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	<title>Sports &#187; Bruce Crumley &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>Sports &#187; Bruce Crumley &#124; TIME.com</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com</link>
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		<title>David Beckham Signs for Paris Saint-Germain and Will Play for Free</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/31/david-beckham-signs-for-paris-saint-germain-and-will-play-for-free/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/31/david-beckham-signs-for-paris-saint-germain-and-will-play-for-free/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[2013]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personalities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports And Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports Biz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Beckham]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris Saint-Germain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344196</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Aging English soccer great David Beckham has become the newest international soccer star signed by the free-spending owners of French side Paris Saint-Germain. The 37-year-old midfielder was introduced to the media during a predictably packed press conference Thursday when the former England team captain and Manchester United hero began a five-month deal with PSG. His next move had been much anticipated since leaving MLS side LA Galaxy in December after five and a half years. True to Beckham&#8217;s rock star status, PSG began its loudly touted media show 38 minutes late. And Becks surprised reporters by revealing he won&#8217;t be receiving a salary from PSG; the club will instead donate an undisclosed amount representing his wages to a children&#8217;s charity. &#8220;I&#8217;m excited, it&#8217;s something we&#8217;ve been working on and talking about for quite a while,&#8221; he said. &#8221;It&#8217;s something the guys do [PSG management], but obviously it&#8217;s a very good figure. That&#8217;s one thing were very excited about. To be able to give a huge sum to a children&#8217;s charity in Paris is very special.&#8221; (PHOTOS: A Brief History of David Beckham) News of Beckham’s recruitment broke earlier in the day, but wasn’t much of a shock to soccer fans who’d been paying any attention. Since his Qatar Sports Investments group took a controlling stake of the club in 2011, PSG president Nasser al-Khelaïfi  has tried to add Beckham to a stable of stars he’s spent a reported $340 million assembling. The most recent attempt to lure Beckham to Paris fell through a year ago, when the Englishman decided to continue playing for the Galaxy. But after winning his second MSL Cup with LA in December, Beckham began looking for new challenges—and al-Khelaïfi was determined not to be denied. (MORE: Why Qatari Owners of Paris’ Soccer Team Hanker For Aging Englishman Beckham) &#8220;This is a big day for the club, because as you know we&#8217;ve long tried to get David, and now we finally did it,&#8221; al-Khelaïfi said. As for the player, he noted that &#8220;Every club I&#8217;ve played for I&#8217;ve<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344196&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Soccer</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/beckham_0131.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>Profitable Albion: France&#8217;s Soccer Players Flock to England&#8217;s Premier League</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/31/profitable-albion-french-soccer-pros-flock-to-englands-premier-league/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/31/profitable-albion-french-soccer-pros-flock-to-englands-premier-league/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[2013]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports Biz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Belgium]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[England]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ligue 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Premier League]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/?p=2344155</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Though fans of Spanish and Italian soccer championships will beg to differ, it’s hardly hyperbole to describe England’s Premier League as the most exciting professional operation in the world of professional soccer. It’s also the most expensive—with top English clubs paying out an average 70% of revenue earned in ever-rising player salaries. That, it seems, is what it takes to prevent millionaire stars like Wayne Rooney (who reportedly hauls in wages of $40,000 per day) from accepting more lucrative offers elsewhere. But that kind of pay packet has also fueled the flow of foreign talent like Robin van Persie (Dutch), Luis Suarez (Uruguayan), and Fernando Torres (Spanish) to English sides. In fact, the Premier League’s $2.5 billion salary sweepstakes has turned England into the promised land—in footballing and financial terms—for so many foreign players (around 356 of a total 574 working for top tier sides) that some fans worry the national game is losing its distinct English flair. (MORE: Five Reasons the Magic of the FA Cup Is Alive and Kicking) Such concerns won’t be allayed now that English clubs which boast bottomless pockets and the biggest names in the game have also started binge buying in Europe’s hard discount shop: France’s professional Ligue 1. The reason? With Premier League clubs suffering collective losses of $596 million last year, front offices are looking to find new, promising blood at cheaper prices. And given its reputation as one of Europe’s most somnolent, under-performing leagues, France’s Ligue 1 represents a second-hand shop English clubs are mining in search of unearthing diamonds. The biggest Premier League enthusiasts of French talent has been Newcastle—a club that snatched up five players in January alone. Those acquisitions sent the total number sporting the jersey to 11&#8211; reportedly a record number of French players working for any English team at a given time. But Newcastle’s France fetish is only notable in being extreme, not unique. France’s current total of 33 Premier League players is the largest contingent of foreign hires—ahead of Ireland’s 29, Spain’s 27, and Scotland’s<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2344155&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Soccer</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/newcastle_0130.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>There Is No 4th Place</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/10/there-is-no-4th-place/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/10/there-is-no-4th-place/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:51:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1613</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Bravo to Germany for it&#8217;s &#8220;little final&#8221; win 3-2. But with all due respect (with the exception for the fishy stinkitude of a yet again awful Bastian Schweinsteiger), Uruguay gets the sporting &#8220;moral&#8221; tie on this one. This side&#8211;as it&#8217;s done this entire Cup&#8211;played at such a higher level than many expected, and showed such talent and heart tonight, that this consolation final will forever go down in my mind as a draw (my brain&#8217;s eye has decided that last free kick by Diego Forlan went in, rather than finding wood). Again, Germany is Number Three&#8211;which I don&#8217;t contest&#8211;but in obtaining it&#8217;s Number Four spot, I think Uruguay proved it was actually Number Three Prime. Okay, sorry to be a total bitch (but that&#8217;s what I do): but this match also confirmed 2010 as the World Cup&#8217;s lowest point of goal keeping, ever. My oh my. Even tonight, most goals scored would have been kept out by a semi-tipsy bouncer, not to mention Peter Shilton or Faboulous Fab Barthez (or, needless to say, the Mohammed Atta-esque keeping of Harald Schumacher. And I just dare you to be &#8220;deeply offended&#8221; about that, too). I serious you: countries need to start paying keepers more&#8211;start treating keepers like stars&#8211;so rising hopefuls in the cage keep applying themselves instead of dumping the gloves in the hopes of becoming position players&#8211;or hedge fund humps. I think we&#8217;re all a tad tired of watching utterly lame goalies shout at their team mates like this:<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=1613&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>Here&#8217;s Professor Cranky!</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/03/heres-professor-cranky/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/03/heres-professor-cranky/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:24:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1432</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So Spain wins on a 1-0 on a double-pooey-ricochette goal, after: a) a totally legitimate Paraguay goal is culled by an imaginary offsides ruling by the linesman (note to FIFA, check this man&#8217;s palms for hair growth, because his eye-sight is clearly defective); b) a totally legitimate Paraguay penalty is blocked, but not ordered re-taken after four&#8211;FOUR!!!&#8211;Spanish players illegally penetrate the box before the ball was struck (note to FIFA: check this referee&#8217;s breath; no&#8211;blood sample. NOW); c) an iffy Spanish penalty being accorded, missed, then no new peno being whislted when the Para goalie sawed off the incoming Spanish attacker&#8217;s legs (note to FIFA: do you take us for total idiots or what?!?!) The point here is, Spain has now &#8220;won&#8221; this match&#8211;but it&#8217;s once again due to (sorry) sub-fecal refereeing that has yet again deformed the outcome of a World Cup match&#8211;this time a quarter-final struggle that by all measures but the score was won by the team that &#8220;lost&#8221;! If anyone can see a reason why this match, too, isn&#8217;t day glow proof that football needs video to rid it of vomit-provoking refereeing errors, shout it out. Because I&#8217;m now watching Paraguay players who won this match watching Spanish chodes who didn&#8217;t flooding their shorts with self-satisfaction. Good thing I&#8217;m not a pessimist who sees evil everywhere, because otherwise I&#8217;d start thinking there&#8217;s something simply wrong with this pickchur. Eh, picttir. Er, pikchuur. Tonight, Spain deserves Spain, but it&#8217;s advancing on in South Africa because&#8230;why is it again? Forget it: I&#8217;m getting pretty close to not bothering with this sport any more. Bravo Seppie, bravo FIFA. Bravo &#8220;referees&#8221;. Yuck. &#8220;Got Garbage?&#8221;<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=2339160&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>What’s German For “Bada Bing”?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/03/whats-german-for-bada-bing/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/03/whats-german-for-bada-bing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:01:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1428</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Germany put a big hurt on Argentina in Cape Town today, but there’s the distinct chance Diego Maradona’s squad isn’t feeling the pain: it never turned up for the match to take the pummelling. By the third minute, Germany’s 1-0 quarter-final lead had made Argentina’s efforts to stay alive in this World Cup look like an uphill struggle indeed. In fact, it was more like trying to roller blade up Mount Everest. Even before the Germans had put the match definitively—and spectacularly—away with goals in the 68th and 74th minutes, the main question hadn’t been whether Argentina could stunningly turn things around with a miraculous rally, but rather who these guys in the blue and white shirts were—and what had they done with Team Maradona? The final German goal in the 89th minute was really the italic typeface for anyone who hadn’t figured things out already: Germany’s 4-0 route was not only a monumental victory in Mannschaft history, but an equally epic humiliation for an Argentine side that many people had considered destined to win this Cup. Though enormously out-matched, it might be worth arguing the Argentine squad that got pantsed today wasn’t a bad team&#8211;it just didn’t bear any resemblance to the one we’d seen until now. In stark contrast to the Argentina that had never found itself trailing in its string of World Cup victories, this side went down fast (and hard), and never really posed much of an offensive threat. They scarcely got a shot off in the first half, and sent so many passes into German feet (or in touch) you started wondering whether some neophyte Playstation hack hadn’t taken control of them with seriously unskilled hands. Argentina did look more solid coming back at the half (probably inspired by some pretty bombastic speech by Maradona during the break). Yet ironically, it was precisely just as the Argentines began taking control of things in their end—peppering the German cage with a series of on-target shots—that the Germans went for the jugular. And once they did, well:<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=1428&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>See?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/02/see/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/02/see/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:21:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1405</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The two Ghana stars&#8211;including the supposed brilliant Mensah (hey, he plays in Europe. Must be good, right)&#8211;make mookie-stinks all over themselves not daring to Take The Freaking Shot, while the last shooter from Uruguay rubs their face (and that of the footballing world en masse) with a Pananenka! I don&#8217;t mean to rob Uruguay any of its glory for getting into the semi-final&#8211;contrary: hats off, and I hope you go all the way. Alas, I fear we may see some empty seats from here on out. Too bad. Oh, and Dear FIFA: consider my naked-players-getting-dressed idea. When a quarterfinal is decided by a Panenka, it&#8217;s a measure of how lame football has gotten.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=1405&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>Awaiting The Anti-Climax</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/02/awaiting-the-anti-climax/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/02/awaiting-the-anti-climax/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1403</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sorry, but I hate hate hate hate hate penalty shoot outs, and think they are as equitable a measure for deciding which of two equal sides is better as, say, making the two best rival player strip down stark naked at mid-field then, at the sound of a whistle, see which gets back into his kit faster. (Frankly, I think that solution would boost TV ratings way more than poot-outs). But: What. A. Match. We all know this Cup gets tons less compelling if Ghana goes out (no knock, on Uruguay, but it&#8217;s true).  We know both teams played equally well (and, at times, bad) to merit a draw. And some of us will doubt there was justification for the last foul called that allowed the Black Stars to take three blocked shots on goal&#8211;including the handed ball that resulted in the missed penalty that shoulda/woulda/coulda sent Ghana through. But. What. A. Match. Good luck to both sides in this farce to see who goes through.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=1403&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>Orange You Glad You&#8217;re Not Brazil?</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/02/orange-you-glad-youre-not-brazil/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/02/orange-you-glad-youre-not-brazil/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:46:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holland]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1389</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=1389&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/07/02/orange-you-glad-youre-not-brazil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">Reuters</media:title>
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		<title>&#8220;Insipid&#8221; Sounds About Right</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/06/28/insipid-sounds-about-right/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/06/28/insipid-sounds-about-right/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:20:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cameroon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[north korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1298</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Jeezo peezo. If that farce was a World Cup 1/8th final match, I wonder how we managed to avoid death by narcolepsy during the group rounds. Certainly the Netherlands deserved its 2-1 victory over Slovakia, but only because it lost what for the most part looked like a sleepwalk competition: the Dutch couldn’t quite manage to be as boring and bad as its rivals of the day. No knock on its first goal—a perfectly fine shot by Arjen Robben that broke up what even by the 17th minute felt like seriously uninspired play. (And why should any of these guys be pumped? They’re only three matches short of a World Cup final!) But the second goal by Wesley Sneijder was the direct result of horrid Slovak goalkeeping—a screw up so bad it recalled memories of Mexico’s keeper sprinting far beyond his are during his nation’s final group match, then “clearing” a ball into Spanish possession so it could be promptly chipped in to a monumentally abandoned cage from 30 meters out. Sure, the goalie brain seizure notwithstanding, Dirk Kuyt had to make the pass that Sneijder put into the net—never a 100% certainty, especially in a waste of a match like this one—but it was a Slovak gift all the same. Between times, the Slovaks had two enormous face-offs with the Dutch keeper that they failed to knock in—due in large part to Slovakia being really crappy, at least today. Slovakia finally got on the board in the last second of the match on a (totally undeserved) penalty most of us were (by then) expecting to be Panenka-ed into the parking lot or beyond. It was that kind of game. Indeed, if North Korea-Brazil in the group stage ranked a six on the excitement scale of 10—and this weekend’s knockout between Ghana and the U.S. a 7.5—this match was about a two. On the vegetable scale, that’s a Brussels sprout, maybe even an unsalted branch of celery. That’s not the kind of amuse-gueule you’re hankering for on a World Cup<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=1298&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>Multipolar Dreaming</title>
		<link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/06/25/multi-polar-dreaming/</link>
		<comments>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2010/06/25/multi-polar-dreaming/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:43:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[England]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ivory Coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[north korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://specials.blogs.time.com/?p=1222</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Japan&#8217;s inspiring play last night (and Tony&#8217;s post) have me daring to wish for what in any other Cup would have been the impossible: greatly favored sides being shown the door by  nominally modest rivals. If France and Italy can both go out in disgrace, and the U.S. finish ahead of England, why not hope for (but  not lay lots of money on) Chile sending Spain packing? Stranger (and quite nearly as satisfying) upsets have happened a lot already&#8230; Alas, the seven spot Portugal laid on North Korea makes the possibility of Ronaldo and Co. being shown the door with a resounding loss to Brazil a miracle took far. Still, if the Seleçao respects the game and plays it to the hilt at the same time the Ivory Coast (finally) wakes up, anything could happen. A quartet of goals for Brazil coinciding with Didier Drogba leading his pals on to a five goal rat-a-tat&#8230;? A Hail Mary scenario, to be sure, but it has been that kind of Cup so far.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=keepingscore.blogs.time.com&#038;blog=33268979&#038;post=1222&#038;subd=timekeepingscore&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>World Cup</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/category/soccer/world-cup/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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