Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to be cited for failure to wear a helmet, not having a proper license at time of his June 12 accident. Visit CNN for the latest.

Newsweek, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter are all singing the praises of Superman Returns. (Warning: mild spoilers.)

The movie opens next Wednesday… er, well, next Tuesday at 10:00 PM, really. That’s right, instead of midnight showings, they’re doing 10pm showings.

North Korea, clearly upset that Iran is getting all the attention, is seeking to re-establish itself as the preeminent evildoer in the Axis of Evil. This morning’s headlined articles on Drudge:

North Koreans Said to Be Near a Missile Test (specifically, a long-range ballistic missile that could reach the U.S.)

N. Korea ‘a Button-Click’ from Launching Missile (and Japan is not happy about it, oh no, not happy at all)

N Korea threatens to ‘wipe out’ US forces: “If the enemies ignite a war eventually, the Korean army and people will mercilessly wipe out the aggressors and give vent to the deep-rooted grudge of the nation.”

Yet more proof that Stephen Hawking is right.

Group D
Having covered Mexico’s uninspiring draw in Friday’s post, I will focus on Portugal’s 2-0 victory over Iran, a result which secured Portugal a spot in the second round, eliminated Iran (to the civilized world’s relief), and left underdog Angola some hope of making the second round if Portugal finishes off Mexico this week. Iran is not that bad of a team, but they are about where the Americans were in the mid-90s, and they probably will take much longer to truly be a threat to advance. Portugal returned to form in this win and showed themselves to be the class of the group, but I am not convinced that even they have a chance to knock off Holland or Argentina.

On Wednesday, look for Argentina and Holland to play conservatively, not risking injury or yellow cards to star players. Attacks on goal will likely not be fully supported in most cases, as neither team will want to leave open the counterattack. While neither team will care much who takes first or second, Portugal may play slightly more or less aggressive depending on that earlier result. Portugal will likely play loose and relaxed and be content with a draw, while Mexico also knows it goes through with a draw, so don’t expect spectacular committed attacks from either side. Angola simply must beat Iran to even have a chance, and while they probably can pull it off, I don’t expect Portugal to press Mexico hard enough to send El Tri home.

(more…)

Notwithstanding earlier predictions of an “exceptionally active June” in the tropics, thus far the middle part of the month continues to be notable for its lack of activity — which is exactly what we should expect this time of year. AccuWeather says: “There’s very little action currently in the tropics.” Charles Fenwick writes:

Dr. Masters wrote he would not be surprised to see two more named storms this June. Climatologically speaking that would be a surprise as there hasn’t been a three storm June since 1968 (storm-less Junes are more common). With the caveat that Dr Masters has certainly looked at more than I have I’ll say that two more named storms would be a surprise to me, slightly more surprising than having no more this month.

On a more long-term note, Weather Channel tropical expert Dr. Steve Lyons notes that the “monsoon trough” is much bigger than usual — which would be favorable for development down the road, if the trend continues.

In a related story, Florida brides are worrying about having their weddings disrupted by hurricanes. Man, that would suck. (Hat tip: WXnation.)

Phil Mickelson did his best Greg Norman/Jean Van de Velde impression Sunday, falling apart on the 72nd hole to hand the U.S. Open championship to Geoff Ogilvy.

UPDATE: Casey has a more detailed post on Mickelson’s collapse, which he says was even worse than Van de Valde’s infamous choke: “Van de Velde made a poor decision off the tee, and that wound up costing him. Mickelson made THREE poor decisions in a row, and that’s why he lost.”

According to an article from the Jerusalem Post, Iran approached the U.S. through the Swiss in 2003. According to the document Iran was interested in discussing ending sanctions, developing nuclear power for civilian use, and their security concerns. Also on the table for discussion according to the article:

full cooperation on nuclear safeguards, “decisive action” on terrorism, coordinated efforts in Iraq, cessation of “material support” for terror organizations, and accepting the 2002 Saudi solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Of note the Saudi solution would involve the recognition of Israel.

The only response from the Bush administration has been from Condeleeza Rice, who has said that the first attempt was for one on one talks while the current situation now involves the international community and that puts the U.S. in a stronger position.

“It’s wrong to blame [Hurricane Katrina] victims for spending irresponsibly” — i.e., for using their government aid money on televisions, porn videos, strip clubs and sex-change operations — declares the Los Angeles Times in a fit of unfathomable idiocy. The Times concludes that “obsessing about the spending habits of refugees comes perilously close to blaming the victim.”

Umm… HELLO!! Just because someone suffers a misfortune, even a gravely serious one, does not immunize that person from all future criticism for irresposible or immoral behavior! Are people “blaming the victim”? Well, yeah — if the particular victim in question deserves the blame! And the folks who went to a strip club instead of buying food most certainly deserve the blame! The taxpayers of this country generously (if rather naively) offered them a blank check to help rebuild their lives, and they spit in our faces!

There are two potentially valid points that the Times could have made (but didn’t). One would be that “it’s wrong to blame all Hurricane Katrina victims for the irresponsible spending of a relatively small minority.” That’s certainly true, but it does not appear to be what the Times is criticizing. Another would be that “it’s wrong to be shocked by Hurricane Katrina victims’ irresponsible spending.” This latter argument is the one that’s actually supported by the Times’s arguments, which revolve around the fact that such waste is “inevitable.” It is, of course, absolutely true that irresponsible, blameworthy behavior is “inevitable,” because human beings are inherently flawed and some of them will always do bad things, and therefore we shouldn’t be shocked by it. But although the Times advances arguments that support this conclusion, it doesn’t draw that conclusion.

Instead, the Times concludes that we shouldn’t blame the blameworthy — which is, of course, an utterly indefensible position. When people wilfully abuse a system that is designed to help them get the essentials that they need, OF COURSE they should be blamed!

(FEMA should also she blamed for devising an obviously flawed system that was inevitably going to be abused. But just because someone makes it easy to abuse a system, that doesn’t morally excuse the abuse! This is the logical mistake that the Times appears to be making, which is pretty unbelievable, considering this is by no means a difficult concept to grasp. If someone leaves their laptop in an empty room, they’ve made it very easy for you to steal it — just like FEMA made it very easy for Katrina victims to spend their relief aid on frivolous things — but that doesn’t make it right! It doesn’t mean we “shouldn’t blame you” for stealing the laptop! This is a basic principle of moral behavior; you should do the right thing even when nobody is watching and there’s no chance of getting caught. Everyone knows that. Well, everyone except the members of the L.A. Times editorial board, apparently.)

The Edmonton Oilers, down 3-1 in the Stanley Cup finals just a few nights ago, forced a Game 7 with a 4-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes in Edmonton tonight. The deciding game will be Monday at 5:00 PM MST (8:00 EST) in Hartford Raleigh.

Wow. One of the greatest sporting events I have ever been a part of. Great atmosphere, great crowd, inspired play by the shorthanded Americans. Say what you want about the officiating, tonight the US proved they belong on the world football stage, plus we had the crowd to prove it. The US was really unlucky not to score when shorthanded, I really want a replay of the offside US goal. (Brendan, what was the verdict on TV? From our point of view even the Italians were not sure). [The verdict on TV was that the call was correct. The offside player didn’t touch the ball, but he blocked the goalie’s view, and that counts as an “unfair advantage” gained by being offsides. -ed.]

So from my fuzzy math, the US needs to beat Ghana and Italy needs to beat the Czechs in order [for the Americans] to advance. Any other scenario would require a lot of goals and is not likely.

Time for a 5 hour autobahn drive, I will send pictures when stateside.

81 minutes in, it’s still USA 1, Italy 1.

If the game ends in a tie, the U.S. must beat Ghana on Thursday, and hope that Italy beats the Czech Republic. (There is also a remote chance the U.S. could advance based on goal differential if Italy ties the Czechs, but that would require an American blowout against Ghana. I think they could also advance if the Czechs win, but that would most likely require an even bigger blowout of Ghana.)

UPDATE: It’s over! The game ends in a 1-1 draw. The U.S. played nearly the entire second half with only nine men, thanks to two crappy calls, yet still held the Italians scoreless in the half. We can only speculate what might have happened if they’d had 10 or 11 players.

P.S. The MVP for Italy:

P.P.S. Deadspin: “The ref in the United States/Italy game was handing out red cards like they were commemorative souvenirs. The Italian team got a red for elbowing Brian McBride in the face and busting him open like Ric Flair. Fair enough. The American team got two, count them two, red cards for… well, I don’t know what the hell for. For attempting to play soccer, evidently.”

The ref’s name, BTW, is Jorge Larrionda. His Wikipedia page is now under “protection” thanks to a spate of “vandalism” in recent hours, such as “He hates Americans and is follower of Bin Ladin’s Taliban” and “Hopefully, angry gamblers in Uruguay will give him what Escobar got in ‘94″ and “HE WAS PAID OFF BY ITALY! this ref was a f**king b**ch. f**k him” and “Hopefully, Larrionda will be driving a taxi in New York City by year’s end” and “Brutal referee, angered by his man-lover totti being relieved in the game, attempted to throw it for the Italians, who’s men frequently mate with other men” and “he is the worst referee on the planet” and “Worst official in FIFA World Cup history. He should be hunted down like a wild dog.” (But also, “Jorge Larrionda was controversial during the Italy/US World Cup game in 2006 to the US whose lack of ’soccer’ know-how prevents them from understanding the rules” and “the man gave the americans an excuse for their abyssmal performance in the german worldcup. he was probably guaranteed a greencard for saving the states from complete and fully deserved shame.”) I think my favorite bit of Wikipedia vandalism is this one, which changed the statement “Larrionda is a referee at the 2006 FIFA World Cup” to “Larrionda is ostensibly a referee at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although his grasp of the game’s rules is tenuous at best.” Heh.

On a more serious note, Larrionda was suspended for “irregularities” and banned from the 2002 World Cup as a result.

[Nick sent along these updates via e-mail from his Blackberry. -ed.]

5:57 AM MST (2:57 PM in Germany): I just got in to kaiserslauten. It is a circus. American fans everywhere. I am impressed. Bad seats are going for over 1000 euro each. I was such a luckbox to get the best category seat for face! If you are around I can send some blackberry updates if you want. I will post pictures when I am stateside. That is if I make my plane. Flight at 9 am after 5 hours on the autobahn.

11:16 AM MST (8:16 PM in Germany): Wow. I just sat down in my seat. I am about 10 yards from the center line about 30 rows up. Perfect. The only problem, I think the entire city of milan is sitting around me. Here is hoping we don’t waste what ghana did today!

12:52 PM MST (9:52 PM in Germany): I am not sure if it is coming through on tv or not, but the usa fans are making almost twice as much noise as the italians. I never would have thought it possible.

1-1 at the half. So far very strange so far, no one is happy with the ref, lots of bookings and 2 red cards, including a very strange one on a challenge by the usa. No one here can explain it, but then again they did not show the replay.

45 minutes left and still a chance at 3 points if the us can play as inspired as they did in the first 20 minutes.

After dominating early play but missing several good scoring opportunities, the Americans made a mistake and gave up a goal to fall behind Italy, 1-0 … but then the U.S. got a lucky break with an own-goal by Italy, tying things up at 1-1, and moments later, an Italian player got a red card for elbowing America’s Brian McBride in the face. So now the Italians have to make do with 10 players for the rest of the game. At the moment, it’s 1-1, 33 minutes in.

UPDATE: A lame, unjustified “make-up call” by the refs knocks the USA’s Mastroeni out with a red card, and it’s 10-on-10.

UPDATE 2: Halftime now. More detailed liveblogging here.

UPDATE 3: Now it’s 10 men to 9 in favor of Italy, after Eddie Pope got his second yellow card … on another weak foul.

One of the ABC announcers says: “You talk about a referee that has no clue right now. … That is a bad referee, for me. He’s just ruining the game. … If you can sub a referee, they should sub him now. … The referee has totally ruined the game. All these people paid good money to see these teams, the greatest sporting event in the world, and the referee keeps kicking people out for fouls that aren’t fouls. I know the referees are being evaluated, and I would hope that this will be this referee’s last game.”

Of course, the announcer in question is Marcelo Balboa, former captain of the U.S. team. So he’s not exactly unbiased. But I think he’s right about the calls ruining the game. And it isn’t just this game. As the BBC points out, “It is the fourth time three men have been sent off in a World Cup finals match.”

As Daryl says over on the LiveBlog: “As with Mastroeni, the ref is within the rules to show that card to Pope, but he doesn’t need to. He should be calming things down not creating more drama. Maybe he’s got the World Cup confused with Big Brother?”

But Daryl adds: “OK US fans. It’s still 1-1, still OK. I refuse to accept playing 9 v 10 as an excuse for losing.”

Meanwhile, on the TV, they remind viewers that Mastroeni and Pope will have to miss the Ghana game as well, because of their red cards.

UPDATE 4: USA gooooooooalll!!!!……..or not. Player was obstructing the goalkeeper while offsides, so no goal. I believe Bruce Arena just said, “F*** no!” But announcer Balboa says it was a good call.

It would have been an historic goal, too. No team has ever scored in World Cup history with only 9 men on the field.

According to Accuweather, there are four tropical waves in the Atlantic right now. However, a quick check at Jeff Masters’ Blog shows only one is worth mentioning.

That wave would be the large area of thunderstorms above the Leeward Islands that is approaching Puerto Rico. This cluster of thunderstorms is not expected to develop due to high wind shear in the area, although the Canadian model is showing it making it to at least tropical storm strength and eventually threatening Bermuda. All other models at this time anticipate increasing wind shear, hindering development of this wave.

In a stunning upset bid that would be excellent news for the United States if it holds, Ghana is leading the Czech Republic at halftime, 1-0. If Ghana wins, even a loss to Italy today would not mathematically eliminate the Americans.

Earlier, Iran was eliminated with another loss, 2-0 to Portugal. So there will be no trip to Germany for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

UPDATE: Ghana scores at 82:30, and leads 2-0!!

UPDATE 2: Ghana wins! Definitely the biggest upset of the World Cup so far.

The U.S.-Italy game is up next, at 11:30 AM MST (2:30 PM EDT).