some thoughts on internationals/ US Open

I didn't get to see much of the England Andorra match due to shotty internet, (which is still plaguing me now), but I don't know if there could be any more coverage of the English team in the English media, so you feel like you have a pretty good sense of what was going on, even if you might not have seen a minute of the actual match. Everyone loves talking about England's problems, but how bout a little optimism? Couldn't hurt, could it?

I did see some of the pivotal stages of both Austria France, and Spain Bosnia. Spain are still firing on all cylinders, even without Nando. They were carving apart the poor Bosnians, who were obviously solid in defense, but hopelessly overmatched. Iniesta looked the most dangerous. Every time he would pick the ball up, he seemed to be running at people, or playing a telling pass into the box, just a terror on the ball. I think Spain and Argentina are head and shoulders above the rest at the moment. But it could (and most likely will) be a different story come 2010.

As for France, well they just can't seem to get their shit together. They missed Ribery sure, and Austria's not bad. But Mexes thought it would be a good idea to pull a Nik Haak and form tackle an Austrian in the box. This isn't Italy, you can't do that.

Never the less, this was just one game, a game that is taking place almost 2 years before the tournament will start. France will most likely still qualify, and nobody will remember this little Austrian slip up. It’s all about peaking at the right time, but its gotta be tough to have the sense of continuity over such a prolonged period.

And finally, how great was it to see the Federer of Old, just ripping apart the surprising, but the also hopelessly overmatched Andy Murray. This was Spain Bosnia II. He's too good. You can't hang with him on his day, nobody can. I caught the last two sets of the final, and that’s all I saw of my least favorite grand slam. But those two sets were a blast from the past, and Roger was oozing with confidence and firing on all cylinders. He is a joy to watch. Federer is in the elitist class of sportsmen in my book. Right there with MJ, Zidane. Players that are the best, but they also have that extra grace, and fluidity. The game is so slow for them and you can see it. I think Federer has been grossly underappreciated by the sporting world, (maybe it’s a tennis thing), but hopefully we realize how good he is/was while he is still winning.