Tournament honors

A young man tried to kill Trump but only wounded him slightly. Bystanders were hurt; one was shot dead. The attacker himself was killed. Investigators say his motive remains unclear.

Of course this tragedy is more important than soccer, but I don’t know what else to say about it.

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Congrats to Spain and Argentina for winning their respective tournaments.

Congrats to the Colombians for playing so well. They collapsed in the end. Their semifinal had been the more tiring one, and they’d rested a day less than the Argentinians.

Here is my Copa América “team of the tournament” (with honorable mentions in parentheses):

Martínez, ARG (Vargas, COL);

Nández, URU; Romero, ARG; Martínez, ARG; Mojica, COL (Sánchez, COL; Hincapié, ECU);

Ríos, COL; De Paul, ARG; Caicedo, ECU (Valverde, URU; Koné, CAN; Lerma, COL);

Rodríguez, COL; Martínez, ARG; Díaz, COL (Córdoba, COL; Rondón, VEN).

The Euros’ official “tournament team” is here. I mostly agree: I’d choose Mamardashvili (GEO) over Maignan (FRA), and maybe Carvajal (ESP) over Walker (ENG); and I wish I could make room for Çalhanoglu (TÜR), but not at the expense of any of the tremendous Spaniards.

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I finished reading the First Movement (novels 1–3) of Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time. The pace is 20 pp./day, no more than 1 novel/month, for 12 months. Repetitious though much of it is – the narrator has to keep reminding us what his dozens of characters have been up to – its soap-operatic tidal wave swamps the intricacies of E. M. Forster, whose novels I’m also reading.

Sméagol has appeared in LOTR and is, in his way, delightful – a grotesque busybee. He, Sam, and Frodo have reached Mordor’s Black Gate. Two towers flank it. Are these the titular towers? I thought Orthanc was one, and also the Dark Tower. Is the question ever settled?

I finished reading the longest appendix (A).

More results

Copa América quarterfinals

Argentina 1 (4), Ecuador 1 (2). We outplayed the world champions but lost the shootout. Pity.

We almost were knocked out by soccer kindergarteners, one Argentinian journalist complained.

Our coach, Félix Sánchez Bas, a Spaniard, resigned afterward. Rumor has it, his wife and children have been unhappy in Ecuador; they may even have been bullied by fans. I’m very sorry if this is the case. Sánchez is likely to take another job in Qatar.

Brazilians and Uruguayans are scoreless as of this writing. Canada beat Venezuela in another shootout, and Colombia thumped Panama, 5–0, in the Darién Classic.

UK general elections

Labour thumped the Tories. No Tories won seats in Wales.

Euros

Türkiye 2, Austria 1. A good game. Afterward, the Turkish goalscorer, Merih Demiral, was suspended. The Dutch eliminated the Turks today.

Spain 2, Germany 1. A good game. Alas, yellow cards were distributed willy-nilly, and various players were suspended. Spain’s is the only pleasing team left in these Euros.

The French are still tedious to watch, and the English are still putrid. Both teams have reached the semifinal round. Both could reach the final. Wouldn’t that be nice.

I liked what the Mexican commentators said about the English and Dutch fans: For all their color, they’re tepid once the game starts, probably because they’re already soused.

This would explain why the Turks outcheer pretty much everyone during the games.

Copa América

Biden and Trump are debating, but I’m watching Bolivia vs. Uruguay.

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Uruguay and Argentina are the cream of this tournament and should reach the final. I’d say that apart from them, only the Colombians have much of a chance (but I’d be speculating, since I missed their opening game).

By “much of a chance,” I mean about three percent.

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Among the also-rans, several teams have had matches spoiled by red cards: Ecuador, Peru, and the USA.

I’m a modest person … I don’t like to gloat … but Ecuador’s red card was the least stupid of the three.

A Panamanian also was red-carded; but his punishment came late in the game, and it was for a proper, honest-to-goodness patada.

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Happy birthday to my dear friend, Grace, the Salvationist.

Today also is the fifth anniversary of my dissertation defense. (I just pulled that volume off the shelf. For a double-spaced work, the typesetting really is aquittable.)

It must also be the fifth anniversary of my last meeting with Dick Miller and Nick Sturgeon. 🥺

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R.I.P. Kinky Friedman, the Jewish Texan who wrote hilarious murder mysteries, set in Manhattan, in which he cast himself and his friends as detectives. (This description barely scratches Friedman’s surface.) I learned about him during the first lecture of my first college U.S. history class. I have no idea why he was mentioned, beyond the obvious fact that he was too important to omit.

A Pole’s woes; the “clásico del Pacífico”; plans for Samuel

More Euros. The Germans look decent … the Spanish look very good but depended on an Italian “own” goal for their second victory … the English look putrid … the Dutch and French played a tedious, scoreless draw … the French have yet to score (they did provoke an Austrian “own” goal; the Euros’ official tally, so far, is five).

Poland’s excellent but perennially luckless goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, committed a penalty-kick foul with his face. He only received a yellow card.

(I first saw him in the opening match of the 2012 Euros; he committed a delicate penalty-kick foul then, too, and was ejected.)

The Copa América has begun. Argentina defeated Canada. Chileans and Peruvians kicked each other all through their scoreless draw; quite a few were incapacitated (their rivalry is known as the Pacific Classic).

Frodo et al. have ventured into Moria.

Samuel watches Scooby-Doo.

He was waitlisted by and then accepted into our preferred preschool. A relief; but I grieve that this summer will be his last before he heads out into the world.

Argentina 1, Ecuador 0

I viewed the second half of Ecuador’s “friendly” match vs. Argentina, preparatory to this summer’s Copa América (which, for reasons of greed, is being held in the United States). It was played in Chicago. Ecuador lost; our coach is still clueless; we are devoid of strikers; Argentina is a cut above. Even so, I enjoyed the game. Such players as Moisés Caicedo and Willian Pacho give pleasure no matter what the rest of the team is doing. And by now I have a great liking for these Argentinians. They may not always win, but everything they do is purposeful; and the goal Di María scored tonight was pure artistry. “They teach you not to toe-poke,” the commentator said, “but this is when you toe-poke.” (Right, but who are these morons teaching children not to toe-poke?) De Paul’s pass was lovely, too, and Romero should be credited for moving to an unusual position to receive it.

I also liked that the Ecuadorians and Argentinians kicked each other hard but still joked with each other on the field. (They might not have been so friendly in, well, a non-“friendly.”)

Also gratifying (more so, result-wise): Colombia beat the USA, 5–1; and Uruguay beat Mexico, 4–0. David and I noted that the Uruguayans barely seemed to try, except for their poor wingers who had to keep running into empty space, and poor Darwin Núñez who had to stay with them to convert his tap-ins.

Ecuador 2, Paraguay 0

Hardly a comfortable victory: the goals arrived in minute 88 and in stoppage time. Paraguay defended well but posed little offensive threat. We were devoid of ideas and sharpness until the last quarter of the game; the substitutions helped.

So, due to a couple of goals in less than ten minutes, our streak of winless games – seven, counting the two previous World Cup qualifiers and five games at the Copa América – was ended. Perhaps this will make us bolder.

Yesterday’s other results allowed us to increase our lead over the teams beneath us in the standings.

Our next game, on Sunday against Chile, also will be at home; then we’ll travel to Uruguay for this month’s curtain-closer.

I finished reading Tana French’s In the Woods, which had lain forlornly on my shelf for several years. I didn’t expect it to be such a downer.

Now can we watch The Dublin Murders?, asks Karin.

Well, no. The Dublin Murders relates the stories of In the Woods and The Likeness simultaneously. So, first, I have to read The Likeness.

The weather in Indiana is turning autumnal, which is good for jogging.

A brush with death; an unnecessary tournament; baseball

Martin told me that I could watch the Euros with Univisión’s free Prende TV app. I kept an eye on all three of today’s games.

There was a harrowing episode: Denmark’s Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field, apparently due to cardiac arrest. CPR was administered to him. Players, fans, officials, commentators, Eriksen’s wife – all seemed traumatized (as Karin & I were, at home).

I was affected to see the Danish players, clearly anguished, forming a privacy wall around Eriksen and his caregivers.

Eriksen survived.

After a long delay, play was resumed, and the Finns earned their first victory at a major tournament.

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Another edition of the Copa América is due to commence. I am not interested in this. The Copa was just played in 2019, in Brazil; this edition also will be held in Brazil. The venue was switched over from Colombia and Argentina. Why those countries should have been chosen is mysterious to me.

All the CONMEBOL countries take turns hosting, and the next turn should have been Ecuador’s. Ecuador might host the 2024 tournament, but this year’s tournament is unnecessary.

Whatever happens in 2024, all I hope for this competition is that it somehow helps, rather than hinders, Ecuador’s quest for World Cup qualification.

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We took Samuel to his first baseball game, at the South Bend Cubs’ stadium. We were in a club box with Karin’s coworkers. Samuel wouldn’t sit still, of course, so I spent most of the evening trailing him back and forth in the (rather crowded) club box.

Three soccer finals

On Sunday, the final matches were held for three major tournaments.

The Women’s World Cup final

I watched much of this – but not all of it (there were competing obligations of church and lunch).

The gringas appeared to be as dominant as they ever have been in history.

The Dutch weren’t bad, exactly, but their plan was too timid: they defended near their own goal and tried to counterattack with just one or two players. Their goose was cooked when they committed a ridiculous penalty foul which gave the USA the lead.

On the gringas’ second goal, the Dutch backpedaled down the middle of the field until the opposing ball carrier was close enough to shoot.

Here are scenes of the gringas partying in their locker room.

The Copa América final

This was a good, old-fashioned Southern Cone-style brawl. Don’t let Brazil’s glamorous reputation fool you. This team is basically another Uruguay – very tough on defense, organized without the ball, slick in attack at the most devastating moments.

The referee called two controversial penalties – one for each side, which I thought good – and had the guts to eject the diaper boy Gabriel Jesus.

Let me forestall misunderstanding: I like Gabriel Jesus, despite his rather sordid tastes (according to Wikipedia, he “reportedly chose to wear number 33” for his club team, Manchester City, “in tribute to the age at which Jesus Christ is believed to have been crucified,” and he and fellow diaper boy Neymar “got matching tattoos … depicting a boy overlooking a favela”). On the field, everything Gabriel Jesus does is productive – which distinguishes him from Neymar.

If Neymar had been playing, I doubt Brazil would’ve been able to control the game so well without the ball. Neymar would’ve insisted on dribbling everywhere.

Instead, he watched from the stands. (The next day, he would miss a training session for his club team, Paris Saint-Germain, triggering much speculation in the press.) He’d been left off Brazil’s roster because of an ankle injury. He’d also been accused of rape.

His replacement, Everton, won the tourney’s Golden Ball award and, in the final match, scored a goal and drew a penalty foul.

Of the Peruvians, we can say that they played well but were unable to break down the Brazilian defense.

The Gold Cup final

I only saw the highlights of this final, which appears to have been a closer contest than I expected.

Some of my friends here in South Bend are diehard USA fans. I wonder: did any of them make the trip to Soldier Field in Chicago?

If so, what was it like in that cauldron, 75% of which was occupied by fans of Mexico?

La final del mundo, pt. 2

Today, CONMEBOL ruled that the game between Boca Juniors and River Plate should be played on December 8 or 9 – and not in Argentina.

And so, one year early, CONMEBOL is achieving its goal of staging the Copa Libertadores final in a neutral venue.

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It’s now publicly established that Boca’s president has been lobbying for River to be disqualified and for the title to be awarded to Boca by default.

In response, River’s president has expressed shock at this betrayal.

So much for collegiality.

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Of course, a few years ago, Boca was disqualified from the Copa Libertadores because its fans misbehaved against River. But on that occasion, the misbehavior occurred (1) during an earlier round rather than during the final, and (2) inside Boca’s stadium rather than on a public highway.

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I, personally, would welcome River’s disqualification.

Not as eye-for-an-eye retribution. The earlier incident and this year’s are too dissimilar.

And not as a deterrent against future fan violence, either. It’s doubtful whether previous deterrent measures in Argentina have been very effective.

No, in this case, I think the expressivist or reprobative justification of punishment holds the greatest promise. The punishment would be justifiable as an expression of society’s disapproval of the fans’ misdeeds.

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This theory of punishment also would be compatible with the imposition of some lesser (but still significant) penalty against River. For example, River’s home game might be played in an empty stadium.

I don’t think that staging the game in front of spectators in a neutral stadium would adequately express reprobation, however.

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Update, Thursday: CONMEBOL has decided that the game will be played on December 9 – in Madrid.

Madrid.

MADRID.

Madrid, Spain. The one in Europe.

First, CONMEBOL plotted to remove South America’s nations tournament (the Copa América) from South America, and now it’s doing the same thing with South America’s main club tournament.

Stephen says: “The Copa LIBERTADORES final will be in … Spain?”

(Shakes head.)

“Back to the colonizadores.”

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Update, Friday: River Plate and Boca Juniors have both rejected CONMEBOL’s ruling.

River will appeal its stadium ban. The current ruling moves this year’s final game away from River’s stadium. It also bans the stadium from hosting spectators during its next two CONMEBOL tournament games.

I’m not sure to whom River will direct its appeal – perhaps to the dreaded Tribunal arbitral du sport (TAS).

Boca has announced that it plans to appeal to the TAS after its initial appeal to CONMEBOL is rejected. Boca will argue that River should be expulsed from this year’s Copa Libertadores.

My previous discussion of this case was philosophic and casuistic. Boca, helpfully, has now communicated which of CONMEBOL’s disciplinary regulations it will cite in its appeal.

I think that much will hinge upon article 8.2:

Las Asociaciones Miembro y clubes son responsables de la seguridad y del orden tanto en el interior como en las inmediaciones del estadio, antes, durante y después del partido del cual sean anfitriones u organizadores. Esta responsabilidad se extiende a todos los incidentes que de cualquier naturaleza pudieran suceder, encontrándose por ello expuestos a la imposición de las sanciones disciplinarias y cumplimiento de las órdenes e instrucciones que pudieran adoptarse por los órganos judiciales.

[Translation, with key phrases italicized:] Member associations and clubs are responsible for security and order – inside and in the immediate vicinity of the stadium – before, during, and after the game which they host or organize. This responsibility extends itself to all incidents that might occur, of whatever nature. Member associations and clubs thereby find themselves exposed to the imposition of disciplinary sanctions and to compliance with the orders and instructions adopted by judicial organs.

Why does this rule refer to “member associations?” In this case, the pertinent association is the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Should the rule be interpreted as implying that the AFA and River are jointly responsible for what occurred? Probably not. The rule probably means that member associations are responsible for the security and order of the games that they host that don’t involve club teams.

More contentious will be what counts as the “immediate vicinity” of the stadium. The expression is vague. Over how many streets did River’s responsibility extend? Did the misbehavior occur inside or outside the club’s geographic area of responsibility? These questions reinvite casuistic interpretation, which isn’t especially likely to favor Boca, since, in the earlier case in which Boca was disqualified and River benefited, the misdeeds were performed inside the stadium.

The same interpretive problem arises with respect to article 13.2.f, which refers to “the stadium and its surroundings.”

Article 18.1 details the various penalties that may be imposed. However, it leaves the choice of penalty up to CONMEBOL. Here, too, Boca must make a casuistic argument for the imposition of a severe penalty. And in fact, in the last paragraph of its communiqué, Boca does insist that CONMEBOL’s rules should “be applied to all clubs equally.” Presumably, the club has in mind the ruling that was brought against it a few years ago which disqualified it from that edition of the Copa Libertadores.

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No matter how the dispute between the clubs should turn out, it’s sad that they aren’t uniting to protest the tourney’s removal to Spain, though they both oppose it.

Ubaldo Aquino

… has received his dream assignment.

A Paraguayan referee, Aquino oversaw many high-profile South American contests in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 1999, I watched him give out two penalty kicks and two red cards in the final game of the Copa Libertadores, as well as five penalty kicks in a single Copa América game.

All these years later, he’s in charge of the video refereeing system (VAR) for the final round of the Copa Libertadores.

Stephen and I watched the first leg today. (It was postponed from yesterday because of heavy rain in Buenos Aires.) Boca Juniors and River Plate drew 2–2 in the Bombonera. There were no expulsions or penalty kicks. One player tumbled in the box and drew the “VAR” sign in the air with his hands, but Aquino withheld his counsel, and the field referee gave the player a yellow card.

The concluding leg will be played two weekends from now in River Plate’s stadium.

Casualties

Some footballing casualties:

Spain, KO’d by Italy;
Croatia, KO’d by tepid Portugal;
England, KO’d by Iceland (and by Brexit);
Ulster, KO’d vs. Wales by an own-goal;
Eire, KO’d by Antoine Griezmann.

Only the Welsh remain to carry the British torch. Due to their (rare) advancement, and to that of the Icelanders, there is a feeling of newness about this tourney.

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Not so with the Copa América. The final was a repetition of last year’s, nearly to a T.

In the first half, both sides defended hard, high up the field. The Argentinians were doing slightly better than the Chileans. Lionel Messi drew enough fouls to provoke the expulsion of Marcelo Díaz.

Then the referee decided to “even” things out, expelling the Argentinians’ left-back, Marcos Rojo, ruining the team’s shape and handing the advantage over to the Chileans.

The ninety minutes ended scoreless. Extra-time was scoreless.

In the shootout, Messi missed his penalty kick and was absolutely devastated. Afterward he announced his retirement from the national team. He and his country (and, let’s face it, the whole world) were the most grievous casualties of the last few days.

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Here is a good column by Jorge Barraza on “The Better and the Worse of the Copa.” My favorite paragraph:

THE SHAME. That this Copa, which in the end was very attractive, should not have been born to unite the Americas or to improve fútbol, but exclusively as a means of paying out bribes. Just as many governments perform yet another needless public work, robbing those who already are over-billed, here a tourney was conceived. The sole consolation is that now all who signed the contracts are in prison in their respective countries or in the United States, and their successors must proceed with care. …

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I wish to close by praising the Icelanders. Some games ago, Cristiano Ronaldo complained that their play was too defensive. But yesterday I saw ingenuity and nerve in how they brought the ball out after recovering it – passing it short, short, short, then long into just-opened spaces, creating more danger than the English did. In particular I was delighted by their fine No. 8, whom I may never see again after this tournament.

Leonardo Messi

Jacob & sons

One month after our wedding, Karin is getting me to listen to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Way way back many centuries ago
Not long after the Bible began
Jacob lived in the land of Canaan
A fine example of a family man
Jacob!
Jacob and sons
Depended on farming to earn their keep
Jacob!
Jacob and sons
Spent all of his days in the fields with sheep

Jacob was the founder of a whole new nation
Thanks to the number of children he had
He was also known as Israel, but most of the time
His sons and his wives used to call him “Dad”
Jacob!
Jacob and sons
Men of the soil, of the sheaf and crook
Jacob!
Jacob and sons
A remarkable family in anyone’s book …

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The Argentinians, weary of their title drought, are profoundly interested in winning this Copa América. Without any nonsense, they defeated the USA 4–0 in the first semifinal.

The reigning-champion Chileans obviously don’t wish to relinquish their title to the Argentinians, their sworn enemies. They beat Colombia 2–0 in last night’s semifinal.

This second semifinal, in Chicago, was interrupted for a couple of hours by a t-storm that stretched across Illinois and Indiana. Due to this storm South Bend was briefly under a tornado watch. Karin & I huddled together in our apartment and prayed not to lose our lives or our property or our cat. (It would’ve been all right, though, if our rickety outdoor staircase had been blown away. We wouldn’t have minded being given a new staircase.)

Here is a video of the game and of the storm, and here is a decent write-up.

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The group stage of the Euros has ended with some upsets. The new 24-team format ensures that most of the penultimate-placed teams qualify for the knockout stage. This, in turn, has resulted in guaranteed safety, after just two games, for many of the leading nations, which has caused them to switch off their brains during their closing group games, which has caused them to draw or to lose those games. And so now we have a very lopsided knockout bracket.

One one side are Germany, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, France, Eire, England, and Iceland. This is the strong side of the bracket. All of the favorites, minus Belgium, are on this side (and the Belgians have given a lackluster performance so far).

On the other side of the bracket are Belgium, Hungary, Ulster, Wales, Portugal, Croatia, Poland, and Switzerland. Most of these teams didn’t even qualify for the 2012 Euros. (The Portuguese got to the semifinals then, but now they look awful.)

I admit I’m enjoying this.

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Do you ever wonder how the characters of Good Will Hunting turned out? Here Ben Affleck shows what happened to Chuckie after he grew up.

Our demise

The best moment of the Copa América occurred at the end of the group stage. Raúl Ruidíaz scored with his hand, allowing Peru to knock out Brazil.

The Uruguayans also were KO’d during the group stage.

In last night’s quarterfinal, we Ecuadorians were beaten by the U.S. (as foretold in Ecclesiastes 9:11). To their credit the gringos did what they set out to do, which was to station nearly all of their players close to their own box.

(Remarkably, the gringos were able to get away with doing this at home. Their fans were even willing to applaud them for doing it.)

Still, we created plenty of chances. Most of them were wasted by Énner Valencia. We also earned a few set-pieces, one of which we converted (set-pieces are crucial when the other team is stationing nearly all of its players close to the box). But we deserved to have more free kicks than the referee gave us, as well as at least one penalty kick. After one especially bad no-call, Coach Quinteros justly insulted the referee’s mother.

In the game’s last minutes we performed an experiment. Our left-back, Walter Ayoví, moved into the center of the field, where he carved up the U.S. with his passing. The Argentinian commentators were in awe. “Walter Ayoví with your 37 years, we love you!” they exclaimed after the game ended.

Copa América USA

After the first few games, this sad announcement: “United States May Become Permanent Host of Copa América.” The idea is to merge the Copa América and the Gold Cup, following the blueprint of the latter. (I’ve also seen this news in the Ecuadorian press.)

So much for the CONMEBOL’s policy of giving each country its turn to host the tournament.

So much for the poor citizen of Ecuador or Bolivia or Brazil who’d never travel to the United States – who would attend the tourney in his homeland, or who’d at least partake in the festivities in his homeland. “Hosting doesn’t make you rich,” say the authors of the book Soccernomics, “but it does make you happier.” When the games are at home, what the people gain is “a sense of belonging” – and sometimes, literally, “a lifesaver” (the local suicide rate goes down; so does depression).

I remember the 1993 Copa América in Ecuador. We weren’t very good at soccer, but the country rallied together and the players gave decent performances and improved their self-belief. This was crucial for our team’s development.

But because the CONCACAF’s Gold Cup is always held in the United States, there’s no prospect of such a boost for nations like El Salvador or Haiti. The Gold Cup is a charade, not a bona fide contest. The Copa América and the Euros and the Africa Cup of Nations may’ve had their injustices; but, to their credit, they’ve been staged in such humble locations as Paraguay (1997) and Poland (2012), Angola (2010) and Burkina Faso (1998), Gabon (2012) and tiny Equatorial Guinea (2012, 2015).

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What should the gringos expect to gain from becoming the perpetual gatekeepers? Only money.

For gringos, soccer doesn’t matter to national identity. They have nothing like the wholehearted consensus about this sport that exists in other countries. The gringos would never put aside their domestic differences for soccer’s sake.

Nor have they shown that they wish to commune with other nations over soccer. They’ve been invited to the Copa América every time since 1993, but they haven’t participated in it since 1995. [Correction, from Stephen: they participated in 2007.]

Nor are the gringos very concerned with being hospitable. Never mind that they might make Donald Trump their president: they don’t care enough to use the correct spelling of “Colombia.”

They don’t care enough to play the other countries’ anthems properly. So far, in this tourney, they’ve played Chile’s anthem instead of Uruguay’s, and they’ve cut off Chile’s anthem prematurely. They’ve shown disrespect for the national identities that make these games so meaningful for South Americans.

In Ecuador, Independiente del Valle, a modest club, is donating its ticket proceeds to Ecuadorians who were stricken by the recent earthquake.

In the United States, the rich have no qualms about scheming to take away a comforting tradition from the people who live in South America.

There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. …

Copa de Oro

Europeans have the Euros; South Americans play in the Copa América; the nations of North and Central America and the Caribbean put on a farce called the Gold Cup.

In recent years, the tournament has always been hosted by the USA – the venue where the profits can be maximized – and, in effect, co-hosted by Mexico, whose fans fill the seats. The victories have gone to the U.S. or to Mexico. It’s in the interest of those countries to maintain the status quo, and to collude.

Well, last night, in Semifinal No. 1, the U.S. were upset by Jamaica. Martin was sad. I wasn’t.

In Semifinal No. 2, the Panamanians were outplaying Mexico – and they were winning, despite an early red card (much too soft, I thought).

Jamaica vs. Panama in the final. I was warming up to the idea (though I knew that the gaudy NFL stadium in Philadelphia wouldn’t sell out). Mexico and the U.S. hadn’t done squat all tournament. The Panamanians were actually a little bit interesting to watch. I mean: under pressure, they would bring the ball out with calm, short passes; that’s usually a sign of interestingness.

And then, in the dying seconds – for the second straight game – the Mexicans were gifted a bogus penalty kick by the referee.

The Panamanians were furious, of course. Their bench players charged the field, with my full sympathy (and I don’t often give out sympathy for that). Mark Geiger, the gringo referee, sheepishly refrained from punishing any of them. But the damage had been done; the call stood; the Mexicans had the opportunity to equalize the score.

What was most interesting, though, was the booth commentary, which was by Mexicans (e.g., Jorge Campos). All of them were outraged. Not like this, they kept on saying. Not with another bogus penalty, not for this sorry team. Mexico is undeserving.

Touchingly, they pleaded with Andrés Guardado to miss the penalty kick, on purpose. He didn’t miss it.

During the overtime, the Panamanians were tired. Mexico scored with another penalty kick; and I thought, “This might just be the worst game I’ve ever watched.” (This, after the dismal quarterfinal between Mexico and Costa Rica.)

In soccer, the gravest injustices are arranged “behind the scenes.” Still, I’m grateful when they’re this blatant so that even the purported beneficiaries can’t but be disgusted.

I hope this helps to make a better world.

July fragments

Martin & Mary were in Ecuador for three weeks. I took care of Bianca. She ate one of the houseplants.

On Friday, M&M came back. They brought a hammock (too small) and a new, woven tablecloth. Bianca likes the tablecloth very much.

Mary has been watching some new DVDs, e.g., Harry Potter and the Bucket of Bla. Martin has been growing his hair out.

During the three weeks M&M were gone, I followed a kind of caveman diet, eating mostly sweet potatoes. (I don’t know how many lbs. I’ve lost. I’m not supposed to weigh myself yet.) Every day, I would eat sweet potatoes and watch Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and then I’d read and write a lot about political philosophy. And I’d watch the Copa América, which you already knew.

This last Sunday, I played soccer and gave seven assists. I scored one goal, but it was invalidated. I also wrecked one of my ankles, and so now, when I walk down the stairs, I have to lean against the wall.

Copa América: wrap-up

By now, I’m sure you know that Chile defeated Argentina in the final game.

The host nation seemed happy. The Argentinians seemed a bit miserable. Lionel Messi turned down his Best Player award. …

The male Sabby, Stephen, and Kenny (yes, Kenny) and I watched the first half at Martin’s & Mary’s house. Or, rather, bits of the first half; the internet was lousy. We watched the rest of the game at Stephen’s apartment, on his new flat-screen TV.

The Peruvians finished in third place. For the second straight Copa América, Paolo Guerrero was the top scorer (well, this time, the joint-top scorer). The Paraguayans finished fourth, with a goal differential of minus-six; last time, they were second, with minus-three. I went to Wikipedia and read about the Wars of the Triple Alliance and the Chaco.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

For Prof. Robby P.’s book club, we’re reading Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The meetings keep on being postponed.

Copa América: the quarterfinals

The male Sabby helped me to watch Brazil’s demise. … Robinho scored early, and then Brazil allowed Paraguay to attack for the rest of the game.

Paraguay drew level with a penalty kick. It was conceded lamely by Thiago Silva, one of Brazil’s best players.

“How miserable to be a member of this Brazil team,” said the announcers, who were from Peru. “How miserable to be Dunga.” This, while the score was 1 to 1.

Everton Riberio – late substitute, purported penalty specialist – brushed his penalty kick out of bounds. Douglas Costa also missed. The Paraguayans shot as accurately as they had to.

Yesterday, I watched a riveting game between Argentina and Colombia. (Karin helped me.) Though the Colombians were second-best, David Ospina gave Messi and Co. some difficulty, and his teammates also had their moments. When the Colombians lost their shootout, it was no disgrace. … Earlier in the week, Peru beat Bolivia (which the announcers won’t stop harping on about). Karin and the male Sabby stayed awhile afterwards. We watched the dancing girls on Peruvian TV.

Chile eliminated Uruguay. The defining moment was when the Chilean Gonzalo Jara touched Edinson Cavani on his bottom. The world has not finished condemning this heinous act. (The Chilean press already is at peace with it, according to the Peruvians.)

Copa América, pt. 3

The male Sabby came over and helped me to watch two other games.

Colombia vs. Peru

Hats off to the Colombians for playing three thrilling matches. But the zero-zero draw favored the Peruvians. This result sets up a quarterfinal between Colombia and Argentina.

Brazil vs. Venezuela

For about an hour, the Brazilians were respectable. They built a two-goal lead. Then Dunga, their coach, replaced three attackers with three defenders and allowed the Venezuelans to claw back into contention. Brazil won anyway.

Neymar was absent.

His substitute, Robinho – twerpiest of the Ros (though not as twerpy as Neymar) – was downright refreshing to watch.