We're going to Germany

So, y'all may not have heard, but there's a World Cup coming up. Sadly enough, I just started my summer job this week, and they kind of refuse to let me take off eight hours a day to watch matches. I'll be recording a lot of the games (all of England, most of Spain, and probably some others), but I pretty much won't be able to watch anything live. This is clearly tragic; however, I'm not leaving y'all stranded.

Guardian World Cup. Podcasts, minute-by-minute match reports, and pretty much my favorite mainstream World Cup site.

Finals Fantasy. From the people at It's Up for Grabs Now and the Soccer Bandit. I especially like the ad reviews. (Michael Owen? Asda? How could you?)

Deadspin. Liveblogs of all the weekday matches, "four tiny tidbits" on each team, and pretty much the best of random ephemera from the sports world.

And speaking of random ephemera, Do the Crouch. Pretty much just what it sounds like. Peter Crouch's dorkiness has become a certifiable national phenomenon. Awesome. (Along those lines, Footie Girl's England drinking game made me cackle out loud. And I'm even sober!)


Finally tonight, from the New York Times, the USMNT and their delusions of adequacy. I hate to tell Arena this, but the World Cup is not, in fact, judged on crossword proficiency. (Link from Ole Ole.)