Spain/Portugal lived up to its hype. Putin bought his team an easy seed. I still can't stand Suarez. That's all I have so far.

These games are great for early morning (west coast, U.S.) long spins on the trainer. Hard interval every time somebody takes a dive.

That's like doing Tabata High Intensity intervals for 90 minutes straight!!!

Not sure about the 3 am West Coast games. Maybe drink till closing, then watch?

 
There’s only 1 thing worse than being an England rugby supporter in NZ, and that’ time is now, a football supporter.

Every 4 years we live in hope, but are dissapointed every time. We’ll make it to the first knock out game & that’s our lot Dev.

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http://www.sweat7.com
Facebook Page: Sweat7
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... being last in my pool puts a heavy burden on the red devils to win it all;)

Football is doped up no doubt. Amazing how in puerto all footballers were left alone.

Ronaldo was absolutely killing yesterday (I say this in spite of my dislike of him, though I respect his insane game). Spain v Portugal was such a good game at the beginning of this tourny. Hopefully Messi has equally good showings.

Go Iceland, though my pic is Germany per usual. Yes England sucks. We know. ;)

No way Ronaldo goes sub 9. He's got the hot sauce in him and I have no doubt he could hammer the bike, but he is larger for a runner, I don't know if he can swim. I'd say he could pull off a 9:15 with a good year of coaching in Kona. That will never happen though.

I feel your pain Salmon Steve

Not doing it this time , no expectations and hopefully the young lads will get to the quarters

I'm Portuguese (American) so obviously I'll rooting for the ancestral homeland. Unfortunately I only caught like 20 mins of the first half as we were heading out for the weekend (in Boston afternoon traffic, no less, an hour trip turned into 2). Bad timing, oops.

You missed a hell of a game by both teams!

I want Slowtwich to know that I am going to get smacked by the lady for this, but go Australia! Beat those frogs! She is a French and secretly I really love the French, but I can't resist pestering her and her sister who is here watching as well :)

probably lose on penalties.

I wish they would be less cautious. Even if they stagger to a 1-0 win against one of the lesser teams it can be painful to watch them playing so slowly.

as an England fan living in the states i am fortunately spared the hype.

I was in Germany during the 1990 England vs Germany semi finals in Torino: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVn9YLd5HS4

....still waiting boys! I am a Canadian-Indian, so we don't have any teams to cheer for, so one of our Queen's teams is as close as we get. Other than that, I go for France (kind of weird) because I spent so much time riding in France and watching games there!

Portugal-Spain was such a blast to watch, one for the ages. Iceland-Argentina starting soon, go Vikings!

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

I Ronaldo's engine like most pros is pretty solid, so with a year of training, this is what I would put him down for:

Swim 1:15,
Bike 4:50
Run 3:15
Transitions 7 minutes

So best case a touch under 9:30. When is Beckham showing up at kona anyway? Or maybe Zidane needs a challenge after quitting at Real Madrid. That guy still looks pretty fit!

I can't go for Iceland....not after what they did to Holland. Hey Argentina vs Holland is the host nation finals victory from 1978....Iceland is the wrong "stand in" for the classic head to head!

That's it....I'm heading to the pool. When Messi misses a penalty shot against Iceland, there is no further point in watching! The black line at the bottom of the pool will be better than this!!!!

That was huge, Iceland with some key blocks before the PK also to stay in this one.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Ronaldo must be smiling right now. Messi had nearly identical chances.

The Catalan showed why he won't be the greatest ever or his generation. Unable to take over games when he doesn't have the playmakers around him like he does at Barcelona and chokes in the biggest moments with the national team. Not a huge Ronaldo fan, but he shows up and delivers.

Iceland's keeper has saved 15 out of the last 24 penalty kicks. That he is making a save is not a news.
It is not news that a team that focus on keeping their formations and never get stressed can keep up with Argentina.
Argentina is filled with players that complain a lot, and usually are so bad actors that they could all play in the Sharknardo TV movie.
When Iceland used the same tactic on then, the players from Argentina got frustrated.
Football is a team sport.

hang on, Messi totally choked on that one.

He basically kicked the lowest percentage penalty kick possible.....just to the right of the goalie and around 3 feet off the ground just over body length from the center line. This spot and the corresponding spot on the left are essentially the number one places the goalie's body goes when they eject off the ground. A high school goalie would have dove to either this spot or the same spot on the left. This is where the goalie's body always goes when they dive. Messi (or anyone) should never kick to this spot. it's just a super low percentage kick. It's not like this goalie was a genius superstar stopping this one.

In my area in Switzerland football is popular but the footballplayers also get a lot of smack for being "soft". People don't like when they go to the ground after the slightest (or no) contact and how they can liegt there sometimes for minutes and when they get up start sprinting balls out a second later.

Such critics can come from the Hockey camp and I think there is some truth to it. I like football and have spent my teenage years in stadiums cheering. And the players are also very fit and professional nowadays. But it drives me crazy when they fake fouls etc.

The Iceland team is the one that completely does away with such stereotypes. They just fight and fight and run their heart out. Thats why I am cheering for the (after Switzerland).

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10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07mBfR8erMY


For your comedic and at times reality of soccer.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Let's see if Brazil shows up to play or cry today vs Switzerland. Mexico vs Germany should be fun! Looks like Costa Rica is generally playing solid (yes, I am going for all the western hemisphere teams today....sorry Swiss and German friends).

Awesome!