Cugalabanza

I promise I will only hate you on June 22. All other days I think you're alright.

I'm really excited. Here's one way I can guarantee that this WC will be better than the last: No !@#$ing vuvuzelas! I like to root for the Netherlands. They usually play an exciting, attacking game which is fun to watch. I find myself rooting for the nations that play the beautiful game and don't resort to diving and faking injuries and packing everyone into their own box to grind out scoreless draws.

Hey, England, welcome to CONCACAF. http://www.espnfc.us/england/story/1868060/steven-gerrard-frustrated-by-refphysical-play They have Costa Rica in their group (in addition to Italy and Uruguay). I like Gerrard, but his whining will get stale when they don't advance.

I saw that. Sucks!

Pretty good showing. Interesting to see the "double destroyer" formation with Jones and Beckerman. I like it. All the starters did well, but I especially loved the game from Altidore, Bradley, Jones & Cameron. I'm so excited for the WC, I can taste it.

I liked it a lot too. Pretty much everything the Coen Bros. have done is great. The one exception being Intolerable Cruelty in my opinion.

I just realized I spelled Coen wrong. Oh jeez.

A McGuffin

I almost included that one on my list. I put a few Cohn Bros. films on there--Barton Fink was the next in line. John Mahoney is genius as the soused old writer.

I have seen The General and M, but it's been a very long time. I enjoyed them both, but I don't remember them very well. I might go back and revisit some of these very old classics.

Sociopaths have always been the most dangerous people.

Yeah, sorry for the cumbersome post. I like movies.

I hope Ronaldo does play. If the U.S. is able to make it out of the group, I don't want there to be any excuses. This witch doctor guy needs some serious psychiatric help...and a shirt.

Ok, this kept popping up in my head, so I had to come up with a partial list of favorites, in no particular order: Third Man Rosemary's Baby Box of Moonlight High Noon Wreck It Ralph Amelie Night of the Living Dead Return of the Living Dead Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Eyes Without a Face Annie Hall Crimes and Misdemeanors Broadway Danny Rose Manhattan Murder Mystery Hannah and her Sisters Glengarry Glen Ross Ferris Beuller's Day Off La Strada Nosferatu (1979) Hugo Pool Memento Pulp Fiction A Tale of Two Sisters Wild Strawberries It's a Wonderful Life Seven Samurai Sean of the Dead Rear Window Strangers on a Train Notorious Dial M for Murder The 39 Steps The Hangover 12 Angry Men The Godfather Airplane Gaslight Poltergeist Roman Holiday The Shining Broken Flowers Down by Law Short Cuts McCabe and Mrs. Miller Cache Election Sideways Blue Velvet Lost Highway Mullholland Drive Young Frankenstein Harold & Maude Dancer in the Dark Three Amigos The Jerk Murder on the Orient Express Office Space And Then There Were None There's Something About Mary Solaris Fight Club The Celebration The Science of Sleep Life is Beautiful Dumb & Dumber Three Colors: Red Planes Trains & Automobiles National Lampoon's Vacation Tommy Boy To Kill a Mockingbird Groundhog Day Goodfellas Caddyshack Little Miss Sunshine Ghost World Blood Simple Fargo The Big Lebowski Bottle Rocket Rushmore The Royal Tenenbaums Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou The Grand Budapest Hotel Casablanca Bucket of Blood Animal House Tree's Lounge

Yeah, I know he had a very disappointing season at Sunderland. I was just judging based on what I saw in the Turkey game. I really think he will find it. I bet he gets a goal on Saturday against Nigeria.

Happy Birthday, Rock!

That's pretty great!

Actually, I think he looks pretty strong. Just missing that final touch to get the goal. In the Turkey game, he worked extremely hard, holding the ball with his back to goal. He muscled the defenders and gave them fits. Making some nice passes and moves on his own too. He also did some good stuff as the first defender (i.e., "forechecking" for the non-soccer fan). Turkey's coach gave Jozy special props--said Turkey's backs had a very hard time handling him. I've occasionally been disappointed with Jozy in the past when he has seemed uninspired, but I think he's in good form now. Once he breaks the seal, the goals will come in bunches. I agree with you on the back line though. I'm a little worried. I can only hope they get it together very quickly.

I liked Bradley's recent comments about his positioning and the diamond formation. He said too much gets made of it all. He sees his job as making good things happen in the middle of the field, whether it's "scoring goals, setting up goals, winning tackles, intercepting balls..." linky poo: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/sports/soccer/jurgen-klinsmann-gambles-on-michael-bradleys-scoring-prowess-for-us-soccer.html?_r=0

I hear a lot about how Porgugal is FIFA ranked #3 in the world currently. But I haven't heard anyone seriously make the case that they are a top contender to win the WC. Brazil, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy all have a better shot. I'd even pick the Netherlands and Chile over Portugal. They're still a very good team and unquestionably a favorite against the U.S., but not among the true contenders.

I think they're just being cautious with Ronaldo. He'll play.

Good stuff! I agree especially about Chandler. I read some stuff online trying to say that Chandler was ok. Not the case! He looked lost. I don't know what his problem is. We've been hanging hopes on Chandler for a long time and he just never lives up. I guess it will be Beasley on the left side. If it were up to me, I'd have Fabian Johnson move to the left (his natural side anyway). And, !@#$ it, I'd put Yedlin on the right side. I'm coming around on Yedlin. And he's tough as ****--we need a little muscle back there. In the middle, probably Besler and Cameron give us the best chance. Brooks is close to breaking in there, but I feel he needs a little more time.

Today's Turkey game showed some progress, but still some troubling stuff. Tim Chandler was very disappointing to me. I guess Beasley will still be our best option at LB. This worries me. The back line still looks unresolved. I think it's mostly a matter of bad timing. Unfortunately the promising young guys (Brooks and Yedlin) are just a touch too young. We're left with a patchwork of guys playing in spots they're not 100% used to (F. Johnson & Cameron). They'll have to dig in hard to be good enough against Ghana, Portunaldo & Germany. I liked the work from Altidore today. He gave Turkey's back line fits. I think it's just bad luck he did not get the goal. I have a feeling he will break out of his slump at a very good time. He's doing everything right. Man, I like Diskerud's touch. He has a very positive (Stu Holden-like) effect on the game when he's out there. I think he could be valuable as a late sub in one or more of the WC games .

I think it looks slower simply because you are watching top club teams at their peak. As a result, they are supremely organized. Everyone knows his role and the positioning and overlapping are seamless. For the USMNT, there is some "scrambling" going on out there to try to cover the real estate. However, I have to say that the pace of the Azerbaijan game was quite slow compared to what we'll see in Brazil. Some of this perceived difference is an illusion I think. The top teams kind of "make it look easy" while the speed of play (and thought) is actually really very fast.

I can't pick an all-time favorite movie. Too many great ones. But I can say that my favorite move from this year so far is Grand Budapest Hotel.