Tag: Mexico

  • Sports News (Unedited)

    Tell me you saw the Knicks game last night!?!?!

    I saw it all except for the 3rd Quarter, and now, I’m kicking myself for that decision.

    See, this is how it went home in my home last night. We all wanted to watch the game, so me, the wife, and the kid we’re all sitting on the couch together. Because that’s what the Knicks do; they bring people together. And it was a painful 1st Quarter. So bad that the kid was asking me if we had to watch it, because it was so bad. But I was like, no! We stick with our team no matter what, because anything could happen. (Not that I believed that in the moment, but it seemed like the right message I should pass on to my kid.) By half time, it was time to put the kid to bed, and move on to other things. After the kid was in her room for the night, I played some Mario Kart, all the while knowing that I was going to go back to the game and see it through the end. When I put it game back on it was at the nine-minute mark with the Knicks down by fifteen. The wife joined me on the couch, and we watched the next eight minutes in relative silence, neither one truly believing what we were seeing. When Brunson scored and gave the Knicks their first lead, that’s when we started the “Holy Shit! I think they might win this!” comment back and forth to each other – like a Meisner exercise. And then the ending! I wasn’t sure what I has seen, had actually happened. It didn’t feel real – did OG really score that? Then the final play, time runs out, Knicks Win! And about a minute later, fireworks start going off in our corner of Harlem. Honestly, it had been a long time since a game completely enraptured me, blocking out the whole world, and also making me see and believe that you should never give up. Never, ever give up. Keep fighting.

    Which also brings me to the start of the World Cup today; Mexico v South Africa.

    I’m just excited for the whole thing to get started. I’m tired of waiting, and just want to spend the next month on the couch watching football, and yelling at the tv. You know, like the rest if the world.

    As for the first match, I have to put my money on Mexico, and I don’t think I am going out on a wire here. They are playing in Estadio Azteca, which will be a wild and rocking place, and with that much energy and excitement behind the Mexico team, I can’t fathom that South Africa will beat them. Hell, if RSA gets one goal on Mexico, they should consider it a win.

    Maybe this goes back to growing up in Texas and my friends, but Mexico is one of my favorite teams to watch. It always feels like they never live up to expectations, but they are a fun group to watch. As of writing this, I don’t know if Ochoa will be starting in goal, but lord in heaven, if he does, then I am expecting a clean sheet from him.

    The second game of the day is rather later for me, and I might be in the throes of putting a kid to bed, so I bet that I will catch the second half of South Korea and Czechia. I’m leaning toward Korea for this one, but I do know that their squad has been hampered by injuries. What that could mean is that South Korea might not go deep in the tournament, but I imagine that they should break out of the group stage. On the other side, being that I know nothing about Czechia, I’m hoping to be surprised and learn something new. A good match would be a fair result.

    Happy Sporting!

  • Recipe Testing on My Very Busy Day

    It wasn’t the recipe’s fault, it was mine. I tried to fit too many things in today, when it was already busy enough. Time management might not be one of my strongest qualities.

    Point being that I am deep into testing a recipe, and I have to go get the kid from school, so this is the best I can do today.

    But here’s the recipe I’m trying out…

  • World Cup Dispatch (UPDATE): Today’s Matches

    Shame on me for not taking the two early matches seriously. Sure, France didn’t have to win today, but I thought even their backbenchers could take care of Tunisia. And then I was like, there is no way Denmark is leaving the World Cup without a win. Thus proving, yet again, that I have no idea what I am talking about.

    But as for watching these two matches – Man! These were awesome!

    There is a very good chance that France will win this whole thing, and if that happens, Tunisia will have to honor of saying they handed the French their only loss.

    As for the Socceroos – They sure did dash Denmark’s dreams. And I am a big fan of Christian Eriksen, which just made me feel horrible for the guy, but Australia played like they wanted it more.

    Now we get to the matches I was looking forward to. Poland v Argentina, and Mexico v Saudi Arabia. Drama! Drama all over the place. No one in this group is out of it, so everyone is playing for the win. Mexico is one of my favorite teams, but they do have their work cut out for them, and they also need a helping hand from the Football Gods. The whole world will be watching to see what happens to Messi today, and understandably so. I agree, I would like to see Messi get to the Knockout Round, and if he is going to lose, at least get out of the Group Stage.

    My Uneducated Prediction: Argentina and Mexico advance. Just a gut feeling. And having said that… Poland and Saudi Arabia will advance in Group C.

    UPDATE: Man, I was wrong on all accounts. Argentina and Poland move to the next round. Now, that was pretty fun there when Mexico had to score one more goal, or Argentina had to score another goal, for Mexico to advance. I was flipping between the two matches, seeing who would score next. Nope, Saudi Arabia got a goal, and Mexico’s dreams were dashed.

    I said there would be drama, and that was drama!

    (And if you are enjoying this little blog, then please, give a like, and help out. I would appreciate it.)

  • World Cup Dispatch: Catching Up, and Today

    So… I caught a cold this weekend. In fact, my wife caught it, too. We were done in by our daughter, who had a cold last week, got over it, and we thought we had dodged the bullet. We didn’t. It’s not awful, but it is a cold, which meant I did watch matches over the weekend, but just didn’t have the energy to write about it.

    My quick takes from the weekend:

    1. Feel bad for Mexico, but I had a feeling the Messi was going to show up, and he did. Things look good for Argentina, and rather dark for Mexico.
    2. I thought Japan would win, but Costa Rica’s Cup dreams are still alive.
    3. Germany is also not dead yet, but this could be the second Cup they don’t make it out of the Group stage.
    4. And the Big One; Belgium losing to Morocco. First of all, credit to Morocco for winning this against the number one team in the world. Second, maybe Belgium isn’t the powerhouse that everyone thinks they are; They did just barely beat Canada. Outside of France and Spain, none of the conventional “big” teams are playing very well. Not sure why that is, but it is making the tournament rather exciting.

    As for today, a little surprised that South Korea lost this morning. That might push them out of advancing, but I think there is a slim chance – a very slim chance. Brazil and Switzerland could be exciting with Neymar out, which could make Brazil human for the next two matches. Then there is Portugal and Uruguay. I can see this one getting chippy, and aggressive. I can’t explain it, but I think Uruguay will pull this one out.

    Let’s see how this goes.

    (Thanks for making it to the bottom of the post; either by reading or just scanning. If it was reading, and you enjoyed it, please give a like. It’s the only currency in this cold dead land.)

  • World Cup Dispatch: Mexico v Poland

    Full disclosure; I was running errands when this match started. (See, I needed to get the last of shopping for Thanksgiving done, which meant a run to Trader Joe’s, then to Old Navy to exchange some pajama bottoms, then to Whole Foods for a specific cheese that the wife needs for the big meal, and finally I went to neighborhood Key Foods to shop for dinner. Not that this has anything to do with anything, I just wanted to share it.) By the time I got home it was halftime, and the consensus was that Poland was holding their own against Mexico, as the score was 0-0.

    In the second half, I was able to catch, what for right now is the save of the Tournament. Lewandowski was fouled in the box, which gave him a penalty kick. Standing in front of goal for Mexico was their clutch goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. I remember Ochoa from to 2018 Cup, and he kept that Mexican team together, even as they started to faulter in the group stage back then. This time around, Ochoa kept his legend alive as he blocked Lewandowski’s kick, and the huge crowd of Mexico supports exploded in cheers! In the end, as the matched in a draw, Ochoa saved his team, and has kept them alive with one point.

    Looking at Group C, I never thought Argentina would be sitting at the bottom, nor did I think Saudi Ariba would be alone at the top. I know it’s early, and a lot can still happen.

    (And, thanks for reading all the way to the bottom of this post. If you could do me a favor, hit that like button over there. It will help me out, with rankings and stuff.)