Observer

She must have beat the spit out of her 6'8" 270lb nephew. TV ratings through the roof for the final--about equal to World Series Game 7. Now if soccer could only string together some more ratings through CONCACAF, UEFA, etc. MLS TV ratings still lag far behind but their attendance is high.

That sub was just to waste time. And no Press for you. She's hot but not on the field. She has plenty of time to entertain you. The PK miss was right in front of us. Not sure the Germans around me appreciated me making choking motions at the field but I couldn't help it. Too many years of Catholic school fan behavior in me. Glad Johnston's mistake didn't result in a goal--she's been so excellent all tournament. Holiday's accumulation opened the door for Brian, who has made ALL the difference in team chemistry. She's gold--total transformation since she's played. Makes ZERO mistakes unlike Lloyd when playing CM. Now teamed with Holiday, it's over. Morgan is off but there can't be any changes for the final. Lloyd at forward is great. HEr mistakes are less costly and she can both playmake and be aggressive. Assuming Japan dismantles England and it's a rematch of 2011.

Montreal is packed with USA jerseys. Just saw a German family and high-fived them just because they were so in the minority. Going to be like a home game tonight.

Brian was absolute perfection. Unforgivable that Ellis wasn't starting her. Rodriguez was amazing and again, unforgivable that Ellis wasn't starting her. Dump Lloyd (great goal--turnover machine) and start Brian and Holliday at CM. Brian likes to play more defensive and Hoilday more offensive so that's perfect. Start Rodriguez and Morgan up top. Morgan is just a hair off on her touches but is close to breaking loose. I wouldn't hate O'Hara for Heath against Germany. Rapinoe obviously returns. Germans are good but mostly just friggin' huge. I hope Ellis doesn't start Wambach looking for height. Wambach should be a late game sub when they are in need of a tying goal. No other role for her. Press should be on the bench for the remainder of this tournament. She has less role in the game than Wambach (except to entertain Tom).

She's 2 feet tall and a skinny as a rail. She's an excellent player in every respect but that doesn't mean she can play center mid. It's like making Shaq a point guard or Stephen Curry a center. Being good doesn't mean you're good everywhere. Rapinoe is a stud outside player and that's where she should be. By the way, you asked about whether Rapinoe has a left--Happy to dig this out and always worth rewatching especially the build-up. (USA played down a player for a lot of the match.) Interestingly on the women's side, the diving is reserved for the South American teams. You won't see it from others but they do it regularly. Even in the above clip, there's reference to a moment in extra time where a woman got hauled off on a stretcher and then came back on the field 1 minute later (she got a yellow card for that). The women generally play much tougher than the men. The team has regressed under Ellis. They are playing nowhere near the level they played at 4 years ago. Wambach has a role on the team but it's not starting. There may be certain tactical moves that could make a difference but the poor coaching is more reflected in a terrible style of play where they charge forward, lob long 50-50 balls over the midfielders, and generally don't move the ball intelligently at all. They play like a bunch of individually talented 7th graders. Columbia was not that good but at times moved the ball much better than the US. If not for the strength of the US defense, Columbia would have given them trouble. I expect the US to stomp China even without Rapinoe and Holliday. I've seen them play China and there's usually a point past which China just can't keep up with the US strength and fitness. If it's tied after 50 minutes, expect the US to win by 3. If China gets a lead, it may be hard. BTW, good take from Katie Baker at Grantland:

It all gets real in the semis no matter what side of the bracket they are on. They should stomp China if they play them. I've seen them play China and China has no answer to the US attack. The US pins them down inside the 18 and just launches shot after shot until one goes in.

Not troubling. USA in control of lesser opponent the entire game. Passing and possession was better but last 30 minutes, they played up a player and looked bad. They also subbed Morgan, Heath, and Rapinoe out during that stretch and they'd all played well. Not a statement game they probably hoped for but definitely better. The defense continues to own opposition. If they win the WC, it will be because of the back line.

Rapinoe is not a center mid any more than Hope Solo is a left back. That's crazytalk. Agree with the rest. The problem with Wambach being on the team is exactly the problem with the Women's team. They are navigting the line of letting the inmates (players) run the asylum. They need a coach to come in and lay waste to the concept of "star players."Klinsman has done this on the men's side, most notably benching Donavan. So far, Jill Ellis has not impressed. She has the best group of individual players in the world but I haven't seen her use them well in the last year.

Didn’t strike me as outmuscled but they did zero through the middle and every time they had the ball outside (especially with Rapinoe), Sweden ran two people at the outside runner. Sweden played 8 deep so that is no surprise but given Sweden’s stance, the US should have had more possession. Tough game to watch when team bunkers in like that. Hopefully US will get back Morgan soon--their attack has been dull without her. Even though she wore the armband last night, I'd bench Lloyd in favor of Heath. Lloyd is a turnover machine. Holiday had one atrocious turnover last night but was otherwise merely OK but Lloyd was terrible. Entire midfield was poor except Rapinoe, who kept trying to go 1 v 3. Leroux actually looked really good when they dropped her back to mid. Starting midfield of Leroux, Holiday, Heath, and Rapinoe, with Morgan and Rodriguez up top. Change nothing on defense...although I thought Klingenberg was not good (except for her moment).

The US men aggressive athletic soccer 100% The last world cup had that on display in every match. It's fun, gutsy, and allows them to play with high emotion...but it's not smart technical soccer. The US women play a variety of the same way. The biggest difference is that on the men's side, the opposition is higher quality so the US men tend to be aggressive as a counterattacking team where they let the other team give it their best shot and then counter. The Women are almost never in a defensive posture because the competition is lesser.

Despite her being in a commercial a minute, Morgan has been hurt much of the last 2 years. Each injury has been different so hopefully it was just a series of flukes but definitely cause for future concern. And yes, they miss her on the attack. The USWNT has to talk a fine line between celebrity and team. The celeb component is what makes them such a growing brand in the US but it has empowered the players to have more of a voice in the team philosophy than they would have under a stronger coach. The vets got a manager fired and even the last manager Pia Sundhage, who the players seem to have genuinely liked, has had criticism about how the inmates run the asylum.

The US women play a smarter version of what the US men play: Fitness and long balls. Not that great to watch with the exception of a few players. They have been spoiled for years just dumping it in to Wambach and now must play better because Wambach is done. I'm hoping the team changes their philosophy soon. The US will always be one of the best teams because of their athleticism and the strength of the NCAA but as dominant as they are, they could be so much better. The best women's teams to watch are Germany and Japan. They play excellent soccer (Japan particularly). 3.3 million watched the US women's opener. 3.9 watched Stanley Cup game 3 at the same time. Great news for soccer fans!

He and Marcus Easley will combine for 200 receptions!

'merica, eff yeah. We don't even care about soccer, but we will fix it. The USDOJ will be busy with this case for 50 years.

I hope Rex gives Easley a shot. This is his big year. Did you see the size of his arms?

When is the lottery? Draft is in June but the only schedules I see for when the actual lottery happens say TBD. Any hockey fans know?

Shut up and prove it.

I don't care as much about what adults do as what kids do. IF you're an adult and want to bash your head on a brick wall and get paid to do it, have at. Youth football is the bigger worry. Concussions are bad but even lots of small blows are thought to lead to CTE. Kids should not be playing football and it's good that parents are finally getting that. This, from a football lover. I don't know what the sport will looks like in 30 years but odds are it will be a lot different.

NFL is a $$/productivity game. Jackson is due 2.7M this year. The Bills can't justify that for the backup RB. It's simple. Sad, but simple.

There were always security checks. Unless you're talking about September 1911.

Good morning, Baltimore.

Is there a Tavaris Jackson fan still in the house? Ah the Bills faithful. IS 2015 Marcus Easley's breakout year? He looked beastly big in that one photo.

Please list all the other 7th rough pick DEs you think the Bills should look at. I didn't read every post in this thread but I haven't seen homophobia in it. Mostly people are skeptical that Sam is actually any good. There have been, currently are, and will be good gay football players. It just doesn't seem like Sam is one of them.

A reckoning is coming when some bolder employers and colleges start recognizing the education value and cost savings associated with online degrees. That's the coming higher ed storm. Right now, most employers look on the online degree like it's useless that won't be true in 20 years. The in-person university experience will always be the best but in a return on investment analysis, the online degree will crush the in person one. In 50 years, you will be able to get all the field house access you need.

Dune is the best sci fi ever written and stands the test of holding its own outside of sci fi. Because we've deviated into a sci fi discussion, I'll throw out a fantastic series that I found long after I thought I was out of the sci fi genre: Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It's a 4 books series with the first two and second two books acting as their own stories. I don't reread many books but I might reread it. On the topic of rereading books, I generally stick to the classics: David Copperfield East of Eden Pride and Prejudice Manchester's bio of Churchill The Last Lion is one of the great works of the English language Just a few.