ITM Cup campaigns are getting off to mixed starts as usual

Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury tied with 23 points each. Canterbury got their half of the cell from tries by Sean Maitland and Tu Umaga-Marshall; Colin Slade kicked three penalties and two conversions. Hawke’s Bay got their chromosomes from a try by Hika Elliot; Daniel Kirkpatrick and Andrew Horrell each kicked three penalties.

In the 31st minute, Clint Newland received the first yellow card of the 2010 ITM Cup.

I can't think of very many things to write about

But there'll be something to write about tomorrow

ITM Cup is underway

The first match saw Northland beat Taranaki 26-19. Northland's points came from tries by Dean Budd, Simon Munro, and Lachie Munro; the last-named also scored 3 penalties and a conversion. For Taranaki, Chris Walker scored a try and Willie Ripia scored 4 penalties and a conversion.

Also, Quade Cooper won't be in the Tri-Nations test against the All Blacks because he will be serving a two-match ban for a dangerous tackle last weekend.

ITM Cup kicks off tomorrow night

And I'll be bringing you the results of each match here as I watch it.

Comrade Duch deserves more than 19 years in the slammer

Kang Kek Iew (better known as Comrade Duch) was the loser running the Tuol Sleng prison camp in Phnom Penh. During his time there, there were several heinous crimes against humanity including torture and murder - at least 12,000 prisoners were executed within Tuol Sleng by the Khmer Rouge. For his crimes, he was sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment, with a "pre-trial detention credit" of 11 years being applied to his sentence and an additional five-year deduction because "his period of pre-trial detention exceeded the maximum allowed under Cambodian law," reducing the sentence to 19 years. If I were the judge, I'd have that scumbag publicly executed due to the scale of the crimes committed under the regime.

Contador won the Tour again

Alberto Contador, who is from Spain but is riding for a team based in Kazakhstan, has won his third Tour de France. This is the fifth consecutive Tour won by a Spaniard but had it not been for that awful doping scandal, Floyd Landis could have made 2006 the eighth consecutive Tour won by an American. The Tour de France is getting pretty boring considering that the last time that three consecutive Tours were won by riders from different countries was from 1997-99 (the countries in question were Germany, Italy, and the USA). Also, Contador is the sixth rider to win the Tour de France without winning a stage.

The Boks have pretty much struck out

That's right, South Africa have lost their third game out of six. There is little hope for the Boks and their Tri-Nations campaign. However, they still have hopes of keeping the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate and their winger Jean de Villiers, who was suspended after a lifting tackle on Rene Ranger last week, has finished his ban and will be back for a series of three consecutive home games later on in the Tri-Nations.

This time, not one, not two, but three players were sin-binned: Jaque Fourie, BJ Botha, and Quade Cooper.

Scoring-wise, Australia's 30 points were composed of tries by Drew Mitchell and Will Genia, of which Genia's was converted by James O'Connor, and six penalties - one by James O'Connor and five by Matt Giteau. South Africa's 13 points were composed of unconverted tries by Jaque Fourie and Gurthro Steenkamp, and a penalty by Morne Steyn.

Haven't yet watched the Wallabies v Springboks game

But either way, it'll be green and gold taking out the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate after their third matchup.

Wallabies start their Tri-Nations campaign tomorrow

And South Africa have already lost the Freedom Cup to the All Blacks - they'd better improve their game if they want to keep the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate, and they'll have to do it without their precious lock, Bakkies Botha. And his stand-in better not get sin-binned yet again.

Happy Pi Approximation Day

But seriously, I don't do that geeky stuff.

I think Blogger's new features are great

But right now, we have more serious issues to bring to the table. For the first time in over 25 years, a Greek reporter has been murdered. Sokratis Giolias was assassinated by three men affiliated with the Sect of Revolutionaries at his home in Athens two days ago. The OSCE and the Greek government were well within their rights to condemn such carry-on and the Sect of Revolutionaries should be swiftly brought to justice, or even better, shot on sight.

HAPPY 200TH BIRTHDAY COLOMBIA!

See guys? Told you we weren't just covering sports results.

I can't think of much to write about

So I'll probably just write about nothing tonight

Tetraphobia seems to rule South Africa

Tetraphobia is a well-known fear in Asia but I think it might be creeping in among the Springboks. This is mostly based on the fact that the Bok in the #4 jersey (even though it was a different person each time) was sin-binned early in the first half of both tests against the All Blacks. And in both matches, the All Blacks scored exactly four tries. It's a shame the try isn't worth four points anymore (it still is in league, however) because that would be a third four against the Boks.

WE BEAT THE BOKS AGAIN

The end is nigh for Bakkies Botha and his Tri-Nations appearances for 2010 and the end seems to be nigh for the famous Ka Mate haka – it’s the controversial Kapa O Pango all the way now.

Even though Botha’s on suspension for headbutting Jimmy Cowan, the #4 jersey was again sin-binned in the first half, this time it was Danie Rossouw who kicked Richie McCaw in the 4th minute. Tries were scored for the All Blacks by Ma’a Nonu, Mils Muliaina, Rene Ranger, and Israel Dagg, of which only the last was converted by Dan Carter. Dan Carter missed his first three shots on goal, but was able to redeem himself from the 30th minute onwards with two penalties and a conversion. Piri Weepu scored a penalty as well. For the Springboks, however, it wasn’t coming up roses: Danie Roussouw and Schalk Burger scored tries, both of which Morne Steyn successfully converted. Morne Steyn also scored a penalty. Final score was 31-17 to the All Blacks.

Second Tri-Nations test starts tomorrow

Scores will be up as soon as I get round to watching it.

Switzerland are definitely doing the right thing here

Roman Polanski is currently wanted on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and the Swiss government have decided not to extradite him back to the States. That is a good move because I believe that it is completely unethical to extradite anybody to a country that uses the death penalty, and also because he has had a successful career making movies and should not be judged simply on deflowering a teenage girl back in 1977. That guy has won several Oscars for his work over the years and a few years ago, while he was living in France, won £50,000 in a libel suit against Vanity Fair (which is published in America) in a British courtroom.

This blog ain't just for sports results

So until the next Tri-Nations test, in which the All Blacks will be able to breathe easier now that Bakkies Botha won't be there to carry out his usual on-field shenanigans, the billboards of Dunedin and the world news will return to their rightful spot as my primary targets, but not for long - the ITM Cup will soon be next on the menu with seven more games of rugby a week.

I don't know what will sink in faster

Will it be Netherlands' third finals defeat out of three or will it be Spain winning the final on their first shot? Or will it be the fact that I lost a $100 bet because the match went into extra time? Or will it be the fact that an unprecedented 13 players got booked throughout the match? Or will it be the fact that the vuvuzelas have been put away for four years and everybody can get some rest?

VIVA LA ESPANA!

Uruguay were dished another 3-2 loss, this time at the hands of Germany. There have been some quick bookings throughout the tournament and Dennis Aogo is no exception; he received the first booking of the match in the 5th minute. Cacau was next in the book, receiving his yellow card for a handball two minutes later. Further bookings, both dished out in the second half, went to Diego Perez and Arne Friedrich. Thomas Muller, Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan, Marcell Jansen, and Sami Khedira all scored one goal apiece. I think the third-place playoff should be for the third place in a three-team final where each team plays two of three 45-minute periods.

Then, it was time to catch that Tri-Nations test. Bakkies Botha, whose poor discipline record over the years has made him rugby’s answer to Zinedine Zidane, was lucky to escape punishment for headbutting the back of Jimmy Cowan’s head in the second minute, but was sin-binned in the 13th minute for a “professional foul”. Morne Steyn kicked four penalties for the Springboks (the second of which gave him his 200th point for the Boks), and for the All Blacks, in addition to three conversions and two penalties from Dan Carter, there were tries scored by Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Kieran Read, and Tony Woodcock. Final score was 32-12 to the All Blacks. A judiciary later reviewed Botha’s headbutt and now he is suspended for the rest of the Tri-Nations.

And then came the big moment – Netherlands and Spain took to the field for the first ever World Cup final between two monarchies. A record 13 players were booked, one of them (John Heitinga) was booked again and subsequently sent off. Andres Iniesta scored the only goal of the match in extra time, causing Spain to win 1-0.

Got a $100 bet on the final

According to TAB, the odds of the game not going into extra time are 1.28:1. This means that if the game doesn't go into extra time, then I will get $128 back on the $100. I haven't yet watched the third-place playoff so I'll be doing that before worrying about my bet.

Starting tomorrow, it will all be decided...

Can Germany regain some honour and secure back-to-back third place finishes? Will Netherlands finally be able to win a final? Or will the word "guns" end up being a mnemonic for the order the top four finished in?

120 POSTS TODAY

And a Tri-Nations rugby match to hopefully be able to post the results and discipline of tomorrow, and the third-place playoff between Uruguay and Germany the next day, and the final between Netherlands and Spain the day after that. And after 17 long weeks, I'm finally typing up the post on a Mac.

Netherlands vs Spain: Who will win their first title ever?

For the second time in a row, it's an all-European final. But this time, it will also have two nations who have never won the World Cup before. Spain beat Germany 1-0 to make it to their first final ever, with Carles Puyol's 73rd-minute header signing, sealing, and delivering Germany into either third or fourth place. This match is only the second in the tournament in which nobody got booked or sent off. I did say that the vuvuzelas tend to get louder as the game progresses but it feels like they're getting louder as the tournament progresses.

Uruguay's 7/7 is on its way

The Netherlands claimed three trains and one bus, one train for each goal scored by Netherlands and one bus for each goal that Uruguay still needed for a tied game. There were five wounded but no deaths.

If you want the results without the somewhat off-colour references to events that happened five years ago, Netherlands beat Uruguay 3-2. Five players were booked: Maxi Pereira, Martin Caceres, Wesley Sneijder, Khalid Boulahrouz, and Mark van Bommel. Goal scorers were Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, and Maxi Pereira.

Semifinals start soon

From a pool of 32 nations, only four remain: Uruguay who have won the World Cup twice but never the current trophy, Germany who have won three times as West Germany but never as Germany, Netherlands who have never won, or Spain who have also never won. Germany could come away with back-to-back bronze medals, or Netherlands could make it to the final and lose just like in 1974 and 1978, or somebody could get sent off for headbutting.

It's all coming up roses for Klose... so far

That's right, it was Miroslav Klose's 100th appearance for Germany. The Polish-born striker has been red-carded in this tournament and he has served his one-match ban but he's been able to make it to one hundred caps, and he is responsible for two of the goals that were scored in a 4-0 defeat of Argentina that German chancellor Angela Merkel was watching. The other two came from Thomas Muller and Arne Friedrich. An equalizer in the 37th minute was disallowed due to several players being offside. Yellow cards went to Nicolas Otamendi, Thomas Muller, and Javier Mescherano.

Paraguay and Spain were next in the ring (actually it's a rectangle). The only goal in the match was the one that David Villa scored for Spain. The yellow card was shown to the following players: Gerard Pique, Antolin Alcaraz, Victor Caceres, Sergio Busquets, Claudio Morel, and Jonathan Santana.

Uruguay on the fast track to their first World Cup win in 60 years

The hosts are gone, the defending champions are gone, and even the team with the #1 world ranking is gone. And Ghana is the first scalp that the South American dominance has claimed but it could their last because Brazil has already been defeated and Argentina and Paraguay haven't always been at the top of their game over the course of the tournament - we held the latter to a draw and it could have been us in the quarterfinals if we'd just scored that elusive goal, even using our hand if we need to.

Now back to the match at hand: Jorge Fucile will not be in the semis because he received his second booking of the tournament in the 20th minute. More importantly, anyone who gets a yellow card in the semis won't be facing suspension from the final unless they get booked again in the same match. Just before halftime, Sulley Muntari scored for Ghana but Diego Forlan answered the goal in the second half during which Egidio Arevalo, John Paintsil, Diego Perez, and Hans Sarpei also received bookings. The game went to a scoreless extra time during which John Mensah got booked and Luis Suarez got a straight red card. Uruguay won the penalty shootout 4-2.

I feel sorry for Felipe Melo

And why should I feel sorry for a Brazilian? Because he is probably the most hated man over there right about now, and he could probably get shot over the own goal he scored or his sending off 20 minutes later. But here's how the game panned out.

Despite Robinho scoring for Brazil early in the game, Brazil couldn't keep up their impressive run and they conceded an own goal scored by Felipe Melo, and a regular goal scored by Wesley Sneijder. The first to get booked was John Heitinga. Next to get a caution was Michel Bastos. Gregory van der Wiel was next in line for a caution and because it was his second, he won't be involved in their semifinal against either Uruguay or Ghana and neither will Nigel de Jong. Andre Ooijer got booked for timewasting. Felipe Melo was red-carded in the 73rd minute for a stamp on Arjen Robben.

Tomorrow, we'll see if Ghana can't dish out another upset.

Quarterfinal matches start soon

Will there be soccer? Yes. Will there be vuvuzelas? Yes. Will there be one previous champion in the semis? Yes. Will there be a team that hasn't yet won the final in the semis? Yes. Will there be yellow and red cards? I hope not.

FIFA 2010 - the story so far

TEAMS STILL IN THE RUNNING: Uruguay, Ghana, Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Paraguay, Spain
TOTAL YELLOW CARDS: 218
TOTAL RED CARDS: 14
MATCHES THAT WENT WITH NO BOOKINGS: North Korea versus Cote d'Ivoire
MOST CARDS IN ONE MATCH: 9 yellows and 1 red in the Chile versus Switzerland match
PLAYERS WHO WILL MISS THEIR QUARTERFINAL DUE TO SUSPENSION: Ramires, Jonathan Mensah, Andre Ayew