It's that time folks - retrospective time.  A look back at how the World Cup actually was with hindsight now 20/20.  During the Finals, we're all so 'into it' that it's hard to look at it from the outside - but now that I have, it really wasn't that good.

First off, lets get the 'Zidane' thing out of the way.  Was he out of line?  Of course.  But is he totally at fault?  Not on your life.  While there is no excuse for his violent reaction to Marco Materazzi's jibe, FIFA needs to do something when it comes to provocation.  Would a player of Zidane's intelligence and class just haul off and head butt another player?  No - he must have been provoked.  Lost in all this is the fact that while referee Horacio Elizondo made the right move in red carding Zidane, he should have also carded Materazzi.  Tuesday, the Italian admitted to insulting Zidane....Really?  I would never have guessed Marco, thanks for the admission.  Now, if they were smart and had some sense, FIFA would move to ban Materazzi for a couple of games for his role.  Perhaps only the lip-readers and the players involved truly know what was said but does it matter really?  Materazzi admits it so now punish him for it - like he should have been punished during the game.

Here's an even better thought if you want to cut down on this sort of thing - red card them both.  That way, any players using verbal attacks to get under a player's skin are treated the same way as someone making a physical attack.  That will show the players that both are one in the same - and should be treated as such.  It's a very slippery slope of course and some players would likely trick the officials but I think in theory, it is a good idea.  tricks or no tricks, the consequences are the same for all involved.  Perhaps this is where replay could help.

Now - the finals themselves.  One thing has become glaringly obvious to everyone - the officiating is not where it needs to be.  FIFA have four years to fix it and while I'm not necessarily one to embrace technology, the game needs it.  Officials can no longer keep up to the pace of the players and that resulted in inconsistent officiating which is damaging the integrity of the tournament itself.  When obvious dives go uncarded, or worse yet - result in penalty kicks, something is amiss.  How about the issuing of three yellow cards?  Or a record number of cautions and ejections?  That should be a sign to Sepp Blatter that the officials are overburdened.

And the players don't help.

After they exchange gifts and go through the handshakes, sportsmanship goes out the window and it's now about gamesmanship.  Who can act the best?  At this edition of the finals, Cristiano Ronaldo was certainly a leading contender in the best actor category.  His blatant dive in the third place game vs Germany just before the half was so obvious - but the referee waved play on instead of handing out a card for simulation.  He looked right at the official as he was going down.....Nothing.  But is that because the ref genuinely felt he should wave play on?  Or is it because there was such pressure on the officials to stop the card parade that he felt he couldn't card him for simulation? 

Before the finals, Blatter said he wanted a crackdown on cheating.  When there was a crackdown, all of a sudden he's against the officials saying they should be yellow carding themselves.  What do you do if you're an official and your own president - who vehemently called for a crackdown on the eve of the tournament - turns on you and leaves you twisting in the breeze?  You do what Graham Poll did - you walk away....And that's the shame of it all isn't it?  Poll is a decent official but his quitting is a prime example of how it's all wrong for the officials.  If Blatter had half a brain, he'd stand by his officials and admit the game needs the help of modern technology.  Perhaps even a look at a two referee system that has worked so well in Canada's sport - hockey - is an option.

But first, goal line cameras and replay are a MUST by 2010.

Lastly, the quality of the football needs to be vastly improved.  This is THE showcase event for the sport and the players need to be able to shine.  How can they do that when they're playing as many as 60 games a year?  The players are exhausted and it showed.  The match schedule needs to be reduced because the players in Germany were running on fumes.  We had hoped to see the best of Ronaldhino, Andriy Schevchenko, Kaka, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Steven Gerrard, etc, etc. - but each of those players were involved in more than 50-games last season when all was said and done.  There's only 52-weeks in a year!!

I don't agree with Sepp about much but I DO agree that the domestic schedules need to be reduced going into a World Cup year.  FIFA made billions off this years Finals and post hundreds of millions in profits each year - perhaps it's time to give the federations some of that money in exchange for reducing the game schedule?  It's not like they cannot afford it.

Lets hope FIFA have seen the same things that we all have and work on addressing the issues ahead of South Africa.  They have roughly 1,460 days to do it.

As an aside, I'd like to thank you - the viewers/fans - for all your positive comments and encouragement during the past month.  Leading upto the tournament, we at 'The Report' weren't quite sure just what it would all look like when we put the pieces together but we're very pleased with the comments we've seen.  We did our best to get you as much news and information as possible so you were prepped for each match - and you knew what was going on around the tournament.  Not having the broadcast rights made it a challenge but the folks at ABC/ESPN were very accomodating - and while it was very slim a few nights there, some hilites are better than no hilites.  I for one am extremely proud of the efforts of Michelle, Max, Bobby, Nick and everyone behind the scenes that made it work day in and day out.  Robert Burns and Ed Derse cannot be forgotten because they are the ones who allowed us to do this stuff - blogging.  They set it up and answered all of our questions - most of them pretty dumb likely - in the lead-up and they have done a fantastic job of keeping on us to make sure we're 'blogging' on a regular basis. 

I hope to keep this blog going as we head into the domestic season. 

But, you cannot get better without feedback and I welcome your comments regarding our coverage on 'The Report'.  The good, the bad, the ugly - whatever - just try to keep it constructive.  I will pass the best stuff along to our Producers.

Again - thanks for reading.  I can't wait for 2010!!

Cheers! 

A month long party in Germany (and around the world) is into the last hours and let me say what an enjoyable World Cup it has been!!  Sure, there have been officiating errors, ticket problems and some hooliganism - but the games have been free of any terrorist attacks and save for the odd Portuguese player going down LIKE he was shot - everyone came out unscathed.

All in all, a World Cup many of us had hoped for....But not one any of us could have predicted!

Before the tournament got underway, just for fun I went around to my colleagues in the department and asked them to fill out a World Cup wallchart - from beginning to end.  No points awarded, no money on the line.....Just for fun to see how we all thought it would turn out.  Suffice it to say, not one of us had Italy/France for the Final but one person did have France going all the way - and winning!!

Dom Gauthier is one of our producers and he is a proud Frenchman.  I figured he'd find a way to get France to the Final and I laughed when I saw his sheet - but Dom is the one laughing now....In my ear last night during the show if I recall.  Now, while Dom predicted France would get to the final, he also said they'd beat Holland 8-0 so you can see why I laughed.  He says his score prediction still stands by the way....

Here's what the rest of the gang from FSWR picked for the final:

Moi: Argentina v Brazil - Brazil wins - I didn't have France making it out of the Group Stage but I did have Italy in the semis.  They fell to Argentina 3-1.

Fraulein Lissel: Holland v Argentina - Holland wins - France got to the semis on her grid before losing to Holland.  Italy crashed out in the Group Stage - she had US going through instead.....Always the optimist is our Michelle.

Mitch: Argentina v Brazil - Brazil wins 3-1 - Mitch had the same thing as Michelle in calling France to get to the semis before losing to Argentina.  Italy were eliminated by Brazil in the 2nd Round.

Luke (Sr. Producer): Argentina v Brazil - Brazil wins 3-1 - I think Luke and Mitch did theirs together because they are pretty much identical.  Same thing - France out in the semis, Italy bounced by Brazil in the 2nd Round.

Carlito - The 'Prince of Portugal' didn't fill one out but he doesn't have to, I can predict what his would have looked like.  Portugal beating Brazil in the final - they would have knocked off Argentina AND Germany along the way.....We haven't seen Carlos since the Portugal/France pre-game but we have all the bridges in town under surveillance in case he shows up.

So there you go - a sampling of just how inept even those of us on the front lines are when it comes to predicting the outcome.  But that's the brilliance of the game....You just never know what can happen. 

We look back now and go "how could I have picked South Korea to get to the Quarters?"  Because you have no idea how to predict the future.

France v Italy - may the best team win but most of all, may it be the best game of the tournament!!

Enjoy the last of the 18th World Cup!!

Is Ronaldo set to become a movie star?

I could have sworn he was doing his best to get a part in the next 'Superman' movie with his impromptu jump and flight through two defenders in the box in the first half....

He's really winning me back with this performance....

France are well worth the lead.

England striker Wayne Rooney has come out and said his step on Ricardo Carvalho's jewels was completely unintentional - but what else would he say right?  I'd love to hear a player say "Yeah, I meant to do it...I saw them there and I thought I could get away with it so - ya, I did it."

But with Roy Keane now retired, that'll never happen will it?

I went over the tape this afternoon with our Argentine producer - over and over and over and over - and I STILL believe it was unintentional.  Now let me qualify that - by unintentional I mean that he didn't intend to step on his bean bag.  I'm not saying he didn't mean to step on him period.

In winding and rewinding the video, Rooney is focused on the ball - he's looking right at it.  I've read some people's blogs saying he looked right at Carvalho and stepped - I don't agree.  As he's making his way through the two Portugal players, there is obvious clutching & grabbing from everyone involved.  Rooney is obstructed off the ball but fights through it and in the course of events, Carvalho goes down and tries to drag Rooney with him - but Rooney stays focused on the ball.  You can actually see him try to get his feet to it.

Now - he knew Carvalho was there....he also knew Carvalho was down and I think while he was off-balance, he did mean to step on Carvalho - but not on his jewels.

Was it worth the red card?  No way.  Yellows to BOTH would have been appropriate as both Carvalho and Rooney fouled each other.  The Ronaldo stuff is handbags - we've seen that dozens of times with nothing shown.  Now some of you will go by the letter of the law - "The Laws say this" - that's crap.

Based on the flow of the game, based on what referees have been allowing - Elizondo's decision was harsh.  Ya, the laws say what they say but in terms of the flow of the match, the diving, the fouls, the handbags - was it necessary to send Rooney off?  I don't think so.  A stern warning to him and a yellow card to both he and Carvalho would have done the trick IMO.

Agree...Disagree - that's my take.

It's 10:15am here in hazy Winnipeg and before I jet to work, I figured I'd touch on some of the issues of the weekend.  Yes, I have come out of my England funk and over the course of the day as I get immersed back into the futbol world, I may also get a little more excited about the upcoming Semifinals....Maybe....Ok, I will.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo - I've been reading a lot of stuff on the wires and on the blogs about Ronaldo and his antics on Saturday.  I'm happy to see that I wasn't the only one who noticed his 'wink' at the bench after Rooney was red carded.  He says he didn't ask for the card but England players have come out and said they saw him running over, motioning for the card.  I still haven't seen the replay of Roo on Carvalho's bean-bag but I will today and let you know whether it changes my opinion.  At this point in time, I still think the red was harsh and the step-on may have been (somewhat) accidental.  I cannot say (like some) that it was blatant at this point.

2. Go Ahead & Jump - It's Canada Day - On Canada Day here in Winnipeg there was a downtown street closed off (Osbourne) for the annual Street Festival.  To help cheer me/us up, my wife and I went down there after the Brazil/France game and had a brewski with some friends.  I saw England jerseys galore and some sad faces - but no Portuguese fans.  Apparently they were all over on another street in town celebrating on their own.  I still say 'congrats' but as we watched the Canada Day fireworks from one of the downtown bridges on Saturday night, some Portugal fans came and stood just in front of me.  Being the big-mouth I sometimes am, I told them that standing on the bridge they were certainly in the right place for diving....They didn't seem as amused as I was by that statement.

3.  Reports: Ronaldo Not Returning To United - While I respect the talent that Cristiano Ronaldo exhibits, I respect Manchester United more if reports are true that the club plans to ship Ronaldo somewhere else in the wake of his World Cup shame.  I said it on Saturday that the kid will be in for a rough ride if he goes back to Old Trafford given that Roo, Neville and Rio are all part of that England team.  Rooney is quoted Monday as saying he's going to 'split Ronaldo in two' if he returns to United and I for one would not want to be on the receiving end of the bulldog's bite.  I guess SAF sees it this way:  we can get rid of him and make some money or we can keep him and let Rooney rip'em up, have him sit injured and have to pay his wages....How much were Real willing to pay again?  The thing I love about futbol is it is, more often than not, about 'the team' and not just 'the man'.  When it is about 'the man', teams crumble (ie: Real Madrid) but when the team is put ahead of all the players, it is magical (Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal) to watch and if it is going to upset the team to have Ronaldo, I'd dump him too - regardless of how talented he is.

4. France Beat Brazil - Again - Maybe some of you caught this one the show a little while back but I mentioned before the Brazil/Ghana game that one of our studio guys thought Ghana would upset the Selecao but was unwilling to make a wager on it - I mentioned it over a 'Games Coming Up' board as we went to break.  Well, when we were in break, this particular Studio guy (having been called out) said 'ok, lets wager'.  As you know, I won that bet but instead of have him fork over, I said 'lets double it up on France/Brazil'.....He was hesitant so I added 'if anyone can beat Brazil, it's France.'  He reluctantly agreed.  Needless to say I'm stopping by an ATM on my way to work today and will hear about it all day.  Plus, we have a French producer who's desk is next to mine and he will be chirping all day as well....In English AND French.  The loss to France has crushed Brazilian hearts and already I'm reading of inquiries into South American futbol, Brazil fans booing their team and just a general discontent about what has happened.  In retrospect, I'm not THAT surprised - Brazil had it easy (I said they had the easiest road to the last-16) and they never really looked that sharp.  My man B-Mac is right though - France played a perfect game and they allowed nothing to get close to Barthez.  They were well worth the upset - and it WAS an upset for those on the fence.

5. It's Wide Open Now baby! - I've been asked over the weekend who is gonna win it now that Brazil, England and Argentina are out.....Although the same people that are asking me also gave me stick for ruining their World Cup pool with my advice on picks....Do they not learn NOT to trust someone so close to the action?  My younger brother said it best - "Tell me who you're picking and I'll go the opposite way".  Don't ya love siblings?  Anyways - it's so wide open now that, to be honest, I dunno what's gonna happen!!  I'm leaning towards a Germany/France final with Germany winning out just because I don't think Portugal has any more creativity than Brazil so they won't break down France anymore than the Samba Boys were able to and I cannot see Italy producing what's needed to hold off Germany.  Jurgen Klinsmann's team has gotten better each game and I think Brazil going out will galvanize them into two more standout performances.

But what do I know - my current track record ain't too good.