What Caught My Eye Today

Norway - Anders Behring Breivik has admitted bombing Norway's capital and opening fire on a political youth group retreat on an island near the capital last week. He told authorities that he expects to spend the rest of his life in prison. Saying he wanted to save Europe from Muslim immigration, he entered a plea of not guilty that will guarantee him future court hearings and opportunities to address the public, even indirectly. Breivik faces 21 years in prison for the terrorism charges, but he has told authorities he never expects to be released. While 21 years is the stiffest sentence a Norwegian judge can hand down, a special sentence can be given to prisoners deemed a danger to society who are locked up for 20-year sentences that can be renewed indefinitely. Amen to that. Breivik wrote a 1,500 page manifesto criticizing Norway's openness and embrace of immigrants and said his attacks were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims. He blames liberals for championing multiculturalism over Norway's "indigenous" culture and claimed that the killings were meant to wake people up to these problems and to serve as "marketing" for his manifesto. It is tragic and unfortunate that acts of terror can happen anywhere, at anytime, by anyone. At the same time, it is important to remember, as was the case with the Oklahoma City bombings, that terrorism is not limited to any particular religion or ethnicity. Sadly, it seems anyone with enough determination has the ability to inflict great harm. Thankful, Norway refuses to compromise its values in the face such acts of cowardice. It is such steadfastness will ultimately defeat terrorism, and the terrorists know that.

Physics - Scientists hoping to puzzle out how the Universe began will find a long-sought theoretical particle, or rule out that it exists, by the end of 2012. Thank, God. Maybe then I will finally be able to get a good night's sleep. The Higgs boson isn't just any particle. It's the linchpin of the Standard Model of particle physics theory that explains the Big Bang, because it is believed to answer a fundamental question about why matter has mass. The particle itself is thought to give mass to other particles, and thus to objects and creatures in the Universe. These are the latest findings to come out of test conducted at The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. Physicists also hope the collider will help them see and understand other suspected phenomena, such as dark matter, antimatter and supersymmetry. Dark matter has been theorized by scientists to account for missing mass and bent light in faraway galaxies. Scientists believe it makes galaxies spin faster. Lest you had forgot, this is the same contraption that critics have suggested has the potential for creating a block hole that could envelop the entire planet. I think the lesson here is pretty clear. Don't piss off physicists.

Cycling- Aussie, Aussie, Aussie...Oy, Oy, Oy!!! It was a Tour de France many hailed as a classic. There were crashes, dropouts, surprises and, above all, a new champion. With Cadel Evans becoming the first Australian to win cycling's most prestigious race, the Tour de France had a completely new look this year. This year, with defending champion Alberto Contador far from his best, the race was wide open. Despite the early departure of some pre-race favorites, seven key riders were in contention halfway through the final week. And that's not counting Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who led through the Pyrenees and most of the Alps. I'm not a huge fan of Contador, but let's not forget, due won the Giro Italia 3 weeks before the start of the Tour, and has won 6 Grand Tours that he participated in. The French went crazy for Voeckler, who expected to hold the yellow jersey for only a day or two but showed extraordinary strength to stay with Evans and the Schlecks through most of the mountain stages and finished fourth overall. The race for the green jersey, given to the best sprinter, went to Britain's Mark Cavendish. Dude has 20 stage wins after riding in just 4 events. It is also worth noting that he won the points competition despite being docked 40 points for finishing outside the stage time limits...twice. Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez, finished sixth and won the polka-dot jersey for best climber. For American fans, the top finisher was Tom Danielson in ninth place. American based BMC claimed the yellow jersey, courtesy of Cadel Evans and American based Garmin Cervelo claimed the team classification. Next up the Vuelta a Espana in August.

NASCAR - Here's a story you will only see in the world of stock car racing...God love 'em. Pastor Joe Nelms likely had folks gathered at the NASCAR Federated Auto Parts 300 race in Nashville looking around for his "smokin' hot wife," after he thanked God for her during his pre-race invocation. He thanked God for such things as "these mighty machines that you've brought before us," going on to cite the wonders of Dodges and Toyotas and Fords. Prayerful thanks then were directed to, among other things, "Sunoco Racing Fuel and Goodyear tires that bring performance and power to the track." But it was when he got to his family that he had fans and drivers unsuccessfully holding back laughter. "Lord I want to thank you for my smokin' hot wife tonight, Lisa, my two children, Eli and Emma, or as we like to call them the Little E's." But he wasn't done. He prayed and blessed the drivers and said, "may they put on a performance worthy of this great track." Then he borrowed NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip's trademark phrase in his closing: "In Jesus' name. Boogity, boogity, boogity. Amen." Seriously, this is one of the most hilarious moments in sport that I have ever seen (click here).

What Caught My Eye Today

Space Shuttle - A picture is worth a thousand words. You did the nation proud, Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour. Well done. Well done, indeed.

Debt Ceiling - House Speaker John Boehner predicted that a majority of House Republicans will end up supporting some kind of compromise to avoid a government default. My first reaction was, "like they have a choice," followed almost immediately by, "I'll believe it when I see it." Several media outlets reported that President Barack Obama and Boehner were near an agreement on a grand bargain trading $3 trillion or so in spending cuts and a promise of $1 trillion in tax revenues through a later overhaul of the tax code as part of a deal to extend the government's borrowing authority. Sounds promising, doesnt' it...until you read this. "We're not close to a deal," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "While we are keeping the lines of communication open, there is no 'deal' and no progress to report," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said. Officially, the president continued to push for a big compromise that would cut the nation's budget deficit and extend the government's tapped-out borrowing power above the current $14.3 trillion cap, but he relented slighted saying he would back a short-term deal to prevent a disastrous financial default on August 2 but only if a larger and still elusive deficit-cutting agreement was essentially in place. I'm all for getting a deal done to avoid the end of the world as we know it on August 2, but we've been down this road before. There is something to be said for the urgency of the moment providing the motivation one needs to act. Congress really needs to work "stuff" out now before silly season (also known as the 2012 Presidential election) descends upon us.

Soccer - Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the FIFA Women's World Cup came to a close this past weekend...and if you are a fan of the underdog, you were not disappointed. Japan beat a heavily favored U.S.A. squad 3 to 1 in penalty kicks after drawing 1-1 in regulation and 2-2 after extra time. As for me, I should have stopped my predictions after the semifinals. I blew both the third place game (Sweden over France) and the Final. And it is really hard not to applaud achievement of the Japanese women and its affect on the nation...not after the year they've had to endure. Overall, I picked 12 out of 16 teams correctly (7 out of 8 in group play, 3 out of 4 in the quarters, 2 out of 2 in the semis, and... well, you know). And now, we can all relax for a bit as we enjoy the build up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, just 50 days from now.

Cycling - With 18 stages down and 3 to go in this year's edition of the Tour de France, French sports fans must be going out of their minds. Frenchman Thomas Voeckler has confounded pretty much everyone who claims to know anything about professional bike racing by remaining the overall race leader for a tenth consecutive day. And if you happen to be a Norwegian, it has been a pretty good day at the office for you as well. With all of 2 riders participating in this year's event, Thor Hushovd and Edvald Boasson Hagen have each won 2 stages apiece, double what Spain has managed with its 20 riders and 4 more than France, which has no stage victories. Pre-race favorite, Alberto Contador, fell out of contention after today's stage. The smart money (say the experts) now lies with Cadel Evans of Australia or Andy Schleck of Luxembourg. If you ask me, until someone can wrestle the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) from Voeckler, who has a 15 second lead over Schleck, I say, "vont Thomas Voeckler. Vive le français. Vive le tour".

What Caught My Eye Today

U.S. Debt - Horror stories are flying about the damage that might be wreaked should Congress and President Barack Obama fail to cut a deal by the August 2 deadline to increase America's borrowing limit. Absent a deal by then, the government would find itself tight on cash and unable to borrow and have to start deciding which of the 80 million bills due in August it should pay and which it should put off. Forgive me if I don't sound sympathetic to the government's plight. Like most normal people, I content with this conundrum pretty much every month. One analysis, by the Bipartisan Policy Center, suggests that once the government runs out of cash and lacks the power to further borrow, it would need to slash spending at once by as much as a whopping 44 percent. The U.S. now borrows more than 40 cents for every dollar it spends. Some conservative congressional Republicans have questioned whether there would really be a crisis if the deadline were missed. They note that the government could cut programs instead and still make interest payments at least for a while. On one hand, we're being asked to call the government's bluff and go into default. On the other had, we're being told, even if we go into default, it's not so bad. We'll just cut some government programs. Nice choice. Here's my question to that those Republicans. What makes you think that it will be any easier to reach some sort of agreement on which programs to cut after the government defaults than finding some sort of middle ground before it runs out of money? I like to think of myself as an optimistic realist. In this case, the best chance for the government to come up with some sort of palatable compromise is while it still has some options to choose from. Meanwhile, I, along with the rest of the country, will will continue find ways to survive on what I actually have.

North Dakota - A constitutional error recently discovered shows that North Dakota has never technically fit the requirements for statehood. An 82year old Grand Forks resident discovered the error in 1995 and has been been campaigning to fix North Dakota's constitution ever since. The problem lies in the state constitution's omission in requiring the governor and other top officials to take an oath of office. In failing to require these oaths, North Dakota's constitution is at odds with federal requirements established by Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, therefore making statehood illegitimate. A State Senator introduced a bill fixing the mistake that will be put to voters next spring. The thing I like about this story is that it demonstrates no matter how old you are, you have the ability to affect change. And don't look now, but boyfriend appears to be ready for his encore. The eagle eye claims he's found another error in the constitution, this time having to do with the state's eastern border. If Minnesota had a functioning government, I'm thinking the legislators might be keeping tabs on this guy to make sure it's borders don't get redrawn. If you hadn't heard, Minnesota literally shut down two weeks ago because it could hammer out a budget. Seriously, is anyone in Washington paying attention?

Traffic - I don't want to sound unsympathetic to my friends in Los Angeles, but oh my God, what is it with you and your freeways? How Angelenos are coping with "carmageddon" – the 53 hour shutdown of a crucial 10 mile segment of freeway here – is the topic of conversation no matter where you go in Los Angeles. This segment of Interstate 405 linking the Los Angeles International Airport and the San Fernando Valley, the most traveled freeway in the United States, will be closed so that engineers can demolish a bridge to create a carpool lane. Many say it’s tearing the city apart by spotlighting the entire metropolitan region’s long term over dependence on cars in place of adequate public transportation. Others say it’s bringing the city together as never before, because everyone is in the same predicament and helping each other out. Still others, like myself, are wondering what it says about these people, when with all that is going on in the world, all they can think about is how they are going to survive without a freeway for 2 days. Here's a thought. Spend some time thinking about just how petty this sounds to the rest of the world.

Sports - And then there were two. No, I'm not talking about the number of riders left in the Tour de France, but the finalists in the FIFA Women's World Cup. It took until the semifinals, but I final picked all the winners (all 2 of them). Before I roll out my final picks, let's give a shout out to the U.S.A for dispatching of a rather impressive French squad and to Japan for showing the exit to Sweden. Now then, in the third place game between France and Sweden, I'm going with France. Based on their performance against Japan, I think Sweden has run out of go-go juice for this tournament. And in the main event pitted the U.S.A. against Japan, as much as I would like to see them bring the trophy back to a ravaging homeland, I think Japan is going to meet its match against an inspired American squad.

What Caught My Eye Today

The Hague - Read this carefully and see if you are as perplexed as I was. Former Bosnian Serv military chief Ratko Mladic was evicted from his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia after repeatedly interrupting the proceedings with complaints. Mladic is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in the 1992-95 Bosnian war, including the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. I don't know much about international law, but isn't it going to be a bit challenging to conduct a trial for the defendant if you expel him from the proceedings? Isn't that going to make it rather difficult to see justice served? I'm guessing that is the primary purpose of the Tribunal in the first place.

Potpourri - After the last installment, we're switching gears back to some normalcy, though if you are looking for a theme, "coincidence" would certainly fit the bill.

• Wars on Terrorism - According to a new study by Brown University, the final bill for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will come to between $3.7 trillion and $4.4 trillion, including nation-building efforts; the cost of providing medical care, services, and long-term benefits to veterans; and interest on what the U.S. borrowed to fund the wars. For those of you who pay attention to such things, President Obama is currently working with Congress to reduce the federal debt by $4 trillion. I'm sure this is purely coincidental.
• Executive Pay - Despite the soft economy, high unemployment and stagnant wages for most workers, top executives got huge raises last year. The average paycheck for top executives at 200 big companies in 2010 was $10.8 million, a 23% increase from 2009. Perhaps there might be some correlation between that and the resentment some many workers have against their bosses. Not me, of course. I'd take a bullet for my boss.
• Eating - Over the last three decades, Americans went from eating 3.8 meals and snacks a day to 4.9 a day. The average American now consume about 2,375 calories per day, 32% more than in the 1970s. Interesting. A 32% increase in calorie intake matched by a 29% increase in meals and snacks. Yeah, there's no cause and effect here.

Soccer - If you recall, I picked 7 out of 8 teams advancing out of Women's World Cup group play. In quarterfinal action, I managed 3 out of 4:

• Germany vs. Japan
• Sweden vs Australia
• England vs. France
• Brazil vs. U.S.A.

I'm not sure how the remaining team could possibly match the drama of the quarterfinals, but I sure hope they try. The experts almost universally agree that the U.S.A. squad is the clear favorite to win the World Cup. Last time I checked, the team that claims the Cup still needs to win two more matches. Here are my semi final picks:

• France vs. U.S.A. - Honestly, how could you pick against the U.S.A. after what they pulled off in the quarterfinals?
• Japan vs. Sweden - I'm sort of at a loss on this one. Both teams have overachieved and played extremely well. I'm going with the team that knocked off the host nation, Japan

What Caught My Eye Today

Sports - I don't usually start off with sports stories, but have to make an exception. Between the epic finishes of the quarter final matches in the Women's World Cup and the bloodbath (literally) that the Tour de France is becoming, yesterday had so much drama, you would have had a hard time selling the stories to Hollywood if they had not actually happened. First, soccer. Three of the four quarterfinal matches when to extra time and two of those went to penalty kicks. No match came close to rivaling the U.S. - Brazil contest. Thanks to some of the lousiest refereeing--ever--on both sides of the ball, the U.S. played a man down for the last 25 minutes of regulation plus thirty minute of extra time. If that isn't enough, the U.S. was less than a minute away from exiting the tournament before Abby Wambach put in a last second (again, I mean that literally) to tie the match. And if that isn't enough, the U.S. finally won on penalty kicks thanks to an amazing save by goaltender Abby Wambach. And if that isn't enough, check your pulse, you might be dead and just not know it. And then there is the Tour de France. I've already mentioned numerous crashes in prior stages and yes they continued into stage nine. But there was another twist in yesterday's action. A car actually took down two riders in a breakaway to avoid hitting a tree. Apparently, the idiot driver thought it was better to nudge a bicycle going about 35 miles an hour rather than to apply his brakes and let the rider pass--but I digress. The amazing thing is that the two riders taken down by the car not only got back on their bicycles, but they both finished the stage and plan to continue riding when the Tour resumes tomorrow. And did I mention that one of the riders that got thrown when flying into a barbed wired fence?

India - A stunning hoard of treasure, possibly the largest in the world, was discovered in the vaults of a Hindu temple including bags of diamons, other gems and gold coins worth at least $22 billion. This next part is what caught my attention. I love this country. The vaults were opened after a local lawyer asked for an audit to settle allegations that the temple funds were being mismanaged. The temple is run by a trust controlled by descendants of the royal family which once ruled the area and is believed to have donated much of the treasure over the centuries as offings to the god Vishnu. India's Supreme Court ordered that the remaining treasure be preserved in a museum. Dude, there are 3 sets of people you never piss off, your food server, your boss's administrative assistance, and divine beings. I can just imagine the headline, "India's Supreme Court Mysterious Disappears Off The Face Of The Earth; God Vishnu Reported To Smile At The News"

Potpourri - Let's call this installment the "Oh my god, you cannot be serious" edition.

• Sunscreen - Children attending summer camp in Maryland must get parental permission to wear sunscreen. Camp counselors have been banned from applying sunscreen to campers, out of concern for inappropriate touching, but then said it was okay with written consent. Camp officials said they are trying to "walk a fine line between protecting kids' skin and making sure they feel personally safe." Say it with me now (you know you want to)... Oh my god, you cannot be serious!!!
• A Michigan prison inmate is suing his jail for the right to read pornography saying he suffers from Chronic Masturbation Syndrome. The inmate says that because he suffers from CMS, the jail's ban on pornography constitutes "cruel and unusually punishment" and is clearly designed to deprive him of any sort of sexual gratification. For the record, I did not make this story up. Second (because I clearly have too much time on my hands), I did a search on CMS and could not find a single credible source to that suggests this is a legitimate condition. I found a listing for Traumatic Masturbation Syndrome, but was afraid to click on the link. That not withstanding, oh my god, you cannot be serious.
• Shaving - An Oregon company has begun selling the Safirro Iridium razor, featuring solid white sapphire blades that are sharpened to 5,000 thinner than the width of a hair and will last forever for $100,000. I'm not sure which is more perplexing--what motivates a company to produce a $100,000 razor, or the idiot who feels the need to spend $100,000 on said razor.
• Dog Poop - The manager of a New Hampshire apartment complex requires dog owners to submit a DNA sample form their pets, so that any unscooped poop can be traced. And with this little gem, we conclude this edition of "oh my god, you cannot be serious"

What Caught My Eye Today

Fred's Note: First, on a personal note, I just read that a high school friend died in a plane crash this past weekend. That brings to three the number of Panthers from the Class of '89 that are no longer with us. Life is short. Don't take a single day for granted. As for my friend, Kristen, you'll be missed.

In today's post we bid farewell to one era and usher in a new one. Yeah, I totally planned it this way...totally.

Space Shuttle - The space shuttle Atlantis and its four astronauts launched into orbit Friday on a cargo run that will close out three decades of both triumph and tragedy for NASA and usher in a period of uncertainty for America's space program. This is the 135th shuttle flight since the inaugural mission in 1981. Atlantis' crew will dock with the International Space Station on Sunday, deliver a year's worth of critical supplies to the orbiting outpost, and bring the trash home. After Atlantis' return, it will be lights out for the shuttle program. Thousands of workers will be laid off within days. The spaceship will become a museum piece like the two other surviving shuttles, Discovery and Endeavour. And NASA will leave the business of building and flying rockets to private companies while it turns its attention to sending humans to an asteroid by about 2025 and Mars a decade after that. It will be at least three years before astronauts are launched again from U.S. soil. Good grief, this reads like an obituary. My goodness, aren't we a sorry lot. I'm thinking this is a time to celebrate 30 years of accomplishment and look toward the future. This is space exploration we're talking about people. As much as I applaud the Space Shuttle program, how much more are we going to learn by continuing to orbit the Earth. I'm thinking the nearly 21,000 orbits the space shuttles made are enough. It's time to embrace our inner Star Trek and "boldly go where no one has gone before."

South Sudan - Ladies and gentleman, put your hands together for the 193rd officially recognized nation, South Sudan. The Republic of South Sudan
became the world's newest nation, officially breaking away from Sudan after two civil wars over five decades that cost the lives of at least 2 million people. South Sudan earned independence at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the culmination of a January independence vote guaranteed in a 2005 peace deal that ended the most recent north-south war. Sudan was the first country to officially recognize South Sudan. That's a nice gesture don't you think? One has to believe that the north is still pretty bummed out about losing half its turf, you know, the part with all the oil.

Belgium - It seems our Belgian friends still cannot find a way to form a government. Belgium's King Albert II urged the country's politicians on Friday to consider "the gravity of the situation," after the resignation of the latest mediator in talks to form a coalition government. Elections in June 2010 brought the anti-Belgium N-VA regionalists to the fore in Flanders and left the pro-Belgium PS Socialists as the main party in the Francophone regions. The two need to work together to form a unitary national government, but talks have repeatedly broken down over demands for reforms and more self-rule to the two communities. The nation now holds the record for time without a government for a modern democracy. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed that Belgium has held itself together so well. After all the turmoil of the Arab Spring (can we call it Arab Summer yet?) and the havoc caused by the sudden collapse long standing governments, when you look at the state of affairs in Belgium, you might pause for a moment to ponder just how important it really is to have a functioning government.

Cycling - Dude, the peleton hasn't even hit the mountains and there is carnage galore. Here's a quick recap. Pre-tour favorite Alberto Cantador got caught up in a crash on the first stage and is a minute and 42 seconds off the pace (at this level of competition, that's quite a bit). Stage 5 had at least 10 crashes that pretty much took out at least one rider from every team (and yes Contador was involved in a crash yet again). On stage 6, American Levi Leipheimer crashed late (his second spill in two days) and lost more than a minute on the leaders, which pretty much hoses his chances for a podium finish. And then today, a crash at the end of the stage left dozens of riders, including poor Levi, to finish more than 3 minutes behind stage winner, Mark Cavendish. This guy is the man. Cavendish has now taken 27 stage wins in major Tours, including 17 stages of the Tour de France, 2 stages of the Giro d'Italia in 2011, as well as 68 wins on the road since turning pro in 2007. HTC-Highroad has racked up 42 victories this season alone, making them the most successful ProTour team. As for the top of the leader board, Thor Hushovd (Norway) still leads the way with Cadel Evans just one second behind, and Frank Schleck still in third place, four seconds behind Hushovd. Just think, the first high mountain stage isn't until stage 12. I'm not sure how much more drama I can handle.

What Caught My Eye Today

Space Shuttle - It is the end of an era, my friends. One might think that the upcoming final mission of the Space Shuttle program would evoke fond memories. Not so much. The space shuttle was sold to America as cheap, safe and reliable. It was none of those. It cost $196 billion over 40 years, ended the lives of 14 astronauts and managed to make less than half the flights promised. The total price tag for the program was more than twice the $90 billion NASA originally calculated. The nation spent more on the space shuttle than the combined cost of soaring to the moon, creating the atom bomb, and digging the Panama Canal. Of the five shuttles built, two were lost in fiery tragedies. The most shuttle flights taken in one year was nine — far from the promised 50. One out of every 67 flights ended in death — a fatality rate that would make the most ardent daredevil cringe. Based on deaths per million miles traveled, the space shuttle is 138 times riskier than a passenger jet. In fairness, this is rocket science we're talking about here. As for some of those other criticisms. Nine flights a year is a far cry from 50, but honestly, what's the big deal? It's not like the shuttle went anywhere beyond the orbit of the Earth (okay, maybe that's not a great argument in favor of the shuttle). Let's move onto those cost overruns. $90 billion in cost overruns spread over 40 years...on a government project? Sounds like the model of efficiency to me. Bear in mind, we are burning through $2 billion a week on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. By comparison $90 billion over 40 years is a rounding error. As for the mortality rate, no one said space travel was a trivial undertaking. I for one applaud the accomplishments of the Space Shuttle program and all those dedicated to its successes over the past 30 years.

Cell Phones - Nothing amuses me more than a study that points out the obvious. A study by the Governors Highway Safety Association found driving distractions, primarily by cell phones and other electronic devices, are associated with up to 25% of U.S. car crashes. One wonders what causes the other 75% of crashes. Perhaps a topic for another day. The study showed that drivers are distracted up to half the time and that crashes caused by distractions range from minor damage to fatal injury. Cell phone use raises the risk of crashing, but texting is likely to increase crash risk more than cell phone use. I don't understand what people are thinking sometimes. Where I live, there is more than enough to keep my attention getting to and from work in one piece without the need for challenging myself even further by not keeping my hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Some folks that suggest they have to stay connected to work and have no choice but to pick up the phone while they are driving. My, but what delusions of grandeur these folks have of themselves. Speaking strictly for myself, if my company cannot survive the time it takes me to drive to or from work, they clearly are not paying me enough.

Soccer - Group play has concluded Soccer at The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Lets see how my picks fared (my pick in bold type).

• Group A: Canada, France, Germany, Nigeria
• Group B: England, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand
• Group C: Colombia, North Korea, Sweden, United States
• Group D: Australia, Brazil, Equatorial Guinea, Norway

Seven out of 8 isn't too bad. The big surprise is that the United States lost to Sweden in Group C making its quarterfinal matchup a lot tougher. Speaking of which, here are my quarterfinal picks:

• Germany vs. Japan: Germany. The host nation advances.
• Sweden vs Australia: In a match up between the two biggest surprises of group play, I'm taking Sweden.
• England vs. France: A toss-up if you ask me, but I'm leaning toward France. They looked awfully good against Germany in group play.
• Brazil vs. U.S.A.: This is what happens when you don't win your group. Brazil beat the U.S.A. 4-0 in the last World Cup. I'm hoping the U.S. exacts revenge this time around.

Cycling - Ah yes my friends. The Tour de France is back! Sadly, Mr. Lance Armstrong is not competing this year (dude retired), but plenty of folks are ready to compete for the coveted yellow jersey (and endless accusations of blood doping after the fact). The usual suspects to win this year's event include Alberto Cantador (Spain), Cadel Evans (Australia) and Andy Schleck (Begium). The best American hopes lie with Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer, who both happen to ride for Lance's former team, RadioShack. Should you be curious (and I know you are), 6 stages are in the books and the first mountain stages are just around the corner. Thor Hushovd (Norway) riding for U.S. team Garmin Cervelo has a commanding one second lead over Cadel Evans. Twelve seconds separate the top 10 riders after nearly 1,000 kilometers.