As the boss, FIFA must have been pleased with the general progress of the events in South Africa. Apart from a few glitches most of the doom stories never came to light. It was a good event that was a credit to the organizers. They then came up with a short list of people that they think deserved special praise for their performance in the event. The blog invited members of the public to post their own comments and perspectives. It makes interesting reading and offers a great insight into the minds of the fans as well as the football culture that is taking over the world of sport. A certain Uruguayan striker was given the honors and most objective people would concur with the decision. There were many stars in the cup but he did stand out from the crowd. For that fact alone the award seems well placed.
Ghana tried its best but it seemed that the responsibility of representing the African continent was a bit too much. There was a time when Ghana was the only African country left within what became the home crowd. They had to do something special but deep down some of us doubted that they could go all the way. The draw had opened but that penalty was just outrageous. The poor man will probably never forget the incident but one can say that he helped with the loss. I personally do not buy the stories about cheating. They are vastly exaggerated in order to give the fans something to complain about after a fair loss.
Germany was a disappointment. After thrashing England one hoped that they could go all the way but there was the patient and ultimately successful Spain in the wings. Perhaps one can take comfort from the fact that they were beaten by the champions. It is small consolation for such a great sporting nation. However they will need to go with that. They played well and in some people’s eyes they deserved to win the whole thing. However they have won it before it is not as if that is their last chance.
Posted on August 8th, 2010 by Patrick
Getting the itch for the game
There is some speculative hope that OJ Mayo and Mike Conley are going to bring something special to the NBA Basketball games. This is a match up that is made in heaven for some of the fans but others are left feeling cold saying that the hype is just not worth it. Chris Wallace is also somewhat evasive about the Grizzlies return and their allocation of new players. Perhaps something else is brewing. We will soon hear about it when the customary rumors start to make the rounds. The overshadowing of older players by the younger players is already taking place in the NBA Basketball circuit. It is just a factor of life and we should consider it to be part of the transition arrangements that any team has to take into account when working with the opposition. Will the team make it to the playoffs? It is all up in the air and I would be a wizard if I could predict the outcome with pinpoint accuracy.
Team spirit and unity will have to be at the heart of any strategy to take over the NBA Basketball finals. If there are cracks within the team we could be facing a very serious situation where by mistakes that should never happened are going up on the pitch. That is when the fans go crazy and start to boo the players. As we all know the psychological damage can lead to a train wreck that is a nightmare for all the managers involved.
The stars also have to be kept in check if the Grizzlies are going to make the desired victory. If you get someone that is as big as Kobe Bryant in the team or one that thinks that they are at that level, it is very easy for the manager to forget the wealth talent that they might have on the team. The players that do not promote their achievements will be kept quiet while the ones that are good at it will make inroads that ensure that they are always in the news. The most famous are not always the most effective.
Posted on July 29th, 2010 by Patrick
The US Open has not yet officially scaled the heights of excitement so we are now scraping the barrel in the hope that we can salvage something from the play. The favorites are not justifying their position and we are getting the new entrants making an impact on the big game. On the one hand we have to celebrate the fact that the field looks like it is going to be open to the general player fraternity. On the other hand we also have to worry about the ratings because the players that are the big names will bring in the numbers. It is all very well having some sort of charitable attitude to the players but if they cannot bring in the numbers then it becomes imperative to change the strategy.
The reporters were anxious to get the actual feedback from the players so that they could form an opinion on what was causing them to play so conservatively when they were expected to attack the ball. The response was invariably linked to the fact that some of them were buckling under pressure. This should not be happening at this level of the sport. Given the types of wages that some of these players can command, it only makes sense that we should expect them to be prepared for the tournament and to give their all to the play once they are on the field. The practice of holding back until the later stages of the tournament is going to lead them into problems that they cannot manage at the moment.
It would be a great blow to the tournament if the great players such as Tiger Woods bowed out of the game in the early stages. One can only anticipate a massive audience reduction as a result of this sequence of events. It is imperative that we get a handle on what is happening on the ground. The pitch is playing perfectly and the fans are supportive as usual. The great players have to pull up their socks and deliver the world class entertainment that we expect of them.
Posted on June 21st, 2010 by Patrick