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.