on Sunday and a shot at a long overdue World Cup, and I'm saying they emerge 2-0 winners, giving them a World Cup record six wins in a tournament.  Uruguay are winless in 13 matches against European teams. So once again, Holland is the pick as yours truly aims for ten straight winners and 34-27 overall.

So this baseball All-Star Game that "counts" is allowing players to re-enter the game after they leave?  The joke gets bigger.

Ilya Kovalchuk is going to stay with the New Jersey Devils after all in what has to be termed a surprised. He scored a seven-year deal worth an un-Devil-like $60 million. 

The Toronto Raptors are said to have received six sign-and-trade proposals for Chris Bosh, with offers from Miami and Chicago the most palatable of the group.

Finally a big name in the NBA moved in free agency, with Amare Stoudamire jumping to the New York Knicks.  He knows that Steve Nash just lives in New York and doesn't play there, right?  LeBron James is expected to make his announcement tomorrow.  Would it surprise anybody that with that bit of information out if the OHB tries to scoop the spotlight and announces his "comeback" too?

If you've ever wondered how Mariano Rivera has gotten by for so long throwing almost exclusively one pitch, wonder no more with the aid of this insane breakdown via video.  Must-see stuff if you're a baseball fan. 

Rolling Stone Mick Jagger has been glossed the World Cup Angel of Death by some, and not just because he resembles the dead.

Phil Jackson's return to coach the LA Lakers means he's got a chance at a fourth three-peat in his career. Crazy.

Where else but Columbia would one find a replica of the World Cup trophy, made entirely out of cocaine with a crude paint job over top?  The "trophy" was en route to Spain.

Strange as it may sound, Toronto FC are less than two weeks away from being unbeaten at home in a calendar year.

Thames the breaks

An unprecedented break of four days for yours truly has me wondering where to even begin today so this could be more scatter-shot than usual.  Here we go.

So much for the South American domination and European stagnation at the World Cup this year.  Argentina? Gone.  Crushed by Germany 4-0.  Brazil?  Barely showed up in a 2-1 loss to Holland, who should have had at least a couple more in that one.  Paraguay fought hard but were 1-0 losers to Spain, but at least there was Uruguay, who somehow managed a win in penalties after looking like they were surely losers in extra time when Luis Suarez saved a ball on the goalline in the dying seconds to earn himself a red card because, well, he's not a goalie.  And Ghana looked that gift horse in the mouth and whacked the ensuing penalty kick off the bar.  Ouch.  All four winners were selected here. 

As for the semi-finals, tough sledding in tomorrow's Germany vs. Spain semi-final.  Germany has been firing on all cylinders the last two games, but it is hard to imagine they find another gear.  That, and they're minus Tomas Mueller due to suspension.  Still think their goalie is weak, the weakest of the remaining, and that could well come into play.  For all the talk of how Spain has been something less than their Euro 2008 winning form, they've still won their last five.  Fernando Torres may not be on top of his game, but David Villa has more than made up for it.  That, and unlike England and Argentina, Spain actually have some speed on the back side to go with experience, and the better keeper in Iker Casillas, arguably the best in the game.  Who wins?  Instinct says Spain, but going to pick Germany.  Wednesday's pick comes tomorrow.

Tiger Woods divorce is allegedly going to cost him $750 million.  Hope that was worth it.

A captain that impregnated a 16-year old, who happened to be your sister-in-law?  The former captain tried to leverage that to get his role back?  Just a couple of the stories flying around in the wake of England's demise at the World Cup.

Brock Lesnar survived a first round onslaught by Shane Carwin and shocked the MMA world with a submission win in round two at UFC 116, shocking because nobody would've figured on Lesnar to win by submission.  Sounds like his next fight will be Cain Velaszquez.  Next in line are said to be the winner of a Junior Dos Santos and Roy "Big Country" Nelson.

Word is Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who stars for Real Madrid, has fathered a child who was U.S. born.  Might we see the Ronaldo child suit up for the U.S. in 2034?  Would put an end to the U.S. rep as non-divers, no?

Found out - and not sure how I didn't know it before - that the LA Lakers count the four championships won when the franchise was in Minnesota among their 16 victories.  Seems a touch lame, no?

The MLB all-stars were announced and somehow, Joey Votto didn't make the National League side despite a stack of strong stats and MVP consideration in many circles.  San Diego Padre Mat Latos, who has pitched so well opponents are batting under .200 against him, didn't make the grade either.  Jered Weaver didn't make the American League team, nor did Andy Pettitte.  Ridiculous.  Sounds like Pettitte will end up in the game regardless to replace CC Sabathia, who starts Sunday and is thus ineligible.

Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams won their Wimbledon finals.  Neither win will be considered among the classic finals.

Check out Boston Red Sox announcer Don Orsillo freak at the appearance of a fake mouse in the broadcast booth.  Good stuff.

Finally today, check out the Spanish announce table at Spain's 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday.  They're keeping it real professional and not cheering.  The Chicago White Sox crew, Buck Martinez and Chuck Swirsky think these guys are over the top.