Soccer Page 423 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Hirshey: Viva Espana!
David Hirshey will write regularly during the World Cup....

Live Blog: Germany Vs. Ecuador
Ecuador has been one of the more pleasant stories of the tournament, upsetting Poland and cruising past Costa Rica in their first two games. This is, obviously, the real test, with the Ecuadorians facing host Germany. The winner takes the top seed out of Group A, and if there's a draw, it's good n...

"To The Wing ... To The Center ... Back To The Wing ..."
Those suffering through World Cup fatigue are invited to watch this famous "Simpsons" clip, from when Mexico and Portugal come to Springfield to "decide once and for all which is the greatest on earth!" Many, many big laughs, but our favorite comes at the end, with the different perspectives of the ...

Live Blog: Spain Vs. Tunisia
You probably can't tell from that picture, but the guy in it is a Spain fan who is inexplicably wearing a Spider-man costume. (Oh, by the way: Can any comic book fan out there explain why the hyphen is in there? It's really annoying.) We can't, for the likes of us, figure out what Spain's soccer t...

Live Blog: Ukraine Vs. Saudi Arabia
People tend to like us to find "sexy" pictures of soccer "babe" fans, wearing little "clothing" and painting their "faces." But, try as we might, we were unable to find any sexy photos of Saudi Arabia fans. (We also had trouble with Iran and, unusually, Brazil. Odd.) We apologize....

Live Blog: Switzerland Vs. Togo
So you know, folks: Togo is not out of this yet. You think you can count on Togo, but you can't: You just can't....

Checking In At The World Cup...
Brazil 2-0 Australia. It might just be me, but does Brazil seem a little but underwhelming thus far? They seemed lethargic in their 1-0 win over Croatia, and all anyone could talk about afterwards was Ronaldo's apparent tubbiness, and Australia really gave them all they wanted today. They do not l...

Live From Kaiserslautern
I've got a couple of live reports from fans who were in Kaiserslautern for the USA/Italy World Cup match yesterday. First, at The Third Leaf, is this photo essay-ish look at the atmosphere surrounding the game. To say that it looks like a hell of a lot of fun would be an understatement....

A Closer Look At Jorge Larrionda
I don't often blames losses on officiating. And I'm not doing that here, either, particularly since there was no loss to speak of, and sure, both the Italian and United States sides have complaints. But there is plenty of controversy concerning red-card happy official Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay. ...

I Suspect Mafia Involvement
Okay, not really. But given the credibility of top Italian football officials at the moment, I think it's fair to let the mind wonder. The ref in the United States/Italy game was handing out red cards like they were commemorative souvenirs....

A Love Letter To Ghana
With their courageous defense and scorching balls, Ghana has provided hope and inspiration to a United States soccer team that can use all it can get. With their unlikely 2-0 drubbing of the Czech Republic, a US win over Italy today leaves Group F wide open....

Live Blog: Mexico vs. Angola
Since our attentions are usually more focused on the World Cup than, say, any other aspect of soccer, we always forget that Mexico is the United States' main rival; they kind of hate each other. How happy Mexico must be now, then, since they're just one win away from the Final 16, while the United S...

Of Shmoos And Men
Something's been bothering us about the World Cup. We've had a nagging feeling that something was vaguely familiar, but we couldn't quite put our finger on it. No, it wasn't the rampant groping. It had to be ... the ball. Yes, it suddenly occured to us that the new soccer ball that FIFA threw into...

Live Blog: Netherlands vs. Cote d'Ivoire
You have no idea how much fun our dad used to have with us as a kid, trying to convince us that "the Dutch," Holland and the Netherlands were different places. He would set us up in front of people and make us talk about the differences in the people. That was kind of mean, now that we think about i...

Hirshey: God Save Wayne Rooney
David Hirshey will write regularly during the World Cup....

Live Blog: Argentina Vs. Serbia & Montenegro
You know, we're pretty proud of ourselves for not once — not once — making a single "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" comment. Maybe it's because they haven't lost yet. We're gonna see if we can keep that going. Except for now, that is....

Live Blog: Sweden Vs. Paraguay
Remember, everyone: Everything is funnier when it is translated into the language of the Swedish Chef. Bork bork bork! Anyway, Sweden had a disappointing draw in the first round, and if they can't sneak out a win here, they could be in serious trouble with the Brits next on the docket....

Taking 'Group Of Death' A Little Too Literally
It may be of interest to our men and women soldiers serving overseas that war is just like the World Cup. So says U.S. forward Eddie Johnson, anyway. The U.S. team was at Ramstein Air Base outside Kaiserslautern, Germany, where they will play Italy on Saturday. Johnson stopped by on Wednesday to say...

Live Blog: England Vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Hey, everybody, it's England! America, Sr.! This is the first weekday game for the Brits, but despite an opening victory over Paraguay that was much-maligned, a win here sends them into the Round of 16. Will we see that Rooney fellow? Will Crouch do the robot? Is Beckham wearing a sarong? All kinds ...

Hirshey: Oh, Germany Won. GREAT.
David Hirshey will write regularly during the World Cup....