The US got straight up hosed in that game. What a bunch of horseshit. Okay, some Italian frustrated over the fact that his team is tied with the Americans throws an elbow into McBride's face and adding a bit more red to the red, white and blue--I can see a red card over that. It was flagrant. The makeup call over a tackle where Mastroeni actually caught the ball? Completely unworthy of a red card. Same goes for the second yellow against Eddie Pope.

Other than that, it was a great game. And I did learn a few things about soccer:

Italian soccer players are fragile, delicate creatures. The slightest physical contact causes them to writhe on the ground, Dennis Rodman-style. It was almost humorous. Did anyone else notice that the Italians had multiple guys laying on the ground with ass injuries? And then the doc runs out on the field, pulls open the back of his shorts, then sprays some WD-40 or something in there. Slap him on the ass and he's ready to play again. Bizarre.

The Italians love Steve Nash. I realized this part way through the game. Three-quarters of the Italian team is sporting the Nash look. I'm not making this up. Check it out:

Look familiar? It should:

Once a player is taken out of the game, he can't come back in. I was completely unaware of that. They must play by different rules than my little sister's league.

A red card not only means that a player is ejected and unable to play the following game, but it also means that the team is one man short for the rest of the game. It's like a permanent power play for the non-offending team.

And finally, soccer is actually a pretty fun sport to watch. I was engrossed in the game and went ape on that second goal that the evil, corrupt ref took away in the second half. The big reason soccer hasn't caught on in the US is because Americans are very offense-oriented. We like seeing constant scoring. Soccer really lets you build it all up. It's no wonder Europeans go nuts over a single goal. I might have to start following the MLS or Premier League or something. One idea we could take from the Premier: at the end of the year, the team with the worst record drops into a lower league, while the top team from the next league down moves up to replace it. Wouldn't that be great? Maybe not for the Royals, but I'd sure dig it.

Ghana. Screw 'em. I'm into this for at least the next month...