Running and Diving at The World Cup

Running and passing. Avoiding a tackle. Heading a forty meter flighted ball in an intended direction. Catching that pass with your foot dead on the spot. These are the skills we marvel at this month. But that also brings up the dreaded diving.
There is no question but that it is a real and pernicious part of the game. Strikers writhing in pain only to pop up and sprint full speed twenty seconds later. I'm here to argue that the running that world-class soccer players do is knife edge physiology.
I once heard a former college champion tennis player talk about his experience as the 'hitting partner' for a pro at a tournament in California. All the really top guys have their own entourages etc. and don't need to recruit locals for this job. But this pro was ranked around 110 in the world and had to find a local. This former champ was it. This local said to the effect that the difference in skill and power between himself and the pro was so vast that he scarcely regarded the game he was playing and the pro was playing as the same! That is the thing to remember. A professional is different. Evolution has separated the species.
When you see Robben charging down the field he is doing an extremely complex task. He is running full bore, extending every stride to cover the most ground. He is precariously balanced in this motion. One misstep and he is down and that is what happens when that opposing boot just clips his instep. Imagine walking a tightrope with someone hacking at your ankles. There are dives and then there are those little clips.

FIFA

FIFA is an organisation of Sepp and by his underlings and for unlimited junkets. When you understand that FIFA has more members that the United Nations, you can see how this happened. It is nothing but a kleptocracy that exists for itself. 
FIFA lives off the fees that are generated by the 'events' that are granted it's imprimatur. 
So they have to maximize the return with many teams and many events.
The first clue is to look at the United Kingdom. FIFA divides this Nation into four separate entities for membership purposes thus increasing the revenues by 400 %.
Scotland (Act of Union 1707), Wales (Laws in Wales Acts 1536-1543) and Northern Ireland (1800 Act of Union) are for every other purpose known to man or nations one. But not to FIFA. And they play into the old grievances in the bargain. In Scotland, come World Cup time it's "..anyone but England..".
There's no land too small or obscure that isn't a FIFA member or a Confederation member or a wannabe being talked up in Geneva. Purely for sport mind you. Never mind the 'fees'.
Martinique, Yap, Zanzibar, Sardinia. The list is impressive to any geography crank!
The events that are official FIFA tournaments is truly impressive. On FIFA's site they list 14 tournaments and these are just finals. Think of the thousands and thousands of qualifiers that have to be played just to get to Worlds. Then all the Confederations have their own internal competitions. The number of games that carry the FIFA label is immense. And remember every game sends money to Geneva!

France is Too French

Now that Sarkozy has entered the fray over the debacle in South Africa by Les Blues and making it a question of national pride he has been smacked by FIFA. One of the few areas that FIFA has done good work is the total resistance to any political meddling.
But this is not the French way. Honneur! Fiertie! Nation! As if France held such an exalted position on the World stage that any scuffing of its shoes is letting down the side as everyone looks to France for moral guidance. Typical Gallic hubris. 

Anosognosia

The reason that morons don't know they're morons is because, well.. they're morons. 
I have used this explanation for years and today I discovered it has a formal name in the field of psychology. 
NYT has the full article.

Vaccinations

Kevin Drum has a good article on a pertussis outbreak in California and the usual suspects response.
Did the Anti-Vaccine Movement Help Create a Whooping Cough Epidemic?
Read the article and my comments.

McChrystal and Trust

In twenty five words or less, Obama went to the mat to back McChrystals strategy when all around him were saying less, not more. And this is the way he pays him back? 
Bloviate all you want, simply put, McChrystal overestimated his value as the indispensable man. Hubris is a m.....f.....r! 

USA!!!!!

Whew!!! From the outhouse to the penthouse in 15 seconds!! 
The offside call on Dempsey was pathetic. If the touchline judge can't see him, then he has to be even with the last defender. Hence, not offsides!  

Best Ever?

All too frequently during this World Cup various commentators accompany Maradona with "all-time great", " all-time goal", "best" etc. It seems that it is almost the default modifier for Maradona. This is an all too familiar problem with any comparison between now and then. We all have a tendency to remember today and forget yesterday. 
How about Alfredo de Stefano? Eusebio? Garrincha? Beckenbauer? Puskas? Pele?
Compare this age old conundrum to basketball. Both games are team games and the ultimate definition of a team game is championships. Who holds the record for North American  professional sports championships with Henri Richard? Here's a hint. It isn't Michael Jordan. And throw in two NCAA championships.

Miscellaneous World Cup Musing

Corner Kicks
Haven't these players figured out yet that all the too far corner kicks are because of the ball?
The solution is to station a man further down the end line to keep play there. The ball flies so far that if you ease up the power of the kick it will be an easily defended floater. Play wider!
France 
L'estat c'est moi!  The French debacle is indeed the direct result of the bad juju they opened on the night of November, 19, 2009! It will be locusts and brimstone until, I guess the requisite seven years of plague and all so, 2017. Now the comical Gallic spouting and emoting and "E'galitie'". Send the whole squad back on the first plane to Orly! The French can turn any criticism into a Opera bouffe' where they are all wounded pride and end of the world cultural death. 
Win, Lose or Draw
In the format of Group Stage qualifying, you need more than just a result! If you are in your second game and you have NO points from the first, to LOSE by a 'respectable' score is madness. You have to push forward with the whole team. Three nil is the same as one nil!
Mexico vs Uruguay
West Germany vs Austria. 1982. The infamous "waltz' to a result that let both teams advance. Well... Tuesday will make that previous game look like mutual nuclear destruction. With a nod and a wink, Mexico and Uruguay will put on their best thespian robes and give a simulacrum of a game. Five points for all and Good Luck in the next game!

Spain vs Switzerland

Well... this certainly throws a monkey wrench in Espnanas coronation plans! They had enumerable chances and couldn't score. Definitely against the run of play but that's one of the beauties of this game.


More Better Ball
Maicons goal. The replays showed this new ball going sideways with reverse spin!! It was like low English on a cue ball!

More Soccer Ball

During yesterdays match between Holland and Denmark there was a free kick given to Denmark about 33 meters from goal. The ball was set in front of goal towards the left side of the goalmouth. What the replay of this kick showed was magical.
Pardon my simple sketch but there is nothing for the Mac in an inexpensive CAD/Drawing program.

 This ball flight was struck by a right footed player. Imagine a right handed pitcher throwing a curve ball to the right goal post. The ball was following the classic parabola at the top of its  flight, 10 o'clock down to 4 o'clock. Suddenly the ball curved upwards and to the right. The ball changed course 180% !!! 

Down

My internet connection has been down (I'm @Atlanta Library branch) for two days so I won't bother to post old WC news. Hope to be up to speed shortly.

New Zealand vs Slovakia
Dull affair till the tying goal in extra time!

Soccer and Violence

Kevin Drum has a question on his blog, Why is Soccer so Violent?
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/06/why-soccer-so-violent

What the average American doesn't understand is the role of class in the rest of the world. Drop yourself in the middle of London. Largely white anglo-saxons right? Wrong! Every last one of them are constantly calculating the class of all the other ones.
Ask for directions. The accent of the speaker is referenced against a hundred types and regions. Oxbridge. Scouse. Midlands. Cornwall. Glasgow etc. And everyone of these people has an allegiance to a football club.
I won't get into all the shades of the London clubs and their followers but point to the classic rivalry of Rangers and Celtic FC. Catholic and Protestant in a town where Culloden is still remembered today.
Once upon a time it could get you killed!

Third Day

Algeria vs Slovenia
A desultory affair that revealed little of future promise for either team. Slovenia is top of Group C with the red card decided win. Algeria's Ghezzal managed to enter the game at the 52' mark and leave at the 72nd. We'll see how they do against USA and England


Serbia vs Ghana
Hardmen vs elegance. Serbia had some excellent chances early. Another red card decision.
Serbia amassed four yellow cards and the red. Plus numerous fouls. Pulling and grabbing and tripping etc. Sort of like Philly Flyers in the 70s.


Germany vs Australia
A clinic by Germany. The game was a chaser after two-nil and Cahill's red card sealed it.
The revelation was Mesut Oezil for Germany! Confident and comfortable. A danger inside 30 meters. Also Lahm was such a stabilizing force at right back. Schweinsteiger forceful and disciplined. Chipperfield for Australia prevented it being 7-nil.

Second Day

South Korea vs Greece
Greece petulant. South Korea tireless. That's it. When you saw Greece's keeper grabbing a fellow teammate and shaking him like a suspected criminal, all over! Park confirmed why he is a valuable member of ManU.


Argentina vs Nigeria
Maradona is the preening rooster still. Standing on the touchline all game, wildly waving and jumping. Enough emoting for a beginners lesson at Actors Studio.
Messi seemed to have a chance every two minutes. Well taken header by Heinze. 
Nigeria broke loose but they were all solo runs. Except for long weighted passes, no buildup.


USA vs England
Whew!! Four minutes in and it looked like a long night. USA showed great resilience.
Donovan and Howard and Cherundolo and DeMerit!
The GOAL. Even a master carpenter hits his thumb once a decade. But to hit your thumb in front of two billion people? In time poor Green will leave this vale of tears, and how do you think the second line of his obituary will read?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Well... I went out this morning before the crack of dawn (these 7:30 AM games have reconfigured my schedule) to get my NYT. Went to three different places. No NYT! I finally relented and bought the the local fish wrapper. Got home and pulled out the sports section for news of our massive day. NOTHING! Then I remembered one of the many reasons I don't buy this rag. The paper marked Sunday June, 13, 2010 is published on Friday night. so it can be on the stands for Saturday purchase. This paper is 36 hours old by Sunday at 6:00 AM!

The paper itself is one half fliers and coupons and one half editorial anyway. Terrible layout. Horrible mixing of 20 different fonts on the same page. No header alignment. Civic boosterism of a shameful fawning attitude. The old Atlanta Journal under Ralph McGill had a great reputation for fearlessness during the Civil Rights days. This current edition is a shadow of those times. Lesson relearned.

WC 2010 review to follow

WC 2010 First Day

Mexico vs South Africa
Mexico is not going to get out of Group A. They were pathetic in all aspects of play. Organization. Passing. Finishing. The square passing at the back six was unworthy of a Jr. High team. Slow buildup allowed the RSA speed to more than make up for any defensive deficiencies. And the substitution of Blanco in the second half?! He put on display everyone of his thirty eight years with the grace and speed of  an assisted living facility member. RSA were dangerous with their speed and daring. The old adage of allowing an underdog to stay in the game is going to bite one of their next opponents.
Uruguay vs France
An evenly matched affair with a deserved draw for both sides. Forlan needs better service.
The one eye opener was Ribery. The breakout star of 2006 was a shadow of that player. Sprinter speed was his hallmark and since his injury he is just slightly above average and he does not have the ball skills to make up for it.

New Ball WC 2010

Why are there dimples on a golf ball? Why do the stitches on a baseball affect the way it moves when it is thrown or batted?
Reynolds numbers ( density of the fluid ie; air) , Magnus forces, velocity of the soccer ball etc. A totally smooth sphere will 'knuckle" due to asymmetric forces at the laminar flow boundary. The picture of the ball shows very shallow 'seams'. This ball will move in unusual ways in flight vs. the ball with more seams that are deeper.

You will see some very strange replays at this World Cup!!
Coincidently, an excellent book is The Physics of Baseball by Dr. Robert K. Adair, Harper & Row 1990. In a very real sense, baseball is played the way it is because there are raised stitches on a baseball.

Good on Ya' Woody

See... everyone wants to be a football hero!
http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Woody-Harrelson-penalty-kick-master?urn=sow,246022
When you wake up in the morning and shake the sleep from your eyes, imagine that you kicked the ball past the bloody keeper to win the World Cup!!
The rest of the day is a walk past Anfield and they are all calling your name. No better way to shake the blues. Or greens. Or REDS!

Confederate History

With all the flapdoodle about the recent Confederate History Month proclamation in Virginia I want to point you to the preeminent work on the Antebellum South. 
The Road To Disunion by William W. Freehling. (two volumes; Oxford University Press)  

Professor Freehling masterfully shows that when you talk about the South you have to ask "Which one?". Upper South? Middle? Lower? Uplands? Coast? Tidewater? Piedmont? Old? New? The South before the Civil War was a decidedly inhomogeneous region.
 And South Carolina was an exception to them all! Mainly settled by planters from Barbados, the coastal earls summering in Charleston were decidedly superior (they thought!) to any of their neighbors, in state or out. The fire-eaters that came of age during Nullification, and after, were constantly pushing towards a government apart while every one else was trying to pull back from that precipice. 
Robert Barnwell Rhett ( almost named for the part) and his fellow secessionists were going to turn their vacillating brothers or die trying. No compromise. And NO John C. Calhouns need apply! 

Baseball Is Not Perfect

Bruce Weber has a great article in NYT Week In Review :

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/weekinreview/06weber.html?ref=weekinreview

He makes the vital argument that one of the many joys of baseball is that it is not perfect.

In this day of nanosecond parsing and .000001/m² measurement, that a game on a human scale is not antediluvian but comforting. Read it