By @ttlsportsblog and @HookTSB

2011 was a great year for sports (aren’t they all?).  So with the new year just around the corner, here are TSB’s New Year’s Resolutions for some of the biggest people/organizations in the world of sports.  If you have any suggestions, please comment in the box at the end of the article and we’ll make sure to add them.

Carlos Beltran/Drew Brees – To get the growths/birthmarks removed from their faces, ears, or wherever they may be.

Metta World Peace – To get his name tattooed across his back like Vince Young.

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By Chris Panetta

My 2010 World Cup Experience by Anurag Kumar

First off, I’m not a big soccer guy.  I know my way around to be able to have a below average conversation about teams and players… Man U., Messi, Barcelona, etc.  But I couldn’t tell you the name of the German League or which club team Landon Donovon played for in England.  I didn’t think I could keep up with all the hardcore fans that would be there.

Security was a big concern.  A week before the games started, there was the incident with the Nigerian team where fans were getting trampled to get their hands on free tickets.  Needless to say, it didn’t help to allay my fears of lack of crowd control.

And then there were the vuvuzelas.  I tried to do as little research as possible in planning the trip (my buddies I went with planned the whole thing).  So when I heard about these things called vuvuzelas about a week before the trip, I was pissed.  It was described to me as the scene in Dumb and Dumber when Jim Carrey asks, “Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?”, but it goes on for two hours straight.

So going in, I had set my expectations pretty low.  Third world country, lack of security, a sport I don’t really care for and annoying instruments the whole time.  Cheers.

I can say with ease that all of my expectations were blown away.

First, the country is just flat-out gorgeous.  We stayed the majority of the time in Cape Town.  The city is just like San Francisco, right down to the island prison (Robben Island, where Mandela was jailed for 18 years).  It’s very modern and very clean and the people are exceptionally friendly.  They have their wine country, which is about a 2 hour drive out and it’s really something to behold.  Cape Town’s main attraction is a hike up Table Mountain.  On a clear day it has spectacular views.  There’s other standard touristy stuff like Cape of Good Hope and Boulders Beach where they have a penguin colony (that’s right, there are penguins in Africa and in the summer you can actually swim with them).  These were all great experiences.

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Let’s party like it’s 1776!

In quite possibly the most anticipated opening round game in World Cup history, the US takes on England in a battle that can be traced back almost 250 years.  Just like back then, the US are the underdogs….just the way they like it.

Back in December, FIFA held it’s World Cup draw, live on TV with much pop and circumstance.  Important/famous people like David Beckham and Charlize Theron, selected the ping-pong balls in which would determine what teams would join the 8 groups headed by the top 7 ranked teams in the world (S. Africa was the 8th seed due to being the host nation).  When it was England’s turn to find out who the first team to join them in Group C was, there was one team, and one team only, that they were praying was not going to be called.  “USA” was said.  ESPN cut quickly to a live video feed it had at famous soccer bar, Nevada Smith’s, in Manhattan.  You would have thought that the US had WON the World Cup.  The place went crazy.  David Bechkam almost crapped himself on stage.

Sixty years ago, the United States stunned England in the World Cup in one of the most storied upsets in sports history. A win in South Africa might not prove to be as legendary, but could be more significant.

England has been the Boston Red Sox of international soccer. Think of the post-Babe Ruth untill 2006 era.  In that time, the Red Sox  had so many good teams, but never won a championship.  Same thing with England.  Every 4 years, they get hyped up so much as having a great team, but fall short.  The tabloids and newspapers in Britain are England’s biggest fans and biggest haters.  There is so much pressure on England to beat the US that it’s almost impossible to believe.

Team USA is no slouch.  Let’s be honest.  The Red, White and Blue are ranked 14th by FIFA and England 8th.  Sure, the US doesn’t have the big name players that England has (Wayne Rooney, Joe and Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard to name a few), but the US is a very good defensive team.  Tim Howard is the US goalkeeper who has been playing in the English Premier League for about 7 years who is respected as one of the top goalkeepers in the league.  Clint Dempsy is perhaps the US’s most creative and exciting player.  He’s played for Fulham of the Premier League and is loved in England.  Then there’s Landon Donovon.  Ahhhh Landon.  The best player for the US has been the subject of much ridicule over the past few years for the dud he laid 4 years ago.  He’s the all time leading scorer for the US with 42 international goals.  So he is going to be heavily relied upon to put the ball into the net.

We’re about an hour and a half from kickoff and I can honestly say that I am pumped up for a soccer game.  Many of the analysts today are calling for a 1-1 draw or a USA win. Former USA Defender Alexi Lalas,  just said that he feels as if the England squad is “ripe for the picking”.  Obviously he’s a homer, but he said that England has too many good players and just haven’t shown the chemistry as a group.  I hope he’s right, because if he is, look for Jozy Altidore to put the ball in the net for the US.  He’s the 20-year-old striker that has been hot in qualifying.

Game time is approaching.  I gotta go get my vuvuzela ready….