I wanted to get this up earlier, but between ramping up in a new job, a terrible cold, and a family wedding, I didn’t have the time. Hopefully those distractions are behind me. The Luis Suarez handball during the Uruguay-Ghana soccer game of the quarterfinals of the World Cup certainly
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Making the World Cup final more interesting
I will definitely be watching the World Cup final on Sunday, but it just got more interesting to me. Wikipedia has the info on the “Unofficial Football World Champions” (UFWC), a boxing-style recognition of who’s the best soccer team in the world, and The Netherlands currently holds the title. Not
Continue readingWorld Cup Fantasy League Update
With only 3 soccer games remaining, let’s check in on the World Cup Fantasy League Standings: Pick the winner (Yahoo): 1. CarrieB – 82 points 2. Sam – 80 points 3. Justin – 50 points 4. Kip – 2 points It’s a very close match, with just 2 points separating
Continue readingThe World Cup – now more popular than the NHL
Ratings for this years World Cup have been among the strongest ever in the United States. Fans flocked to their televisions to watch both the US – England match and the US – Slovakia match (even though it was shown at 7am PDT). The US – England match is one
Continue readingWho will be awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups?
Even though the 2010 World Cup hasn’t even kicked off yet, speculation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cups continues to build. The Goldman Sachs World Cup and economics report had some great thoughts and analysis into the minds of FIFA, the powerful players behind the scenes, and the game
Continue readingGoldman Sachs publishes World Cup economics report
Just finished reading Goldman Sachs’s World Cup economics report. It’s a great read for soccer fans and economists alike. Highlights: The report features odds of winning the tournament and reaching the semifinals using a proprietary model. I will definitely incorporate this into my Fantasy League projections. An overview of Euro
Continue readingJoin my World Cup fantasy league
Fantasy World Cup is quite fun. I played for the first time in 2006 and found it helped me follow the games that I didn’t care too much about (similar to baseball and football). Who knew I would be screaming for Podolski in a the 3rd game for the Germans.
Continue readingWhat are the chances of 3 perfect games occuring in one season?
Perfect games are pretty rare. Before this season, only 18 had ever occurred. But what are the chances that 3 would occur in the same season? Prior to this season, there were 391,218 MLB games played (via Baseball Reference). With only 18 perfect performances, that means that any particular game
Continue readingWhat to make of last minute additions to / subtractions from World Cup rosters
For the US, it was Brian Ching. For England, it was Theo Walcott. World Cup teams are releasing their final 23-man rosters for next week’s kickoff, and there’s plenty of controversy about who’s being left off (and on) the list. But does it matter that Robbie Findley was put on
Continue readingDavid Beckham’s 1998 World Cup red card vs. Argentina
Somehow, I completely forgot that David Beckham was sent off in the 1998 World Cup round of 16 match versus Argentina. I don’t know whether it was because Beckham still hadn’t reached his pinnacle of stardom at that point, or if I am just forgetful. But seeing the foul is
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