I'm Baaaaaack? Didja miss me?

Wow.

April 24..really? Well neighbor..it's been too long.

What has happened since we last met here at Mike's Cyber Sports Cafe and Bait Shop? My Spurs knocked out the Mavs, then got swept by the Suns. Nice win Phoenix, enjoy your championship..oh, wait. :) The Lakers took out the Celtics in a classic seven game series, Steven Strasburg gave DC baseball fans a glimmer of hope and we all learned what a vuvuzela is.

Yes campers...Copa Mundial is well under way and I must admit, I have enjoyed it. I view the World Cup like I do the Olympics. I get into it but only when it is on and then I wait 4 years. I had three predictions for WC 2010:

1. The USA would advance from their group

2. Brazil would get its 6th cup

3. Players would be flopping more than that load of shrimp on Forrest's boat after he and Lt. Dan rode out the hurricane.

To quote a fellow Texan: "Two out of three ain't bad"

The US team not only advanced from group play, they won their group for the first time since 1930. They tied Mother England 1-1 then settled for a 2-2 tie against Slovenia (after a goal was stolen from Maurice Edu and made Koman Coulibaly a name ranked up there with Santa Anna) and finally a stoppage time 1-0 win over Algeria. Landon Donovan cemented his place in U.S. Soccer history with his follow of a Clint Dempsey miss. Then in the round of 16, they lost again to Ghana. This was the country that eliminated the US in 2006 and pulled it off again. Yeah and those "oh I've been shot" dives toward the end of the game to kill time...real classy.

OK, now I admit, my soccer experience is limited. I played YMCA soccer for 2 years when I was 9 and 10. My first question about the World Cup was "Who's mom brings the oranges?" I started watching in 1994 and liked it. I am always a USA first guy in sports so if the US is playing, I cheer the home team. I remember July 4, 1994...the US made the round of 16 and faced off against mighty Brazil. What an opportunity. The rebirth of soccer, a World Cup on American soil and facing the best team on the planet on our biggest day. Could it happen? Another Miracle on Grass? 84,000 screaming Americans...screaming for..soccer? Sadly...it was not meant to be. The Selecao prevailed 1-0 thanks to a tough shot by Bebeto and some crappy officiating (yes Priscilla....your boys got bailed out by the refs) which seems to be the norm for FIFA. Since '94 though, I have watched and enjoyed.

However, there are some things I would change. First off...ties. Soccer is loved wildly and madly by every country in the world....except ours. Well, us and Canada but do they really count? :) One reason why is that in American sports...there is a winner and a loser. There used to be ties in football but now on every level except the NFL (which...I do NOT get) ties have gone the way of the Wishbone. They play overtime after the group stage, not including stoppage time, so why not before that? These are the best futbol players in the world and as such arguably the best athletes in the world...run your asses around some more, then go to your shootout. (Which by the way, those are cool....I watched the Uruguay-Ghana one today...wow...oh yea and F-U Ghana.)

Secondly...the refereeing is horrid. Again..highest level of the sport and the refs are really bad. It's a big-ass field...add at least one more guy out there.

Finally..the aforementioned flopping. FIFA claims to have cracked down on this. Yeah, and if they think that, they are on crack. Flopping is straight up cowardice. I don't like it when my boy Manu does it but he is nowhere near as bad as these guys. If you are so weak in your game that you have to resort to bullshit tactics like that....then take up needlepoint and get your asses off the pitch.

Hey Brazil......His name is Edison Arantes do Nascimento..he wore 10....no one else should. and unless you are him....use both your names. Your mama will be happy. Kaka? Really? Tiago Splitter, the Brazilian hoops star may be coming to the US to play for this Spurs this season...I double dog DARE him to tell Popovich "call me just Tiago" How do you say "run around until I get tired" in Portugese?

Here now are my top 5 things I have liked about the 2010 World Cup:

5. The historically themed matchups you can get. England-US..how many 1776 references did we get? Also Germany against...well pretty much anyone else in Europe...two world wars give people long memories.

4. South Africa's welcome back to the world community. Good for you, Springboks. So far, its been a great show.

3. Makana FA....look it up..its a great story.

2. The US Team getting us excited..if only for a moment.

1. The passion and emotion that this event brings out. Appropriate for the Beautiful Game.

And my top 5 things that I have not liked about the 2010 World Cup:

5. Ties...see above

4. Flopping...see above

3. Sepp Blatter, head of FIFA and all-around choade. He has let the officiating go to crap and then he wanted to censor which replays were showed in the staduim as to not show up his refs? Dude...you should change the spelling of your last name to "Bladder" because you are pissing me off.

2. France. You guys won the Cup in 98 and you frickin imploded this year. You brought back all the "we surrender" jokes. Actually, it was kinda funny...maybe this should go on the other list.

1. Vuvuzelas. Yeah, I know it's "your thing" South Africa but seriously. Its about as bad as that insipid buzzing the Hornets do in their building...and look where they are. Besides...blowing your vuvu (oooh...sounds dirty!) can be harmful.

Changing the subject...NBA Free Agent Madness is upon us. Who will go where? It all starts with King James. BTW LeBron....I looked it up and in order to be called a King, you have to have a title. :D It's kind of a rule. Personally if LeBron leaves, I think he ends up in Chicago. Cleveland can pay him the most money but he really has an affection for all things Jordan so if he can win trophies in the House that Michael built, it would be the ultimate for him. Personally, if I were him, I would stay in Cleveland. They are close to being the team they need to be to get him his ring. The money is there and plus, its home. To be able to win a title in your hometown (or close enough..he is actually from Akron) is something not even MJ did.

One argument I hear for him to leave is that he will not be able to earn the "Global Icon" status that he craves. That is a load of crap. LeBron is in the unique position where he doesn't have to go to the endorsements, they come to him. You think Nike or Gatorade or whomever is going to tell him.."Sorry LBJ, we would love to pay you a buttload of cash to pimp our product but you don't live in NYC or LA" yea...right. I guarantee you that Phil Knight and whomever runs Gatorade knows exactly which way to point the G5 and visit C-Town.

One dark horse team in my opinion, is the Clippers. He knows that the only guy who can challenge him for NBA supremacy is Kobe. To battle him 4 times a year in Staples and be the sole reason people give a rat's ass about Clipper-ball? Oooh. If that were the case and if I were Donald Sterling, I would do what he should have done a few years ago..move to Anaheim. No splitting of the profits with the Lake Show and a castle that the King can have all to himself.

One possible destination is the Knicks...(in God's name kid, why?) and another player that has been rumored for the Big Apple and other places is Tony Parker. He is a free agent in 2011 and recently told the French sports newspaper L'equipe “It would be ... maybe a good challenge for me to go elsewhere. If I leave, I can make another career — eight, nine years in a different club.” Hey, I love TP but someone once said "anyone is expendable if it makes the team better" If he is not committed long term to the Spurs, then Pop needs to move him. He would be a very valuable trade asset and SA could probably get quite a bit for him. If George Hill continues to impress next season...look for Parker to be dealt prior to the trade deadline in February.

Today marks the one year anniversary of my appearance on "The Morning Drive" on the Ticket 760 in San Antonio as their guest co-host. Thank you all again for your support in helping me achieve that. This past year has not been what I had hoped but there is a new contest with Sirius Satellite Radio and Chris "mad dog" Russo which I will be throwing my hat into. Details to follow.

Good to see you again...I promise to be back sooner than later. Have a great holiday weekend. Kick back, relax, enjoy the fireworks and give your vuvu a rest.

Peace.