Congratulations to Japan. Soccer is a wonderful game and so was this. You can be heartbroken that your team played so well and lost and still be happy for the winner, Japan.


Five North Korean World Cup Women's soccer players tested positive for steroids claiming it was from deer musk for treatment of a lightening strike. Suddenly my dog-ate-my-term-paper story doesn't seem so bad.

Good job, USA. Lots of love for the pride of Torrey Pines, Rachel "Buehl-dozer" "Anyone, anyone?" Buehler. She showed that, even if the calls don't go your way, or the ball bounce goes the wrong way, you can still play with class and heart. Great job.

If I may speak for my fellow US women's soccer team fans, (oh my word, the idiot thinks he can talk to the US women's soccer team) Shut up, inner tirade. As I was saying, if the US women's soccer team is upset and disappointed personally they didn't get the World Cup title, that is fine, but they can't for one split second think they let their fans down. That was one of the greatest sports spectacles a fan can ever hope to see. Period. Guts, clutch goals, stamina, courage, persistence, heart, drama, emotions, elation, and heart-breaking bad luck. It had it all.

In an exercise in healing, indulge me as I list Kasey's nicknames in rough order of most used:

Monkey Pants

Kasey-bear

Kasey-boo

Honey-bear

Pooh-bear

Miss Bitty Bear (as she got older)

Inspector Kasey

Fuzzy tuchus

Miss Thing

Stinkerbell - now transferred to Ann Caroline

Scrounge-around hound

Smooch-hound*

Cuddle-bunny - now transferred to Wrigley T.

*Kasey never understood that just a few smooches with her tongue on your leg went a long way. So I would have to thank her and gently stop her.

I'd give just about anything for a few of those smooches right now. Damn, I thought this would make me feel better.