Just a reminder

Germany 4, Argentina 0

That result again: Germany 4, Argentina 0. To put it another way, Argentina failed to score, whereas Germany scored four goals, thus eliminating Argentina from the World Cup.

Four-f***ing-nil.

Who's nervous now, Maradona? Hmm?

Netherlands 2, Brazil 1

That. Was. AWESOME.

Ghana leading USA, 1-0

The score is not the thing. Listen to the noise, and look at the light. Then close your eyes just a little, so the players merge with their four shadows on the pitch. You'll see a host of dragonflies making pretty patterns in the air of a summer evening.

It's beautiful and hypnotic.

The tide is turning

Australia drew with Ghana, the Cyclones won a dramatic opener against the Yankees, and now New Zealand has held mighty Italy to a 1-1 draw. Suddenly I am a happy sports fan again.

June 17, 1994

This 30 for 30 film series on ESPN really has been special. I'm watching one today that is just brilliant. It tracks the events of June 17, 1994 - a day that saw Arnold Palmer's last ever round in a US Open at Oakmont, the New York Rangers' first victory parade in 54 years, the opening ceremony and first game of the World Cup in Chicago, game 5 of the NBA finals between the Knicks and Rockets at Madison Square Garden, Ken Griffey Jr hitting his 30th home run of the season off David Cone in Kansas City, keeping pace with Babe Ruth, and, trumping everything, OJ Simpson disappearing, leaving an apparent suicide note, and finally being spotted in a white Ford Bronco...

The down side

When you follow as many sports teams as I do, once every few years comes a week where everything goes wrong. Your football team loses two games it should win, with a young star wrecking his knee. Your national soccer team is humiliated on the biggest stage, and the other team you adore is victimized by one of the worst refereeing displays in living memory. Your basketball team loses a heartbreaking game 7 in the NBA finals. Your baseball team goes into its annual, deep, interleague death spiral.

Tonight, the Brooklyn Cyclones hold their home opener, against the Staten Island Yankees. They could make up for everything, in one go. Or it could get that much worse...

Guess where my money is.

Bluenose delight

Rangers 1, Celtic 0

With a 93rd minute goal from Maurice Edu, the mighty men in blue are now 10 points clear in top spot, with a game in hand. Is it still too early to think a second consecutive Scottish championship is on the way? The last few years, I'd had to get used to the fact that Celtic, with more money and better personnel, had to stumble somewhere to give the title to Rangers. I hope that's turned around for a while.

I dearly love winning the Old Firm derby. There's no better feeling in football.

Bluenose news

In the final round of Scottish Premier League football today:

Dundee United 0, Rangers 3
Celtic 0, Heart of Midlothian 0

Which leaves Rangers 4 points ahead in the standings, and Champions for 2008-09. Congratulations to the boys in blue! I am a very, very happy Rangers fan today. I think these may be the sweetest words in the English language:

So it's celebrations for Rangers and disappointment for Celtic.

College Cup for College Park

Maryland 1, North Carolina 0

That wraps up a 16 game winning streak, culminating in Maryland's third national men's soccer title. For a program that has been at or near the top for a decade now, it's fantastic to bring another title home - the last being in 2005. George Zusi scored the goal, as he did in the double overtime win over St. John's in the semi final.

In other soccer news, Chelsea could only draw today against West Ham, leaving Liverpool clinging to top spot by a single point. I honestly believe Chelsea is the better team in this race, but I am hoping against hope that somehow the Reds can find themselves in front when all is said and done. It's been a long wait since 1990 for a Championship, even with three FA Cups, three League Cups, a UEFA Cup, and the greatest European Cup win in history having happened in that time. For all of that, as Bill Shankly said, this is our bread and butter. It's all about winning the league.

We love you Palace, we do

The temperature hovered around freezing, and I sat in the front row to see Crystal Palace defeat Bristol City 4-2. That was as good a game of soccer as I have ever seen - dramatic moments, lots of scoring, fast moving and tense. GO EAGLES!

Will see if I can stay awake long enough tonight to keep track of the Silver Ball game between Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

Up the Palace!

If the posts have been a bit nonexistent this week, it's because a) I am in the UK on vacation, and b) Andrew has been too lazy to post the fact that the Gotham Girls are now national champs after blitzing Chicago in the final in Portland, OR last weekend. Tsk.

So, what am I up to here in the UK? It's not all sports related, but it has allowed my obsession with retro soccer uniforms to flourish. Pictured is the logo from a very nice West Ham throwback I bought - the shirt they wore in the 1980 FA Cup Final, when Trevor Brooking's well placed header enabled the Hammers to upset highly favoured Arsenal 1-0. Meanwhile, I am searching for a similar Liverpool one that is the right size. I might have to give up and order that one online.

Liverpool is of course my main club, but among other English soccer teams with a place in my heart*, Crystal Palace is a special one. We lived in south London for three months when I was 11, and the Eagles were our local team. Those were heady days, with manager Terry Venables taking the team briefly to the top of the first division, acquiring the "team of the eighties" nickname and all the expectations that came along with it. Alas, it all fell apart - they ended the season 13th, and were relegated a year later.

It took the better part of a decade for the Eagles to live up to the hype, reaching the 1990 FA Cup Final, and it's been up and down since then, too. Nowadays Palace is mired deep in the second tier, but they are one of my teams all the same. So today I will attend my first Crystal Palace home game, at Selhurst Park, where they will take on marginally-higher-flying Bristol City.

Game time temperature promises to hover just above freezing, and I haven't gotten a long sleeved retro jersey to wear yet. Going shopping soon - wish me luck...

* the list includes Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Everton, Preston North End, Fulham, Barnsley, and probably more

Count your blessings

The holiday weekend might be over, but here are a few fun things to celebrate in sports this week:

The Yankees are looking more and more certain to miss the postseason.

The I-AA Southeast Missouri State Redhawks get their first ever shot at the Silver Ball.

The New Orleans Saints still have a home.

We have one more week of grand slam tennis to enjoy this season.

The US men's soccer team is going to play in Cuba for the first time since 1947.

Pitcher Cliff Lee is currently 20-2 on the 66-70 Cleveland Indians, a feat looking a little like Steve Carlton's ridiculous 1972 season with the Phillies.

Two players hit for the cycle on the same day for the first time since 1920.

Way to go, Andrew

On Sunday, wishing to avoid the Cowboys' inevitable comeuppance against the Eagles, I suggested a switch of sport, changing channel to ESPN for the NCAA Men's Soccer final between Wake Forest and Ohio State. As we joined the game, Ohio State was protecting a 1-0 lead with 34 minutes to go.

After a whole two minutes of pinpoint passing and a couple of near scoring chances, Mr. Ross complained that no-one ever actually scores in soccer, so I reluctantly switched back to the NFL. I am here to report, then, that the Demon Deacons scored in the 66th and 79th minutes to take a well earned and tense 2-1 victory.

New rule: no-one ever actually scores in soccer while Andrew is watching.

Multi purpose update

I'm in the UK for another 4 days, catching lots of music but no soccer matches. In the match I had wanted to see, Liverpool defeated Bolton Wanderers 4-0. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

In other news, Arkansas, possibly the first Silver Ball incumbent to fire its coach, awaits a postseason matchup. If only the powers that be knew how important this trophy is, the various Bowl officials might be fighting harder to sign the Razorbacks up.

In a matter of minutes, we'll hear who plays Ohio State for the "national title." Now more meaningless than ever, it's your BCS.

I see the Jets pounded the Dolphins. Ouch. That will increase Miami's estimated table-running chances substantially, with them overcoming a serious shot at winning a game and taking a PF/PA ratio pounding, but we'll have to wait a few more days to run the numbers.

National depression

England 2, Croatia 3
Andorra 0, Russia 1

And with that, yet another round of national soul searching begins. England, expected to win pretty much all the time at any sport it invented, has fallen a point behind Russia and failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championships. That's a soccer tournament, for the uninitiated. Manager Steve McLaren will certainly be sacked. Players of the class of Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, and Frank Lampard will slink back to club football and try to forget.

Well, ok, Beckham will strut and preen back to his fragrance collection, then slink back to club football.

As for the rest of the country, expect the same kind of agony and self loathing that accompanied the historic 5-0 Ashes thrashing from Australia, Lewis Hamilton's catastrophic season ending choke to lose the Formula One title, most of Britain's post World War 2 decline, and the breakup of the Spice Girls.

Hopes dashed

I've been following the Liverpool Football Club ever since watching them lose the 1977 FA Cup final on an old black and white television, around the same time I started playing soccer myself. Over the years, they've done a lot better than I did. And for all the times I've stayed up late listening to the BBC World Service, or waited for Match of the Day, or hunted down the latest jersey, or apologized to Mum for thinking she'd thrown away my LFC scarf when we found it after a decade, I've never once managed to see the Reds in person.

In 1980, we arrived in England just as the season finished. In 1997, my brother in law tried for tickets but failed, so we went to see Blackburn beat Chelsea instead. In 2002, I was in England when the World Cup was on in Germany.

But this year was my big chance. As luck would have it, the sole day off on my extensive music tour of the UK coincided with Liverpool-Bolton at Anfield, and I'd be in the right part of the country, too. For months I've been waiting for that moment about 12 hours from now when phone tickets go on sale, and I frantically call with Amex ready to go.

So I checked just now, to make triple sure I have the phone number right. And my face fell as I saw that they've moved the game from Saturday to Sunday. In one fell swoop, they've crushed the 30 year old dreams of an 8 year old boy.

Maybe in 2017.