Friday, December 04, 2009

WORLD CUP DRAW

Today, the ping pong balls were drawn NBA Draft style, determining who will play who in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The drawing is seeded, with the 32 participating teams divided into 4 pots based on things like world rankings. The US was in Pot #2.

The US will be in Group C with England, Algeria, and Slovenia. That's not too bad of a draw. England are obviously elite, but in the round-robin group stage, you only need to finish 2nd in your group to advance to the next round. According to FIFA's rankings, the US is sitting pretty. England is ranked 9th in the world, Algeria 28th, and Slovenia 33rd. The US sits at 14th.

Here are all the groups, and a little bit of analysis.

Group A:
South Africa (host), Mexico, Uruguay, France
This group is scary. Host teams have a huge advantage in these tournaments, Mexico is fierce, France is ranked 7th, and Uruguay 19th. No easy wins for anyone in this group. Hopefully Mexico will be embarrassed.

Group B:
Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Most World Cup groups have a bitch, and South Korea will fill that role in Group B. Argentina and Greece will be the heavy favorites to advance, but Nigeria often put up a good fight.



Group C:
England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D:
Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
3-time Champions Germany have an interesting draw. Australia and Serbia are both solid, and although Ghana is ranked 37th in the world, they've surprised a lot of people before. Australia/Serbia should be the best match in this group.



Group E:
Netherlands, Denmark, Cameroon, Japan
The Dutch are ranked 3rd in the world, Cameroon is ranked 11th, and Denmark always has a few talented stars. Japan will be bitched out of this group, with the Netherlands and Cameroon advancing.



Group F:
Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
The 2006 Champions - Italy - have an easy draw here. Paraguay's ranked 30th in the world, Slovakia 34th, and New Zealand 77th. Look for Italy to win all 3 of their matches. And look for the team that finishes 2nd in this group to be throttled in the elimination rounds.



Group G:
Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
One weird thing about the World Cup is how often countries that once owned other countries get to play each other. England and the US play. Spain plays Honduras and Chile. Germany plays Ghana. And Portugal plays Brazil in this group. Portugal barely qualified, but they're ranked 5th in the country. Mighty Brazil sits 2nd.



Group H:
Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
Spain, winners of the 2008 European Cup and #1 team in the world might have some trouble here. All three of their opponents are solid, and Honduras is capable of big surprises. Spain should qualify, but in a shock, they might not win this group.



Prediction:
Italy rides a very fortunate draw to the finals, before being crushed 3-1 by Germany.

SIX STRAIGHT FOR CELTICS


The Spurs were 8-2 at home before last night. And they'd won 5 straight before last night. both streaks came to an end thanks to Kevin Garnett and the Celtics. KG had 20 points and 7 rebounds to lead the attack. Rondo contributed 12 points and 12 assists. Wallace dropped 13 off the bench.

The Spurs were held to 2/15 at 3 pointers, and helped the C's cause by shooting a dreadful 41% from the free throw line.

The Celtics now sit atop the Eastern Conference, tied with Orlando at 15-4. But unlike the Magic, the C's have an 8.5 game lead in the division.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Eric Gay

SOX SIGN SCUTARO


The Sox seem to have found a solution to their short-stop problem (how many times have we said that before?), or so it seems. They've signed Marco Scutaro to a 2 year deal, which also comes with an option for a 3rd year.

Scutaro is solid. You'll hear that word a lot today as this deal is discussed. Solid. Solid. Solid. He's a solidly sound fielder, who hits for a solid average, and has a nice solid OBP. He hit .282 with a nice .379 OBP last year. He also knocked out 12 homeruns.

The Sox will have to send a 1st round pick to Toronto, but they just got one from the Braves when they signed Wagner.

The short-term of the deal is fantastic. Whatever the salary turns out to be, it's not something that will weigh heavy on the Sox payroll for years to come like Julio Lugo and Edgar Renteria.

The short deal also allows the Sox to groom Jose Iglesias in the minors for a few years without any rush, but then open the door for him in 2012 or 2013.

Sources:
Boston Herald
Baseball-Reference.com