There's this thing that starts on June 11th

Leaving for my local Irish pub now. If I receive the picks from my 4 procrastinating friends in the next 22 minutes, I will add them to the spreadsheet later.

• Uruguay
• USA
• Netherlands
• Brazil

• Germany
• Argentina
• Paraguay
• Spain

• Uruguay
• Brazil

• Argentina
• Spain

• Brazil
• Spain

• Brazil

No way Spain loses to Chile.

Sorry, England. The Black Stars worry me, though.

Where to begin. After a brutal first half, we showed our grit and determination and fought back valiantly. Donovan’s goal was sublime. Only the truly gifted would think of shooting high, straight at the keeper. I hear Buffon called Slovenia’s keeper one of the best in Europe, but he sure didn’t look like it on that play. And then Josy’s beautiful header that Michael Bradley (the second coming of Roy Keane) ran on to and finished brilliantly. Dennehy’s erupted; singing, chanting, tears…it was incredible.

And then? How can anyone explain that call? FIFA? A corrupt, incompetent, morally bankrupt organization. An absolute disgrace. We better not see that referee again in any FIFA tournament. Five of our guys were fouled on that play. How can they accept a “no comment” from a referee. Steve McManaman was spot on, as usual. Robert Green had the guts to face the press after his monumental blunder. And FIFA? No comment. Pitiful. Feel badly for Maurice Edu; fabulous play. And in the end, we control our own destiny. Win Wednesday and we advance. And if we can’t beat Algeria, we don’t deserve to advance.

Lastly, no disrespect to my English friends, but what is going on with the three lions? Pitiful performance today. At least the Yanks showed some fight.

Are we going to see a Brazil – Spain second round match? Geez, you get that one wrong and you’re out of the running. Need Chile to beat Switzerland and restore some semblance of order

Keep an eye on this Ghana team. Didn’t think they had a chance without Essien, but once again I may have underestimated them. Live and don’t learn; that’s my motto.

Oh, and the Germans? We better win our group because their young fellas ARE for real.

Mr. Dennehy’s was rocking during the USA game. 2 floors, 3 separate bars, couldn’t move. Fortunately, Wil and I had gotten there early for the Greece (dreadful) – South Korea game so we had seats at the bar. Howard (man of the match) and Cherundolo were stellar, and depending on your point of view, Green’s blunder (or Capello’s selection of him) was inexplicable.

Stand out memory was the arrival of two attractive, well-dressed women, one wearing a pearl necklace. They made their way to the bar and shared a pitcher of beer and watched the entire match. Being in a bar at 2:30 in the afternoon watching the USA – England match must have been the hip place to be, at least in NYC.

Will be back at Dennehy’s on Friday for the Germany – Serbia match at 7:30 am and then the big one at 10. Will be interesting to see the crowd for that one.

Planning to catch the 6:30 train to Grand Central to meet my friend Wil (check out his latest post; geez I hope France doesn’t advance) at Mr. Dennehy’s in the Village. A US win and Argentina loss would make for a great day.

Please check the Group Round Matrix to verify I correctly recorded your picks.

Does anyone feel confident about who will advance from Group A?