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i am raising a glass to you TL as i type! (unfortunately it only has peach oolong tea in it but the day is still quite young).yeah, i hope Villa comes back a blazin'! Puyol too. Ramos is a bit more unpredictable ha ha! 11 red cards at Real Madrid so far (and counting, no doubt). funny that footage of him pushing Villa and Puyol though; did it really hurt that much, Carles?... as for Piqué? there seemed to be a LOT of giving away the ball throughout the tournament; maybe his mind was on Shakira's hips (they don't lie, apparently). and you're right Badger, that was nice to see their kids going for goal! next generation maybe? i think Torres' offspring looked in better form then he has recently. as for Balotelli TL, well i looked at him in a slightly more understanding light after hearing about his upbringing; came from Ghana to Italy, quite seriously ill as a kid, in foster care since he was three. and as you can imagine, Italy not always the most tolerant of anyone who isn't white and Italian. the BBC showed a newspaper article with a cartoon of Balotelli hanging onto to the Empire State Building à la King Kong!!! and the piece was actually a positive one!! quite unbelievable. bet you were happy about Ronaldo's upset, eh TL?!! (we know you like him really). and ol' Villa-Boas has signed a 50 million pound 3 year contract Badger; fingers crossed it was Chelsea's egos that got in the way last season and not his managerial style. otherwise you're in the poo poo. Murray versus Ferrer today; bloody hell.... likely to be another toughy methinks. the Spanish man plays like his footballing brethren; constantly moving, deft skill and bags of energy right up until the umpire calls it over. as Fraser would say "we're doomed, doooomed...."

Hats off to Spain..after being quite boring and circular in their play in the last 2 rounds they finally turned it on and looked like a team with a purpose! If they had a Spaniss Messi (Torres does not compare) to complete their pretty patterns, they would be truly up there with the immortals. It's a shame Italy were not at their best and that they had to playy 30 minites with 10 men. At least they continued with an attacking style and did not retreat to their customary defensive approach. I am in Tirana in Albania right now working with 6 Italians..they are in deep mourning. What was wonderful at the end was so many of the Spanish team not strutting around and beating their chesfs, but happily, unselfconsciously playing with their kids. That made me like them a lot more :-)

Iran and the US today underlined their military readiness for conflict should faltering diplomacy over Tehran’s atomic activities fail, as tensions rose over tougher western sanctions. Iran said it successfully fired several dozen missiles in war games in its central desert region designed to show its capacity for counter-attack. US officials, meanwhile, detailed a quiet US military build-up in the Gulf region that includes deployment of warships and F-22 stealth fighter jets. The belligerent posturing came on the day technical experts from Iran and from world powers, including the United States, were due to meet in Istanbul in the latest round of talks. Iran refuses to bow to Western demands that it curb its sensitive uranium enrichment under the pressure of punishing economic sanctions that were ramped up last week to their most severe level so far. ***** How far does the US go in sticking by whatever best bud Israel decides is a threat to itself? The US and other western allies have really gone way out of their way to isolate Iran on this issue, to the point of having the monetary system pull their SWIFT code, the means by which the entire world moves money bank to bank. There really is not much more that the US, Israel and other allies can do. They've already had some success with cyber war, Israel played the big bluff in threatening to launch unilateral attacks on Iran which were said to be most likely in April, May or June of this year. The Obama Administration warily advised restraint and asked Israel to endure as sanctions did their work. Now this saber-rattling. Very unnerving. I am reminded of the Nostrodamus quatrain that starts with something like: "The war will be well underway when..." I am also nervous that there is no mention of this through any of the major news outlets. Ho-hum summer doldrums, everybody going to the July 4th bar-b-q. I, for one, see the entire Mid-East at a broiling point right now. Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and a whole host of minor players are in the mix right now. Russia is lurking in the background. A unilateral attack or deliberate provocation and attack could start the conflagration. Just sayin' I'm not asleep to the possibilities which are all too evident this holiday...

I'll toast a cava with you, as long as it's a very dry one! :D

You have to wonder about the Supreme Court. Are the decisions they make fair and really unencumbered by political designs? I've never thought so and Roberts changing his mind and writing the majority opinion in favor of the individual mandate in Obamacare certainly added proof to the pudding. Don't get me wrong. I'm in favor of Obama's landmark healthcare legislation. It's just that it goes against Roberts grain to change his mind and make such a ruling. It also shows that the justices can really do just about anything they want and always find some reason to justify it. It's really very scary when you think about it. The result of this decision is to enhance Obama's chance (already quite good) of winning the election. If Roberts sat back one night six weeks ago after knocking back a couple of scotches and said "I can't go down in history as the man who sunk millions of people's only chance to receive health care", that would be a good thing. If somebody reached out to him from Chicago to seal the deal for Obama, then that would be a very bad thing. One of the worst. The Supreme Court was never envisioned to be a king-maker. They shouldn't even make important decisions like this in an election year unless it is a critically time-sensitive issue. I want to believe Chief Justice Roberts is a good man with a good heart. I am so jaded and cynical about the nature of American politics, though, that it is hard for me to believe that the man appointed by Dubya to lead the Court could have had an eleventh hour pang of conscience. I really hope I'm wrong.

And I was missing Puyol and Villa a lot too! Puyol and Piqué are an awesome dynamic duo that Piqué and Ramos are NOT! I was pleasantly suprised by this Italian team, and will be keeping an eye on Balotelli in the future-for sure. Highest win in competition history, btw!

well, Euro 2012 has come to a close.for those of us who watched the whole competition, Spain turned it on last night and shone brightly. amidst the usual display of dazzling dexterity they truly reached higher and gave the whole world a slap to the face and provided a masterclass in the art of football. having passed with panache earlier in the tournament, but with little to show for it, they scored some beautiful goals (Jordi Alba's in particular), culminating with a deft finish from an off-form Torres and his selfless assist (without looking) to his Chelsea team mate, Mata. Italy were outclassed, as simple as that. once that second goal went in, the spirit looked drained. a shame regarding the injuries as the game kinda limped to the final whistle but their fate was already sealed really. where to for Spain now? onwards and upwards no doubt. with David Villa and Carles Puyol soon to return there should be good times ahead. although age is creeping up on some of the players. as good as the Brazil '70 team? the jury is out on that one... so, not a stunning competition but some good games here and there. well done Poland and Ukraine. next stop Wimbledon and the agonies of Murray. still, looking good as i type, with a set up and 3-1 in the second.

Vicente del Bosque's Spanish national team became the first side to successfully defend a European Championship title, as well as the first to win three consecutive major tournaments after their triumphs at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. Accused in some quarters (including this thread) of having lost their ability to excite, Spain produced a thrilling demonstration of attacking football to confirm beyond doubt that this remains a golden age for Spanish football. Of course, it is easy to win when the other team goes down a player for a third of the game. In more exciting news, Tiger Woods prowled to his third victory this year in the AT&T at Congressional in Bethesda. There were flashes of the old Tiger brilliance with his short iron game and putting, executing several amazing shots that nobody in golf even attempts. He surpassed Nicklaus as the second winning-est golfer ever, capturing his 74th PGA title. At 36 he is almost a cinch to surpass Sam Snead with another ten wins, as long as his knee holds out. While he is not completely back in prime form, the only real question is how many more majors he can add to the 14 already in his bag. It's a shame he couldn't close the door at the US Open a couple of weeks ago. Speaking of the US Open, did anybody catch the interview with winner Web Simpson at Olympic in SF near the 18th green? Some wild and crazy guy stepped in front of the camera and made several distinct loon bird calls, looking directly into the camera with a mirthful smirk. Ahhh, that priceless San Francisco treat!

especially the fires being so bad so early in the year.

Thanks for thinking of us Ted! June has been hell on earth for Colorado. So many people affected by these infernos, heat, drought etc.. The Springs were like a scene right out of Terminator last week, unreal... Cheers to DSO for throwing that benefit show at Left Hand Brewery on Friday. Please bring us some rain!! ((((Colorado Rain))))