South American Flavors

What the canoodle is going on with Ecuador?! These guys look great! After their shock 2-0 upset of Poland, the Ecuadorians thrash Costa Rica 3-0 and look sharp, creative and explosive in doing so. I'm starting to really like this team. Circle June 20th on your calendar. That's when Group A leaders (?!) Ecuador clash with the Teutonic Titans. All Ecuador needs is a tie to win the group. Audacious!

Trouble in Sambaland?

Brazil is another team that's been heavily hyped - and unlike America, rightly so - for this World Cup. Like America, their opener suggests they might not live up to the hype. While they won against Croatia, the Samba Boys were not their incisive, flashy selves. The passes were a bit off as were shots (Kaka's left-footed screamer that won the game, aside)

The problem is Ronaldo. Yes, he's fat. Yes, he's out of shape. He may have headaches. He was as bad as any player playing in a WC game. Hey, even the US players were trying, right?! How bad was he? He walked through the game - walked! He was so immobile, at times he appeared to be imitating a tree. At one point, a family of squirrels tried to build a nest in his jersey. The last time Europe has seen a large body moving that slowly was when the glaciers retreated. He seemed to be trying to lull the defense to sleep by boring them. He had no touch on the ball. I count the number of times his lead foot betrayed a pass. Worse, when he lost the ball he'd just sullenly watch it go. No fight. No spirit. Joga Feo!