Go Bleus

Well, the team I predicated would take the cup has been eliminated, despite their home-field advantage, and we are left with two other traditional European soccer powers in Sunday's final.

I will be pulling for the French. It took a while for their old legs to get going. Once they did they played refreshingly free-wheeling soccer led by Zinedine Zidane, for what it's worth the greatest soccer player I've ever seen.

France also has a goalkeeper who sometimes forgets he is allowed to use his hands. When he does remember, he forgets he isn't playing volleyball. If more goalies were this forgetful, soccer would be a lot more exciting and high scoring.

Another reason to pull for France is most of their starters were either born in or have a parent from Africa. Meaning Les Bleus belong as much to the Dark Continent as the Fifth Republic. Africa wins few victories on the world stage, so it would be nice to see them get one here. Especially on the heels of 2010 World Cup, the first ever in Africa.

As for the Italians ... boring, boring and boring.

Portugal, the team France beat to get to the finals, had been my favorite team to watch early in the tournament. But they digressed into whinny thuggishness during their bloody second round match with the Dutch. Then, early in their semi-final against France, Portugal's star player, tattle-tale Cistiano Ronaldo, sensing he had no chance of reaching a cross took a dive in the box that can only be described as auditioning-to-be-the-next-Superman-but-without-the-harness-and-crane.

Luckily the ref wasn't fooled (this time.)

Ronaldo's most disgraceful dive in a tournament full of disgraceful dives not only turned me on the Portuguese, but may have sentenced his nation to another 500 years bad luck.

So there you go -- I couldn't make it through a World Cup post without mentioning the diving. I guess that makes me an American. That being said, the World Cup is a spectacular sporting event; unmatched by any other, domestic or international.

It's too bad the game itself is not always up to par.

Here is Bill Simmons's take on why he loves the World Cup but soccer, not so much.