WCP #30: Like the Day After Christmas

Overall, the 200 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was fantastic. Although the final match lacked some of the style I was hoping, it was an exciting match w/ a bit of drama. I was kind of pulling for The Netherlands, but Spain was clearly the better team, & it was nice to seem thee European Champions get the win. The South African Football Federation deserves boatloads of credit for hosting the tournament, a tournament that just a year ago FIFA seemed afraid would have to be moved to a more stable footballing nation like England of the USA (stable in that they could host w/ little prep time). 2014 will be in Brasil so we'll see the Brasilians win again, but then 2018 & 2022 are still up for grabs. I'm pulling for England in 2018 & the USA in 2022. I don't like the idea of 2 in the Americas in a row. The tradition of moving back & forth is a good 1 which is why I hope England gets it before us.

The prospect of looking ahead to the 2012 Euros is nice, but they're still 2 years away... I remember thinking about the next Christmas as a kid on December 26th & thinking it would never come. waiting another 2 years for a big tournament is tough, but the Premier League starts in a month & the pre-season friendlies begin in a week & a 1/2 so @ least there's that. (Here's the Goal.com article about the winners of the individual awards... no mention of the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day though... go figure.)

In terms of the World Cup Wrap Up, Thomas Muller won the Golden Boot w/ 5 goals & 3 assists. Diego Forlan won the Golden Ball, the award for the outstanding overall player of the tournament. If you'll remember, after Uruguay's draw w/ France on the opening day, I said anything they accomplish would be down to him. I didn't expect them to make the Semi-finals, & they may have overachieved a bit, but I was certainly right about him. The Golden Glove went to a player who is also the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the Final match. This was a tough decision. Iniesta's goal was nice, & it will probably overshadow his diving, but the 2 dives he took in extra time pissed me off. The 1st of which, while he was barely touched, got Heitinga sent off w/ a 2nd yellow. Fabregas certainly played well, but as he only came on in the 87th minute, I don't think he had enough time to win this award. Torres was out of sorts in each of his appearances throughout the tournament, & David Villa played well leading up to the Finals, but could have done better yesterday. The Spanish defense was fantastic, & Puyol, Pique, & Ramos all were in the running for the final award, but it's coming down to the man who stopped Robben's break-aways twice. Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals is none other than Real Madrid's outstanding goalie & Spain's El Capitan, Iker Casillas.Tears of joy after the big triple crown: World Cup Champion, Golden Glove, & Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day

WCP #29: Isaiah's B-day & a Round-Up

At 2:00ish this afternoon, people are coming by for Isaiah's big, big 2nd B-Day Blowout. He seems excited & keeps telling us that he's 2, so he seems to get it... sort of. At the same time ass his party we'll also be viewing the final match: Spain v Netherlands. Here's what I like about it. I like that the European Champions are playing a team lead by the people who starred in the Champions League Final. I like that Van Persie is playing Fabregas. We have what seem to be the best 2 teams in the world actually making it to the finals for a change. These are the teams I wanted to see make it (other than France... obviously). The biggest concern is that 1) Spain will play too defensively & 2) Fabregas won't play. He's been better than Iniesta every time he's come on, but in keeping w/ my conspiracy theory, until he moves to Spain, I don't see him breaking into the starting line-up on a regular basis.

Before we get to the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for yesterdays 3rd Place match, here's a little re-cap of all of your previous Players of the Day from the 2010 FIFA World Cup:
Day 1: Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Day 2: Tim Howard (USA)
Day 3: Mesut Ozil (Germany)
Day 4: Robin van Persie (Netherlands)
Day 5: Maicon (Brazil)
Day 6: Diego Benaglio (Switzerland)
Day 7: Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
Day 8: Michael Bradley (USA)
Day 9: Dennis Rommedahl (Denmark)
Day 10: Elano (Brazil)
Day 11: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Day 12: Katlego Mphela (South Africa)
Day 13: Landon Donovan (USA)
Day 14: Keisuke Honda (Japan)
Day 15: David Villa (Spain)
Day 16: Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
Day 17: Carlos tevez (Argentina)
Day 18: Robinho (Brazil)
Day 19: David Villa (Spain)
Day 20: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
Day 21: Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Day 22: Bert Van Marwijl (Netherlands)
Day 23: Carles Puyol (Spain)

Spain: 3
Netherlands: 3
Brazil: 3
USA: 3
Germany: 2
Argentina: 2
Uruguay: 2

David Villa is the only person so far to win it twice. We'll see how the game goes this afternoon, but we could easily get another 2 award player (or he could win it an unprecedented 3rd time). As far as Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day fo yesterday adds another one for the Germans: Bastian Schweinsteiger. This Hitler-Youth lookin' mother fucker is actually really good

WCP #28: Vacation Wap Up - The West Coast

After leaving Petoskey, we drove down the coast to Traverse City. We attempted to stop @ the Music House Museum, but they didn't open for another hour & we didn't want to wait around. Coming through Traverse City was stop & go bumper to bumper as it was the Cherry Festival. The place was packed. There was going to be an air show over the water, but again, it would have been an hour wait so we kept on cruising. we hit Sleeping Bear Dunes around 1:00, drove the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive: 7.5 miles through the woods & dunes. I'd never taken that drive before... it was beautiful w/ some really cool trails. After that, we hit the Dune Climb. Stephanie blew out her flip-flop, so she & Isaiah stayed @ the bottom while I went up w/ Aiden & Solstice. They weren't as in to it as I expected, but it was fun... & sandy. Afterwards, we had some lunch & hit the road.

We took 22 down the coast to US 31 & followed it into Manestee. What a shit town. From now on, I'll go out of my way to avoid that town. we stopped there because we were beat & needed some sleep. The Days Inn was reasonable & had a pool so we checked in & watched some TV: Bye Bye Birdie & a Greatest American Hero marathon. The next morning, Monday, we started home. We stopped in Ludington for a couple hours & then dove south to Holland for lunch. I'd always been under the impression that Holland had lots of windmills & Dutch stuff in town, but I'd never realized that it was all in amusement park type places. Stephanie didn't know this either. How did we not know this. It'd be cool to check it out if we had the whole day to spend, but w/ only an hour or so, we skipped it & grabbed a bite @ some Irish pub where Aiden got to watch the Tigers game... possibly the highlight of his trip. After we ate, we hit the road & were home in 2 1/2 hours. Isaiah @ the Dunes View from the top - Solstice is a speck on the upper left More problematic Native American imageryat the beach in Ludingtonat a stature in Holland, MI
Over all, it was a fantastic trip, probably the best vacation we've taken as a family. next time, we plan to get a room in Ludington & maybe do Holland more thoroughly. I really recommend the roadside tourist traps too. They're so camp & fun, but on to the important info... Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. From the get-go, I'd been picking Spain & The Netherlands to reach the final, but going into yesterday's match, I kind of assumed Germany would advance. I'm happy to say that didn't happen, & a big part of Spain's success was because of their rock in central defence. Not only did he score the winning goal, but his dedication & fight was fantastic from beginning to end. Therefore, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day in Carles Puyol. His team congratulates him after winning the award

WCP # 27: Vacation Wap Up - The Upper Lower

After we reentered the Lower Peninsula, we got off of I 75 & hit Fort Michilimackinac. Again, I hadn't been there since I was a kid. Aiden & Isaiah really loved it. They were running around on the deck & in the turrets making gun noises... & Isaiah started it. How did he know to do that? The archaeologists where excavating a house & were about 2 feet deep. They said they'd been working on it for 3 years & had another to go. Archeology is pretty freaking sweet! We had such a good time, I forgot to check out the score of the Netherlands v Brasil match, but I found out soon enough. We considered hitting the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, but we were hungry & needed to find some lunch. About 20 minutes from Mackinac one finds Cross Village & The Legs Inn. It's a little out of the way, but the food & the view of Lake Michigan are amazing. Authentic Polish dishes in a crazy ass stone inn. I got the Pierogis w/ Golabki & Stephanie had the potato pancakes. The waitress, a college student from Warsaw, informed me of the Netherlands victory & then we headed down Pleasant Valley Rd to the Petoskey State Park. After setting up the tent & swimming for a bit @ a proper beach, wee headed to the big Scott Bachelor Petoskey Soccer Alumni match. At the Fort
I was invited by the Rossis even though I never actually went to high school there since I'd grown up playing w/ all of those people & because my dad had a pivotal role in starting the soccer program. He was the JV coach when they started the varsity team when I was in 5th gradeish. After I moved, the team go really good & won the State Tournament a couple times. Playing in a pick-up match w/ those guys was certainly not an easy task, but it was fun. We had dinner afterwards & then headed back to camp. On Saturday, we walked around town in the AM, hit Papa Lou's for lunch w/ my parents who were in town for the soccer party too, & then drove out to Walloon Lake for some swimming. Afterwards, we drove through Boyne City & up the North shore of Lake Charlevoix to get to Charlevoix for dinner where we met up w/ my parents. Dinner @ Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips in The Villager Pub & a stop in Cherry Republic from which we scored some awesome mustard BBQ Sauce, & Cherry Almond butter.

We headed back to the campground in time to watch the fireworks from the beach w/ a few Budweisers. I'm starting to enjoy Budweiser more than I ever imagined I would. The next morning, we grabbed some breakfast, drove through the old neighborhood, & took US 31 down the coast to Traverse City. What did e do there? You'll have to check back tomorrow for the final instalment of the Vacation wrap up to find out. The Circus Shop The single greatest field on which I've ever played Watching the fireworks We have a pic of Solstice on this same rock wearing the same shirt

What? What's that you say? You say you want a Player of the Day? OK. After watching the Netherlands v Uruguay match yesterday, I've decided to make yet another unprecedented decision. Van Bronckhorst's goal was amazing, Robben & Sneijder were great, Van Persie lead the line & even got back to defend. Picking one was difficult until I realized it all came down to 1 man: The coach. Here it is, Your Visions of Ypsi Coach of the Day: Bert Van Marwijk. He made an attacking change @ the interval, bringing on Van der Vaart, & he got these guys to play together as a team. If only the French could have been so lucky. I have a feeling German will win the tournament, but I'm pulling for Spain today. I would love to see van Persie v Fabregas in the final. Embarrassed to be singled out when he assumed everyone should share the award today

WCP #26: A Quick Vacation Post While Eating Breakfast in Petoskey

We've been to St. Ignace, Tahquamenon Falls, & Mackinac, & Petoskey. We've done tons of silly touristy stuff & I got to play a pick up game the other night. A more thorough recap will follow, but for now, here is your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. I didn't get to watch the matches so we're doing something a bit unprecedented... I let my dad who is also in Petoskey make the pick: Miroslav Klose.Some people take winning this award very seriously

WCP #25: My 1st Phone Post

I'm posting from my phone using the wi-fi @ Horizon Books in Petoskey, so this will be a pretty short post. I wish Ghana had gotten by Urugauy, but I'm super happy about the Netherlands,& while I'm temped to go w/ Melo after his own goal & subsequent red card, I think that would undermine the spirit of the award. That said, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is Wesley Sneijder. Here he is looking confused & disoriented

WCP #24: Player of the Day Before We Hit the Road

Real quickly, w/o any of the witty commentary you've come to expect from all of us here @ Visions of Ypsi, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. After the Japan loss, I was expecting to go w/ someone from Spain or Portugal, but then once I saw the game, I was tempted to go w/ Landy Cakes who made a stellar appearance on Letterman last night. I think there's something less than honorable w/ that pick though so here it is, your Player of the Day, the goal scorer from the Spain v Portugal match, the 1st person to win the award a 2nd time in this tournament, David Villa.Insert your own caption here

WCP #23: Goin' Up the Country

Tomorrow we'll be leaving early for a trip to the North Country. We'll be spending the 1st night @ Straights State Park on the NE side of the Mackinac Bridge. We plan on hitting The Mystery Spot in the afternoon & then on to some swimming. Day 2 includes a cruise up to Tahquamenon Falls. I haven't been there since I was 8 or 9 years old... I'm super excited. We have a few options for the morning of the 3rd day (Friday). We may hit Michilimackinac after we get back into the Lower Peninsula. Our other options are the Oden State Fish Hatchery which is free & lunch @ Leggs Inn in Cross Village. On Friday evening, we're going to the big retirement party & alumni match for the Petoskey Varsity Soccer Coach. He's been in charge of the team since it began in the mid-80s. My dad was his JV coach back then when they were getting the team started, & he & my mom will meet us up there for the party. It should be fun to see some old friends. We'll be staying @ Petoskey State Park from which we can watch the fireworks on the 3rd. Before that, we're planning a drive to Walloon Lake & dinner in Charlvoix. Although, from a quick Googling, it appears that Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips might no longer be Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips. In which case, we'll have to improvise, possibly hitting Scalawags in Petoskey instead. On the 4th of July, we plan to drive down the coast to Sleeping Bear Dunes, & then keep on cruising until we happen upon a place to stay somewhere between Frankfurt & Manistee. All in all, it should be an awesome time, but I'll need to figure out how to catch the Brazil v Netherlands match w/o pissing off the whole family.

Speaking of soccer, I imagine most of you are awaiting the Player of the Day. Well, wait no longer for the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day in upon you. Look on his works, ye mighty, & despair! He's never won the award before, & I hazard to guess he won't again, but after getting lost in Man City & then getting shipped home to Santos, he seems to be turning his career round again. If nothing else, he ran the show yesterday so don't let it be said that we don't give credit where credit is deserved. Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day, Robinho. He's 26 but he looks like he's 21

WCP #22: Spacey-a-thon Post #3

A round-up of 8 of the Spacey films we've watched so far this summer.
*Consenting Adults (1992): This is a shit movie. It attempts to be an early-90s sex-thriller, but lacks the sex... & the thrills. The main lesson from this film is that when casting a sex-thriller, don't look to Kevin Spacey or Kevin Kline... or Mary Elizabeth Mastantonio. It borrows a bit from Vertigo, but the main difference here is that Vertigo is a great film.
*Swimming w/ Sharks (1994): It's worth watching to see Brett from Pulp Fiction (the guy who gets his head blown off) & Ensign Ro get yelled @ by Spacey. It's a pretty 1 dimensional film, but the twist @ the end surprised me. Avoid it.
*The Ref (1994): When this came out, it was billed as Dennis Leary's springboard to super-stardom. I don't know that that ever really happened. It was about what I expected... Home Alone w/ obscenities. I'd heard a lot about it, but it didn't live up to the hype.
* The Big Kahuna (1999): We watched this about 10 years ago, & I really liked it then. It's certainly the best of the 1st batch here, but it has some problems. It must be a really cool play though. If you haven't seen it, we get 3 salespersons in a hotel room during a conference. The 1st act occurs before a big party, & then the 2nd act occurs after the party. In that regard, it reminds me of David Storey's play, The Changing Room, about a rugby team before the game, during the interval, & after the game in the locker room. There are also hints of Waiting for Godot which are always fun.
* K-PAX (2001): This is a really interesting movie, but the relationship between the Jeff Bridges character & the Mary McCormick character just doesn't work. it's a fun discussion of science & sanity, but nothing too mind-blowing.
* The Shipping News (2001): I'd heard a lot about this & had always wanted to see it. It didn't live up to expectations, but it is alright. On the plus side, the music & cinematography are beautiful. On the negative, there are too many tear-jerky, melodramatic twists... the kid sold into black market adoption, the family rape, the prostitute who dies in a car crash. The novel upon which it is based won the Pulitzer, but the plot seems more like a Jodi Picoult straight from the head-lines crap-fest. See it, but ignore the ridiculous twists & focus on Spacey acting his ass off & the beauty of Newfoundland.
* Superman Returns (2004): I hated this when I saw it a few years ago, but it holds up pretty well. The plot is ridiculous, & Lex Luthor as a shadey con artist who marries for money is weird, but Spacey is great as Luthor. The other actors are forgettable, but if & when Spacey gets his wish... ie.: a sequel, I'll see it.
* Shrink (2009): This is a fun movies, but nothing too remarkable. Spacey plays a psychiatrist to the stars in Hollywood, but his wife has recently killed herself & he's as depressed as his patients. The cast is good, it's got some funny &/or touching moments, but it's a pretty forgettable film.

This has been the round-up of the first 8... 1/6 of his films. We've watched 8 others & have 32 more to go this summer. We'll see if we make it through them all. It's already becoming a bit of a chore.

And now, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. I saw neither match yesterday so I have to base this on the highlights & the match reports, but I'm happy to report that the Argentine striker who I could afford for my fantasy team netted twice (as did Jim in his last appearance for The Green Team before his big move to Chicago)while Messi was pretty silent. Mexico seemed to have the same problem w/ Argentina that Arsenal had w/ Barcelona in the 1st match a couple months ago... they could shut down Messi, but then couldn't stop all those other goals from flying in from everywhere. So here you go; for the day England was eliminated by Germany... no big surprise what-so-ever... Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is Carlos Tevez.here he is... looking even stranger than usual

WCP #21: The Day After

Yesterday evening, we had a fantastic time w/ friends, beer, & Mexican Slayrides. We hung out around the bon-fire for a few hours, & I got some fucked up beliefs about a certain colleague who will remain nameless here confirmed. I also learned that Joe, as a Twain scholar, is the embodiment of the patriarchy (I always kind of assumed that too).

Earlier in the day, before the hopes & dreams of our entire nation were crushed by shit-ass performances by Ricardo Clark & Robbie Findley, I nearly finished the Hen House. Before that, I got to watch the S. Korea's hopes & dreams get crushed in a similar manner. When I woke up yesterday, I was hoping I'd get to give The Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day Award to Landy Cakes or Dempsey, but that was not to be. Instead, we need to go w/ the man responsible for picking apart the S. Korean defense, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day: Uruguayan footballer, Luis Suarez Happy to face Ghana rather than the USA

WCP #20: You Slay Me

Come on by this afternoon to watch the USA Ghana match & enjoy a few Mexican Slayrides for my big B-Day celebration, or come on by this evening to sit by the bon-fire & enjoy a few Mexican Slayrides for my big B-Day celebration. Either way, come on by. Before that, I'll be working on the Hen House some more & we may mosey on up to the Luna Lake thing @ Prospect Park. The USA match this afternoon should be a good one, or a least not the snooze-fest that we saw yesterday. Portugal's tactics worked, but they certainly didn't allow for much of the champagne football we here @ Visions of Ypsi demand. Spain produced some of said champagne football, but by they end only Fabregas was really trying to create something interesting. Had he been on for the whole match, he'd certainly have won himself another award, but as it stand, we have to go w/ the man who had the vision to put in a 50 yarder & then work his ass off to get the assist to Iniesta for the 2nd goal. Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the day: David Villa. He's excited because he heard there may be Slayrides this afternoon

WCP #19: Hens & the Blue Samurai

I've never been the most handy of people, but when we got the chickens the other day, I realized it was down to me to make something in which they can live. I looked @ a few pictures of coops & hen houses, learned the difference between coops & hen houses, & made a trip to the hardware store. W/ a pile of 2x4s, a box of screws, some ply-wood, a couple rolls of poultry netting (chicken wire) & a circular saw in tow, I went to work. After working for hours & hours yesterday, I've got the run, a protective area for them to hang out & graze around the yard, finished. It's 6' long & triangular. I'll attach the house to the end this weekend before the USA v Ghana match. They won't start laying until the fall so I have some time to tweak it a bit; I'll post some pics once it's finished. This is by far the biggest construction project I've ever undertaken. we'll see how it goes.

The other thing we'll see is how The Blue Samurai do in the knock-out round. They impressively made it passed the Danes yesterday, & while Van Persie & Sneijder both had great games for the Dutch yesterday, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day Award goes to a man whose family are no strangers to competition. His brother was an Olympic wrestler & his uncle was an Olympic canoeist. I've never met someone who would say something to the effect of "Canoeing for fun is fine, but I need to go to the Olympics to really canoe"? I don't think I knew it was an Olympic sport. That's awesome. And now, having scored a sweet free-kick & then making the goal @ the end, you Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day, Keisuke Honda.Groundbreaking! He is the 1st Asian to win the award

WCP # 18: Tigers & the Knock Out Round

In 1984, a kid down the street from us got a puppy. It was a poodle, I think, & annoying as Hell. Said kid, David Carlson, who went on to be in Bill Clinton's security detail (@ least that was the rumor... I haven't spoken w/ him since 1988), in a fit of excitement, named it Gibby after Kirk Gibson who had just lead the Tigers to a World Series victory. Well, Aiden made a similar move yesterday afternoon. I wasn't able to watch the USA match so he was tasked w/ Facebooking anything important so I could read along on my phone. Afterwards, Little Clint Dempsey (the chicken) became Landy. Just 2 short years ago he was sitting in as a guest poster on this very blog. What an amazing rise he's had. Klose could have netted a hat trick, gone in goal for a red-carded keeper, stopped a penalty & then split the atom @ his press-conference... he didn't have a chance to pick us the award today. Landy Cakes' stoppage time winner not only sees the USA through to the next round, but they go through as the #1 team & avoid Germany in the Knock-out Round. If they get passed Ghana (& they should) they'll face either Uruguay or S. Korea in the Quarter-Finals, & I think they can beat both of those teams. All in all, Landy's late winner then means by avoiding Germany, they should be favorites to advance through to the Semis. I gotta admit, I didn't see that coming a few weeks ago, so Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is none other than Landy Cakes himself, Landon Donovan.Some people celebrate winning this award more enthusiastically than others

WCP #17: Team USA

Watching the French team implode was pretty fun, but not fun enough to make up for the fact that my beloved Bleu went home home w/ 1 measly point. Gourcouff's Red Card was a bit harsh, but obviously, that's only the tip of an enormous iceberg of problems in the team. Overall, it was one hell of a ride. Now we can look ahead to the 2012 European Championships w/ Laurent Blanc @ the helm. Here's to hoping the US squad can pull off something a bit more positive. One would think they should be able to get by Algeria, but one would have thought that Spain would beat the Swiss, Brazil would take apart N. Korea by more than 1 goal, Germany would beat Serbia, & of course the French.... There have been some weird surprises; let's hope today doesn't give us another one.

And your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day, again, doesn't go to a French player. I was hoping to be able to give it to Ribery after he scored 7 goals & took the French through, but that was never likely. Instead, we have to go w/ a S. African who worked his ass off & sealed the fate of Les Bleu by bundling in the 2nd goal yesterday: Katlego Mphela He loves Neil Peart

WCP #16: A pinch of grain lasts the wee beasties for a day*

On Sunday evening, Stephanie informed me that her friend had some chickens that needed a home. She's been talking about her desire to get chickens for quite some time, but I didn't think we'd really do it. After my class today, I'm off to the store to get stuff to build a coop & play area (wood, screws, chicken wire, etc.) They're actually pretty hilarious, & once they start laying eggs, we should be ready to eat the hell out of some eggs. According to Wendy (big props to her for helping us get set up yesterday), w/ the 4 we have we should expect about a dozen a week which is about what we go through now, but if it works out, we may need to get a couple more. Aiden named his Dempsey, a name w/ which I am totally down. Solstice went w/ Jar Jar because she (the chicken, not Solstice) is really fucking dumb... & here we are talking about levels of dumbness I've never experienced before... they're all pretty fucking dumb... they're chickens after all). Stephanie seems to be leaning towards Chewbacca, the Rhode Island Red, because it is bigger & browner than the rest (I know, "That's what she said"). For the 4th, I was leaning towards Zidane (or Domeneche), but now I'm rethinking it. I'll have to wait. These are the names in the running: Zidane, Domeneche, Shaft, Ming the Merciless, Dora, & Swiper (Isaiah seems a little afraid of the idea of one named Swiper though). I'll post more pics once I finish their new abode this afternoon or tomorrow. *[[The title has been changed because I had the quote wrong... we now have a different Montgomery Scott quote in its stead... & it's not really a very accurate claim because they eat everything.]]And now, what you've all been waiting for... your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day! Spain clearly looked better than in their 1st match, & Villa's brace was nice, but Portugal's man-handling of N. Korea was something to behold. I 1st became aware of this guy 4 years ago when he won a "Leshlush Player of the Day" award, & Don S. was totally crushing on him. While he only scored @ the end, he dictated the pace of the game, got an assist, & generally proved why he's considered one of the best in the world. Of course, before he scored, he caught the ball on the back of his neck, rolled it down to his foot, & passed it into the net. The neck trap looked accidental, but still, it was pretty amazing. So w/o further ado, the 1st person to win the award @ two consecutive World Cups, Cristiano Ronaldo. On his knees in celebration... of this award

WCP #15: Matsuchan & Vuvuzela

After the Verde FC match yesterday morning, a match in which I blew out the inside left big toe of my boots, I went w/ Elizabeth, Dan, & Sammy to Matsuchan, the new ramen shop @ Ford Rd. & Sheldon in Canton. (Check out the review on Yelp. I went w/ the Tofu/Vegetable ramen which may have been a mistake. The salt broth was pretty bland. Both Dan & Elizabeth got much better stuff. I don't recall what Dan got (it was really good though), but Elizabeth got the Soba/Miso Salad & it was awesome. The place is tiny & uber-authentic. Go there.Afterwards, we hit Soccer World on Canton Center. I scored a new pair of boots to replace the blown out toe & I scored some Vuvuzela for the kids. They came to the Green Team match & had a great time blowing them on the side-lines. As for the shoes, I got some Diadoras that were on 1/2 off clearance which was pretty cool. I wore them for the 1st 1/2 & then switched back to the old ones to avoid the blisters while I'm breaking them in. I think they'll work out well.

And now, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. a big part of me (but not my cock) wanted to go w/ Patrice Evra for unifying the French squad against Domeneche. I'm loving the melt-down & their willingness to air their dirty laundry on such a grand stage. I think it should really go to someone who actually played yesterday though, which leaves us 2 options. Fabiano finally shined up his scoring boots, but the 1st was lucky & the 2nd was the result of his use of his hand... twice. If Henry is a villain for putting Ireland out w/ a hand-ball, Fabiano must be seen in a similar way. Cote d'Ivoire was looking likely to score until he put in a 2nd which changed everything. They are unlikely to progress now (especially w/ Portugal's hammering of N. Korea while I write this). Of course, they're just Cote d'Ivoire & he's not French so it will go relatively unnoticed. But not by me. This leaves us w/ the 2nd option, a man whom I never would have expected to get this prestegious award. He scored Brazil's 3rd goal, work his ass off, & wass then taken out after a nasty tackle on his shin: Elano. Revolution has come... time to pick up the gun

WCP #14: Father's Day, Food, & The Beatles

Since Dan & I have 2 matches today, the family celebrated Father's Day yesterday by watching games (& Support Your Local Sheriff) & BBQing @ my parents' house. And we continued our attempt to eat our way though the Nations of the World Cup. We had huevos rancheros for breakfast (Mexico) & then enjoyed Shrimp on the Barby (Australia) & skewered Ground-Nut (peanut) & Coffee encrusted beef w/ baked yams. Grinding the peanuts w/o turning it into peanut butter was tricky, but then mixing in ground coffee, red pepper flakes & chili powder was easy (Western Africa: Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, & Ghana). It turned out really well & everyone seemed to like it, but I think I just don't like steak much, which is fine, because after this experiment ends, I think i may need to revert to vegetarianism for a while again (other than for our vacation & during Celtic Fests). For dinner the night before, Stephanie brought Roast Duck w/ garlicky red-skin potatoes up to Nicola's for me (France). Along w/ England & USA, this mans we've covered 7 of he 32 countries so far. We may actually be able to do this.

For Father's Day, my parents got me World Cup 2010: An Indispensable Guide to Soccer & Geopolitics. The analysis is a bit biased & informal, but the chapters about history & politics are fascinating. There are also fun facts about each country. Plus, there is an inexplicable reference after each squad's analysis to the Beatles song that most closely represents the aforementioned squad. They aren't explained & quite often make no sense... I like it a lot. Of course, USA, England, & Brazil make sense.
*Mexico: "I Should Have Known Better"
*S. Africa: "When I Get Home"
*France: "Tell Me What You See"
*Uruguay: "Helter Skelter"
*Argentina: "come Together"
*Nigeria: "Please Please Me"
*S. Korea: "Don't Pass Me by"
*Greece: "Get Back"
*England: "Carry that weight"
*USA: "I Me Mine"
*Slovenia: "Nowhere Man"
*Algeria: "It's All too Much"
*Germany: "I'll Get You"
*Ghana: "Getting Better"
*Australia: "You Know What to Do"
*Serbia: "Slow Down"
*Netherlands: "W/ a Little Help from My Friends"
*Denmark: "I Feel Fine"
*Cameroon: "I've Got a Feeling"
*Japan: "All Together Now"
*Italy: "when I'm 64"
*Paraguay: "All I've got to Do"
*Slovakia: "You Know My Name"
*New Zealand: "I'm a Loser"
*Brazil: "Free as a Bird"
*Cote d'Ivore: "Run for Your Life"
*Portugal: "Let it Be"
*N. Korea: "Do You Want to Know a Secret"
*Spain: "We Can Work it Out"
*Switzerland: "I'm Only Sleeping"
*Chile: "Bad Boy"
*Honduras: "Help"

And now, your Visions o Ypsi Player of the Day. He led the Danes in their fight-back to be only the 10th team in World Cup history to record a come-from-behind victory. Bendtner feels he should get the award, but it goes to Matthew McConaughey... no, I mean Danish geriatric Dennis Rommedahl!A round of applause for all of the previous winners

WCP #13: Deep Space & Deep Frustration

We went out to the Savoy last night to see Deep Space. It'd been a couple years since we last saw them. The rain seemed to keep people away... there was a very small crowd, but over the last 2 years, they've gotten much tighter & more inventive. The opening band, Mr. Shiz (or something like that) was alright; they came complete w/ a sax player & a Seger cover. I wonder if they also did Springsteen tunes before we got there. I also wonder what inspires people in 2010 to put together an A Street/SIlve Bullitt type band. Deep Space's setlist was cool, but I can't remember it as precisely as I'd like. They opened w/ "The Mighty Quinn," played "Mexicali Blues" 2nd or 3rd & and early "Chinatown Shuffle" that confused a lot of people. They also played an interesting "Wish you Were Here" that nearly fell apart right before the vocals start, but they pulled it together nicely. Stephanie claims I put that song on some mix-tape for her when I was 18. I guess the message I was sending to her was "I wish you hadn't blown your mind on acid so we could still record music together." What was I thinking? Other highlights included a long "Estimated," a funky "Hard to Handle," a cool "Up On Crippled Creek," & I think they closed they closed w/ a fun "Franklin's">"Throwin' Stones." I hope we don't have to wait another 2 years to see them, but Sean claimed they may be taking some time off soon, so we'll see. As far as The Savoy is concerned, they still need to make some changes if they want to become a cool venue for live music. 1) better beer 2) better prices 3) glasses instead of plastic mugs 4) locking the door from the bar next door so random Tucker Maxesque frat boys can't aimlessly wander through looking to get laid.

Speaking of improvements that need to be made, the ref in yesterday's USA v Slovenia match could have done a better job (the USA could have done a better job in the 1st half too, but come on!) His name is Koman Coulibaly, & you can hate him by joining "Yanks who Hate Koman Coulibaly" here. This guy deserves 10x the vitriol that was spewed @ Jim Joyce. At least the Tigers still won that game & it was just one in a long season. This is the World Fucking Cup! Taking the win away w/ such a shite call is unacceptable. Unacceptable I say! What would Jackie Chiles say? "Unacceptable, inexcusable... incomprehensible!" And this brings us to what you've been waiting for... Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. After a piss poor 1st half, but before a piss-poor entire game from England, the USA fought back to draw w/ Slovenia 2-2. Landy's goal was pretty sweet, but it was the holding midfielder who dug in & really pushed before getting the equalizer himself. Edu was robbed, but Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is Michael Bradley. (He's the 1st person so far to get the award after having also gotten it @ the 2009 Confederations Cup... I'll have to check the archives to see who won @ the 2008 European Championships.) Check him out... telling the ref what's up

WCP #12: Domeneche is a Dumb-Ass Douche

hThey're 2 games in & sitting on 1 point. The French team has too much individual talent to be the shite-squad they have become. Raymond Domeneche has them playing like a bunch of assholes. No team w/ Anelka, Malouda, Ribery, Gourcuff, & Henry should be able to play 2 matches against seemingly lesser competition w/o scoring. Of course, Abidal's 2 howlers didn't help the situation, but the blame for this really rests w/ the coach. I've been calling for his sacking since 2006. They lost in the finals then because of his stupid mistakes. (If you recall, Zidane had dislocated his shoulder & was asking for a sub, but RD the DB took off Henry instead... Materazzi was then able to punch him in the shoulder & talk shit which led to his dismissal which led to the penalty shoot-out w/o Zidane or Henry.) I called for him to be fired after their piss-poor display @ Euro '08 & during their piss-poor displays in qualifying for WC 2010. They still have a slight chance to get through the group, but they need to win big against Algeria & Mexico needs to win big against Uruguay which won't happen because for Mexico & Uruguay to go through, they both only need a draw.

One wonders how Derrida would have reacted to this match? "This therefore will not have been a match at all, but some other de-centered thing." Jean Paul Sartre? "The match itself is a representation of the vast nothingness into which each individual has been plunged" (I think he'd be right). Luce Irigaray? "There is a masculist ideology underlying the result of the match which must be re-contextualized in order to decenter the loss & decenter the language in general." Foucualt? "The culturally constructed opposition between winning & losing will be shown to have been collapsed like the oppositions between gay & straight, sane & crazy, powerful & powerless, etc." Hélène Cixous? "The phallogocentrism represented in sport from the highest levels of FIFA to the lowliest American blogger is always being subjected & deconstructed by the Écriture féminine. Baudrillard? "The match is the similacra for the world, but the world is therefore the similacra for the match; origin & simulation are cast aside & the winners & losers therefore don't matter. Paul de Man? "I must call into question the very claim that the match ever actually took place." If it were only that simple. (And Karl Marx is arguing off-sides).

The USA plays this morning & I'll have to miss the match. I'm not pleased about that, but c'est la vie. It suddenly looks like they have a better chance to progress through the tournament than the French. I assumed they'd get out of the Group Stage, but after they're draw w/ England, they could actually finish top & avoid Germany in the Round of 16. That's pretty sweet. of course, another team worth avoiding for as long as possible looks to be Argentina. Maradona has suddenly done something right & they're clicking. Of course, this brings us to the meat & potatoes of this post. It was a tough call because Messi played really well, but it's hard to ignore a hat-trick, even when other people really made the goals, so Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is Gonzalo Higuaín. Licking his lips in anticipation of their match against Greece & then theit match against whoever wins France's group

WCP #11: Spain WTF?

Spain's shock loss to Switzerland brings us our 1st real piece of drama. I haven't been quite as disheartened by the style of play as many in the media claim to be, but it's nice to see something weird once in a while. The fact that brazil only beat the Democratic People's Republic 2-1 was about as shocking as things had gotten. I wonder if things would have been different for Spain had the coach used Fabregas as more than a book-end on the bench w/ Valdes to keep Reina from rolling off the end. Furthermore, I wonder if there is some sort of conspiracy. It's long been known that to play for Italy, one needs to play in the Serie A. Could the same thing be happening in La Liga. If Fabregas wants to get his rightful spot in the La Roja, he may need to make that switch to Barcelona. In fact, the Royal Spanish Football Federation may be forcing his hand. Even if that isn't the case, something strange was going on... & that strangeness might just come down to 1 man, the man who saw his team out-shot 24-8, & the man who let none of those shots into the net, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day: Diego Benaglio.Nice hands, brother