Youtubesday

Been pretty busy lately, but will hopefully be getting back on track soon. I know you've missed me. Anyway, this video is sick - I'd pop it out into YouTube for the full version, as it's a widescreen video, to get the full effect.




As for the World Cup, the US lost and I gotta say, it was devastating. The goalie for Ghana had a hell of a match though, and I'll do some housecleaning on the World Cup these next two off days. Some good games coming up though, in Netherlands v. Brazil and Germany vs. Argentina. Oranje!

Follow me on Twitter @andrewensminger.

The US Does It!

The US had yet another dramatic game today (they don't make anything easy, do they?), yet were able to pull out the victory to win Group C in the World Cup, setting up a date with Ghana on Saturday. The US peppered the Algerian goal with quality chances all game long, but through 90 minutes hadn't put anything besides yet another disallowed-but-legitimate-goal in the back of the net. With England having already won their match, pushing the Americans down to third in the group, the US needed a miracle in stoppage time to advance to the knockout stage. Then, in the 91st minute, Landon Donovan cleaned up a rebound in front of the Algerian net, burying a shot to grab a dramatic 1 - 0 victory to move on the the final 16. It was indescribable - the biggest moment in recent, if not all time, US soccer history. Just an amazing game.


I'll be down in Jersey with the girl this weekend, heading to Atlantic City for a 50 Cent show (seriously) and Sea Isle City to just get some shore time in. It'll probably be my only chance to get to the beach this summer, and I'm really looking forward to the long weekend with Dayna. I most likely won't be posting until next week, but I'll be tweeting so follow me on Twitter @andrewensminger.

Game Summaries

USA 1:0 Algeria
Wow. Just wow. What an incredible game, and the country really seems to be getting behind this team.

Slovenia 0:1 England
England draws Germany in what should be a good first elimination game.

Ghana 0:1 Germany
Germany pulls out the victory to win the group, and, more importantly, the US avoids a round of 16 match with them.

Australia 2:1 Serbia
Australia goes home with a win, but finish third in Group D on goal differential.

Youtubesday

Happy Birthday Mom!

Just a couple quick videos, and notes from the past couple days of World Cup play. Groups are being decided these next few days, and the US has a big game tomorrow. Win and we're into the knockout stage. Can't ask for more than controlling our own destiny. Also, I really like what the schedule does for the third game of group play. It has all 4 teams in a group with simultaneous kickoffs, so no team has the advantage of knowing what they need to do to advance. They have some thinkers over there.


An annoying emo kid gets LAID OUT by a Florida recruit. Skip towards the end if you just want to see the biggest hit of the video.





KG gives Craig Sager (you know him for his suits during NBA broadcasts) fashion advice. "Is there any part of this I can keep?" "No. None of it. So when you get done with this, you should be buttass naked. This should be burned."





World Cup Results


Monday, June 21

Portugal 7:0 North Korea
Portugal just absolutely throttled North Korea.

Chile 1:0 Switzerland
Chile downs a surprisingly strong Swiss team to take control of their group.

Spain 2:0 Honduras
Spain picks up their first win after a disappointing first game, however Chile's win sets up a potential Brazil vs. Spain round of 16 match.


Tuesday, June 22

France 1:2 South Africa
Bafana Bafana picks up a win for the home crowd, and further humiliates France. I think even the French are glad to see their team done at this point.

Mexico 0:1 Uruguay
Uruguay takes the group, with Mexico beating out South Africa on goal differential to take second and advance.

Greece 0:2 Argentina
Argentina runs through the group with 3 wins, securing first place and a match up with Mexico in the knockout round.

Nigeria 2:2 South Korea
South Korea picks up the point to take second in the group, locking them in for a match against red-hot Argentina. Nigeria avoided going home without picking up a point.


Follow me on Twitter @andrewensminger.

World Cup Results for June 19 and 20

No post yesterday, it was a lazy day, plus nothing really exciting happened in the World Cup. Netherlands held off Japan, the Socceroos managed a tie against Ghana with 10 men, and Denmark eliminated Cameroon with a victory.


Sunday, however, was another story. New Zealand managed to tie Italy, even holding a lead for awhile. This World Cup has been truly crazy. Italy, Germany, Spain and France have all had disappointing showings, with France's soccer federation now in shambles and Les Bleus all but elminated. North Korea scored on Brazil. It's been nuts. In the other two games, Brazil blew out Côte d'Ivoire, complete with yet another controversial call, and Paraguay downed Slovakia.

Game Summaries

Saturday, June 19

Netherlands 1:0 Japan

Ghana 1:1 Australia

Cameroon 1:2 Denmark

Sunday, June 20

Slovakia 0:2 Paraguay

Italy 1:1 New Zealand

Brazil 3:1 Côte d'Ivoire


Follow me on Twitter @andrewensminger.

World Cup Results for June 18

The US played game two of their World Cup, and again pulled out a draw, this one of epic proportions. The US doesn't have many memories in soccer, but I think this game will live on in US soccer lore. Again, the US gave up early goals, but came back strong in the second half, and, honestly, should have won. After Landon Donovan and the coach's son Michael Bradley tied the game at 2, Maurice Edu scored what appeared to be the game winner, only to have it disallowed. The ref called a foul, but never said on who or what the foul was. I never thought I'd be this passionate about soccer, but watching the replay of that play made me sick. Alexi Lalas looked like he was near tears in the post game, and even the English announcers were saying it was a horrible call. The good thing, however, is that thanks to England's lifeless tie with Algeria, the US controls their destiny. A win against Algeria Wednesday puts them through to the elimination round. 


The third game of the day saw Serbia upset a 10 man Germany. Klose was tossed with two yellows in the first half, and Serbia was able to upset the Germans.

Game Summaries

Germany 0:1 Serbia

Slovenia 2:2 United States

England 0:0 Algeria



Follow me on Twitter @andrewensminger.

World Cup Results for June 17

For the first time, no games ended in a tie. After a slow scoring start to the World Cup, it picked up today. Argentina thrashed the host South Africa. Greece picked up their country's first World Cup win, beating a 10 man Nigeria. And Mexico did the world a favor and took out France in the third game today.

Game Summaries

Argentina 4:1 South Korea

Greece 2:1 Nigeria

France 0:2 Mexico

Follow me on Twitter @andrewensminger.

World Cup Results for June 16

The story of the day was Switzerland pulling off the biggest upset thus far in the 2010 World Cup, taking a 1-0 victory and the 3 points that come with it in their match against Spain. It's simply unbelievable that the Swiss were able to pull the upset, and, personally, my social media network reflected it. Feeds full of just shock and a mix of joy and disappointment. I just watched the end of the game, and it could have been 2-0 if not for the post getting in the way. The Spaniards dominated in the stats, but the Swiss got the win. In the other two games, Chile got their country's first World Cup victory and Uruguay put up a big win against the host team of South Africa.

Game Summaries

Honduras 0:1 Chile

Spain 0:1 Switzerland

South Africa 0:3 Uruguay

Follow me on Twitter @andrewensminger.