I'll Say It: The United States Choked

Sometimes, blogging and talking about sports for a living leads you to have to say things that are unpleasant.

I've had to salute the 15-1 Minnesota Vikings as being the best NFL team I have ever seen, and probably the best team ever to not win the Super Bowl.

How many times have we had to tip our cap at the Yankees? Or the Red Wings? It happens in sports.

And sometimes, you have to say negative things about a team you cheer for.

Sunday, the U.S. Women's National Team fell in penalty kicks to Japan in the Women's World Cup final. The game was a riveting display of skill and creativity on the biggest stage the sport has to offer. In many ways, it was a lesson to the men on how the game should be played when so much is on the line, instead of the ultra-conservative dive-fests we get in the men's World Cup.

It was a great game, but it didn't turn out the USA's way, as Japan rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 down to force penalty kicks, and then beat the U.S. team 3-1 in PKs.

In soccer, you don't see games of this magnitude happen this way very often. Sure, they go penalty kicks, but it's quite rare for a team to blow two leads in a match. It was peculiar to see that same script play out in the quarterfinal match between the United States and Brazil, where the Americans won. This time, they didn't close the deal.

Watching the match, it wasn't like the U.S. team just stopped playing when they had the lead, but they also made too many mistakes on their half of the field. A badly-hit clearing attempt led to Japan's first goal, and the extra-time equalizer was scored on a horribly-defended set piece.

The performance by the U.S. team in the penalty kick shootout was atrocious. Poorly-struck balls followed a bad-luck shot that ended up being a great kick save by the Japanese keeper, one she would be severely challenged to repeat at any point in time.

Why am I bringing all of this up? Well, watching the ESPN postgame coverage led my wife and I to the same conclusion.

ESPN was tap-dancing around reality.

The Americans choked, and no one wanted to say it.

Why did no one want to say it? Because women were involved? Because the U.S. team had to pull off an incredible win over Brazil just to get here? Because we were all -- justifiably -- really happy for Japan, a nation that has suffered greatly because of natural disasters this year?

No matter the motivation, no one would say it ... at least not on TV.

Among others, Bomani Jones and CBS' Mike Freeman tweeted such sentiments, but they still appeared to be in the minority.

The reality is that the "choking" statement is harsh, but it's true. The U.S. team didn't play well with a lead, like they felt too much pressure to hold the lead. Had they capitalized on a multitude of first-half chances, maybe they wouldn't have felt that pressure.

If that 1998 Vikings team choked against Atlanta (they did), if the Houston Oilers choked against the Bills back in the day (yes), then it's fair to say the U.S. team choked Sunday.

It doesn't mean we didn't have a great team with some great players and some faces -- namely Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, and Hope Solo -- that will potentially become household names thanks to the notoriety they gained in this tournament. It doesn't mean a silver medal isn't a great achievement.

It just means it could -- and should -- have been better.

You're not wrong if you feel that way. You're wrong if you feel that way and are afraid to express it.

NFL Goes World Cup

Sunday marks the final day of the NFL regular season. There are playoff spots, division titles, and conference No. 1 seeds all up for grabs as all 16 games will be played on Sunday. That's the only time this will happen during the season.

To set up the most compelling TV viewing, the NFL is taking a page out of the World Cup's playbook.

No, really. And to think, most of you probably think soccer is stupid. Apparently, the NFL is smart enough not to think that way.

Every four years, the World Cup is contested. The current format involves eight groups of four teams apiece playing a round robin, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the "knockout" stage. Game times are staggered over the first two games of the three-game round robin schedule, so no games are being played at the same time.

Once they get to the final round, though, each group's two-match slate is played at the same time. The reason behind this is that you will get an honest effort from all four teams. At least three of them are usually alive for the knockout phase, and sometimes all four are. By playing both matches simultaneously, no one has the advantage of knowing if they will be through to the knockout phase based on the other result in their group. If a team controls their own fate and needs a win to advance, they have to play to win, because they can't assume the other match will go their way.

Now, look at Sunday's NFL schedule.

Think now about the playoff scenarios that exist for Week 17.

The Steelers and Ravens are in the playoffs, but the AFC North hasn't been clinched. They play early games Sunday, and the Steelers can't sit on a Baltimore loss. They have to go all-out to beat Cleveland.

Atlanta hasn't won the NFC South yet, and must beat Carolina to clinch that and the NFC's No. 1 seed. No one thinks that will be a problem, but the Falcons don't get the luxury of resting their starters for that game. Tampa Bay is still in the hunt for a spot, but they need a win and help, and a loss to New Orleans won't clinch anything for anyone. Therefore, there's no harm to the Wild Card chase to have that as an early game.

The other playoff spots will be decided in late afternoon and night games. St. Louis and Seattle got the night game, and the winner is a division champion. Loser goes home.

In the late afternoon, you find Chicago-Green Bay, Dallas-Philadelphia, and the Giants at Washington. Those three games will decide the final NFC playoff spot, along with a first-round bye in the NFC. Having them go off at the same time ensures that no one will assume anything, and all six teams will give it their best effort, whether the goal is a playoff spot, a higher seed, or just to play spoiler.

In the AFC, the South Division will be decided in the late afternoon window, too. Jacksonville needs a win and an Indianapolis loss, while Indy can clinch the division if Jacksonville loses.

Give the NFL credit. They know how to create compelling television, and they've done that with their game-time tinkering for Sunday. They've also copied a successful formula from another sport.

It is a copycat society, after all.

2010 FIFA World Cup: Algeria

We preview the 2010 FIFA World Cup, set for June 11-July 11 in South Africa.

ALGERIA
Apperance: Third
Last time there: 1986, exited in first round
Best performance: Has never advanced past first round

When your claim to fame is an African Nations Cup title that happened back in 1990, there isn't much going your way.

However, Algeria did qualify, thanks to a playoff win over Egypt, and now they carry the Arabic banner into South Africa (they're the only Arabic nation in the tournament). Their third World Cup apperance is likely to be quick one, unless 34-year-old striker Rafik Saifi and center back Madjid Bougherra can work their magic.

FIFA has a relatively new rule (six years or so old) allowing players to switch national allegiance even after playing for one country. Many of the Algerian players were actually born in France, making for a weird mix on the roster.

In Group C, Algeria faces a challenge. Inexperienced Slovenia joins them, as do England and Team USA. If they can get a point out of either their match with the Brits or Americans, Algeria could actually give themselves an outside chance to advance with a win over Slovenia in their group stage opener.

Chances are this will be easier said than done, though the African side should have the benefit of at least playing on their home continent, even though they'll be far away from home.

Schedule
June 13 vs. Slovenia (Polokwane)
June 18 vs. United States (Johannesburg -- Ellis Park)
June 23 vs. England (Port Elizabeth)

Team USA Does It Again

24 times, the United States Men's National Team has entered Estadio Azteca (or other facilities in Mexico) for a match against Mexico.

24 times, the Americans -- or, if you are from south of the border and prefer, "gringos" -- have left Estadio Azteca without a victory.

Every time, fans are left with reason to believe the team can recover and win the next time. Four years later, that next time comes, and the U.S. fails again.

The latest "next time" was Wednesday, as the United States waltzed into Mexico City with some confidence, thanks to a stirring performance in the Confederations Cup. Mexico, meanwhile, had all the pressure. There was talk of another coaching change, which would have been something like the ninth of their World Cup qualifying effort. A loss, and the Tri Colores would have been in serious danger of missing the World Cup next year in South Africa.

A Charlie Davies goal in the tenth minute gave the Americans a 1-0 lead. Bob Bradley's bunch then proceeded to fall into the same trap they fell into against Brazil in that Confederations Cup final.

In the altitude of Mexico City (over 7,000 feet), it was apparently too much to ask the Americans to play well for more than ten minutes, and that won't be enough against a highly-motivated team that absolutely needs to win.

(More on the altitude excuse in a moment, because it's sad how many people are falling for that line of crap.)

Mexico dominated possession for the last 80 minutes, tied it just more than ten minutes after Davies' awesome goal, and won it in the final eight minutes as Miguel Sabah stood in the box and lined up a shot while a bunch of Americans stood and watched him.

There are plenty of people to call out for this one, namely Bradley, but we'll start with others.

Carlos Bocanegra. Simply a poor effort on the first Mexico goal, as he allowed Israel Castro to line up a long shot that beat Tim Howard high. Even from a 30-yard distance, an unmarked opponent is very dangerous.

Landon Donovan. Absolutely disappeared after setting up Davies for the first goal. This might have been Donovan's worst national team performance since the 2006 World Cup. High up on the list of American players who need to train a lot more diligently before next summer.

Brian Ching. Did virtually everything but score an own goal for Mexico. Not effective with the ball, worse without. Never should have started the second half, and it can be argued he never should have made the trip.

Bob Bradley. It can't be said any differently: Bradley is just another Bruce Arena. He might be worse. Besides the unconscionable decision to leave Ching in the match as long as he did, dynamic youngster Jozy Altidore played all of 15 minutes. It wouldn't be totally wrong to say that Altidore deserved to start the match, but it was practically a crime to only let him play 15 minutes when no one was generating anything positive up front outside of Davies.

Moreover, Bradley's strange substitution decisions could make you think he started the second half playing for a 1-1 draw. It was bad enough that the Americans didn't play with the same energy after taking the lead, but for them to try to draw out the last 45 minutes of an intense road match against a rival team that absolutely needed to win ...

Words don't even describe the stupidity of this.

U.S. Soccer. Even the well-respected Grant Wahl fell into the trap.

The altitude did affect the U.S.'s strategy. Mexico dominated possession, and the U.S. midfielders stayed farther back than usual, as though they were entirely willing to let the Mexicans come to them. I don't think that would have happened if the U.S. had been able to train at altitude for any period of time before this game.

Why, exactly, did this team not train in the high elevation of Colorado? Denver is known as the Mile High City, and Colorado Springs sits at over 6,000 feet.

Instead, the final training took place in the rolling hills of Miami.

Yes, this team had heat to potentially worry about, but heat comes and goes. Mexico City's elevation will never change. It's absolutely pointless to blow off the possible effects of the high altitude, only to use it as an excuse when you lose.

At the end of the day, Team USA is still going to make the World Cup. They'll still have a reasonable chance for success there. However, a golden opportunity was lost on Wednesday, and it's another backwards step for the national team program in this country.

Bob Bradley: You're an Idiot

Mexico 2:1 United States.

0-23-1.

More later.

U.S. Soccer Earns Worldwide Respect

I know it's hard to swallow.

Those who don't follow soccer religiously are probably conditioned to think that blowing a 2-0 halftime lead is a massive choke.

They aren't going to see it any other way, no matter the facts of the story.

In this case, it's not your normal "2-0 lead to 3-2 loss". The United States experienced this Sunday in the FIFA Confederations Cup final against Brazil.

It would be one thing if the Americans had blown a 2-0 lead against, say, Mexico. It might be the death of soccer in this country, with the sport barely having a pulse in many ways already.

This isn't disrespect toward Mexico, no matter how much they deserve it. Instead, it's a nod to how freaking good Brazil is.

After all, we could have been up 4-0 at halftime and still lost. They're just that good.

It brings to mind a major question: Is it choking when you lose a match to someone who is infinitely better than you are?

My answer is "No". The odds of the Americans slowing down the likes of Fabiano and Kaka for 90 minutes were about the same as the odds of Adam Sandler winning an Oscar for Best Actor after shooting a remake of Citizen Kane.

Brazil was too good for the "play defense and pray" mantra the United States used to hold off Spain in the semifinals. They were too fast to be allowed to attack relentlessly for over an hour of game time.

No matter what Team USA did, they were doomed. Their only shot was to get lucky and net a couple more goals, hoping that would be enough to get Brazil to give up. As long as they smelled blood, we were in trouble.

What does this mean for the World Cup? It means that there is real evidence -- not just conjecture -- that we can play with anyone in the world. A contending team is not too much to ask for next year in South Africa.

In fact, anything less than that will be a(nother) monumental disappointment.