Red cards and WAGs

The party in South Africa came to a halt yesterday, as the South African team lost 3-0 to Uruguay.

It was a tough loss: with Uruguay leading by only 1 goal, South African goalie Itumeleng Khune got a red card. If you get a red card, you not only get kicked out of the game, but you have to sit out the next game as well.

South Africa argues the red card.

To make matters worse, Uruguay was given a penalty kick on the play. So South Africa's back up goalie had to come off the bench into the game and face a penalty kick right of the bat. The goal went in, and the vuvuzelas fell silent (sort of).

Diego Forlan scored for Uruguay.

South Africa is now in real danger of becoming the first ever host country not to advance to the second round. They have to beat France, who came in second in the last World Cup, in their game on Monday to move on.

Another big story: Switzerland, ranked 24th, defeated Spain, ranked 2nd, in their game yesterday by a score of 1-0. Some people in Spain are blaming their goalie's girlfriend, who was filming him while he was warming up before the game and is accused of being a distraction.

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This may sound a bit crazy, but WAGs (wives and girlfriends) are often blamed when their men don't perform on the pitch. In the last World Cup in 2006, England's early exit from the tournament was pinned on the hard partying ways and general debauchery of their ladies.

WAGs are a big deal in England, and are constant fodder for the tabloid press. And there's lots to talk about. These women know drama (think Mean Girls with millions of dollars). Check out this story on MSN today, aptly titled "A field guide to WAGs," for a brief WAG education.

WAGs on the prowl.

That's Posh on the left.

Vuvuzelas blow

Has the biggest controversy so far at the World Cup been about a goal? A red card? A blown call? No, the question people are debating has nothing to do with the play on the field. Instead, everyone is talking about whether vuvuzelas should be banned.

In case you have yet to hear about these, vuvuzelas are plastic horns that fans are blowing basically without pause during the games in South Africa. They're incredibly loud and sound kind of like angry bees.

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There are some who argue that these horns are part of South African culture (quite a stretch). They say that this is how the fans are choosing to express their enthusiasm for the game.

There are others (myself included) who can't stand these things. I've even taken to watching some of the games with the sound muted. The BBC is trying to find a way to turn down the vuvuzelas without affecting the commentary and other crowd noise, but no luck so far.

Some players are complaining as well, saying they can't hear their teammates or the referees blowing the whistle. France's captain Patrice Evra even blamed them for his team's poor showing in it's first game against Uruguay (they tied 0-0).

The saddest thing about them in my opinion is that we're missing out on hearing the chants, songs and drumbeats that usually emanate from the crowd during the World Cup. Soccer fans are usually very creative and add a lot of atmosphere to the games. Unfortunately, the toneless, deafening buzz of these horns may end up being the most memorable contribution from the fans of this World Cup.

Aussie rules? Aussies rule!

Today I would like to introduce you to Lucas Neill, captain of Australia's soccer team (also known as the Socceroos).



Mr. Neill, 32, currently plays for a professional team in Turkey. He has 2 year old twins, a boy and a girl.



I thought you should meet this cutie sooner rather than later, because it's looking like Australia won't make it into the next phase of the World Cup.

The Socceroos lost badly to Germany yesterday (4-0). They also lost one of their best players, Tim Cahill, who got sent off by the referee and will miss the next game or two. So enjoy this Aussie while you can!

Lucas is on the right.

What's up in the World Cup?

The big story from South Africa right now is the horrendous goal that England keeper Robert Green let in during his team's game with the U.S.A.

England was leading 1-0 when American Tim Howard took a weak shot that somehow slipped through Green's fingers. You can watch the goal here (it happens around 45 seconds in).

Robert Green fumbles the ball.

Green realizes his gaffe.

Green is being savaged by the press in England right now, and it's unclear whether or not he'll play in the next match. He's vowing to recover and not let this affect him mentally, but in his own words "there are 50-odd million people disappointed with me," so that's got to be tough. I feel badly enough when my cat gives me the cold shoulder, so I can't imagine what he's going through.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw. England plays Algeria next on Friday.

Jager-bombs in the Windy City

Last night the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime to win the Stanley Cup.

The Hawks pose for a team picture after their win.

The winning goal was scored by none other than our mulleted friend, Patrick Kane.

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Captain Serious (aka Jonathan Toews) won the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player, despite not having scored all series. I'm sure he scored last night (ahem) as the boys were out bar hopping in Chicago 'til the sun came up. Apparently jager-bombs were the drink of choice, but Toews still managed to look remarkably fresh over breakfast. Must be the Red Bull.

Toews with the Conn Smythe trophy and the Stanley Cup.

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Toews at breakfast, still in his suit.

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So another season of hockey is over. Enjoy it while you can Chicago fans. Pre-season hockey starts in just a few short months.

Celebration dance?

Just how does the World Cup work anyway?

Since we'll be talking about the World Cup a lot in the weeks to come (and so will every sports fan you know), it makes sense to have a little tutorial on how the whole things work.

There are 2 phases in the World Cup:

The Group Phase:

• All 32 teams in the World Cup are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each.
• Each group is given a letter, A through H.
• Teams play each other team in their group once, and get 3 points for a win and 1 for a tie.
• At the end of this phase, the top 2 teams in each group move on.

The Knockout Phase:

• The remaining 16 teams play are ranked or "seeded" according to how well they did in the Group Phase.
• The best team plays the worst team and so on, just like in the hockey playoffs.
• There are no ties in this round. They play 2 overtime periods and then move on to penalty kicks (very exciting!).
• The winner of each game lives to play another day, while the loser is knocked out of the tournament.
• Eventually, the last 2 remaining teams play each other for the championship.

What they're all competing for.

I highly recommend you pick a team to cheer for, since that will make the World Cup much more exciting. This is truly a global event: the last championship game in 2006 was watched by over 715 million people worldwide, a ninth of our planet's entire population.

For a list of the nations participating and to see who's is each group, click here.

The beautiful game

The World Cup of soccer starts this weekend, and fans around the world are gearing up. I've noticed that the World Cup is something that even non-sports fans can get excited about. Maybe it's because it only comes around once every 4 years. Maybe it's because if you play your cards right you can get your boss to get a feed in the conference room and waste some solid work hours watching the games. Or maybe it's because of this:




So to get us ready for soccermania, today's Monday Man is Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.

Ronaldo is not my favourite guy in the world (he does, after all, have the dubious double distinction of being named after Ronald Reagan AND of making out with Paris Hilton). However, this 25 year-old is the highest paid soccer player in the world and will be getting a lot of attention in the weeks to come, so you should probably know who he is if you don't already.

So I will simply let Ronaldo's photos speak for themselves...enjoy!

And for anyone who still cares, the Chicago Blackhawks spanked the Philadelphia Flyers last night 7-4. If Chicago wins on Friday, they win the Stanley Cup and this season of hockey will mercifully come to an close.