French team in shambles; A timeline of destruction

Anelka kicked off French team

The controversy surrounding the French World Cup is only increasing as the team is now boycotting training. For those in the know, bear with me as I re-cap the illustrious fall of the French Football Federation (FFF):

1. World Cup 2006 – The downfall of team France can be traced back to the World Cup final against Italy. It was a close match and truthfully it could have gone either way. Then Zinedine Zidane made, possibly, the worst decision of his life – “The Headbutt Heard Around the World”. That single action cost France the World Cup. His abscence from the penalty kick was a severe disadvantage to France and allowed Italy to secure victory.

World Cup Day 8: More Upsets and English Disappointment

Disappointment from Rooney

While some teams did disappoint on match day 8, the overall the entertainment value was as high as ever for the FIFA World Cup. Germany suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of the Serbians, while the Americans mounted a massive comeback that almost saw them take home a 3-2 victory after being down 2-0. And last but not least the English, oh the English – they drew a 30th ranked Algerian team. What was that Wayne Rooney? Guaranteed win…I think not.

Game #1 Germany 0 vs. Serbia 1

The early game saw yet another huge disappointment from a top 10-ranked team. That’s right – Spain, France and Germany have all conceded defeat to lower ranked teams. The tipping point for the Germans came in the 37th minute after Miroslav Klose received his second yellow card of the game, which resulted in his automatic ejection from the match. Not one minute after he was thrown out, Serbia took advantage and scored. I guess it shows how much the Germans really rely on Klose, especially considering Lukas Podolski missed a penalty kick in the 60th minute.

Lakers Win; Who cares?

Kobe and the Lakers win championship

Lakers win…blah…blah…blah. We’ve heard it before. Kobe Bryant leads the Lakers to victory. The supporting cast steps up.  Blah…blah…blah. I don’t want to take anything away from the Lakers’ win, afterall Kobe did describe this as his sweetest victory, but really who cares. This is the third straight NBA Finals with the Lakers making an appearance.  It’s getting a little bit repetitive, don’t you think?. Let’s get some new blood in there. When is the next generation going to take over from Kobe? When are the Lebrons, Boshs and Howards going to take over? I hope soon. In fact I’m hoping next season – soon.

With the Big Three free agents (Lebron, Bosh and Wade) still deliberating and planning a big splash I, like any other basketball fan, can only hope that their decisions end up being wise ones and ultimately lay the foundation to overthrow the evil empire that is the Lakers. With all the rumours making their way through the mill, as fans, we should be in for an exciting couple of months.

Will the Bulls push ahead and snatch Lebron and Wade or will it be Lebron and Bosh who sign with the Knicks?. Whichever it is, the one thing that matters is that the Lakers won’t be back next year. Count on it. Now my dislike for the Lakers isn’t truthfully directed at Kobe and the team, it is more directed at the fact that I am tired of seeing the same team in the Finals every single year. I got a taste of something new in the NHL Finals this year and wanted the same for the NBA. Maybe I was asking for too much. Is parity that much to ask for?

Regardless, I am looking forward to the next couple of months as this summer will signify the start of a new dynasty in the NBA, Lebron just has to decide which city it will be in. Let’s just hope, for our sake, it’s not the Lakers - again.

World Cup Day 7: Higuain hat-trick; France upset

Higuain the Hero

If I didn’t know any better I’d say Day 7 shaped up to be quite similar to Day 6. Think about it – we had another big loss with France rolling over for Mexico, another African team plagued by a dubious red card and the emergence of a strong team in Argentina. 

Game #1 Argentina 4 vs South Korea 1

Like Chile in the first game on Day 6 the Argentinians imposed their will against the South Koreans. To tell you the truth I thought the South Koreans were going to be a tougher battle for Team Messi and Co. I guess I was influenced by the strong backbone their nation is currently displaying in the ongoing battle with Kim Jong Il (any time I can mention Mr. Kim is a bonus). But boy was I wrong. It was the Higuain show, plain and simple. How scary is it that the Argentinians are 2-0 with 5 goals for that Messi has not had a hand in any of?

Halak traded, Price spared

Halak traded

Jaroslav Halak has just been traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the St. Louis Blues. Yes you read that right…Halak not Price has been traded. The goaltender who posted a 3.56 GAA, a .890 save percentage and 0 wins during the playoffs was kept while the goaltender who posted 9 wins, 2.55 GAA and a .923 percentage was traded away.

There has to be something we are missing, something deeper that we aren’t privy to. Otherwise it appears as though history has repeated itself and Montreal has traded away another Number 1 goalie. Oh how Montreal will riot tonight.

Italians in peril as Gigi out for tournament; Is it that bad?

Buffon Injured and Out of World Cup

Word from Irene, South Africa is that the beloved Gianluigi Buffon, known to his teammates as Gigi, is out for the tournament. Now before everyone goes on and discredits Italy’s chance at a repeat, I ask the question – Will the loss of the 32 year-old really affect the Azzuri? Think about it – Gigi didn’t have his best season with Juventus and everyone seems to forget the disappointing outcome of the penalty kicks against Spain at Euro 2008.  While team morale might be hit a bit, I think that his replacement Federico Marchetti will be more than able to fill the shoes.

As long as Marchetti keeps his composure and doesn’t pull a “Green”, the Italians should be fine. Marchetti is a younger and more agile goalkeeper than Buffon – so who knows this could be a blessing in disguise.  Before everyone discounts Marchetti – give the guy a chance -  after all the World Cup is due for an emerging star goalkeeper.

World Cup Day 6: South Africa Robbed; Spain Upset

Torres deflated after loss to Swiss

On what was supposed to be a seemingly slow day turned out to be one of the most exciting days of the tournament as of yet. We saw the emergence of the darkhorse Chilean team, a major upset at the hands of the Swiss and a dubious penalty kick call against South Africa. Here is the Cheddarbomb World Cup Day 6 recap:

Game #1: Chile  1  vs Honduras  0

This game saw the emergence of a relatively unknown Chilean team. Led by an early goal by Jean Beausejour, the Chileans were able to impose their will against the lowly Hondurans.  The game could have easily been 2-0  or even 3-0. Realistically, Honduras is going no where fast in this tournament and this just marked the beginning for the team from is Chile. While they lack the big name prescence of a Spain or Brazil, they execute a tight game-plan that is created from their steady yet dynamic defense.  You heard it here first – Chile is for real. This team has the opportunity to make it out of the group and even further.