Thanks for listening.

The analogy that I use is that of a math problem. If you get the answer right, but your work is wrong and you just happened to end up with the right end result, does that mean you were right at all? If 2 plus 2 is 4 and you got 4 as your answer but did so by adding 3 and 1, were you right? Maybe I’m over-thinking it.

Nick also talks about the AT&T this weekend and his brush with Tiger Woods at the 10th tee. People are in awe of the man. Tiger, not Nick. Well, Nick’s pretty good too.

Thanks for listening. Check the next show out for our World Cup recap and finale preview with Jon Tannenwald of The Goalkeeper.

Specifically, we discuss the news that ESPN will have an hour-long special. It’s a great get by the WWL, even if the hour is going to be completely and utterly ridiculous.  My suggestion is that LeBron should name a team without cap space for him and give them an hour on live TV to make room. That would be great TV. Nick thinks it should be like a wrestling PPV…Oh my gawd that’s Chris Bosh’s music!

Either way, it’s ridiculous. But should we expect anything less from “King James.”

Baseball:

We rant a bit about the Phillies lack of depth and, well, lack of Cliff Lee. Plus, a debate about whether or not Ryan Howard owes it to the fans to be in the Home Run Derby and exactly how ridiculous that event has become. Robinson Cano and Corey Hart? Really?
More soccer stuff later in the week, including a conversation with ESPN’s Bob Ley to preview the World Cup Final.

• We talk about that ONE TIME when he filed a story from his Blackberry.

• We talk about Allen Iverson’s retirement and how he broke the news then wrote a column saying he didn’t believe the news to be true.

• We talk about celebrity and debate whether or not he’s  star (hint: I think yes, he thinks no).

• We talk about the quality of his work at the Inquirer and his original termination and subsequent reinstatement.

• We talk about his settlement, and how ostensibly he was only working back at the paper the last six months until that settlement could be reached. That’s why both sides are happy…because neither really wanted him to be there.

• We talk about the rumor that the Inqy was able to get out of his deal because of his appearance on the View.

• We talk about being a political pundit — as he puts it, not an expert, just an American with an opinion.

• We talk about the news that he’s in talks with Showtime for a new TV show and an upcoming book he’s working on.

This show is entirely fascinating. Leave your thoughts in the comments.
(Image via StephenA.com)

U.S. To Face Ghana In Second Round After Donovan’s History-Changing Strike

It’s not an overstatement to claim that Landon Donovan’s amazing extra-time goal against Algeria is the most important goal in the history of American soccer. Let’s be honest, there’s not a very long list of candidates. The United States victory over Mexico in the second round of the 2002 World Cup may have been a bigger win, but neither goal in the match can even come close to the drama of Donovan’s 2010 strike.

There’s a case to be made that the own-goal by Colombia’s Andres Escobar, helping the United States advance to the second round of the 1994 World Cup, was the most important, but let’s have our best moment be a goal by one of our own players.

And 1950? I’m sick and tired of hearing about 1950. Sure, the U.S. shocked the world and defeated England in the 1950 World Cup. What else happened? Yes, they lost both of their other matches and bombed out of the tournament, needing forty years to figure out a way to qualify again. Forty. Years.

Donovan’s strike did not win the World Cup for America, so our celebrations should be rather mitigated at this point. In fact, after some terrible backline mistakes in the first two matches, an inability to finish in all three matches and some very questionable calls in the last two, the goal really only did for the United States what we expected them to do all along: advance out of the group.

The U.S. will face a very tough Ghana team on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET and will undoubtedly be facing a hostile crowd as Africa’s remaining hopes in the Cup now lie with the Ghanaians. England, who finished second in Group C will face Germany, who wins Group D with today’s victory over Ghana. That match will be Sunday afternoon.

So no, Donovan’s goal didn’t win the 2010 World Cup, and there is still a lot of work to be done for that to happen. Should the U.S. beat Ghana they’ll face the winner of Uruguay and Korea, another entirely winnable match. That would put them in the semifinals, likely against a team like Brazil or the Netherlands. Today didn’t come close to winning the 2010 World Cup, no matter how much it felt that way. But here’s the thing, today’s win very well may have won the 2022 World Cup for America.

The 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids will be awarded in December, and with the United States bidding for both, the chances of winning one of the bids increases with every match the United States win this year. No, the result on the field doesn’t actually factor in to the bid process – the top competitors for the 2022 bid are Australia and two countries that didn’t qualify for this year’s tournament – but the nationwide interest in soccer and the immense television ratings for ESPN are incredibly important.

Had the United States bowed out of the World Cup with three ties, the interest level in the next few rounds would drop in half. Now, by not only moving to the second round, but by winning the group, the interest will surely grow heading into this weekend’s match. With increased interest, another 12 years to build toward the World Cup in 2022, the United States could – I stress could – develop a serious pipeline for international soccer. It’s not unreasonable to think that the host country could be a favorite to win that tournament.

And yes, I’m getting ahead of myself. It was just one goal. But remember today when the bids are announced later in the year. If the United States gets the 2022 (or even 2018) World Cup, today was a huge reason why. Some ten year old kid out there who watched today’s match and ran outside to re-enact that goal over and over again in his backyard…he might just be thanking Donovan in 12 years.

Then, Jon Tannenwald of The Goalkeeper joins the show to talk about the World Cup thus far. We spend most of the time on the USMNT, talking about the merits of Jose Torres and comparing his play to that of a point guard in the Princeton offense. Also, will they win? They have to win.

Thanks for listening. Enjoy the sports this weekend.

Andy feels the Celtics are the biggest story, so we briefly discuss that. We then talk about Rafael Nadal, and if at some point it becomes ridiculous when an athlete falls to the ground after winning what seemed like a pretty easy match. Come on, he won in three sets and was never challenged in either of them. Does that really warrant laying on the ground? Sure it was a culmination of triumph after a tough yet, but doesn’t it show just a little lack of respect for the opponent, and the moment?

Maybe that’s my biggest issue with it…the crowd was just politely applauding. It wasn’t an Oh My Gawd moment, so Nadal’s “I’m overwhelmed by my own greateness” moment seemed out of place.

That spins to talk about ESPN and the USMNT, where we talk at great length about Martin Tyler, John Harkes and the call of the match against Australia. The call fell flat, and perhaps it was because of the lack of energy in the stadium. Could this happen again or will a stadium that’s bigger and presumably louder help?

Also, are we concerned about Tyler calling the USA England match on US TV? Do we want our announcers to be homers?

More on this in Press Coverage later today.

We do talk briefly about game five of the Stanley Cup finals where it looks like I’m going to owe Kaduk some Tastykakes.

Thanks to Andy for hopping on last minute. We end with a talk about the pressure for the USMNT. I had the chance to ask Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard about that last week. We end with their thoughts. They are at the 26:00 mark.

Thanks for listening.

Scott Franzke, radio play-by-play man for the Phillies, joins the show to talk about that amazing performance, and what it was like in the booth. At what point did they start to think they might be witnessing something special? How was Larry Anderson during the game, and were they conscious of superstition throughout the broadcast? How many times did Franzke mention the word perfect? Did he say “perfect game” before it happened?

We also discuss the historic nature of calling something like a perfect game. After Dallas Braden’s perfect game this season, Nick and I talked about beat writers crafting the “perfect game story” knowing that more people will be reading that day than, perhaps, any other in a writer’s career. For someone doing play-by-play, Franzke doesn’t have the luxury of thinking out what he’s going to say, and hitting a delete key. So how perfect did he try to be? Did he have something in his mind for the last out should Halladay complete the perfect game?

And seriously, how nervous were they in the booth? More on this later today on The Sporting Blog.

The Weekend that Was:

Nick and I rundown the weekend in sports, including the Stanley Cup finals (and the ratings for game one that some people — looking at you John Gonzalez  – thought wouldn’t be good because of the holiday). We also discuss the rest of the series, and if the Flyers should be worried or feel fine with the fact that, on the road, they were in both games.

Next, we spend a lot of time talking about the game both of us attended on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. The U.S. men’s soccer team defeated Turkey in their final Send-off Match before heading to South Africa for the World Cup.

I worked the match for Sporting News, so we give a rundown of some of the storylines that came out of the even. I also try to convince you, Nick and myself, that soccer is now for the cool kids. If a member of the media says they don’t watch soccer now because it’s boring, that’s an old and tired meme that will, finally, make them look stupid. Soccer isn’t boring, we just weren’t any good at it. Now, we might be.

Housekeeping:

We talk about Lakers Celtics and if we’re rooting for the Lakers (and Kobe) or just rooting against everything related to Boston. We also talk about which is a more lame way to win a game, a walkoff balk or a walkoff grand slam where you break your leg.

Thanks to Scott and thanks to you for listening. (Sorry I didn’t have the segment drops today).

Oh, and as per my post at Sporting News, what announcer would you want to do the commentary for a video game of your life? Must be alive and a sports broadcaster.

Leave in the comments.

• The NBA Draft Lottery

• Tim Donaghy’s book publisher woes, and who to believe when there’s a criminal involved who may, in fact, be telling the truth.

• Dancing is mentioned. It’s not pleasant.

• ESPN Upfronts, including 3D and lots more Michelle Beadle.

• Yankees protest.

• Quite possibly the most obnoxious post in the history of the internet.

• More…