• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

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

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

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

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

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

Mobile Menu

  • 4 Directions VA 2025 Raffle
  • 2025 Activism
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / Netherlands v Uruguay Open Thread

Netherlands v Uruguay Open Thread

by Randinho|  July 6, 20101:59 pm| 235 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

Who will be the first finalist?

A trivia question: what geographic fact makes Uruguay unique among South American Countries?

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Into the mystic
Next Post: Mid-Size Russ »

Reader Interactions

235Comments

  1. 1.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 2:01 pm

    Yay! A soccer thread!

    Go Netherlands!

  2. 2.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 6, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    Uruguay is an island? River on the west, north and east and ocean to the south?

  3. 3.

    mark f

    July 6, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    Landlocked. I was way wrong.

  4. 4.

    Garrigus Carraig

    July 6, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    Has a land border with only one other country?

  5. 5.

    Mark S.

    July 6, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    I wouldn’t have guessed that Montevideo is the southernmost capital in South America, but I doubt that was what you were looking for.

  6. 6.

    Alex

    July 6, 2010 at 2:07 pm

    I’ll bite: Uruguay is the only strictly temperate South American country. It doesn’t extend into the tropics.

  7. 7.

    handsmile

    July 6, 2010 at 2:08 pm

    I prefer not to be too bloody-minded on these matters, but I’m going all Peckinpah wanting the head of Uruguay in this match.

    While Marco Materazzi awaits to crown his successor as World Cup Villain, the leading candidate must be Luis Suarez for his self-proclaimed “Hand of God” against Ghana. Debate will linger whether Suarez’s action was instinctual pragmatism or contemptible cheating, but his post-match boasting and the aggrieved remonstrances of coach Oscar Tabarez that reactions decrying the incident were “shameful” and “embarrassing,” inflame my yearning for retribution.

    Of course, some small measure of justice has already been meted out with Suarez’s red-card absence. His likely replacements (Cavani or Abreu) are decidedly inferior strikers which will permit the Dutch defensive corps to immobilize Forlan. On the other side of the ball, Holland’s manifold offense should proved too patient and efficient for a Uruguayan defense stripped of half its first-choice back line (Lugano and Fucile) due to injury and suspension. Thus, without Suarez to lend a hand, as it were, Uruguay will compete for fourth place come Saturday.

    In a detailed post on an earlier thread, DavidB cautioned against Dutch complacency and overconfidence: “they [may] lose, not because of less skill, but because of psychology.”
    As a member in good standing with the International Association of Amateur Sports Psychologists, I see little evidence of that immoderate trait in the current Netherlands’ squad. Accounts I’ve read, even skeptical ones, attest to the unprecedented comity within the team. (There was a brief kerfuffle between van Persie and Sneijder, but did you see how pal-sy they were, walking off arms over shoulders, at the end of the Brazil match?)

    Had Uruguay’s offense been at full-strength, Holland might have sprung a leak with the suspension of midfielder Nigel de Jong. He has enjoyed an intrepid, self-possessed tournament, belying his reputation as badder cop to van Bommel’s bad cop.

    Today’s appetizer of choice will be decorative bowls of Oranje. The banquet awaits tomorrow.

  8. 8.

    Leeds man

    July 6, 2010 at 2:08 pm

    Netherlands by 2.

    Uruguay is practically flat. No mountains.

  9. 9.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 6, 2010 at 2:08 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:

    I’m wrong. I guess there is a small land border with Brazil.

  10. 10.

    sublime33

    July 6, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    It is the only South American country completely south of the Tropic of Capricorn

  11. 11.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    @handsmile: I like your style!

  12. 12.

    LT

    July 6, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    I was going to also say something about no areas over _____ feet. But I had no idea what number to put in.

  13. 13.

    madmatt

    July 6, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    I will take no coastline for a $1000 alex.

  14. 14.

    akaoni

    July 6, 2010 at 2:16 pm

    I was going to guess landlocked as well, but that’s Paraguay not Uruguay…

  15. 15.

    LT

    July 6, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    @madmatt: No, Paraguay is landlocked.

  16. 16.

    alex

    July 6, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    I was going to go with Leeds Man, but I think French Guiana is similarly flat.
    So- all south of the Tropics, then

  17. 17.

    Tom

    July 6, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    @madmatt: Bolivia.

  18. 18.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    July 6, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    It’s the only country that allows you to use your hands south of the goal box.

    Easy.

  19. 19.

    wengler

    July 6, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    Only that contemptible handball and the postgame celebration of it could make me say this:

    Go Dutchmen!

  20. 20.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    Alex and sublime 33 got it right: it’s the only country in South America outside of the tropics.

  21. 21.

    Some immigrant guy

    July 6, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    what geographic fact makes Uruguay unique among South American Countries?

    Who cares? They got 3 U’s in their name, doesn’t that make them special enough?

    Ps. They’ll lose tonight. Dutch are too good.

  22. 22.

    licensed to kill time

    July 6, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    It’s the only country shaped exactly like a llama’s head!

    Oh wait, that’s Peru…..never mind. /E.Litella

  23. 23.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    @Mark S.:

    Actually it quite possibly has the southern most capital of a non-island nation.

  24. 24.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    @LT: Highest point is 514m. I can’t find anything else interesting in the CIA Factbook under geography.

  25. 25.

    thomas

    July 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    Bolivia is also land locked – like Paraguay. I’m going with outside tropics.

  26. 26.

    J.W. Hamner

    July 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    @handsmile:

    Hmmm… I didn’t realize he was bragging about the hand ball. I was going to half root for them ‘cuz I kind of like Forlan, but you’ve convinced me to go the other way.

  27. 27.

    ricky

    July 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    It put Maggie Thatcher on its coinage and called the damn islands the Falklands. Then they announced it was because they were looking out for the best interests of the sheep.

  28. 28.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    @Napoleon: Buenos Aires is about sixteen minutes further south

  29. 29.

    Leeds man

    July 6, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    @alex:

    Looked it up; French Guiana has a 800+m mountain. Uruguay’s highest point is 514m.

    I’m not letting this go without a fight, Randy. It’s all I have left :)

  30. 30.

    licensed to kill time

    July 6, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    Maybe I was close with the shape thing after all…Uruguay is known as the “heart-shaped country” ?

  31. 31.

    thomas

    July 6, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    @Bill E Pilgrim:
    We have a winner. Handballs outside (inside?) the goal box.

  32. 32.

    peach flavored shampoo

    July 6, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    They have only one of whatever Paraguay has a pair of?

  33. 33.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    @Leeds man: Sorry man, but that doesn’t make it unique. All of them have hills/mountains of some kind.

  34. 34.

    Jason

    July 6, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    I know that Homer pronounces it You-are-gay and it is to the west of Rand McNally.

  35. 35.

    MattR

    July 6, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    @J.W. Hamner: I’d be bragging too if I made the crucial play that allowed my team to advance to the World Cup semifinals.

  36. 36.

    alex

    July 6, 2010 at 2:29 pm

    Oy, look at a map, Uruguay is about as landlocked as France. Uruguay is not Bolivia or Paraguay, and it never had a war with England over the Falklands because it’s over a thousand miles away and not called Argentina.

  37. 37.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:29 pm

    @Randy Paul:

    “PS, on a map I looked at the capitals of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay visually appear to be all on the same longitute, which means each of them is almost certainly south of South Africa, and south of almost all of Australia.”

    So Buenos Aires is just barely south of Uruguay’s.

  38. 38.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    Hand of god or no, Uruguay did what they needed to get here and as their coach pointed out they have zero yellow cards through this point in the tournament.

    But I’m for Holland. I partied with that mob in Germany before they played Argentina and you just cannot be in that scene without getting infected. And boy are they generous when it comes to buying you beer for wearing an orange shirt.
    When the time came to board the trains for Frankfort stadium my wife, brother and our friend stepped on and it filled up quickly, and kept filling up, and kept filling up, until you were literally pressed tightly against every person around you, which got a little weird with the neighbor you were facing. In my case it was balding 20-something, over 2 meters tall and as soon as we started rolling he started belting out Dutch songs. There were a few other Americans and Germans in our press of the crowd and after a couple of rounds of singing the Oranje took it upon themselves to teach us their songs so everyone could sing. As we were unloading I noticed some short Argentineans packed into the corner looking like they just survived a frat hazing. Unless they are playing the US I cannot go against the Dutch ever again.

  39. 39.

    ed_finnerty

    July 6, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    #32

    winner

  40. 40.

    FlipYrWhig

    July 6, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    I think Uruguay is the ancestral homeland of the Uruk-hai.

  41. 41.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    @Napoleon: But Wellington New Zealand is about six degrees further south, so that’s the southernmost capital.

  42. 42.

    Adam C

    July 6, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    Are there any non-tropical SH countries other than Uruguay and New Zealand?

  43. 43.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    OOoooooo

  44. 44.

    Punchy

    July 6, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    If Uruguay wins, does that guarentee a Guay Pride Parade?

  45. 45.

    J.W. Hamner

    July 6, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    @MattR:

    I dunno seems like pretty poor sportsmanship to be proud of cheating… though I suppose it’s not his fault that the rules make that the sensible play.

  46. 46.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:38 pm

    @Randy Paul:

    I don’t know if this information even exist let alone this is what you are looking for but it is possible it is the non-island country with the southern most center of population.

  47. 47.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    @J.W. Hamner: I don’t know if you saw the Dutch kid in the crowd holding the “Hand of the Devil” sign with a picture of Suarez with red horns and beard markered in.

  48. 48.

    Leeds man

    July 6, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    @Randy Paul:

    Ah, but does Uruguay have any mountains? Do all the other countries have at least one? Later.

  49. 49.

    patroclus

    July 6, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Is your name really Randinho?

  50. 50.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    @Randy Paul:

    Isn’t that an island? That is why I qualified it.

  51. 51.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Uruguay is going to struggle to score… Ian Black on Suarez … “he did nothing no other professional footballer would have done”

  52. 52.

    And Another Thing...

    July 6, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    It’s national anthem sounds like it was ripped from an opera. Doesn’t seem too “singable.”

    p.s. an awful lot of violins for a national anthem.

  53. 53.

    wengler

    July 6, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    Looks like Uruguay is going to defend and try its hand at shots from the center-line. The US could’ve beat these fools.

    Maybe.

  54. 54.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Alexi defended it too. I’m a novice fan, but I find their logic unconvincing.

  55. 55.

    Adam C

    July 6, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    @J.W. Hamner:
    Seems a bit like Bobby Clarke bragging about slashing Valeri Kharlamov’s ankle…

  56. 56.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    @wengler: Yes we could have with a proper tactical coach we’d be in this game right now.

  57. 57.

    ColeDBiers

    July 6, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    Looks like a good game.
    Never realized Syracuse and the NC Tarheels were such soccer powerhouses

  58. 58.

    Adam C

    July 6, 2010 at 2:44 pm

    @Napoleon:
    Canberra is farther south than Montevideo (1 degree).

  59. 59.

    salacious crumb

    July 6, 2010 at 2:44 pm

    Go Uruguay! if only because I wanna see the smirk wiped off the Dutch’s face.

  60. 60.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:44 pm

    4 years ago, round of 16 Holland v Portugal … 16 yellow cards, four red

  61. 61.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    @ColeDBiers: Go Syracuse!

  62. 62.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    Whiny bitches need to get off this “cheating”.

  63. 63.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    @Punchy:

    Yes, and teh Uru-Guays will, as usual, go way OTT, teh Para-Guays will be wearing sensible shoes, and teh Trans-Oceanics will be overlooked- as they always are.

  64. 64.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    Sheesh, Uruguay has 37 men back … gonna be tough for the Dutch to score as well.

  65. 65.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    so a little late to the thread cause I was at the dentist. what did I miss?

  66. 66.

    Scott

    July 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    It’s the only South American country whose name is all vowels, including the extremely rare G-vowel.

  67. 67.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    @wengler: They will play two lines of 4 and try to keep them close so there is no space for Schneider. Zonal Marking also thinks the two back lines will be narrow and they ‘ll invite the Dutch into the corners. Robben, on the right, likes to cut back inside so this isn’t a bad idea.

  68. 68.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    @Randy Paul:

    Yep New Z is considered an island, so one of those

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand

    Buenos Aires must be the southern most capital of a non-island nation since Australia’s capital, though in the south is still barely north of Buenos Aires.

    By the way, the official name is Oriental Republic of Uruguay!!

    (PS, I did a book report on Bolivia when I was in grade school I still have – I have always loved geography and maps).

  69. 69.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    Nice shot! And it came from the wide side where there was acres of space.

  70. 70.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    Boooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

  71. 71.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    I guess it begins.

  72. 72.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    Drilled that!

  73. 73.

    Punchy

    July 6, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Spoke too soon, you did.

    GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!

  74. 74.

    Morbo

    July 6, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    DESTROYED!

  75. 75.

    Stroszek

    July 6, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaayum…

  76. 76.

    wengler

    July 6, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    I wonder if that laser goal is going to make Uruguay come out and play.

  77. 77.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    What a howitzer! And the goalie almost tipped it off to the side

  78. 78.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Sure was wasn’t it?

  79. 79.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    What. A. GOAL!

  80. 80.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Direct fire! More like a 106.

  81. 81.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    @Adam C:

    Your right – I was thinking that numbers got smaller as you get closer to the poles but it is the opposite.

  82. 82.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    @Napoleon: Where did the “oriental” come from?

  83. 83.

    And Another Thing...

    July 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    Plus I want a dollar for every time John Harkes says “confidence.” sheesh.

  84. 84.

    burnspbesq

    July 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    Golaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazo!

  85. 85.

    Fern

    July 6, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    that goal was a thing of beauty.

  86. 86.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    @wengler: Their midfield line will need to but they are playing with two defensive mids (halfbacks) so it will probably have to be the wingers and fullbacks who try to get forward.

  87. 87.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    Uruguay was gonna make them work for everything in close, that blast was out of this world and now Uruguay can’t sit back

  88. 88.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    @Bootlegger:

    Per Wiki:

    Translated into English, República Oriental del Uruguay becomes Oriental Republic of Uruguay. The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is named after its geographic location to the east of the Uruguay River. The word Uruguay, coming from the Guaraní language, means “river where the painted birds live”.[8] Since the word “orient” is derived from the Latin word oriens, meaning east, this caused the Uruguayans to be called “orientals”, even though Uruguay is situated in the Western Hemisphere.

  89. 89.

    wengler

    July 6, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    I wish I was watching Ghana v. Netherlands now more than ever.

  90. 90.

    KCinDC

    July 6, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    @Some immigrant guy: “They got 3 U’s in their name, doesn’t that make them special enough?”

    Not special: unusual.

  91. 91.

    Napoleon

    July 6, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    By the way I just noticed Wiki also says:

    Montevideo is the southernmost capital in the Americas.

  92. 92.

    Alex S.

    July 6, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    Hmm… I think we’ll find out that Uruguay only got into this semi-final with a lot of luck.

  93. 93.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 6, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    @You Don’t Say:

    Alexi defended it too. I’m a novice fan, but I find their logic unconvincing.

    As a great man once said, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

  94. 94.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    Their midfield line will need to but they are playing with two defensive mids (halfbacks) so it will probably have to be the wingers and fullbacks who try to get forward.

    Ian just stated that the4y have no wing threat and the Dutch will allow them to funnel into the middle all day

  95. 95.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    Jackie Chan just showed up

  96. 96.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    whoa, talk about drilled!

  97. 97.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    @Napoleon: So all the rednecks in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and the rest of the southeast are actually orientals. Sweet.

  98. 98.

    MattR

    July 6, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    That’s gonna leave a mark

    Was that goal the shot of the tournament?

    @KCinDC: If you want unusual words, find one that has all five vowels and ‘y’ in it in alphabetical order.

  99. 99.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    @Bootlegger: They call a certain are of Atlanta Chambodia! Great Pho.

    http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2004-01-08/grazing.html

  100. 100.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Exactly, this was the ‘Guay’s game plan coming in. But if they want to crank up the O they will have to bring their wings and backs up. They will find nothing in the middle of the field for two lone strikers, not with the Dutch playing two halfbacks (behind four attacking players).

  101. 101.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    July 6, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    @KCinDC: To say that isn’t a win would be untruthful.

  102. 102.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    @MattR: Not to be all America Rules, but I still think Donovan’s roofer that made the goalie *duck* is the goal of the tourney. Not to take anything away from this goal, excellent skill, but how often do you see the goalie flinch.

  103. 103.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    @stuckinred: Mmmmmmmm, pho.

  104. 104.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    Horribly wasted chance by ‘Guay

  105. 105.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    @Bootlegger: There is a joynt here in Athens, no kidding, Just Pho…and more!

  106. 106.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: The centerback Heitzinga made a nice play there tucking his arm behind himself so he couldn’t get a handball.

  107. 107.

    J.W. Hamner

    July 6, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    I don’t know why ESPN must taunt me so by taking so long to put up the video while everybody talks about how great it was.

  108. 108.

    jeffreyw

    July 6, 2010 at 3:08 pm

    The aeiouy was the critter the bandersnatch snatched.

  109. 109.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    @MattR:

    Was that goal the shot of the tournament?

    IMO, yeah. Goal of the tournament so far.

    Much to be said for Donovan’s goal against Slovenia, too. It didn’t rate high on the beauty scale, but it was waaay up there on the balls* scale. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

    *Up until a year and a half ago, the only time I can imagine using “balls” and “Donovan” in the same sentence would be while describing his pre-free kick ritual (“Donovan took three minutes straightening his shirt and picking his balls before launching over the goal.”), or his play in crunch time (“Donovan sucks balls!”).

  110. 110.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    @stuckinred: Nothin’ like that in central KY, though the place down the street advertises “home cookin'” on their sign.

  111. 111.

    Stroszek

    July 6, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Interesting!

  112. 112.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Oh my. Nice goal.

  113. 113.

    ColeDBiers

    July 6, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Go Tarheels !
    woohoo!

  114. 114.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    Forlan!

  115. 115.

    Punchy

    July 6, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    Ruh roh….

    GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLL!

  116. 116.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    Go Uruguay.

  117. 117.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:12 pm

    Unbelievable how much space he had there. Where were the two Dutch halfbacks? Walking down the field? And the goalie should have done better.

  118. 118.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    July 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    Wow. Uhm, okay Uruguay is the country whose goals are closer to the field than they appear.

    Yikes. Two lonng goals.

    The French announcers keep calling a tackle an “intervention”. I realize of course that it’s simply the word for it but I always imagine it as “Look, we all got together, and uh, we think you should give me that ball. (snag) Kay thanks, bye”

  119. 119.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    I was outside the office during that goal standing in the parking lot when all I heard was a loud “gggooooooooooaaaaallllll” from one of the neighbors houses

  120. 120.

    MattR

    July 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    @Bootlegger: That was a good one too though I don’t think the shot itself took quite as much skill. I was also trying to differentiate between shot versus goal. I think David Villa has the goal of the tourney. And Donovan’s goal may end up in the top three for both categories.

    And now I think we need to give a special award to Forlan as shooter of the tournament for his combined effort all tourney long.

  121. 121.

    burnspbesq

    July 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    Soft goal. Sketekenberg should have been able to push it over.

  122. 122.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    I should point out that the ‘Guays are getting their right back up the flank and he’s giving them numbers on that side, which is where the goal started and where this free kick came from.

  123. 123.

    GR

    July 6, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    Diego Forlan is just pure class. Why can’t the U.S. produce a forward with close to that kind of finishing ability? It’s not like Forlan is an athletic freak of nature.

  124. 124.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    Goalie made a quick step to his right while being screened by one of his backs and then the shot curled just enough to get past him. Hockey goal, that was.

  125. 125.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    @MattR: I’ll accept that distinction. Donovan gets the brass balls award then.

  126. 126.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    @GR: Dempsey had several goals like that this year.

    The bigger question is why can’t our stars do this for the Nats.

  127. 127.

    Matt

    July 6, 2010 at 3:22 pm

    @MattR: Are you asking that facetiously?

  128. 128.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    Dammit! Forlan killed my prediction that it would end up 2-0 in favor of the Dutch. Stupid handsome guy…..

  129. 129.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 6, 2010 at 3:24 pm

    @Bootlegger:

    The bigger question is why can’t our stars do this for the Nats.

    Yeah. How come guys like Benny Feilhaber never score wonderful goals in big games, like a final against Mexico?

  130. 130.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: I just linked to that, but the rarity of it supports my point. We get a lot of “gutsy” goals but not many beautiful goals.

  131. 131.

    MattR

    July 6, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    @Bootlegger: It seems like Dempsey and Donovan both find themselves out wide way too often. I can’t remember either of them having the ball in a position to take either of those shots. (EDIT: I missed that you had linked a second video too. And it probably says something that you both picked the same one)

    @Matt: Well done. I was just wondering if it was time to provide an answer.

    @Andy K: I’ve got it 2-1 for Holland (and then 3-2 Spain over Germany)

    (EDIT: And for another random fact, the odds of Giovanni Van Bronckhorst scoring the first goal were 25 to 1)

  132. 132.

    cmorenc

    July 6, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    @Randhino

    what geographic fact makes Uruguay unique among South American Countries?

    A: They’re the only South American country of which Diego Forlan is a citizen and can play for.

    That’s the most valuable unique geographic fact about Uruguay at the moment. But also, Uruguay is the only entirely landlocked SA country, without so much as an inch of oceanic coastline.

  133. 133.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 3:29 pm

    @cmorenc: Bolivia and Paraguay are. Uruguay has Punta del Este, one of the chicest beaches in South America.

  134. 134.

    cmorenc

    July 6, 2010 at 3:29 pm

    OK so I’m wrong about being the only landlocked country (Bolivia). But they are the only SA country with Diego Forlan, which is doing more good right now for Uruguay than Kaka is at the moment for Brazil, Tevez for Argentina, etc.

  135. 135.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 3:30 pm

    @MattR:

    I hadn’t made a prediction on Spain-Germany yet, but I was going to go on record with the same prediction before it started. Germany is going to miss Muller(sp?), and it will throw their game off.

  136. 136.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 3:31 pm

    @Bootlegger: if you want to piss of an Asian, call them oriental.

  137. 137.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    @cmorenc:

    Wrong. Uruguay is on the Atlantic. The Graf Spee tried to enter the port at Montevideo near the beginning of WWII when cornered by a British task force, but ended up scuttled in the mouth of the River Plate.

  138. 138.

    MattR

    July 6, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    @Randy Paul: Growing up, there was a store with a sign in the window that read “High Prices Paid For Old Orientals”. Granted, it was a carpet store, but it was always hilarious at first glance.

  139. 139.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 6, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    @Bootlegger:

    Oops, didn’t notice the hyperlink.

    You do realize that once the U.S. starts banging in golazos the rest of the world will conspire to wipe us off the map? Once U.S. hegemony extends to soccer, it’s all over.

  140. 140.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:36 pm

    @MattR: Dempsey launched lots of balls this round but he was never able to get any on frame. Donovan, IMO, should try it more often.

  141. 141.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:37 pm

    @Randy Paul: Then they have something in common with rednecks.

  142. 142.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Unless they are all whipping us at baseball and basketball by that point. Since we haven’t won many basketball or baseball world titles in the last decade we’re well on our way.

  143. 143.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    Dutch aren’t going to be able to get away with unforced errors like that…

  144. 144.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    @Bootlegger: What exactly do you mean by “World Titles”? Or, to put it another way, who is “we”?

  145. 145.

    MattR

    July 6, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    @Bootlegger: I will take your word for that, though I wonder how many of them were after he was moved up to forward later in matches.

    As for basketball, it really is a strange creature. I don’t think there is much dispute that the United States is the dominant country in the world when it comes to the sport. But because we play with different rules than the rest of the world (among other reasons), we have had trouble at recent international tournaments as the gap with the rest of the world has closed.

    (EDIT: Hey, Robben went to his right, kinda.)

  146. 146.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    @stuckinred: World Baseball Classic=no championships, Japan both times. World Basketball Championships (FIBA)=no final since 1994. Olympic Basketball has our only success in the last decade, two golds in three tries.

  147. 147.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    @Bootlegger: Not a term I use either. It’s certainly class-based. The landed aristocracy in the South didn’t have to have their necks turn red working in the fields.

  148. 148.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    @Randy Paul:

    That’s probably not the origin of the term, Randinho.

    Rednecks were Scots Lowland, Low Church Presbyters who distinguished themselves from High Church folk by wearing red kerchiefs around their necks. Many of them helped conquer Ireland and settle Ulster, then their descendents ended up settling in the American South.

  149. 149.

    stuckinred

    July 6, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    @Bootlegger: Come on dawg, you don’t really consider those rinkey-dink things world titles? Nah, you’re just kidding around.

  150. 150.

    Matt

    July 6, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    Pardon me if this has been answered elsewhere, but what would the South Africans think if Holland (source of the Afrikaners) wins?

  151. 151.

    NobodySpecial

    July 6, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    @Andy K: Old joke: An Irishman is a Scotsman that learned to swim.

  152. 152.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    @Andy K: Well, I grew up in that part of the country (primarily Alabama & Florida with some time in Georgia & Tennessee) and that’s what my family was always told it came from.

  153. 153.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    Huge miss by the Dutch, huge, they may rue that

  154. 154.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    GOOOOOOOOAL!

  155. 155.

    Punchy

    July 6, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!

    (that never gets old)

    Holy crap!

    GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL! AGAIN!

  156. 156.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    come on Uruguay, you can do it. tie them!

  157. 157.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    Too much Dutch pressure …. you could almost say they put the uruguay defense into a Dutch oven. And if that can be called offside as said by Ian, why even bother playing the fucking game anymore. There is no more useless rule in any sport, one missed more often and that has major impact in every match then offside.

  158. 158.

    MikeJ

    July 6, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    Get out your wooden shoes boys, party in Dutch town tonight!

  159. 159.

    Moonbatting Average

    July 6, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    They’re talking possible offsides, but it’s not even clear to me that the Dutch player touched the ball as it went past

  160. 160.

    MattR

    July 6, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    Tough call to make. Personally, I thought Van Perise was trying to get his leg out of the way of the ball. But then again, I also hate how tightly they call offsides in the first place. And I predicted a 2-1 Dutch victory.

  161. 161.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    @MattR: It’s not just the rules but also the teamwork of other national teams. Our pro game is so 1v1, 2v2 pick-n-roll, and fastbreak oriented we struggle against a team that slows the tempo down and effectively uses all 5 players.

    Dempsey and Donovan “pinch inside” in the US scheme and the fullbacks move up the flanks. You saw Cherundolo and Bornstein on the flanks way more than Dempsey or Donovan.
    Zonal Marking explains it better than me.

  162. 162.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    @Randy Paul:

    It seems to have evolved the way you learned it, but the term pre-dates American colonization amongst the ancestors of those who settled in Dixie.

  163. 163.

    Moonbatting Average

    July 6, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    HELL YEAH!!!

  164. 164.

    zzyzx

    July 6, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    Wow! That 3rd goal was impressive.

  165. 165.

    Leeds man

    July 6, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    @Matt:

    Not much. They have a barbaric preference for the RU version.

  166. 166.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    GOAL AND GAME!

  167. 167.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    oh my. I think that is it. poor little uruguay.

  168. 168.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    Oh my.

  169. 169.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    @Andy K: It’s a term of satirical honor for all my blue collar friends here.

  170. 170.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    I like the way that the Dutch are spreading the wealth.

  171. 171.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    Oh to be in Amsterdam … and no Ian, that second goal is in no way debateable.

  172. 172.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:04 pm

    @stuckinred: Yeah, you’re right, if we’re not winning it then it must not be a world title, even if the whole world is competing and we send our pros.

    Looked like van Persie was offside on that goal. Waiting for replay. No, good call.

  173. 173.

    cmorenc

    July 6, 2010 at 4:04 pm

    2nd Holland goal should have been cancelled for offside. The Dutch player in an offside position lifted his foot to avoid making contact with the shot, but he nonetheless “interfered with an opponent”, i.e. the Uruguanian goalkeeper, by standing astride the GK’s line of vision on the shot’s trajectory along the ground.

    Holland arguably made the AR/Referee’s mistake moot by scoring that third goal, but OTOH 2-1 isn’t the hill to climb to get back in that 3-1 is with only 20:00 or so left.

  174. 174.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:06 pm

    @Matt: I was wondering that myself. Afrikaans is still one of the official languages.

  175. 175.

    Face

    July 6, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    Looks like Germany rolls into the Netherlands for a all-Yurrup final….

    Yep, I said it.

  176. 176.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    OK, guess I should do some work

  177. 177.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    @Bootlegger:

    Yeah, I got that. Just pointing out the origins.

    BTW, I’m blue collar, and I never, ever associated with the term. The furthest south any of my roots spread is to Allegan County, Michigan, and those ancestors were Ottawa. I’ve got Pomeranian-German, Quebecoise-French, Northern English and County Mayo Irish in me, and I burn fairly easily, but never related to the term.

  178. 178.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    July 6, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    I picked the Netherlands in our World Cup pool.

    Come on boys, Rusty needs a new pair of shoes!

  179. 179.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    All 3 goals for the Dutch started wide then came into the middle. Some teams are not good at wide play, the Dutch are experts at it and its strange that Uruguay decided to let them have all that space. Of course the Dutch are also pretty good coming right down the middle with short passes and they can also play long balls over the top so I guess its pick-your-poison.

  180. 180.

    cmorenc

    July 6, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    Uruguay losing is appropriate karma for the egregiously unsporting way they prevented a sure Ghana goal with a flagrantly deliberate handling by Suarez to keep the ball from going into the goal.

    The magnificence of Diego Forlan is almost enough to make up for that egregiously bad bit of karma by his mate, but not enough IMHO.

    The Dutch deserve a shot at a WC title, and that adds to the just karma going on – the mistake on the offside by the AR/Referee on the 2nd Dutch goal helped mightily to even out the karma department on Suarez’s deliberate handling, without which Uruguay wouldn’t be in the semifinal.

  181. 181.

    Face

    July 6, 2010 at 4:11 pm

    @cmorenc: He was not offsides. Not even close.

  182. 182.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    Netherlands players look older. Are they or do they just look it?

  183. 183.

    cmorenc

    July 6, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    @Face
    WHAT game were you watching? The player who struck the ball on-and-into goal was certainly not offside – it was a Dutch player in an offside position along the flight line of the ball who was the critical player – he successfully lifted his foot in time to allow the ball to run under him untouched, but in doing so was standing directly astride the line of the ball for the goalkeeper’s vision. That IS an offside violation “interfering with an opponent”. (I’ve refereed competitive soccer for 14 years).

  184. 184.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    oh wow. if they could do one more?

  185. 185.

    MikeJ

    July 6, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    They think it’s all over!

  186. 186.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    I totally missed that goal.

  187. 187.

    Gozer

    July 6, 2010 at 4:23 pm

    ORANJE!

  188. 188.

    cmorenc

    July 6, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    That 2nd Dutch goal really did prove critical.

  189. 189.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    @You Don’t Say: It’s the bald heads. They actually jettisoned the old guard for this cycle.

  190. 190.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    @You Don’t Say:
    They are still tied for 8th oldest.

  191. 191.

    Tractarian

    July 6, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    @handsmile:

    While Marco Materazzi awaits to crown his successor as World Cup Villain, the leading candidate must be Luis Suarez for his self-proclaimed “Hand of God” against Ghana.

    Yeah, Materazzi, what a dick. First, he scores a goal in the World Cup final. Then, he gets the other team’s captain to lose his temper, headbutt him and get sent off! Villainous!

  192. 192.

    SRW1

    July 6, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    @cmorenc:

    My recollection is that a player is not offside if the ball is last played by a player of the opponent’s team. Since you claim to have been a ref you should now that for sure. But if that is correct, then the 2nd goal for Holland was not offside because the ball was last touched, and slightly deflected, by an Uruguay defender before van Persie lifted his foot.

  193. 193.

    Andy K

    July 6, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    Hup, Holland, hup!

    Time to go do blue collar stuff. Looking forward to your thoughts on the game later on, Randinho.

  194. 194.

    Tractarian

    July 6, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    @MikeJ:

    It is now!

  195. 195.

    Face

    July 6, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    it was a Dutch player in an offside position

    ESPN has been showing the replay over and over and over. At the time of the ball strike, the Dutch player was NOT behind the last defender; he was aside him. Ergo, no offsides. Unless they’ve changed the definition of offsides.

  196. 196.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    Dutch win and they go crazy in Amersterdam.

  197. 197.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    @You Don’t Say: It’s the herring. that would make anyone old.

  198. 198.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    @Face: That’s how I saw it too. At the time the ball was played he was even, when he lifted his foot he was off, but that is not offside.

  199. 199.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    @Bootlegger: And Germany and Spain two of the youngest.

  200. 200.

    Bootlegger

    July 6, 2010 at 4:34 pm

    @You Don’t Say: Those two are going to be big rivals for the next decade, going back to the ’08 UEFA championship and U20 championship.

  201. 201.

    Randy Paul

    July 6, 2010 at 4:44 pm

    @Bootlegger: If his foot is offside, he’s offside:

    In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply: “nearer to his opponents’ goal line” means that any part of a player’s head, body or feet is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. The arms are not included in this definition

    That being said, the ball also came off of a defender and that may have nullified the offside.

  202. 202.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 4:44 pm

    well at least Uruguay did better than both Argentina and Brazil…

  203. 203.

    Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people)

    July 6, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    Luis “Hand of God II” Suarez gets the cosmic finger. Yay Netherlands.

  204. 204.

    Anya

    July 6, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    Fuck, I missed the game because I was doing training. Who the fuck schedules a training in July?

  205. 205.

    wengler

    July 6, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    I don’t know why there has been so much discussion on that second goal. Van Piersie was both active and onside within a reasonable doubt. US-Algeria disallowed goal aside, the attacking player gets the benefit of the doubt on any offsides call and the place of VP’s foot was inconsequential.

  206. 206.

    Randinho

    July 6, 2010 at 4:53 pm

    @wengler: If his foot was offside, he was offside. It was close in any event. It’s also risible for Uruguay to be complaining. At least Van Persie didn’t grab the ball and heave it into the goal . . .

  207. 207.

    bjacques

    July 6, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    Fpfp…thpft…ffff…fwooOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

    Too damn close. Holland almost pissed it away.

    I think I’ve gone native.. I should be howling with joy, in the street, or lighting fireworks and scariong the neighbors, like our neighbor did.

  208. 208.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 4:55 pm

    OK, now I’ve gotta decide which team to root for tomorrow.

  209. 209.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    @You Don’t Say:

    that depends, are you a jinx kinda person?

  210. 210.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    @valdivia: Huh?

    OK,time to turn off ESPN before I hear one more word about LeBron James.

  211. 211.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    For real Randinho? What Suarez did was no worse than what the referees have done to this World Cup. There is no standard visible, calls go unexplained, phantom calls reversed how many goals in the tourney, and you’re still complaining about a guy making a desperate play to keep his team in the game? Maybe you should take up tennis or something.

    You’ve got legions of players flopping, diving and doing their damndest to sway a refs call, but Suarez is the villain. What a load of Jonah Goldberg.

  212. 212.

    Pixie

    July 6, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    ^BS.

    The players don’t have control over the BS officiating, but they do have control over their own actions. Flopping,diving, sliding is crappy playing, but it didn’t directly affect the course of the game like that handball (blatant cheating). The refs. did a pretty good job in this game. The didn’t let the Dutch get away with their dives and basically told them to get the f*ck up or just ignored it altogether. Suarez is the villian and the way they were celebrating afterwords just made me cheer for the Dutch that much harder.

  213. 213.

    CJ

    July 6, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    Can we stop calling it cheating? He did not circumvent the rules, he played within them. He knew what would happen if he used his hands and did so in a calculated decision.

    Unsportsmanlike? Maybe. Cheating? Not by the rules.

  214. 214.

    valdivia

    July 6, 2010 at 5:30 pm

    @You Don’t Say:

    I meant, if you are going to jinx a team by rooting for them I would suggest you support the Spanish since I want the germans to win ;)

  215. 215.

    Pixie

    July 6, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    Yes it was cheating. By that same logic I can go out and kill someone and know I’ll go to prison for my crime. After I get out, can I say I never committed a crime because I served my time knew what would happened if I got caught?

  216. 216.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    @valdivia: My inclination is to root for Germany, but someone just told me Spain has never won. So … it’s a quandary.

  217. 217.

    virginia

    July 6, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    that was a great game … montevideo is a beautiful city

  218. 218.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 6, 2010 at 5:46 pm

    . Flopping,diving, sliding is crappy playing, but it didn’t directly affect the course of the game like that handball (blatant cheating).

    Tell that to Mueller of Germany who won’t play in tomorrow’s game because of a lovely flop by an opponent and yet another horrid call by a WC referee.

    Suarez did exactly what he intended to do, keep the ball out of the net. The penalty for doing so was immediate and as severe as it gets in soccer, a penalty kick. That it was missed by Gyan (so, so sorry my brave Ghanian friend, you and the team deserved better) was heart-breaking.

    I went over your cheating silliness last week, he committed a foul and he was penalized for it. he didn’t cheat, he committed a foul that should have cost his team a game, but it turned out differently. Again, going offside is not cheating, it’s a foul. Stomping onto an opponent’s ankle during the run of play is a foul, not cheating. It was a last-ditch desperate gamble and that’s why he watched from the sidelines today.

  219. 219.

    You Don't Say

    July 6, 2010 at 5:50 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: I’m asking this honestly because I know nothing about the sport: what is cheating?

  220. 220.

    Leeds man

    July 6, 2010 at 5:51 pm

    @CJ:

    Agreed. Cheating implies deception. Batting a ball away with your arms is not deception, it’s desperation. He did what almost every player on the planet would have done, if he couldn’t get head, chest or feet to the ball. And it wouldn’t have been done with evil intent – he didn’t have the time to construct intent.

  221. 221.

    Leeds man

    July 6, 2010 at 5:58 pm

    @You Don’t Say:

    What Cristiano Ronaldo does.

  222. 222.

    Frank

    July 6, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    @Pixie:

    Yes it was cheating. By that same logic I can go out and kill someone and know I’ll go to prison for my crime. After I get out, can I say I never committed a crime because I served my time knew what would happened if I got caught?

    Cheating or not, what he did was no different than a player who trips another player, it was no different than a player who is caught being offside etc etc. Heck, it was no different than fouling somebody in basketball.

    It is all part of the game. All these examples result in penalties. This is why Suarez got a red card.

  223. 223.

    rec

    July 6, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    I’m really tired of all the talk about flopping. If it’s a case of an obvious dive it’s one thing, but sometimes (like Kuyt towards the end) the other player kicked his shin. Unless you are the player you have no idea how much it actually hurts. Maybe it didn’t, but maybe it did.

    Even the case with Robben, there seemed to be some testicular contact there. And van Bommel after his tackle from behind — there was nothing obvious in the tackle, but he clearly hurt himself.

    It’s easy sitting miles away and saying it’s all fake, but a lot of times even a little contact can go a long way.

  224. 224.

    frankdawg

    July 6, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    @Leeds man:
    Now if he took steroids & hit 714 home runs (or 71 in a season) THAT would be cheating. But what he did was more like trapping a fly ball – against the rules & the umps would call it no catch.

  225. 225.

    HyperIon

    July 6, 2010 at 6:17 pm

    @J.W. Hamner: I kind of like Forlan

    yeah, me, too.
    i’d never heard of him before the world cup.
    he’s a stylish attacker.

  226. 226.

    Bill Murray

    July 6, 2010 at 6:17 pm

    @CJ: How did he not circumvent the rules — the rules say only the goalkeeper is allowed to use their hands and only within the 18 yard box. That there are penalties for this type of circumvention is acknowledgment that some people will try to circumvent the rules, not that the offense is not against the rules.

  227. 227.

    cmorenc

    July 6, 2010 at 6:27 pm

    @SRW1

    My recollection is that a player is not offside if the ball is last played by a player of the opponent’s team. Since you claim to have been a ref you should now that for sure. But if that is correct, then the 2nd goal for Holland was not offside because the ball was last touched, and slightly deflected, by an Uruguay defender before van Persie lifted his foot.

    For a defender’s touch to reset the offside, it must be “played”, meaning in this context not just an uncontrolled deflection, but a ball that the defender is either able to play with control (perhaps with unwise or risky consequences) or else the ball is one that should be readily controllable by players at that skill level, but the player simply technically fluffs it. It does not include even a deliberate effort by a defender to play a ball that, by virtue of distance, speed, trajectory, etc is very difficult to deflect with any control over direction, weight, trajectory, etc.

    Played is nearly synonymous with “controlled or should be controlled” in this context.

  228. 228.

    Nik

    July 6, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    Uruguay does not have a native population (well, anymore).

  229. 229.

    SRW1

    July 6, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    @cmorenc:

    Thanks for that clarification.

  230. 230.

    Randinho

    July 6, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Mueller is not out because someone flopped; he’s out because he was carded for a very marginal handball.

  231. 231.

    Tokyokie

    July 6, 2010 at 10:00 pm

    @MattR:

    I can only answer facetiously.

  232. 232.

    Leeds man

    July 6, 2010 at 10:24 pm

    @Tokyokie:

    Or you could try to answer abstemiously.

  233. 233.

    Randinho

    July 6, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    It definitely has to be an adverb.

  234. 234.

    Kelly

    July 6, 2010 at 11:43 pm

    @Randinho: Mueller’s first yellow was kinda dubious as well (I’m no expert, but he looked to be going for the ball – absolutely a foul, but not card-worthy). And it definitely involved some impressive rolling around on the ground on the part of the Ghanian player involved, who I’m sure subsequently lost that leg.

  235. 235.

    Gian

    July 6, 2010 at 11:51 pm

    @rec:

    we’re mostly americans, the peeps who know Ronnie Lott hacked off part of a finger to return to a game, if a hit doesn’t bring a Joe Theisman-like compound fracture, we expect people to pop up and tough it out.

    and – that – not being the point

    I think the floppers (and you can see people in slow-mo just lose their balance) do themselves poorly because it should make the other players percieve weakness. If you’re playing a world class event, and the other side has to fake injury to get help?

    Well, if it was hockey you’d likely deliver a real injury.

    and if you commit the foul, knowing it’s a foul, and knowing it’ll get called, well, in the USA for a decade it was called the “Hack a Shaq” defense

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - way2blue - SINALEI, SAMOA—RESPITE EDITION—FEBRUARY 2025.  (second of five) 8
Image by way2blue (7/16/25)
Donate

Recent Comments

  • Paul in KY on Unraveling (Open Thread) (Jul 16, 2025 @ 1:33pm)
  • Bupalos on Unraveling (Open Thread) (Jul 16, 2025 @ 1:33pm)
  • H.E.Wolf on Open Thread: PEPFAR No Longer on the GOP Chopping Block (Jul 16, 2025 @ 1:32pm)
  • Anne Laurie on Open Thread: PEPFAR No Longer on the GOP Chopping Block (Jul 16, 2025 @ 1:32pm)
  • sab on Unraveling (Open Thread) (Jul 16, 2025 @ 1:31pm)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

Feeling Defeated?  If We Give Up, It's Game Over

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!