Springboks Rolling

South Africa went to 3-0 in the Tri Nations after another impressive victory. This time they beat Australia 29-17. It was another deserved victory and the Springboks look well on their way to taking the Tri Nations. The Wallabies fell to 0-2, despite getting off to a perfect start. They got a try within the first two minutes and converted it to take a 7-0 lead. The Springboks responded with three quick penalties, but Australia pulled a drop kick back to take a 10-9 lead. South Africa responded with two more penalties and to take a 15-10 lead. They have kicked an enormous amount of penalties during the competition. Then, they got their only try of the game as they took advantage of some sloppy play by the Wallabies. They added another penalty before the break to take a 23-10 lead at the half. The second half was a much better performance from Australia and they scored the only try of the half. However, two penalties from the Springboks allowed for another comfortable win. South Africa has not even conceded a bonus point in this tournament. The Springboks are now done with their home matches, but have put themselves in a very commanding position. 

Proceed With Caution

John Smoltz was designate for assignment by the Red Sox today ending the disastrous experiment. Signing Smoltz was a terrible decision to begin with. I don't understand why teams go after these older veterans at the end of their career who have nothing left. The White Sox signed Griffey, that failed. The Red Sox signed Smoltz, that failed. The Phillies have signed Pedro, and surely that will fail as well. Being a hall of fame pitcher should not guarantee you get a roster spot. It was very naive of the Red Sox to sign Smoltz, as his downfall was obvious. The idea of signing an old wise veteran is very appealing to teams. However, if they have nothing left and can not be effective they should not be signed. Especially, by a contending team like the Sox or the Phillies. The media loved the Smoltz signing. They said he would be a great influence on the younger pitchers and was a great big game pitcher. They ignored the fact that his skills had eroded considerably. If an older player with a big name is floating on the market, teams need to makes sure he can still be effective before going after him.

Tight Race in the Central

The Detroit Tigers currently lead the AL Central, but their lead continues to shrink. The Tigers lead the Central by only 1 game over the White Sox. Another team though, has quietly gotten back into the race. That team is the Minnesota Twins, who are just 3.5 half back. All three teams are pretty similar. They all have great players, but all have flaws. This race promises to be tight until the end, as none of the three seem good enough to pull away from the other. My prediction is that the White Sox will pull it out. They have more experience then the other two teams and have won in a lot of pressure situations in recent years. The White Sox have the best pitching of the three as well, and at the end of the year that is critical. 

D.C. United Advances

Yesterday, D.C. United advanced to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. They advanced by beating Firpo on penalties, after a 1-1 tie. Firpo took an advantage into the second leg and took the lead via the penalty spot. However, Christian Gomez responded with a brilliant free kick to level the score and the aggregate. D.C. United had to withstand a barrage of chances by the hosts, but held on. They also had to survive the sending off of Fred, who was rightly dismissed after a nasty challenge deep in extra time. The first six penalty kicks were each scored. Firpo though, missed their fourth kick which opened the door for the capital side. Matt Burch and Gomez converted the final two kicks to give United a 5-4 victory on penalties. D.C. United will enter into a group with Toluca, Marathon, and one more team to be determined. The win was D.C. United's first ever in the new CONCACAF Champions League.

Flashback

Every now and then my brother and I will be flashing back to some memorable sporting events in the past. Here is our first one. 

June 24, 1990- The second round of the 1990 world cup saw one of the most intense rivalries in soccer renewed. That would be Holland against Germany (technically West Germany at the time). Holland and Germany have had an incredibly fierce rivalry in football since the end of World War II. Also, due to the amount of important matches these two nations have played, the rivalry grew to new heights. This match would turnout to be the most famous, or infamous between the two, depending on how you look at it. Tensions were already running high between the teams even before the match started. Holland had just beaten Germany in the 1988 Euro Semifinals in route to becoming European Champions. The tournament had been held in Germany, so the loss was that much the more bitter for them. The Germans wanted to get revenge against the Dutch badly. Rudi Voller said before the game that he dreamed of getting to play against Holland before the match. However, this match would be extremely unique for one particular reason. Three of Germany's best players were playing for Inter Milan at the time, Brehme, Klinsmann, and Matthaus.  While Holland had three of their best playing for AC Milan, Van Basted, Rijkaard, and Gullit. And wouldn't you know it, the match was played in the San Siro in Milan. Never has a world cup match played before two foreign sides, generated such local interest. Fans of both Inter and AC Milan flocked to the game to support their local club stars. The mixture of a second round World Cup match plus the feel Milan Derby, gave the match an incredible atmosphere. However, things began to turn ugly as the game started. The German fans repeatedly racially abused the black Dutch players. Monkey cheers could be heard throughout the stadium, every time one of them touched the ball. Then in the twenty second minute one of the most notorious moments in World Cup history happened. After Voller won a freekick after a pretty blatant dive, Rijkaard approached him. Rijkaard had been infuriated by the racist chants directed at him, as well as the other black players. Rijkaard went up and spit on to the back of Voller's head. The incident was not seen by the ref and went unpunished. The altercation would not stop there. On the ensuing play, Voller fouled the goal which started another skirmish. Voller took another blatant dive in the melee. Then, Rijkaard came over and spit on him again. Both players were sent off. It is still confusing as to why Voller was sent off, but Rijkaard's actions were incredibly disgraceful. Then, just for good measure Rijkaard spit on him one more time as they left the field. As the match went on, Germany had a number of good chances, but goalkeeper Hans Van Breukelen pulled off a number of great saves. The Germans would not be denied on 51 minutes, though. Jurgen Klinsmann cleverly diverted a near post cross to give them the lead. Holland had two golden chances to tie the game, but couldn't do i. The Germans would go two up after another Inter player scored on the 84th minute. Brehme took the ball on the left side of the penalty area and curled in an unstoppable shot. It was won of the goals of the tournament. Koeman would pull a goal back via the penalty spot after 89 minutes, but the Dutch would run out of time. The Germans would go on to win their third World Cup. The 2-1 win over the Dutch remains one of the sweetest of all time for the Germans. The match will be remembered by fans all over for bad reasons. The horrible racism that took place in the stadium on that night, and the spitting by Rijkaard is what makes it so memorable. Holland would get some revenge on the German's just two years after that by beating them in the Euros, but the loss in the 1990 World Cup will forever leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the Dutch.

What a Difference 1 Game Can Make

Its amazing in sports how one game can change a team's fate so dramatically. The Australian soccer team is a perfect example. Australia have had a very disappointing history in soccer, as no team has lost in more playoff qualifiers then the Aussies. Then in 2006 it all changed. Australia were heavy underdogs against Uruguay as they entered into the playoff qualifier. Uruguay won the first leg in Montevideo by a single goal and it looked like the Aussies were done for. However, the second leg in Melbourne would produce an absolute shock. The Aussies produced an incredible performance and won the match 1-0, to force penalty kicks. The Aussie fans held their breathe and prayed that the team could avoid another disappointment. This time it would be different for the green and gold, as Mark Schwartzer proved to be the hero with two penalty saves. Australia won the shootout 4-2 to advance to their first world cup in 32 years. Since that point soccer in Australia has skyrocketed. The Aussies made it to the second round for the first time in their history and were only eliminated on a terrible call. Then in qualifying for the 2010 world cup, Australia were fantastic and rolled into qualification. Attendance at soccer matches in Australia has jumped enormously and they created their first national league. The facilities in Australia have also greatly improved and the number of Aussies playing abroad is as high as its ever been. The win against Uruguay is the reason why Australian soccer has grown so much. The game jump started this progression. If Australia had not won, soccer Australia would be in the same state as it was prior to 2006.