EURO 2012 Preview: Germany vs. Italy

The second semifinal match of the Euro 2012 between Italy and France promises to be a great one. It will be a rematch of the 2006 World Cup semifinal, which Italy won and allowed them to advance to the final. Since then, however, Germany have largely improved with the increased experience of their younger stars as well as the emergence of new ones.

One of the main questions to be answered on the Italian side is whether or not Danielle De Rossi will be fit enough to play in todays semi-final after having been substituted during his side's quarter final triumph against England. De Rossi has made a significant contribution in helping the Azzurri reach the semi-finals, dropping back into the central defense when needed and also assuming his customary role at the heart of the Italian midfield. If he is not able to suit up for Italy, they will surely miss him.

Germany do not plan on making any drastic game plan changes, as they look not to man mark the outstanding Italian center midfielder, Andrea Pirlo, but rather shut down the Italian midfield altogether. Pirlo has been magical so far in the tournament. He controlled the pace of the game against England, and created key plays wit his outstanding vision. The free kick and penalty he's made were the icing on the cake. Italy are also coming into the match looking to continue to execute their same style of play.

If Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira can manage to subdue Pirlo and control the center half of the pitch, I think Germany will have no trouble winning the match. Also, Germany are coming into the game with two days more rest and have more depth on their bench. That said, I predict that Germany will win and advance by a margin of 2-1.

Who do you think will advance and take on Spain in the EURO 2012 final?

Euro 2012: Spain look to make history as CR7 "misses" penalty opportunity

Nothing gives me goose bumps like watching a game winning goal. Cess Fabregas netting the penalty kick that catapulted La Furia Roja to the Euro 2012 final was a beautiful sight.

The biggest controversy regarding the game is, obviously, the one surrounding Portugal manager Paulo Bento and super star Cristiano Ronaldo for not having taken a penalty shot. Ronaldo was due to take the fifth penalty, but because Portugal had missed two and Spain made four, Ronaldo didn't have the opportunity to take a spot kick. But WHY? Why in the world would you place arguably the best penalty shooter in the world fifth in the order?

Ronaldo had this to say: "It was just a question of me speaking with the coach. He said to me, 'Do you want to take the fifth one?' and I said 'yes'. Sometimes I take the first, the second or the third.  I agreed to take the fifth."

Im not sure about how often penalty shoot outs even reach the fifth shooter, but it certainly isn't always!

In hindsight the decision agreed upon by Ronaldo and Bento to place Ronaldo as the fifth shooter was absolutely idiotic. Perhaps they both anticipated the drama of a long-lasting back-and-forth shoot out. This all boils down to the fact that Ronaldo "missed" his opportunity; he missed his shot at a penalty by agreeing to shoot fifth.

We all know how much Cristiano Ronaldo loves the lime light, attention, and, most of all, gory, but he got a little ahead of himself on this one. Trying to be the hero, ultimately made him a zero. Zero participation in the shoot out, and a big fat zero next to his name on the score sheet.
This will no doubt be a defining moment of the tournament, and Bento could likely lose his job over it.

Ultimately, the match was close and the penalties did neither team justice. I, for one, don't particularly like penalty shoot outs. There's too much luck involved, and not enough actual soccer. Both Spain and Portugal had several goal scoring opportunities throughout the 120 minutes of play, they did, after all, play overtime before the penalty kicks. Portugal could not take advantage of counter attacks and fast break opportunities and Ronaldo really squandered the opportunities he had. He took quite a few free kicks, which were good chances, but not one of those has was on target. And 103 minutes into the match, Iniesta miss a wide open shot from just 3 or four yards out.

In the end, Spain maintained possession over the Portuguese, out passed and outshot them. Portugal were the biggest test Spain had faced thus far, and though both played well, Spain was more deserving of the result. Personally, I was happy to see the defending champs advance to the final as they try to make history and become the first team to win 3 consecutive major titles. (They won the 2008 EURO and 2010 World Cup.)


But what brought most joy to my heart today was that the guys from PTI began their show discussing this controversey! Yes, Kornheiser and Wilbon actually talked about soccer for longer than 3 seconds! Congrats soccer!

Fight Night: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs. Andy Lee

Tonight's main event is between Mexico's favorite son, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and Irelands top contender, Andy Lee.

WBC champion Chavez looks to defend his title against challenger Lee at the University of Texas-El Paso's Sun Bowl Stadium. The bout was in danger of being canceled due to venue disputes. The initial controversy regarding the fight venue has been resolved as everyone has come to accept that the drug and gang violence in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, only a few miles away and across the border doesn't spill over. In fact, El Paso is statistically one of the safest cities i n the country.

Some are predicting yet another scoring controversy (remember, Pacquiao-Bradley) as a direct consequence of the venue. Because the fight is in Texas, a state with a large Mexican population and fan base, some have been led to believe that the judges' scoring may be influenced by this. I, however, am faithful that the fight will be scored fairly. Hopefully, the judges feel the pressure, so much so that they won't risk scoring the fight poorly so as to avoid scrutiny.

Chavez, aka The Legend Continues, is ranked the third middle weight fighter. He is used to coming into fights with a size advantage, though that will not be the case tonight. Chavez is 6'0" while Lee measures in at 6'2". The Mexican routinely comes in at 180 pounds and the Irishman consistently steps into the ring at the high 170's.

Lee's typified as a brawler, and, as such, may not be as technically sound as Chavez. Chavez does seem to have a more difficult time in the higher weight classes, so Lee may be able to bully him a little bit.

Chavez boasts a 45-0-1 record with 30 KOs. This will be his 3rd time defending the WBC title. And certainly Chavez's trainer, Freddie Roach, will encourage his fighter to avoid putting the outcome of the fight in the hands of the judges.


Emmanuel Steward, who trains Andy Lee, is largely recognized as one of (if not the) world's best trainers.

Odds: Chavez is actually a pretty strong favorite to win the fight. Several books have listed him above -365, while Lee's lines are at or above +270.

Though I am rooting for Chavez and believe he will win the fight, I think we are in for a spectacular show.

Who do you guys have taking W?

Matt Cain's Perfect Game

San Francisco Giants', RHP and starter, Matt Cain threw the first perfect game in franchise history on Wednesday Night against the Houston Astros. The spectacle was one of the most dominant perfect game performances in the history of baseball, as if the term "perfect game" didn't already imply dominance. Cain was absolutely dialed in, tying Sandy Koufax's record for the most strikeouts in a perfect game, striking out 14 batters.

This 22nd perfect game in the history of baseball will be remembered as one of the most masterful regular season pitching performances, if not ever. Cain himself was responsible for over half of the total 27 outs in striking out 14. And 86 of his 125 pitches, the most ever thrown in a perfect game, were strikes. Matt Cain and catcher Buster Posey were perfectly in sync that night. Cain didn't shake off Posey once, consistently dealing every pitch Posey called from behind the plate.

Posey also made one of the more important and difficult outs of the game. With two out in the sixth inning, a pitch bounced off his chest protector and dropped in front of the plate, but Posey quickly pounced on it and managed to throw out the runner to end the inning.

The spectacular pitcher-catcher duo didn't account for all of the pivotal outs, however. The biggest threat to Cain's perfect game came in the 7th inning when Gregor Blanco robbed Jordan Schafer of what appeared to be a hit into the gap.
Watch Gregor Blanco's diving catch that preserved Cain's perfect game: 


During the post-game on-field interview with the crew of "MLB Tonight" on MLB Network, the realization of Cain's accomplishment was still sinking in for him.
According to the Huffington Post, this is what he said:

"Honestly, I have no idea what it means. This is unspeakable right now. This is unbelievable," Cain marveled. "This is something that, obviously, [is] part of history, something that I'm going to remember forever. This is truly amazing right now."

It was truly amazing, incredible, breath-taking, and every emotion to that effect, to have witnessed the performance Cain delivered. And even more amazing to hear the pitcher credit and praise every player that took the field with him that night as significant in accomplishing the feat. 

Watching the game really got me thinking about how special perfect games really are. Everything, literally everything has to line up perfectly. The pitcher has to be on his A-game, obviously. The defense has to be better than errorless, they have to be impeccable and incredible. The opposing offense has  to be having an off day, to some extent. And the manager really has to be careful with his decisions. 

And though Cain's perfect outing is the second this season, White Sox pitcher Philip Humber threw a perfecto of his own in April, Matt Cain's historic outing is one of the most remarkable perfect games ever thrown.

Another Reason to Watch the Euro 2012

As if you needed any reason other than the magnificent teams and individual players on display... Well heres another reason anyway, EYE CANDY!


Here are a few of the hottest soccer players participating in the Euro 2012 from Group C.


Spain:
Gerard Pique: gorgeous blue eyes, scruffy facial hair, six-pack abs, buff arms. He's perfect.

Fernando Torres: lovely blonde hair, killer abs. Gorgeous.

Iker Casillas: really strong jaw & facial features, perfect amount of facial hair. Just a handsome man overall.

Cesc Fabregas: super fit, great body. Personally not my taste, but some chicas love Cesc.

Jesus Navas: those fricken eyes! And that body. Cutie.

Javi Martinez: hot abs, killer hip dips. Sexy man.

David Villa: again, not really my cup of tea. That mini beard has got to go. But great body, good lookin' face.

Italy: such a short list, kind of a shame.

Daniele de Rossi: great body, check out those hip dips. Gorge. And a wonderful defender & team captain.

Croatia:

Niko Kranjcar: Too cute for words. Those eyes, the smirk. I'm loving the long hair, too. My favorite of the batch. 

Republic of Ireland:

Darren O'Dea: lovely face, amazing legs. 

Shane Long: fantastic body. Great abs and arms. Cute face.

Thats about all the eye candy I could find in Group C. Maybe I left some players out, or included ones that I shouldn't have. 

Who's the hottest baller of them all?