Bloggin for your noggin

Redemption, Payback, Revenge. 

RVP using his noggin. His epic diving header began the slaughter.

OK, they weren't playing for the whole enchilada, but the Netherlands completely obliterated Spain 5-1. Robin Van Perse and Arjen Robben led the way with 2 goals each.  The collective Dutch sigh of relief was   T’was a beauty to watch. Precision meets artistry.
followed by worldwide celebration, releasing 1434 days of frustration.

For Spain, it was the worst loss for a defending champion in the next World Cup.

So, You’re Sayin There’s A Chance.

Odds of the Netherlands scoring 5 goals against Spain- .04% .

This is the EXACT same odds of the US winning the World Cup.

(daily knowledge dropped into your noggin by T-Smith - aka the Happy of Happy Valley)

Standby message seen by anyone in Holland if they tried to do anything but watch the game yesterday - from our very own Mark B, imbedded deep within the Dutch underground.











click these links  for today's Blog Reading Soundtrack. 
https://play.spotify.com/artist/5jvQoouPSDvUEwynz5KPpv?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mixturada-brasileira/id547184627
more on this later, just setting the mood.

The best way to start any adventure is to enjoy lunch with your favorite travel/TV mates. Be sure to finish with an under-sized, yet over-powered tasty esspresspo.   Salud, amigos.

Oh Geez.

Former Germany great Franz Beckenbauer was banned from all football activities for 90 days by FIFA on Friday for not cooperating with an investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid. 

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/beckenbauer-banned-snubbing-qatar-probe-24126303

Music Bus-a-Palooza

Transportation to and from work is a group of very friendly drivers with varying amounts of English speaking ability. Each of the Sprinter vans are basically the same.  What keeps monotony at bay is which route to take and what mystery music will be playing.  Usually, it’s South American Dance/Pop (barf). Sometimes it’s Sports

daily bus ride if we take the beach route

Talk. We only know this because we recognize the names of the players tossed into the rapid-fire banter gibberish.  One day during our first week, our driver stopped on a Top 40 station.  Nooooooooo!!  Felt like I was in a terrible dream as we were basically forced to listen to Pink, then Miley, then Rhiana.  Please,  Stop the madness! When ColdPlay came on, there was nothing to do but laugh.

All is not lost.  Fortunately for you, I ran into my buddy Boomer at breakfast this morning.  He is ESPN's traveling cameraman for all the Rogé music edits. Boomer tells me about shooting with Brazil legend Carlinhos Brown.  His music is a samba-ish blend of reggae and jazz with a splash of hip hop and world beat- mmmm tasty. Boomer and his producer Val, had the opportunity to shoot in Carlinhos' studio, which is attached to the back of his mother's restaurant in the city of Salvador. I'm pretty sure Boomer was drooling as he told be about the Moqueca, a traditional Brazillian fish stew. Carlinhos founded Associação Pracatum Ação Social (Pracatum Social Action 
Association) in Candeal. More than just a music school, the Pracatum is a reference center that offers professional training courses in fashion, sewing, recycling, language, capoeira, dance, and other Afro-Brazilian related courses, in addition to a preschool.

I was told there would be no math.

Just how big is Brasil? The continental United States at 3,043,615 square miles is slightly smaller than Brazil's 3,286,486 square miles. But, then again, they count in Kilometers, so let's just call it a tie.

Today, there are FOUR matches.

Columbia and Greece meet in Belo Horizonte at 8:30a PT.

Uraguay takes on Costa Rica way up in the North country in Fortaleza at11:30a PT.

The marquee matchup of the day, England and Italy at 2:30p in the Jungle of Manaus. Look for the psycho genious of Mario Balotelli.  This guy can change a game in an instant. He can also implode, taking down the entire team. I see a pretty obvious translation from Balotelli to volatile. 

The ‘late’ game is Ivory Coast vs Japan in Recife at 5:30p.

speaking of Surfing,

if you are not watching soccer today, and happen to be in the Portland/Salem area, get your booty over to Sherwood at 2p to listen to the surf rock tunes of The Apollo Four.  Friends of mine from Way Back are on an intergalactic mission to keep the sound alive.

http://theapollofour.bandcamp.com/

check it. enjoy it. dig it.

hasta pronto, amigo!
El Russo