June 28, 2012

Euro 2012: June 28

Italy 2-1 Germany

The Italians pulled a shocker to defeat the Germans behind Mario Balotelli's brace.  The controversial and hot-headed striker was able to control himself during the game and netted the goals that send them through to face Spain in the final.  Even with this impressive result, I expect a Spanish victory, giving them back to back Euro titles.

June 27, 2012

Euro 2012: June 27

Spain 0-0 Portugal  *Spain wins 4-2 on PKs

Yet another Euro game ends with a shootout and this time the defending champs roll into the finals with their win over Iberian rival Portugal.  The Portuguese could be under major fire after electing to have Cristiano Ronaldo kick 5th during the shootout, in a spot where he ended up not even being able to participate.  Extremely questionable call to say the least.  Spain now awaits the winner of Germany and Italy in tomorrow's game.

June 25, 2012

Euro 2012: June 24

Italy 0-0 England  *Italy advances 4-2 on PK

A goalless stalemate and subsequent penalty kicks led to England bowing out of Euro 2012 and Italy advancing to take on the mighty Germans in the semifinals.  After winning their group and looking somewhat dangerous, though not a lot, the English were unable to break the Italian defense, despite several golden chances.  As for Italy, they'll now be major underdogs against Germany and are playing well above where they were projected at this time.

June 23, 2012

Euro 2012: June 23

Spain 2-0 France

The ever consistent Spanish continued their title defense run by soundly defeating France today.  Xabi Alonso scored twice to lift the Spaniards to the semifinals.  They now face their Iberian rivals Portugal for the right to go to the European championship final.  That figures to be an entertaining and skillful game.

Euro 2012: June 22

Germany 4-2 Greece

Germany continued its demolition of its competition in their win over Greece.  The Greeks snatched a late goal otherwise the score would've been even more lopsided.  They now await the winner of England and Italy and shouldn't really be troubled by either team.

June 21, 2012

Euro 2012: June 21

Portugal 1-0 Czech Republic

After being repeatedly denied by the woodwork, Cristiano Ronaldo finally broke through and put Portugal through to the semifinals.

Euro 2012: June 19

Sweden 2-0 France
England 1-0 Ukraine

France was defeated soundly by Sweden, but they had already clinched advancement and it was a unimportant result.  More important for the tournament, England's Wayne Rooney returned from suspension and immediately made an impact, scoring the only goal of the match.  Both the European powers will advance as expected.

June 18, 2012

Euro 2012: June 18

Spain 1-0 Croatia
Italy 2-0 Ireland

The darkhorse Crotes gave Spain a run for their money, but in the end they were overpowered as well. Now I'm not sure who to root for, as Croatia was my 2nd favorite country in the tournament behind the Netherlands.  Spain has looked great so far, after a shaky opener, and they are certainly one of the favorites remaining.  In the other Group C matchup Italy achieved a crucial win over Ireland and advanced to the quarters.  

June 17, 2012

Euro 2012: June 17

Germany 2-1 Denmark
Portugal 2-1 Netherlands

Once again the Netherlands started out hot, with Rafael Van der Vaart scoring a spectacular curler in the 11th minute, only to then become complacent.  In fact, for the rest of the game they were lifeless and seemed to lose their will after Portugal equalized.  Overall, it was a severely disappointing tournament for my Dutch and their will most likely be changes made to the roster and coaching staff following this failure.  Hopefully the team isn't blown up too much, but I would wager that Mark van Bommel and some of the defense have played their last game in orange.  Germany once again got the needed result and showed good resolve after Denmark scored the equalizer.  They advance with maximum points in the group and really weren't too challenged, they are definitely one of the favorites remaining.

June 16, 2012

Euro 2012: June 16

Greece 1-0 Russia
Czech Republic 1-0 Poland

Greece pulled a massive stunner and the Czechs earned their win to send both teams onto the knockout rounds.  Greece has looked very pedestrian throughout the tournament, while the Russians have looked dangerous on their many counter attacks, only to be bounced from the tournament.

June 15, 2012

Euro 2012: June 15

England 3-2 Sweden
France 2-0 Ukraine

Both of the established powers claimed victories in the 2nd round of games and are in the drivers seat for the group finales on Tuesday.  The co-host Ukraine will really be looking to advance in front of their home fans, expect an intense atmosphere for that game.

June 14, 2012

Euro 2012: June 14

Italy 1-1 Croatia
Spain 4-0 Ireland

Spain and Fernando Torres silenced their doubters at least for another game after romping over the Republic of Ireland.  They're now in the drivers seat to advance to the quarterfinals but will face stiff opposition from Croatia in the 3rd round as they will also be fighting for their lives.  Ireland will look to play spoiler against Italy as they've already been eliminated.

June 13, 2012

Euro 2012: June 13

Portugal 3-2 Denmark
Germany 2-1 Netherlands

Once again the Netherlands falls and after playing the kind of defense they did they definitely deserved their result.  The attacking didn't kick into gear until late in the 2nd half when Robin van Persie struck a beautiful goal, but it was too little too late for the Dutch.  They now face a MUST win situation against Portugal in their last group game, and can only advance with a win and Germany win, and then must win goal differential over Portugal and Denmark.

June 12, 2012

Euro 2012: June 12

Czech Republic 2-1 Greece
Russia 1-1 Poland

After the second round of games Group A is still undecided.  A win will be enough to put any team through to the knockouts.  Also, tomorrow the Netherlands plays Germany desperate for a win to keep their advancement hopes alive.  I expect a lot of attacking and this game could get pretty wide open.

June 11, 2012

Euro 2012: June 11

England 1-1 France
Ukraine 2-1 Sweden

England used a whole fleet of buses to pick up a valuable point against what looked like a far superior French side.  The group is still wide open.

June 10, 2012

Euro 2012: June 10

Spain 1-1 Italy
Croatia 3-1 Ireland

Croatia really looked strong today but could still have difficulties making it out of the group without taking some points from both their next games.

June 9, 2012

Day 2 of Euro 2012 has begun, and started off with my Holland being defeated by the major underdog Denmark, 1-0.  Denmark was able to capitalize on shaky defending early in the match and then was able to park the bus in the second half to absorb the Dutch attacks.  Amazingly, the Netherlands outshot Denmark 32-8, but were unlucky to come up with no goals.  They were the highest scoring team in qualifying, and this was definitely an unexpected result.  The shots were there, they just weren't falling.  Advancing out of the group will now be a monstrous task, with games still to go against Germany and Portugal, two very strong teams as well.  

Netherlands vs Denmark match stats

Euro 2012: June 9

Denmark 1-0 Netherlands
Germany 1-0 Portugal

June 8, 2012

It's finally Friday, and another work week is in the books (I'm actually on lunch break right now though). The big story in my sports world is the kickoff of Euro 2012.  The 2nd most awesome soccer tournament in the world (behind the World Cup of course) should provide plenty of excitement and I'll be recording as many games as I can to watch after work.  Being mostly of Dutch descent I've always been partial to the Netherlands as my favorite soccer country, other than the US.  The 2010 World Cup was a bit of a disappointment as they lost the final, but new hope abounds and we should make a strong showing in the European championship.  We are grouped with Germany, Denmark, and Portugal in Group B, otherwise known as they Group of Death.  All 4 are legitimate teams, possibly excluding Denmark but they are no pushover either.  The Netherlands kicks off its Euro 2012 tomorrow against Denmark.

Euro 2012: June 8

Poland 1-1 Greece
Russia 4-1 Czech Republic

June 5, 2012

Stat Line of the Day

Cliff Lee's line vs the Dodgers

Yet again Cliff Lee twirls a gem, and yet again he comes up winless thanks to non-existent run support.  In fact, he's been receiving the 2nd lowest support of qualifying starting pitchers, receiving barely over 2 runs a game.  As dominant as he is, it's nearly impossible to expect him to give up less than 2 runs in every start, and it really is sad that he's still winless.  With Roy Halladay on the DL and the offense struggling, the Phillies should really be looking to acquire an impact bat, and will also be heavily relying on the return of Ryan Howard to provide an offensive spark.  Without an improvement in their anemic offense, the Phillies will not challenge in the NL East, no matter how good their pitching is.  

June 1, 2012

Stat Line of the Day

Johan Santana's line vs the Cardinals

Major props to Johan Santana of the Mets for shutting down the powerful Cardinals lineup and producing the 1st no hitter in Mets history.  While he did walk 5 batters and took 134 pitches to do it, the feat is nonetheless praise-worthy.  While he may have dropped off the baseball radar in recent seasons this just shows that Santana isn't done yet, and looks to be regaining a smidgeon of his former Cy Young winning form.  If he can keep up his solid start to the season the Mets could come a lot closer to contending than anyone imagined.