Diving originates with the decline in goal scoring from the 1950s. The payoff from a dive is too high in a game where 1-0 is a high scoring game....
Close to getting it right. No extra subs. Same strength as at the end of regulation, then every 15 minutes, each team removes a player until...
The team seems to be taller than some veteran teams of past years.
I agree with you about the final in 1986. I wrote a book to back it up.
Limiting rankings only to the years since the round of 16 knockout was adopted, I rank them below Brazil 2002 and Argentina 1986. Brazil 2002 won...
Where does this Italy team rank as champions compared with the other World Cup champions?
I do. A much more sensible way to decide ties is 15 minutes of sudden death, followed by removal of one player for each time every 15 minutes,...
She did in my book.
I'm curious to hear why you are of the view that Wambach doesn't have it to appeal to a cross-section of fans. By all indications, she's more...
Let's face it. These are difficult times to be a women's soccer fan in this country. The team has virtually disappeared from national sports...
Actually, I thought it was the spelling on the title of this thread. In the '78 World Cup, the Dutch keeper (Schiivers??) collided with Ernie...
Is murder not a crime because it happens in every city? Hard fouls are cheating. They violate the rules. So does punching the ball into...
I agree with Andy as well - the greatest ever billing is no contest. Akers walks away with it without any serious competition. To me, it is...
Does it bother you at all that Germany beat a Hungarian team that was playing with a less-than-fully healthy Puskas -- whom the Germans themselves...
Somewhat overlooked as a potential obvious first choice: Geoff Hurst, England v. W. Germany, 1966 WC Final -- the only hat trick in a final...
Ditto to Andy Mead. Abby's only "problem" is not getting enough time as the face of American women's soccer, so she can promote the game like...
You must not have seen Michelle Akers play in her prime, when she could do that, too. And if you look at the tape from the opening game of WWC...
Thanks for the welcome back! It's nice to be missed in a positive way. Your comment is a perfectly valid nitpick. In fact, my error is...
I've seen WC's since '82 and followed '78 in SI - tremendous coverage; it introduced me to the majesty and spectacle and significance of the World...
Actually, if people who do marketing would learn that the best target audience for a women's football league is men 18 - 49 (look at who watched...
I know we don't always agree, but on this one for the most part we do -- we'd both pick Akers first. One can make an argument for Hamm but it...
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Branco's for Brazil against Holland in WC '94. From 30 yards out, he seemed to bend the kick in an S-curve,...
With the year that Wambach had, how did she not get it?
I'm curious as to the "negative connotations of women and sport" to which the article refers. I'd still pick Akers as my first draft choice...