HOLY SH*T!

Before he ruined the U.S./Italy game today, hockey fans also could prove the ref was a dumbass...

Seriously, can you think of any other expression that would be more appropriate than the title of today's Blog? The phrase was used about 50 times at my house during the game, as I was fortunate to be joined by the Cull brothers (there's 4 of them) and we used the phrase when we were happy, mad, dejected, inspired, etc. It seemed to fit every portion of that game, didn't it? What sucks is that I had pretty resigned myself to the fact that we'd lose to Italy, the Czechs would beat Ghana, and our Cup would be over. Then I could sit back, relax, and enjoy the other games. Now I'm going to be a nervous wreck until Thursday. Thanks, U.S.!!! :)

What an amazing result and performance by this U.S. team!!! Granted, there were some serious issues and questions to be raised, like who paid off this referee, why didn't Arena use his 3rd sub when his 9 remaining players on the field were obviously gassed (I think Eddie Johnson would have been a GREAT sub in the 75th minute), and what lineup will we go with on Thursday (could someone PLEASE tell the ESPN News anchor that the game is on at 10 AM, not PM??)... Still, this might be the best story of the tournament, save Ghana's performance against the Czechs (I'll get to that in a bit). To give up the first goal, then get 2 players ejected, coming off a horrible 1st game performance, hats off to Bruce Arena, and especially the players, for being professional and passionate enough to leave everything on the field today. I don't think there will be any comparisons to the '98 team after today, even if they lose to Ghana on Thursday, which is a real possibility. Landon Donovan, after a slow start, seemed to relax and play better when we went to 9, Onyewu showed great discipline in not getting a yellow today, which means he'll be available Thursday, Keller played like the world-class 'keeper he is, and Carlos Bocanegra played solid on both ends today. I'll give you my Thursday lineup at the end...

Czechs/Ghana - Okay, so all this crap about Group C being the 'Group of Death" can end, right? Serbia's a joke, and Ivory Coast, while playing well, isn't as good as Ghana. I know there are other soccer historians out there w/ a better knowledge than myself, but the last time I remember a group being this close going into the last day was USA '94, when Mexico, Italy, Ireland, and Norway were all neck and neck. Ghana plays out of their minds today and gets maybe the biggest surprise result of the Cup, as I think less than 2% of the population had them even getting a result. The Czechs looked flat, and Ghana, like they did against Italy, attacked with flair, reckless abandon, and most importantly, purpose. They could have won this game 4 or 5 to nothing if they could stay onside. Everything leads to Thursday, where a ticked off Italian team I think will knock off a short-handed Czech team (they're minus the 2 starting forwards, plus Milan Baros, and now starting defender Ifsasomethingorother). As for the U.S. game, I'll predict that Wednesday night.

Portugal/Iran - Portugal still didn't look very good, did they? After watching them play, and Mexico yesterday, I think their opponents in the next round, Argentina and Holland, will lose little sleep. Granted, anything can happen, but we've seen that teams that have been well-prepared going into these games are the teams that are winning.

Okay, with Pope and Mastroeni out on Thursday, I think the U.S. wil have to go with a more athletic lineup against a fast and lethal Ghana. Off the top of my head, here goes:

Keller
Cherundolo Onyewu Bocanegra Lewis
Dempsey Reyna O'Brien Beasley
Donovan McBride

Bring Eddie Johnson in early in the 2nd half, have Convey ready, and Conrad or even Albright for defense.

Wow, what a game! I'm exhausted. Gotta go drink a beer...

See you tomorrow!