Bob Waldner

We have indeed seen the last of Luis Suarez in this World Cup.  FIFA handed him a suspension that covers the next nine international matches, as well as a four-month ban from “all football-related activities.”  According to the announcement, he won’t even be allowed to enter a stadium during that time.  Inconvenient not just for…

What can I say about Luis Suarez that hasn’t already been said?  I mean, this was the third time in the last four years that he’s bitten an opponent during a match.  Not sure how much he can complain about the world labeling him as a sociopath.  He’ll serve a suspension, and then he’ll play again,…

If you’ve made time to watch the World Cup this year, you’ve been rewarded for it.  Everyone seems to agree that it’s been a great tournament so far – plenty of goals, exciting and competitive games, and some shocking results in the group stage.  The pace has picked up this week, as the first round…

Half a minute.  That’s all that stood between the U.S. team and progression into the Round of 16.  They just needed to keep Portugal out for another thirty seconds… I probably watched the replay of that closing sequence in Manaus twenty times last night.  When the ball comes to Bradley near the half-way line, all…

Well, after all that talk, we’ve finally seen some real, live soccer.  And it was… interesting.  Brazil wound up meeting pre-match expectations with a 3-1 win, but that score isn’t indicative of how close the match really was.  Brazil was sweating, for sure, and they’ll know that they’ll need to improve if they want to…

The time has finally come!  If you’ve developed a strategy to shorten your work days over the next few weeks, today is the day to begin implementing it.  Brazil vs. Croatia kicks off at 4:00 (New York time) this afternoon.  I’m sure your boss (and, hopefully, my boss) will understand. Since today’s preview seems likely to get a bit wordy,…

Only one day left!  On to Groups E and F! GROUP E Pretend, for a moment, that you don’t know anything about the 2010 World Cup.  Then, say I were to tell you a story that went something like this:  In one of the group-stage games, a coach  addresses his team at half-time, with the score 0-0. …

Only two days left until kickoff!  No time to waste – we’re on to Groups C and D today. GROUP C I like Arsene Wenger, and I respect everything that he’s accomplished with Arsenal over the years, but I’m going to pick on him a bit here.  Every time that Arsenal fails to beat the…

Until now, I’ve kept this blog pretty well focused on my writing, but there are three facts that compel me to move in a different direction today (and I will list them for you, Rafa Benitez-style): Fact #1:  The World Cup kicks off in Brazil this Thursday. Fact #2:  I really, really like soccer. Fact…