Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

The willow is too close to the house.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

In after Baud. Damn.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

You are here: Home / Sports / An Analysis of My Group Picks

An Analysis of My Group Picks

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Group A: Clearly I overestimated France and underestimated Uruguay as I picked France and Mexico to go through.

Group B: I picked Argentina and leaned towards South Korea.

Group C: I picked USA and England.

Group D: I picked Germany and Ghana.

Group E: I picked the Netherlands and Denmark. I was clearly behind the curve on Japan.

Group F: I said I was going out on a limb and picked Paraguay and Slovakia.

Group G: I picked Brazil and Portugal.

Group H: I picked Spain and Chile.

So, the only ones I didn’t get right were Groups A and E.

Reader Interactions

26Comments

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    I’ll just have to say this and risk the charge of racism: I work with a lot of Mexicans, including one of my bosses, so the Mexico versus Argentina results will be very closely monitored at my workplace. I, fortunately, will not be there.

  3. 3.

    handy

    Clearly I overestimated France and underestimated Uruguay as I picked France and Mexico to go through.

    Who’s performance was more disappointing this year, France or Italy? Deep down I am rooting for Mexico to advance. I always do. Living in SoCal I run into many Mexico fans, and I admire their passion for the game and love to see my neighbors happy :)

    Edited for verb tense fail.

  4. 4.

    burnspbesq

    What does your bracket for the knockout stage look like? I have the Netherlands beating Spain in the final, and the USA beating Argentina in the third-place game.

  5. 5.

    beltane

    I wonder how many times I’ll have to wash my husband’s Nederland shirt before it can go into hiding for the next four years. The orange makes me feel like it’s hunting season.

  6. 6.

    burnspbesq

    My complete bracket:

    Round of 16:
    Uruguay over South Korea
    USA over Ghana
    Netherlands over Slovakia
    Brazil over Chile
    Argentina over Mexico
    Germany over England
    Paraguay over Japan
    Spain over Portugal

    Quarterfinals:
    USA over Uruguay
    Netherlands over Brazil (my pick for best game of the tournament)
    Argentina over Germany
    Spain over Paraguay

    Semifinals:
    Netherlands over USA
    Spain over Argentina

    Third Place:
    USA over Argentina

    Final:
    Netherlands over Spain

  7. 7.

    Spaghetti Lee

    I wish the U.S. wasn’t playing the only African team left. I wish we were playing Spain or Argentina or someone else hateable.

  8. 8.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @burnspbesq:

    Given how the U.S. has played so far, I think you’re being a bit optimistic. I’d have them losing to Uruguay, if we even beat Ghana.

  9. 9.

    Quaker in a Basement

    First round of the knockouts has some fantastic rivalry matchups. Mexico v. Argentina (as Yutasano mentioned), England v. Germany, Chile v. Brazil, and Spain v. Portugal.

  10. 10.

    Peter J

    Most European teams will continue to disappoint, Spain might make it all the way, but this year it will be all about South America.

    The Netherlands will lose against Brazil. If the US team survives against Ghana, Uruguay will take them down.

    I would not be surprised if the first four teams will be Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, with Brazil winning over Argentina in the finals.

  12. 12.

    burnspbesq

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    Maybe. But the game plan for Uruguay is really simple: make somebody other than Forlan beat you. I wonder who on Uruguay is going to step up if we manage to make Forlan an afterthought.

  13. 13.

    Nylund

    My complete bracket:

    Round of 16:
    Uruguay over South Korea
    USA over Ghana
    Netherlands over Slovakia
    Brazil over Chile
    Argentina over Mexico
    Germany over England
    Paraguay over Japan
    Spain over Portugal

    Quarterfinals:
    USA over Uruguay
    Brazil over Netherlands
    Argentina over Germany
    Spain over Paraguay

    Semifinals:
    Brazil over USA
    Argentina over Spain

    Third Place:
    Spain over USA

    Final:
    Argentina over Brazil

    What I HATE about this is that the Netherlands have a great team and I think they deserve third (if not second) over both Spain and the US, but the brackets don’t work out that way.

  14. 14.

    MattR

    @burnspbesq: The bracket I filled out on ESPN before the tourney started

    Uruguay over Greece (is actually S Korea)
    USA over Ghana
    Netherlands over Slovakia
    Brazil over Chile
    Argentina over Mexico
    Germany over England
    Italy over Japan (is actually Paraguay, and I change my pick to Japan)
    Spain over Portugal

    Round of 16
    USA over Uruguay
    Brazil over Netherlands
    Argentina over Germany
    Spain over Italy (actually Japan/Paraguay)

    Semifinals
    Brazil over USA
    Argentina over Spain

    Finals
    Argentina over Brazil

    If I could change things, I would ride the Netherlands all the way to the championship but I think I would leave the rest the same.

  15. 15.

    burnspbesq

    The big imponderable: we have the best goalkeeper, by far, in our quarter of the draw. If we go to PKs, we win. In Timmeh we trust.

  18. 18.

    Randinho

    @burnspbesq: I didn’t do a bracket. By the time I was able to, the games had started.

    I take it one step at a time.

    @MikeJ: I don’t believe that I picked any in any order, I just picked who would go through.

    To everybody: let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

  20. 20.

    MattR

    @Mnemosyne: I did an ESPN contest for that too. I got 24 of 48 matches correct so far and those were the predictions I used to determine who would advance to the knockout stage for my bracket predictions above. I am actually kinda proud that my bracket predictions are currently tied for 13th overall with 28 of 32 points (6 people have 30 and 6 have 29). I am sure they are gonna get blown up soon, but I am enjoying the moment while it lasts.

  22. 22.

    Randinho

    @Derek:

    Thanks, but it wasn’t that hard. The only real gamble I took was picking Ghana and predicting Italy wouldn’t make it out of the group.

    This post on Group H has links to my other selections for you to check.

  23. 23.

    Violet

    I wish we didn’t have to play Ghana. I like the thought of an African country getting further into the competition. But for that to happen the US would have to lose and I don’t want that to happen.

  24. 24.

    Mark

    Don’t kick yourself – by a large margin, Uruguay and Japan had the least possession of the teams that advanced. They needed and got good luck.

  25. 25.

    Peter J

    Some more observations.

    South America got five teams left, and since four of them won their groups and them having a bit of a luck, these four won’t run into each other until the semifinals.

    Of these four the one I see as the weakest Paraguay, is going to face the winner of Spain and Portugal, which I’d pick to be Spain.

    The second weakest, Uruguay, got lucky by ending up in a great spot for advancement, first facing South Korea, and then the winner of Ghana and the US. None of these teams should be a threat against them reaching the semifinals.

    South America hasn’t just had great teams this year, the teams have also had the fortune of a lot of luck.

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