^ hey oh!

6/24/2014 12:11:17 AM

I am very happy to see the quality of the team improving, but for crying out loud, we suck at
giving up late goals. We gave up a late goal to Turkey, Nigeria, Ghana, and Portugal. Our late game focus needs to be addressed. JK has been bringing on late subs for more D, but maybe that is hurting our mid-game team chemistry.


Starting the tournament, we were all hoping for 5 points & a favorable GD as our 'Escape from Group of Death'. Let's do this

6/24/2014 10:12:48 AM

Actually, I think most were looking for our games to play out exactly like they have, including a likely loss to Germany. Beat Ghana, tie Portugal, and lose a close one to a German team with nothing to play for.

4 pts would be a safe bet to get us in, but then the Krauts had to fuck everything up by not beating Ghana.

6/24/2014 11:37:50 AM

^

6/24/2014 11:44:24 AM

Germany is not through either do they have to play like their backs against the wall. If Ghana wins we have to be the best team in the world for a game just to make it out of group. Germany letting Ghana draw them was so unfortunate.

6/24/2014 11:45:58 AM

Worst case:

We play passive and content to draw (gets highly critisized by media and any new casual & bandwagon fans), only to allow a late goal, losing 0:1, meanwhile Ghana beats Portugal 1:0. Ghana & US tied in points, GD, total goals, so then they draw lots... you what happens next, and roll credits.

6/24/2014 12:14:23 PM

We would advance over Ghana in that scenario via +1 differential head to head.

6/24/2014 12:28:36 PM

Here it is again for god sake:

Quote :

"U.S. lose; Ghana win: This is the greatest threat to our prospects of advancing. If the U.S. lose and Ghana win by anything more than one goal, Ghana go through at our expense. If we lose by one and Ghana win by one, it'll come down to goals scored. Right now, the U.S. have scored four goals to Ghana's three; a 1-0 U.S. loss and a 1-0 Ghana victory would still put the Americans through, via the head-to-head tiebreaker. U.S. lose; Portugal win: Portugal, in light of their -4 goal difference, have a much steeper hill to climb. They need to beat Ghana by a couple goals and hope Germany beat us by a similar margin—something the Germans are in no way incentivized to do, given that any victory over the Americans puts them on top of the group. (Well, that's if you overlook sticking it to their old manager, Jürgen Klinsmann.) In all, Portugal need a five-goal swing to make up the goal difference. As you can see from the graphic above, there are also a few scenarios in which goal difference would end up deciding the Americans' fate in the event of a Portugal win and a U.S. loss. And if Portugal win 2-1 and the U.S. lose 4-0, we'd draw lots."

6/24/2014 12:31:28 PM

going back to work after the game tomorrow afternoon will suck either way. If we don't advance I'll be bummed the rest of the day. If we do advance I'll be pumped up but return to an office where most people won't know or care. Algeria was that way in 2010; got back to work and it felt weird being so amped up in the office

6/25/2014 10:41:06 AM

I think I am going to just break out my WatchESPN app and watch it at work.... which is what I have been doing the whole tournament anyways

[Edited on June 25, 2014 at 10:47 AM. Reason : 2000K]

6/25/2014 10:47:16 AM

^^ haha yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'm just going to take a long lunch and put my phone on do not disturb. I know I won't be doing anything the rest of the day.

6/25/2014 10:50:30 AM

"One Moment Does Not Define Us"
http://vimeo.com/98955183

6/25/2014 12:11:40 PM

Quote :

"going back to work after the game tomorrow afternoon will suck either way. If we don't advance I'll be bummed the rest of the day. If we do advance I'll be pumped up but return to an office where most people won't know or care. Algeria was that way in 2010; got back to work and it felt weird being so amped up in the office"

Quote :

"^^ haha yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'm just going to take a long lunch and put my phone on do not disturb. I know I won't be doing anything the rest of the day."

I'm burning a vacation day since I have no major plans this year. What sucks is that I will have to miss our groups second round games because we are always busy in early July at work. I'm not even going to bother asking. I'll probably work a half day though on he days of the semi-finals.

6/25/2014 9:42:38 PM

Be your own boss. I'm going for a run on the beach tomorrow morning, then knock out some "weekend" yard work, then I'm saddled up at the bar for the remainder of the day. If all goes well, then it will be a four day weekend. If it doesn't, then Friday will suck pretty bad.

6/25/2014 11:10:56 PM

6/26/2014 2:51:27 AM

I have to wait until after 4 to watch the game and manage not to accidentally hear the result. Luckily no one at my office cares about soccer so as long as I avoid my phone and the Internet I should be fine.

6/26/2014 6:54:56 AM

To skip the rest of work after the game or to come back? Manager is out for the week on PTO so I am seriously considering working from home after the match. I will either be pumped or disheartened. Not going to be able to focus on work regardless though.

6/26/2014 7:54:04 AM

http://youtu.be/sGeZxgatmRs

EMBED FOR HYPENESS



if I wasn't taking off all next week, I definitely would have taken today off. I am BUZZING

[Edited on June 26, 2014 at 8:16 AM. Reason : .]

6/26/2014 8:01:44 AM

And once we're in enemy territory, as a bushwhackin' guerrilla army, we're gonna be doin' one thing and one thing only... killin' Nazis.

6/26/2014 8:25:02 AM

Yeah I would have taken today off if I wasnt already gonna be out for several hours tomorrow for the kids kindergarten awards day thingy.

6/26/2014 8:30:00 AM

6/26/2014 8:49:33 AM

And I want my scalps...

6/26/2014 8:51:40 AM

6/26/2014 10:16:18 AM

Where is everyone watching? I'm thinking about going to Buffalo Wild Wings since they always advertise that they show every big sporting event at the same time. Have they been World Cup friendly? I just want to see both games at once.

6/26/2014 10:44:48 AM

on my mahfuckin dual screens in my office

6/26/2014 10:45:20 AM

Gonnga take a little while to decipher this

6/26/2014 10:52:47 AM

This one's a little better.

6/26/2014 10:53:36 AM

Quote :

"on my mahfuckin dual screens in my office"

Lucky! We aren't allowed any tv, or radio at my job which I am totally cool with, but I wish in situations like this and the NCAA tournaments I was allowed a radio at my work station.

6/26/2014 10:56:45 AM

Ill be watching both games at once at my house, but not until 4:30 or so

6/26/2014 10:57:27 AM

Gonzalez??? I hope FIFA is trolling..

6/26/2014 10:57:45 AM

man JK makes it really hard sometimes. I'm only sipping the kool-aid right now but when Omar scores off a Davis free kick, I will be back pouring it down

6/26/2014 11:11:18 AM

Ghana stars sent home!

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2014/m=6/news=ghana-pair-suspended-and-sent-home-2386284.html

6/26/2014 11:17:10 AM

Aside from the two boners (the last goal was not all his fault) in the Portugal game, Cameron has been solid. I don't get the gonzalez sub. I do like the Davis sub, though, because our set pieces haven't been great. I just hope he doesn't get beat too badly on the left.


FFS, I would rather have brooks/besler back there than Omar. I can see the lost runs and the goals already.

[Edited on June 26, 2014 at 11:35 AM. Reason : d]

6/26/2014 11:28:12 AM

Could be wrong but I think he realizes his 3 CMs might not be able to go another full 90 and Cam is the only real replacement for any of them.

I just don't know why it's Omar over Brooks.

6/26/2014 11:36:41 AM

Btw has two big screens inches a part showing both games

6/26/2014 11:49:56 AM

CNN BREAKING NEWS: Germany Dominates Possession in Opening Minutes of Word Cup Match Against U.S.

6/26/2014 12:24:11 PM

My JJ man crush continues to grow.

No matter what happens in this 2nd half or moving forward in general, Jermaine Jones will always have my respect. He's played so hard, and with so much consistency and heart, he can legitimately say he's done everything in his power for the US.

6/26/2014 12:39:07 PM

I might buy a Jones jersey after the WC.

Love how Univision guys say "J J J J J!" every time he gets it.

6/26/2014 12:51:19 PM

Quote :

"FFS, I would rather have brooks/besler back there than Omar. I can see the lost runs and the goals already."

Now that Omar has prevented three goals, do we feel the same?

6/26/2014 1:06:25 PM

fuck

6/26/2014 1:13:30 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTusMLs9SJE

6/26/2014 1:52:36 PM

Survive Lose and advance

6/26/2014 1:54:04 PM

props to Omar. played a very good game

6/26/2014 1:55:49 PM

Bradley is a solid player and he has been absolutely terrible in 3 straight games. With the exception of the 1 goal he helped set up, he has been a mess. Omar had a good game but I still don't like him as a player.

6/26/2014 2:02:33 PM

^^yup. I had my doubts, but he was solid and had a couple game savers to boot.

^Bradley is terrible compared to who? Yeah, he hasn't played up to his own high standards, but it's not as if he has been the worst on the team or anything. As a viewer, I think we too often see Beckerman or Jones fuck up and give the ball away and go "oh well, that's just them" but when bradley does it, you get pissed because you know he is better than that.

[Edited on June 26, 2014 at 2:04 PM. Reason : d]

6/26/2014 2:02:49 PM

So this played out almost exactly as hoped/expected going into the tournament.
Germany: 2-0-1, 7pts, GD +5
US of A: 1-1-1, 4pts, GD +0
Portugal: 1-1-1, 4pts, GD -3
Ghana: 0-2-1, 1pt, GD -2


Even if we beat Portugal last game, Germany's 1:0 win would still have put Germany #1 in the group. No harm, no foul.

Who all has a Yellow card going to knockouts? Jones, Beckerman, Bedoya? Do yellows ever go away after a certain number of matches?

[Edited on June 26, 2014 at 2:14 PM. Reason : ]

6/26/2014 2:13:05 PM

yellows go away after the group stage.... They start over.

6/26/2014 2:14:08 PM

no they don't. They're there until quarters, I thought

[Edited on June 26, 2014 at 2:17 PM. Reason : as in, you can't miss a semifinal for yellow cards, but you can miss the QF]

6/26/2014 2:16:46 PM

my bad, you are right. They are gone after the quarters as of the last cup.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/412304-world-cup-new-rule-on-yellow-cards-will-hurt-teams-in-round-two

6/26/2014 2:18:30 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, he hasn't played up to his own high standards"

This is what I meant. He has not even been remotely close to as good as he can be. I don't know what the reason is but he's been turning the ball over a lot and that is just not something he does.

6/26/2014 2:27:36 PM