Czech Nightmare and Summer Months.

REALITY -- Rough day for the US. My fears going into the cup were confirmed. I had watched a few US matches over the last month and felt we had taken great strides offensively and were stronger up front than before. However, it seemed our defense had taken some significant steps backward. This seemed all to apparant in the loss this afternoon. The Czech didn't have a lot of strong possessions but the few they had were potent. On the flip side, we had many possessions and decent setups. However, once with the lead the Czech defense closed in well and we never saw a clear shot on net within shouting distance of the 18. Our only 'real' chances were shots like Reyna's that hit the post in the first half. We move on to Italy on Saturday. Oi Vei!
My favorite match to this point has been the Swedish v. Trinidad match Saturday afternoon. THe cynic comes with the same quotes of 0-0 ties that you hear every soccer discussion. To which i saw possessions in the first minute mattered as much as possessions in the 90th minute leaving hte entire game crucial. Unlike NBA or NCAA hoops where what happens up to the last five minutes is only important in that neither team starts to put a lead together of more than 10.

FANTASY -- With summer comes the reality check for many a fantasy baseball player. Micromanagers (the antithesis of strong fantasy baseball managers) now get to see how their trades and waiver picks on hot spring players show up in the summer months. The balls start to fly out of the park on your ace pitchers. Your Detroit Tigers remember that they are Detroit Tigers. Your mind starts to drift to the real fantasy jewel, the NFL, as training camps open in August. It's a great time for good fantasy baseball owners to make shrewd moves and stay consistent to sneak up and steal a league or two from the early braggadocious in the division.