I took a little R&R on Cape Cod last week, which meant no television except for the Euro 2020 soccer final (sorry, England) and very little internet. Honestly, I had plenty of time to look at the news but aside from the alarming story out of Haiti, there was nothing new to catch my interest. All the takes were the same, too.
We’re stuck in a loop. We’re dealing with pressing problems, like it being freaking 130 degrees everywhere, and the Republicans are acting like absolute shits. Throw in the Democrats acting like genuine dipshits, and I don’t feel like I missed anything by sitting at the beach.
There’s too much bitching and moaning going on, and not enough focus on the stories that actually matter. I’ll be back in the saddle tomorrow.
Haiti is definitely a story that matters. The JFK assassination may be boring and uncontroversial by comparison. Biden’s movement on antitrust is big. And the legislative battles over voting rights and infrastructure are going to heat up now, which is why taking a mini-vacation last week made sense for me.
Anyway, congratulations Italy! You got lucky but I can’t wait to see you play in the World Cup next year.
If at the highest levels the soccer finals are going to be decided by penalty shootouts (I was at the 1994 Brazil-Italy final in Pasadena Rose Bowl – decided 3-2 by shootout) – then it is like a basketball game being decided, after extra time, by three players shooting 3 pointers!
My proposal has been for each team to remove a player for every 10 minutes of play in OT until someone scores. The game is decided by playing the game of soccer and not a random skills competition. The coaches would earn their pay as the decision of who to take off and leave on would make all the difference. Having played full field 9 v 9 with NCAA Div 1 players I can tell you that scoring chances would come fast and furious with so much open space…the game would not take long to be decided.