England stinks it up, again; U.S. totally robbed

It was mentioned some time ago that if you were looking for a team to support that played the game right, look no further than the U.S.  They continue to prove me right on that one yesterday when they put forth a spirited effort to dig out of a 2-0 hole to draw level with Slovenia in the dying minutes.  They actually scored a third but it was inexplicably called back in one of the worst screw-jobs you'll see in the game.  As a result, and in a historic first, FIFA referee Koman Coulibaly awarded Man of the Match for defensive efforts for the Slovenia squad.  Coulibaly is no stranger to controversy after putting the screws to Tunisia in the 2010 African Nations Cup, and in 2006 to Egypt.  How exactly does this guy get a World Cup assignment?  The early game of the day saw Serbia shock Germany with a 1-0 upset in which the Germans played most of the game a man down after another garbage referee was handing out cards like he would be bonused for doing so, and saw German striker Miroslav Klose sent off on a weak call.  And as for England, they'd do well to watch the U.S. themselves.  They might learn a thing or two about heart and playing with desperation.  England drew Algeria 0-0 and didn't deserve a lick better.  Fabio Capello is going the route of the managers that preceded him and playing the name players, and not putting on the best team.  How else would he continue to play a useless Frank Lampard, who is dragging down the entire team by then changing how Steven Gerrard is deployed?   

The Ultimate Fighter finale goes tonight at 9pm on SportsNet with Kris McCray facing Court McGee in the main event.  I've got McGee to win there.  This piece looks at the rough road that is making it to and staying in the UFC.  Full card here.  Hoping Rich Antonito caves in Jamie Yager's face in the undercard.

If you're wondering, if 1 or more teams are tied after Group Stage of the World Cup, the first tiebreaker is goal difference in group games. Second is most goals scored in group matches.

Goals by the day, who scored it, and how, for the entire World Cup can be found here at the Wall Street Journal.

If I'm being investigated in the shooting of a man, pretty much the last thing I'm going to do is be caught in possession of a gun, and even less likely, tell a cop that it isn't a gun when he looks into my car and spots it.  But not former Indianapolis Colt Marvin Harrison, who did all of the above.

Crazy story passed from GBVH. A gambler wagered $40,000 that New Zealand would not score in their opening World Cup game against Slovakia. He must really have wanted that $800 payoff to drop $40k on that. Of course, the Kiwis scored seconds from the end of the game to make a loser of him.
Good of the NHL to get around to penalize head shots.  It'll now be a five minute major - gasp! - if you crack somebody in the mellon.

Barry Bonds son Nikolai did a hell of a 'roid rage and Roberto Alomar impression on his mother.  Classy.

The more I listen to Dion Phaneuf talk of how he's not going to change a thing about how he operates, and now that he has mixed in a new hairdo, I feel like I'm listening to Bryan McCabe Lite.

Mike Florio looks at six teams most likely to not make it back to the NFL playoffs this coming season.  If this is accurate, there's going to be some serious changes in the AFC East power structure, but not including you, Buffalo.

MLB's independent drug-testing administrator granted 115 exemptions last season to players who proved a medical need to use a banned substance, with all but seven of those going to players for Attention Deficit Disorder.  Uh-huh, a game that moves at a snails pace has that many guys with ADD, nearly doubling the U.S. national average for adults.  That, or the use of ritalin has other desired effects.

Wayne Rooney gets off a regrettable dig at the English fans post-game yesterday."Nice to see your home fans boo you, that's loyal supporters."  He knows better, they fully deserved it.