4 years of waiting and we finally have the 2010 world cup starting in 2 days. There are lots of things to blog about such as significance of this world cup being the first in Africa, the horrible pitch conditions, security at the games, the 'wacky' nature of the game ball, the injuries to many of the superstars but I will focus on who will win each group and my picks for the championship.
Group A: Group A is a three team race between Uruguay, Mexico, and France. (Sorry South Africa the only reason you are in this tournament is because you are the host). France is the favorite on paper but is continuing age. Furthermore the recent scandals with their top players and the fact that the only reason they qualified was a Henry handball does not bode well to the soccer gods. I think the Gods go against France and Mexico and Uruguay qualify over them the blues. \
Group B: The Argentinians are the overwhelming favorites with Greece, Nigeria, and South Koreans also in the division. This will be the world cup that Messi who is considered the best player in the world shakes off the reputation of under performing for his national team. Maradona will provide more drama then the actual games but Argentina should win the group easily. The 2nd spot is up for grabs between Greece and Nigeria. I will pick Nigeria.
Group C: USA will play its biggest match in recent world cup history this Friday against England. It should be a great match and determine who wins the group and gets second place. I don;t believe Algeria or Slovenia will challenge USA or England. With that being said England is nursing several injuries and have not played well leading up to the game. This game means a lot more to the Americans and I believe USA shocks England and takes first place in the group.
Group D: D is a very strong group but with the injury of Esien Ghana will fall out of the race. The Germans are missing several players but should still be able to win the group with Serbia on their tale qualifying in 2nd.
Group E: Holland is looking very strong going into the world cup and I believe they will have a cake walk through this division. The 2nd spot is up between Cameroon and Denmark. I believe Cameroon will win and has the best chance of all the African teams to advance in the world cup.
Group F: Italy received the easiest draw in the world cup and will advance to the 2nd round. 2nd place is up for grabs I believe Paraguay will grab the spot.
Group G: The so called "group of death" has become a little weaker with injury to Drogba weakening the Ivory Coast. Big story lines in the group are North Korea's return to the world cup, can Ronaldo perform wel for Portugal, and will the Brazilians win without their usual attacking formation and without Ronaldinho. Brazil wins the group with Portugal coming in 2nd.
Group H: Spain is one of the big favorites in the tournament and is nursing a lot of injuries. This group does not offer them too many challenges and they should be able to qualify. Honduras is a very talented team but Chile should hold them off for the 2nd spot.
2nd Round:
1A vs. 2B
Mexico vs. Nigeria - Mexico
1C vs. 2D
USA vs. Serbia - USA
1E vs. 2F
Holland vs. Paraguay - Holland
1G vs. 2H
Brazil vs. Chile - Brazil (Tough match for Brazil)
1B vs. 2A
Argentina vs. Uruguay - Argentina
1D vs. 2C
Germany vs. England - Germany (Toss up here)
1F vs. 2E
Italy vs. Cameroon - Italy
1H vs. 2G
Spain vs. Portugal - Spain (Portugal has talent to knock off Spain here)
Quarter Finals
USA over Mexico
Brazil over Holland (I like winner of this game to win the World Cup)
Argentina over Germany (Magician comes again)
Spain over Italy (Youth take over the aging Italians)
Semifinals
Brazil over USA (Could easily be England here but Brazil wins regardless)
Spain over Argentina (Both teams not known to perform well in world cups)
Finals
Brazil over Spain. (Brazil wins every other world cup and continues that pattern)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Game 2 Nba Finals Rapid Reaction
This had to be one of the worst officiated NBA games I have seen in a while. Bad Calls were made against both teams changing the entire dynamic of the game and often creating momentum for respective teams. Overall this years playoffs have shown without veteran referee Steve Javie the NBA lacks consistent refereeing. Many people have noticed it over the years and Stern continues to not address the issue.
Here are the biggest things players should understand going into a game:
1. In the restricted zone can I still put my hands up? - NBA Rule is :Yes you are still allowed to defend in the restricted zone as long as you jump up with your hands up. Problem referees do not know this call and often call blocks instead of non-calls. Also if offensive player tries to force contact it can still be an offensive foul. Most referees anticipate contact and usually call it on the defense.
2. Can a offensive foul be called on a player if he is in the air before the defender reaches the spot.- NBA Rule is: No. Problem: Athletes now a days can jump for a long time and many offensive fouls are called from a player landing after a pass or after a shot. If the player was in the air before the defender reached the spot or if the player has already shot or passed the referees should make it a no-call.
3. What contact is allowed in the post? - NBA Rule: Very vague but basically states defender is allowed to hold his ground no one is allowed to use upper body to gain position. Problem: Rule is vague and each referee calls it differently. Players flop on calls to exaggerate the call not making it any easier. But wouldn't be nice if the referee told players he will be calling x,y, and z any time they see it.
4. Contact allowed on screens. - NBA Rule: Pick must be set before offensive player starts moving toward it. NBA player can fight around screen but not directly through it. Screener can not stick out arms or elbows. Problem: When player is going around screen very hard to determine if foul is on screener or defender. Players like Ray Allen and Rip Hamilton are constantly moving when picks are set often they have started moving before the pick was set. No easy fix here.
5. Handcheck fouls. - NBA Rule: No hand checks in the perimeter of the court. Problem: What is a block and what is a no-call. When is it a reach in and when is it a clear steal? Problem: Judgement calls where referees will always have opinions. But each referee should make it clear the level of contact they allow. Foul trouble changes the entire game.
For all of the above problems one clear thing to make it easier on referees is my suggestion on stopping flopping. Once you clean up flops a lot of the problems above lower significantly. But next each referee should explain the rules on the highly disputed issues and any call they make should be justified by their pre-game comments.
This is a significant issue for people who think it is not the NBA finals 2010 game 2 is the perfect example. Kobe Bryant received 2 errant calls which translates too about 10-14 less minutes of action, Kobe turning into a pure jump shooter because of the scare of driving offensive fouls, and lower defensive intensity. Similarly Lamar Odom, Kevin Garnett, and Perkins were all in foul trouble due to several tossup post play foul calls. Significance Garnett never got in a rhythm, Bynum received extended minutes. All of these things significantly changes game 2. I am not arguing that the referees wanted the Celtics to win but I am saying their calls significantly affected the game and who knows who would have won had the game been better officiated. Both teams received bad calls but more then calls costing one or two points these calls changed the entire game play and often the momentum of the game. We can only hope the rest of the series is decided by the two teams and not the referees.
Here are the biggest things players should understand going into a game:
1. In the restricted zone can I still put my hands up? - NBA Rule is :Yes you are still allowed to defend in the restricted zone as long as you jump up with your hands up. Problem referees do not know this call and often call blocks instead of non-calls. Also if offensive player tries to force contact it can still be an offensive foul. Most referees anticipate contact and usually call it on the defense.
2. Can a offensive foul be called on a player if he is in the air before the defender reaches the spot.- NBA Rule is: No. Problem: Athletes now a days can jump for a long time and many offensive fouls are called from a player landing after a pass or after a shot. If the player was in the air before the defender reached the spot or if the player has already shot or passed the referees should make it a no-call.
3. What contact is allowed in the post? - NBA Rule: Very vague but basically states defender is allowed to hold his ground no one is allowed to use upper body to gain position. Problem: Rule is vague and each referee calls it differently. Players flop on calls to exaggerate the call not making it any easier. But wouldn't be nice if the referee told players he will be calling x,y, and z any time they see it.
4. Contact allowed on screens. - NBA Rule: Pick must be set before offensive player starts moving toward it. NBA player can fight around screen but not directly through it. Screener can not stick out arms or elbows. Problem: When player is going around screen very hard to determine if foul is on screener or defender. Players like Ray Allen and Rip Hamilton are constantly moving when picks are set often they have started moving before the pick was set. No easy fix here.
5. Handcheck fouls. - NBA Rule: No hand checks in the perimeter of the court. Problem: What is a block and what is a no-call. When is it a reach in and when is it a clear steal? Problem: Judgement calls where referees will always have opinions. But each referee should make it clear the level of contact they allow. Foul trouble changes the entire game.
For all of the above problems one clear thing to make it easier on referees is my suggestion on stopping flopping. Once you clean up flops a lot of the problems above lower significantly. But next each referee should explain the rules on the highly disputed issues and any call they make should be justified by their pre-game comments.
This is a significant issue for people who think it is not the NBA finals 2010 game 2 is the perfect example. Kobe Bryant received 2 errant calls which translates too about 10-14 less minutes of action, Kobe turning into a pure jump shooter because of the scare of driving offensive fouls, and lower defensive intensity. Similarly Lamar Odom, Kevin Garnett, and Perkins were all in foul trouble due to several tossup post play foul calls. Significance Garnett never got in a rhythm, Bynum received extended minutes. All of these things significantly changes game 2. I am not arguing that the referees wanted the Celtics to win but I am saying their calls significantly affected the game and who knows who would have won had the game been better officiated. Both teams received bad calls but more then calls costing one or two points these calls changed the entire game play and often the momentum of the game. We can only hope the rest of the series is decided by the two teams and not the referees.
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