World Cup 2006 Pool

Victory!

2006-07-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

FINAL STANDINGS in the 2006 WORLD CUP FRIENDS POOL

KNESTRICKS (NUTMEG)- 85
KAUFMAN - 71
WOHL - 69
CARPENTER/NOLAN- 63
SCHUBIN/ESCOBAR- 62
JERVEY (PERFECT PITCH)- 62
VACANTI/KEITH (REAL MARIN)- 59
LEES (INSOMNIA)- 56
KIM- 52

Where's the love?

2006-07-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

Game Time

2006-07-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

Who will lift the Cup?

TEAM Standings with ONE match to go

2006-07-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

KNESTRICKS (NUTMEG)- 77
CARPENTER/NOLAN- 63
KAUFMAN - 63
SCHUBIN/ESCOBAR- 62
JERVEY (PERFECT PITCH)- 62
WOHL - 61
VACANTI/KEITH (REAL MARIN)- 59
LEES (INSOMNIA)- 56
KIM- 52

Italy v. France - July 9, 10:30 am PST

2006-07-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

Germany v. Portugal - July 8, 12:00 pm P.S.T.

2006-07-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this alternative site to get your world cup info.

Team Standings After Round of 4 - Italy win - France win

2006-07-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

I know you all have been missing me - but for those who couldn't add it up on your own, TEAM standings are:

KNESTRICKS (NUTMEG)- 72
SCHUBIN/ESCOBAR- 62
JERVEY (PERFECT PITCH)- 62
CARPENTER/NOLAN- 58
KAUFMAN - 58
LEES (INSOMNIA)- 56
WOHL - 56
VACANTI/KEITH (REAL MARIN)- 54
KIM- 52

Portugal v. France, July 5, 12:00 P.S.T.

2006-07-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

Germany v. Italy, July 4, 12:00 P.S.T.

2006-07-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Brazil v. France, July 1, 12:00 pm PST

2006-06-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

Italy v. Ukraine, June 30, 12:00 pm PST

2006-06-27T20:28:00.001-07:00

England v. Portugal - July 1, 8:00 am PST

2006-06-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Germany v. Argentina - June 30, 8:00 am PST

2006-06-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

POOL STANDINGS AFTER ROUND OF 16

2006-06-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

Verified errors will be corrected:

SCHUBIN/ESCOBAR- 52
LEES (INSOMNIA)- 48
KAUFMAN -48
KNESTRICKS (NUTMEG)- 48
VACANTI/KEITH (REAL MARIN)- 46
WOHL - 46
JERVEY (PERFECT PITCH)- 44
KIM- 40
CARPENTER/NOLAN- 38

Spain (1) v. France (3)

2006-06-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

Switzerland (O) v. Ukraine (3) penalty kicks.

2006-06-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Nice Work JC and Wohl - I had a feeling you were Orange Revolutions guys.

Brazil (3) v. Ghana (0)

2006-06-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Italy (1) v. Australia (0)

2006-06-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

Wohl and JC give back the ground they made.

Portugal (1) v. Netherlands (0)

2006-06-21T21:17:00.002-07:00

England (1) v. Ecuador (0)

2006-06-21T21:17:00.001-07:00

Did you see that free kick!

Those of you that have followed the blog know that one of the golden rules is "dont bet against a team for which you own gear." But, if you own the gear of both teams *courtesy of an 11th hour influence" where does your allegiance lie? Let's face it - the EPL is the league that keeps us all interested in the game that is why I am going with England in this one. Stephan Gerrard and Mr. Rooney must live up to expectations though...

Argentina (2) v. Mexico (1)

2006-06-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

Daddy! Why did you have to pick against Mexico and make them lose.

Battle in the Americas!!!

Germany (2) v. Sweden (0)

2006-06-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

When in Germany - Do as the Germans do. Can Klose add to his Cup leading scoring total?

STANDINGS

2006-06-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

Now that every team has played its second game, it's time to assess where the teams stand, which teams have already secured a birth in the knockout round, and the import of the last round of games. For those of you interested in the ins and outs of each group a succinct summary can be found here courtesy of my friends at the BBC. Read that and chew on it for a bit, and then think of who you need to be rooting for to maximize your TEAM points going into the next round.

Some of the big POOL developments from the World Cup thus far include:

Group A

1) TEAM LEES and TEAM KIM picking Ecuador to advance. This puts them plus 6 against the rest of us who were all hoping to steal 6 points with a Poland advance - duoooh!!!

Group B

2) Everyone's got England going so the question here is whether TEAM KNESTRICKS, CARPENTER/NOLAN, KAUFMAN, WOHL, JERVEY, and SCHUBIN/ESCOBAR will pick up 2 points on LEES and KIMS based on Sweden advancing and Paraguay getting left behind. TEAM VACANTI, things aren't looking that good for "Real Marin" just taking GROUP A and B into account.

Group C

3) With Argentina and the Netherlands sure to advance, CARPENTER/NOLAN, KIM, JERVEY pick up 6 points, the rest of us 4 for picking Argentina.

Group D

4) We all have Mexico and Portugal advancing so no points to differentiate us all here - check out the BBC website to see how Mexico could actually be eliminated.

Group E

5) You all know how this group is shaping up - free for all. KIM, WOHL, JERVEY have Czech advancing, the rest of us will be rooting for USA and Italy.

Group F

6) As the only team with Japan advancing and the rest of you saps picking the Croats - the key for TEAM KNESTRICKS here is for the Aussie to advance, leaving us all even in this group.

Group G

7) What happened to France? There still alive, but no wins to their name yet. TEAM VACANTI has an interesting pick here as the only TEAM to pick Korea and Switzerland to get seats at the table - the rest of us are differentiating ourselves by picking either Korea or Switzerland to advance.

Group H

8) Well my brain hurts by this point, so I'll leave it up to you to figure out - but the smart money is on Ukraine to be the team to join Spain, helping out TEAM KNESTRICKS, LEES, WOHL, VACANTI, and SCHUBIN/ESCOBAR. On the other hand, Tunisia looked awfully good for 60 minutes against Spain - TEAM KIM and TEAM KAUFMAN picked the African Cup winner to advance.

Alive and Kickin

2006-06-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Not the prettiest match against Italy, but the US secured a well deserved point. Glad they finally left a little blood and guts on the field. Now that the dust has settled it's time for the boys in blue to focus on a Ghanian side that looked dominant against the same Czech team who had the USA's number. USA and Italian simultaneous wins would be good for several TEAMS too.

Divided Loyalties?

2006-06-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

Now I'm as patriotic as the next guy - but 6 points is 6 points!

England will advance

2006-06-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hey JC - Are you related to these guys from Bromsgrove?

Ecuador and Germany advance

2006-06-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

More updates on this development, other matches, and the impact on the pool when I get a hiatus from my day job...but simply put: Team KIM and Team LEES have set themselves up very nicely for the next round by picking up eight points with Ecuador.

USA v. Czech (aftermath)

2006-06-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well that was a good ol' fashion shelacking at the hands of the Czechs now wasn't it. I'd say they were lucky except for the fact that they were faster, stronger, more skilled, more technically proficient, had more heart etc. etc.

Hmmm

2006-06-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Could the USA really do it?

And now for something completely different...

2006-06-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

I don't follow tennis that often, but I do show up for the majors. What Nadal is doing is amazing.

USA v. Czech Republic (and Day 3 wrap-up)

2006-06-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well it appears that all the US brethren that I know have led with their heart rather than their head, as every team in the WORLD CUP FRIENDS POOL has picked the USA to advance out of the first round. The buzz on the street is that that the USA must emerge with a point from this game in order to have a chance to advance. The unsaid inference here is that the USA will lose to Italy and win or tie against Ghana. Of course no one knows how those matches will go...in fact: USA has the talent to beat everyone in this group but they would be best served scratching out a point or three tomorrow. All will be settled between the lines. Betting teams with divided interests tomorrow (i.e. have Czech advancing) include: Kim, Wohl, and Jervey. The rest would be happy with a USA win. My prediction: 2-2, Donovan gets an assist.

Mexico beats Iran 3-1 (Team Schubin/Escobar team should be happy! - Hola Lucas!)

Portugal hangs on against Angola. With Ronaldo and Figo they should do better. Their coach Big Phil will be thinking tonight.

Netherlands hangs on.

2006-06-11T10:17:00.001-07:00

Netherlands v. Serbia/Montenegro is in the books with the Dutch emerging 1-0. The early second half substitution of Kezman is sure to be the subject of much discussion in Belgrade's cafes, including those off the beaten path. For those who watched on ABC/ESPN - did you count how many times the USA - Czech Republic game was hyped?

Day 2 Wrapup

2006-06-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Argentina advances as Crespo shows once again why he is worthy of one-name recognition (nice volley). Drogba will have to be at his best to advance Ivory Coast out of this group. Trinidad and Tobago hold off Sweden to earn a draw and one point. Maybe the Swedes should start rethinking those haircuts and start finishing around the box.

Downtime

2006-06-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some links to help you spend the downtime between the days matches depending on your boot of choice:

adidas

nike

puma

2006-06-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

Did you see that goal from Beckham (err Paraguay)? Looked like the Beckham from the Manchester United days huh Mikayla?

2006-06-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

But it takes some knowledge to pick Ecuador to advance. Kudos to team KIM and team LEES (aka "insomnia") who are looking good after Ecuador wins in a moderate upset of Poland. Looks like team KNESTRICK meant to pick Ecuador too. Moral of the story: Never pick against a team for which you have gear.

Germany wins opener

2006-06-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

So everyone picked Germany to advance out of the group stage - no shocker there since they are a perennial powerhouse and the home squad.

Getting Started

2006-06-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

I'm going to put everything on this blog.