Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

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

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

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

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Fight them, without becoming them!

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

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

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

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Mexico v Cameroon Open Thread

Reader Interactions

226Comments

  1. 1.

    Tommy

    This is where I am FUBAR. I got rid of cable TV a few months ago. I have the MLB package so I can watch my St. Louis Cardinals. But I guess I can’t see the World Cup. I went to FIFA and they don’t seem to have a streaming feed. Any suggestions for a feed would be welcome.

  2. 2.

    dedc79

    Infuriated that Mexico snuck in b/c of a favor from the U.S. and then landed an easier draw than the U.S. Let’s go Cameroon! (and NY Rangers!)

  4. 4.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Tommy:

    No cable here, either, but my local ESPN radio affiliate is carrying the games. If you don’t have a local affiliate, I believe you can stream those games via ESPN’s website.

  7. 7.

    Steeplejack

    @Alex S.:

    Would that be an upset? I know Mexico is supposed to be weak (maybe just weaker than usual), but I haven’t followed Cameroon at all.

  10. 10.

    Stan Gable

    @Tommy:

    If you don’t mind spanish, Univision is showing every game on TV and streaming all of the opening round games online.

  11. 11.

    Stan Gable

    @Tommy:

    If you don’t mind spanish, Univision is showing every game on TV and streaming all of the opening round games online.

  12. 12.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @raven:

    Sorry. I meant that you can stream the ESPN Radio broadcasts through the website.

  14. 14.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Steeplejack: Mexico has struggled but they are not “weak.” They will dominate possession today and have already missed three good chances.

    For the guy at to, ESPN3 is where you want to go to watch the stream as I am doing right now

  19. 19.

    Tommy

    @dedc79: I recall living in DC. I think you call it a “friendly.” RFK stadium. Mexico vs. US. I thought I was in Mexico. And I mean that in a good way. Maybe the loudest I’ve ever heard a sporting event.

  27. 27.

    dedc79

    Yeah the US National team has been on a perpetual search for an american venue where the mexican fans will not outnumber and outcheer the US fans. I figure eventually they’ll settle on playing them somewhere in rural New Hampshrie.

  29. 29.

    raven

    And the announcer notes that “the game is officiated by humans and they make mistakes”.

    Thank you, thank you very much.

  30. 30.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Brian R.:

    Are you referring to the dos Santos offside call? Looked as if he was.

  31. 31.

    Amir Khalid

    @Tommy:
    Too bad you’re not in Thailand. In an act of shameless post-coup pandering, the military junta has ordered that the World Cup be broadcast on free TV.

  32. 32.

    Stan Gable

    @raven:

    Says Univision has it free.

    Also note that Univision is OTA (broadcast) so you can usually get it with rabbit ears. /End advertisement for Univision.

  33. 33.

    Tommy

    @Stan Gable: I don’t mind. Just realized I got no clue on a Spanish POV. Took me like ten minutes to find the video. Clicking on stuff clueless to what I was clicking on :).

  36. 36.

    Violet

    @Tommy: Check out Wiziwig. It’s P2P streaming for sports. Some of the feeds can be crap. We use it for rugby when there are no other options. Depending on if you’re going with Flash or Sopcast or whatever, feeds slow when more people join. Ads can be crappy and intrusive. But sometimes it works great.

  38. 38.

    Stan Gable

    @Tommy:

    Took me like ten minutes to find the video. Clicking on stuff clueless to what I was clicking on :).

    Usually, just look for a placement that has the words “En vivo” underneath it or in the image and you should be fine.

  39. 39.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Stan Gable:

    …so you can usually get it with rabbit ears.

    Usually where? We have a not-small hispanic population here, and we don’t have an OTA broadcaster for Univision.

  47. 47.

    Morzer

    Hopefully Cameroon has now realized that going forward is much more likely to get you a good result than bumbling about in your own half.

  49. 49.

    Amir Khalid

    Interesting American usage, “offsides”. Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, we say “offside”, no plural.

  50. 50.

    Violet

    @Morzer: Thanks for the link. We’ve had pretty good luck with Wiziwig. Sometimes you have to rotate through feeds, but it works. Haven’t had great luck getting it to record from there. Rugby matches are often played at inconvenient times in the US so it would be nice to be able to record it. Haven’t quite mastered that yet.

  54. 54.

    Red Apple Smokes

    I’m not sure if it was here or on Twitter, but I saw something about moving the 2022 Cup to the U.S. Two questions: Has anyone else heard this? and Could another World Cup on American soil be the thing that finally pushes futbol/soccer over the top as a spectator sport here in the U.S.?

  58. 58.

    ? Martin

    @Morzer: Yeah. I’m sure Amir can correct us on what proper rain looks like but that’s brutal conditions to play in.

    And without the rain, that was a goal.

  59. 59.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Red Apple Smokes: It’s simply a rumor, one that the US has denied. The reason for the rumor is because of the open and ugly graft and bribery that saw the games awarded to Qatar. Several prominent folks have complained about the preparations and the use of slave labor in Qatar and it’s been bandied about to move the WC to the U.S,.

    As of now it’s nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    Have relatives in Curitiba who have collectively agree to huddle indoors until the World Cup hoo-ha has passed.

    @Tommy

    Hoping you take this in the spirit of good will which is intended but have noticed its use repeatedly, so not just a typo,

    The word is clothes, not cloths.

    /inner proofreader

  62. 62.

    Tommy

    @Red Apple Smokes: I have not heard that. What I have heard is it will just revert to the previous site if Qatar can’t pull it off. Brazil.

    About soccer becoming mainstream, well I just don’t know. The first sport I played as a child was soccer. My niece who is 40 years my younger, her first sport is soccer. Somehow we seem to move on to other sports.

  65. 65.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @HumboldtBlue:

    It could happen, and it wouldn’t be unprecedented: In 1982, Colombia resigned as host of the 1986 tournament, and the tournament was assigned to Mexico in 1983.

    We have the existing infrastructure. Those who have been to multiple WC tournaments still glow about the ’94 tournament experience.

  66. 66.

    Violet

    @Red Apple Smokes: From an SB Nation article on the rumor:

    Rumors are going to swirl until FIFA actually takes the tournament from Qatar or Qatar hosts it. Until then, it’s just a series of “what ifs.”

  67. 67.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Tommy: Soccer is not the sport of the poor in the US, football and basketball are the sports of the poor. Soccer is a middle class sport here and we’ll never become a world power because in every other nation the choice of sport for the poor is soccer and that means more organic and self-motivated players who develop their skills outside of rigid instruction and adult supervision.

    Think of how our best basketball players develop and it’s the same for soccer everywhere else. Jurgen Klinnsman has made this same point several times

  69. 69.

    burnspbesq

    @Morzer:

    Doubtless Cacti will explain that it doesn’t really affect the course of the game.

    Cacti is busy washing the cum stains off his (her?) replica Brazil kit.

  71. 71.

    ? Martin

    @Red Apple Smokes: Yes, I’ve seen that now reported out of some pretty reputable places. I suspect that FIFA is sufficiently embarrassed about Qatar that they’re going to find a corruption outcome no matter what, just to have an excuse to get out from under this.

    Bringing it to the US is a good idea. We had one of the cheapest cups in 1994 and it remains the best attended. Shove everyone into NFL stadiums and call it a day. Nothing really to build, just a lot of coordination.

  72. 72.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Our version of football began as a rich man’s game, and I think there’s a good chance that it dies under the weight of insurance costs at the developmental- high school and below- level.

  73. 73.

    HumboldtBlue

    Ay Caramba! El Tri! They have created 10 solid chances and four excellent chances, you can’t let Cameroon hang around, too much speed and strength they can use in a quick counter.

  76. 76.

    Red Apple Smokes

    Thanks for the info, everyone. I had heard about the graft regarding the Qatar bid, I guess I’m surprised that pulling the event is being discussed. I suppose that I just assumed that everyone was in on the shady dealing, and it is just how this type of thing is done.

    Soccer was the first organized sport I played, but I moved on to baseball and hoops after one season. I picked it back up in high school for a few seasons but nothing too serious. I now enjoy watching a match occasionally, but I usually have a hard time finding anyone that is willing to sit down and share the experience.

  77. 77.

    burnspbesq

    @? Martin:

    Europeans bitched about the travel and the heat in 1994, and will do so again whenever the World Cup is played here. By their standards, the only cities in North America fit to host a World Cup are Seattle and Vancouver.

  79. 79.

    Amir Khalid

    @? Martin:
    I remember a rainstorm during a Formula 1 race here that was so heavy, it literally (i.e. not figuratively) washed Michael Schumacher off the road. Schumacher and (ETA: Ferrari teammate) Rubens Barrichello spent over a minute in the pits, and still they finished the race first and second.

  80. 80.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @NotMax: Probably not a bad idea. The Cameroonian and Australian teams were training here in Vitoria, the Aussies staying at a place called Ilha do Boi. There was a navy patrol off the coast of the island. The Cameroon team was staying at the Sheraton in a neighborhood called Praia de Santa Helena. Security was extremely tight.

  81. 81.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I’m willing to settle for every other WC tournament. There are a few European countries that could host it without a huge financial outlay, too.

  82. 82.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Soccer is not what is played in poor South Philly, New Orleans, NYC or even Los Angeles neighborhoods. We are building slowly but it’s not our organic sport, football and basketball attract our fastest and strongest young athletes. We’ve been having this discussion for decades now and until soccer becomes the sport of the poor we will continue to good but never great.

    Think of it this way, think of all of those Division 1-AA, D-II and D-III athletes at universities across the nation and if they played soccer instead of football and basketball, we would be a world power akin to our track and field and basketball dominance

  83. 83.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @burnspbesq:

    Heh. This year’s games in the north of Brazil are going to make ’em forget all about that.

  84. 84.

    Onkel Fritze

    @? Martin: What do you mean, “no matter what”? Do you seriously think that there’s a possibility that giving the Cup to Qatar involved no corruption?

  85. 85.

    Tommy

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I played rich man sports. Tennis and golf. Heck went to college on a Division I golf scholarship. I wouldn’t call soccer a poor persons sport, but all you need is a ball. Pretty basic. I’ve seen videos of kids throughout the world that can’t get a proper soccer ball and they make them out of gosh knows what.

  86. 86.

    Morzer

    @HumboldtBlue:

    The thing is, soccer isn’t an obvious career path to wealth in the US. Football and baseball and basketball all have a clear edge there.

  88. 88.

    HumboldtBlue

    Watching the highlights Mexico was robbed on first offside that canceled the goal, they should be ahead 1-0

  91. 91.

    Morzer

    @raven:

    True – but soccer can’t even provide that minuscule opportunity in the US right now. There’s no dream of millions to incentivize the growth of the game.

    And, apparently, Beckenbauer has just been banned for 90 days from all FIFA activities for his refusal to cooperate with the corruption investigation.

  92. 92.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: Given. But If I am not mistaken the richest sports team in the world is Real Madrid.They play their team members more than the Yankees by a few factors if I am not mistaken.

  94. 94.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    Yes, but, although I hate to be pedantic about this, they are somewhat geographically remote from the USA.

  95. 95.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Morzer: The analysts agree with you, enjoy the second half I have work to do, see ya for the game of the day — Spain vs. Holland

  96. 96.

    Alex S.

    Heh, Fifa just banned Franz Beckenbauer from any football related activity for 90 days because he didn’t participate in an ethics inquiry concerning the Qatar world cup.

  97. 97.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @Tommy: My wife to.d me that if kids in her hometown dis not have a ball, they would go the butcher to see if they had a freshly slaughtered pig to have him wash out the bladder and inflate it.

  98. 98.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I understand what has happened (and it was baseball that hindered the early growth of the game here, American football being a college- a rich man’s- game in the late 19th century). It’s the concussion problem in American football, and the small rosters of basketball squads that offer the association game a chance to grow here.

    BTW: Who’s dominating track and field now? I think the balance of power has shifted to the Caribbean.

  99. 99.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @Tommy: My wife to.d me that if kids in her hometown dis not have a ball, they would go the butcher to see if they had a freshly slaughtered pig to have him wash out the bladder and inflate it.

  100. 100.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @Tommy: My wife told me that if kids in her hometown dis not have a ball, they would go the butcher to see if they had a freshly slaughtered pig to have him wash out the bladder and inflate it.

  101. 101.

    Amir Khalid

    Apparently, per the Guardian liveblog, Mexican fans are chanting the word puto at Cameroon players. I checked an online dictionary: as I suspected, it’s the masculine of puta. Mexico could get in trouble for that.

  104. 104.

    ? Martin

    @HumboldtBlue: There’s a lot of soccer played here, but a lot of it isn’t visible. The latino student organizations have actually organized their own intercollegiate league. The two matches that I saw rivaled our Division I team.

    Why weren’t they playing for the Div I team? Half of them were DREAM kids – not here legally. So they said fuck the NCAA.

  107. 107.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Morzer:

    The second call, maybe, and even then the flick off the Cameroonian defender’s head was difficult enough to see on video replay.

  108. 108.

    Morzer

    @Alex S.:

    Oh that is very good! Well played!

    I just fear we shall see a Qataract of accusations pouring down over the beautiful game.

  113. 113.

    Morzer

    @Alex S.:

    Thank God for that, because so am I!

    (And now, of course, someone will pop up with a wordplay we didn’t think of!)

  116. 116.

    Amir Khalid

    Meanwhile, there have been complaints about the pitch at the Amazon Arena in Manaus, upon which England and Italy play their first group match this weekend. It’s so dry that a BBC reporter says she saw the groundskeeping staff painting the brown spots green.

  117. 117.

    Onkel Fritze

    Trouble is that FIFA picks their refs by geography. Yesterdays ref was from Japan, todays is Colombian. If you’re used to refereeing in those leagues, you are going to have trouble with the speed of the game played at the Cup.

  121. 121.

    Tommy

    @raven: No I don’t think he would.But then again maybe a dude that could be the best of any sport he wanted. A more modern day Jim Thrope.

  123. 123.

    Alex S.

    @Morzer:

    Of course… oh a goal! I had already suspected that someone spent a significant amount of money on a 0-0 draw.

  126. 126.

    burnspbesq

    @Tommy:

    The grainy black & white film of Jim Brown playing lacrosse for Syracuse has to be seen to be believed.

  127. 127.

    pseudonymous in nc

    ESPN3 doesn’t appear to have any restrictions if you have an internet-only account with a cable company. The later games may be locked to people with TV subscriptions.

    I’m liking the “Univision but in English” approach that they’re taking on this one: it feels more appropriate for American match commentary than either borrowing British commentators or putting American sportsballers in the booth.

    Mexico will feel very badly done by so far.

    As for Qatar: the US bid’s reliance upon NFL stadiums and open college bowls was a double-edged sword. Although that cut the budget, most soccer-specific stadiums in the US aren’t big, and most big stadiums in the US aren’t really suited for soccer, especially in June-July.

  128. 128.

    Bob In Portland

    Ukrainian tank offsides. Driven into Russian territory where it broke down. Probably another false flag attempt or provocation of some sort.

  129. 129.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @burnspbesq:

    The can of white stuff makes its World Cup debut.

    It was deployed in the second half of Brazil-Croatia, and it looked like the players tried to erase it with their feet as soon as it was sprayed.

  134. 134.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Alex S.:

    Hehe! (I think I’m out of words.)

    Those responsible for that 2022 selection deserve to be Qatarred and feathered.

  142. 142.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Morzer:

    Wellllll….I do think you pulled the Qatarp over it pretty quickly.

  146. 146.

    Simeon

    @Morzer:

    It’s quite an epic rainstorm they are playing in.

    Northeastern Brazilian winter: still warm, but frequent “epic” rainstorms.

  148. 148.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Simeon:

    Fortaleza, Recife and Natal aren’t exactly cool climates in the winter, either.

  149. 149.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Violet:

    FTW!

    It was just sittin’ there and waitin’ to be played, wasn’t it?

  150. 150.

    NotMax

    @Morzer et al.

    There’s an Elfquest pun in there somewhere, but too logy to go hunting it.

    7:45 a.m. Perhaps should attempt some sleep. Or not.

  151. 151.

    burnspbesq

    Mexico is reallllly living dangerously. Cynically killing off games doesn’t come naturally to them, and it shows.

  153. 153.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Tommy:

    I think our opener is in Natal, where this game is being played.

  154. 154.

    Simeon

    @Tommy:

    Isn’t that where the US plays their opening match?

    Looks like the US plays their second game in Manaus. Good luck…

  156. 156.

    Stan Gable

    @Simeon:

    Looks like the US plays their second game in Manaus. Good luck…

    Eh, the sand field and brutal humidity will probably help the US in that one.

  157. 157.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Morzer:

    Damned lurkers. Someday a hard Bahrain will fall and wash them off the streets.

  158. 158.

    Simeon

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    Fortaleza, Recife and Natal aren’t exactly cool climates in the winter, either.

    Depends on the day and on what you consider “cool.” Natal right now is a torrential rainstorm – temps probably in the mid-70s. If you hit a sunny day, it might make it up to low 80s. Nothing compared to Qatar in 8 years…

  159. 159.

    Alex S.

    Hmm, Mexico were/are obviously the better team, but Cameroon had a good amount of good chances. Maybe 2-1 Mexico would have been a just result.

  160. 160.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Stan Gable:

    Yep. Our guys- at least those who grew up here, rather than in Europe- have played a lot of footy in hot weather.

  165. 165.

    Suffern ACE

    @Red Apple Smokes: I’m not in favor of the US stepping in to help FIFA in any way. It was their decision to put it in Qatar and I don’t see the need for the US to be FIFA patsy because Coke and Budweiser are upset about their names being pasted up as supporters of slave labor practices.

  169. 169.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Simeon:

    Nothing compared to Qatar in 8 years…

    True, but this thread spun off the idea that Europeans complained about the heat in the US in ’94- which I don’t think was much worse than Spain in ’82.

    Were you in on that conversation a few weeks ago about the Qatar tournament? I brought up the Arizona D-backs’ park, and how they deal with the desert heat there. It’s possible to build stadiums in the desert that don’t put the players at risk. That isn’t my big concern there- it’s the slave labor that bothers me.

  173. 173.

    cleek

    want to see red turn blue?

    Brat:

    Asked about cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance*, Brat replied that he supported drastic reductions in payouts from social programs for seniors:

    I’ll give you my general answer. And my general answer is you have to do what’s fair. Right. So you put together a graph or a chart and you go out to the American people, you go to the podium, and you say, this is what you put in on average, this is what you get out on average. Currently, seniors are getting about three dollars out of all of the programs for every dollar they put in. So, in general, you’ve got to go to the American people and just be honest with them and say, “Here’s what fairness would look like.” Right. So, maybe the next ten years we have to grandfather some folks in, but basically we’re going to move them in a direct line toward fairness and we have to live within our means.

    please proceed, professor!

  175. 175.

    Morzer

    @cleek:

    I bet he has a Keep The Gubmint Outta My Healthcare sign in his closet. Probably with one of those nasty Piss Snake flags the teabaggerati like to haul around with them everywhere.

  176. 176.

    Calouste

    @cleek:

    Hmm, an economics prof that doesn’t seem to be aware of concepts like inflation, investment growth and a diminished pay-out pool.

  177. 177.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Violet:

    It’s a doable thing, but it’s expensive. We could do it here without having to resort to slave labor. They can’t.

  179. 179.

    Simeon

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    Were you in on that conversation a few weeks ago about the Qatar tournament? I brought up the Arizona D-backs’ park, and how they deal with the desert heat there. It’s possible to build stadiums in the desert that don’t put the players at risk. That isn’t my big concern there- it’s the slave labor that bothers me.

    No, I wasn’t around for that conversation, and I have to agree with you about the slave labor being a huge issue. That’s almost an issue here in Brazil, as well, where workers have died because of unsafe conditions and having to work lots of overtime when projects ran out of time… and the salary is peanuts, while politicians and construction company owners have skimmed off millions for themselves. No, it’s not at all the same as actual slave labor, but it’s pretty bad, nonetheless.

    With regard to the heat issues, they can always hold the games at night (or in the winter) without having to resort to air-conditioning stadiums (and I actually don’t know what they do in the D-Backs park, though I remember it had a retractable roof).

  180. 180.

    Morzer

    @Calouste:

    He’s an Ayn Rand economics professor, which means:

    a) Never having to say you’re sorry
    b) Never needing to grasp basic economics

  181. 181.

    ? Martin

    @Calouste: And that surprises you? Look, economic models can’t take all factors into consideration. There are certain things you need to assume away. He assumes those things will make his argument weaker, so they aren’t relevant.

  182. 182.

    Violet

    Popcorn futures skyrocketing:

    LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s team of lawyers has hired four private investigation firms to dig up dirt on the NBA’s former and current commissioners and its 29 other owners, said a person familiar with Sterling’s legal strategy.

    Investigators were given a six-figure budget over the next 30 days to examine the league’s finances, allegations of previous discriminatory conduct and compensation to past Commissioner David Stern and current Commissioner Adam Silver, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday night on condition of anonymity. The person wasn’t authorized to talk publicly.

    The person said the investigators also are looking into whether other owners made any off-color jokes, or racist or sexist remarks.

    “The gloves are off, as they say,” the person said. “Have them dig up all the dirt they can find.”

  183. 183.

    Morzer

    @burnspbesq:

    Brat’s Department is funded by one of those idiot rich Randians on the condition that it teaches economics with Randian characteristics.

  188. 188.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Simeon:

    The D-backs park has a slightly unconventional HVAC system, it does have the retractable roof…But the really interesting feature is the plumbing in the rails throughout the stadium. The rails have pinholes in them through which water jets out. The water cools the stands and dugouts as it evaporates.

  191. 191.

    gene108

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Soccer is not the sport of the poor in the US, football and basketball are the sports of the poor. Soccer is a middle class sport here and we’ll never become a world power because in every other nation the choice of sport for the poor is soccer and that means more organic and self-motivated players who develop their skills outside of rigid instruction and adult supervision.

    How do you explain the dominance of the U.S. women’s soccer team?

    Are other countries, in Europe and South America, discouraging their girls from playing?

  194. 194.

    Simeon

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    The D-backs park has a slightly unconventional HVAC system, it does have the retractable roof…But the really interesting feature is the plumbing in the rails throughout the stadium. The rails have pinholes in them through which water jets out. The water cools the stands and dugouts as it evaporates.

    “Cool” idea. Kind of like those old “swamp coolers” we used to have at school in California, except the whole stadium is the cooler, I guess.

  195. 195.

    Morzer

    @NotMax:

    Yes, that’s right. Not nothing, but still, a pretty cheap price for selling off your institutional credibility. I guess they buy the deans Domino’s pizza rather than dinner.

  198. 198.

    burnspbesq

    @Alex S.:

    Apparently, Sen. Cochran believes that telling that story will endear him to Teahadist voters. The disturbing thing is that he may be right.

  199. 199.

    ? Martin

    @gene108:

    How do you explain the dominance of the U.S. women’s soccer team?

    Title IX. Same for women’s hockey, softball, basketball, etc. US universities wouldn’t have dropped a penny in intercollegiate sports for women without it. It’s made us a powerhouse in women’s team sports.

  208. 208.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Origuy:

    Where does the water come from? Never mind, I don’t think I want to know.

    Heh, yeah, I know. I’m in Michigan. Lots of people in the southwest have their eyes on our fresh water. This is the one issue that provides for bipartisanship in the Great Lakes region.

  209. 209.

    ? Martin

    @burnspbesq: You know, it’s not bad at first. You can at least assume a misunderstand and he could explain it away as such. And then he says this: “And I know some of you know what that is”. And that’s it. There’s no escaping what he’s talking about.

    Any black people that get cornered over why you consistently vote for Democrats, point to this. Just tell them that sex with barnyard animals isn’t an endearing part of african-american culture and doesn’t reflect your values. Let them argue the point.

  210. 210.

    gene108

    @Suffern ACE:

    because Coke and Budweiser are upset about their names being pasted up as supporters of slave labor practices.

    What exactly are the “slave labor practices” being done in Qatar that are unique to the World Cup?

    I’ve heard the taking of workers passports has made the news, but that is SOP for the entire Middle East. I know people from India, who have worked in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, in white collar jobs, and the employer takes your passport.

    If you want to leave, you need their permission, even in cases of family emergencies or just wanting to resign and do something else.

    The people, with money to run any kind of large enterprise in the rich ME countries, are basically royalty or are in someway connected to the King, who runs the country. They are the Lords of the Manor and any worker is their serf.

  211. 211.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Amir Khalid:

    Theoretically, Qatar builds more desalination plants.* Phoenix doesn’t have an ocean to desalinate.

    *Which brings us back to the slave labor issue.

  212. 212.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @gene108:

    What exactly are the “slave labor practices” being done in Qatar that are unique to the World Cup?

    Per The Guardian:

    • Evidence of forced labour on a huge World Cup infrastructure project.

    • Some Nepalese men have alleged that they have not been paid for months and have had their salaries retained to stop them running away.

    • Some workers on other sites say employers routinely confiscate passports and refuse to issue ID cards, in effect reducing them to the status of illegal aliens.

    • Some labourers say they have been denied access to free drinking water in the desert heat.

  213. 213.

    Alex S.

    @burnspbesq:

    The best explanation that I can come up with is that he regards the break-in of the McDaniels campaign as the most vile thing he could imagine. And he saw that it worked, so he tried to come up with some other vile thing and hopes that it works as well.
    Or maybe he’s losing his marbles.

  214. 214.

    HumboldtBlue

    @gene108: Traditionally women did not play soccer either here or abroad and when women’s soccer became a world-wide sport we were well placed due to our youth soccer programs.

  215. 215.

    Calouste

    @Alex S.:

    My guess is that he has been saying this shit for years, and hasn’t caught on to the fact that everything gets recorded these days. Even in his last campaign in 2008, recording devices weren’t everywhere like they are now.

  216. 216.

    Epicurus

    @NotMax: Do you know where they get virgin wool? From ugly sheep….[shows self out before incoming rotten tomatoes are thrown.]

  218. 218.

    gene108

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    My point is these sort of labor practices are not unique to getting ready for the World Cup in 2022 and Qatar and are generally the standard way business is done in that part of the world.

    To me it is one of those “I’m shocked there’s gambling in this cas-i-no” sort of moments.

    The powers that be had to know how workers can be treated in the Qatar.

    Yet the issue with the reporting is they are narrowing this down to World Cup projects, when the practice are more widespread.

    Of course, this will continue as long as the sweet, sweet oil money keeps coming in to fill their bank accounts.

  219. 219.

    bemused

    @? Martin:

    He may be losing his marbles as Alex S said but I am stunned by how comfortable and relaxed these rightwingers are at revealing the most vile and nutty things about themselves and their thoughts. Are they in such a bubble that they believe most people, not just their tribe, think like they do? It’s bizarre. Even when they end up having to pretend apologize, they do get away with a lot of this from media

  220. 220.

    gene108

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    Reposting because I used a bad word, per Word Press, and am in moderation.

    My point is these sort of labor practices are not unique to getting ready for the World Cup in 2022 and Qatar and are generally the standard way business is done in that part of the world.

    To me it is one of those “I’m shocked there’s gambling in this establishment of ill repute” sort of moments.

    The powers that be had to know how workers can be treated in the Qatar.

    Yet the issue with the reporting is they are narrowing this down to World Cup projects, when the practice are more widespread.

    Of course, this will continue as long as the sweet, sweet oil money keeps coming in to fill their bank accounts.

  221. 221.

    ? Martin

    @gene108: A good friend of mine is a civil engineer and his firm won a contract in Doha. He was there two weeks before pulling the plug on it. He said the labor conditions alone were enough to cancel. No safety to speak of. He wasn’t allowed to talk to the laborers. He tried to get them to adopt at least some western engineering and safety approaches, and no way. It would slow down the work. He went back to his boss and recommended they cancel the project, and that he personally would be returning home that night, whether or not there was a job waiting to return to.

  223. 223.

    Suffern ACE

    @gene108: It’s not so much the guest worker practices. But someone came out with a stat that 4-5,000 workers are going to die building the stadiums and infracture for the world cup. Based on the number of workers who have already died, so not simply a hypothetical.

  225. 225.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @gene108:

    The powers that be had to know how workers can be treated in the Qatar.

    Anyone who knows anything about labor practices in that part of the world knows it. FIFA knew it. FIFA is fucking corrupt as hell.

  226. 226.

    gene108

    @Suffern ACE:

    I heard the 4,000+ number of people dying to build the World Cup for Qatar.

    Other than changing the venue as soon as possible what else can be done?

    The people in charge of Qatar do not care about the labor they import.

    @? Martin:

    I assume he had a U.S. Passport. I think (but am not sure) U.S. Passport holders are treated differently/better than those from Asian countries.

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