Any chance for the Socceroos or will the Oranje continue crushing the opposition?
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by Randinho| 96 Comments
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Any chance for the Socceroos or will the Oranje continue crushing the opposition?
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⚽️ Martin
I don’t think there’s much chance for the Socceroos here.
Alex S.
Robben and Van Persie look like old movie stars, good but much older than they actually are. Now it will be interesting to see whether the Dutch collapse as they usually do or whether they manage to steamroll their opponents.
2-0 Netherlands.
scott
Maybe Robben can get two yellows for flopping, get sent off, and then there’s hope? Just flailing for ideas.
burnspbesq
Australia is probably good for one, because if you pump enough crosses into the box the law of large numbers virtually guarantees that Cahill will get on the end of one of them.
The Dutch could easily get six. Australia might be as bad as Honduras or Iran.
Mike E
And in other sports news: the R-word loses its ‘R’.
⚽️ Martin
I’m not sure how we got tagged the group of death. I’d rather be in G than in B. Portugal really is Ronaldo + 10 other guys. Can’t say the same for ¾ of group B. Nobody would have been surprised to see any of Chile, Spain, or Netherlands in the quarter.
Amir Khalid
I’m curious to see who scores first. That team might either go on to win the match, or provoke a fightback that sees them swamped by a margin of three or four goals.
PaulW
I think if Australia’s secondary can nab key interceptions, they’ll be able to stop the Netherlands’ passing attack.
Nick
If Portugal is Ronaldo + 10 other guys, then the US is 11 guys without Ronaldo. Personally, I’d rather be the former . . .
Villago Delenda Est
While it looks bleak for the Socceroos (I mean, look what happened to FC Barcelona!) stranger things have probably happened. Like Dick Cheney expressing remorse.
Oh, wait…
burnspbesq
It’s one of the giants of the game against an absolute minnow. Australia should be heavily favored. The Dutch batsmen will have no answer for their fast bowling. Wickets will fall early and often.
Oh, wait …
nellcote
since this is a sports thread:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled six federal trademark registrations for the name of the Washington Redskins, ruling that the name is “disparaging to Native Americans” and thus cannot be trademarked under federal law that prohibits the protection of offensive or disparaging language. The U.S. PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a ruling in the case, brought against the team by plaintiff Amanda Blackhorse, Wednesday morning. “We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered,” the board wrote in its opinion.
Alex S.
Yowza!
lostinube
Whoa!
And then whoa again!
1 -1!
⚽️ Martin
Wow, what a response!
GregB
@Mike E:
I saw that PETA came out in support of the Redskins keeping their name but changing their mascot to a potato.
Villago Delenda Est
@Mike E: What this does is kick the Washington Pro Football Franchise straight in their money grubbing balls.
It’s gotta hurt. ANYONE can now profit off their imprint…it’s no longer legally protected.
So sorry.
Mike E
@GregB: I’d prefer a grape, but I’m just a vindictive Philly fan.
edited to remove errant reply.
Calouste
I read somewhere that the owner of the Washington NFL franchise said that the name was honoring Native Americans. So I guess we should have a team called the “Slaveholders” to honor the European influence on this country?
Villago Delenda Est
@Calouste: This is similar to the Mammon worshiping fundies attempting to convince us that the “eye of a needle” that the camel was supposed to pass through being some obscure hole in the walls of Jerusalem.
Right. Sure. You betcha.
Corner Stone
@Villago Delenda Est: I’ve never been sure why Snyder was so dead set on keeping the name. Just a poor business decision.
Change the logo and you get a whole merchandise reset. Get fans in on the “name the team” gag and use it to promote the things you own.
Corner Stone
Oh, and go Neddy Nederlanders!
Villago Delenda Est
Totally non sports, but demonstrating just how fucked up The Politico is:
Dylan Byers somehow managed to step on is very small dick.
Villago Delenda Est
@Corner Stone: Really. This could very well be a way to rejuvenate the fan base (and also rake in a metric shitton of money from new franchise logo gear). It’s an opportunity to make a very real, lasting impact on the team far beyond being a transitory owner of it.
Edmund Dantes
Somebody forgot to tell the soccerroos to just roll over and die. Really taking it to the Netherlands. Great attacking football.
Villago Delenda Est
@Edmund Dantes: That somebody needs to be found, and charged with failing to follow the narrative.
Mike E
That Aussie one-timer was brilliant.
⚽️ Martin
Cahill misses next match. That’s not going to help.
Corner Stone
They don’t have a sideline golfcart?
Amir Khalid
Seeing as how the Dutch beat the defending world champions 5-1 a few days ago, and are now struggling to keep up with the Australians, does that make the Socceroos the bestest team in the world?
⚽️ Martin
@Corner Stone:
Because he’s a billionaire and the rules exist to serve him. Why do you hate America?
Calouste
About time an Aussie got booked. Could have happened twice before.
Corner Stone
@⚽️ Martin:
Because she turned me down that one time I asked her to go steady. Damn lesbian.
⚽️ Martin
@Amir Khalid: I’ll remind you that Netherlands-Spain was also 1-1 at the half.
Villago Delenda Est
@Corner Stone: And you asked her from the driver’s seat of a black BMW, too.
ThresherK
@Villago Delenda Est: It’s hard to root for Dana Milbank, but he’s got the proverbial inside rail here. “Dana Milbank is in the right” is both a difficult and rare thing to type.
Villago Delenda Est
@ThresherK: Yeah, I know. I’m attributing it to broken clock syndrome, myself.
Amir Khalid
@⚽️ Martin:
Have you no familiarity with the old journalistic art of jumping to premature conclusions?
Morzer
@ThresherK:
Milbank’s reporting has been generally pretty solid over the last couple of years. Possibly he’s growing up a little; possibly he isn’t hanging out with Cilizza as much.
Anyway, I see that the Dutch are back to their old spendthrift ways – brilliant one game, wimps the next.
Belafon
@Villago Delenda Est: I did like his last paragraph:
Calouste
@Amir Khalid:
It just makes Spain as far past it as a three-year old piece of cheese. Probably going to be the third time in succession that the defending champion from Europe doesn’t make it out of the first round.
catclub
@Amir Khalid: wasn’t Spain – Netherlands also 1-1 at the half?
catclub
@Belafon:
Too bad Milbank did not add that this is the only on-the-scene reporting he is likely to do.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Ga Oranje!
Morzer
@Calouste:
What happened to Diego Costa? Did FIFA ban him for multiple games?
Corner Stone
They don’t call offsides in FIFA matches?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Well that’s not good.
Alex S.
Ok, the Dutch collapse as they usually do…
Calouste
Freebie to Australia thanks to the ref. Should have been an indirect free kick (unintentional hand ball), not a penalty. Then again, the ref just gave a yellow card to the wrong player.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Van Persie!
⚽️ Martin
@Corner Stone:
Sure, if you slip them a little something before the match. This is the 2nd time just this thread where you’ve shown open disdain for the free market. Try and keep your marxism in your pants, comrade.
Cacti
Well, that was a short-lived lead.
Calouste
@Morzer:
He got away with it.
Morzer
Germany must be watching this game and grinning from ear to ear. They’ve seen Brazil look mediocre and now the Dutch look vulnerable as well.
Morzer
@Calouste:
That amazes me. I thought they’d give him the boot for a couple of games at least.
scav
Reign of the unexpected continues with its heir of nicely dramatic uncertainty to follow? Not bad for multi-day sporting events, really.
Morzer
@scav:
I am sure 2liberal will be along soon to set us all straight.
HumboldtBlue
@scav: If the knockout round are even close the drama we’ve seen so far this will be the best WC in history
Morzer
@HumboldtBlue:
It’s certainly been the best one I can remember thus far. Mind you, I don’t claim to be aware of all world cup internet traditions.
HumboldtBlue
@Morzer: It’s the comebacks, we just don’t see teams rebound from deficits the way they have in this tourney
Alex S.
Australia, COME ON!!
raven
@Morzer: the dork
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Morzer: Yeah, but this may just be the Dutch doing their typical failure to show up for every fifth game and getting it out of their system against a team they may well beat anyway. It would be an improvement on waiting to do it in the final . . .
Being a fan of this team can be monumentally frustrating.
Morzer
@HumboldtBlue:
I think more teams have a cutting-edge this time around..
And now the Dutch take the lead.
⚽️ Martin
What the hell just happened?
Morzer
@raven:
You were all over him like the Dutch against Spain.
raven
@Morzer: There just is no point in fooling around.
HumboldtBlue
@Morzer: I was reading something online regarding how the WC has changed and one of the analysts pointed out the cross-pollination of coaching and playing styles. They aren’t exclusive to a team or a league anymore and that has led to better skill across the board and allowed the smaller countries with good players to have them play with major European squads to develop their skills. Tthat pays off during international competition.
HumboldtBlue
Also, goals are being scored at record pace which is always good for a soccer tourney
Morzer
@HumboldtBlue:
That’s definitely true. The days of running up the score against the smaller countries are obviously over. You can’t go to say Montenegro and plan on winning 6-0 any longer. I reckon the smaller teams are fitter than they used to be as well.
Paul W.
@HumboldtBlue: Yeah, even though my favored teams are not always taking games I wish they would this has definitely been one of the most exciting and high scoring World Cups I have ever seen.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Things seem to be getting a bit contentious out on the pitch.
Morzer
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):
The Thenns in the Dutch defense do seem to be getting a bit grumpy.
Corner Stone
@⚽️ Martin: I am a proud Marxist. He has quite a few songs that are really pretty catchy. And hair that I would Joe Biden Literally kill for.
scav
@HumboldtBlue: I also read something last night, e.g. this morning (wicked insomnia) about this WC coming possibly at a transition of styles from possessive (??) controlling of the ball toward the back to something more aggressive? As I don’t play, exact details went way over my head but I could get the basic logic that we may be seeing a mix of plays that teams and players don’t have established responses to (yet) so things are unusually exciting. well? panel of random internet experts?
eta in here, toward middle
Cassidy
@HumboldtBlue: The science of strength and athletic training has evolved a lot. Athletes are no longer wasting time on ineffectual “sport specific” training regimens.
drkrick
@Corner Stone:
Its not business for him. He’s been a fan of the team for as long as he can remember. Changing the name would dishonor all those Sunday afternoons in the family room with Dad or some such thing – letting go of those kinds of childhood/adolescent attachments is hard. Which isn’t to say he’s right to dig in his heels.
The whole “lifelong fan gets to own the team” would be kind of a sweet story if the man wasn’t such a twerp about everything. I’m sure he imagined being a hero in his home town, not just about the most despised local figure.
Morzer
@drkrick:
Plus, Snyder’s dug in so determinedly for so long that he’d have admit he’s fucked up badly, if he did agree to change the name.
scav
@Morzer: Plus, there’s the quivering rich old white guy’s lower lip “you’re not the boss of me!” to contend with.
beltane
Thank God. I have been spared dealing with a very pissed off husband.
peach flavored shampoo
And the Hollandaise are into the knockouts. Nice.
Morzer
Props to the Soccerroos for a fine performance. It feels a little unfair that they didn’t get a point.
Corner Stone
@drkrick: IMO, putting up the initial fight makes for a more powerful turnaround when he decides to go ahead and change the name.
He can play the “honor the gods” card but acknowledge he and the organization and town have all learned a more powerful truth about human nature, humanity, and apple pie with grandma.
It’s got a Disney movie storyline almost pre-written. Throw in some spunky kid who was ill but now has recovered and boom. Box office bonanza.
⚽️ Martin
@Morzer: I don’t know. With the Clippers fiasco playing out as well, I think we just need to accept that franchise ownership due to limited supply of teams, the arbitrary reasons why fans pick teams, the peculiar politics of the billionaires who own our teams, and the politics of keeping a team in a city all lead to decision-making that often appears to be senseless. I mean, almost all of our team owners are doing this as some kind of vanity project, Snyder included.
carolinadave
Exciting match. 5 goals. Several scored in quick succession. Knockout round will be great!
Morzer
@⚽️ Martin:
I think Snyder could have credibly had a “moment of revelation” a couple of years ago. After the events of the last year and the creation of his ridiculous foundation, I’d say that window has closed for good.
The Thin Black Duke
@⚽️ Martin: Yep. As a former New Yorker and NBA fan, the albatross currently around The Big Apple’s collective neck is Jim Dolan. Sigh.
Amir Khalid
@peach flavored shampoo:
Not a win but the Socceroos outdid the form book. That’s still something for them to be proud of.
Unlike their team nickname, which sounds like a brand name for children’s underwear.
Gin & Tonic
@The Thin Black Duke: I hope against hope that Phil will be able to do something.
Hill Dweller
Why is Jonathan Karl reading excerpts from Cheney’s Op-Ed out loud during the WH press briefing?
Gin & Tonic
@Hill Dweller: Because he can’t think for himself?
Calouste
@Hill Dweller: Because he gets paid to do so?
Morzer
@Hill Dweller:
Proving that someone finally taught him to read.
scav
@Hill Dweller: Because one team don’t have the nous or the gonads to come up with new bad ideas but have to return to the dug-up rotting classic oldies?
helps with the reading issue too: rote repetition (helps) hide(s) basic illiteracy.
SRW1
@Morzer:
For a moment I thought there you were talking about Wesley.
Villago Delenda Est
@Hill Dweller: Because he apparently wants to die in the service of his master, the Dark Lord.
He should be granted his wish as soon as possible.