27 July

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22 July

Happy Girl !

Sorry for the absence of posts on the blog. Mom and Anna went to Kvas, Norway for 3 weeks and took the digital camera with them. Eventually we will post lots of pictures from their trip. For now, here is a photo taken by our most recent visitors (Ben and Sara Pettit). Thanks for sharing... I love this photo !

The Italians are Champions

and they proceeded to celebrate directly in front of our section...

World Cup Final, Berlin, July 9, 2006

9th row in the corner... words do not do the experience justice... incredible pregame... incredible match... extra time... Zidane loses his cool... penalty kicks... Billions of people watching on television...

Pre-Final Party in Berlin #2

Pre-Final Party in Berlin #1

Tom and Jeff took a train to Berlin to attend the World Cup Final. They stayed with Steffi's maid of honor, Kathrin Hoelper and her friend Michael. The atmosphere was electric and the game was amazing (except for Zidane losing his head).

The day before the final, the Germans won 3rd place by kicking the snot out of a lackluster Portuguese team. Needless to say, the Germans celebrated their victory in style.

Tom and I never figured out that our hosts were ordering us big beers while ordering small ones for themselves, but we felt the difference the next morning.

Semi-Final: Germany v Italy

The World Cup semifinal is tonight and the Italian press have forced FIFA to reconsider video showing a ?punch? thrown by Thorsten Frings against Argentina... the result is a late decided suspension of Frings just in time for the semi... Munich has been crazy since i woke up this morning... can't say I am a supporter of Frings, as I am still bitter about his (not whistled) handball against the US in the 2002 worldcup quarterfinal (vs USA).

On the one hand, i would like to see the Germans beat the Italians as this will make the final that much more exciting and my wife that much happier... on the other hand, an Italian win guarantees a nice reply for the next 4 years directed at every German who gives me a hard time about the lackluster US performance. ("at least we were good enough to tie the Italians... with only 9 players as well")

My prediction is 2-1 for Germany in extra time.

I have a funny feeling that Portugal is going to slip into the final after tomorrow's semifinal... Deco will return to the lineup and the Portuguese defense has really played well. My prediction is that Christian Ronaldo will score early, leading to a 1-0 Portugal win.