tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post3878345375111876822..comments2024-03-28T21:45:30.378-04:00Comments on The Heath Post: Euro 2012: England v. ItalyGoHeathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-86681161581695343612012-06-25T08:27:52.952-04:002012-06-25T08:27:52.952-04:00terrific report.terrific report.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-77274948883504894082012-06-25T08:26:38.728-04:002012-06-25T08:26:38.728-04:00EXCELLENT IDEA!EXCELLENT IDEA!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-37197889760627423472012-06-25T08:22:59.936-04:002012-06-25T08:22:59.936-04:00One of my favorite baseball cards from before I st...One of my favorite baseball cards from before I started collecting was the <a href="http://baseballsimulator.com/baseballcards/front.php?id2=8769" rel="nofollow">1969 Jim Ray Hart</a>.<br /><br />Glad to read the following at Wikipedia ...<br /><br /><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ray_Hart" rel="nofollow">James Ray Hart (born October 30, 1941 in Hookerton, North Carolina, and known to baseball fans as Jim Ray Hart), is a retired third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the National League's San Francisco Giants from 1963 to 1973 and the American League's New York Yankees in 1973 and 1974. ... <br /><br />Jim Ray Hart was a fan favorite in San Francisco. He was highly touted, but never was what one would call a "great player." However, he did have some notable achievements in baseball, including playing in the National League All-Star game in 1966, and hitting for the cycle on July 8, 1970. He also became one of a select few players to have 6 RBIs in one inning. He did this by hitting a 3 run triple and a 3 run homerun in the same game on July 8.<br /><br />After retiring from the Giants, Jimmy joined the Teamsters as a Warehouseman for Safeway Stores in Richmond Ca and later to Tracy, Ca when operations moved there in 1992. Jimmy retired in 2006 to a life of leisure and good health.</a></i><br /><br />Good for Jim Ray Hart, and here's hoping he's waking up <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=tracy+california&hl=en&ll=37.739681,-121.42618&spn=0.001063,0.002411&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.505383,79.013672&t=h&hnear=Tracy,+San+Joaquin,+California&z=19&layer=c&cbll=37.73968,-121.426417&panoid=XIBbq_ghDepHq4M-w6Hezg&cbp=12,95.26,,0,0" rel="nofollow">this morning in Tracy</a> to yet another day of "leisure and good health."Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-66592921640915611752012-06-24T17:42:12.501-04:002012-06-24T17:42:12.501-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (Italy win 4-2 on penalties)
...England 0 - 0 Italy (Italy win 4-2 on penalties)<br /><br />I was rooting for England to win this game, as I usually do. But it would have been an absolute travesty for England to advance after being totally dominated by Italy throughout the game. Fortunately for Italy (and for soccer), England apparently used up its penalty-taking luck when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich to win the European Cup last month. England did their usual terrible job on PK's. After two rounds of PK's, England were up 2-1. But then they missed their next two, meaning that with only one kick left, the best they could do was three points. Italy made their third, fourth, and fifth kicks to take an insurmountable 4-2 lead. So England's record in PK's in major competitions falls to 1-6. Here's their record in all major competitions since 1990:<br /><br />1990 World Cup: Lost to West Germany in Semi-Final on Penalty Kicks<br />1992 Euro Champs: Went 0-1-2 in group stage and eliminated<br />1994 World Cup: Failed to qualify<br />1996 Euro Champs: Lost to Germany in Semi-Final on Penalty Kicks<br />1998 World Cup: Lost to Argentina in Sweet 16 on Penalty Kicks<br />2000 Euro Champs: Went 1-2-0 in group stage and eliminated<br />2002 World Cup: Lost 2-1 to Brazil in Quarter-Final<br />2004 Euro Champs: Lost to Portugal in Quarter-Final on Penalty Kicks<br />2006 World Cup: Lost to Portugal in Quarter-Final on Penalty Kicks<br />2008 Euro Champs: Failed to qualify<br />2010 World Cup: Lost to Germany 4-1 in Sweet 16<br />2012 Euro Champs: Lost to Italy in Quarter-Final on Penalty Kicks<br /><br />So this was actually England's best performance in a major tournament since 2006. If the usual pattern holds, they will get knocked out on penalty kicks in the quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup.<br /><br />Italy, meanwhile, go on to play a very deserved match against Germany. That should be quite a game.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-27743231827104334532012-06-24T17:15:53.299-04:002012-06-24T17:15:53.299-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (End of Extra Time)
On to PK&...England 0 - 0 Italy (End of Extra Time)<br /><br />On to PK's. England are 1-5 in penalty kick shootouts in major competitions. Italy are 2-5 in penalty kick shootouts in major competitions. One of those teams will see their record get even worse. Bob Ley of ESPN says it is the most imperfect way to decide a match ever imagined.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-10424288625883645682012-06-24T17:10:46.202-04:002012-06-24T17:10:46.202-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (115th minute)
Italy continue...England 0 - 0 Italy (115th minute)<br /><br />Italy continues to create chances at about the same rate as it has throughout the game. Their most recent chance ended with the ball going into England's goal, but Italy were flagged for offsides and the goal didn't count.<br /><br />Now both ESPN guys are rooting for England to make it to penalty kicks.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-12737091611864168382012-06-24T17:03:14.942-04:002012-06-24T17:03:14.942-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (108th minute)
You would thin...England 0 - 0 Italy (108th minute)<br /><br />You would think that a team like Italy, which has had the ball 63 percent of the time in this game, would be pulling out all the stops to avoid the chance of losing on PK's. But no one plays it that way. In general, once you get to the last 15 minutes before PK's, both teams become more cautious.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-76919505595544316392012-06-24T16:57:41.222-04:002012-06-24T16:57:41.222-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (105th minute)
That's it ...England 0 - 0 Italy (105th minute)<br /><br />That's it for the first half of extra time. Fifteen more minutes until penalty kicks. The ESPN play-by-play guy is feeling better about England's chances as we get closer to PK's.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-88704071465770338422012-06-24T16:53:06.087-04:002012-06-24T16:53:06.087-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (101st minute)
From the ESPN ...England 0 - 0 Italy (101st minute)<br /><br />From the ESPN announcers: "Italy have been the better side. No two ways about it." The English play-by-play guy is pretty openly hoping for penalty kicks at this point.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-27959126745447506572012-06-24T16:50:17.659-04:002012-06-24T16:50:17.659-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (100th minute)
Twenty minutes...England 0 - 0 Italy (100th minute)<br /><br />Twenty minutes left.<br /><br />Here's another suggestion to deal with penalty kicks. In every knock-out game, have a penalty kick shootout about 30 minutes before the game kicks off. That way, the teams will play the game knowing who will win the penalty kick. That will put a lot more pressure on whichever team lost the penalty kicks to attack, thereby leading to a more interesting contest.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-35288377137260833142012-06-24T16:47:01.198-04:002012-06-24T16:47:01.198-04:00Oh, and England were offside, so they couldn't...Oh, and England were offside, so they couldn't have scored anyway. Never mind.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-63126771107113546152012-06-24T16:46:16.976-04:002012-06-24T16:46:16.976-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (94th minute)
England had ano...England 0 - 0 Italy (94th minute)<br /><br />England had another decent chance to score off of a free kick. The ball was free just in front of Italy's goal for a few tantalizing seconds, but Italy's goalkeeper got control before England could do anything.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-51118778889577595262012-06-24T16:34:29.601-04:002012-06-24T16:34:29.601-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (Full Time)
Thirty more minut...England 0 - 0 Italy (Full Time)<br /><br />Thirty more minutes of this ahead.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-61142694724654982372012-06-24T16:33:33.489-04:002012-06-24T16:33:33.489-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (90th minute)
England actuall...England 0 - 0 Italy (90th minute)<br /><br />England actually had a pretty decent chance there to win the game, but a nice build-up ended with Wayne Rooney banging a bicycle kick over the cross bar.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-82810415840742538782012-06-24T16:27:32.129-04:002012-06-24T16:27:32.129-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (86th minute)
ESPN tells us t...England 0 - 0 Italy (86th minute)<br /><br />ESPN tells us that Italy have had 14 shots on goal, to only 2 for England. That's also a fair summary of the game.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-11468114561201073212012-06-24T16:26:22.571-04:002012-06-24T16:26:22.571-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (85th minute)
The English pla...England 0 - 0 Italy (85th minute)<br /><br />The English play-by-play guy for ESPN, comparing the two squads, says that "Italy's passing is on another level, if we're honest." That's a pretty fair summary of the game.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-81078215698881252002012-06-24T16:21:40.156-04:002012-06-24T16:21:40.156-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (80th minute)
Yet another sav...England 0 - 0 Italy (80th minute)<br /><br />Yet another save by England's goalkeeper, Joe Hart (who plays for Manchester City). He's been great in this game.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-15401711522373549982012-06-24T16:16:41.764-04:002012-06-24T16:16:41.764-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (75th minute)
It seems unlike...England 0 - 0 Italy (75th minute)<br /><br />It seems unlikely that England's defense can keep Italy out for 90 minutes of full time plus 30 minutes of extra time. But whatever happens, I don't think Germany will be losing sleep over the prospect of playing either of these teams in the semi-final.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-40867903958965875182012-06-24T16:06:29.105-04:002012-06-24T16:06:29.105-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (65th minute)
Well, that was ...England 0 - 0 Italy (65th minute)<br /><br />Well, that was different. England just missed a chance. We haven't seen that in a while. The ESPN announcers take hope from the possibility that all of Italy's missed chances will come back to haunt them.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-71237246260780122972012-06-24T16:01:20.232-04:002012-06-24T16:01:20.232-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (60th minute)
Mario Balotelli...England 0 - 0 Italy (60th minute)<br /><br />Mario Balotelli just had Italy's 500th great chance of the game so far, but once again he banged the ball over the crossbar.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-46682811154342875732012-06-24T15:55:05.380-04:002012-06-24T15:55:05.380-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (54th minute)
The English ann...England 0 - 0 Italy (54th minute)<br /><br />The English announcers on ESPN are sounding quite gloomy, as it does appear to be only a matter of time before Italy score.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-88509293405569449842012-06-24T15:53:33.154-04:002012-06-24T15:53:33.154-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (50 minutes)
Here's what ...England 0 - 0 Italy (50 minutes)<br /><br />Here's what this game looks like. England are wearing their traditional white uniforms with red numerals, while Italy are in their traditional blue uniforms with white numerals. It looks like a game between Western and UK.<br /><br />Most of the time, Italy has the ball. They spend their time setting up very clever attacks on the England goal -- although occasionally they will blast away from 25 yards or so . About once every five minutes, England will get the ball and charge down to the other end of the field. Sometimes they get off a shot, sometimes not. But Italy quickly gets the ball an heads back the other.<br /><br />Italy, by the way, just blew another great scoring chance.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-54550080058351074402012-06-24T15:49:12.335-04:002012-06-24T15:49:12.335-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (47 minutes)
Italy looked cer...England 0 - 0 Italy (47 minutes)<br /><br />Italy looked certain to score there, but an Italian player missed the goal from about four feet away. The ESPN announcers are shocked with that miss.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-6833561100089533712012-06-24T15:31:19.667-04:002012-06-24T15:31:19.667-04:00The winner of this game plays Germany in the semi-...The winner of this game plays Germany in the semi-finals, while Portugal will meet World Champions Spain in the other semi-final.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-46593040170578202852012-06-24T15:30:42.460-04:002012-06-24T15:30:42.460-04:00England 0 - 0 Italy (Half Time)
Italy looks the b...England 0 - 0 Italy (Half Time)<br /><br />Italy looks the better team so far.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.com