brinoch

Yes, drop ball out of endzone. Good play!

The NFL refs are such a joke this year.

Hilarious start.

No, that's honestly probably worse than a break. Ankle ligaments take forever to heal and in many cases are never the same again. A break probably would have been a shorter recovery period. I just broke my ankle a week ago in similar fashion playing soccer. Your ankle dislocates because the tibia and fibula (ans sometimes the talus) are broken. He may or may not have ligament damage, but I'd be shocked if that wasn't broken. Watch his ankle roll outward -- This kind of injury is also known as a syndesmotic injury, or, more commonly, a high ankle sprain.The Deltoid ligament on the inside may also sprained or torn as part of the transfer of stress from the injury. This requires surgery. In my case, ORIF (open reduction and internal fixation) where they open your leg, put your bones back into place, and fix things with screws and plates. How many depends on the damage. Healing is pretty straightforward. You're in a temporary plaster cast held in place with ace bandages for 1-2 weeks, with immobilization in a boot for another 4-5 weeks. While in the boot, you can do flexibility exercises -- but no weight on the ankle. After 6 weeks, you are out of the boot and can start walking again. Normal estimated healing is 3 months, depending on level of care. Assume that RGIII is a fast healer with the best care, and he could possibly be back in December.

I really, really, really want him to succeed. Such an exciting, dynamic player.

Not really true. Talk about gross generalizations and mischaracterizations. When I moved to PDX, I didn't have an MLS team -- being from Chicago, but having lived in Atlanta and DC for long periods of time -- the Fire didn't make sense. DC are annoying and RFK is a terrible venue (then there's the whole competing supporters groups there which is lame), so no to them. When I moved here, I adopted the Timbers, but it took a while. There is a very loyal, large core of Timbers fans there, and with only the Blazers and Timbers for sports teams in a major metropolitan area, that's where they focus their attention. They know their soccer, and are passionate. They definitely hate Seattle like a little brother, but whatever. They also hate Vancouver, too. The Timbers are a really big deal in Portland. You see the PDX equivalent of meatballs (hipster bro fans) and you are judging the entire fanbase on an invented standard, and it's ridiculous. The Timbers season ticket wait list is like years long (I'm on it), and PDX are drawing record crowds for Thorns games. The town likes soccer. The same Timbers Army guys booing Dempsey at the all-star game were cheering him at the Timbers Army viewing location for the World Cup -- which they set up at their expense. They do hate Garber for all kids of various things, but whatever, again. I think the rivalry is good for MLS, and for the teams. You love Dempsey for what he represents for the USMNT and for Americans abroad -- fair enough, so do I. They love him in a US shirt and hate him in a Seattle shirt. And that's about how it should be.

Hey very nice. Thanks Cobs!

I can't believe I'm watching this game. It's been so long. Go Cobs!

What do we think about Rusney Castillo possibly signing with the Cubs? I think the infield is fairly set heading into next year with Rizzo, Baez, Castro, and (eventually/hopefully) Bryant, with Valbuena in the utility role. OF has Alcantara and (eventually/hopefully) Soler then... Ruggiano, Coughlin? It seems there may be a need for an OF here. Castillo only costs money, and the window is starting to open for 2015.

Javy has stolen all of our names.

Right now I'd say so. Ask me again in January and I may change my mind. A 16 point to 50 point guy seems more than slight to me. It's a great deal. Dave Bolland got $5.5M in Florida. Richards is better, though older, and is signed for only one year. It gives a bridge to Teuvo and doesn't rush him, and in Chicago, Richards doesn't have to be the "man" like he did in New York. Really savvy move by Bowman. I don't think the Hawks are done. They are over the cap now, and will have to make one or two more deals.

And there it is.

That was pretty brutal. I don't even know why you pass the ball in to Bradley at that point. Put it out of bounds. Go to the corner. Sit with it on the sideline. Anywhere but the middle of the field. And Cameron had a terrible game, no doubt. It hurts to give up a goal in the 95th minute -- when there shouldn't have been that much stoppage time to begin with. But let's look on the bright side, if any of were told that we'd be on 4 points at this point prior to the start of the World Cup, we'd all have been extremely happy. Yes, we should have won. But let's be honest, we were lucky to beat Ghana. Looking ahead, I think we will hang with Germany. First, although we were a little lucky to defeat Ghana (and unlucky to not have defeated Portugal), Germany hasn't looked that awesome. Ghana was able to move in space and create chances. Plus, Germany has absolutely zero incentive to push forward too aggressively. Conservative play favors them because they win the group with a draw and still qualify against virtually any loss based on goal differential. Expect a defense-first approach by them. If we score, they'll push to equalize similar to what we saw from Portugal today. We'll get our opportunities to score, and our speed, properly deployed, can give them trouble -- see Ghana. But first and foremost, they want to win the group -- and they can win the group by simply holding down the fort and not getting outside of themselves. BTW, I actually think Portugal looked far stronger today with a younger line-up than they did with their older "experienced" line-up. Frankly, I think they fell behind and melted down against Germany. They were much more composed today. Likewise, Ghana really need to win by more than 1 goal in order to really have a chance to advance -- this will open counterattacking opportunities for Portugal, which they are, in fact, good at. Ghana can be very vulnerable to the counter.

That's not how FIFA works. No, FIFA will continue to screw CONCACAF because they can. That's how FIFA works.

True enough. There really wasn't too much by the US that deserved a card. I thought Beckerman deserved one, and maybe Bedoya for ankle biting. John Boye should have been carded for the dangerous play when he kicked Dempsey in the face. Hell, I've seen reds for less. Otherwise, not much else by Ghana, either. I thought the AR on the US right for the second half was underwhelming -- that foul call on Johnson against Menseh was terrible. They also gave way too much stoppage time. 5 mins for the second half was WAY too long. 3 mins would have been about right -- there were 4 substitutions and 2 goals, along with some small knocks on challenges. Nothing major.

I did not but whomever did is the second greatest national hero after John Brooks. Clint Dempsey did it.

Jones was amazing. Probably the best player today.

Yep. As evidence I present the fact that through the first half of one of the biggest USA soccer games in 4 years there are only like 2 pages of content, even from you soccer guys. Because there's nothing to talk about!!! Sport is a snooze fest 98 percent of the time. Yeah, no. It's because we were all drinking.

No problem at all. It's the right move. I have to think they'll bring in a new center -- 2C, if they can. Then let Teuvo break in naturally.

And, man, with Portugal's meltdown... a win here sets the table nicely. JUST WIN BABY!!

I'm feeling feelings I didn't know I could still feel as a sports fan. I've never lost sleep before a game but I did last night. Yeah, me too. The Blackhawks are my favorite team, and I never lose sleep before or after a game. But this? Man I was tossing and turning. Have to win this game. MUST WIN.

No. It's a new development but it killed in the last warm up friendly. Expect it to stick. Although it was against Nigeria, who looked awful today, it led to US domination until they started subbing at the end.

in particular, are there Brazilian cheerleaders? GIS.

You mean the soccer thread? It's kind of nice to have all soccer conversation in one gigantic thread. If you mean the weird one talking about, well I'm not sure what -- but, something. That one is fun, too.

Yep.