World Cup, WNBA Drama, Cubs at the 1/2-way point

World Cup Fever

The World Cup play is continuing with games happening all this week, wrapping on Sunday.

This week starts the Semi-Finals, with Spain v France on Tuesday and Argentina v England on Wednesday.

It's been fun catching what I can.  Jamie became involved, and it's been a good time watching with her.  We've had some friends and Steanso over for a game.

I've not had a preferred team this whole time.  It's just fun to watch play at this level and with this much passion from players who are proud of what they're doing and who they're representing.

As was bound to happen, we've had some scandals over reffing.  I'm not any expert and will just accept what the refs decided.  I do not think that as, like, president of the United States, I would call FIFA and ask for them to change a red card.  You'd have to be a blithering idiot who knows nothing about FIFA, international fair play, and sports in general, to think that was a good idea.

I'll miss teams like Cape Verde who absolutely stunned on a world stage.  You just don't get that in pro-sports, or division-ranked college sports.  The narratives that run through a World Cup can be a real delight - and I was so happy that Egypt's team was welcomed home with a huge crowd.  

I've also loved seeing so many people visiting the US from around the planet showing us they're, in fact, good people.  We are so easily led to believe otherwise, just as they seemed to think they were coming to one endless shoot-out.

Sometimes sports is good, y'all.

WNBA Drama

There was an article I absolutely cannot find, but the basic gist was this: 

The WNBA is not looking for legitimacy at this time.  Not when *the* headline that people will think about when they ponder the W from the outside is a woman choking another woman and the refs missing the call.

And, this weekend, someone tossed a shoe to their colleague, missed, and hit an opposing player.  It was assumed it was a malicious act, and now that's a whole thing.

It gets tiresome.  But it's also the result of bad management and bad reffing.  

Mostly, I get frustrated that the conversations aren't about the teams or games.  They're around all the hoopla.  And people seem to eat it up - really engage with that stuff in ways I find baffling.  

I think what people think is just "physical play" is sometimes not, and they need to readjust their expectations and recognize a penalty when they see it instead of cheering on what is essentially bad basketball where people get injured.  And the weird parasocial relationships people have with players makes no sense in a team sport, especially one where players could be on that other team you slagged off for two years.

There's plenty to love in the WNBA.  A wide cast of real personalities from players and coaches.  People with break out games and seasons.  Young players in their first season blowing minds and stats sheets.  And players showing heart enough they pull off minor miracles on the court.

That.  That's what you can enjoy.  Just... watch the damn games and get excited.  Feel a little bad when your team loses.

Now, I'm not entirely pure of heart - I have opinions and whatnot.  There's players I dislike, and I side-eye the reffing plenty.  

I just don't think making it my personality is the best option.

If I do have a beef with the WNBA I'll air publicly, it's that TV coverage never shows the players' names below their faces on the chyron when they're on screen for close-ups or - more importantly - at the free-throw line.  It's literally bad television.  The commentators will spend all game talking about two players, so I have no idea who that person is who just subbed in and I don't sit with an old-school facebook open to identify the players.  

Casually dropping a name in passing ain't gonna do it for us visual learners.  Especially for those of us with "everyone under 30 looks like the same person to me" face blindness which is why I never know who young actors and Rachel McAdams are.

Cubs at the All-Star Break

I'm having a lot of fun watching the Cubs this season - minus the multi-game skids we've had alongside our two winning runs of ten-games each.  The offense can be electric, and the defense is really what I'd hoped for in past seasons and didn't see.  

Expectations around Bregman at third base were cartoonish.  I'm just enjoying having a really solid third-baseman who also can bat.  Is he blowing me away?  Yes, in a way.  He's consistent, seems to be improving things that didn't work, and he's *reliable*.  A .241 is not bad.  It's not great, but not worrisome.  He's just not batted as well as in prior seasons.

The big story of the season is Pete Crow-Armstrong, who has been dynamite on both sides of the game.  He's hitting .291, and his OPS is at .917.  And he's out there in center field catching dang-near everything.

But we're also a Seiya Suzuki household, and he's found his bat after last season, hitting for .269.  He's got 48 RBI.  And he's played hard in the outfield.  

I don't think this is a World Series team, but maybe a Wild Card team.  We'll see.