Go Team USA!

[Celestiall Nightfire]

I've been enjoying the Sloth Kong series put out by the Tico Times, so thought I'd share it here.   : )

 

http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/06/25/sloth-kong-reigns-costa-rica-conquers-uruguay-england-and-italy-and-tops-group-d

http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/06/13/oddsmakers-doubt-that-costa-rica-will-even-score-a-goal-at-the-world-cup

http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/06/20/despite-upset-costa-rica-still-getting-no-respect-from-oddsmakers-against-italy

http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/06/23/still-no-respect-seriously-winless-england-predicted-by-oddsmakers-to-beat-costa-rica

Click each link to see a new Sloth Kong!  *laughs*

[Phil Deakins]

---

Dillon Levenque wrote:

I've tried really hard to see all this in a positive light, but I'm done. I haven't been actually following it much but I do lake a look every day in which there are matches to see who is going ahead and who is not.

I was astonished to learn that in Group play the first tie-breaker was goal differential. I would normally expect the first tie-breaker to be based on head-to-head competition between the teams involved, and in Group play everyone plays each other. That is always the number one decider when two teams in the US wind up with matching records (except baseball, where if two teams wind up with matching records they play against each other until their records damned well don't match).

Goal difference is always the first tie-breaker in football leagues, and the Group stage is a mini-league. If goal difference doesn't get a winner, the World Cup goes to goals scored. If that doesn't produce a winner, then it probably goes to the result between the two teams but I don't know about that. If all else fails, it probably goes to the toss of a coin. I'm not sure about that either. I do know that a coin toss has been used in the past. But goal difference is always the first tie-breaker - because it's a

very

good tie-breaker to use.

I was not happy about goal differential being a decider in Group play but I let it go. Then I looked at the standings today. There were two draws: Chile v Brazil and Costa Rica v Greece. In both cases the team with the highest goal differential moves on, the other team is out. That is so incredibly wrong that I can't get my head around it. A team scored more goals against some other team that wasn't even on the schedule of the team to which they're being compared, and they ADVANCE? Sorry, soccer fans. Your sport bites.

You've completely misunderstood. The 2 draw you mentioned were settled by penalty shootouts. Not be goal difference. If there is any goal difference in a knockout game, it wouldn't be a draw would it? 

Never mind that it's really boring to watch. Never mind that most of the time a small plane could land on the playing field without seriously disturbing play. I am fully aware that if I actually understood the skills and strategies needed to win at soccer I'd probably enjoy watching it. I've talked to people unfamiliar with baseball who found it incredibly boring because all they watched was the ball. I assume the same thing holds true for soccer.  HOWEVER: I will never pay the slightest attention to any sport in which tournament play does not require contests to be played to victory, however many extra periods it takes. Moon Over Miami (a little hint, for those who have, like the BBC, been quick to point out that some American sports allow tie games).

That's your taste in sport. Football is the most popular game in the world so you're in a small minority

FIFA lose.

Football is the most popular game in the world - by a long long way. You lose - FiFA (and the rest of the world) wins

---

 

[Coby Foden]

---

Dillon Levenque wrote:

 

I do get the 'penaly kick' thing. I don't like it, any more than I like it in hockey, the only somewhat major American sport that has such rules. Even with hockey I believe that tournament/playoff games must be decided by final score and if the game is tied at the end of regulation periods are added until one team is victorious.

---

In football they play 45 minutes + 45 minutes, which is total of 90 minutes. If there is no winner then there is additional time of 15 minutes + 15 minutes. This makes total of 120 minutes (2 hours) of play. Some players have run very fast already some 13 kilometers (8 miles) during the play. At this time many players are totally exhausted, hardly able to run any more.

If the playing was continued with additional time until a winner was found, the play would ultimately slow down into a crawl. Thus the penalty kick system is the best solution to end the game quickly - before the players die on the field.

[madjim]

I think it would be an excellent idea if you girls stuck to your rounders game (America's National Pastime - mainly for Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and junkies?) and left soccer to those who understand what's going on.

If you joined me I would provide you with huge outdoor screens on the beach, compete with barbeques serving roast Uruguayan animals turned on the dolcett non-sexist spit.

Father "All the referees should be called Jesus, because none of them have fathers" Jim

 

[Tex Monday]

---

Celestiall Nightfire wrote:

The Dutch team was promised a TRIP TO SPACE!! if they win the world cup.  : )

 

---

They get one if the they lose too...but it's a one way trip....:matte-motes-sunglasses-3:

ETA: Ugh...my typing fingers have been uncooperative for the past few days.....

[Coby Foden]

---

Tex Monday wrote:

ETA: Ugh...my typing fingers have been uncooperative for the past few days.....

---

Aww...  :smileysad:

 

 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/199753-finger-dexterity-exercises/

:matte-motes-smile:

[Dillon Levenque]

---

Coby Foden wrote:

---

Dillon Levenque wrote:

 

I do get the 'penaly kick' thing. I don't like it, any more than I like it in hockey, the only somewhat major American sport that has such rules. Even with hockey I believe that tournament/playoff games must be decided by final score and if the game is tied at the end of regulation periods are added until one team is victorious.

---

In football they play 45 minutes + 45 minutes, which is total of 90 minutes. If there is no winner then there is additional time of 15 minutes + 15 minutes. This makes total of 120 minutes (2 hours) of play. Some players have run very fast already some 13 kilometers (8 miles) during the play. At this time many players are totally exhausted, hardly able to run any more.

If the playing was continued with additional time until a winner was found, the play would ultimately slow down into a crawl. Thus the penalty kick system is the best solution to end the game quickly - before the players die on the field.

---

 

Well that at least makes sense. I suppose with the length of the matches they've just about reached the endurance level of the athletes so exended play would be nearly impossible.

 

[Tex Monday]

---

Coby Foden wrote:

---

Tex Monday wrote:

ETA: Ugh...my typing fingers have been uncooperative for the past few days.....

---

Aww...  :smileysad:

 

 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/199753-finger-dexterity-exercises/

:matte-motes-smile:

---

Thank you dear...but it's probably not the fingers....I think I have an electrical short somewhere.....:matte-motes-sunglasses-3:

[Phil Deakins]

Just out of interest, nobody actually like the penalty shootout method of deciding a winner (except viewers, of course, because they can be exciting ). But they are the best way of doing it if there is no winner after 120 minutes (plus added time for stoppages).

If you want to see how knackered players can get in 120 minutes of football, try and get to see that last 15 minutes of the Costa Rica vs Greece game last night (one of those draws you mentioned). Costa Rica's striker was really knackered, and it showed.

There's also the fact of recovery. Players need to be fully recovered, and fit to play another full game a few days later. Running them into the ground would prevent that.

[Madelaine McMasters]

---

Coby Foden wrote:

---

Dillon Levenque wrote:

 

I do get the 'penaly kick' thing. I don't like it, any more than I like it in hockey, the only somewhat major American sport that has such rules. Even with hockey I believe that tournament/playoff games must be decided by final score and if the game is tied at the end of regulation periods are added until one team is victorious.

---

In football they play 45 minutes + 45 minutes, which is total of 90 minutes. If there is no winner then there is additional time of 15 minutes + 15 minutes. This makes total of 120 minutes (2 hours) of play. Some players have run very fast already some 13 kilometers (8 miles) during the play. At this time many players are totally exhausted, hardly able to run any more.

If the playing was continued with additional time until a winner was found, the play would ultimately slow down into a crawl. Thus the penalty kick system is the best solution to end the game quickly -

before the players die on the field

.

---

ETA: Note that the May 29 incident is also soccer related. Is soccer the deadliest sport on Earth?

Given how many soccer fans are killed each year, you'd think they'd want to see a fight to the death...

[madjim]

Since soccer is easily the biggest spectator sport in the world - despite NASCAR's pathetic claims to supremacy - it is hardly surprising that occasionally there is a small disaster. In fact, it is astonishing that there are so few incidents, although the published figures would be considerably higher if the number of people who died of boredom watching, for example, Stoke City, was included.

Father "I enjoy a game with a bit of bite to it" Jim

[Madelaine McMasters]

---

madjim wrote:

Since soccer is easily the biggest spectator sport in the world - despite NASCAR's pathetic claims to supremacy - it is hardly surprising that occasionally there is a small disaster. In fact, it is astonishing that there are so few incidents, although the published figures would be considerably higher if the number of people who died of boredom watching, for example, Stoke City, was included.

Father "I enjoy a game with a bit of bite to it" Jim

---

Okay, let's do the numbers. From the page I screen-grabbed, there have been over 1200 soccer related fan deaths since 1964. From this page, I can find only one death over the same period for NASCAR. I doubt that either of the pages I linked tell the full story, but you'll have to come up with a better theory than relative popularity to explain the 1200:1 ratio.

[madjim]

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

madjim wrote:

Since soccer is easily the biggest spectator sport in the world - despite NASCAR's pathetic claims to supremacy - it is hardly surprising that occasionally there is a small disaster. In fact, it is astonishing that there are so few incidents, although the published figures would be considerably higher if the number of people who died of boredom watching, for example, Stoke City, was included.

Father "I enjoy a game with a bit of bite to it" Jim

---

Okay, let's do the numbers. From the page I screen-grabbed, there have been over 1200 soccer related fan deaths since 1964. From

this page

, I can find only one death over the same period for NASCAR. I doubt that either of the pages I linked tell the full story, but you'll have to come up with a better theory than relative popularity to explain the 1200:1 ratio.

---

I think that globally soccer spectators probably outnumber NASCAR attendees by more than 1200 to 1.

The difficulty in measuring NASCAR fan fatalities, as far as I can tell, is that they are medically brain-dead before they turn up.

Father "they don't just go round and round in circles; they're ovals" Jim

 

[Madelaine McMasters]

---

madjim wrote:

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

madjim wrote:

Since soccer is easily the biggest spectator sport in the world - despite NASCAR's pathetic claims to supremacy - it is hardly surprising that occasionally there is a small disaster. In fact, it is astonishing that there are so few incidents, although the published figures would be considerably higher if the number of people who died of boredom watching, for example, Stoke City, was included.

Father "I enjoy a game with a bit of bite to it" Jim

---

Okay, let's do the numbers. From the page I screen-grabbed, there have been over 1200 soccer related fan deaths since 1964. From

this page

, I can find only one death over the same period for NASCAR. I doubt that either of the pages I linked tell the full story, but you'll have to come up with a better theory than relative popularity to explain the 1200:1 ratio.

---

I think that globally soccer spectators probably outnumber NASCAR attendees by more than 1200 to 1.

The difficulty in measuring NASCAR fan fatalities, as far as I can tell, is that they are medically brain-dead before they turn up.

Father "they don't just go round and round in circles; they're ovals" Jim

 

---

Football Hooliganism

I can't seem to find as rich a history of such behavior for the brain dead NASCAR fans. Though you may feel the need to respond, remember that not all feelings are rational.

[LaskyaClaren]

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

madjim wrote:

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

madjim wrote:

Since soccer is easily the biggest spectator sport in the world - despite NASCAR's pathetic claims to supremacy - it is hardly surprising that occasionally there is a small disaster. In fact, it is astonishing that there are so few incidents, although the published figures would be considerably higher if the number of people who died of boredom watching, for example, Stoke City, was included.

Father "I enjoy a game with a bit of bite to it" Jim

---

Okay, let's do the numbers. From the page I screen-grabbed, there have been over 1200 soccer related fan deaths since 1964. From

this page

, I can find only one death over the same period for NASCAR. I doubt that either of the pages I linked tell the full story, but you'll have to come up with a better theory than relative popularity to explain the 1200:1 ratio.

---

I think that globally soccer spectators probably outnumber NASCAR attendees by more than 1200 to 1.

The difficulty in measuring NASCAR fan fatalities, as far as I can tell, is that they are medically brain-dead before they turn up.

Father "they don't just go round and round in circles; they're ovals" Jim

 

---

Football Hooliganism

I can't seem to find as rich a history of such behavior for the brain dead NASCAR fans. Though you may feel the need to respond, remember that not all feelings are rational.

---

You are, of course, absolutely right.

My problem is that I associate football with exotic Europeans, and NASCAR with . . . not exotic Europeans.

(PS. Stop playing with the troll.)

[Drake1 Nightfire]

---

LaskyaClaren wrote:

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

madjim wrote:

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

madjim wrote:

Since soccer is easily the biggest spectator sport in the world - despite NASCAR's pathetic claims to supremacy - it is hardly surprising that occasionally there is a small disaster. In fact, it is astonishing that there are so few incidents, although the published figures would be considerably higher if the number of people who died of boredom watching, for example, Stoke City, was included.

Father "I enjoy a game with a bit of bite to it" Jim

---

Okay, let's do the numbers. From the page I screen-grabbed, there have been over 1200 soccer related fan deaths since 1964. From

this page

, I can find only one death over the same period for NASCAR. I doubt that either of the pages I linked tell the full story, but you'll have to come up with a better theory than relative popularity to explain the 1200:1 ratio.

---

I think that globally soccer spectators probably outnumber NASCAR attendees by more than 1200 to 1.

The difficulty in measuring NASCAR fan fatalities, as far as I can tell, is that they are medically brain-dead before they turn up.

Father "they don't just go round and round in circles; they're ovals" Jim

 

---

Football Hooliganism

I can't seem to find as rich a history of such behavior for the brain dead NASCAR fans. Though you may feel the need to respond, remember that not all feelings are rational.

---

You are, of course, absolutely right.

My problem is that I associate football with

exotic Europeans

, and NASCAR with . . . not exotic Europeans.

(PS. Stop playing with the troll.)

---

Huh... Apparently only Europeans play football. Cancel the World Cup!!! Only a few countries will continue to play. England is back in. I did not realize they had NASCAR in other countries than the US. Silly me.

[LaskyaClaren]

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

You are, of course, absolutely right.

My problem is that I associate football with

exotic Europeans

, and NASCAR with . . . not exotic Europeans.

(PS. Stop playing with the troll.)

---

Huh... Apparently only Europeans play football. Cancel the World Cup!!! Only a few countries will continue to play. England is back in. I did not realize they had NASCAR in other countries than the US. Silly me.

---

I didn't say that only Europeans play football. I said that I associate the sport with exotic Europeans -- specifically, Italians, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, in more or less that order because they are the fans who are the noisiest where I live.

And they do have NASCAR in other countries: mine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR_Canada

(PS. Stopping being so grouchy.)

(PPS. Honourable mention goes to the Brazilians who, although not European, mostly live here in Little Portugal. The nice thing about being Portuguese, apparently, is that when your team gets eliminated,  you can simply switch over to supporting Brazil.)

[arton Rotaru]

SCHLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND :matte-motes-sunglasses-3:

[madjim]

Of course, many North Americans may have problems in understanding the concept of a "World Cup", being as their "World Series" is exclusively played between teams based in one continent.

Father "more people watch amateur soccer on any given winter Saturday in just England than attend a NASCAR meet" Jim

[madjim]

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

 

Football Hooliganism

I can't seem to find as rich a history of such behavior for the brain dead NASCAR fans. Though you may feel the need to respond, remember that not all feelings are rational.

---

Apparently, the North American continent also has tribal warfare conducted between rival football supporters.

Father "cast out the beam out of thine own eye" Jim

[LaskyaClaren]

According to some views, the "World Series" is so-called not because it pretends to be world-wide, but because it was initially sponsored by the New York World newspaper.

(Baseball is the only sport about which I am in any way well-informed. Go on, ask me about the infield fly rule!)

 

And American football (and Canadian football, which is, I think, slightly different) is a very silly game in which men shaped like refrigerators and wearing about 30kgs. of plastic armour bash into each other in order to push each other 3 or 4 feet in either direction. It also involves throwing or kicking a ball so that someone can drop it, as well as strange homoerotic rituals focused upon patting each other's bums.

Nothing surprises me about that game, really.

(PS. Notice how I very cleverly said all this without, in a technical sense, actually responding to the troll.)

[Madelaine McMasters]

---

LaskyaClaren wrote:

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

You are, of course, absolutely right.

My problem is that I associate football with

exotic Europeans

, and NASCAR with . . . not exotic Europeans.

(PS. Stop playing with the troll.)

---

Huh... Apparently only Europeans play football. Cancel the World Cup!!! Only a few countries will continue to play. England is back in. I did not realize they had NASCAR in other countries than the US. Silly me.

---

I didn't say that only Europeans play football. I said that I 

associate

the sport with exotic Europeans -- specifically, Italians, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, in more or less that order because they are the fans who are the noisiest where I live.

And they do have NASCAR in other countries: mine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR_Canada

(PS. Stopping being so grouchy.)

(PPS. Honourable mention goes to the Brazilians who, although not European, mostly live here in Little Portugal. The nice thing about being Portuguese, apparently, is that when your team gets eliminated,  you can simply switch over to supporting Brazil.)

---

I associate soccer with middle schoolers who's parents get thrown off the field for fighting with each other and the coaches.

I associate NASCAR with bumper stickers placed by people who don't know where the bumpers are.

I associate professional (and increasingly amateur) sports with professional (and increasingly amateur) religion.

[LaskyaClaren]

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

LaskyaClaren wrote:

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

You are, of course, absolutely right.

My problem is that I associate football with

exotic Europeans

, and NASCAR with . . . not exotic Europeans.

(PS. Stop playing with the troll.)

---

Huh... Apparently only Europeans play football. Cancel the World Cup!!! Only a few countries will continue to play. England is back in. I did not realize they had NASCAR in other countries than the US. Silly me.

---

I didn't say that only Europeans play football. I said that I 

associate

the sport with exotic Europeans -- specifically, Italians, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, in more or less that order because they are the fans who are the noisiest where I live.

And they do have NASCAR in other countries: mine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR_Canada

(PS. Stopping being so grouchy.)

(PPS. Honourable mention goes to the Brazilians who, although not European, mostly live here in Little Portugal. The nice thing about being Portuguese, apparently, is that when your team gets eliminated,  you can simply switch over to supporting Brazil.)

---

I associate soccer with middle schoolers who's parents get thrown off the field for fighting with each other and the coaches.

I associate NASCAR with bumper stickers placed by people who don't know where the bumpers are.

I associate professional

(and increasingly amateur)

 sports with professional (and increasingly amateur) religion.

---

Well, all of this is why I don't really do sports.

Except for the street parties that happen in my neighbourhood after a local favourite football team wins. Those are pretty cool, actually, mostly.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

---

LaskyaClaren wrote:

---

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

---

LaskyaClaren wrote:

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

You are, of course, absolutely right.

My problem is that I associate football with

exotic Europeans

, and NASCAR with . . . not exotic Europeans.

(PS. Stop playing with the troll.)

---

Huh... Apparently only Europeans play football. Cancel the World Cup!!! Only a few countries will continue to play. England is back in. I did not realize they had NASCAR in other countries than the US. Silly me.

---

I didn't say that only Europeans play football. I said that I 

associate

the sport with exotic Europeans -- specifically, Italians, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, in more or less that order because they are the fans who are the noisiest where I live.

And they do have NASCAR in other countries: mine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR_Canada

(PS. Stopping being so grouchy.)

(PPS. Honourable mention goes to the Brazilians who, although not European, mostly live here in Little Portugal. The nice thing about being Portuguese, apparently, is that when your team gets eliminated,  you can simply switch over to supporting Brazil.)

---

I associate soccer with middle schoolers who's parents get thrown off the field for fighting with each other and the coaches.

I associate NASCAR with bumper stickers placed by people who don't know where the bumpers are.

I associate professional

(and increasingly amateur)

 sports with professional (and increasingly amateur) religion.

---

Well, all of this is why I don't really do sports.

Except for the street parties that happen in my neighbourhood after a local favourite football team wins. Those are pretty cool, actually, mostly.

---

Those are called tailgate parties and they start before the game..

[Dillon Levenque]

---

LaskyaClaren wrote:

According to some views, the "World Series" is so-called not because it pretends to be world-wide, but because it was initially sponsored by the New York World newspaper.

(Baseball is the only sport about which I am in any way well-informed. Go on, ask me about the infield fly rule!)

 

---

 

If the Infield Fly rule be invoked but the ball ends up carrying into the outfield, is the rule still in effect?