• The week that was saw Kyle Busch finally taking a checkered flag. Winning his first race of the season at the New Hampshire speedway on Sunday by 0.406 seconds over Carl Edwards. Busch has started to come on of late, with top 3 finishes in the last 3 races. Fortunately for Busch, Jeff Gordon was nowhere in site for the cheap shot take out.
• Aussie John Sendon won his first PGA event by 1 stroke over J.P. Hayes by saving par on the 18th hole after a birdie on 17 to take the John Deere Classic. Seddon finished first on the leaderboard that listed a bunch of no names with a 4 day total of 265 and qualified for the British Open.
• The Tigers and Mets continue to stay atop there respective leagues after the All-star break as Detroit takes 3 of 4 from the power house Royals, and the Mets take 2 of 3 from the Cubs including an embarrassing 13-7 win Sunday that saw the Mets hit 2 grand slams in the same inning. Oh those Cubs are terrible.
• Mariano Rivera became only the 4th closer in history to register 400 saves. Has there been anyone better than this guy?
• The guy who put Ghana soccer on the map has resigned for health reasons. Ratomir Dujkovic who is 60, stepped down this week with 6 months remaining on his contract. You done good Ratomir, you done good.
• Dallas Cowboy’s safety Keith Davis is in stable condition after being shot twice while on the highway in Dallas. He had successful surgery that removed the bullet fragments. In case your scratching your head and wondering who this guy is, he’s among the top special team players on the Dallas Cowboys.
• Fernando Vargas fell, and fell hard to the canvas as Shane Mosley knocked him out in the 6th round with the left hand shot. This one-sided affair was the rematch from 5 months previous that saw Mosley take out Vargas in 10 rounds. Please, we don’t need to see a third.
• My favourite NBA player has announced his return for a 14th season next year. Yes that’s right, that whiner Alonzo Mourning will be back in uniform for the Heat next season.
• The Dallas Stars apparently have money to waste next season. They are willing to take a chance on Eric Lindros as they signed the Centerman to a one year contract which could end up paying Eric 2 million if he stays healthy. Good luck on this one Dallas. Eric only managed to play in 33 games last year in Toronto.
• A 17 year old High School football player tragically died in a paintball accident in Oklahoma. Leaving a paintball competition, Garrett Bennett and 3 others were driving in a SUV, when a following vehicle shot paintball’s at the SUV causing the driver to loose control of the vehicle. The SUV crossed the median, struck a speed limit sign, and overturned several times. An unfortunate incident for sure, and one that has left a cloud over Jenks High School.

The World Cup finals was watched by about a bazillion people worldwide even a few million on this side of the pond. Soccer is once again in the forefront around here, it had the front page of ESPN.com, top story in countless stories and leading off every TV newscast. But come next week, no one around here will give it a second thought. The MLS will continue to draw NHL like ratings in the States and besides the few diehards, soccer will fade away for four more years.

So why is this? Why can’t league soccer capture the attention of the mainstream in North America?

Well let us list the ways:

• The constant diving and faking injuries obviously goes to the top of the list. North Americans, especially males, are taught and expected to be tough. Unless something is seriously wrong, your dad is telling you to ‘walk it off’. Hockey has their divers and there are floppers in the NBA, but these players are hated by opposing fans more than anyone. There is nothing worse label for an athlete in North American than to be called soft. In soccer, being soft is a key element to the game.
• The ambigious foul/penalty system. NFL fans will argue for days about bad calls, but at least all rules are set in stone. In soccer, fouls and cards are handing out in what seems like a completely random fashion. One ref will hand out 10 yellow cards and the next game will feature a ref who doesn’t call anything. Random calls, just don’t cut it around here (one reason why the NBA and NHL struggle drawing new fans).
• The ridiculous grandstanding referees. Maybe back in 1920 it was necessary for these guys to have cards and flags, but now a days, I’m pretty sure there is better way than to have the ref wait 2 minutes until all the cameras get on him and then yank a card out of his pocket. The refs should stay in the background of the game, that’s how we like it.
• The limited substitution rules. There are no continious action sports (i.e. not including baseball), where you’ll just see players openly dogging it. Why only 3 substitutions? What is the point of this, I don’t understand. Let the players get off and rest for a bit so they are fresh when they do get involved in the action.
• The pure insanity is that is penalty kicks. Could you imagine the Super Bowl being decided by a field goal contest? The Stanley Cup by shootout? The NBA title by a free throw contest? Do we honestly know what team is the better soccer team after that game on Sunday? No, but we sure know who can do penalty kicks best.

So in 3 months, when some sports guy is asking, where are the soccer fans? Just link em here, and show them. They are all doing something better with their time.

An epic World Cup final was witnessed yesterday by many as the Italians rallied to tie France at 1, then beat them in penalty kicks 5-3 to capture their 4th World Cup title. 

Zinedine Zidane’s reactionous header to the chest of Marco Materazzi for what is being speculated as a racial slur against him was vicious and will no doubt leave a black eye on his legacy to say the least.  All in all, the game was entertaining to watch and featured lots of chances, more so for the French side, and some fine goalkeeping from the Buffon of Italy, especially with that remarkable save on the header from Zidane in overtime. 

I still would rather have seen the game end in overtime until someone scored without having to go to penalty kicks.  That is a brutal way to end any tournament in any sport.  It’s just doesn’t seem right to see games of this magnitude end it such a fashion like this.  Whatabout having like 5 on 5 or something, giving you more fresh guys on the bench if need be later on in overtime.  I mean let’s open the game up a little.  Here’s a idea, howabout removing the goalkeepers for overtime?  Ah why even bother, who are we kidding here, this dumb format will never change.  I can’t wait to see what changes, if any, we’ll see 4 years from now when the focus shifts to South Africa 2010, until then, A piu tardi!   

Italy (5-1-0)

Wins over: Ghana, Czech Republic, Australia, Ukraine, Germany
Draws: United States (ha!)

The biggest whiners in the World Cup have advanced all the way to the finals and have been established as the favourites. In comparision to France, they’ve had an easy road through the finals. They’ve only battled one true contender, Germany, on their road to the championship. They have tons of skill and dive like no one else.

Crazy Italy fan Photo:

FRANCE (4-2-0)

Wins over: Togo, Spain, Brazil, Portugal
Draws: Korea, Switzerland

The old doods from France have surprised everyone by advancing this far. They looked like complete trash in their 1st couple games of this World Cup but have steadily improved all the way throughout the tournament. Their dominance over Brazil was startling and proved they were a true contender.

Crazy France fan Photo:

My pick: Ah call me stupid, but I think France is playing better right now and they get the win. 1-0. Zinedine Zidane departs the international stage as a champion.

Bonus pick: Germany over Portugal for 3rd.