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?