Tumbling out of My Head

photo by Crystl	via PhotoRee

 

 

Because sometimes it's difficult to keep it all inside....

o Congratulations are due to Brazil for their resounding 3-0 victory over the world champs to take home the Confederations Cup -- but let's not get carried away by the selecao's triumph.  Putting aside the fact that no team which has won the warm up prize has ever gone one to win the big one, we just don't think the Brazilians are all that good. Having seen them play a number of times this past year, we believe that the team rode the home crowd support and got an excellent tourney from their big gun, Neymar Junior. Put the wear and tear of 11 months in La Liga on the kid, though, and we believe Brazil will be exposed next summer for what they are: a decent team, perhaps even a top 10 -- but a team that can look downright pedestrian at times, as well. We won't rule out a wave of popular support taking the team as far as the quarter or semi-finals next summer, we just don't think they have what it takes to go all the way. 

o And speaking of superstars, we fervently hope that the play acting we saw from Neymar will be gone by the time he returns home to play in the Cup, although we sincerely doubt it -- especially since his destination is Barcelona, home of the world famous divers and play acting superstars. The Brazilian's faking is so good as to make it  an integral part of his game. Grabbing his face when there hasn't been any contact within a half foot of it is something that threatens to overshadow his supposedly legendary talent. We hope he learns to rein it in...

o Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Manchester United?  Yes, please. Sir Alex'a departure probably threw a kink in the Real Madrid superstar's thinking, but we won't rule out his return to Manchester at aome point during the next 12-15 months. Sometimes it takes moving away to realize the grass is not always greener, and Ronaldo may not be enjoying his homecoming as much as he once envisioned. 

o In the meantime, we'll take Thiago Alcantara....  It would be nice to finally see someone leaving Spain to come to England to play football. Although his likely reasoning is to gain a better chance at playing for his country in Brazil next summer, David Moyes likely won't be too concerned at the young Spanish prodigy's motivations, as long as he's there pulling the strings alongside Michael Carrick this season. 

o Switching gears, we recently spent a week in the beautiful Canadian province of British Columbia, and found time to sample a surprising number of the local craft beers. Our verdict?  Decent, but not great. What the Canucks lack in quality, though, they make up for in quantity -- the number of craft breweries up north rivals the scene from its big neighbor to the south. Our favorite brewery was Driftwood Brewing, from Vancouver Island -- their Paradise Valley Grapefruit Ale was a refreshing blast of the brief but beautiful Canadian summer. We also enjoyed Lighthouse Brewing's Race Rocks Amber, which showcased a nice famount of flavorful malt. In the end, though, we found that the excitement failed to sustain itself over many of the offerings -- the beer scene contained too many macro style ales and lagers for our liking...

o Wrapping up, it's difficult to believe that the summer break is all but over for the world's favorite sport -- and this break counted as extra long for those countries not involved in the Confederations Cup. The reigning English Champions reported for duty a couple of days ago, and their Asian tour kicks off in less than seven days. No rest for the weary, as they say....

This is pictureless farlieonfootie for July 3.