Well, the World Cup is over, and Italy has won. I am pleased and glad as I didn’t want the French to win. And quite frankly, after Zindane’s brutal head-butt on Materazzi, the French deserved to lose. What a piss-poor example of sportsmanship in front the whole world. True the officials have been handing out yellow and red cards like they’re on the quota system but in this case the red card was well deserved.
I am opposed to any game being decided in a shootout. I have long been a detractor of the shootout in hockey as I feel it’s very minor league. I feel no different about the Penalty Kick. It’s not the way to decide a game. There’s nothing wrong with a tie, and if you can’t have a tie, play until one team loses.
ABC’s coverage was surprisingly decent though promptly at 4:30pm EST their HDTV feed reverted to standard definition. I am assuming they didn’t buy enough satellite time. Univision’s coverage was substantially better, though they were broadcasting in a lower resolution of HDTV.
Congratulations Italy.