2010 World Cup groups and odds

Well the time for idle speculation is over. The groups for the World Cup starting in June 2010 in South Africa have been determined. And this will be interesting.

I will have a video with the odds of several of the favorites, and commentary about the USA vs. England match shortly.

But starting with Group A - South Africa, France, Mexico, Uruguay - I expect South Africa to make history. Never before has a host country lost in group play. But I'm pretty sure that's what's going to happen here. The probable winners in this group: France and Mexico.

In Group B - Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea - This should be a cake walk for Argentina. I expect them to win every match. The real questio in my mind is if Nigeria or South Korea also advance. I'd have to nudge over and say Nigeria.

Group C - Algeria, England, Slovenia, United States - Now this is a challenging group. There is a big question on what will happen. The fact that the US will be playing England first really sucks for the US, though the British commentators seem to think this might be a tough match. So assuming that we lose the first match, which is likely, our hope is to win against slovenia and tie Algeria. My bet, England and Algeria advance.

Group D - Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia - An easy group for Germany. Sadly Australia will be out quickly. But I'm not sure about Ghana and Serbia. My guess is that Ghana will pull it out due to the homefeild advantage. Germany and Ghana advance.

Group E - Cameroon, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands - I'm looking for an upset out of this group. Of course the Netherlands will win the group. Japan is the big loser. Again the question is Cameroon and Denmark. And I expect Cameroon to pull it out. I don't think many will pick that. Netherlands and Cameroon move on.

Group F - Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia - Wow Italy got lucky. This may the easiest group in the World Cup. Italy wins easy, and New Zealand will be on the same plane home as Australia. The choice left is pretty easy. Paraguay takes the group after italy.

Group G - Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal, North Korea - Well let me think. Brazil moves on, that's a no brainer. But I think that Ivory Coast will surprise some people. I think that they go to the next round after soundly beating Portugal and North Korea. My call, Ivory Coast and Brazil.

Group H - Chile, Honduras, Spain, Switzerland - This may be the most exciting Group out of all the group play. There will be battles in this group. Spain will take it, but I think they will have more trouble than most expect. Chile will make a good try but Honduras will pull out the big win in the group. Switzerland will give it a good try but I think they are the loser of that group.

Ultimately, I think the final match will come down to Germany vs Brazil or Argentina vs England. In either option I would go with the South American teams to win.

Look for my video shortly.

What do Germans fear? The Producers

Of the multitude of things I can think of that Germany is known for - beer, sausage, efficiancy, cars, and armies - only the last has prevented one of the best loved plays and movies of the past 3 decades to appear there. What movie or play could so disturb the people of Germany?

The Producers.

Yep, just that little play/film that fantastically makes fun of Hiltler and the Nazi's. Believe it or not, according to Reuters (Joanna Partridge), this Mel Brooks classic has never been played in Germany. In fact, it failed in Vienna when it was tried there. I know Germans aren't known for their humor, but really.

I realize that Germans are still sensitive about WWII. They tend to shy from anything that recounts the horror that was the Nazi Party. But this is different. It's meant to debase the Nazi's, to place a comedic spin on the travesties that happened while in no way glorifying what happened.

I hardly think that neo-Nazi's or other miscreants would find The Producers beneficial to thier warped mindsets. So I would hope that the play will be successful. Just as it has been everywhere else it has run (except Vienna).

Just something I ran across and wanted to share with everyone.

Hitler paintings sell for $143,000

I’ve heard it all now. In England paintings supposedly made by Adolph Hitler were sold at an auction for $143,000.

Why?

I am amazed that anyone would want the art of a dictator and the mastermind of one of the greatest attempted genocides in the history of the world. Morbid fascination might lead one to view such work, but to own it?

One of the purchasers of the questionable art – there are disputes of the authenticity – is John Ratledge. His plan is to hang the self-portrait of Hitler in either his home or office. Honestly I can say that were I to be going to his office for a meeting, and saw that picture with Hitler’s signature, I would end the deal and leave. This is not a trophy worthy of anything beyond burning or perhaps a museum.

I just don’t get it. I realize that even the most evil person in the world has a humane side, as little it might be. But to have this art is not an investigation into the depths of evil and hatred that a human can sink to. I feel it’s a glorification of the man. An excuse that takes away from the atrocities this wretch did.

History has well recorded Hitler in its books. He will be remembered in 100 years as the equal of only the bubonic plague. He, and his warped dreams of superiority, died the cowardly deaths they deserved. If anything I can hope his eternity in hell is as painful as all the deaths he caused.

This disturbs me. Just as disturbing is the knowledge that in Germany another auction of the works of this madman will happen shortly. To think that these works might bring inspiration to some youth chills me to the bone.

Who Are You Betting for in the World Cup

From its inauguration in 1930 the World Cup has grown to become the biggest football (soccer) competitiion in the world. The chance to call your country the world champions attracts a huge audience round the globe and is one of the most watched events on the planet. Yet the World Cup itself grew from more modest beginnings. The driving force behind the competition was FIFA president Jules Rimet and the trophy awarded to the winners was named after Rimet. The first competition saw Uruguay crowned the first world champions. They beat Argentina 4-2 in the final in Montivideo, however even back then the crowd for the match was 93,000, which probably even then gave some indication of how much the futbol (soccer) supporters of the world wanted this kind of competition.

The next competition in 1934 and also in 1938 contained very few South American teams due to the difficulties and long journeys required in that era. The Second World War meant that competitive soccer was temporarily suspended, and the 1942 and 1946 competitions did not take place.

In 1950 the competition returned and was won for the second time by Uruguay. The Competition comprised sixteen teams. Not until 1982 did the competition expand to 24 teams and was then expanded again in 1998 to 32 teams. This allowed more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. The 2010 tournament will see a massive 204 countries trying to qualify, up from the previous record of 198 in 2006.

Brazil holds the record of the most tournament wins, wining the Cup five times. After the third win, Brazil was allowed to keep the Jules Rimet trophy and a new trophy was introduced. Brazil; is also the only country to have appeared at all of the World Cup final competitions. The 2014 competition will be held in Brazil

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Brazil have already been installed as the favourites for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They are followed by Argentina, Spain - the European champions - and Italy, the current champions who have won the competition four times. England have been named fourth favourites following their recent run of form under Fabio Capello. Germany, Holland, France, Portugal, and Russia make up the remaining places in the top ten favourites for the World Cup.

Brazil are currently being quoted at 9-2 and Argentina at 5-1. European champions Spain will also expect to do well riding on the back of a wave of confidence following their Euro win. They are quoted at 15-2. Surprisingly England have been made fourth favourites at 8-1 above Italy and Germany who both hold the most winners titles after Brazil. England`s regular failure to progress much past the quarter final stage may well make them a difficult option, but their fans will be hoping that the success of British clubs in Europe can be reflected at the biggest competition in world futbol. To keep up with the best betting information, go to Free Bet Offers

Euro 2008 - Spain are the kings of Europe again

The Euro 2008 futbol finals were played today with Germany and Spain each viying for the title of European champion. Both nations played hard in a match that was physical and at times intense. The final score of 1-0 details not only the difficulty of the game, but also the more lackluster performance of one of the teams.



The first half of the game was not as impressive to me as the second half. One of the bigger points of the first half had to be when the referee decided to give out yellow cards in the 31st minute. It was a sense of what would be coming later in the game.

Ballack was obviously in the wrong on this play, butting a Spanish player and thus creating a bit of a ruckus on the field. This was quickly broken up with Casillas coming over to both calm his players down and to speak with the referee who had yet to indicate any card or comment seemingly. Then after walking away the decision was made and a yellow card was given to Ballack. This was as it should have been as Ballack had been pushing the physicality for some time. But then to the surprise of even the sportscasters, Casillas was given a yellow as well. It’s been conjecture this was because he was yelling/discussing the matter with the ref. It was just bad officiating to me.

But Spain took over the game at this point because in the 33rd minute they scored the only goal of the match. Torres was the player responsible. While his prior attempt to score was only kept out by the upright post his actual scoring goal was much less dramatic. Yet it was effective enough to frustrate Germany for the remainder of the first half as Torres had beat they playing their own style of game.

Then after the half in the 60th minute Germany finally woke up a bit. Ballack made what was the best goal attempt of the game to that point. This provided Germany a boost that motivated them onto 4 shots on goal in 3 minutes. The pressure that was the German offense was making a valiant effort, but it died pretty quickly after the 64th minute.

The thing that took the wind out of Germany’s sails at that point was a missed opportunity to be one man up in the match. Again the officiating got in the way of play, which was highly consistent throughout the match, but this time it was because no one caught a flagrant foul worthy of a red card. And while several players mentioned this to the ref, including Ballack running to the sideline ref to plead his case, none wanted to repeat the mistake of Casillas. Thus nothing was done.

With this momentary distraction to Germany, Ramas made a beautiful header attempt in the 67th minute. While it didn’t go in it did signal the end of Germany’s rally and hopes to win the match.

By the 82nd minute the repeated attacks by Spain lead to a wonderful opportunity for Sena. He had come up through an opening and was crossed the ball facing an open net. All he had to do was touch the ball and it would have deflected in beating the goalkeeper with ease. Instead he kicked at the ball late and low, allowing it to cross past him unheeded. So much for the locked victory to Spain.

By this point Germany was not only beat but frustrated. Perhaps the most obvious display of this desperate mood among the German players was the yellow card given to Kuranyi in the 88th minute. It was deserved and obvious that German has nothing more to give to the game.

Thus the match ended with Spain winning with only one goal by Torres. It was not a flashy game, nor spectacular by any means. There were no stunning moments, except for the faces and actions of the German players as Spain celebrated its first win in 44 years. That had to be the longest 10 minutes for any team or player to endure.

Germany came to play a better team – or so you might have thought. Spain came to win.

But even with bad officiating, missed opportunities for goals, frustration on the field, and Ballack’s bad temper, it was all better than the play of L.A. vs D.C. If Germany came to play second L.A. and David Beckham came to watch the crowd in their 4-1 loss. So all in all the Euro 2008 was pretty good from this American's television.