Getting ready for the World Cup

OK, so we are a day away from the World Cup opening game. I am so excited I can barely see straight. I need to come up with some sort of excuse so I can get out of work. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue since I can just cough a little or sniffle. But the problem is I need to watch 6 hours of soccer EVERY DAY for 2 weeks during the first round, then gradually reducing until the finals on July 9th. The schedulers didn’t do me any favors since they scheduled an hour break in between each game, so I can’t even just take a slightly long 6 hour lunch break. I’d have to leave just before 9am (after getting in at 8:30am) and wouldn’t come back from the bar… er, I mean… restaurant, until after 5pm. I have to leave at 530pm…

My preparations are almost complete. My dual-layer DVDs arrived on Wednesday along with a 25-pack of regular DVDs. I’ll use the dual-layer DVDs to record the USA games, and record any interesting matches on the regular DVDs. I will also be making smaller Divx files so I can bring those in to watch while I’m at work. My Cox DVR has been set to record all games on all channels (Univision, Telefutura, ESPN, ESPN2, ABC).

So now I just need to keep tabs on what is going on with injuries and such. First of all I love RSS feeds, they keep me right on the cutting edge (maybe too much info at times). But I also daily traverse the following sites to get my fix:

• The World Cup Roundtable – Link
  a collection of bloggers getting together to talk about soccer.
• World Cup Journal by Washington Post – Link
  The Washington Post’s writers in Germany (like the excellent Steven Goff) check in pretty much daily with news from there.
• USSoccer.com – Link
  This is a MUST read. Exclusive behind the scenes “all-access” video, audio, articles, and even a semi-blog thing. Click on Studio 90 and a new window pops up with even more goodies.
• BigSoccer USA Men Forum – Link
  This place is pretty much the epitomy of internet forums. You can find everything from half-baked conspiracy theories to breaking news from the “guy who knows a friend who works with the sister of the concierge at the hotel accross the street from the one where the USA team is staying who on his smoke break talked to the guy who knows the maitre’d who served the assistant to the doctor who knows the team doctor who treated a blister on one of the coach’s feet”
• Fox Sports World – Link
  News site specifically devoted to soccer. Doesn’t normally “break” stories, but gets them fairly quick and has a wide range of coverage.
• BBC Sport’s World Cup – Link
  Typical British news. Slightly “tabloid-like”, and lots of un-founded rumors. But they are very interesting to read, and you get alot of stuff as it happens. If the link doesn’t work (seems like an address that might change) goto http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport and then click on “World Cup”.

I’ll be posting alot as soon as the games get rolling!