More TdF coverage than you can shake a stick at...
We're on a light schedule for the summer because, well, I'm busy. But we will be watching the Tour de France and hope to update that page frequently. So keep going there for updates.
Three weeks ago EURO2004 got started with Greece pulling the upset over host Portugal. After a few more upsets by the Greeks--the latest being a 1-0 extra time victory over the heavily favored Czechs in the semifinal--Portugal and Greece will square off in the championship match.
The header that sent Greece to the final
Since their tournament-opening face plant, Portugal has found its game. They've got more talent and the home field advantage. But how many times will we dismiss Greece before learning our lesson?
Two months ago if you had told me Greece and Portugal would be playing in Lisbon for the European championship, or even in Greece for a friendly, or if they would play on the moon, I would have picked Portugal. But I'm not so sure now. Greece keeps finding a way to win, and they don't care that they're not the better team on the pitch.
posted by uberschuck 7/01/2004 10:49:00 PM email
6/27/2004
EURO2004—The Final Four We’re down to the semifinals now. In the quarterfinal action Greece stunned France 1-0 and the Czechs pummeled Denmark 3-0. The other two games were draws, so we resorted to the worst possible way of determining who advances—penalty kicks. Portugal beat England in penalties in a thrilling game that featured two overtime goals after England was robbed of the game winner in the closing minutes of regulation. Holland knocked out Sweden in the other quarterfinal game.
So in the semis Portugal will take on Holland and Greece will play the Czech Republik. Up until now the Czechs have been the best team in the tournament with 4 wins and a 10-4 scoring edge. Greece is the little engine that could, and they keep pulling shockers. Portugal has had the home field advantage and is really fortunate to be alive. The Dutch seem to have stopped self-destructing. We’ve got a 50% chance of seeing a rematch in the final, as Greece and Portugal were in Group 1 in round 1 and the Dutch and Czechs were both in group 4. In those meetings Greece beat Portugal 1-0 and the Czechs overcame a 2-goal deficit to beat Holland 3-2.
As I said, the Czechs have been far and away the best team, so the smart money is on them to win (pending Nedved's injury). But since I picked Holland, I'll stand by my pick and hope the refs don't force them out the same way they did to England.
Our favorite summer sporting event is just a few days away. As God intended us to do, we'll have ultra-geeky and overly thorough commentary for all to read. We'll post it up on a separate page so that only those really interested will see our pages and pages of bike talk.
Before the race starts we'll have three preview pieces. One on the teams, one on the contenders, and one with some plausible, yet, soon-to-be-disproven predictions.
posted by uberschuck 6/27/2004 11:27:00 PM email
