Soccer, Books, and Hookers

So I worked at home in the a.m. so that I could watch a bit of the US/Ghana game. I kept getting distracted by things (such as work, for example) but I think I caught everything of importance. First a comment about soccer: In no other sport do officials make as big of a difference. An official's judgement basically makes the difference as to whether a player can play not only the current game, but the next. Five minutes into the game, Ghana already knew that their best player couldn't play in the next game if they won. Why? Because of a ticky tack foul. To be honest, while you're going to hear about the big foul against the US at the end of the first half, almost every call went against Ghana. That one big foul was a huge one, a penalty in the box that led to the goal being scored that was (literally) the difference in the game.

Which, by the way, sucks. An officials judgement call shouldn't be the difference in the game.

Having said that, Ghana just looked better than the U.S. Too many boneheaded plays, too little effort too late on offense. Enough soccer, now I have to pick a team to follow the rest of the way. I'm leaning Italian, but I'll decide after I have a look around.

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Finished the book I was reading late last night, Nick Hornby's "A Long Way Down." For those unfamiliar, Hornby writes for the New Yorker, but more importantly wrote High Fidelity (Yes, it was a book first Goody) and Fever Pitch (Way, way better than the movie. Actually, I'm guessing, as I've never seen the movie. And never will.)

The book was, well, fine. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to someone who hadn't read other Hornby books. In order, I would rank his books:

1. High Fidelity
2. About a Boy
3. Fever Pitch
4. A Long Way Down
5. How to Be Good

All worth reading, but start at the top if you're interested.

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OK, no hooker stories, I just like the word.