Captain America: The First Avenger

See that awesome poster? That pretty much describes this movie. It is deliberately shot in the style of a 1940's film, focusing heavily on the characters depicted up top with only minor interaction with "the background guys." That's not necessarily a bad thing, since if the Howling Commandos got more screen time (which was more than likely intended, evidenced by obvious deleted scenes), the story would start to slow down around the time Steve Rogers decides to do the right thing and make Captain America more than just propaganda.

Captain America is the story of Steve Rogers, the wimpiest kid you'll ever meet, but who possesses an indomitable will that keeps him going despite his size. He keeps applying to the U.S. military multiple times, being rejected every time for his own safety. His reasons for enlisting are shallow at first; his entire family enlisted and died in the war. Later on, we see that Rogers "doesn't like bullies" and sees Nazi Germany as just another bully. He doesn't want to kill any Nazis, he just wants to right the wrongs that Adolf Hitler has done.


Yes, Captain America's back-story has received zero change since being its last retcon. Bucky is still the bigger protector of Steve until the Super Soldier serum, then becomes a member of the Howling Commandos, then dies for the millionth time. The inventor of the serum is still killed by a Nazi almost immediately after Steve Rogers becomes nigh-superhuman, but this time he is an agent of Hydra. Although Rogers would now make an excellent soldier, he is just one man and deemed too valuable to lose on the frontlines. He is dressed up in a silly costume and made into the propaganda superhero, Captain America, even printing his own series of comic books (a reprint of Captain America Comics #1).

During a trip to Italy for the USO, Rogers receives jeers from the actual troops, but decides to single-handedly break out hundreds of troops held prisoner in a Nazi camp (actually a Hydra camp). Afterwards, seeing his worth not only as a strong physical soldier, but a very capable mental one, Rogers' former CO decides to create a unit for Captain America and bring down Hydra and the Red Skull, who is using the power of the Cosmic Cube, left being on Earth by the Asgardians.

Captain America is easily Marvel's 2nd best film, just behind X-Men: First Class. It pokes fun at American propaganda during the 1940s, but also makes sure to stay true to the course and tell a serious story of a weak man who did not change once given power. Make sure to stay after the credits too, because there isn't just a post-credits scene, there's a trailer for next year's The Avengers.

Final Score: 4 punches to Hitler's face out of 5

Sports in America are Taking a Nosedive, Thanks to this Weekend

Two major sporting events ended this weekend, the British Open and the FIFA Women's World Cup. Both have effectively killed golf and football in the US for different reasons.

The British Open was won by Darren Clarke, an amateur golfer. The British Open isn't a major championship, at least not on par with the U.S. Open or the Masters, but it's still a big competition where big names compete. When non-professionals win championships after basically recently taking up golf (exaggeration, but you get the point), it helps kill golf. The absence of Tiger Woods at 100% also kills it because as Skip Bayless puts it, we want to see sports with people who are the best in the world.

In the World Cup final, the USA lost to Japan on penalty kicks after tying the game 2-2 in extra time thanks to a header from Homare Sawa, the eventual winner of the Golden Ball. The big question being asked right now is, "will people remember the unbelievable comeback the US had against Brazil?" How many people are aware of Derek Fisher's 0.4 shot? How many people remember LeBron James' buzzer beater against the Orlando Magic 2 years ago? How many people remember Allen Iverson scoring 50 points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers? NOBODY. In due time, people will forget that the USA-Brazil game was so incredibly badly officiated and that the USA won despite being down a player for nearly an hour. People remember the Miracle on Ice, except that game was not the Final of the Olympics, it was only the semifinal and the US still had to win the NEXT game. People just remember the USA-USSR game because it was the height of the Cold War and the Soviets had a "superior" hockey team.

The only people who are going to remember the name Hope Solo are all the men who thought she was incredibly hot. Some people might remember Alex Morgan, especially since she's going to be a star in years to come. But nobody will remember Abby Wambach, probably the unluckiest women's football player ever. Maybe she can win a gold medal in the Olympics next year and finally walk away with some kind of prize, because she's had a very long and very rough career.

Golf and football aren't the only sports sinking in the US. Tennis is becoming less popular, especially since there are only 3 good American tennis players left: Andy Roddick, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams. Football also took a major hit when Real Madrid annihilated the LA Galaxy 4-1. The Galaxy are supposed to be either one of or the best team in MLS this year, so when they lose to a team that didn't even get to the Final in UEFA Champions League, that just shows how much MLS has to catch up with the European leagues. Mexican teams are also losing in droves to Euro squads, definitively showcasing that Primera Division is a bad state of decline.

If this NBA lockout does indeed wipe out the season, it could take a lot of work for any seat to ever unseat gridiron football as the #1 sport in the US now, other than kids just not playing it due to concussion fears.

So Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez Are Getting Divorced

Well that was certainly.... expected. I'm frankly surprised they lasted 7 years, being married in 2004, less than a week after Marc Anthony's divorce to former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres was finalized. Marc Anthony, real name Marco Antonio Muñiz, and Jennifer Lopez had previously dated in the 90s before Lopez's 2nd marriage and Muñiz's 1st marriage. No one was really that surprised to see the 2 long-time friends get married, but it was surprising to see how quickly the whole thing happened after Muñiz and Torres had allegedly reconciled.

The couple has fraternal twins, Emme Maribel and Maximilian David, whose photos were first shown exclusively to People for $6 million. At this point, the divorce proceedings are in its early stages, so the issue of custody hasn't been discussed yet. The Muñiz family are partial owners of the Miami Dolphins, which is probably the only reason I'm bothering to cover this story, other than it's funny how Hispanic people's opinion of Lopez has hit rock-bottom since her marriage to Muñiz, many seeing her as a home wrecker, but Muñiz and Torres had well-known marital problems.

Forbes Reveals Most Valuable Sports Clubs, Women's World Cup Final Set

Forbes' list of the most valuable sports clubs of the planet came in and the Dallas Cowboys have been knocked off their perch by Manchester United, fresh off their 19th English Premier League championship and being the runner-ups to the UEFA Champions League. Full 50-team list and Women's World Cup Final preview after the break.

ESPN Strikes Out on Baseball Predictions (Again), Mexico's U-23 Squad Out at Copa America

Prince Fielder blasted away a 3-run home run to give the National League a 3-1 lead in the 4th inning, eventually building on to a 5-1 defeat over the American League for the second year in a row, fueled by superior pitching, steady batting, and excellent field play, despite 2 errors. Fielder becomes the first Minnesota Brewer hit a home run in the All-Star Game, which easily won him the All-Star Game MVP. Only 30 minutes after the game, the Brewers announced they had finalized a trade that sent Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez to Minnesota, in exchange for 2 Brewers minor leaguers from a list of 5 by September, which could potentially lead the Brewers to winning the NL Central.

The game was a snoozer, unless you're a fan of pitching, which I happen to be. Seeing the over-hyped American League batters fall constantly to superior National League pitching was awesome as well, mostly because ESPN very wrongly predicted among its many analysts and sports writers that the AL would easily the win the game with its "superior" batting. The only AL run came off an Adrian Gonzalez home run from Cliff Lee (another over-hyped talent), but the NL didn't falter for the rest of the game, closing with the now legendary Brian Wilson. With the win, it gives the National League home-field advantage in the World Series, something that is shockingly important seeing as how nearly every World Series winner for the last 20 years has had home field advantage. The Phillies, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, and Giants are all obviously now huge favorites to win the World Series with the home field advantage.

This win wasn't just important to establish home field at the World Series, it was important in showing that the American League's designated hitter rule just doesn't work. The theory behind the DH rule is that pitchers are usually lousy batters, so why don't they just stick to pitching and instead have a permanent pinch-hitter whose only job is to swing the bat? That way, pitchers can better focus on pitching and therefore, become superior pitchers! It turns out that theory is a crock of shit, as evidenced by the fact that the National League has far better pitching, in a league where pitchers are required to bat.

Mexico's U-23 team officially sucks. They have been bounced out of Copa America, after failing to win any games and scoring only 1 goal. The worst part about this is that this is probably the team that Mexico will send to the Olympics in London next year, should they even qualify. The worsest thing, however, is that the by-far worst player of the match was Giovanni Dos Santos, the best player of the Gold Cup Final. He's clearly exhausted after playing through an entire tournament, but he just showed no effort at all on the pitch.

Mexico's been winning a lot lately, winning both the Gold Cup and the U-17 World Cup, but it's a sad day when the 17-year-olds have more talent and promise than the 23-year-olds. Come World Cup 2014, none of these guys will be playing football anymore, they're that bad. Uruguay moved on to the next round with the win, joining Colombia, Argentina, and Chile, who won their game against Peru via an own goal very late into the game.

Why the NBA Lockout Will Kill the NBA... Eventually

The NBA Lockout continues, and more players are considering playing overseas. Deron Williams was the first to announce that he will play in Turkey as long as the lockout continues into the regular season, but more people are being rumored to play overseas, as well as others, like Kevin Durant, who have confirmed as much. Deron Williams said in an interview the other day that if the NBA gets what they want in cutting player salaries by 33%, Kobe Bryant would still be the highest paid player in the NBA, but compared to other sports, he will be making far less money and could probably make more money playing in China where he will be treated better by the Chinese Basketball Association.

If Kobe, Deron WIlliams, Kevin Durant, and other stars leave even for a partial period of time, it sends a clear message to the NBA that the players do not need the NBA to make money and be successful. If such a thing does happen, the slow, but eventual death of the NBA will happen once it can no longer attract American talent who will instead opt to find work in Spain, Turkey, or China.

But if the players get their way to keep things as is, we will see even more super teams like the Miami Heat. Although the Heat did not win the championship, they did reach the Finals, something that many haters wished dearly would not happen. I almost never root for the Celtics, but I was finding myself a Celtics fan last year, hoping they would knock the Heat out of the playoffs. Unfortunately the Heat won, but the Mavericks prevailed. What's going to happen when the few teams who are making money decide to do what Miami did?

A league with no parity cannot sustain itself, as evidenced when Detroit and San Antonio met in an epic 7-game series in 2005. Viewers tuned away from the NBA, after seeing the Lakers fail to qualify for the playoffs. Even though the last 2 champions were meeting in the Finals, just like the Celtics and Lakers in '87, nobody really gives a shit about either the Spurs or Pistons. TO this day, the 2005 Finals are the least watched Finals of all-time, thanks in no small part to the NBA being a league with no parity.

So if the owners win, the league dies because all the current and future stars go to play overseas. High school kids will change their mind on what sport to focus on, seeing that there's more money to be made in football or baseball. If the players win, more superteams will be made and every team will be a feeder-team for the Lakers, Heat, Knicks, and Bulls.

Some kind of medium needs to be met, because neither side is looking good in this lockout and neither side will win everything they want.

MY BODY IS NOT READY FOR THIS

Behold! The first poster for The Dark Knight Rises! What does it mean!? Must Gotham fall for Batman to rise? Will Batman shine through the darkness of Gotham? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AND WHY CAN'T I TIME TRAVEL TO ONE YEAR FROM NOW!?!?!?!? THURSDAY CANNOT COME FAST ENOUGH, I NEED MY TEASER TRAILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Feel Like Such a Horrible Person, But...

Casey Anthony is hot and I would totally bang her. She's hot as hell and would probably be a good lay. I honestly have no idea if she actually killed her daughter (my opinion is she didn't, she was just a negligent mother), but she's out of jail now and without a kid. She's hot, she's single, and she's bound to make money with book deals and interviews. The only thing preventing me from actively pursuing this (probably crazy) woman is that she lives in Orlando, the hometown of utterly insane people.

Vivid Video was considering offering Anthony a porn deal, but they changed their minds, probably out of fear that they would face scrutiny or mass protests for promoting a woman who many Americans feel is guilty. I would have loved to see a Casey Anthony porno, rather than these awful porn movies being made by quasi-celebrities like Amy Fisher and Chyna. Hopefully once everyone forgets who the hell Casey Anthony is, she'll consider the porn idea, capitalizing on her party girl image.

THERE. I SAID. I WOULD BANG CASEY ANTHONY. SHE'S HOT.

Argentina Finally Gets a Win, Messi Continues to Struggle Scoring Goals

Hey, a team won a game at Copa America! And it was Argentina against Costa Rica, 3-0! And Lionel Messi still didn't score any goals!

Despite continuing to struggle finding his mark in international matches, Messi actually played very well and recorded two assists in a game that Argentina dominated from beginning to end. The game's winner was never really in doubt, since Argentina would be taking on Costa Rica's U-23 team with 5 seniors. Hilariously enough, Carlos Tevez (who is now demanding a transfer from Manchester City back to Brazilian club Corinthians) was left off the starting roster, being replaced by Gonzalo Higuain, who many in the Argentine media had been clamoring for to replace Tevez. Higuain was easily the flop of the match, blasting shots in every direction other than the goal. Higuain was replaced by Javier Pastore in the 80th minute, but the damage was done by then. Tevez sucks and Higuain was just as bad. Argentina's 3rd striker will either have to be someone else down the road, or Argentina might want to exchange a striker for a midfielder.

Argentina now qualifies for the knockout round with their win over Costa Rica, joining surprisingly dominant force Colombia.

Five Thoughts on The USWNT's Historic Win Against Brazil

It's the day after the exhilaration of winning a football game by forcing penalty kicks with a goal in additional time of extra time is just starting to wear off. Because the nerves are gone, I can better analyze the top 5 talking points from yesterday's match. In no particular order:

1. The USA will win the Women's World Cup if they continue to play like this.
1. Even with only 10 players, they managed to take the game to penalty kicks after going down a goal early in extra time. What could the US have done with a full roster? France took England to penalty kicks, but they have yet to perform at a level like the USA did yesterday. Japan is the only contender to make the final alongside the US at this point, but I honestly can't see Japan beating the US at this point.
2. Brazilian football is in shambles.
1. The women's team failing to win in both the World Cup and Olympics, the men's team struggling to even win a game in Copa America, the U-17 team blowing a 3-1 lead to Germany in the 3rd place match, and the final nail in the coffin of the legendary Ronaldo retiring early due to hypothryroidism.
   
3. FIFA needs to address their referees interpretation of the Spirit of the Game, as outlined in the Laws of the Game.
1. In last year's men's World Cup, FIFA dismissed the referee of the USA vs Slovenia match who disallowed a goal by Maurice Edu because of a foul on an unknown player that the referee was not required to explain, based on FIFA regulations. If the referee from yesterday's game does not get sent home, conspiracy theories that FIFA does not want the USA to succeed may begin.
4. Marta is not going to have a warm welcome when she returns to the Western New York Flash, probably on the July 17 game.
1. Yes, Marta plays in Women's Professional Soccer. Alongside team USA member Alex Morgan. And also Brazilian teammate Maurine. After Marta's penalty kick, she made a gesture to the crowd who started to boo her and then proceeded to be a pain in the ass for the rest of the game, constantly arguing with the referee and taunting the players on the opposite team. She received the loudest jeers when she took her 2nd penalty kick, which she approached as pure business, taking little joy.
5. Despite the incredible drama and finish, this game still contained every single element that Americans hate about football.
1. Blatant diving, terrible officiating, no use of instant replay, and a game being decided by a referee's whistle rather than actual skill on the pitch. If the US had lost, I seriously think Americans would have completely given up on football. The worst part of the game was that the diving that has plagued the men's game like a cancer for the last 10 years or so is starting to infect the women's game, as evidenced by Erika's miraculous recovery from a phantom foul. Major League Soccer is doing the right thing lately, giving automatic yellow cards for diving or flopping, due to the actions of D.C. United star Charlie Davies.

Usain Bolt: LIKE A BOSS

This is Usain Bolt, holder of nearly every world record in men's track. He is so good and lightning fast, he won a race at the Beijing Olympics while looking behind him to check that he was comfortably in the lead and ALSO breaking a world record. Yes, he could have broken the record by EVEN MORE had he not slowed down to look behind him. In case you haven't noticed by now, Bolt's jersey has his own image on it. Oh and of course, he won the race.

Now ordinarily I would disapprove of such grandstanding. But holy hell, Usain Bolt is just plain unbeatable and the fastest human in the history of time, literally. How many people can claim to be faster than anyone EVER? Track records tend to stand for long periods of time since the human body is only designed to go so fast, but Usain Bolt is a freak of nature that could outrun the Flash.

If you're going to brag about yourself, make sure you can live up to your own hype, just like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Kobe Bryant. Don't be like LeBron James, Alex Ovechkin, or the Brazilian football team (man or woman).

THIS is Mexico's Football Future

With Mexico's U-23 team struggling to get anything done at Copa America, I was starting to lose hope in Mexico's chances in the 2014 World Cup. But today, my worries were put to rest when Mexico defeated Uruguay 2-0 in the U-17 World Cup final. Uruguay only had 2 real chances to score any goals, but both bounced off the posts. Both of Mexico's goal were unquestionably good and more importantly, the product of excellent teamwork. This is Mexico's 2nd U-17 title, but it's also the 2nd FIFA championship Mexico has ever won on home soil, the first being the 1999 Confederations Cup.

This U-17 team is full of exceptional talent, but the question remains as to how the FMF will handle their futures. My main concerns are how the two best players will be handled: midfielder Jorge Espericueta and goalkeeper Richard Sanchez. Espericueta is probably going to remain in Mexico for quite some time, being on the youth roster for Tigres UANL. But Sanchez is a much different story. He is on the FC Dallas roster in his rookie season and he's also a natural born U.S. citizen. I've been worried for some time now as to what Mexico will do if anything should ever happen to Guillermo Ochoa (who has officially been cleared of the clenbuterol scandal, proving that he, and the other Mexican squad members, indeed ate contaminated meat). Sanchez is a star goalkeeper in the making, but he could very easily be swayed to play for the U.S. instead, which could also use a solid backup to Tim Howard.

It's true that not every U-17 player experiences success professionally, but a handful do eventually go on to have successes either at the club level or internationally. Wilson Oruma and Kanu helped Nigeria win the 1996 Olympics after winning the 1993 U-17 World Cup, Kanu going on to have an impressive career in the UEFA Champions League. At the 1999 U-17 World Cup, future star Landon Donovan made his international debut, winning the Golden Ball award alongside DaMarcus Beasley. CAHLOS TAHVAZ made his debut at the 2001 U-17 World Cup, taking Argentina to 4th place. Continuously rising star Freddy Adu made his debut at the 2003 U-17 World Cup. Giovani Dos Santos made his debut at the 2005 U-17 World Cup, winning the Silver Ball award.

So will Espericueta and Sanchez go on to also be stars like the names listed above? Only time will tell, but if they are bigger names by the time of the 2014 World Cup, it will be a great sign for Mexican football youth development.

USA vs Brazil Lives Up to the Hype, USA Overcomes Incredibly Awful Officiating

Barely a minute into the match, Brazil's Daiane scored an own goal against her own team to give the US women a 1-0 lead which they carried into half time. Despite the lead, the US never quite got close to finishing off the Brazilians. About 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Brazilian striker Marta was given a penalty kick and Rachel Buehler was sent off with a very questionable red card. Hope Solo saved the PK, but the Australian referee ruled that Hope Solo moved forward before the PK was taken. Replays show this was not the case at all, yet Solo was shown a yellow card. The 2nd PK was taken by Marta herself, which Solo didn't save.

The game continued to be tied, mostly by the incredibly resoluteness of the US in fighting on with 10 players. But only 2 minutes into extra time, Marta scored yet another goal, this time passed to her by an offside player that the referee did not call. All hope seemed lost, but the US fought on to the final second. More questionable play from Brazil carried on as Erika faked an injury with 2 minutes left in regulation of extra time 2, leading to her getting a yellow card and giving the US 3 additional minutes of stoppage time in extra time. With only 1 minute left in stoppage time, Megan Rapinoe made an incredible assist to Abby Wambach, who headed the ball into the goal, scoring the latest goal ever scored in the Women's World Cup.

When it came down to penalty kicks, the equalizer was the uncertainty of Daiane as the 3rd kicker. It showed, as her shot was the only one Solo not only blocked, but the only one she dived in the right direction towards. With the final shot, Alexandra Krieger made the shot to finally end the match, fitting that today is the 12 day anniversary of the US' legendary match against China in the 1999 World Cup, but also because Krieger literally almost died 5 years ago.

The officiating in this match was beyond awful. 4 yellow cards were handed to each team, maybe only 2 of which were deserved, but Erika's yellow should have been a red card for deliberately faking an injury and wasting time. Offside calls were almost always wrong or called too tightly, one non-call which led to a Brazilian goal. If the US had lost this match, I think the question asked would have been, "Horrible officiating, or fixed match?" The case for either stands strong, with nearly every call going Brazil's way and both their goals coming off bad refereeing. But the football gods smiled down upon the US women, especially Abby Wambach who made sure the US would not be leaving Germany quite yet.

The crowd was also on the US' side after the penalty kick goal by Marta, the mostly neutral crowd feeling that the US was robbed. Chants of USA could be heard well into the final seconds of the match and even during the penalty kicks, while Brazil, especially Marta, faced nothing but boos and jeers.

It's difficult to imagine an even more dramatic match happening for the rest of the World Cup, especially given how much hype this match had. In Wednesday's semifinal matches, the USA takes on France, who eliminated England yesterday in penalty kicks. After that match, Japan and Sweden will face each other. Right now, the favorites to go to the Final are Japan and the US, but a rematch of the group stage match between Sweden and the US might prove to be much more dramatic.

David Beckham Can Still Bend It

At today's game between the L.A. Galaxy and Chicago Fire, David Beckham demonstrated that despite being 36 years old, Beckham's legendary right foot still works and he scored quite the impressive Gol Olimpico, only his 2nd goal of the season. Beckham is in the last year of his contract with the Galaxy, which made him the highest paid player in Major League Soccer history, being paid $6.5 million per year for 4 years, for a total of $26 million. There is tons of speculation as to what Beckham will do once the season is over, some speculating that he will remain with the Galaxy and finish his career in Los Angeles, while others believe he will join A.C. Milan, the team the Galaxy have loaned him to twice, or Manchester United, the team Beckham became a legend on.

The A.C Milan rumors are mostly unfounded since he never contributed significantly to the team, mostly serving as an attraction. The Man U rumors might prove true, but there are two big things that are hinting that Beckham may stay in LA: the impending birth of his youngest daughter will happen at the tail end of the MLS season, and Beckham has been looking around LA to sign his sons up for a local hockey league. Kids in the end are what dictate where retiring athletes end careers, many choosing to play where the kids live so they can spend more time with their family.

Whatever the case, David Beckham will eventually retire having made Manchester United an even more legendary football team and bringing considerable international attention to Major League Soccer; if Beckham hadn't come, it's unknown if Rafael Marquez or Thierry Henry would have come either.

The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Trailer to Premiere in Front of Harry Potter?

Rumors are swirling around Hollywood that The Dark Knight Rises' first teaser trailer will premiere during the first showings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Superherohype.com has the most concrete information, saying that the length of the trailer will be 1 minute and 33 seconds long and will run in both 2D theaters and IMAX 3D theaters (TDKR is not a 3D film, but there are reports that it will use even more IMAX than TDK).

Honestly, I would be fine if the first teaser trailer is similar to the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight which was mostly snippets of the jewel thief story Alfred was telling Bruce in response to Bruce describing the Joker's actions, followed by the Joker giving a few lines and giving us a glimpse of what Heath Ledger's Joker laugh would sound like, all just audio with the Batman logo slowly being revealed and then a Joker card shown.

This time around, a lot more information is known to begin with, including that Liam Neeson as Ra's al Ghul will be back, more than likely serving as the main villain and either behind or working with Bane. If there's anything in the trailer that would cause instant fan service, it would be Bane screaming out his trademark line, "I WILL BREAK YOU!"

A New Women's World Cup Champion Will Be Crowned

For the first time since the German women defeated the Swedish women in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, a new champion will be crowned at the end of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Japan defeated Germany 1-0, in extra time from an incredible goal by Karina Maruyama. Germany was seemingly lifeless the entire match, filled with very questionable substitutes, especially the case of the legendary Birgit Prinz, who was never substituted into the match, despite being the all-time best goal scorer in German women's football.

After Maruyama's goal in the 108th minute, Germany (and the German crowd) came alive, desperately trying everything they could to score just 1 goal to force the game in penalty kicks. But despite the sudden burst of energy, the final 14 minutes could have gone by any faster for the Germans as they failed to score a goal, mostly due to the incredible goalkeeping by Ayumi Kaihori.

Japan moves on to the semifinal where they await the winner of Australia vs Sweden, which at this point, Japan is favored to win no matter who they face.

Germany has won the last 2 World Cups and has not lost a game since they were beaten by the U.S. in the 1999 World Cup. That incredible streak has now been broken, and questions will have to be asked on what Germany could have done to at least take the game to penalty kicks. I'm sure the coach's decision to not bring in Birgit Prinz will be heavily scrutinized, especially after she was benched in Germany's first game.

Japan has played spectacularly this World Cup and a win in the final match would do much to help life spirits in Japan where the northeast area of the island of Honshu is still suffering incredible damage from the massive earthquake and tsunami. It would also do much to improve the opinion of Japanese football around the world, as Japan was long thought to not be a sporting country, but now are highly competitive in both football and baseball.

Tomorrow Australia takes on Sweden at 6:30 AM Eastern (gross) and USA takes on Brazil in what looks to be the most anticipated match of the tournament.

Missing Messi

A player who looks a lot like Lionel Messi was wearing his jersey today, playing against Colombia in Copa America. "Messi" scored 0 goals, continuing "Messi's" streak of not scoring international goals. His teammate CAHLOS TAVAHZ also struggled to score, probably thinking more about his impending move away from Manchester City than scoring goals in a competition that would make Argentina no longer look like a laughing stock.

Lionel Messi might be the best football player in the world when he plays for Barcelona, but when it comes to playing in Argentina, he isn't even at Maradona's level. Stars are born in Champions League, but legends are made at the World Cup. Diego Forlan's star power skyrocketed at last year's world cup, whereas he was previously totally unknown. Messi's star power has only gone down, failing to make his mark at UEFA Champions League and continuing to perform poorly in Copa America.

Argentina's first two games were draws against Bolivia and Colombia, causing Argentina to now require a win against invitee Costa Rica, pending the results of Bolivia vs Costa Rica, which Bolivia is expected to win. There is in fact, a very real possibility that host nation Argentina will be eliminated in the group phase, which would cause Argentina to become a worldwide laughingstock.

At this point, I'm not surprised at all that Argentina is playing such uninspired football. Messi is mostly a humble guy, but with everyone calling him the greatest thing since sliced bread, it has to be going to his head a little bit. CAHLOS TAVAHZ is also busy attempting to form words with his gigantic teeth and desiring to leave Manchester City because he wants to spend more time with his children in Argentina. Tevez going to Argentina's league is a huge step down, but in reality, it could be him trying to inspire Messi to go back to Argentina as well to build better chemistry with Argentina national team teammates.

Whatever the case, Copa America could prove to be the beginning of a very long road for Argentina.

ESPN Scores Big Against NBC

Starting next year, ESPN has successfully outbid NBC for single-network coverage of the Wimbledon championships for the next twelve years, unseating NBC. The reason ESPN is being debated, but most agree that NBC choosing not to air any matches live until 2014, while ESPN would air all quarter and semifinal matches live (as well as early rounds) got ESPN the win.

ESPN has had a long tradition of airing all sports live, regardless of when they are played. This has caused a bit of a rift with fans, some believing it unfair that the East Coast generally gets to watch programming after work, while others believe that in the age of the Internet, live television is needed more than ever to prevent people from watching games on their computer. ESPN has embraced live games so much that ESPN3.com broadcasts several games that would never make it to air on one of ESPN's main networks.

As far as how this will affect the quality of coverage, that's unknown. ESPN may broadcast everything live, but the people behind these games are just awful. Nobody likes ESPN's Monday Night Football with Mike Tirico. Nobody likes Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy broadcasting NBA games (thankfully Mark Jackson will now be coaching and away from the microphone). Nobody likes ESPN's baseball coverage where last year, they infamously got every single pick wrong in the 2010 World Series (I'm dead serious, everyone they picked to win lost, including the World Series).

The only thing ESPN has going for it, ironically enough, is it's soccer/football coverage, which is by far the best and most extensive coverage in English in the U.S. They're starting to broadcast MLS games this summer, international club friendlies, as well as broadcasting Euro 2012 next year. The only "problem" with ESPN's soccer/football coverage is Alexi Lalas is publicly no fan of the Mexican national team and has turned away Mexican viewers in the past, something that could be dangerous as ESPN will be the sole provider of Euro 2012 in the U.S.; it will not get any Spanish-language coverage from Univision or Telemundo.

On the NBC side of things, this is a huge blow to its credibility when they already have less and less credibility as time goes on. NBC's refusal to air foreign (and even some domestic ones) sporting events live has greatly alienated their audience, who can very easily look on their phone to see the results that they want to see. As far as next year's London Olympic Games go, only time will tell to see if NBC changes their attitude and starts airing events live on its main network. For the Beijing Games, they did air events live on CNBC, MSNBC, and USA, but NBC still had their infamous "primetime" block to show the "best" of events from the day, usually biased to show what NBC thinks Americans will be most interested in, usually swimming, gymnastics, and track.

This is Mexico's Football Future?

The future of Mexican football, this is not. A lot of Mexican football fans are on cloud nine after defeating the U.S. 4-2 in the Gold Cup final, feeling unbeatable and that their #18 world ranking is far too low. The fact of the matter is that Mexico is very similar to England when it comes to football: they think they're much better than they really are. The U.S. has a much more realistic opinion on their soccer team, one of "We're a world-class team, but we're not going to win the World Cup with this squad or coach." The English and Mexicans think they're going to win the World Cup every time and every time they come up short. England hasn't won the World Cup since '66 when they hosted and Mexico has never even reached the Top Four, a distinction that the USA can claim, finishing 3rd place in 1930, the first World Cup.

At this year's Copa America, the CONMEBOL championship tournament, Mexico and Japan were invited to participate since CONMEBOL doesn't have enough teams to make a full tournament. Japan was forced to pull out due to the earthquake & tsunami, so Costa Rica was invited at the last minute. Mexico declined to send their A-squad, instead sending mostly their U-23 team and, to the best of my knowledge, 6 members of the A-squad, led by Giovanni Dos Santos. Unfortunately, 8 of those members fell victim to a prostitution scandal and were sent home, 6 of them being starters. This is not a good way to promote your national team's future.

To make things worse, this "B-" squad lost to Chile of all teams, 2-1 in their first game of Copa America, in the middle of an overwhelmingly pro-Chile crowd. They say karma is a bitch, but karma doesn't really have anything to do with this. Mexico simply has been brought back down to Earth with this loss. The current A-squad is a damn good team, but are they still going to be this good 3 years from now in the next World Cup? Sure, Chicharito and Dos Santos will still be the big stars, but what about Torrado, Salcido, Osorio, Marquez, and Sinha?

What about the increasingly controversial goalie position? In the last WC, Guillermo Ochoa was never used as the starting goalkeeper in a single game, despite consistently being voted the best Mexican goalkeeper in the world. As great as El Conejo once was, he is no Memo Ochoa. But despite that, Ochoa now finds himself in a difficult position, now heading to play in France as the first Mexican goalkeeper to ever play in Ligue 1. In the past, he was known for being so good not just because of his talents, but his communication with teammates, some of which were on his team in Club America. When national selection players go to foreign leagues, they don't always come back playing better; just look at the case of Jonathan Dos Santos, who hasn't lived up to expectations since playing in La Liga, or Jonathan Bornstein (what is it about football players named Johnathan?) who continues to be a starter on the U.S. team, but only has 2 goals in 38 caps?

And even with the whole "overseas experience" thing, Memo Ochoa may lose his starting job if the clenbuterol scandal becomes the real deal and not just "bad meat." If Ochoa can't be goalie, Mexico doesn't exactly have a huge selection to pick from. If the U-23 squad playing in Copa America is anything to indicate, Mexico's future is not that bright. If they don't succeed at the 2013 World Cup, it could be a very long road for Mexico, because Chicharito isn't going to be able to save the team single-handedly. Their U-17 team is doing very well (in a tournament held in Mexico), but there aren't any real stars for the team who could look to unseat Chicharito anytime soon or take over as goalkeeper.

Mexico's biggest problem seems to be a common trend in CONCACAF, and that's poor defense. Right now it's ok, but Rafa Marquez is not going to get younger and he's going to need someone to replace him.

Too Much Football!

No, not the NFL lockout, there are too many FIFA-sanctioned football events this summer. It began with the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which saw Mexico defeating the U.S. Then, right in the middle of the tournament, the U-17 World Cup began. In the middle of that tournament, the Women's World Cup began. In the middle of that tournament, Copa America (the CONMEBOL equivalent of the Gold Cup) has begun. This much football is just plain exhausting. In fact it's so exhausting that Mexico didn't even bother sending their A-Squad to Copa America, instead (initially anyway) sending their U-23 team with 4 members of the national team.

Four major tournaments being held in quick succession (currently 3 simultaneously) is also exhausting on the Spanish-language broadcasters, Univision choosing to only broadcast the Gold Cup and Copa America, letting Galavision broadcast the Women's World Cup, and not even bothering with the U-17 World Cup. In English, Fox Soccer Channel broadcasted all of the U.S.'s games during the Gold Cup, ESPN will be broadcasting every game of the Women's World Cup, ESPN U will broadcast the majority of the U-17 World Cup games. Copa America will not be getting any coverage in English, which isn't surprising given that even the Gold Cup got only minor coverage in English.

So yes, even the mighty Univision is incapable of broadcasting this much football. None of the matches have occurred simultaneously and there's too much licensing fees involved in broadcasting all 4 tournaments, but Univision won't broadcast the Women's World Cup for two reasons: Mexico and Colombia were the only Spanish-speaking countries to qualify and neither were expected to do well, and Latinos just do not care about women's sports, no matter how good they are. A clear-cut example of this is evident with Brazil's top player, Marta, the FIFA Women's Player of the Year 5 years in a row. Despite that incredible honor and distinction, Brazil doesn't have a women's football league. Marta instead plays in Women's Professional Soccer, the 2nd attempt to create a women's league in the U.S., the capital of women's football.


Now I was basketball crazy during the NBA playoffs, but those 2 months are just awesome and full of underdogs and spectacular failure, coupled with the joy of seeing LeBron James fail yet again when he was so close to winning it all. This feeling only compares to last year's World Cup when media darlings Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi utterly failed to aid their teams, Ronaldo only scoring 1 goal in the entire tournament (during the 7 goal massacre of North Korea), and Messi failed to score a single goal.

That being said, can we spread out these FIFA events? It's hard enough to watch up to 6 FIFA games per day, an MLS game, a baseball game, and live my normal life all in the same day, which I ended up doing today.

Skyward Sword Has Gone Gold

Nintendo has confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has gone gold. To those that have no idea what that means, I will explain: There are generally 3 phases in a video game development cycle: Beta, Alpha, and Final, sometimes referred to as Bronze, Silver, and Gold. In the beta version, the game will play very similarly to the final product, but may not look exactly the same, sometimes looking incredibly differently.

Screenshot from the beta version of the game once tentatively titled Zelda 64

The reason a beta version doesn't always look like the final product is when a new game engine is involved and the developers are figuring out how to backwards engineer the engine for a new type of game, which was the case with Ocarina of Time, which used the exact same engine as Super Mario 64. In these cases, it is more important for the game to play like the final product rather than look like it.

After the beta version comes the alpha version, or the silver version. In the silver stage, the game looks and play exactly like the final product, but may differ in menu icons, button configuration, and of course, glitches.

Alpha version of Ocarina of Time, showing the reversal of button configuration between B and A, a different map in the bottom right, and a "Whip" action command instead of "Faster"

Once all the bugs have been worked out and other tidbits have been worked out, the game goes gold and is officially ready for release, which is the stage Skyward Sword is in. So why does Skyward Sword still not have release date? Because Nintendo is busy translating the game to English! Nintendo is being awesome and they will have a simultaneous worldwide release for Skyward Sword, reportedly to avoid spoilers from breaking. Nintendo has been very careful in what they reveal about the game's story, giving only small details, the biggest of which are considered that Zelda is not a princess this time, Link travels to the Siren Realm where he cannot use a sword, and the name of the spirit of the Skyward Sword is Phi.

Best Buy listed the release date to be in September, and at this point, that is looking incredibly likely.