The ChemBase

Now that I correctly introduced this topic :
France - New Zealand next weekend. We're gonna crush the All Blacks !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-KMNvr6_1s

(in reality, I believe we're gonna get fucked so hard)

My Cubs just took down the motherfucking Cards! 

"Ohne Holland fahr'n wir zur EM!"

The Cubs have been an absolute pleasure to watch this season.  Jorge Soler is a physical specimen, my God.

GO CUBS!!!


On a sadder note, I'm absolutely crushed to here the news on Lamar Odom. I remember collecting his basketball cards and following him his career through the NBA. Maybe not a superstar, but he was truly a fantastic talent. From what I've caught up on, he has lived an incredibly rough life.  I hope he pulls through, but I'm not entirely sure if the quality of life will be there.

There's no crying in baseball...there's no crying in baseball.

also, fuck partying like a rock star...I want to party like an NBA star!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYz0I5dE_A

:'(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC4_68XjmuA

Japan, making Baseball great again.

Looks like Lebron will be going 2/7 for finals

Even Tom Rowlands' signature/blessing of a Cavs hat can't fix the disaster that is the Cavs

The sweep is inveitable! Poor Lebron! The guy has one more year left, Then it's heavy bidding from teams after that. Since Kobe left, we gotta alot of salary cap to work with in L.A.

Last season was garbage and bittersweet with kobe retiring.

Cavs and Warriors go to 7!
'places bet'

Gotta take the king with game 7, right?

Legacy is on the line.

Tom Rowlands' blessing of LBJ23 will be the downfall of the warriors

Quote from: inchemwetrust on Jun 17, 2016, 04:00

Cavs and Warriors go to 7!
'places bet'

Dunno who that guy was, right above you, saying the Warriors would do a sweep. What a loser !

NBA just wants more games out of it.

RIGGED.

Warriors should have sweeped.

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 18, 2016, 00:15

Dunno who that guy was, right above you, saying the Warriors would do a sweep. What a loser !

😁😁😁 I was wayyyyyyyyyyy off!

Quote from: Enjoyed on Jun 18, 2016, 00:23

NBA just wants more games out of it.

RIGGED.

Warriors should have sweeped.

Its hard to think that GS has almost lost as much many games in the playoffs as they did in the regualar season.

A loss for them would be brutal. Damn...best nba record,MVP,but no ring!

I have to say I'm sorry to all football fans for way some crazy, hateful group of Croatians acted yesterday.
That was sad beyond belief and I seriously hope UEFA will kick us out of this competition. We deserve no less.
I'm really ashamed to call myself Croat today. It seems now only terrorists on Euro was my own people. Fuck that group of morons who managed to destroy a game that was going so well until that crap. How can someone do that to their own team?  :'(

Quote from: sandelic on Jun 18, 2016, 07:59

That was sad beyond belief and I seriously hope UEFA will kick us out of this competition. We deserve no less.

I actually don't want Croatia kicked out. Imagine if Brazil was kicked out of the World Cup because of fan behaviour. The quality of football at the World Cup woud be diminished. The same is true of Croatia at the Euros. We want to see the best teams play, and Croatia are good. Punish the fans, sure, but don't diminish the quality of the competition by kicking the teams out. I'm a Republic of Ireland fan but I don't want to see Croatia go out like that.

Quote from: sandelic on Jun 18, 2016, 07:59

Fuck that group of morons who managed to destroy a game that was going so well until that crap. How can someone do that to their own team?  :'(

I've seen fans disrupt games when they were losing,but why do it when you're WINNING? If the fans had supported Croatia more they may have been inspired to keep their lead. A 2-2 final score didn't reflect Croatia's superior ability on the pitch. Sandelic, why DID they do it? Why travel to France to do that to your team when it's winning?

As for me, Republic of Ireland take on Belgium (ranked #3 in the world !?!) in 90 minutes  :o. I fear we're about to be embarrassed for the opposite reason: our fans are better than our players...

Meanwhile, Irish fans are being awesome :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_hTjzsp3qs

They did it out of spite; they believe that players from the south teams are being overlooked (namely Hajduk) and instead picked from north teams (Dinamo) to play for the representation.
They are so revolted that they wowed to do anything to make uefa kick us out of competition.
We all knew that days ago, they announced that on facebook and forums all over the net, but nobody thought that they would do it, at least i didnt.
So, local feud just had premiere on euro. Some folk don't know when to quit. Small coutry mentality. Quite sad, really. But if they kick us out, it would force people to deal with this. their claims are not without merit, in part, at least. But Euro is not the place to resolve such issues.

Quote from: sandelic on Jun 19, 2016, 07:07

They did it out of spite; they believe that players from the south teams are being overlooked (namely Hajduk) and instead picked from north teams (Dinamo) to play for the representation.

Ohhhh. There's a Split over Hajduk (see what I did there?). OK, thanks for the explanation. Well, you have to admire the determination to travel to France in order to have a domestic argument! Not to mention their ability to smuggle huge flares past security.

(http://i.giphy.com/9IBEERvuYHoIg.gif)

Game 7's are fun, but this series was horrible to watch.

Happy for fans of Cleveland and LeBron, but I don't want to see him win again.

Also, that suspension for game 5... Jesus. IT WAS OVER!!!!!

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 20, 2016, 04:18

Happy for fans of Cleveland and LeBron.

I'm not. LeBaby didn't deserve any of that. Apart from that one block in the final quarter.

That game was all Green.

Quote from: Skyscraper on Jun 19, 2016, 09:38

Not to mention their ability to smuggle huge flares past security.

Those same guys think nothing of putting flares in condom and up where sun doesn't shine, but they will throw stones on gay parade... I'm not sure that's how they smuggle flares, but it's a running joke here for past few days  ;D
Btw, they are announcing incidents again for tomorrow, when we play against Spain... well, we'll see

Croatia ! I'm so glad Spain finishes 2nd of its group ;D This means an epic Italy - Spain :D

Yeah! Boys played a good game, and without flares, this time!  ;D

Damn, I just realised France is on the side of the table with Italy, Spain, Germany, England and probably Portugal :(
Croatia is on the side with Wales, Poland, Switzerland and probably Belgium.

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 21, 2016, 20:48

This means an epic Italy - Spain :D

And i hope this will not end very well for italy.

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jun 22, 2016, 09:15

And i hope this will not end very well for italy.

I hate both teams equally, but I have huge respect for Buffon and Iniesta, so I don't know who I'd be rooting for. After seeing how Spain managed Croatia, it would probably be better to play against them rather than Germany or Italy though.

can't stand italy since what they've done 2006. and when i see them playing now, it's the same shit the've always do. this team should be suspended for the next 20 years.

Republic of Ireland save their blushes/bacon tonight. France next round. Please don't spank us too hard France!

I'm glad we get to play against Ireland :) I wish the Irish fans could stay a little more, but unfortunately they won't have any reason to stay for quarter finals :P

Hat

(http://medias.lequipe.fr/img-photo-jpg/la-main-de-thierry-henry/1500000000718666/227:279,1049:693-665-335-70/11aee.jpg)

8)

^ it's almost as though you're trying to goad someone...

I wouldn't dare :P

Yay !

Boo. We only have about two top level players in the entire team; France was packed with talent. Team spirit can only get you so far (not to mention ten men).  :'(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF9TjbdJyUE
in the English fanzones

Normally I would say don't kick a person when they are down (or in this case a country), but  :))

well played Ben_j


We'll see how you like it though when the host nation gets taken out by the Icies.

it wasn't last night...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV3fiqQOohs

My heart...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svVvwmII3_Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wippooDL6WE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRdoKW1CsxE

4 - 0 at half time. Turns out Iceland is not that difficult to play after all. Or maybe England and Portugal are rubbish ?

Quote from: Ben_j on Jul 03, 2016, 16:48

4 - 0 at half time. Turns out Iceland is not that difficult to play after all. Or maybe England and Portugal are rubbish ?

I thought you would at least wait until the end of the game... ::)
Iceland have scored now.

Quote from: Skyscraper on Jul 03, 2016, 17:15

I thought you would at least wait until the end of the game... ::)
Iceland have scored now.

Yep, 2 goals, but with our two substitute defenders. Germany is next, it's gonna be a bit harder :/

i think we will meet wales in the finales (por-wal 0:1, ger-fra 2:1 ot). after defeating italy me thinks that we have good chances of wining the title, even though gomez, boateng & hummels can't play against france (with gomez won't play a game in this tournament again). schweinsteiger also isn't that clear to play or not. maybe löw is bringing podolski from the beginning, would love to see that, but on the other hand we don't have 2006 anymore :D

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jul 04, 2016, 09:46

i think we will meet wales in the finales (por-wal 0:1, ger-fra 2:1 ot). after defeating italy me thinks that we have good chances of wining the title, even though gomez, boateng & hummels can't play against france (with gomez won't play a game in this tournament again). schweinsteiger also isn't that clear to play or not. maybe löw is bringing podolski from the beginning, would love to see that, but on the other hand we don't have 2006 anymore :D

Germany has so many good players that even with that many injured or suspended it will be tough :/ But I think France has the potential to win !

France in Final ! Wooooooo !  ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92XrLq6yt-k

France were lucky tonight. Sometimes the best team doesn't win. The penalty seemed very soft to me; I think Germany will feel hard done by. For me, Italy and Germany were the teams of the tournament.

Quote from: Skyscraper on Jul 07, 2016, 21:02

France were lucky tonight. Sometimes the best team doesn't win. The penalty seemed very soft to me; I think Germany will feel hard done by. For me, Italy and Germany were the teams of the tournament.

I disagree, Lloris did an excellent game, did quite some important saves, and the penalty is 100% legit ! We had a strong defense, very strong players (Sissoko ! he did an incredible game !). Obviously I'll never say we didn't deserve to win, but I really think we were better than Germany tonight

It's very comforting to beat the team that beat Italy and Spain, and to go in the final against the team that did 5 draw games against Iceland, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Croatia

1. we were definitively the better team, but we also made two really silly mistakes (schweinsteiger & kimmich) and you use them freezing cold as the heart of my ex. we cannot be mad about this.

2. i'm not mad at france winning this game. after all that france has to deal with in the past months or even years (Bataclan, the friendly match against us, Depardieu becoming a russian), this might be a good way of becoming the heads clear for you people.

3. beat the shit out of those portuguese!


edit: my vote is por 1 fra 3

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jul 08, 2016, 01:43

3. beat the shit out of those portuguese!

---

edit: my vote is por 1 fra 3

We will ! If they're as bad as they have been so far, it will be a piece of cake

Quote from: Ben_j on Jul 08, 2016, 09:55

We will ! If they're as bad as they have been so far, it will be a piece of cake

The Portuguese are starting to win me over with their kindness here in Lisbon.........

allez les bleu!

Who won the Euro 2016 final tonight?
A) Portugal
B) France
C) The Moths

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 23, 2016, 23:33

(http://medias.lequipe.fr/img-photo-jpg/la-main-de-thierry-henry/1500000000718666/227:279,1049:693-665-335-70/11aee.jpg)

8)

So gutted :/ they didn't deserve the win tonight and certainly didn't deserve the cup with the tournament they did...

agreed, but it happens, in football
this time, better did not win

Stop talking shit about Portugal. Who is in group of death with Iceland, Hungary and Austria - and becames third, has a fucking right to win the tournament...

BALLS MY...SCRATCH?

(http://i66.tinypic.com/1z5lstc.jpg)

103 season wins.  Bring it. 

OH MY HOLY FUCK WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD FUCKING SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wrigleyville is the place to be right now. I've half a mind to catch a bus up this weekend just to be in town for it.

I'm a Dodgers boy, but it has to be said... The Cubs played an amazing game. And Hendricks had Kershaw beat from the first inning.

A really great series to watch.

Quote from: Born In Planet Dust on Oct 23, 2016, 03:04

OH MY HOLY FUCK WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD FUCKING SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Game 7. GAME 7!

Quote from: WhiteNoise on Nov 02, 2016, 02:00

Game 7. GAME 7!

Will the angels in the outfield play a role in the game? I want the Cubs to win, plus steve bartman wants to move on with his life! Poor guy!

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

Is this the real life?  Or is it just the matrix?  Caught in confusion.  I need a spoon to bend with my mind...

Nope.  It is, in fact, real. 

Hold tight people, 1. FC Köln is coming!

Meanwhile in Germany: Tour de France...



Would have loved to go the opening concert with Kraftwerk & Air, but too expensive and too quick sold out.

The World Series has already been incredible and there's another 3 (fingers crossed) games to go!

Less go Doyers.

This game was nearly as exciting as Game 7 last year. Well, less at stake, but still. I've never seen two teams go double digits before.

Quote from: WhiteNoise on Oct 30, 2017, 16:35

This game was nearly as exciting as Game 7 last year. Well, less at stake, but still. I've never seen two teams go double digits before.

i had to park to the side of the road just so I could hear the game on the radio right when the dodgers had players in scoring position in the 9th. I died when they tied the game. But Jansen should've never walked that 2nd player in the 10th! That was our undoing (and it was 2 outs)

The French rugby team beat England for the first time since 2014 ;D

I couldn't breathe at the end of the game, it was so tense.

Quote from: Ben_j on Mar 10, 2018, 19:15

The French rugby team beat England for the first time since 2014 ;D

I couldn't breathe at the end of the game, it was so tense.

Same here! The game could have been over earlier if your guy had succesfully kicked the ball out of play. He could have just kicked it sideways. Then England were right in front of your posts in the 81st minute of an 80 minute game. A converted try there and...France lose. Well done for hanging on. England can't catch Ireland. Ireland win the Six Nations a week early. Whoop!

Quote from: Skyscraper on Mar 10, 2018, 19:52

Same here! The game could have been over earlier if your guy had succesfully kicked the ball out of play. He could have just kicked it sideways. Then England were right in front of your posts in the 81st minute of an 80 minute game. A converted try there and...France lose. Well done for hanging on. England can't catch Ireland. Ireland win the Six Nations a week early. Whoop!

Yeah I screamed when he failed to kick out of play. We already lost to England two years ago because of something like this.

Cubs and Brewers tied going into the last game of the regular season.

Rockies and Dodgers tied going into the last game of the regular season.

50% chance either game ends in a tie ending in at least one game 163 heading into the postseason.

As a fan of baseball this has been a ridiculously exciting September, as a fan of the Cubs I'm screaming internally.

No matter how the playoffs are sorted out for the Cubs, they are in trouble if they don't find some offense.

I understand Kris Bryant has been injured majority of the season, but I'm afraid his talent might have already peaked. This doesn't mean he's not a good player, but I don't see perennial MVP in his future.

Javy Baez has played out of his mind this season, but I think we are pushing the limits of what he can deliver. His hustle has been team inspiring, and almost certainly is the only reason why the cubs are in the playoffs. Damn shame he'll miss out on MVP this season, but Christian Yelich for Brewers has been out of his mind to finish the season.

Hustle can only go so far though. Cubs are about to go through a gauntlet of hot National League teams. And if lucky enough, they will find themselves facing an elite American League offense that will surely be a eye opener for them.

Over in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays are running on an extreme thin budget, with no significant star. They are pushing to finish with 90 wins and already been eliminated from playoff contention. That's so fucked! Meanwhile, the Yankees and Athletics (I love this team!), are just shy of 100 wins and will face in a wild card playoff. American League is absolutely stacked.

It's felt like a coin toss the last month whether the Cubs are going to have an offense or not. Getting Murphy seemed to patch that for a while, but it's been back to feast or famine every time, very low scoring/solo home runs, or very high scoring games. It's been frustrating in a series of critical games, yet the Cubs are 15-11 this month, on pace with their season record. We're not choking, it's the Brewers Yeliches who are destroying everything in their path to catch up, and it's working. I'm awestruck and scared - if it's gonna be any other team, it better be them in the WS.

I'm excited to see how far the Cubs go, but I'm pessimistic about their chances at the WS. Even if they manage to get past the rest of the NL, I can't see how they stand to beat the Red Sox, who can't seem to do anything wrong and seem guaranteed to make it.

I casually root for the Rays and I think they've done incredible this season. Would have been really exciting to see them in the AL Central. Can't wait to see the Athletics destroy the Yankees, and even in the sad situation they don't pull that off, the Red Sox / Yankees series will be incredible television.

If there's a game 163 for the Cubs, there's a chance I make an impromptu trip up to the Windy City Monday.

Edit: Well, got to see my first heartbreaking Cubs loss at Wrigley, guess I'm a real fan now.

The 2018 League of Legends World Championship has been incredible so far.

I'm still catching up on vods (due to some busy times that I'll elaborate on in a boring General Bullshit post later) but the games have been so fucking fun. Loads of upsets. Massive variety of gameplay. A crazy level playing field for, seemingly the first time in years. And my team, Cloud 9, having started the summer season in last place, have made it out of a group dubbed the 'Group of Death' into quarterfinals.

Lots more to catch up on. But I am so freakin' pumped for the quarterfinals to start on Friday.
C9. My boys. Some seriously incredible games.
#C9WIN #eSports #NA>EU #gamergirl

as a huge Phoenix Suns fan, I am finally having a great time

Booker and Ayton look to be the perfect duo. Pissed that Ayton's pumas have already  caused him to injure his ankle. I want him in shoes that support his ankles and pumas are not those shoes

(https://e2.365dm.com/18/10/1600x900/skysports-devin-booker-deandre-ayton_4456989.jpg?20181018183352)

It is a huge shame that the 2016 draft was such a waste. Bender and Chriss just did not work out. 2 top 10 picks and they both were wastes.

Josh Jackson is going to be the perfect 3rd guy who cleans up broken plays and has a bit of wild card to him

Red Devils on a roll!  >:D >:D >:D
(no, I don't think it was a penalty either. Thanks VAR!).

https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1103426768445280257

LeBron James is your new Lakers GM! You heard it hear first!
We're gonna get Lue too
Los Angeles Cavaliers has a nice ring to it!
But man what a crappy year

and in the end, Michael Jordan reigns supreme...  ;D

Without a crucial injury to one of the better western conference teams, or another LBJ orchestrated super team. I don't see Lakers making the playoffs next season either.

I don't have much to cheer about though. Being a bulls fan is pretty pathetic, again. All I can do is live in yesteryear thanks to our shitty front office.

Quote from: androidgeoff on Oct 20, 2018, 18:41

as a huge Phoenix Suns fan, I am finally having a great time

Booker and Ayton look to be the perfect duo. Pissed that Ayton's pumas have already  caused him to injure his ankle. I want him in shoes that support his ankles and pumas are not those shoes

(https://e2.365dm.com/18/10/1600x900/skysports-devin-booker-deandre-ayton_4456989.jpg?20181018183352)

It is a huge shame that the 2016 draft was such a waste. Bender and Chriss just did not work out. 2 top 10 picks and they both were wastes.

Josh Jackson is going to be the perfect 3rd guy who cleans up broken plays and has a bit of wild card to him

This.. uhhh


This season was butt

I've  recently  joined  my  local   ' Dig your own Hole Associated Sports Club ' ,   it's  great  ,  we  meet  up  twice  a  week  and  practice  .  .  frenzied  speed-skipping  ,   manic  spot-running  .  .  and  my  favourite  ,  possessed-leg  dancing.

For  beginners  you  will  need  :

White  sports  top  &  leggings  +  Water  Polo  Cap  ,   bring  with  you  6  cans  of  Redbull  and  lots  of  enthusiasm.

Didn't deserve to leave so early

(https://bigmemes.funnyjunk.com/pictures/Rip+kobe+bryant_86a810_7512584.jpg)

My favorite moments were when he scored 81 points against the Raptors, and the game 7 comeback from the second half against portland around 20 years ago.

Really sad day! And her daughter was in that crash as well!

:'(. 

Can't fall asleep. I can't get over how tragic his, his daughters, and the 7 other passengers death was.

I've been a NBA fan since I was little kid, and about when Kobe entered the league, is when my interest was at its highest. Not necessarily because of Kobe but more so you start developing a deeper interest in things at the age of 10-11 years old. That, and the NBA was in renaissance type era where their was a slew of all-time great, established, NBA veterans, and a large pool of up-incoming young talent (including Kobe) that would enter the league, largely influenced by the play style of Michael Jordan. The league was gaining unbelievable momentum and was truly and exciting time to be a fan.

From afar, I got to see Kobe play his 20 years with the Lakers. His talent was undeniable and his success came at such a young age. He looked prime to surpass Michael Jordan's 6 championships with the help of being on a very motivated and decorated organization. While he didn't reach that feat, he still established himself as one of the top players to ever play them game, and perhaps one of the most influential, on a global level.

Life after professional basketball seemed to be going extremely well for him. He seemed to be a great family man (despite early mistakes) and an extremely proud father. He even managed to muster an Oscar for an animated short called 'Dear Basketball' which was a very nice heart warming tear jerker, but now has become a gut-wrenching sob fest:

https://youtu.be/ziUc0OCDmoU

RIP

It wont feel the same throwing objects, hoping for blind luck in his name. he and his daughter were gone too soon. aparently he was on his way to coach a basketball team of 7th & 8th graders from what I heard. Stars don't die, they just return to their realm in the sky. We'll miss you kobe Bryant!

Maybe should be placed in Now Watching thread, but it's essentially the only sports on here In North America for the last month...

'Last Dance' Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls documentary, anyone?

I grew up in the Chicagoland through the winning dynasty of the 90's, so I'm naturally a big fan.

Really packed with a lot of info if you were ever interested in learning further knowledge about this moment of sports history. It's a 10 part series, and they have only released 4 episodes so far.

Even Ed has been watching 'The Last Dance'

https://twitter.com/eddychemical/status/1262475854526976001?s=20

Great music throughout the 10 part series.

I miss the 90's

Rest In Peace Diego Maradona

every 4 years I love to romance his legend. A true character that the game will miss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV6hC9Fqb2k

Man, that France - Wales (6 Nations) is a real nail-biter.

Woah. What an end! I was ready to write: commiserations France. But no, it's congratulations!
Fun game for the neutral. Bonkers.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Mar 20, 2021, 22:03

Woah. What an end! I was ready to write: commiserations France. But no, it's congratulations!
Fun game for the neutral. Bonkers.

Yeah, I almost turned it off after the red card, to concentrate on the live 2002 video and chat. I also thought we needed to keep Wales from getting a bonus point in order to have a chance to win the tournament, but apparently we're still on and need to win Scotland by over 20 points. What an end to the game and what an end to the tournament it will be to have it decided on that last game!

Congrats to Hideki Matsuyama for winning The Masters. I'm not a a big golf fan, but his victory is a great story heading into the Tokyo Summer Olympics this year. I would imagine it's between him and Ichiro Suzuki getting the honor to light Tokyo's Olympic flame.

https://twitter.com/GolfDigest/status/1381386325555822595?s=20

(trying to link you the Japanese call on 18, but I fail to embed twitter link)

Quote from: Ben_j on Mar 11, 2018, 00:12

Yeah I screamed when he failed to kick out of play. We already lost to England two years ago because of something like this.

Eh. Funny how we repeat the same mistake over and over again. (cf France v Scotland a few weeks ago)

(Euros 2020)

Christian Eriksen for Denmark collapsed on the pitch and is receiving CPR

This is fucking scary as hell

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 12, 2021, 16:54

(Euros 2020)

Christian Eriksen for Denmark collapsed on the pitch and is receiving CPR

This is fucking scary as hell

Thankfully he's conscious and stable. The fast response of the medical team and the good reflexes of his teammates probably saved him.

I was watching live and I was really shockd. You don't expect to see this in a football game.

Btw what kind of asshole was directing the live feed ? They showed multiple times Eriksen getting CPR and his wife crying on the pitch...

16 min in ENG VS CRO
gawds, our boys suck  :-[

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 12, 2021, 18:51

Thankfully he's conscious and stable. The fast response of the medical team and the good reflexes of his teammates probably saved him.

I was watching live and I was really shockd. You don't expect to see this in a football game.

Eerily, my sisters girl friend, 37 years old and of good health, passed away do to a heart attack just weeks ago. She was taking a shower and collapsed suddenly, she made it to hospital but her heart eventually gave. She had a husband and two young kids. Pretty damn tragic, especially after the bullshit of this last year.

Seeing this happen live on TV had my head spinning.

When finding out the best french player is Hummels  :-[

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 13, 2021, 19:18

Eerily, my sisters girl friend, 37 years old and of good health, passed away do to a heart attack just weeks ago. She was taking a shower and collapsed suddenly, she made it to hospital but her heart eventually gave. She had a husband and two young kids. Pretty damn tragic, especially after the bullshit of this last year.

Seeing this happen live on TV had my head spinning.

Oh fuck, Bosco, that's just devastating. My heart goes out to your sister and friends. it's beyond imagination what they're going through right now. What a bullshit two years this has been...

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jun 16, 2021, 08:03

When finding out the best french player is Hummels  :-[

You're being harsh, the whole French midfield and defense was fantastic. Pogba, especially, was a monster. I hope he keeps that level all through the tournament (and I hope the attack is a bit more efficient next time).

I've been watching almost every Euro game, and so far, I'm pleasantly surprised by Italy and England. They could be interesting challengers (Italy even more when Veratti comes back).
On the other end, Germany and Spain seemed pretty weak, compared to what they used to be

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 17, 2021, 08:32

On the other end, Germany and Spain seemed pretty weak, compared to what they used to be

The german team is weak since after we did it in 2014

Did anyone notice this ?

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 17, 2021, 16:57

Did anyone notice this ?

Kevin De Bruyne innit!

https://twitter.com/BelRedDevils/status/1405580666851442693
https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1405579857283719182
^ 2nd tweet didn't embed.
Type KDB into twitter and you'll find lots of people gushing over De Bruyne.

So I don't watch a ton of Football/Soccer, and I'm not super sharp on the rules. But can anyone explain to me how Belgiums first Goal was not offside?

Lukaku makes a great cross pass to De Bruyne who then assists for Belgiums first goal, meanwhile Lukaku is beyond the defenders and runs out of bounds before the goal is scored. Is running out of play the the nullifier for offsides?

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 17, 2021, 20:30

So I don't watch a ton of Football/Soccer, and I'm not super sharp on the rules. But can anyone explain to me how Belgiums first Goal was not offside?

Lukaku makes a great cross pass to De Bruyne who then assists for Belgiums first goal, meanwhile Lukaku is beyond the defenders and runs out of bounds before the goal is scored. Is running out of play the the nullifier for offsides?

In football, the ball has to cross the line, not the player, like in Basketball or Rugby. Hazard was not offside, he was covered by a Danish player, as the VAR images showed a little later during the game.

Edit: i just understood what you meant after watching the goal again.
Offside only applies to players who are in the action. Receiving a pass (obviously) or being in the way of an opponent that might defend on the one who receives the pass should be called. Lukaku on the other end was far from the action and not impeding anyone, so there was nothing to call there. This is why you will often see players who clearly know they're offside raise their arms and clearly be passive or let the ball go, if one of their teammates who is not offside has a chance to get the ball and go to the goal

thanks Ben J, makes sense.

I caught this clip (fast forward to 1 minute mark) which helps visualizes it too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GePlbCsGniA

Man, where's Mats Hummels when you need him ?

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 19, 2021, 14:14

Man, where's Mats Hummels when you need him ?

doing some goals for portugal

Watching as a neutral, the Mbappé penalty in Portugal v France just now was a big NO from me.
Shocking decision from an arse of a referee.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 23, 2021, 19:58

Watching as a neutral, the Mbappé penalty in Portugal v France just now was a big NO from me.
Shocking decision from an arse of a referee.

I was torn, the portuguese player does seem to push him a bit. The foul on Coman at the end of the game was an obvious penalty for me and wasn't called, so I guess all in all it's fine ?  :-\

Looking at the two sides of the final board, it looks so unbalanced. France ended up on the side with Belgium, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain. It's gonna be a tough one.
On the other hand, Denmark can manage to go pretty far, they would deserve it

Yankees finally got some talent on the field.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTkBVNMD-VY&fbclid=IwAR2km51xDw3FQtRtuh6i3MGOxofWKe_ilUAtoRLeVlP7f734x88be9dRPQw

Messi is coming to the US for MLS!   You heard it here first!

Doing the Beckham?

Cool handoff for Paris 2024. You guys got me pumped! If they pull off the beach volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower that will be pretty dang neat.

Any rumors who's gonna produce some of the ceremony stuff? Michel Gondry? Anthony Gonzalez (m83)? Jean Michel Jarre, the inevitable return of Daft Punk?

My team, Cloud9, just upset the 1st seed in the summer playoffs to guarantee a spot at the World Championships - which are being held in North America this year.

So. Freakin'. Hyped.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FbSRLCZXwAQd4_K?format=jpg&name=large)

Quote from: Thesouphead on Aug 06, 2021, 17:21

Messi is coming to the US for MLS!   You heard it here first!

This did not age well

So, did anyone watch rugby today?

Quote from: Ben_j on Mar 11, 2023, 18:28

So, did anyone watch rugby today?

Yup

(https://media.giphy.com/media/pHXcVy3JxnndcFv8TO/giphy.gif)

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Mar 18, 2023, 19:39

Yup

(https://media.giphy.com/media/pHXcVy3JxnndcFv8TO/giphy.gif)

No no. Last week 😁

https://youtu.be/miVv77Foe-g

Victor Wembanyama, welcome to the NBA

Also, Nikola Jokic impressively conquering the NBA playoffs this year and bringing the Denver Nuggets their first title. Arguably, the best player in the NBA right now.

Basketball becoming quite the global game. You guys feeling the hype like we do over here?

Rugby World Cup starting today with the best game we could have dreamed of, France - All Blacks! I hope we win this WC at home, I think we have the team for that.

Here I can feel the excitement building up. All bars are prepping up, lots of fans everywhere, many shops with decorations related to the french team (a pharmacy, even).. 

Quote from: Ben_j on Sep 08, 2023, 12:31

Rugby World Cup starting today with the best game we could have dreamed of, France - All Blacks! I hope we win this WC at home, I think we have the team for that.

Here I can feel the excitement building up. All bars are prepping up, lots of fans everywhere, many shops with decorations related to the french team (a pharmacy, even)..

Anyone following the Rugby World Cup besides BenJ and I?
If not, you're missing out on some very slick rugby. Much less stop-start than say, American Football.
Anyway, hard luck to hosts France, knocked out by the narrowest of margins tonight against South Africa. Now you know how it (kinda) felt to be Ireland last night.
At the final whistle you sit there thinking: how did we lose that??

I noticed that they use a bit of Freddie Mercury's Live Aid performance over the PA (and I believe they did at the last World Cup too, although I don't remember it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbP5OPQhdQ

GG Spain. Better team won on the day, no question.

We tried. It was a good showing, I thought, having not watched footie for MANY years.
It was a fun ride!

Olympics! The opening ceremony! It was...different.

Loved this bit in the tweet. We've discussed Cerrone's Supernature here (https://forum.thechembase.com/index.php/topic,60.msg17440/topicseen.html#msg17440) before in relation to the film Climax. The track was re-edied or remixed for the film. But this version sounds slightly different to that, with the big choral voices. And we got a LOT of it. An Olympics 2024 re-work?

https://x.com/slyfathom/status/1816944245292278156

Other tunes heard during the ceremony:

During the teams-on-the-boats bit:
Justice - DANCE
Braxe & Falke - Intro
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
Sheila B Devotion - Spacer
M83 - Midnight City

During the Eurozone Dance bit:
(some of these were a bit cheesy!)
Gala - Free From Desire
Da Hool - Meet Her At The Love Parade
Black Box - Ride On Time
La Bouche - Be My Lover
Nicky Doll - I Had A Dream
Edward Maya - Stereo Love
Gigi D'agostino - Blah Blah Blah
Darude - Sandstorm
Ice MC -It's A Rainy Day

It certainly was a rainy day!
I saw someone say that at the 2008 Beijing Olympics some cloud seeding was carried out to control the rain.  That might have helped toight. I kept expecting the fashion show catwalk to have a disaster...

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 27, 2024, 01:15

Olympics! The opening ceremony! It was...different.

Haven't seen it all because of work, so i switched on real late into the show (i think the first part i saw was someone in a weird dress dancing with the olympic fire on a bridge, folowed by the Imagine-part with the burning piano and afterwards the metal horse). And my first thought was nearly the same as yours, "ok, that looks different". Couldn't decide if i like it or not. Thing for me is that the London olympics show by Danny Boyle has set the bar nearly unreachable high, so i always compare shows with this opening ceremony.

According to this video i started watching around 2h 23min into the show (United States ship) =>

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 27, 2024, 01:15

in relation to the film Climax

Ha! When i saw one of the dance scenes during the ceremony my first thought was "hmm, maybe directed by Gaspar Noë?"

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 27, 2024, 01:15

It certainly was a rainy day!
I saw someone say that at the 2008 Beijing Olympics some cloud seeding was carried out to control the rain.  That might have helped toight.

Mankind shouldn't try to control nature, we're already interfering too much with it since start of the industrialization - results can be seen all over the planet.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 27, 2024, 01:15

Other tunes heard during the ceremony:

During the teams-on-the-boats bit:

Also heard Cassius - I <3 U So and a track early on that Dimitri From Paris has spinned / edited (Need to find name).

Interesting approach. The boat sequence was a call back to a European allure akin to Miyazaki films (Poco Rosso, Kiki's Delivery Service) in my mind.

My gripe is a continued frustration with the Canadian CBC feed having unprofessional announcers. They were continually behind announcing artists to the point they entirely missed names. They didn't acknowledge Gojira. Back in 2012, They never acknowledged that Underworld produced the musical section. The announcers spent large chunks of time discussing which countries they have been to personally in the past rather than recognizing sporting accomplishments of the athletes. I would be very interested to rewatch the feed via BBC, NBC, ARD, or France Televisions to measure the professionalism of other presenters.

Also, I used to loathe that Celine Dion was Canadian. Now I am buying into the hype that she is The Showstopper. Even if the lip synching was atrocious.

Edit: From a Reddit page

Song List (Though not complete as there are a number of songs missing including the Celine Dion track)
La Foule - Edith Piaf
Chacun Fait (C'qui Lui Plaît) - Chagrin d'Amour
Marcia Baïla - Les Rita Mistuko
Jacques Offenbach - Can Can
Do You Hear the People Sing - Les Miserables
Ça Ira - Gojira
L'Amour est Un Oiseau Rebelle - Georges Bizet (from Carmen)
Djadja - Aya Nakamura
Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saens
La Vie en Rose - Edith Piaf
Born to Be Alive - Patrick Hernandez
Mon Truc En Plume - Lady Gaga
Cassius - I luv You So
King - Rim'K
Ça Balance Pas Mal à Paris - France Gall and Michel Berger
Andy - les Rita Mitsuko
Lady - Modjo
Chic ft. Shiela - Spacer
Daniel Balavoine - L'Aziza
Besoin d'Amoir - France Gall
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
Jupiter vs. Kassav - Kass Limon
Claude François - Alexandrie Alexandra
Justice - D.A.N.C.E
Dj Mehdi - Signatune (Thomas Bangalore Remix)
Freed from Desire - Gala
Lettre à France - Michel Polnareff
Be My Lover - La Bouche
Midnight City - M83
Europe - The Final Countdown
Paroles, Paroles - Dalida (Remixed)
Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love
Darude - Sandstorm
Désenchantée - Mylène Farmer
Louxor J'adore - Philippe Katerine
Imagine - John Lennon (sung by Juliette Armanet, Sofiane Pamart on the piano)

(https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExNW41MTE3bnlvcjlpb2xuN3FseTh2Y3l3MXJ0MzJtcW5meXV4bGlwMCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/cUIX3QHGEyfow1QZgw/giphy.gif)

>2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games (https://forum.thechembase.com/index.php/topic,3393.0.html)<

---

Anybody have a track name for the when Team France was announced? (I watched the NBC broadcast)

Had some heavy 70's influence and almost certain it's a theme. Sounded like something from a Rocky film and it actually could be; I admit I never watched through any of the Rocky series. Also sounds like something Quentin Tarantino might gravitate towards. Empowering epical orchestral strings, big blasting brass...

Quote from: rynostar on Jul 27, 2024, 02:57

I would be very interested to rewatch the feed via BBC, NBC, ARD, or France Televisions to measure the professionalism of other presenters.

ARD, if you're talking about german broadcasting, is just the company name (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARD_(broadcaster)), the main channel has the name Das Erste ("The first"). And no, you don't want that measuring. Our hosts on that station were nonstop talking, nonstop, even through singing performances. There was another broadcasting on a channel called Eurosport (the video i linked above), which was way better.

Here's a review from one of the best, if not the best magazine, that is focused on german tv (via google translate) => CLICK (https://www-dwdl-de.translate.goog/meinungen/98960/redeschwall_bei_der_olympiaeroeffnung_sprachlos_von_wegen/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp)

If you're still interested in the broadcasting from ARD/Das Erste, you can try THIS LINK (https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/Y3JpZDovL3Nwb3J0c2NoYXUuZGUvcGFyaXMtMjAyNC1lY21zLWVwZy0xOTgwLXByb2dyYW1fZ2FuemVTZW5kdW5n) (thats the official one) or THIS LINK (https://tinyurl.com/3dy92t4x) (direct link to the video-file itself). But I don't think either of them works outside of germany.

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jul 27, 2024, 02:16

i saw was someone in a weird dress dancing with the olympic fire on a bridge,

Oh I think he was on the "catwalk" bridge with the Torch. Someone mentioned that there was a reference to Assasins Creed. I'm not sure if that was this guy (who we had already seen traversing the rooftops with the torch), or if it was the shiny knight on the horse with the Olympic flag. AFAIK Assasins Creed originated in Quebec rather than France. Maybe that's close enough?

Quote from: rynostar on Jul 27, 2024, 02:57

Back in 2012, They never acknowledged that Underworld produced the musical section.

2012 was a good one alright. The only time I ever bought a soundtrack CD for the Olympic games.
And yes Pum, Danny Boyle did a great job too. Maybe after he dies, people will re-appraise Boyle's Sunshine and realise how good it was (along with the Underworld soundtrack).

Quote from: rynostar on Jul 27, 2024, 02:57

I would be very interested to rewatch the feed via BBC, NBC, ARD, or France Televisions to measure the professionalism of other presenters.

The BBC approach was a male & female commentator (Hazel Irvine & Andrew Cotter). They provided geographical, cultural and sporting facts for each nation, and didn't talk over each other at all. Clearly well rehearsed, although some people said they talked too much. I guess you can't please all of the people all of the time...

Quote from: Bosco on Jul 27, 2024, 04:39

Anybody have a track name for the when Team France was announced? (I watched the NBC broadcast)

Had some heavy 70's influence and almost certain it's a theme. Sounded like something from a Rocky film and it actually could be;

Well it's from the 1970s. 1971 I believe. It's actually a song by a French singer (surprise!); the famous Johnny Hallyday. But it was an instrumental/orchestral version which I can't find on t'internet.
In this live version I think you can hear the "Rocky" style melody most clearly from the crowd, funnily enough.

Johnny Hallyday - Que je t'aime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfGstMC6neY

Quote from: Bosco on Jul 27, 2024, 04:39

I admit I never watched through any of the Rocky series.

But you've seen Rocky 1, right? It's got 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.1 on IMDB. Rocky is kinda low level muscle for the Mafia in the first one. Gotta be seen!

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jul 27, 2024, 13:18

Here's a review from one of the best, if not the best magazine, that is focused on german tv (via google translate) => CLICK (https://www-dwdl-de.translate.goog/meinungen/98960/redeschwall_bei_der_olympiaeroeffnung_sprachlos_von_wegen/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp)

Barney Ronay at The Guardian reviewed the ceremony itself. He was in Paris so wasn't watching it on UK TV. He didn't take things too serously even if he describes it as "maybe the worst thing ever..."

Some lines that caught my eye in hs article:
"...as yet more boats of waving people chugged down the Seine, like watching an endless series of weirdly nationalistic office parties..."
and
"At the end the Olympic flag was brought in by a knight in shining armour and then hung, hilariously, upside down."

Guardian review (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/26/celine-dion-salvages-parade-held-thrillingly-hostage-to-its-own-hubris)

Oh, sorry to see that the Cerrone Supernature / Eiffel Tower clip in the tweet I embedded above has been disabled now.
Some googling tells me that Mr Cerrone is currently working on symphonic interpretations of his catalogue (article (https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/paris-hull-born-italian-b1173134.html)). So what we heard was some of the (unreleased) symphonic version of Supernature along with the original version, I think.

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jul 27, 2024, 13:18

ARD, if you're talking about german broadcasting, is just the company name, the main channel has the name Das Erste ("The first").

Ah, appreciate the clarification. My half ass internet research consisted of a google search of the main Olympic German broadcaster resulting in ARD and ZDF. Guessed ZDF wasn't the main knowing it literally has Zwei / Two in the name (and from watching Jan Böhmermann clips on YT for many years)

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 27, 2024, 20:09

And yes Pum, Danny Boyle did a great job too. Maybe after he dies, people will re-appraise Boyle's Sunshine and realise how good it was (along with the Underworld soundtrack).

(https://www.enworld.org/media/a-man-of-culture-meme-gif.93323/full)

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 27, 2024, 20:09

Well it's from the 1970s. 1971 I believe. It's actually a song by a French singer (surprise!); the famous Johnny Hallyday. But it was an instrumental/orchestral version which I can't find on t'internet. In this live version I think you can hear the "Rocky" style melody most clearly from the crowd, funnily enough.


Johnny Hallyday - Que je t'aime

Wow, interesting. It had to be an alternate orchestral version... I'll try and track down a recording of the opening ceremony to compare.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 27, 2024, 20:09

But you've seen Rocky 1, right? It's got 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.1 on IMDB. Rocky is kinda low level muscle for the Mafia in the first one. Gotta be seen!

Sadly, I haven't (to my brother-in-law's detest). I've been very exposed to its legacy throughout my life and aware of its cinematic importance, I just never had the desire to watch it. Maybe this winter!

Quote from: rynostar on Jul 27, 2024, 20:36

google search of the main Olympic German broadcaster resulting in ARD and ZDF. Guessed ZDF wasn't the main knowing it literally has Zwei / Two in the name

In genereal both are "main" for the olympics (and other sports like EM & WM), but they alternate every day in terms of broadcasting of these events.

Quote from: rynostar on Jul 27, 2024, 20:36

(and from watching Jan Böhmermann clips on YT for many years)

Wait, what? Didn't know he was "a thing" outisde of Germany. Ok, maybe Austria and Switzerland - but non-german speaking countrys?

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jul 28, 2024, 13:51

Wait, what? Didn't know he was "a thing" outisde of Germany. Ok, maybe Austria and Switzerland - but non-german speaking countrys?

Kind of but not really. I was introduced to him through friends in Berlin and Munich (thank you laugengeback video). The Peter Thiel critique a few years back was hilarious. Jan has been on Seth Myers's late night show about 7 years back.

An excellent World Series, with an absolutely incredible final game.

Won't spoil, but holy wow, the drama was peak throughout the whole game. So many insane moments. What a ball game!

Spoiler

Spoiler

I was rooting hard for the Blue Jays, but fuckin' Christ, they were so anti-oppportunistic... 

Hard to hate this Dodger team though. Very well diverse, immensely talented, and likable. 

A dagger to hardcore MLB fans though, as a new empire has been birthed. The Dodgers are essentially the new-New York Yankees with astronomical payroll to match. Expect them to add more next year...

Best World series I've witnessed in my lifetime.

Quote from: Bosco on Nov 02, 2025, 07:22

Best World series I've witnessed in my lifetime.

Big agree.

Who's the female commentator on Sky Germany right now for Man U v Fulham, please German forumites?

Must be Rachel Rinast (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Rinast)

Classy and spirited opening Milano Cortina 2026

Quote from: Bosco on Feb 07, 2026, 11:41

Classy and spirited opening Milano Cortina 2026

Was nice indeed. Really liked  those paint tubes and the merging of the rings.

---

What a bummer that Lindsey Vonn crashed horribly today. It was pretty risky to do it with her ruptured ACL imo.

I like them taking a page out of Paris' book and did a semi-unique spin on the parade of nations.

A small representation of each nations team walked inside of the stadium, while the rest walked the streets of Milan (or was it Cortina?). Kinda wish they just all walked the streets, cause it looked really pretty!

Thought the Olympic torch theme was neat too!

Also,  totally a DUH!... but the Alps look stunning.

https://x.com/DaveKeating/status/2020484481283404233

https://x.com/mmpadellan/status/2019900535256608913


JD came to Europe a year ago and lectured us on free speech...
https://x.com/SkyNews/status/1890399691738657098

Anybody watched super bowl? I haven't, not really into american football, but was wondering: What was cut from the Green Day show in this upload? =>


I don't think playing American Idiot is the only "protest" they've made

---

Quote from: Bosco on Feb 08, 2026, 19:13

Thought the Olympic torch theme was neat too!

Also,  totally a DUH!... but the Alps look stunning.

Since I didn't catch all of the ceremony, I did a re-watch last night but with a different broadcast than the one we had on public TV. This one was much better in audio quality (you could finally here those actors speak in the stadium). With my headphones on it was a whole different experience, tbh, esp. regarding the music throughout. I love the healthy amount of synthezier usage, particularly when they morphed those classic pieces into synths sounds and back.

Quote from: Bosco on Feb 08, 2026, 19:13

A small representation of each nations team walked inside of the stadium, while the rest walked the streets of Milan (or was it Cortina?). Kinda wish they just all walked the streets, cause it looked really pretty!

I think there were even 4 places which looked really pretty as did the Alps just like you said!

Quote from: ThePumisher on Feb 09, 2026, 08:25

Anybody watched super bowl? I haven't, not really into american football, but was wondering: What was cut from the Green Day show in this upload? =>

^video not availble..

My sister is a big fan but I'm not too much into it either. However, I just finished watching the "contested" half time show and, even though I'm no Bad Bunny follower, me lo pasé muy bien el espectáculo!
I don't know why right wingers were so worked up about it in the run up to it. Yeah, yeah, it was almost all in Spanish... I know, I know... Imagine if the rest of world would get all exasperated with an artist when they sing in English instead of their mother tongue...
It was not over the top, it was pretty charming and colorful.  Listing all the countries after the often laxly used slogan  "... Bless America" was a class act, imo.
Out of curiosity, I also scrolled through the "alternate", "All American" show, and man, this was hysterical :D. Kid Rock not even attempting to lip-sync cracked me up because it was so emblematic for this maga movement.

I wasn't glued to the TV for the Super Bowl this year, not as some political stance, but I had little interest in who was playing the game. Turns out the game was shit, and as a sports fan we learned nothing. All the fabricated hype for this match was a big waste of time, because the Seattle Seahawks were hands down the better team which most thought before hand. Congrats to you PNW fans out there!

I didn't catch the Green Day performance, but did see some of the Bad Bunny halftime. I thought he had an incredibly cool design to his set. I don't know if it looked so great in the stadium, but on TV it looked incredibly clever. Kudos to whoever thought up that performance. And great message in the end.

Also, in regards to foreign countries taking on interest in American Football... it's no where near the BEST sport here in America, it's just incredibly popular, and infinitely easy to sell to wide audiences. Spend your time on Basketball or Hockey, they are much more gratifying.

Quote from: Csar on Feb 09, 2026, 14:45

^video not availble..

=>  ;)

Watched the clip yesterday...

The Green Day performance was barely anything and disappointing for those who were hoping to see them sling mud at the administration. They subtly switched a lyric or two, but nothing to cause a political meltdown.

Rumor has it the NFL hushed them and was ready to contractually hold it against them if they went overboard.

Punk Rock!

Quote from: Bosco on Feb 11, 2026, 00:54

Watched the clip yesterday...

The Green Day performance was barely anything and disappointing for those who were hoping to see them sling mud at the administration. They subtly switched a lyric or two, but nothing to cause a political meltdown.

Rumor has it the NFL hushed them and was ready to contractually hold it against them if they went overboard.

Punk Rock!

Broken Dreams is their worst song.  The rest was fine.  I wanted Kerpunk and Dookie, but I'm old.  

Ok, now I'm excited for the World Cup. Click to play.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYZFhZwsAgD/

Nice to see them being appreciated by the mainstream. Gonna boycott the cup, though.

Quote from: Csar on May 19, 2026, 14:24

Gonna boycott the cup, though.

Fair. Boycotting Fifa, United States, or both?

As an actual citizen, I'm actively cheering against the U.S.

We just had the World Baseball Classic (WBC) early this year which is trying to mimic the hype and competition of the Fifa World Cup, just with baseball. United States and Venezuela... yup, the country which we captured their president, was in the finals. I was happily rooting for Venezuela, and poetically, they beat team USA for the championship. To be fair, team Venezuela is loaded with talent, but it's humorous seeing a country that the United States recently emasculated and is actively pillaging (oil), got beat at their own pastime.

I was rooting for team Canada in the recent Olympic hockey gold medal match as well, but unfortunately Canada couldn't come through.

For the world cup, I'll be supporting any North American country that isn't U.S.. I would be rooting for Poland (I'm 1/2 Polish) but they didn't qualify, so my weight is behind Mexico, which is probably the most represented nation in Chicagoland outside of Polish/Eastern European nations. 

To FIFA's credit, they did get it correct by scattering the matches all over North America.

---

Switching sports...

NBA Playoffs are in full swing. Victor Wembanyama is amazing. Is the hype just as real in France/Europe? This kid might be the next best player the sport has ever seen.

Quote from: Bosco on May 19, 2026, 21:10

Boycotting Fifa

FIFA and Infantino (that ass-kissing money sucking twat). I would absolutely love it if all football clubs collectively withdrew from FIFA, in Europe from UEFA, and in Germany from the DFB. But money makes the world go round, even though it has nothing to do anymore with football (or for you us-american peeps: soccer).



Edit:

Activate english subtitles, clip is in german language

Quote from: Bosco on May 19, 2026, 21:10

Fair. Boycotting Fifa, United States, or both?

Both, with bit more bias towards the current US' state of affairs. Both are equally corrupt to the core.

But to be honest, I'm not the biggest sports watcher anyway (although I like watching the women matches every now and then as I'm rooting for them to get more recognition in their business).

Quote from: ThePumisher on May 20, 2026, 15:34

FIFA and Infantino (that ass-kissing money sucking twat). I would absolutely love it if all football clubs collectively withdrew from FIFA, in Europe from UEFA, and in Germany from the DFB. But money makes the world go round, even though it has nothing to do anymore with football (or for you us-american peeps: soccer).

Exactly. Who could have thought it could get worse than under Sepp Blatter
.

Quote from: Bosco on May 19, 2026, 21:10

As an actual citizen, I'm actively cheering against the U.S.

It's not even that for me. Although I'm sometimes more in favor of underdogs, I am usually of the attitude "may the better team win". It's only when I feel like a team starts getting arrogant or plays unfairly or ... follows the invitation of an orange Führer to the white house or is chugging beers with a leader of a three letter agency.. when this kind of sentiment creeps in..

Iran and Egypt are set to face off next month in World Cup group stage on American soil (Seattle), and somehow it's designated as a "Pride" match... as in celebrating LGBTQ+ pride during "Pride" month.

Meanwhile In Washington D.C., we are constructing a UFC octagon for an event on the front lawn of the White House to celebrate Donny's upcoming Birthday/Flag day?

Life is not real.

This is all so bizarre, grotesque and abso-fucking-lutly surreal. So, there's going to be bloodsport on the lawn of the Peoples' House, where men beat each other to a pulp. The US under Trump has lost the last shred of dignity it had left..

Say what you want but Donny got his well deserved medal of peace from FIFAntino 🤷

In the UK, the World Cup is being shown in full across two networks: ITV and BBC.
BBC were the first to put out a trailer that looked & sounded like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKKk5jpSu70

The music from Jamie xx has a nice fiesta vibe about it, I think. The brass is actually sampled from a funky 1970s cover of House Of The Rising Sun, believe it or not.

Then ITV put this trailer out with Tomora on it:

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on May 18, 2026, 23:56

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYZFhZwsAgD/

And now the BBC has changed the music on their trailer to Tomora too! But a different track.

https://youtu.be/vGlV7RggdiM?si=6xyJ00A-ZVoVJ3Us

https://x.com/BBCSport/status/2060818601150418959

---

Quote from: Bosco on May 19, 2026, 21:10

As an actual citizen, I'm actively cheering against the U.S.

I think it's ok to support the USA on strictly sporting grounds. They usually do well in the early group stage and provide some real entertainment, then they get to the knockout stages and things don't go quite so well. I suspect the team won't be invited to the White House to have brewskis with the President as they celebrate their cup win. Cos they won't win it!

Quote from: Bosco on May 19, 2026, 21:10

For the world cup, I'll be supporting any North American country that isn't U.S..

Or be adventurous and support a South American team: Brazil and Argentina are always worth a watch, and usually get quite far in the competition.
Ireland, as usual, didn't qualify so I'll probably adopt Spain and the aforementioned South American teams. No point in adopting a rubbish one!

Quote from: Csar on May 20, 2026, 19:42

But to be honest, I'm not the biggest sports watcher anyway

What about now?

https://x.com/discreetncheeky/status/2059743384567267471

Quote from: Bosco on May 27, 2026, 18:03

Iran and Egypt are set to face off next month in World Cup group stage on American soil (Seattle),

It's crazy to think that Iran will be playing football in the U.S. and staying in American hotels whilst they may still be officially at war with America. I wonder if the CIA or FBI will be following them around...

Quote from: Csar on May 28, 2026, 20:25

This is all so bizarre, grotesque and abso-fucking-lutly surreal. So, there's going to be bloodsport on the lawn of the Peoples' House, where men beat each other to a pulp. The US under Trump has lost the last shred of dignity it had left..

https://x.com/MeachamDr/status/2060904110837145606
https://x.com/YourAnonNews/status/2059970361559576755
(tweets not embedding?)

I literally just watched Mike Judge's Idiocracy (2006) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/) a few days ago, about a future America that has dumbed down in the year 2505. And yeah it did feel kinda pertinent to 2025/26. Never seen it before.

---

Speaking of films, anyone watched Mark Wahlberg film, Balls Up (2026) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26735622)? It's not gonna win any prizes but it might get you in the mood for the World Cup.
There's a song on the soundtrack called Baiana by Barbatuques. I heard it and thought: I know this! Which I do because the same (ish) song by Nia Archives was in Tom's half hour Tomora mix that he did for BBC 6Music. Nia Archives' 2022 version samples Barbatuques' 2005 version (the vocals). So now I'm thinking: wait, does everyone know this Brazilian song except me? Is this one of those "shorthand" songs that everyone associates with Brazil, and I'm only catching up now?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oELrBolP5mM

Okay, regardless of music, BBC promo is mint.


@Wolkenkrabber , I support the US athletes, I don't support support the team though. There's a certain false patriotism that shows up from fans of the national teams and honestly I don't want to be part of any of this time round. Now, if for some reason the team/coach speaks out against Trump administration such as Gregg Popovich or Steve Kerr has done for team USA Basketball, then sure I'm back on team USA train.

Mexico is for me, not really worried about their chances of winning the cup, just hoping for them to make a run like Croatia managed to do a couple of tournaments ago. As for the hypocrisy, I'm totally aware they are far from a perfect government, but their people, who are either guests or actual American citizens, have been treated inhumanely by our current administration. So I'm gladly rooting for their symbolic success in this tournament. Also, we really have a lot of 2nd generation Mexican- American folk in the Chicagoland, this isn't as far fetched of a concept as one might think.

---

@Wolkenkrabber

 Oh my gosh, you've only now saw 'Idiocracy'? That movie, is so damn funny. Unfortunately now, feels like a scare you straight documentary.

---

Oh by the way with, in reference to the woman juggling the ball on her titties. I forgot this is now the influencer World Cup. Fans literally cant afford tickets, but your favorite Tik-Tok and Instagram thirst traps will surely be in attendance.

Quote from: Bosco on May 19, 2026, 21:10

NBA Playoffs are in full swing. Victor Wembanyama is amazing. Is the hype just as real in France/Europe? This kid might be the next best player the sport has ever seen.

Peeps, Victor has lead his team to the NBA Finals and is currently favored to win. This is only his 3rd year in the NBA!  It's the New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs and it should be a great series (best of 7). The Knicks, being one of the crown jewels of the NBA in the biggest market in sports, hasn't seen a Championship since 1973. Their last NBA Finals was in 1999 and they played and lost to... the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs on the other hand, are the best "small market" franchise in the league. Since 1999 they have won 5 NBA championships behind the backs of David Robinson ("The Admiral"), Tim Duncan ("The Big Fundamental"), and Kawhi Leonard ("The Claw").

Victor is "The Alien". He's called that because his incredible height/length and ability to play like a guard, which is not a common trait for a gigantic human like he is.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY_KA-SO4bz/

Additionally,  the New York Knicks have international flair too! Ogugua "OG" Anunoby, from London, England who's already been an NBA champ (previously with the Toronto Raptors). OG is integral part of the Knick's stout defense. Truly one of the top 10 versatile defenders in the league. Can score at an above average clip, too!

If the Knicks win, this will probably go down as the best Knicks team ever, and the city we'll be on its head for an entire week. It might be the worst thing to happen to modern day sports culture in the internet age. Knick fans will NEVER let anyone forget their championship.

One last thing... The Chemical Brothers even have gotten in on the NBA playoff action via TV broadcast. In the previous series (Western Conference finals, Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder) NBC was playing "Galvinize' going into commercial break. Could we see/hear more?

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 01:22

Or be adventurous and support a South American team: Brazil (...) are always worth a watch, and usually get quite far in the competition.

And then they loose 7:1 against Germany

Quote

In Brazil, the result, "7–1" (Portuguese: sete a um), has become a metaphor for a devastating and crushing defeat, while "Goal for Germany" (Portuguese: gol da Alemanha) is used as an exclamation after a mishap.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_v_Germany_(2014_FIFA_World_Cup)#Aftermath

---

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 01:22

BBC were the first to put out a trailer that looked & sounded like this:

World Cup trailers and promos are usually pretty creative, I have to admit!

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 01:22

And now the BBC has changed the music on their trailer to Tomora too! But a different track.

The won't let us European peasants watch :(

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 01:22

What about now?

Ha, you cheeky Krabber! :D Man, that poor lady. Must be literally a pain to walk these around. But kudos to her jiggl.., I mean juggling.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 01:22

I literally just watched Mike Judge's Idiocracy (2006) a few days ago, about a future America that has dumbed down in the year 2505. And yeah it did feel kinda pertinent to 2025/26. Never seen it before.

:o
Your describing it is funny as hell :D So you say you've never came across references to that movie at all? Or you did and wanted to finally find out what it was about?
The afterwit of it is: Despite his ridiculous appearance, Camacho is actually a good president - all things considered. He listens to the smartest person and wants the best for all his people.

Make sure you get all your electrolytes!

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 01:22

Speaking of films, anyone watched Mark Wahlberg film, Balls Up (2026)? It's not gonna win any prizes but it might get you in the mood for the World Cup. There's a song on the soundtrack called Baiana by Barbatuques. I heard it and thought: I know this! Which I do because the same (ish) song by Nia Archives was in Tom's half hour Tomora mix that he did for BBC 6Music. Nia Archives' 2022 version samples Barbatuques' 2005 version (the vocals). So now I'm thinking: wait, does everyone know this Brazilian song except me? Is this one of those "shorthand" songs that everyone associates with Brazil, and I'm only catching up now?

No, I didn't know. But I love both! The 2022 version is really great.  Good use of the vocal sample and the oldschool Amen break - which never fails to excite me :)

Quote from: Csar on Jun 02, 2026, 10:00

The won't let us European peasants watch :(

I could with no problems

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jun 02, 2026, 12:18

I could with no problems

Hm, then I have to change it to "They won't let this European peasant watch". Perhaps it's a 1:7 situation for me :)

Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 15-14-46 Sports ! - Page 9 - The Social - The ChemBase.png

Interesting. Now I can't view it anymore either — this morning it was still working without any problems.

yeah, it doesn't work for me either. I could last night.

It was the same BBC commercial but with "Somewhere Else"

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 02, 2026, 04:59

@Wolkenkrabber
Oh my gosh, you've only now saw 'Idiocracy'? That movie, is so damn funny. Unfortunately now, feels like a scare you straight documentary.

Yeah the Fox News bit made me go "Ugh" rather than "Ha". I don't know what Fox News was like 20 years ago, but this film came out via 20th Century Fox, so maybe they just used that News network because it was...theirs?

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jun 02, 2026, 07:28

And then they [Brazil] loose 7:1 against Germany

Couldn't resist huh? Well this time Brazil have had their plane baptised, so God is on their side!
https://x.com/paseclave__/status/2061772608094277942
Found this on Insta too. And it's that Baiana song again:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZFOWoQO1Xd/

Do you remember the time Germany lost 1-5 to England in 2001? A few months later, one of the weekend tabloid newspapers gave away a free DVD of the full football match in order to boost sales. And shortly after that, Virgin megastores also gave away DVDs of the match with every purchase.
I'm not an England supporter but I know that England fans love reminiscing about that one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUHTT2VnKao

Quote from: Csar on Jun 02, 2026, 10:00

Your describing it is funny as hell :D So you say you've never came across references to that movie at all? Or you did and wanted to finally find out what it was about?

It just passed me by...
So not everybody knew that Brazilian Baiana song, but everybody knows this film. Ok.

Quote from: Csar on Jun 02, 2026, 10:00

Make sure you get all your electrolytes!

Sure, I put Gatorade on my crops. And my breakfast cereal!

Quote from: Csar on Jun 02, 2026, 10:00

The won't let us European peasants watch :(

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 02, 2026, 18:13

yeah, it doesn't work for me either. I could last night.

I can't see the video embedded in Pum's post #161.
I see that Firefox now has a free VPN as well as Opera. Wouldn't it be great if we could somehow embed or attach a free VPN to the forum so that we could all see each other's "international" embeds?

Here's a twitter version of the new "Somewhere Else" version of the BBC trailer.
Are tweets refusing to embed for all of you or just for me? I keep getting a "tweet error, (does not exist)" message. I have to click and open in a new tab / twitter.
https://x.com/BBCSport/status/2060818601150418959
Oh on Insta too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZE-7o9sNny/
(also not embedding? WTF?)

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 21:11

So not everybody knew that Brazilian Baiana song, but everybody knows this film. Ok.

Oh, it was in that movie? I thought you were referring to that Mark Wahlberg one. I have no recollection of it, tbh. It's been a while since I watched Idiocracy.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 21:11

Here's a twitter version of the new "Somewhere Else" version of the BBC trailer.

Not working either for me for both links.
Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 23-22-06 BBC Sport on X The FIFA World Cup 2026. Coming soon live across the BBC. Let's make it iconic. https __t.co_fUDxMtNLuw _ X.png

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 21:11

Are tweets refusing to embed for all of you or just for me? I keep getting a "tweet error, (does not exist)" message. I have to click and open in a new tab / twitter.

Need to test that. But it's certainly not just an issue on your side. Maybe the powers that be have changed something. I saw an update for the mod today but need to wait until I can access the server again to give it a shot.

Quote from: Csar on Jun 02, 2026, 21:30

Oh, it was in that movie? I thought you were referring to that Mark Wahlberg one. I have no recollection of it, tbh. It's been a while since I watched Idiocracy.

No it was in Wahlberg's Balls Up.
It's just ironic that I thought everyone was going to know a certain song in my post, but it turns out everyone knew a certain film in my post.

What's not working for you? The BBC "Somewhere Else" tweet or the BBC "Somewhere Else" Insta post? Or both? Oh Both ! I should read better!
What if you click on each of them to open in a new  tab?

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 21:36

What if you click on each of them to open in a new tab?

It's region-blocked for both.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 21:11

Are tweets refusing to embed

I checked with the SMF support forum and it's indeed the mod. The update should fix it, but on our test forum it hasn't helped so far.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 21:11

Couldn't resist huh?

Couldn't  8)

Re: NBA Finals


Victor Wembanyama did not have such a great 1st Finals game, thus the Spurs took a "L" (loss) in game 1 at home. Those who didn't watch, but my be interested... you didn't miss much this game.

Three players to highlight on the Knicks victory:

• Jalen Brunson, He wasn't efficient with his game high 30 points, but in the finals all that matter is the WIN. To his credit he had a fantastic 4th quarter to close out game 1. Note: He was hurt twice early in the game. Hopefully this isn't nagging him for the rest of the series.
• Karl-Anthony Towns (aka "Kat"), played a fantastic game on both sides (offense and defense) of the court, especially keeping Victor Wembanyama's offense in check who struggled from the field at 6-21 shots. The key for Kat this series is to play exactly like game 1 and stay out of foul trouble.
• Josh Hart, who absolutely was a havoc on the defensive end and grabbed a game high 15 rebounds, just a HUGE contribution from a gritty wing-player.

Monday, June 8th, Donald Trump is planning on attending game 3 in New York at Madison Square Garden. I don't know what to expect, but this is obviously a horrible idea. I'm hoping they BOO the fuck out of him, however, I know there is technology to filter the BOOing on "live" TV...

Game 2 is in the books, and the San Antonio Spurs are on the ropes headed to a very hostile environment at Madison Square Garden which possibly could be headed for a potential 4 game sweep. 

So far, this series has been about how The New York Knicks have stayed fused together for a full 48 minutes. They even managed to blow a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter (maybe thanks to some bad officiating), but stood strong to pull it out in the end in game 2.

Karl-Anthony Towns is the player of the series. He managed to stay out of foul trouble for a great portion of game 2 again and (again) was the difference maker at both sides of the court. 21 points on 8-12 shooting and a game high 13 rebounds. The most crucial aspect was keeping Victor Wembanyama in check from offensive rebounding.

Jalen Brunson, another very inefficient night with 7/25 shooting. However, he always seems to get it done in the end as he manages to luck into a crucial late turnover by Victor Wembanyama and subsequently gets fouled to make 1 of 2 Free throws which would ultimately be the difference in the game. Look for Brunson to have a big scoring night in one of these upcoming 2 games in NY. If San Antonio keeps Brunson to 20 points or less again, there's a good shot they'll be stealing wins in New York.

Mikal Bridges, absolutely balled. As the 4th option on the Knicks offense, Mikal is sometimes a forgotten contributor, but tonight he absolutely was on fire. 4-6 from the 3pt line and 8-13 overall (20 pts total), carrying the team alongside bench player Landry Shamet (3-7 from 3pt line) with crucial made shots, all while Kat and Brunson were off the court or denied offensive possession.


On the flipside...

Spurs look a bit gassed. And rightfully so, they played a long series in the Western Conference Finals against the defending champs (Oklahoma City Thunder). To their credit, they put together a 14 point comeback late into the game 2 (as previously mentioned). They just haven't matched the physicality or will of the Knicks have for a complete 48 minutes. Victor Wembanyama was better in game 2, but unfortunately he didn't show up when they needed him most. At 22 years old, he's still learning how to be present in high leverage situations, and currently struggling in the Finals. Many young elite players go through this, but in order for San Antonio to make a comeback, they're going to need for him to dig a bit deeper and shake off the inexperience.

It looks bleak, but It's not over for the Spurs. It doesn't have to be all Victor Wembanyama, despite the incredible focus on him. The Spurs have plenty of young talent at guard to push this series open again, but they're going to have to start hitting their shots at a higher rate and increase the defensive intensity. Look for Rookie Dylan Harper to potentially have a big game in the upcoming games. Dlyan grew up in New Jersey and went to Rutgers University before he was drafted 2nd overall in the most recent NBA draft. He's son of a NBA legend and has already shown flashes of his obvious bright future throughout the playoffs.

Crossing my fingers the Knicks crowd gives it to Donald Trump and chants "Pedophile" or "Epstein" throughout the game. That or someone suggested Zohran Mamdani (new mayor of New York city) be at the game to show the audible contrast of genuine praise (Mamdani) vs. genuine contempt (Trump) to further embarrass the orange turd.

Regardless, potentially 2 more Wins until New York city turns into a free-for-all.

See ya after the next game!

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 04, 2026, 23:31

I'm hoping they BOO the fuck out of him

Well, it seems like your wishes have been answered

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnderReportedNews/comments/1u0qxct/trump_booed_by_knicks_fans_as_he_appeared_on/

Doesn't seem like he was thrilled all that much either to be there:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBAGossips/comments/1u0toii/no_way_trump_shut_down_the_new_york_city_streets/

And the Knicks lost, I read. Well...

Can Trump come back please? If that's what it takes for the Spurs to win...

Game 3 was an amazing effort and show of resolve by a young Spurs team. Only to absolutely completely fuck it up by and embarrassing themselves by blowing, a historic, 29 POINT LEAD in the NBA Finals Game 4. The Knicks didn't even play all that well in the second half of game 4... the Spurs absolutely blew a golden opportunity to steal momentum and even the series. It's incomprehensible for me to even explain how unlikely this result was coming out of halftime, let alone, the last spurs possession that should have clinched the game. 

Spurs will have to shake it off though. They've been the better team in the series yet are sitting down 3-1 (best of 7). 

The stories about some really shitty fans assaulting people because of wearing Spurs jerseys and lighting peoples hair on fire, is fucked up. New York city in chaos and they haven't even won the championship yet.

OG Anunoby a New York legend after game 4... could end up series MVP!

Game 5 in San Antonio on Saturday. 

Quote from: Ben_j on Jun 11, 2026, 13:26

Can Trump come back please? If that's what it takes for the Spurs to win...

Hell no, keep him away from the NBA forever

Although, I find it quite amusing that Trump shows up to support the Knicks, only for them to lose... Spurs need to figure out how to finish games NOW. I think they still can win it despite the odds against them. This Knicks team has tremendous amount of historic pressure on them where they easily could crack. Obviously, they're in prime position, but they also don't have a unicorn on their squad.

Wemby, as long as he stays healthy, will have ample opportunities to bring home a championship in the near future. This wont be his last dance.

For those of you actively rooting against USA in the World Cup, you may find this first stage of the competition a little frustrating.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jun 02, 2026, 01:22

They [USA] usually do well in the early group stage and provide some real entertainment

...and that's exactly what they did last night. I didn't stay up to watch it, but I've seen the goals (3rd one was the best) and read the reviews.
How much of this was down to Paraguay being bad, and how much of it was because USA were good is perhaps open to debate. But USA seized the opportunity and made it count.
I had somehow forgotten that Mauricio Pochettino was the USA coach. Some national coaches are journeymen who have struggled to get a top club job, or they're ex-players who do the job out of national pride. But "Poch" -as we call him- is a proper club coach. He led Tottenham Hotspur to a Champions League final, he has managed Southampton, Chelsea and PSG.
Football fans are saying "it's Poch-ball...it's really good", and I can't argue with that. Mind you, he looks a little different to how I remember him in the Premier League.

https://x.com/ClayWinstead/status/2065607589417689218

Which one is Russell Crowe?
https://x.com/Chaz18_/status/2065610841714516072

Anya Taylor-Joy decided to go to the game in Argentina colours. Sometimes I forget that she was raised in Buenos Aires. But if she turned up dressed like that at an England or Brazil game and found herself sitting with the hardcore fans, she might not get out alive...
https://x.com/anyafolders/status/2065598886849249341

Elsewhere...
FIFA doesn't want us to get high on the World Cup?
https://x.com/mikalskuterud/status/2065541102954754166

Here's former England player and TV presenter Gary Lineker having a chat with an American Network (which one?). Blonde lady doesn't look too thrilled!
https://x.com/ultras_antifaa/status/2065744467018039337

Tweets still not embedding??

---

In other news, it looks like these Tomora related videos are currently not geo-blocked.  :clap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff2k22F4qNM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQKrA9MTKxs

Some top notch goals yesterday in the World Cup. Loved all the lofty scoring! Netted $95 in bonus credit on 19 total goals in a single day through some promotional sports betting, risking nearly nothing. Unfortunately, my main squeeze is over for the season (NBA... Congrats NY Knicks), so now sitting a bit clueless as a non-soccer/footballer follower, on how to reinvest into the World Cup.

@Wolkenkrabber , do you partake in sports betting? Any sharp angles I should be putting my bonus behind. Preferably something in + odds.

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 15, 2026, 10:45

Netted $95 in bonus credit on 19 total goals in a single day

Congrats!

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 15, 2026, 10:45

o now sitting a bit clueless as a non-soccer/footballer follower, on how to reinvest into the World Cup. @Wolkenkrabber , do you partake in sports betting? Any sharp angles I should be putting my bonus behind. Preferably something in + odds.

So, you can't cash it? How does that bonus work?

It's "bonus credit", meaning it doesn't have value until you've bet it and win the wager. The bonus credit was given in addition to the primary bet. The promotion was $5 bonus credit for every goal scored. 

I netted a total of $180 bonus credit total over the opening 4 days. The qualifications for promotion had some loose rules, so all I did was wager on total corners (over 3) for each match. I didn't win much at all on my primary bets, but accumulated a bunch of bonus credit through the promotion. 

Now I need somewhere to reinvest it.  

México, feel the noise!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1NLsyEFyEc

See you in Mexico City, I guess @Bosco 

(https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTZjMDliOTUyd3FwYzUzbXAyNHFobHM2dXY5cDB2YmpjeWNqb2x5MnExa2lwODR5YSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/l41YavNUKGCiDq14A/giphy.gif)

Quote from: Bosco on Jun 15, 2026, 10:45

@Wolkenkrabber , do you partake in sports betting?

No sorry, just a yearly flutter on the Grand National horse race. I do know that France were favourites before the tournament started. Having seen them in action now, I can see why. They look great in attack and defence, and their midfield isn't bad either. I'll be amazed if they don't make the final.

Quote from: ThePumisher on Jun 02, 2026, 07:28

And then they [Brazil] loose 7:1 against Germany

Well Germany enjoyed another 7-1 victory in this WC against...[checks notes]...Curacao! But what happened after that?? I don't think Germany will get the chance to beat Brazil this time around. In fact I hear that coach Nagelsmann has already been replaced by Jurgen Plopp - before the WC is even over (well, it is over for Germany, right @ThePumisher ?).

On the subject of Brazil - they're not that great. They're using Casemiro in midfield. He just waved goodbye to Man Utd in May because Man Utd chose not to extend or renew his contract. Casemiro is a talented player but his legs have gone.
When Morocco played Brazil in their opening fixture, Morocco sensed that Brazil's central midfield was weak and they went on the attack. Morocco deservedly took the lead. In all honesty Morocco looked the more likely to win until Brazil were bailed out (1-1) by a piece of individual brilliance from Vinicius Jr - a player we've mentioned here (https://forum.thechembase.com/index.php/topic,134.msg36087.html#msg36087) before in relation to Chemical Spotting(Galvanize)/Pepsi Commercials/Vinnie Jones. Brazil also have Matheus Cunha, a current Man Utd winger who is very lively.
But will individuals win Brazil the cup? I'm not so sure.

Speaking of Morocco - that's who France have next and they have impressed me. I expect France to get past them but I also expect it to be a hard game for them.
Morocco made it to the final of the AFCON (Africa Cup Of Nations) earlier this year. But did they win it? At the time no, but they were later awarded the trophy after they appealed the result! So now they are official AFCON champions. A crazy story which is explained by the BBC here (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cly0ygz7r4yo).

Argentina have Messi who at 39 still looks surprisingly useful - more so than Portugal's ageing "legend" Cristiano Ronaldo. But Argentina struggled to get past the tiny archipelago of...Cape Verde the other day. The game being pushed to a 2-2 score and 30 minutes extra time -  before Argentina eventually found a winner.
Cape Verde were the truly heroic minnows of this WC.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is only good for taking penalties at this point, but their manager Roberto Martinez feels obliged to play him. Mr Ronaldo still dreams of winning the WC but that's all it is - a dream. It won't happen.

This mock YT video banner gave me a chuckle recently:
20260701_220058.jpg


This useful chart (https://www.theguardian.com/football/world-cup-2026/overview) from the Guardian shows us the how the knockout stage is panning out. Both Argentina and Brazil are on the right hand side of the draw, so they cannot meet each other in the final. Meanwhile France and Spain (decent side!) are both on the left hand side, so they also also cannot meet each other in the final. I keep missing Spain's matches but I know they're a good side so don't rule them out.

Quote from: Enjoyed on Jul 01, 2026, 18:33

See you in Mexico City, I guess @Bosco

So England play Mexico in Mexico in just a few hours time. On paper, England should win. Most of Mexico's players wouldn't make it into England's team. But in practice, England look like a bunch of individuals spearheaded by prolific goal scorer, Harry Kane. Meanwhile Mexico look like a real team with huge support and lots of desire. I honestly don't know who will win. If England don't play as a cohesive team tonight, they're in trouble.

https://x.com/FBAwayDays/status/2073679929124819354

https://x.com/utdreport/status/2073038025005707468

Nice to see Oasis' Wonderwall has become the unofficial anthem of England - or at least its supporters. Will they be able to belt it out at the Azteca stadium at high altitude tonight?

https://x.com/NDR_lufc/status/2073433636083204461

BTW does anyone know why one of the stadium tunes we keep hearing at this World Cup is a sappy cover version of Van Halen's Jump? What's wrong with the original? Also, enough with Livin' On A Prayer. I hate Bon Jovi (apart from Wanted Dead Or Alive)!

For the final I'm picking Argentina from the RHS of the draw and France or...maybe Spain from the LHS of the draw.

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EDIT: Oh this is kinda fun. I had to watch it a couple of times before I understood it.

https://x.com/NoContextHumans/status/2065418845595341023

Mind you, some say Messi is on the spectrum (not confirmed), in which case this is in....bad taste? You decide.

EDIT 2: Brazil knocked out by Norway!  :o

HOLY. What a game.

Me watching the last 30 minutes:
(https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTZjMDliOTUyMjJjZWg0NDk1a2MwOWZzbnlxa3lia3A0bXJzamIwaTU3M3RoZXkyMiZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/vSkXRfZ9mjNQY/200.gif)

(https://media1.tenor.com/m/eGC3J1iIPfEAAAAd/saving-private-ryan-earn-this.gif)

Quote from: Bosco on May 19, 2026, 21:10

As an actual citizen, I'm actively cheering against the U.S.

Well, following the Trump intervention I found myself rooting for Belgium like never before. I wasn't planning to stay up and watch the game but once Belgium took the lead, I just had to see it through. And well done to Belgium for seeing it through. The fact that the banned/unbanned USA player was on the pitch just makes it better.

AI can come up with stuff this quickly? It's...good!
https://x.com/mmpadellan/status/2074440790038684021

Whaaat? I am shocked!
https://x.com/PippaCrerar/status/2074367433884811500

Discovered air conditioning! Yeah it increases your carbon footprint and sends the world into an even faster spiral of global warming.
https://x.com/ZoeJardiniere/status/2074437336578883646

Attacking Iran and spiking energy prices was one thing, but if you fuck with our sports...

https://x.com/MarkHam80780803/status/2074181517044015330

https://x.com/CatchUpFeed/status/2074352600355414159

https://x.com/EdKrassen/status/2074510592652554480

Jurgen Plopp, the new Germany manager. He's just jealous that USA got further than Germany isn't he @ThePumisher ?
https://x.com/SkyFootball/status/2074437297123074162

One for the connoisseurs; René Magritte was of course Belgian
https://x.com/hassinator/status/2074434323034329572

Ah little old Belgium...
https://x.com/Dispropoganda/status/2074424075913478650

Some USA players were crying on the pitch at the end. They didn't actually think they would win the WC or make the final did they? I mean they were playing (team captain!) Tim Ream at centre back - a 38 y.o ex-Fulham player now seeing out his days at ...[checks notes]...Charlotte FC. Not a chance!

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 07, 2026, 12:54

Discovered air conditioning! Yeah it increases your carbon footprint and sends the world into an even faster spiral of global warming.

To be fair, it's a life saver in hot climates that experiences any type of high humidity. You would too, unless you enjoy the feeling of swamp crotch.

I do use air conditioning, but I do try to limit my use. Anything under 85° F during the daytime, I try and avoid turning it on. And anything under 75°F during the nighttime I try and avoid unless it's forecasted to be a scorcher (90+°F ) the next day.

How do you guys in non-AC nations handle the extreme heat? Cold Shower before bed? Put your pantaloons in the freezer?

The excessive and deplorable use of AC is in arid areas like Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Arizona, etc.. these places are hot as fuck cause it's the FUCKING DESERT. I see you Abu Dhabi/ Dubai!

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Found this for you @Wolkenkrabber
https://www.instagram.com/p/Daf0BfFgA7a/

Quote from: Bosco on Jul 08, 2026, 04:47

How do you guys in non-AC nations handle the extreme heat? Cold Shower before bed? Put your pantaloons in the freezer?

Well, we mostly keep the windows shut during the day and open them during late afternoon/ the night when the temps are more bearable. Occasionally, when it's really hot like last week with nearly 104° (40°C), I would dig out the ventilator. Our neighbours upstairs, though, need AC more often as their apartment is partly under our building's roof and temps get real crazy real fast.

Other than that, wearing as little clothes as possible is an option :) Or going to the groceries and lingering for a bit since it's usually freezing cold there. Oh, and ice cream.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 05, 2026, 20:44

I do know that France were favourites before the tournament started.  ...I'll be amazed if they don't make the final.

On track!
Anyone noticed that Daft Punk's "One More Time" is France's goal celebration tune? I'm sure we'll  hear it at least one more time.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 05, 2026, 20:44

On the subject of Brazil - they're not that great. ...But will individuals win Brazil the cup? I'm not so sure.

Brazil gone.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 05, 2026, 20:44

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is only good for taking penalties at this point, but their manager Roberto Martinez feels obliged to play him. Mr Ronaldo still dreams of winning the WC but that's all it is - a dream. It won't happen.

Ding! Portugal gone; Martinez stepping down.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 05, 2026, 20:44

So England play Mexico in Mexico in just a few hours time. ... I honestly don't know who will win. If England don't play as a cohesive team tonight, they're in trouble. 

This was one of the most exciting games of the WC. Tonight we get to find out how England do against Norway Haaland.

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 05, 2026, 20:44

BTW does anyone know why one of the stadium tunes we keep hearing at this World Cup is a sappy cover version of Van Halen's Jump? What's wrong with the original?

Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

Quote from: Wolkenkrabber on Jul 05, 2026, 20:44

For the final I'm picking Argentina from the RHS of the draw and France or...maybe Spain from the LHS of the draw.

It's France v Spain in the first semi-final!

Quote from: Bosco on Jul 08, 2026, 04:47

Found this for you @Wolkenkrabber
https://www.instagram.com/p/Daf0BfFgA7a/

Just hours before you posted this I was immersed in these:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DaO4yAgK5GB/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Daavw-9NqJ5/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaQ2mZpE8S3/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaTcEXFoonz/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaJGmW9vcVZ/

Spain not only can make history by winning this years world cup, but they've only conceded one goal through the tournament thus far (record is 2 total from World Cup  winning teams)... Pretty impressive.