Sunday, July 9, 2006

Well, the 2006 World Cup is over. It was an entertaining game. I'd have to say that France deserved to lose simply because it dominated the game for so long but couldn't score another one. I thought the referee crew was excellent--a real tribute to the final. The definition of a foul includes these words -- "careless, reckless, or with disproportionate force." The early PK was a result of the defender closing recklessly. He tried to pull up, but it was too late and he clipped the forward. Good call. The no call that Balboa was whining about at about the 50th minute was not a foul. In fact, the weakest part of the whole thing was the ABC broadcast crew. The lead announcer didn't have a clue. Balboa was a disappointment. For someone who played at such a high level, he displayed almost no knowledge of the overall aspects of the game. He had some of the same player misconceptions of the Laws that I hear all the time on the pitch. Derek and I are remarking on the tremendous amount of commercials that ABC is showing since the switchover to golf. I'm listening to some of the witty commentary by the golf guys (I can't think of the guy's name who has the "goat", but he's good). Makes me wish that we could have had the two guys who do the Champion's League games. They are witty, knowledgeable and on top of things. The Americans didn't seem to know what was happening at times then tried to make up for it with the ESPN directed "make a controversial statement" schtick. I, like everyone, was disappointed in Zidane's actions. But then, ESPN/ABC was hoping to make a hero out of him out of some primal need for hype. I've seen too many players who can't keep their heads and do something stupid. The play was great referee teamwork. It is the responsibility of the trailing assistant referee to watch play behind the referee's back. It is also the responsibility of the fourth official (the guy with the substitute sign board) to be constantly watching play. The referee checked, received information about the foul and acted decisively. Well done. 5:27:48 PM    comment []