Well son of a bitch...

In case you've been living under a rock, the World Cup has dominated headlines, TV, the internet and much more for a little over two weeks now. So far, it has been a hell of a cup. Two recent surprises have been the implosion of the French team (mostly due to the insane ego and decision making of coach Ray Domenech) and today's elimination (at the bottom of their group) of the 2006 world champions, Italy. Italy looked tired, flat and uninspired during all three games of group play, showing considerable effort only in the last twenty (or so) minutes of game 3. Too little too late, and the defending world champs were eliminated before the second round. What a change four years makes on the pitch.

To give a proper send off, we ate out at an Italian place for dinner. Cheesy, I know. So was the pizza, it was solid. And by the way, when did N Dekum get so gentrified?


(Italy definitely won't be gaining a 5th star this time around)

This might be the first cup where my back up team (country of ancestry) fell flat on their face before the US. The US has advanced to the second round and plays Ghana on Saturday. If you're in Portland and feel so inclined, we'll be watching the game with a shit ton of people at Tom's Pizza on N. Lombard at 11:30am. Get there early if you plan on coming, it will fill up.

Go USA.