Thoughts on US Soccer, CWS, and Lincecum - YackSauce016's Blog

YackSauce016's Blog

Thoughts on US Soccer, CWS, and Lincecum

Posted on June 27, 2014 at 07:43 AM.

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Welcome to my first post here! This week I will be looking at the US Men�s Soccer Team, a look at the College World Series, and highlight some big performances. I will also be looking to the week ahead with the NBA Draft, highlight some big matchups on the diamond, and look at the US Men�s teams round of 16 matchup.

Soccer here in the States

There is no denying that when you think of the United States, you don't typically think of a perennial soccer power. Or even a sport that is very well supported or understood by a majority of the population. The ratings and support that have been rallied around this team have been something else though, through the first 3 games of the World Cup.
With the initial pairings that came out for this year�s World Cup, and our group being labeled the �Group of Death� I think many people had very low expectations of what this team could accomplish. I consider myself an average soccer fan, and don�t have a huge background in the sport. What I took from this team�s first 3 games, is that they can realistically compete with just about any team in this tournament.
They had a very rough start against Portugal who was ranked #4 in the world giving up a goal in the opening 5 minutes of the match. They did a great job of regrouping though and pretty much dominated the rest of the game from my point of view. They took a lot of shots and created a lot of pressure. Against Germany, today, it seemed like everything was the complete opposite. They couldn�t hold possession of the ball for very long, and Germany did a good job of limiting the US from generating any momentum at all throughout the game. Despite our team being dominated in just about every phase of the game, we only lose to the 2nd ranked team 1-0. I really liked what I have seen in the group stage.

College World Series comes to an end

College baseball is such a unique and different kind of baseball than most people are used to. These kids play with passion and do it for the love of the game, which is something that I love about college sports. It was a joy watching these kids play throughout the last couple weeks. One thing that I noticed all week long was how much these guys respected the game and understood that they represented something bigger than themselves. They conducted themselves in a first class manner. I don�t recall one incident where I saw a player argue with an umpire about a call that was made. Of course some of them didn�t agree with it, but they accepted it and moved on.
The whole week of games were really fun, but I sure do miss the old bats. The special �ting� that the BESR (old bats) made were just something really unique and a blast to hear. With that aside, we saw some big time and clutch performances all week long. The biggest by far though was, ironically enough, a solo blast in Game 3 of the Championship series by John Norwood in the 8th inning with the game tied. Seeing a season decided by a big play like that was a hell of an ending to a great week!

Lincecum tosses no hitter; Correa goes down for year

The no hitter is always something special, because it doesn�t happen often at all. Lincecum tossed his second no hitter against the Padres. He has had a pretty mediocre year, with a 5-5 record and 4.90 ERA, and might be on his decline. He had a great outing though, once again and proved that he can still deal. Lincecum only walked 1 batter and struckout 6. In other news around baseball; Houston Astros Top Prospect, Carlos Correa, goes down for the year after getting surgery to repair a fractured fibula. Correa was selected as the top pick in the 2012 draft.

A look ahead

The NBA draft starts tonight. If you were the Cavaliers, who would you take with the first pick? LeBron also opted out of his contract with the Heat and could potentially land somewhere else. Where do you think he would be a good fit at, if he doesn�t return to Miami?
On the diamond you always enjoy a Red Sox-Yankees series. This weekend I am most looking forward to the Tanaka-Lester matchup. Through the week, I will also enjoy seeing St. Louis hit the road to San Francisco to take on the Giants which goes Tuesday-Thursday.
The US Soccer Team will officially take on Belgium Tuesday July 1st at 3pm EST. Belgium topped their group, winning all 3 game of the matches but only scored 4 goals. What are your guys thoughts� on the game? I think it is a very favorable draw for them.
That will do it here for this week. Thanks for reading, and all comments are welcome on all topics. Have a good week!