Spain v. Georgia
Germany v. Denmark
Portugal v. Slovenia
France v. Belgium
Romania v. Netherlands
Austria v. Turkey
England v. Slovakia
Switzerland v. Italy
Here are the last ten finals:
1984: France 2 - 0 Spain
1988: Netherlands 2 - 0 Soviet Union
1992: Denmark 2 - 0 Germany
1996: Germany 2 - 1 Czech Rep. (golden goal)*
2000: France 2 - 1 Italy (golden goal)
2004: Greece 1 - 0 Portugal
2008: Spain 1 - 0 Germany**
2012: Spain 4 - 0 Italy
2016: Portugal 1 - 0 France (after extra time)
2021: Italy 1 - 1 England (3-2 on penalty kicks)
*Golden goal means "sudden death" in American. The Europeans experimented with sudden death in the late 1990's and early 2000's, but they didn't like it, so they went back to extra time.
**That Spain team also won the World Cup in 2010. In other words, they won three major tournaments in a row. It was probably the best National Team since Pele's Brazil teams won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
Terry Meiners, a Louisville radio guy, just tweeted that Rick Pitino's "most joyous era was at UK. During his tenure at U of L, the practice facility door code was 1-9-9-6."
ReplyDeleteI really hope that's all true. Because the Pitino years were my most joyous era as a fan.
With the Number 3 pick in the first round, the Houston Rockets took Reed Sheppard of the University of Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteWith the Number 8 pick in the first round, the San Antonio Spurs took Rob Dillingham of the University of Kentucky. The Spurs then traded Dillingham to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With the Number 47 pick in the second round, the Orlando Magic took Antonio Reeves of the University of Kentucky.
Justin Edwards of the University of Kentucky was undrafted, but he has signed a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Under such a deal, he can play for both the 76ers and the 76ers' G-League team, which appears to be the Delaware Blue Coats.
This person for Yahoo! Sports says Kentucky's players outperform their expected performance relative to where they were selected at a greater rate than players from any other college, and this person for Yahoo! Sports graded the Wizards' draft an "A."
DeleteApparently the Wizards have a G-League team called the Capital City Go-Go, and the Go-Go play in the Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeast D.C. I have never heard of the Go-Go or the Arena.
ReplyDeleteThe Go-Go went 20-14 in the 2023-24 season.
DeleteAnyway, that closes the book on the John Calipari Era at Kentucky. Since Rupp retired, here are the UK coaches ranked by winning percentage:
DeleteRick Pitino: 219-50 (.814) (1 NCAA, 3 Final Fours)
John Calipari: 410-122 (.774) (1 NCAA, 4 Final Fours)
Tubby Smith: 268-83 (.760) (1 NCAA, 1 Final Four)
Joe B. Hall: 297-100 (.748) (1 NCAA, 3 Final Fours)
Eddie Sutton: 88-39 (.693)
Billy Gillispie: 40-27 (.597)
Mark Pope's record at B.Y.U. was 110-52 (.679)
DeleteNate Oats's record at Alabama is 117-54 (.684) (1 Final Four)
DeleteOn WJFK-FM this morning, the radio host told us that he expected the Wizards to become competitive in the 2027-28 season, although he thought it might take one more year after that.
DeleteTo be fair, this host was very excited about the Wizards' future. He assured us that now they have a plan. The callers were less optimistic.
DeleteMeanwhile, the U.S. men's soccer team is losing 2-1 to Panama in the Copa America, even though the game is being played in Atlanta. It's really stunning, honestly, that in all the years since the World Cup came here in 1994, the United States just doesn't ever get any better. Thirty years ago, they reached the Round of 16 in the World Cup, and were outclassed by Brazil. Two years ago, they reached the Round of 16 in the World Cup, and were outclassed by the Netherlands. They have never produced a truly world-class player, or a world-class coach, or a truly competitive team. Their peak was probably the 2002 World Cup, when they reached the quarter-finals, but that was over 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThey just aren't good, and they don't ever seem to improve.
ReplyDeleteSo here was their starting lineup for this game:
ReplyDeleteGK: Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest) (ENG)
DF: Antonee Robinson (Fulham) (ENG)
DF: Tim Ream (Fulham) (ENG)
DF: Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) (ENG)
DF: Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach) (GER)
MF: Giovanni Reyna (Nottingham Forest) (ENG)
MF: Tyler Adams (Bournemouth) (ENG)
MF: Weston McKennie (Juventus) (ITA)
FW: Christian Pulisic (Milan) (ITA)
FW: Folarin Balogun (Monaco) (FRA)
FW: Timothy Weah (Juventus) (ITA)
With a few exceptions in Italy, most of these guys are playing for second-tier teams. Meanwhile, their coach is a guy who coached two seasons in Sweden (where he went 18-11-17) and then coached the Columbus Crew (where he never won the MLS). There's just no way a team like that is going to go deep into a serious tournament, and so of course their upcoming elimination in the group stage is no big surprise.
It just feels like, for whatever reason, none of our best athletes are willing to devote themselves to soccer. I can understand this -- world-class soccer players usually start working for a professional club when Americans are still in high school. But I think at this point it's safe to assume that unless America somehow gets a world-class striker (like the Iowa women's team getting Caitlin Clark), we probably aren't going to advance from our level. After all, Mexico's been trying even longer than we have, and they never win these tournaments either.
ReplyDeleteOn Twitter, the fans all want the USA coach fired. And I can certainly understand that. But unless they're willing to hire a world-class coach from Europe, it's hard to see how a new coach would do any better.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in Berlin, the Round of 16 kicks off with a match between Switzerland and Italy, the defending champion in this tournament.
ReplyDeleteIt's 85 degrees in Berlin, and after 15 minutes we've already had multiple stoppages due to players claiming to be injured. I'm pretty sure Switzerland is just hoping to hang on for penalty kicks.
ReplyDeleteI was wrong -- Switzerland has scored! The Swiss lead 1-0 after 39 minutes.
ReplyDeleteHalftime: Switzerland 1 - 0 Italy
ReplyDeleteSwitzerland comes out and immediately scores again! They lead 2-0, and Italy is going out of this tournament. Very poor stuff from Italy.
ReplyDeleteHere's the Swiss lineup:
ReplyDeleteGK: Yann Sommer (Internazionale) (ITA)
DF: Fabian Schar (Newcastle Utd) (ENG)
DF: Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) (ENG)
DF: Ricardo Rodriguez (Torino) (ITA)
FW: Dan Ndoye (Bologna) (ITA)
MF: Remo Freuler (Bologna) (ITA)
MF: Granit Xhaka (captain) (Bayer Leverkusen) (GER)
MF: Michel Aebischer (Bologna) (ITA)
MF: Fabien Rieder (Rennes) (FRA)
FW: Ruben Vargas (FC Augsburg) (GER)
FW: Breel Embolo (Monaco) (FRA)
The winner of this game will play the winner of England/Slovakia in the quarter-finals. I don't know anything about Slovakia, but I don't think England can beat this Swiss team.
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to Casey Kasem's countdown from June 24, 1972. Number 15 that week was "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," by Wayne Newton. That's a great song that I don't hear enough. I'm surprised no one ever made a country version of this song.
ReplyDeleteNumber 14: "Rocket Man," by Elton John.
ReplyDeleteI really like Elton John. But Bernie Taupin is my hero.
DeleteNumber 13: "I Need You," by America
ReplyDeleteIt's so weird seeing Italy chase the game. They usually like to get up 1-0 and run out the clock.
ReplyDeleteNumber 12: "Amazing Grace," The Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Casey points out that this is the only song recorded by active military personnel to make the AT 40.
ReplyDeleteIt is, of course, the greatest of all hymns.
DeleteNumber 11: "Sylvia's Mother," by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
ReplyDeleteNumber 9: "Oh, Girl," the Chi-Lites
ReplyDeleteNumber 8: "Last Night I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," The Fifth Dimension
ReplyDeleteItaly has yet to mount a serious threat to Switzerland's goal.
ReplyDeleteOn this date in 1990, Fernando Valenzuela pitched a no-hitter against the Cardinals. That's the only MLB no-hitter I have ever watched live on TV. (I saw Kumar Rocker throw a no-hitter for Vandy to beat Duke in the 2019 Super Regionals).
ReplyDeleteNumber 7: "Lean on Me," Bill Withers
ReplyDeleteNumber 6: "Troglodyte (Cave Man)," The Jimmy Castor Bunch
ReplyDeleteSwitzerland rolls to an easy 2-0 victory, and the holders are out.
ReplyDeleteNumber 5: "I'll Take You There," The Staple Singers
ReplyDeleteNumber 4: "Nice to Be with You," Gallery
ReplyDeleteOK, now FOX takes us to Dortmund, Germany, where the German National Team is about to host a game with Denmark.
ReplyDeleteNumber 3: "Outa-Space," Billy Preston
ReplyDeleteNumber 2: "Song Sung Blue," Neal Diamond
ReplyDeleteNumber 1: "Candy Man," Sammy Davis, Jr. This was Sammy Davis's first number-one song, and his first top ten song since 1955. It is number one for the third week in a row. I am rarely nostalgic for the 1970's, but this song really is the 1970's at its best.
ReplyDeleteSay what you want about Germany and Denmark, but they both have strong flags.
ReplyDeleteFor that matter, so do Switzerland and Italy.
DeleteHere's the German team:
ReplyDeleteGK: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) (GER)
DF: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) (GER)
DF: Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid) (ESP)
DF: Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund) (GER)
DF: David Raum (RB Leipzig) (GER)
MF: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen) (GER)
MF: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) (GER)
MF: Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich) (GER)
MF: Ilkay Gundogan (captain) (Barcelona) (ESP)
MF: Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) (GER)
FW: Kai Havertz (Arsenal) (ENG)
On paper, at least, that looks like a proper national team.
Delete15 minutes: Germany 0 - 0 Denmark. The Danes almost wholly on defense, as you would expect.
ReplyDeleteHalftime: Germany 0 - 0 Denmark
ReplyDeleteHere's the Danish team:
GK: Kasper Schmeichel (Anderlecht) (BEL)
DF: Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace) (ENG)
DF: Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester City) (ENG)
DF: Andreas Christensen (Barcelona) (ESP)
DF: Alexander Bah (Benfica) (POR)
MF: Thomas Delaney (Sevilla) (ESP)
MF: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) (ENG)
DF: Joakim Maehle (Vfl Wolfsburg) (GER)
FW: Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Brugge) (BEL)
MF: Christian Eriksen (Manchester Utd) (ENG)
FW: Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester Utd) (ENG)
And there it is! In the 47th minute, the Danes appear to score a stunning goal after a wild scramble in the penalty box. But, of course, we have to sit through a video review.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the video review, the Danes were offsides and the goal doesn't count:
ReplyDelete50 minutes: Germany 0 - 0 Denmark
If you think video replays are annoying in our sports, you should try watching soccer.
Now we have another video replay -- and this time it shows that Denmark committed a handball. That's a penalty shot for Germany, and Kai Havertz does a beautiful job of getting the ball past the goalkeeper and into the corner.
ReplyDelete53 minutes: Germany 1 - 0 Denmark
ReplyDelete60 minutes: Germany 1 - 0 Denmark
ReplyDeleteAnd there it really is. In the 67th minute, Germany launches a lovely counter-attack: one long pass from Bayern Munich's goalkeeper to Jumal Musiala, a midfielder for Bayern Munich. Musiala is clearly onside, he beats everyone to the ball, he races up the field, and he slams a whistling shot into the corner. That puts Germany up 2-0, and that should do it.
ReplyDelete70 minutes: Germany 2 - 0 Denmark
ReplyDeleteFinal: Germany 2 - 0 Denmark. Germany rolls on. They will next face the winner of Spain v. Georgia.
ReplyDeleteEngland reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, and reached the finals of the Euro tournament in 2021. In the 2022 World Cup, they reached the quarter-finals before going out to a very strong France team. So England has been on a run, and their fans had high hopes for this tournament.
ReplyDeleteBut it's almost over for England in the Round of 16. They trail Slovakia 1-0 in injury time, and they will soon be eliminated.
ReplyDeleteWhen the round 16 began, it looked as though England and Italy would be meeting in the quarter-finals. Instead, we are going to get Slovakia v. Switzerland.
ReplyDeleteEngland is to soccer as Indiana is to men's college basketball -- if Bobby Knight never coached Indiana. The type of coach who could win trophies at England is exactly the type of coach that England would never hire.
ReplyDeleteNext up, we have Spain v. Georgia.
ReplyDeleteWait! Hold the phone! Four minutes into injury time, almost 70 minutes after Slovakia took the lead, England have scored! On their ninth corner kick of the game, the ball bounces in front of Jude Bellingham, who uses a BICYCLE KICK to score. Roy of the Rovers stuff!
ReplyDeleteJust for that, we will list England's starting lineup:
ReplyDeleteGK: Jordan Pickford (Everton) (ENG)
DF: Kyle Walker (Manchester City) (ENG)
DF: John Stones (Manchester City) (ENG)
DF: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) (ENG)
DF: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle Utd) (ENG)
MF: Kobbi Mainoo (Manchester Utd) (ENG)
MF: Declan Rice (Arsenal) (ENG)
FW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) (ENG)
MF: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) (ESP)
FW: Phil Foden (Manchester City) (ENG)
FW: Harry Kane (captain) (Bayern Munich) (GER)
Full Time: England 1 - 1 Slovakia
ReplyDeleteNow we get 30 minutes of injury time.
Bellingham is only 21 years old and amazingly talented, but he's been poor for England in this tournament so far. Apparently, the English fan base was having a huge argument about whether he should be playing when he scored the game-tying goal.
ReplyDeleteAnd suddenly England are rampant! Only two minutes into extra time, Harry Kane heads in a goal, and England are up 2-1. They tore open the Slovakians on that play.
ReplyDelete95 minutes: England 2 - 1 Slovakia
ReplyDelete100 minutes: England 2 - 1 Slovakia
ReplyDeleteHalftime of Extra Time: England 2 - 1 Slovakia
ReplyDelete110 minutes: England 2 - 1 Slovakia
ReplyDeleteIt is painful watching England try to hold a lead.
Slovakia just feeding ball after ball into the penalty box, and England struggling to clear.
ReplyDelete115 minutes: England 2 - 1 Slovakia
ReplyDeleteFinal (after extra time): England 2 - 1 Slovakia
ReplyDeleteAmazing stuff from England, who advances to meet Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
This is the fourth major tournament in a row that England have reached the quarter-finals:
ReplyDelete2018 World Cup: Semi-finals (lost to Croatia)
2021 Euro: Final (lost to Italy)
2022 World Cup: Quarter-finals (lost to France)
2024 Euro: ??????
England may be the Purdue of soccer, not Indiana.
ReplyDeleteThat Bellingham goal was a thing of beauty -- one of the best goals you'll ever see.
ReplyDeleteHere is Spain's team:
ReplyDeleteGK: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao) (ESP)
DF: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid) (ESP)
DF: Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad) (ESP)
DF: Aymeric Leporte (Al Nassr) (KSA)
DF: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea) (ENG)
MF: Pedro Gonzalez (Barcelona) (ESP)
MF: Rodrigo Hernandez (Manchester City) (ENG)
MF: Ruiz Fabian (Paris Saint-Germain) (FRA)
FW: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) (ESP)
FW: Alvaro Morata (captain) (Atletico Madrid) (ESP)
FW: Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao) (ESP)
Spain completely dominated the game for 18 minutes, but could not score. Suddenly, Georgia hit them with a counterattack, and when Georgia crossed the ball into the Spanish penalty box, the ball hit a Spanish defender and bounded into the goal. Georgia takes the early -- and stunning -- lead.
ReplyDelete20 minutes: Spain 0 - 1 Georgia
ReplyDeleteIn the 39th minute, Spain tied the game. It's now 1-1 early in the second half.
ReplyDeleteIn the 51st minute, Ruiz Fabian heads in a goal, and Spain is now up 2-1.
ReplyDelete65 minutes: Spain 2 - 1 Georgia
ReplyDeleteAs the game proceeds, Georgia has to take more chances on the attack. Of course, that opens them up to a counterattack, and in the 75th minute Nico Williams hammers home a third goal for Spain.
ReplyDeleteSpain will play Germany in the quarter-finals on July 5, and that game will feature two really good teams.
ReplyDeleteThe show is on now. With rain falling, Dani Olmo -- who came on as a substitute in the 52d minute -- bangs in another goal, and Spain leads 4-1 in the 84th minute. Ironically, if Georgia hadn't scored at all, Spain would have probably beaten them something like 2-0. But that goal woke Spain up, and they have really put Georgia to the sword in the second half. Welcome to the Big Leagues, Georgia!
ReplyDeleteFull Time: Spain 4 - 1 Georgia. Spain was awesome in the second half.
ReplyDeleteSo two of the quarter-finals are set:
ReplyDeleteSpain v. Germany
England v. Switzerland