Andiamo l'Italia
- Thread starter andynap
- Start date
onebigdawg53
Senior Insider
My pick (score - not schnazola) France 2 Italy 1
Island Visitor
Senior Insider
Allez Les Blues! Un - c'est assez!
Island Visitor
Senior Insider
As to baseball, you know, I might like it if:
1. The season weren't endless
2. The guys quit scratching their bung
3. The best players weren't constantly accused of cheating
4. The commissioner had enough sense to recognize that Pete Rose really did have a pretty decent career
5. Whenever the TV announcer started talking about so and so being "A great baseball man" they would show a fellow who could actually still see his toes
6. Fellows didn't start mailing in their results by All Star break once the pennants were all but decided
7. Free agency had not turned the concept of "team" into nothing more than a loose gaggle of dusty businessmen who were just passing through on their way to a better contract
8. Moronic managers did not spend interminable amounts of time strategizing by going lefty-righty and taking the bat out of some hot-hitter's hand to give it to a pinch hitter whose success rate approached that of Fat Albert at the sorority house
9. TV anouncers did not blather on and on and on and on about brilliant management when baseball really boils down to either hitting the ball or not
10. There was something even remotely interesting about the game other than its utility as a cure for insomnia
1. The season weren't endless
2. The guys quit scratching their bung
3. The best players weren't constantly accused of cheating
4. The commissioner had enough sense to recognize that Pete Rose really did have a pretty decent career
5. Whenever the TV announcer started talking about so and so being "A great baseball man" they would show a fellow who could actually still see his toes
6. Fellows didn't start mailing in their results by All Star break once the pennants were all but decided
7. Free agency had not turned the concept of "team" into nothing more than a loose gaggle of dusty businessmen who were just passing through on their way to a better contract
8. Moronic managers did not spend interminable amounts of time strategizing by going lefty-righty and taking the bat out of some hot-hitter's hand to give it to a pinch hitter whose success rate approached that of Fat Albert at the sorority house
9. TV anouncers did not blather on and on and on and on about brilliant management when baseball really boils down to either hitting the ball or not
10. There was something even remotely interesting about the game other than its utility as a cure for insomnia
NYCFred
Senior Insider
Actually, the mets reference was simply an aside.
I not only rarely watch professional sports in this (or any other) country, I basically couldn't care less about em. I can't understand why allegedly adult males feel the need to identify with their local sports teams, and the behavior of the soccer 'hooligans' is kinda beyond me, even at my (former) drunkest.
Of course, having flown out of pittsburgh shortly after a Steelers game, the yellow/black face paint schemes were kinda amusing....
I'd much rather be out and doing something, than inside watching somebody else do it...
this excludes golf, which I am saving for my 80's, when i may be too decrepit to do anything else.
I not only rarely watch professional sports in this (or any other) country, I basically couldn't care less about em. I can't understand why allegedly adult males feel the need to identify with their local sports teams, and the behavior of the soccer 'hooligans' is kinda beyond me, even at my (former) drunkest.
Of course, having flown out of pittsburgh shortly after a Steelers game, the yellow/black face paint schemes were kinda amusing....
I'd much rather be out and doing something, than inside watching somebody else do it...
this excludes golf, which I am saving for my 80's, when i may be too decrepit to do anything else.
Island Visitor
Senior Insider
As to World Cup, it looks like we Americans blew it again - as we have a history of doing.
Petri
Senior Insider
Nice game compared to many of the other matches, although France did play a better game overall, both teams deserved to win and it was Italy's time this year. It's never true sport or fun when the cup winner is decided in a penalty shoot-out.
Zidane's behaviour was totally insane, no matter what the italian said. That alone was worth Italy to win.
Zidane's behaviour was totally insane, no matter what the italian said. That alone was worth Italy to win.
andynap
Senior Insider
There were a lot of "dives" in that game. Some got the referee's attention and some didn't. The ref had to look at the replay of Zidane's hit. He was a laundry list of suspensions following head butts and other dirty plays.
"All the trophies Zinedine Zidane hoisted, all the glory he brought France, all those sparks of magic that flew off his feet game after game, year after year- all of a sudden, it's almost like they never happened.
-Because the most gifted player of his generation, playing his final match on the world stage, will be remembered now for something else - petulance, selfishness, looniness, take your pick.
All because of one moment of unbridled fury.
In the 110th minute of Sunday night's World Cup final, Zidane lost his cool, then lowered his head and butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi full-on in the chest.
Seconds earlier, with the score tied 1-1 in extra time, Materazzi had grabbed a handful of Zidane's jersey just as a French attack on goal passed harmlessly by. Then the defender let go and both players began walking back up the field exchanging words. Without warning, Materazzi fell to the ground like he'd been shot.
"I don't know what Materazzi said to Zidane," French coach Raymond Domenech said.
"All the trophies Zinedine Zidane hoisted, all the glory he brought France, all those sparks of magic that flew off his feet game after game, year after year- all of a sudden, it's almost like they never happened.
-Because the most gifted player of his generation, playing his final match on the world stage, will be remembered now for something else - petulance, selfishness, looniness, take your pick.
All because of one moment of unbridled fury.
In the 110th minute of Sunday night's World Cup final, Zidane lost his cool, then lowered his head and butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi full-on in the chest.
Seconds earlier, with the score tied 1-1 in extra time, Materazzi had grabbed a handful of Zidane's jersey just as a French attack on goal passed harmlessly by. Then the defender let go and both players began walking back up the field exchanging words. Without warning, Materazzi fell to the ground like he'd been shot.
"I don't know what Materazzi said to Zidane," French coach Raymond Domenech said.
Great game it was. I watched it to. As with everything, when trying to get a call to go in your favor there is a little "acting" involved. But that act of aggression and his inability to maintain professional composure was truly a sad moment in professional sports. You expect that in the NBA but in soccer?
