tivoed the first game this morning, in part to watch the womens tennis final, but also so i could buzz through some of the, uh, slower segments. saw something unusual though. the game started five seconds after the hour. no set up, no nothing. right to the action. there was probably a pregame show on espn but nothing on abc. fine with me though as pregame shit is just an excuse for more ads, although soccer is blissfully commercial free except for halftime, and even the permanent onscreen adidas ad is tasteful and non obtrusive.
- dave 6-10-2006 7:21 pm

i think im developing a hard and fast rule to only root for teams that dont flop around and grab their shin every time they are taken down in an effort to get the referees to call penalties. floppers, you are on notice. id call you pussies but i wouldnt want to denigrate women, especially the ones with more integrity than you.

there is one rule change id like to see. all too often penalties are perpetrated inside the box which go uncalled because they would necessitate a penalty shot, and penalty shots almost always lead to goals. so unless the assault is brutal, they will go uncalled to avoid what is essentially a free goal. there needs to be some middle ground.
- dave 6-10-2006 8:05 pm