Rapid fire reaction!
Slovakia 3-2 Italy
Wow. I thought Slovakia had a chance, but I didn't expect them to thrash Italy for 90 minutes only to have it turn into a roller coaster for the last six. I also forgot that Italy was playing with their number two keeper in the net which would have changed how I looked at it slightly. I probably would have pulled it back to a draw or given it to Slovakia outright. So another European side goes down in flames. Italians will destroy this team in the papers. The entire Serie A season will be overshadowed by what has to be viewed as a colossal failure. Italy and France, the two teams who played for the championship in 2006 are out. Mull that one over if you will.
I watched the New Zealand v. Paraguay match which was notable for nothing in particular. New Zealand just never had enough possession time to build any kind of strong opportunity. Paraguay held onto the ball, but never did very much with it. Paraguay advances, but new Zealand still get to go home satisfied with a wonderful performance knowing that they have stoked a fire for their sport back in the home country that should burn for quite some time. This group turned out to be one of the most fun in the tournament despite pre-World Cup speculation that Italy advancing was a foregone conclusion.
Speaking of crazy things, I just watched John Ishner finish off Nicholas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history finishing the 5th set 70 games to 68. They played over three days and a total match time of over 11 hours. Imagine that... In the time it would take some people to run three or more marathons, these guys battled back and forth in a match that sapped every bit of energy. That is a feat that will never be equaled again. Get that Ishner kid a beer and a Costco size bottle of Ibuprofen. Evidently he now has to play his second round match in a few hours...
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