The guidelines placed on Cowboys WR Dez Bryant have been seen by many, and criticized by almost as many for their strict nature. Even if it is all in good taste in order to help him grow as a man and football player, it's almost too strict, right? Many other players have been in this position as well. Here are some guidelines that other players have received when they ran afoul of the laws of the game, or the land.
Melky Cabrera: He is no longer allowed to use sites such as Blogger or Wordpress, and is also not allowed to take any computer science classes if he decides his baseball career has gone down the toilet.
Justin Blackmon: He received alcohol restrictions, but strangely enough, not after games because he might need a drink after working with the other Jaguars receivers.
Chad Johnson: No longer allowed to use twitter in general, especially to meet women, but he still is allowed to use online dating services, oddly enough.
Delonte West: He's the entire reason Michael Bloomberg was just screaming about gun control laws. He's not allowed now within 1,000 yards of a military base because of it.
Marty McSorley: No longer allowed anywhere near Donald Brashear, and was enrolled in serious anger management courses for learning how not to instigate a fight.
Todd Bertuzzi: Not allowed to be on the same team as Aaron Rome (no problems there), and was encouraged to stay as far away from Dan Marouelli as possible.
Miguel Cabrera: The Tigers thought being on a good team would help him with his alcohol issues, but since they haven't, he's been given an alcohol ban, which has been incredibly useful during the 2012 season.
Zinedine Zidane: He's been left off of Real Madrid alumni teams if he has to play an Italian on the other side, and do not put him anywhere near the World Cup Trophy, or Marco Materazzi.
You didn't know these until now, and you're probably thankful you didn't.
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Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
2012-13 Barclays Premier League Predictions
The amount of soccer on this blog has increased exponentially from the start of this 2 years ago. Here are my predictions for the 2012-13 Premiership.
1. Manchester City 91 pts: When world class isn't even enough to get you a starting position, you know a team is really, really good. The UCL is a bigger challenge for City.
2. Manchester United 86 pts: Prolific scoring force as well as a solid defense, but lack of creative midfielders hurt.
3. Chelsea 76 pts: From the midfield on, they might be one of the best in Europe. Their back 4 could be a stumbling block.
4. Arsenal 73 pts: No Van Persie hurts, but what would hurt more is the loss of Alex Song. They need to hope their back 4 stays healthy if they want to challenge for a title.
5. Tottenham Hotspur 70 pts: Once they find a quality striker, they could overtake the Gunners. But since we don't know who that is yet, it's hard to put them above their North London rivals.
6. Liverpool 65 pts: The long climb back up to the top has begun, and Brendan Rogers has made good progress towards achieving that. But they still have too many holes to challenge the North London clubs for 4th.
7. Everton 60 pts: This club honestly deserves better. Whether they are poor (money-wise) or not, they have a quality side. They don't have enough to truly challenge the big boys.
8. Newcastle United 54 pts: They are going to take a hit this year because they haven't brought in the quality to challenge up. And, they have been torn apart by injuries.
9. Stoke City 51 pts: They might be the most annoying defensive team to play against. Doesn't mean they offer too much in attack, though.
10. Fulham 48 pts: If Clint Dempsey leaves, they could fall further. But, they have a decent side and Martin Jol can be counted on to produce some results.
11. QPR 47 pts: Spending tons of money doesn't usually guarantee good results, but they've added some interesting players this summer. It should make them a better side.
12. West Ham United 47 pts: Sam Allardyce will make it tough on any team they play this season with his style. Whether he has the quality enough to help the Hammers overachieve is debatable.
13. Aston Villa 46 pts: They have a much better manager in Paul Lambert and have made some interesting purchases this summer. I hope they can find the goals somewhere though.
14. Sunderland 44 pts: The Black Cats have some deficiencies in many places, but are strong enough in some that they should avoid the second tier.
15. Southampton 43 pts: Their spending has been marked, and offensively, they should produce tons of goals. They might also allow just as many.
16. Swansea City 41 pts: They have sustained too many major losses to keep up their remarkable pace from a season ago. But, Michal Laudrup's style should suit the players at Swansea well enough to stay up.
17. Norwich City 39 pts: A championship side that did really well in the Premiership is usually odd enough, but for them to do as well as they did is pretty remarkable. Losing the manager that helped them do that is a big blow.
18. Reading 37 pts: Anton Zingarevich has tons of money to spend. He might have needed to spend more of it on his club in order to keep them up.
19. West Bromwich Albion 35 pts: Last year under Roy Hodgson was an aberration honestly. They lack quality in most places, even though they have a very good strike force.
20. Wigan 30 pts: The magic of Roberto Martinez has to run out at some point, doesn't it? This might be the season it does, with teams 9-20 so crunched up together.
I'm probably wrong, but it can't hurt to try.
1. Manchester City 91 pts: When world class isn't even enough to get you a starting position, you know a team is really, really good. The UCL is a bigger challenge for City.
2. Manchester United 86 pts: Prolific scoring force as well as a solid defense, but lack of creative midfielders hurt.
3. Chelsea 76 pts: From the midfield on, they might be one of the best in Europe. Their back 4 could be a stumbling block.
4. Arsenal 73 pts: No Van Persie hurts, but what would hurt more is the loss of Alex Song. They need to hope their back 4 stays healthy if they want to challenge for a title.
5. Tottenham Hotspur 70 pts: Once they find a quality striker, they could overtake the Gunners. But since we don't know who that is yet, it's hard to put them above their North London rivals.
6. Liverpool 65 pts: The long climb back up to the top has begun, and Brendan Rogers has made good progress towards achieving that. But they still have too many holes to challenge the North London clubs for 4th.
7. Everton 60 pts: This club honestly deserves better. Whether they are poor (money-wise) or not, they have a quality side. They don't have enough to truly challenge the big boys.
8. Newcastle United 54 pts: They are going to take a hit this year because they haven't brought in the quality to challenge up. And, they have been torn apart by injuries.
9. Stoke City 51 pts: They might be the most annoying defensive team to play against. Doesn't mean they offer too much in attack, though.
10. Fulham 48 pts: If Clint Dempsey leaves, they could fall further. But, they have a decent side and Martin Jol can be counted on to produce some results.
11. QPR 47 pts: Spending tons of money doesn't usually guarantee good results, but they've added some interesting players this summer. It should make them a better side.
12. West Ham United 47 pts: Sam Allardyce will make it tough on any team they play this season with his style. Whether he has the quality enough to help the Hammers overachieve is debatable.
13. Aston Villa 46 pts: They have a much better manager in Paul Lambert and have made some interesting purchases this summer. I hope they can find the goals somewhere though.
14. Sunderland 44 pts: The Black Cats have some deficiencies in many places, but are strong enough in some that they should avoid the second tier.
15. Southampton 43 pts: Their spending has been marked, and offensively, they should produce tons of goals. They might also allow just as many.
16. Swansea City 41 pts: They have sustained too many major losses to keep up their remarkable pace from a season ago. But, Michal Laudrup's style should suit the players at Swansea well enough to stay up.
17. Norwich City 39 pts: A championship side that did really well in the Premiership is usually odd enough, but for them to do as well as they did is pretty remarkable. Losing the manager that helped them do that is a big blow.
18. Reading 37 pts: Anton Zingarevich has tons of money to spend. He might have needed to spend more of it on his club in order to keep them up.
19. West Bromwich Albion 35 pts: Last year under Roy Hodgson was an aberration honestly. They lack quality in most places, even though they have a very good strike force.
20. Wigan 30 pts: The magic of Roberto Martinez has to run out at some point, doesn't it? This might be the season it does, with teams 9-20 so crunched up together.
I'm probably wrong, but it can't hurt to try.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Did You See That: Rejected Hard Knocks Ideas
Since Hard Knocks on HBO is very popular right now with the profile of the Miami Dolphins, one can wonder what HBO would be focusing on if other teams were under the microscope. These were ideas for segments for other teams that didn't see the light of day, but now you're seeing them here, first.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Wait, this is an NFL team? Why have I never heard of them before?
New York Jets: How can we show Tim Tebow's running in the rain while including this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nPf7w7pDI?
Atlanta Falcons: Can we ask Mike Smith if he'd allow a "Dirty Bird" dancing contest?
Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones made a comment about beating the Giants. What about if we show him the film of the Giants games last year, and will he change his mind?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Will we be allowed to do an entire segment on Tiquan Underwood's haircut?
Seattle Seahawks: Let's bring in some fashion critics to comment on the new Nike Uniforms, and bring in comedians to comment on what they see.
Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler, even a year after the fact, tries to respond to Maurice Jones-Drew's toughness comments.
Buffalo Bills: Mario Williams explores the thought of playing American football permanently in Toronto.
And finally...
New York Jets (AGAIN): Lets see what the team thinks of the QB battle between Sanchez and Tebow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nPf7w7pDI
Jacksonville Jaguars: Wait, this is an NFL team? Why have I never heard of them before?
New York Jets: How can we show Tim Tebow's running in the rain while including this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nPf7w7pDI?
Atlanta Falcons: Can we ask Mike Smith if he'd allow a "Dirty Bird" dancing contest?
Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones made a comment about beating the Giants. What about if we show him the film of the Giants games last year, and will he change his mind?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Will we be allowed to do an entire segment on Tiquan Underwood's haircut?
Seattle Seahawks: Let's bring in some fashion critics to comment on the new Nike Uniforms, and bring in comedians to comment on what they see.
Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler, even a year after the fact, tries to respond to Maurice Jones-Drew's toughness comments.
Buffalo Bills: Mario Williams explores the thought of playing American football permanently in Toronto.
And finally...
New York Jets (AGAIN): Lets see what the team thinks of the QB battle between Sanchez and Tebow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nPf7w7pDI
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Can we Please Holdout for some Common Sense?
As the NFL is buzzing with the start of training camps in most places, Jacksonville is buzzing because Maurice Jones-Drew is not at training camp. He wants a new deal after he lead the NFL in rushing last season, which is understandable. But, as with most holdouts, this situation is much more complex than that. And that has made it very hard for people to understand what is going on, which is distorting what is actually going on, and changing opinions of the many when only a few should.
MJD got a brand new contract before the 2009 season when he wasn't even the starter. He got a 5 year, $31 million deal (frontloaded), and the Jaguars hoped he would live up to the money of the deal. He certainly has. He has 2 years left on his deal, and he is not a highly paid running back now by any means from the rest of his deal. It doesn't help that he's seen guys like Matt Forte, Ray Rice, and LeSean McCoy all get lucrative deals while MJD (only he thinks this) is left out in the cold. Shad Khan, the new Jaguars owner, will not give him a new deal at this time, especially when he has many expiring contracts of players the Jags will certainly want to look at keeping come up at the end of this season. He has a ton of cap space to work with, but he'll need it to sign most of those guys. All of this continues while MJD both publicly and privately digs in his heels.
MJD knows full well, that he cannot win this battle with team, and drumming up support from the fans of the Jaguars will be pretty hard. He doesn't have allies in the front office either anymore, considering most of them left with Wayne Weaver. His agent, Adisa Bakari, also represents the Jaguars back-up, Rashad Jennings, and Matt Forte, the man who held out for a near century to get a new deal. Jones-Drew has also not privately told the Jaguars his plans, as they've found out hearing only media reports. That's not going to endear you to anyone. So, he doesn't look good in this. He doesn't care about it, so why should we?
The football and business sides of the holdout have been distorted tremendously. They have to a point where a non-story has been turned into a story, but still acts like a non-starter (h/t Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country for that line). If MJD was going to be a free agent in March, this would make sense. But, he has 2 years left, and it's clear Khan is not going to do anything. It also doesn't make him look good when Darrelle Revis, the king of the holdout, has reported to camp when his contract is up at the end of the season. Giving MJD a contract now would set a bad precedent for the organization, and would put them behind the 8-ball on many player contract battles. He can't afford himself a mistake like that only 6 months into his ownership tenure.
On the football side, his impact on the Jaguars has been overstated as well. Yes, he is the Jags best player, and he did lead the NFL in rushing despite the horrific pass offense last season, but people saying that his loss would make the Jaguars somehow worse if Blaine Gabbert played better is nonsense. Rashad Jennings is a capable running back that has done big things and could even more. The Jaguars aren't now going to trade MJD either, especially at this point in time. It doesn't do them, or the team he'd go to, any good. And, the likelihood that he actually holds out into the regular season is just absurd, for more reasons than one (he drafted himself with the #1 overall pick in his fantasy league). Sure he is a major catalyst for the Jaguars on offense, but he's not their most important player.
I am a Jaguars fan, so this might have seemed a bit ranty, but none of the things that the media are saying makes sense to me, as a Jaguars fan, who it would matter to the most. If Jones-Drew is still holding out one month from now, then it would be time to worry. But since most Jaguars fans expected this to happen, at this point, this is a non-starter, non-issue, and non-worry for us now.
No one else needs to tell us what we should feel, and they also shouldn't change opinion from the status quo when it's not justified.
MJD got a brand new contract before the 2009 season when he wasn't even the starter. He got a 5 year, $31 million deal (frontloaded), and the Jaguars hoped he would live up to the money of the deal. He certainly has. He has 2 years left on his deal, and he is not a highly paid running back now by any means from the rest of his deal. It doesn't help that he's seen guys like Matt Forte, Ray Rice, and LeSean McCoy all get lucrative deals while MJD (only he thinks this) is left out in the cold. Shad Khan, the new Jaguars owner, will not give him a new deal at this time, especially when he has many expiring contracts of players the Jags will certainly want to look at keeping come up at the end of this season. He has a ton of cap space to work with, but he'll need it to sign most of those guys. All of this continues while MJD both publicly and privately digs in his heels.
MJD knows full well, that he cannot win this battle with team, and drumming up support from the fans of the Jaguars will be pretty hard. He doesn't have allies in the front office either anymore, considering most of them left with Wayne Weaver. His agent, Adisa Bakari, also represents the Jaguars back-up, Rashad Jennings, and Matt Forte, the man who held out for a near century to get a new deal. Jones-Drew has also not privately told the Jaguars his plans, as they've found out hearing only media reports. That's not going to endear you to anyone. So, he doesn't look good in this. He doesn't care about it, so why should we?
The football and business sides of the holdout have been distorted tremendously. They have to a point where a non-story has been turned into a story, but still acts like a non-starter (h/t Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country for that line). If MJD was going to be a free agent in March, this would make sense. But, he has 2 years left, and it's clear Khan is not going to do anything. It also doesn't make him look good when Darrelle Revis, the king of the holdout, has reported to camp when his contract is up at the end of the season. Giving MJD a contract now would set a bad precedent for the organization, and would put them behind the 8-ball on many player contract battles. He can't afford himself a mistake like that only 6 months into his ownership tenure.
On the football side, his impact on the Jaguars has been overstated as well. Yes, he is the Jags best player, and he did lead the NFL in rushing despite the horrific pass offense last season, but people saying that his loss would make the Jaguars somehow worse if Blaine Gabbert played better is nonsense. Rashad Jennings is a capable running back that has done big things and could even more. The Jaguars aren't now going to trade MJD either, especially at this point in time. It doesn't do them, or the team he'd go to, any good. And, the likelihood that he actually holds out into the regular season is just absurd, for more reasons than one (he drafted himself with the #1 overall pick in his fantasy league). Sure he is a major catalyst for the Jaguars on offense, but he's not their most important player.
I am a Jaguars fan, so this might have seemed a bit ranty, but none of the things that the media are saying makes sense to me, as a Jaguars fan, who it would matter to the most. If Jones-Drew is still holding out one month from now, then it would be time to worry. But since most Jaguars fans expected this to happen, at this point, this is a non-starter, non-issue, and non-worry for us now.
No one else needs to tell us what we should feel, and they also shouldn't change opinion from the status quo when it's not justified.
Friday, July 20, 2012
This Column was Brought to you by McDonalds
At the NBA Board of Governors meeting yesterday, it was revealed that the NBA is likely going to put small sponsorship patches on their jerseys starting in 2013. This was met with wide ranging reactions from people who have differing opinions on the issue. Everything from disregard of the patches to fear of sponsorships taking over for civic names was spewed out. Normally, this blog would have no NBA column, but this is not just an NBA issue. Every major league in the US and Canada will deal with this issue very soon, and it's surely a contentious one.
Since I am also a dedicated fan of a European soccer club, sponsorships on jerseys are no big surprise, and they don't bother me a bit. They are a major source of income for the clubs, and when the games actually go on, you barely notice the sponsor on the jersey. This has been going on in every sport on the club level around the world for 30 or so years, and the US leagues have always resisted. It does seem fitting that the money grabbing NBA would go for this first, but the NHL, MLB, and NFL will follow suit in due time. It's inevitable.
There are many issues that people have brought up about the patches, and all of them are valid, but rather irrelevant in the overall discussion. Issue #1: I won't buy the jerseys if they have a patch on them. Good point, but the leagues take jersey revenue overall, and that won't hit the pockets of the owners or players that hard at all. And, if you truly want a jersey, you'll buy it anyway, despite the patch and your objections to it. Issue #2: The sponsor will become more important than the name on the front of the jersey. Well, sports teams are already businesses, and it's no surprise that owners aren't willing to take huge losses on their teams just for their one moment in the sun. See past CBA negotiations for an example of this. Also, almost everything else surrounding a team is sponsored, so why not just sponsor the last area where there are none, since this is a pursuit for profit? Issue #3: We'll soon see team names like the Nike Knicks, or Adidas Lakers , since this will snowball. This hasn't happened anywhere else in the world with the sponsors being a common thing, and this certainly won't happen in the US due to the "civic treasure" status.
There is one issue I have with these sponsorships that no has brought up yet. It seems that each NBA team will have a unique sponsor, and therefore they will make vastly differing amounts of money from it. While the Lakers could make $5 million from a Staples patch, the Bobcats may only make around $500,000 from a similar patch. The gulf between the big market and small market teams will widen with this, unless the NBA has a league-wide sponsor that puts its patch on every team's jersey and each team gets the same amount of money. Since that won't happen, this is something to watch very closely. The NBA already has the smallest amount of parity of the 4 major sports league in North America, and this may only shrink it still. That is prevalent around the world with these types of deals, and that isn't something the American sports model needs right now.
In the end, you're still rooting for the team, not the sponsor. If it makes your team money so that they can get better players, why are you complaining? Even a slight buffing of the coffers can help. And besides...
We live in the United States of America. It's called Capitalism. If you don't like it, it's 90 miles from Key West to Cuba.
Since I am also a dedicated fan of a European soccer club, sponsorships on jerseys are no big surprise, and they don't bother me a bit. They are a major source of income for the clubs, and when the games actually go on, you barely notice the sponsor on the jersey. This has been going on in every sport on the club level around the world for 30 or so years, and the US leagues have always resisted. It does seem fitting that the money grabbing NBA would go for this first, but the NHL, MLB, and NFL will follow suit in due time. It's inevitable.
There are many issues that people have brought up about the patches, and all of them are valid, but rather irrelevant in the overall discussion. Issue #1: I won't buy the jerseys if they have a patch on them. Good point, but the leagues take jersey revenue overall, and that won't hit the pockets of the owners or players that hard at all. And, if you truly want a jersey, you'll buy it anyway, despite the patch and your objections to it. Issue #2: The sponsor will become more important than the name on the front of the jersey. Well, sports teams are already businesses, and it's no surprise that owners aren't willing to take huge losses on their teams just for their one moment in the sun. See past CBA negotiations for an example of this. Also, almost everything else surrounding a team is sponsored, so why not just sponsor the last area where there are none, since this is a pursuit for profit? Issue #3: We'll soon see team names like the Nike Knicks, or Adidas Lakers , since this will snowball. This hasn't happened anywhere else in the world with the sponsors being a common thing, and this certainly won't happen in the US due to the "civic treasure" status.
There is one issue I have with these sponsorships that no has brought up yet. It seems that each NBA team will have a unique sponsor, and therefore they will make vastly differing amounts of money from it. While the Lakers could make $5 million from a Staples patch, the Bobcats may only make around $500,000 from a similar patch. The gulf between the big market and small market teams will widen with this, unless the NBA has a league-wide sponsor that puts its patch on every team's jersey and each team gets the same amount of money. Since that won't happen, this is something to watch very closely. The NBA already has the smallest amount of parity of the 4 major sports league in North America, and this may only shrink it still. That is prevalent around the world with these types of deals, and that isn't something the American sports model needs right now.
In the end, you're still rooting for the team, not the sponsor. If it makes your team money so that they can get better players, why are you complaining? Even a slight buffing of the coffers can help. And besides...
We live in the United States of America. It's called Capitalism. If you don't like it, it's 90 miles from Key West to Cuba.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Paris must have Money Trees...
For those of you not familiar with a soccer club called Paris St. Germain FC, I'll try to explain them as succinctly as possible. They are the Ligue 1 (France's Premier League) club representing Paris. They had some great successes in the 90's when they last had money to blow, and now that they are owned by, essentially the Qatari government, they have even more money to spend. As of right now, they've spent 105 million Euros on transfers, which equates to around 128 million dollars. Last year, they spent 108 million Euros on transfers in total. On a total net loss on player transfers under the new ownership, they right now have one of over 201.3 million Euros. That's more than Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United combined. Is this fair to soccer to have a team spending like this?
Financial Fair Play rules from UEFA are coming soon, which is in essence a way to tell clubs to reign in their player spending. But, these owners know a way to get around them, and this rampant spending will sure not stop. This PSG example is a great one of what soccer is now becoming: a play-thing for billionaires. There are many owners in soccer who are not billionaires, and are trying to fund their clubs only to a point where they don't debt themselves like Rangers and Portsmouth have. While many in Europe are worried sick about debt, clearly the Qatari owners of PSG and Manchester City really don't care. When will it come that this is not OK? Who's going to stop this?
This certainly is within the rules of soccer right now to spend money and take losses on it hand-over-fist right now. But, compare what PSG did in the transfer market to what Ligue 1 champs Montpellier did. They spent a grand total of 2 million Euros on ALL transfers last season. With the team PSG has now assembled by flouting their money everywhere, it wouldn't honestly matter how good Montpellier's scouting department was. Ligue 1 is now slowly becoming what La Liga in Spain is, a league dominated by the few with money and the rest are left in a cloud of smoke and burned contracts. Even Serie A isn't having these kind of problems with the big spenders.
PSG are the latest example of what endless money can do to soccer. Something has to stop the rampant spending. What will actually do that, nobody knows, but something will hopefully cause this to stop. Die-hard supporters will still be die-hard supporters, but watching soccer will become harder to stomach very soon.
Financial Fair Play rules from UEFA are coming soon, which is in essence a way to tell clubs to reign in their player spending. But, these owners know a way to get around them, and this rampant spending will sure not stop. This PSG example is a great one of what soccer is now becoming: a play-thing for billionaires. There are many owners in soccer who are not billionaires, and are trying to fund their clubs only to a point where they don't debt themselves like Rangers and Portsmouth have. While many in Europe are worried sick about debt, clearly the Qatari owners of PSG and Manchester City really don't care. When will it come that this is not OK? Who's going to stop this?
This certainly is within the rules of soccer right now to spend money and take losses on it hand-over-fist right now. But, compare what PSG did in the transfer market to what Ligue 1 champs Montpellier did. They spent a grand total of 2 million Euros on ALL transfers last season. With the team PSG has now assembled by flouting their money everywhere, it wouldn't honestly matter how good Montpellier's scouting department was. Ligue 1 is now slowly becoming what La Liga in Spain is, a league dominated by the few with money and the rest are left in a cloud of smoke and burned contracts. Even Serie A isn't having these kind of problems with the big spenders.
PSG are the latest example of what endless money can do to soccer. Something has to stop the rampant spending. What will actually do that, nobody knows, but something will hopefully cause this to stop. Die-hard supporters will still be die-hard supporters, but watching soccer will become harder to stomach very soon.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
My UEFA Euro 2012 Predictions
Yes, I am actually going to put my predictions for this here. How many of you know what I'm talking about, I don't know, but this should still be interesting considering I correctly picked the winner of the 2010 World Cup.
Group A: 1) Russia 7 pts 2) Greece 5 pts 3) Czech Republic 4 pts 4) Poland 1 pt
Group B: 1) Netherlands 9 pts 2) Germany 6 pts 3) Portugal 3 pts. 4) Denmark 0 pts.
Group C: 1) Spain 7 pts. 2) Croatia 7 pts. 2) Italy 3 pts. 4) Ireland 0 pts.
Group D: 1) France 5 pts. 2) England 5 pts. 3) Sweden 5 pts. 4) Ukraine 0 pts.
Knockout Phases:
Russia (Group A Winner) vs. Germany (Group B #2): Germany.
Spain (Group C Winner) vs. England (Group D #2): Spain.
Netherlands (Group B Winner) vs. Greece (Group A #2): Netherlands
France (Group D Winner) vs. Croatia (Group C #2): Croatia
Semifinal 1: Germany vs. Spain (Sound familiar?): Germany
Semifinal 2: Netherlands vs. Croatia: Netherlands
UEFA Euro 2012 Final: Netherlands vs. Germany: Netherlands
Group A: 1) Russia 7 pts 2) Greece 5 pts 3) Czech Republic 4 pts 4) Poland 1 pt
Group B: 1) Netherlands 9 pts 2) Germany 6 pts 3) Portugal 3 pts. 4) Denmark 0 pts.
Group C: 1) Spain 7 pts. 2) Croatia 7 pts. 2) Italy 3 pts. 4) Ireland 0 pts.
Group D: 1) France 5 pts. 2) England 5 pts. 3) Sweden 5 pts. 4) Ukraine 0 pts.
Knockout Phases:
Russia (Group A Winner) vs. Germany (Group B #2): Germany.
Spain (Group C Winner) vs. England (Group D #2): Spain.
Netherlands (Group B Winner) vs. Greece (Group A #2): Netherlands
France (Group D Winner) vs. Croatia (Group C #2): Croatia
Semifinal 1: Germany vs. Spain (Sound familiar?): Germany
Semifinal 2: Netherlands vs. Croatia: Netherlands
UEFA Euro 2012 Final: Netherlands vs. Germany: Netherlands
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