Quick World Cup Update

Since the boy isn't around, our lives are really quite boring. If it wasn't for the fact that I can watch 4 soccer games a day, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Anyway, before the second round games start tomorrow, here is your update, as well as my predictions:

Quarter Final #1

Uruguay vs. South Korea - Uruguay has been a surprise at the World Cup, let by stout defense and their star player Diego Forlan. (Being in the group with France also helps, since they surrendered early on...) South Korea won 1, drew 1 and lost 1, so they aren't the most consistent.

My Prediction: I root against South Korea, so Uruguay

USA vs. Ghana - 4 years ago Ghana knocked the United States out of the World Cup, so there is some serious payback in order here. Ghana are a young team and they play serious defense, but if we can finish our chances (unlike the match against Algeria) we should be fine.

My Prediction: USA of course

Quarter Final #2

Germany vs. England - This game is a fantastic match-up of two historical foes. Germany still insists that England's goal in the 1966 final didn't cross the line (Modern video technology actually agrees with the Germans), and the English are still bitter about their 1990 semi-final defeat (as well as this time when the Germans bombed London for a few weeks straight.) The Germans started the World Cup with a thrashing of Australia, but then they lost to Serbia before a hard fought victory over Ghana ensured that they would top their group. England have quite frankly sucked, but once you are in the knock-out stages anything can happen.

My Prediction: England, only because I really want them to face Argentina in the Quarter Finals!

Argentina vs. Mexico - Another match-up of two teams that I love to hate. Argentina has looked like the team to beat so far in this World Cup. Mexico played well against France and South Africa, but had a little bit of a step back against Uruguay.

My Prediction: Argentina, they are the better team, and I really want a show down with England in the Quarters.

Quarter Final #3

Netherlands vs. Slovakia - The Slovaks earned a famous victory against Italy to move from last place in the group to second, earning them a date against Holland. The Dutch have been another one of the stars of the competition.

My Prediction: Netherlands, their fans are awesome as well.

Brazil vs. Chile - We almost had a Brazil/Spain match-up here, but Chile laid an egg against Spain, and get to play the Samba Boys in the second round. Brazil have not been as dominant offensively as they have been in the past, but their defense is solid, and they should brush Chile aside easily.

My Prediction - Brazil

Quarter Final #4

Paraguay vs. Japan - Like the rest of the South American teams at the World Cup, Paraguay has played well in all of their games leading up to the knockout stages. Japan scored two of their three goals in the last match from free kicks. They are the first team to be able to score from a free kick, which means that they have figured out the ball. That is a terrifying prospect to any team that faces them.

My Prediction - Japan

Spain vs. Portugal - An Iberian Derby, this match-up is almost as fun as the England/Germany game, and will probably be a better played match. Each team is loaded with stars, so it is really a toss up.

My Prediction - I have know idea...Spain has a tendency to not show up in big games, and I am sure that Portugal's Christiano Ronaldo will dive and earn a penalty kick, so I'll go with Portugal.

A completed Project, A trip to the Driving Range, and 90 minutes of despair followed by pure joy.

I just finished a project, which is pretty amazing, because I am really good at starting projects, but not so good at actually seeing them through to completion. (Case in point: We put in a new kitchen almost 15 months ago and we still haven't finished the kick-plates along the bottom of the cabinets.) I have been working on the outside of the house this summer - I've allready built a retaining wall that technically isn't finished becasue I need more dirt, but we'll get there - and today I finished a project that I think looks great, but I don't think a lot of people will notice. Here, see if you can tell:

Now, let me show you the before and you might have a better chance of seeing it:

Before I give you the close up of my project, here is why I think you aren't noticing what I have spent days working on. It is something that you would expect to be there, which pretty much sums up most of the things we have been doing to our house. We have spent the last year and a half just trying to get the thing so that everything is like you would expect it to be; things like putting in a laundry room so the washer and dryer aren't in the kitchen. Putting in an actual kitchen. Taking out pointless and and stupid walls and doors. Anyway, here is what I did so you can stop guessing:

Yea for flowerbeds!! (But still, that is something that you would expect to see there)

In more fun news, on Monday my wonderful wife took me to the driving range to hit golf balls for the first time in two years. I have found that as I have gotten older, I hurt in places I used to not hurt. The good news is that I can still hit the ball, though with the aid of my wife who likes to take pictures of me, I was able to isolate some interesting bad habits.

If you zoom in on this picture, my left foot is actually no longer in contact with the ground...I have officially entered the Happy Gilmore zone!

Can you see the club? Serious club-head speed!!

But as fun as it was for me to be hitting golf balls again, the thing that made me happiest of all was that Beki brought her clubs and hit golf balls as well. (So for my 26th birthday my present was Beki getting a set of golf clubs. We went to the driving range a few times, but then she got pregnant, and that was the end of that.) I would like nothing more than to be able to have Beki come and play golf with me (well, maybe have her play video games with me, but we aren't going to go there), so I was hoping that she would be able to hit the ball and have fun. Her first couple didn't really get off of the ground, and she was starting to get that grumbly unhappy look that she gets when she hates something, but then with a few pointers, she started to hit the ball in the air!

Pretty good set-up

She really likes to grip it and rip it! (We need to work on keeping the weight off of the outside of her back foot.)

Overall it was a very successful trip - except for the case of "Golfer's Elbow" that Beki developed. (Yes, there really is such a thing, it is like Tennis Elbow, but on the inside of the elbow instead of the outside - I asked Web MD)

World Cup Update

On Wednesday I went to work with Beki to watch the USA game with her lab. It was the most frustrating, tense 90 minutes of my life (well maybe just this week) and then:

If for some reason you did not watch the match, or have been living under a rock and have not seen this goal, click HERE and watch it... even if you have seen it, you probably want to watch it again anyway. (You should click the "Speed Match" underneath the video player)

Chris's Official World Cup Guide Update

Chris' Official World Cup Guide Update

Hopefully you took my advice and have been rooting for some teams in the World Cup. Now, if you are like my family, you are probably complaining about the lack of scoring in the first round games. Let me explain what is going on. I believe there are three causes for the lack of goals (Portugal's 7-0 dismantling of North Korea being the exception):

1. The Ball. I am sure that you heard about the players whining about the ball before the competition even began. Every World Cup has it's own special ball, and the players always hate it, and like you, I thought that they were all just being babies and making excuses just in case they sucked during the competition. But now, after having watched 29 of the 32 matches (yes, really I have no life) the ball is making a difference. It had dimples on it like a golf ball, which, imagine that, makes it fly farther. Beki and I have talked about this frequently (I love the fact that because I am so into the World Cup, and she works in a lab full of Brazillians who are into the World Cup, my wife can talk about the Cup like a sportscaster) and she thinks that since they are all using the same ball it is fair, plus they have had weeks to practice with the thing, so it shouldn't be an excuse. While I totally agree, I also think that if you have kicked a ball the same way for 13 years, and it has always gone the same difference, if now you kick it and it goes 20 yards further, it is going to be hard to be consistent.

2. No one wants to loose their first game. Because you only play 3 games, and have to be in the top two in your group, you do not want to loose your first game. Getting the 1 point for the draw (the soccer term for a tie) gives you more options in advancing from your next two matches. In the first round of games (16 games) there were 6 draws, and 6 1-0 games, with 25 total goals being scored. In the second round of games there have been 4 draws and 3 1-0 games, with 42 goals scored.

3. Parity in the World. With the real globalization of the sport, teams outside of the traditional powers have gotten much better. In the United State's group for example, everyone keeps underestimating Slovenia. They are a good team, and they have been showing it. Switzerland beat Spain, New Zealand drew with Italy, Mexico kicked the crap out of France, Serbia beat Germany, the US drew with England, etc...

With one round of games left to be played, almost every team still has a chance of making it to the next round, so there should be some excitement in the games ahead. In each group the final games are played simultaneously to ensure that no funny business happens, so either get two tv's or log onto espn3.com. The important games happen at 10am on Wednesday, when the US takes on Algeria, and England take on Slovenia, so you should watch. To help you enjoy the last first round games, I will now give you a little group by group breakdown:

(A note about goal differential. If teams end tied on points, the first tie breaker is goal differential. Take your goals scored, subtract the goals you've let in, and you get your goal differential. The higher the better. If goal differential is the same it goes to number of goals scored.)

Group A

Uruguay - 4 points (+3gd)

Mexico - 4 points (+2 gd)

France - 1 point (-2 gd)

South Africa - 1 point (-3gd)

Uruguay vs. Mexico - If this game ends in a draw, both teams will go through to the next round. If not, the winner is through, and the loser has to see what happens in the other game.

France vs. South Africa - I love France, they always provide good comic relief. As is normal for them, France is apparently trying to surrender at the World Cup. Their star striker got into a fight with their coach, and so the coach sent him home. The rest of the team rebelled and refused to train, the personnel manager quit along with the conditioning coach. Good times!! Both of these teams can make it through if they win big, and Mexico and Uruguay don't draw.

My Prediction: Uruguay and Mexico (Although I am personally hoping for a South African Miracle so Mexico and France both go home!)

Group B

Argentina - 6 points (+4 gd)

South Korea - 3 points (-1gd)

Greece - 3 points (-1gd)

Nigeria - 0 points (-2gd)

Argentina vs. Greece - Argentina need a draw to go through to the next round. Greece need a win, or a draw and Nigeria beating South Korea.

Nigeria vs. South Korea - Nigeria needs two win by 2, and have Argentina beat Greece. South Korea can get through almost guaranteed with a win, or a tie with a Greece loss to Argentina.

My Prediction: Argentina and South Korea (But since I root against South Korea I would like to see Nigeria beat them and go through.)

Group C

Slovenia - 4 points (+1 gd)

USA - 2 points (0 gd)

England - 2 points (0 gd)

Algeria - 1 point (-1 gd)

USA vs. Algeria - This has become the group of crap. We can whine all we want about the ref not giving us the goal that would have won the game against Slovenia, but that isn't going to change anything, and beside, maybe we shouldn't go behind by 2 goals in the first place, can we try that please? Anyway...We win and we are in. We Tie and England tie, we are in, but let's just win. If Algeria beat us (DO NOT GO TO SLEEP ON THE ALGERIANS, THEY DEFEND LIKE MAD, BUT ALL IT TAKES IS ONE COUNTER ATTACK AND WE ARE SCREWED. PLEASE DON'T SCREW THIS UP LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO USA!!) and England does not win, they will be through.

England vs. Slovenia - England are in a ridiculous amount of trouble. Slovenia are good, and right now England are not. I have no idea what happened to the England that won 9 of their 10 qualifying matches. Their path to the 2nd round is simple, they have to win. Slovenia just need a tie or the US not to win.

My Prediction: I have been going back and forth on this, my heart wants USA and England, but the part of me that has watched the games says USA and Slovenia. (The cynical part of me says Slovenia and Algeria.) Lets put my heart out there so it can get broken: USA and England.

Group D

Ghana - 4 points (1gd)

Germany - 3 points (3gd)

Serbia - 3 points (0gd)

Australia - 1 point (-4gd)

Ghana vs. Germany - Each team is through with a win, and Ghana is through with a draw. If they draw, Germany will be through unless Serbia beat Australia, or Australia beat Serbia by 7 goals.

Serbia vs. Australia - If Serbia win they are though. If they draw and Germany lose or Ghana loose by 2, they are through. If Australia win and Germany lose, they are through. If they win big, and Germany beat Ghana big, they might be through.

My Prediction: Ghana and Serbia. (I hope I wrong, but I think Germany blew their chance when they lost to Serbia.)

Group E

Netherlands - 6 points (+3 gd)

Japan - 3 points (0 gd)

Denmark - 3 points (-1 gd)

Cameroon - 0 points (-2 gd)

Netherlands vs. Cameroon - The Dutch are already in, Cameroon are already out

Japan vs. Denmark - Two teams fighting for 1 spot. Denmark have to win, Japan can go through with a draw.

My Prediction: Netherlands and Japan. (The Japanese get the nod because they can get through with a draw.)

Group F

Paraguay - 4 points (2 gd)

Italy - 2 points (0 gd)

New Zealand - 2 points (0 gd)

Slovakia - 1 point (-2 gd)

Italy vs. Slovakia - This group is in the same situation as Group C. Italy is through with a win, or a draw if New Zealand fail to win. Slovakia need a win and New Zealand not to win.

Paraguay vs. New Zealand - New Zealand have to win to go through. Paraguay need only a draw.

My Prediction: I want to pull for the Kiwis, but I can't - Paraguay and Italy.

Group G

Brazil - 6 points (3 gd)

Portugal - 4 points (7 gd)

Ivory Coast - 1 point (-2 gd)

North Korea - 0 points (-8 gd)

Brazil vs. Portugal - One of the marquee match-ups going in to the World Cup, this game will mean almost nothing. Brazil are already through to the 2nd round, and Portugal have showed why goal differential is important. Even if they loose to Brazil, the have 9 goals that the Ivory Coast have to make up.

Ivory Coast vs. North Korea - The North Koreans are out, and the Ivorians need a lot of goals. This could get ugly. The Ivory Coast also needs Brazil to lay some serious smack down on Portugal, which just doesn't seem likely.

My Prediction: Brazil and Portugal

Group H

Chile - 6 points (2 gd)

Spain - 3 points (1gd)

Switzerland - 3 points (0 gd)

Honduras - 0 points (-3 gd)

Chile vs. Spain - Chile are in with a draw, Spain needs to equal whatever result Switzerland gets against Honduras.

Switzerland vs. Honduras - The Swiss have a good chance, since they are playing the weakest team in the group. A win by 2 would put them through, or they can draw and hope that Chile beat Spain. Honduras can get through if they beat the Swiss by 3 and Spain loses.

My Prediction: Spain and Chile.

What do You do When the Boy Leaves?

Notice: This is the 3rd of 3 updates that I have done today. You should probably scroll down to the entry titled "Not Trying to Kill the In-Laws" and start there. If you don't, you might run into things that make no sense.

Sadly, the week came and went (Luckily with no casualties..except for my shoes from being in the river.) and it was time for Grandpa and Abuela to go back to Colorado.

Family Photo!

Now last year Owen spent a couple of weeks in Colorado before Beki's sister's wedding, and so everyone there thought that since he came last year, we had set precedence, and he needed to come stay for a few weeks this summer as well. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the boy, but if Grandpa and Abuela want to take him for a few weeks, they aren't going to have to ask twice!

He is kind of hard to see in there, but he made it through security without much trouble.

And so Beki and I found ourselves childless wondering, "What did we do before we had the boy?" And I will admit that things are pretty boring around the house, and I also can't get away with stuff because I don't have my super cute accomplice to take the heat for me. We've found ways to keep busy though, whether it is watching other people's kids, working on the yard, watching lots of soccer (see above post), going out for ice cream at 10pm, and celebrating Beki's Birthday/Father's Day.

Nope, that isn't Owen, but Emma sure likes his car!

So we were going out for Beki's Birthday, but as is often the case, the Lab needed some attention, and since this time I wasn't working full time trying to stop Owen from destroying something, I figured I would give you a look into The Lab!!!

This is Beki's bench - or her work-station.

(You know, a train stops at a train-station, a bus stops at a bus-station, I wonder what really happens here...)

Beki getting some parasite out of the fridge. I wasn't sure if I was allowed in there (or if I wanted to go in...)

"Here honey, come look at this thing that wants to eat your internal organs..."

The lab coat means serious business!

Eventually she wandered off, and I got bored....

Sunday was Beki's Birthday, and Father's Day, but without the boy it was kind of lame...

Beki made me Cinnamon Pinwheels, and I got to watch the World Cup.

Beki opened her cards from our parents who, even though they aren't supposed to, sent her money.

And I know you are dying to know what I got her - and here it is. Beki is very tricky to get presents for. She hates jewlery, clothes, and just about any other normal "go to" item that men get their wives. She also is the CFO of the family, and meticulously runs the books, so she freaks out if I spend money on her. So I have to find the perfect balance of something that she actually wants that isn't too expensive. Not sure of which color or style she wanted, I took her with me to the store, and I knew I had hit a home run when her eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store! She settled on an orange one:

In case you don't know what that is, it is a Yoga Mat. I know it isn't sexy or glamorous, but it is totally what she wanted...I win!

Trying to Kill the In-Laws...Again

Ok, I put the Pistachios away (If you are reading these out of order that makes no sense to you.) so I should be able to get through this faster - not that it matters to you, but it does to me!

In addittion to seeing D.C and spending time with the boy, one of the things that Grandpa and Abuela wanted to do was to see the Ocean. We had thought about going to the Chesapeake Bay, but that is technically not the Ocean, so after school on Friday they picked me up, and off to Delaware we went. (Now, those of you reading from out West, it probably sounds like a long drive to travel across another state to get to the Ocean. For example, if you are my family in Boise, and you wanted some great cheese with an ocean view, you would have to drive 511 miles to Tillamook, Oregon. From my house to Fenwick Island State Park it is 136 Miles, roughly the distance from my mother's house to Baker, Oregon.)

The beach was deserted when we got there about 5pm, which was great for us! We had brought a picnic with us, but first things first, we needed to check out the Ocean!

When you are 3 years old, even little waves seem like Typhoons! (As we will see in a moment, little waves can kick your butt just as well as the big ones!)

Owen was explaining to me that he would play over here in a tide pool.

The water wasn't too cold, and once he realized that the waves weren't going to get him...

Owen started to be his normal self...Rawr!!!!

We almost lost Dickie before he even made it to the water. You've probably heard of quicksand right? The stuff is wicked...it just about swallowed him whole!

Ok, so now we make it to the point where the Ocean tries to kill the in-laws. When you are dealing with waves there are a couple of rules to follow. One of the important ones is to never stand where the waves are breaking. Either stand up the beach so the waves wash up over your feet (and suck the sand out from underneath you...pretty cool), or stand out right before the waves break, so you get to ride them for a bit, but they don't pound the crap out of you. If you end up where the waves are breaking, it is called the washing machine for a reason. (I bet you can tell what is about to happen...)

Notice how I am out father than Grandpa and Abuela? There is a reason for that, which I am just going to let the next 6 pictures show. Ready? Here we go!

Why Beki kept taking pictures while her parents were being tossed about in the see I do not know, but it makes for good entertainment! They were both just fine in the end, got to have a first hand experience with the power of the Ocean, and had a good laugh about it. All the while, since the tide was coming in, Owen's little tide pool was growing bigger. I don't know if he was trying to shrink it by throwing sand into it, or if he just liked throwing sand (my money is on the latter), but while Grandpa and Abuela were fighting to escape the sea, he was just hanging out throwing sand.

Take that Ocean!!!

That's right, there is more where that came from!

He eventually stopped throwing sand and went back to playing in the pool.

We put the cameras away when we all started playing in the pool, so we don't have any pictures of Owen once the waves started running into the pool, but he decided that little waves weren't too bad, and liked to splash in the bubbles. After dinner Owen decided that it was time to look for sea shells.

Mommy and Grandpa looking for sea shells. Mommy found a big intact one by the lifeguard tower.

Owen kept his sea shells in his big yellow bucket.

Finally the sun went down and it was time for us to go home...bye bye!