Updates on the World Cup and Lois, plus TG travel tips

Tags

airport screening, baseball, Brazil, Burlington County College, Clayton Kershaw, Cristiano Ronaldo, Department of Homeland Security, Dodgers, Germany, Ghana, Group G, group stage, Josh Beckett, Juergen Klinsman, Lionel Messi, major leagues, no-hitter, Portugal, soccer, Transportation Security Administration, travel, TSA, USA, World Cup

Two of the three games of the group stage have now been played for all groups. By this point, some teams are in to reach the next round, some have been eliminated, and along the way we have seen some upsets and surprises.

Group A – Cameroon has already been eliminated.  They should provide little trouble for Brazil, allowing the host nation to advance as expected.  Croatia needs a win to advance while Mexico can move on with a draw in their match.

Group B – This was supposed to be one of the groups of death, with defending champion Spain, the 2010 runner-up Netherlands and Chile all worthy of advancing to the Round of 16.  Instead, the crash and burn of Spain (ranked #1 coming into the World Cup) has made their final game with Australia meaningless.  Netherlands and Chile will square off having both clinched a place in the next round.  All that will be decided is their seeding.  Chile needs a win to advance as the number one seed from the Group.

Group C – Colombia has advanced with two victories.  All of the remaining teams are still alive.  Ivory Coast, the top-ranked African nation in the tournament, is in the driver’s seat to advance.  A win over defense-minded Greece will clinch a spot in the round of 16 for them.  But they could be eliminated even with a draw.  However, that possibility would require an upset by Japan over Colombia, and also a high score or two goal margin.  Japan lacks the fire power to make that likely.

Group D – Costa Rica was supposed to be the first team eliminated in this group of death.  But they complicated matters with upset wins over Italy and Uruguay.  Already guaranteed to advance, they face surprisingly winless England, who has been eliminated.  Uruguay needs to beat Italy to advance, whereas Italy can advance with a draw.  Based on the pre-tournament seeding, the game is a toss-up.

Group E – Honduras has been eliminated, but could play a spoiler role.  If they upset Switzerland (a big if, as Honduras as yet to win a game in their three World Cup appearances) and Ecuador beats France, there would be a three-way tie at the top of the standings with 2-1 records.  France currently has a plus six in goal differential that should prove to be insurmountable.

Group F – As expected, Argentina will advance, but mustering only three goals is surprising, especially with one of the projected offensive stars of the tournament in Lionel Messi on their side.  They were fortunate to pull out a 1-0 victory over lowly Iran when Messi scored in extra time of the second half.  Bosnia was the second highest ranked team in this group, but they are winless so far in their first trip to the World Cup and will be going home after their final match.  If Iran beats Bosnia in that match, Iran might be able to sneak past Nigeria if the young African team falls to Argentina.  But even then, it would take a tie-breaker to do so as the deck is stacked against the Iranian squad at this point.

Group G – Another group of death with two of the top five teams in the world (Germany and Portugal) in the group.  It was an uphill climb for the USA squad to face those two teams plus Ghana, who has been the spoiler against the Americans in the previous two World Cups.  But Portugal was beset by injuries, including knee problems for this year’s number one player, Cristiano Ronaldo.  Germany was able to make easy work of them in their opening match, 4-0, while the USA team managed to halt the jinx of Ghana despite being outplayed by a young, speedy team for much of the match. Game two in this group saw two exciting, seesaw battles that ended up in 2-2 draws.

The US effort against Portugal was quite the opposite of the game against Ghana, with the American squad carrying most of the play, but the clever individual skills of the Portuguese caused more dangerous opportunities for them than Ghana had.  And yet, it was more that the USA defense let down on the two goals, than Portugal earning them.  A badly struck clearing attempt led to an early goal that forced USA to play catch up for most of the match. Then, after a great comeback put them in the lead, they surrender the tying goal in the last few seconds of extra time.  While a beautiful cross by Ronaldo (one of only a few plays in the game where he played up to his usual ability) set up the tally, at that point in the game, the defense should never have let the scorer get behind them.  Had the Americans held on, they would have clinched a spot in the round of 16, while Portugal would have had an unexpected early elimination.  Now, the group is still up for grabs.

In the final games of the group, Germany faces off with USA both with four points, while Ghana faces Portugal, each with a point.  If Ghana and Portugal battle to a draw, they are both eliminated.  Even if USA loses to Germany, they can advance if Portugal wins a close match over Ghana and if Germany’s margin of victory is narrow.  Currently, USA has a five goal advantage in goal differential, so that allows some margin of error.  It is much slimmer if Ghana beats Portugal (only 2), so once again Ghana could prove to be the undoing for USA in the World Cup.

If Germany and the USA draw, they will automatically advance.  USA coach, Juergen Klinsman, disavows that a private deal will be struck to bring about that result.  Of course, what else would he say?  This doesn’t mean it will happen.  All it means is that a denial means nothing.  This is nothing new in soccer.  West Germany and Austria were involved in a similar situation in the 1982 World Cup when it was known that a German victory by one or two goals would allow both to advance.  Germany scored early and the rest of the match saw little effort to score by any of the players.

This year, Klinsman is coaching against his native country and the team that he coached in the 2006 World Cup.  The current coach of Germany, Joachim Löw, was Klinsman’s assistant in 2006.  Knowing that a draw guarantees advancement, it is smart soccer to take few chances, especially for Germany who will advance as #1 in the group and play a weaker Group H team in the Round of 16 if a draw occurs.  It is also smart soccer for USA, as Germany is a more skilled squad than they are.  Ultimately, a draw will not be proof of collusion.  It will be the level of exertion by each team in causing that result that will arouse suspicions.

Group H – Belgium has already advanced to the next round.  Algeria is currently in second place, but if Russia beats them in the final game, Algeria is out.  South Korea is barely clinging to life.  It would take extraordinary circumstances for them to advance.  Yet, whether it is the heat and humidity of some of the venues, or whether parity is becoming more and more the norm in international soccer, extraordinary things have already been happening.  So far, the consensus is that most of the matches have been exciting; a far cry from some year’s opening rounds.

Moving ahead to my life, I had a great time at my college reunion and speaking to a college class.  My reunion deserves a full post at a later date.  I am still processing what happened at reunion.  As far as my speaking assignment, it was a great experience and I was blessed by the response of the students.  They showed a lot of interest, asked insightful questions, and above all, were respectful.  Their professor, Syreeta Washington of Burlington County College, does an exemplary job in the classroom from what I saw.  And another member of one of my support groups also did a great job of sharing her story.

In addition to the World Cup, I am also enjoying the major league baseball season so far.  While my Dodgers started slow again this year, they managed to keep a winning record throughout the season so far, compared with last year’s poor start that was overcome by a record-tying 42-8 winning streak in mid-summer to leave the rest of their division rivals in the dust.  Of late, they are playing better baseball, reducing mental and physical errors, although their hitting has still been a bit of a disappointment.  Most importantly over the last two weeks, they reduced the 9½ game lead that their traditional arch-rivals, the Giants, had built up.  They are now only four games behind.

As far as individual achievements by the Dodgers, no-hitters tossed by Josh Beckett and Clayton Kershaw have to top the list.  Kershaw, having won two Cy Young awards in recent years, is no surprise.  In his prime at age 26, he is ranked among the best pitchers in baseball.

At one time, Josh Beckett could have claimed that ranking.  But Beckett is now 34 years old and is coming off a forgettable season, most of which was wiped out by a variety of physical ailments.  The worst one, tingling and numbness in his pitching hand, threatened to end his career.  The cause was diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome.  There was no guarantee that the surgical answer, removal of a rib, would be successful.  But so far, he has been pitching fine baseball in most of his games, not just for the no-hitter.

No matter what chromosomes or hormones you might find, if you look closely, you will see that I bleed Dodger Blue!

Finally, this is my first post in what is officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere (it is winter time for all the World Cup venues in Brazil).  With warm weather and school vacations, this is a time that many travel.  The TG community is no exception to that.  Increasingly, despite the heightened security that has been in place at airports since 9/11, members of our community are interested in traveling by plane.

As the climate towards the TG community continues to improve, we are seeing more consideration of our needs at many levels of government.  One of the agencies in this category is the Transportation Security Administration, part of the Federal Department of Homeland Security.  On their website, they have provided tips to the transgender traveler to help them deal with security requirements and concerns we may have about screening procedures.

Thank you to the member of my Pathways support group who shared this link with our group a few months ago.

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/transgender-travelers

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. – Joshua 1:9

God bless,

Lois

Related articles

• Team USA draws Portugal, delays advance to knockout stages

World Cup Draw and Preview

Tags

Brazil, FIFA, football, group of death, Jurgen Klinsmann, soccer, sports, United States, USA, World Cup 2014

This topic is very different than my previous posts.  But sports is also a part of my life.  In fact it was a very big part when I was in childhood, continuing until I became self-employed and had to devote much more time to my career.

I can think of two major reasons why I like sports.  First, my brother was a big sports fan.  While my mother was my primary role model, my brother was next in line.  One of my goals from the time I was about four years old was to be an adult.  Because my brother was five years older than me, emulating him was an acceptable way to move closer to that goal.

Second, I remember my career counselor of many years ago teaching that we tend to like what we are good at.  One of his slogans was, “Like it, you’ll try it.”

I was good in sports.  The only things that hindered me as I grew older: lack of size and lack of upper body strength.  Otherwise, I was ahead of my peers in team sports and some other activities like the long jump or sprinting.  I still have excellent reflexes (I became a competent high school level goalie in ice hockey), could throw a baseball or football for distance and accuracy (but not speed), and was a shifty runner (fine pass receiver, kick returner or defensive back in touch football).

At some point, I adopted interests not shared with my brother.  In sports, that would be soccer.  My primary focus is on the men’s World Cup, played every four years to determine the world champion of the sport.

In 2014, the World Cup is being hosted by Brazil, the country that has won the most World Cups.  Currently, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the sport’s global governing body) only has the Brazil squad ranked tenth in the world, but we shall see how that holds up when they play all their matches in front of their fans.

Of course, I am rooting for my home country.  The United States qualified for this year’s World Cup fairly easily.  FIFA currently has them ranked 14^th in the world.  But in the random drawing for the different groups, things could not have turned out worse.  Groups with three quality teams have been nicknamed “group of death”, since one quality team must be eliminated in the first round.  The United States ended up in Group G with Germany (seeded – ranked #2, Portugal – ranked #5 but somehow unseeded and Ghana ranked #24).

Furthermore, the USA team ended up with a horrible travel schedule for its games.  The games, which will begin on June 12 and end on July 13, will be played just before and during the winter season in the southernmost cities of Brazil.  The temperatures in the south of Brazil should be moderate.  Porto Alegre, the venue furthest south, enjoys average highs in the mid-upper 60’s and average lows in the lower 50’s at this time of year.

However, the USA team will be playing their games in three of the four northernmost cities, near the Equator where the change of seasons matters little.  Two of their games are on the coast.  But their middle game, against Portugal, will be played in Manaus, a city of two million people deep in the interior of Brazil.  The average temperatures are fairly constant throughout the year: average highs range from the upper 80’s to lower 70’s.  The average humidity is over 80%.  It is the city all the teams wanted to avoid.  By having their middle game there, USA will have one of the longest travel schedules.

Each opponent provides an interesting matchup for the USA squad.  Their opening game is against Ghana.  Four years ago, the USA was eliminated by Ghana with a goal in the final seconds of their second round game.  And in 2006 USA and Ghana were also in the same group, with Ghana’s victory (despite some controversy over the officiating) eliminating the USA squad.  Hopefully, with less on the line in an opening match, the USA team will prevail as their higher ranking would indicate, but it remains to be seen.

Game two is the aforementioned sweatbox game against Portugal.  The recent history for this matchup has been better for USA.  In 2002, USA defeated Portugal in the opening game of their group.  USA eventually advanced while Portugal was eliminated.  But remember that Portugal is the mother country to Brazil.  There are close language, cultural, historical and ancestral ties between the two countries.  It is likely that Portugal will be a clear fan favorite in any matchup unless they eventually play Brazil.

The final game of the first round is against Germany.  Although USA defeated Germany in a “friendly” match (i.e., international exhibition) played this past June in Washington, DC, Germany is ranked as the superior team and should be favored in a key match played at a neutral site.  However, the USA team manager in the upcoming World Cup is Jurgen Klinsmann, former star player for the German side in the 1980’s and 90’s (West Germany before the country was reunited).  He also coached a young German team to a third place finish in the 2006 World Cup that was played on home soil.

The current German coach, Joachim Low, was Klinsmann’s assistant coach in 2006.  The two coaches will be very familiar with each other’s style and tactics.  One also needs to keep in mind that in the final game of the first round, team strategy is also dictated by where they are in the standings, whether they need a win or a draw to advance, or if they have already clinched a spot in the next round.

A quick look at the other groups:

Group A (Brazil, Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon): Brazil should advance easily.  Croatia and Mexico are fairly evenly matched.  Croatia has the edge on offense but Mexico might be better able to handle the climate conditions with most of the matches closer to the Equator.

Group B (Spain, Netherlands, Chile and Australia):  Spain and Netherlands faced each other in the 2010 World Cup Final, yet one of them might fail to advance as Chile has been coming on strong in recent games.

Group C (Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan):  Despite missing the last three World Cups, Colombia is ranked number 4 and is the seeded team.  Greece puts all their emphasis on defense.  Ivory Coast barely missed moving to the second round in 2010.  While Japan is the lowest ranked in this group, they advanced in 2010 and can give any team trouble.  This is a group where upsets are likely.

Group D (Uruguay, Italy, England and Costa Rica):  Uruguay, Brazil’s neighbor to the south, plays a key match against England in nearby Sao Paolo.  Italy is looking to atone for finishing at the bottom of a group they should have won four years ago, while England has been uninspiring of late.  Because of these three teams, this has been labeled the other group of death.

Group E (Switzerland, France, Ecuador and Honduras):  This is one of the weaker groups.  Switzerland is a good squad but the least regarded of the seeded teams.  France, another disappointing team four years ago, barely advanced in the qualifiers.  Ecuador and Honduras have had little success in past World Cup play.

Group F (Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nigeria, Iran):  Argentina figures to breeze through to the next round.  Bosnia-Herzegovina is the only newcomer this year, but that is due in part to their short history as an independent country.  Nigeria has a young team that is capable of producing an upset in this round.

Group H (Belgium, Russia, Algeria, South Korea):  Belgium, qualifying for the first time since 2002, looked good in the qualifiers.  Russia also played above their ranking in the qualifiers, beating Portugal and Sweden.  These two teams should advance.  Algeria has not played outside of Africa in 2013 and may be overrated at #26 (only four places behind Russia).  They finished at the bottom of their group in 2010 and could do so again.  South Korea built up a big lead early in their qualifiers and stumbled home the rest of the way, barely advancing on a tiebreaker.

At some point in the future, I expect to post about the only team I still avidly root for, explaining why I still bleed Dodger blue.  But I will get back on topic in my next post, looking at my own life as an example of the difference between wanting something and knowing something to be true.

God bless,

Lois