Reuters
- Here's French goalie Fabien Barthez letting the winning goal slip by him in the World Cup final. I freely admit knowing nothing about the fine points of soccer, but is it just me or did it appear that the goalies always dived in the opposite direction of the ball for each kick of the shoot-out? Is penalty kicking really so tricky that you can't tell which way the ball's going to go? And don't we all want to know what the heck Materazzi said that made the French Captain basically blow his team's chances of winning? A strange end to a strange final. And may I just add that after watching the French sulk and cry in defeat and the Italians do choreographed victory dances for minutes on end, I will never again take European complaints about American showmanship and triumphalism in sports competitions seriously.
- Yesterday I tried to watch the Wimbledon men's semifinal between Federer and Jonas Bjorkman and found I couldn't. It wasn't going to be much of a match --Bjorkman at 34 was just no match for Federer-- but whoever was calling the match could not let that point go. Every time Bjorkman gave up a point they'd say things like, "Well, Bob, I'm not surprised, and I'm sure Bjorkman's not surprised either." I could understand that creeping in during the 3rd set, but this was from the get-go. Then to make things weirder they kept going on an on about how incredibly "fit," "cut," & "ripped" Bjorkman is, and getting close-ups of his legs. (He is nice-looking, I allowed myself to notice, but I moved on and didn't make a fetish of it unlike some sportscasters I could mention. It was odd.) No one ever talked that way about Bjorn Borg.
- And should I mention that before they cut to commercial after the World Cup final, the net promised they'd come back with coverage of the Cialis Western Golf Tournament? I just don't think dignified persons should play in anything so named.
UPDATE: ninme's taking the blame (well, credit, as I see it) for the WC outcome, and notices one perk of watching.
