Mini-league: The Shell Game
Fun for fans of soccer, futbol, football, sports, The Flying Saucer, greasy food, etc. May the best team win and may the trash talk fly!
League created by Tom Mueller
Banter board
You must be a member of this league to post messages
July 17,
2006
at 10:13,
Juan Luis Gonzalez
said:
See you soon in the
college or NFL fantasy
leagues Tom will put
together.
July 14,
2006
at 01:06,
Rick Harr
said:
Many thanks to Tom for
pulling this together.
July 13,
2006
at 21:26,
Gretchen
said:
Thanks all, it was fun!
July 11,
2006
at 00:20,
Rick Harr
said:
Thanks for all the well
wishes and congrats to
Ben for a great run.
July 10,
2006
at 16:41,
George Olondo
said:
Nice going Rick, now you
can get back to more
important things like
Buckeye recruits!!!!
July 7,
2006
at 02:48,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Rick makes a spectacular
comeback and wins this
league by a single point.
Congratulations!!!
July 4,
2006
at 19:37,
Juan Luis Gonzalez
said:
C'mmon Italy!!!!!
July 4,
2006
at 16:39,
George Olondo
said:
A fallen captain, a red
card, goodbye England and
my chances.
June 30,
2006
at 23:10,
Rick Harr
said:
Don't cry for me
Argentina.... Not a good
day for me, falling in
the ranks like a wounded
dove.
June 29,
2006
at 17:02,
Juan Luis Gonzalez
said:
8 games left and it's
still tight at the top of
the leaderboard.
June 29,
2006
at 02:30,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
With Ghana eliminated,
the last African team has
exited the competition, a
little sad of course, but
with heads held high. The
question however of what
could have been still
lingers. The African
teams had little hope of
advancement this time
around. The two (future)
powerhouses of Ivory
Coast and Ghana got drawn
into the toughest groups
of the tournament and
Ghana got out only to
have Brazil waiting for
them. As spectacular and
monumental as Angola's
and Togo's qualification
for the World Cup was for
the indeginous
populations, it has done
really nothing for
African football on the
long run. Africa needs
the Cameroons, Nigerias
and South Africas of
African Football to play
at the World Cup in order
to have an impact. This
World Cup did not nearly
show what the African
teams are capable on the
world stage, but it will
be different four years
from now when the 2010
World Cup is held in
South Africa. That will
be once and for all the
long awaited breakthrough
for African football and
the end of sole European
and South American
domination of the World
Cup.
June 29,
2006
at 01:46,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Yeah Gretchen, I know I
said I would join you
down there but I will
instead try to cling
desperately to a Top 6
position for as long as I
can. I am sure Tom has
something to say about
that though...
June 28,
2006
at 06:55,
Gretchen
said:
Man, every time I check
in I keep moving lower
and lower in the
standings. I've watched
more soccer this World
Cup than in the last 10
years total--maybe that
means I'll be better
prepared in the next go
'round. Too bad that's 4
years from now! Rick,
thank$ for the Beckham
an$wer! And way to go
with your picks--I'm
quite impressed with your
#2 standing!
Matthew, when was it that
you said you'd be joining
me at the bottom? From
where I stand, 7th place
looks awfully good!
June 27,
2006
at 00:31,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Hey Gretchen and Tom,
should Ghana pull off the
unthinkable tomorrow
against Brazil, can you
imagine what will being
going on with Mueller and
his whole family
???
June 27,
2006
at 00:26,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Haha
Gretchen.."despite
Matthew's concerns"
regarding Germany. That
is a polite way of saying
it ;)
June 26,
2006
at 18:00,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
And once again Italy
presents us with
unattractive football and
gets rewarded. Italian
football must be the most
unattractive football in
Europe, as effective as
it may be...
June 26,
2006
at 16:52,
George Olondo
said:
I picked England as the
only chance to beat all
the others taking strong
favorites Germany and
Brazil. After watching
England get outplayed by
Ecuador now not very
confident. Heck I did
not even know Ecuador was
still a country!!
June 26,
2006
at 00:10,
Rick Harr
said:
Probably for the $ame
rea$on$ he jumped $hip
the la$t time.
June 25,
2006
at 23:49,
Gretchen
said:
Somebody tell me why
Beckham would want to
come play in the U.S.
Soccer Little League?
Apparantly I just don't
get this game. But hey,
Germany's still in it,
and despite Matthew's
concerns about them, I do
believe they're on a
roll. Plus, they may be
my only chance at not
finishing last. Have fun
all!
June 25,
2006
at 22:08,
Rick Harr
said:
Netherlands vs Portugal
was pretty
bizarre....never saw so
much yellow. Too bad the
officiating was so much
the story and not the
play on the field.
June 25,
2006
at 19:24,
Rick Harr
said:
Netherlands was
under-rated and faces
Portugal who appear to
have been over-rated.
Looking forward to
Netherlands vs. England
in the next round.
June 25,
2006
at 18:07,
Rick Harr
said:
Goooaaallll. That
half-time talk must have
inspired. Wayne Rooney
gutted one out and Mr.
David Posh Spice Beckam
showed why he is the best
at penalty kicks. On to
the next match....
June 25,
2006
at 16:55,
Rick Harr
said:
Wondering when England
will show up. Wayne
Rooney is playing with a
gimpy wheel and Michael
Owen is out. Ecuador
looks like they belong
and could continue
England's dry spell if
they don't get it going
soon.
June 25,
2006
at 09:04,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Thank you, Tom... nice of
you to say. I guess
sitting at the Front Desk
at Seattle Heights gives
you the time to read up
on the World Cup ;)
June 25,
2006
at 02:41,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Germany overruns Sweden
and Argentina beats
Mexico in a 120 min
thriller with one of the
greatest goals I have
ever seen. And now these
two victors will meet in
the Quarterfinals. There
is certainly no way of
telling who will win, but
there are two aspects
that in my view speak in
Argentina's favour.
First, what exactly has
Germany proved so far,
except that they have
exceptional strikers
(supported by worldclass
player Ballack) and that
they can play well as a
team in front of a
roaring home crowd
against 2nd-tier
opposition (especially if
they get an early goal).
Have they been seriously
tested, yet? Have they
ever been in a situation
where they had their
backs against the wall
and faced elimination?
No. Argentina already
faced stiff opposition
with Holland and the
Ivory Coast and today
played a highly motivated
Mexico that scored a very
early goal. Mexico played
very well but Argentina
still turned the game
around in impressive
fashion. Games like this
show the true character
of a team. Then there is
the German defense,
which, (regardless of
what the critics tell us
now that Germany is on a
roll), is absolutely
terrible. Metzelder &
Co. have improved since
the opener against Costa
Rica, but not much.
Germany is on fire
because Klose and
Podolski and Ballack in
the attack/midfield, but
what exactly will
Germany's (defensive)
answer be to the likes of
Crespo, Messi or
Rodriguez? I am not
saying that Germany does
not have the ability to
reach the Final in
Berlin, but until they
can prove themselves
against this Argentinian
team, I don't believe a
word of the hype...
June 24,
2006
at 19:59,
Rick Harr
said:
'canes in 7...wait a
minute. That was last
weekend.
Germany is looking like
they might have home
field advantage....but,
Brazil rocks.
June 24,
2006
at 19:57,
Rick Harr
said:
'canes in 7....
June 24,
2006
at 16:30,
Tom Mueller
said:
BTW - one more
pre-elimination round
comment --
I love Kommenos'
commentary.
Let's see some more posts
on the Banter Board.
Of our 17 entrants, I
think we have 10
different countries of
origin or residence
represented...11 if you
count Texas!
Maybe that is why
everyone is reluctant to
let loose on the Banter
Board.
...OR it could be that
most of the Americans
have lost their focus
(like our team!).
June 24,
2006
at 16:25,
Tom Mueller
said:
Minutes after kickoff of
the elimination round, I
thought it might be fun
to highlight a few of our
standings after group
play.
In 1st is BEN w/44 pts --
he was very quiet up
until this wk and began a
run to the top which has
not slowed down. With
Germany as his top pick,
he has a great chance to
go all the way if the
popular Brazilians
falter.
KING KOMNENOS has been
perhaps the most studious
of all the entrants. His
group play performance
was very strong, but his
gutsy pick of Czech
Republic to win it all
may cost him in later
rounds.
RICK looks strong -- he
has been in the top half
since the start and has
the Brazilians winning it
all. Maybe his Buckeye
background gave him some
insight into which sides
can play in front of 90K
fans.
Late entrant KINGSLEY is
very well postioned -- if
England overcomes all of
the factors that
typically hamper England
in the later rounds.
CARLOS & JUAN LUIS,
the Guatemalan connection
has been near the top for
the past two weeks and
are still within striking
distance. Next is a
group of about 7 betw 33
&36 pts. Probably
still have a chance --
especially if their picks
to win it all continue
through.
Only 14 pts separate 1st
from 2nd to last --
Gretchen has some work to
do with 23 (Watch out
Steve!)
All - have fun in rd of
16!
June 24,
2006
at 08:02,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Now that we have
completed the group
stages, it will be
interesting to see what
impact the
"underdogs"
will have on the
commencement of the
tournament. Will there be
any giant-killers? Will
we see any major upsets?
So far,to be honest,
there have been very few
major surprises in terms
of outcome.
It can be argued that
Australia is the only
real
"surprise-team"
in Round 2 by finishing
ahead of Croatia and
Japan.
Ghana, however, actually
is a very strong team
with great players and
they are the only team in
their group that actually
played well in all 3
games. And Ghana's
advancment is really only
an uspet if you consider
the tough opposition they
were up against in their
group and the fact that
they started their opener
with a loss. But had they
been drawn into an
"easier" group
instead, it would
probably have been more
of a shocker had they
failed to advance. And in
Ecuador's case, they
played very well thus far
but if you watched how
terrible Poland played in
that same group, what
seems like shocker really
isn't one. Poland was at
no point a real threat to
anybody.
To see an underdog
advance as far as the
Semis, all it would take
would be an Australia
victory over Italy,
which-based on both
teams' performance thus
far and the strange
decisions referees are
making regarding yellow
and red cards and penalty
kicks- is not impossible.
An Aussie victory would
set up a quarterfinal
against either
Switzerland or Ukraine
and send one of those 3
teams into the Semis.
That would be a sensation
right there!
Amyhow everybody, the fun
continues tomorrow and I
wish you all the greatest
enjoyment watching the
games, whatever country
you may be in or from. It
has been super event so
far and will only get
better and better...
June 23,
2006
at 17:46,
Juan Luis Gonzalez
said:
There's still a lot of
games (17) and points
(94) in play so nothing
is written in stone YET!!
June 23,
2006
at 10:11,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
The Czechs are out and so
am I . According to what
I posted the day before
and what Tom posted
thereafter, I am pretty
much screwed. Gretchen,
please don't despair down
there, I coming...
June 22,
2006
at 04:11,
Tom Mueller
said:
Matthew is on the right
track! This stage has
been only slightly more
important than regular
season in NHL (that's
HOCKEY for
non-Canadians). If your
later round picks don't
make it out of group
play, your score can't
move. If you notice the
points for the later
rounds, the standings can
change dramatically.
(OK - that was mostly to
keep Gretchen allowing me
to watch World Cup pon
the weekends)
June 22,
2006
at 01:22,
Matthew aka Komnenos
said:
Okay, the next two days
will be very decisive for
the remainder of this
league. Will the World
Cup end for France and
the USA at this stage and
cause the upcoming
predictions to become far
less relevant for a
number of members in this
league? And what if my
Super-Czechs beat Italy
and they make an early
exit? That would be an
upset, too. We'll see..
Tomorrow and Friday will
be big my friends!!!
June 15,
2006
at 22:34,
Tom Mueller
said:
One week into the
tournament and the top is
very tightly bunched.\
The top 14 are separated
by only 2 correct picks.
I will not comment on the
bottom of the standings
-- I am too smart to
cross Gretchen!
June 13,
2006
at 02:13,
Gretchen
said:
A bit of a shake-up from
this weekend! Tom moves
from first to 10th, and
is now within my sights!
Plus, I'm not last--YEAH!
June 8,
2006
at 03:37,
CARLOS
said:
Juan Luis, place my bet,
tks
June 7,
2006
at 16:46,
George Olondo
said:
Picking Brazil or Germany
is easy. Picking England
to win In German soil
takes courage!!! Go
Rowdies!!
June 7,
2006
at 15:11,
Juan Luis Gonzalez
said:
Good to see it's a
balanced league regarding
the winner so buckle up,
2 more days!!!
June 7,
2006
at 06:52,
Gretchen
said:
I picked my winner before
I saw who the others in
the group chose--glad to
know Ben's in agreement,
as he seems to know
what's up. I'm thinking
this will be a repeat of
the French win in
France--not that I'm
rooting for Germany, but
the home court is
definitely in their
favor...
June 6,
2006
at 04:48,
Tom Mueller
said:
I think Brazil has the
best team but I couldn't
stand to have the same
pick as all the experts
(you know, Rick H + Bob K
+ Juan!)
Plus, how can you root
against a guy named Ruud
Van Nistleroy?
June 6,
2006
at 04:40,
Tom Mueller
said:
Kudos to Jim K for
bucking conventional
wisdom and going with
Italy. (I half-expected
him to pick the Carolina
Hurricanes)
June 6,
2006
at 03:06,
Bob Knorr
said:
Hope all of you loose and
I win!!!!
May 27,
2006
at 15:45,
Juan Luis Gonzalez
said:
fútbol, futebol,
football, soccer, etc.
Many names, 1 sport,
biggest one there is!
May 26,
2006
at 17:56,
Rick Harr
said:
football...you call this
a football????
Membership details
Current list of members
| Pos | Name | Winner | Po |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Harr Houston, Texas USA | Winner: Brazil | 81 |
| 2 | ben limo houston | Winner: Germany | 80 |
| 3 | Kingsley Craven England | Winner: England | 77 |
| 4 |
Juan Luis Gonzalez  
Guatemala
| Winner: BrazilSee full predictions | 74 |
| 5 |
Avinash Hode
Pune
| Winner: Germany | 73 |
| 6 | George Olondo U.S.A. | Winner: England | 72 |
| 6 |
Henryk&Vicky
Houston
| Winner: BrazilSee full predictions | 72 |
| 8 |
Eduardo Melo
Miami
| Winner: BrazilSee full predictions | 70 |
| 9 | Andre Paes Houston | Winner: Brazil | 69 |
| 10 |
CARLOS
GUATEMALA
| Winner: BrazilSee full predictions | 66 |
| 11 | Tom Mueller Seattle | Winner: Holland | 62 |
| 12 |
Matthew aka Komnenos
Seattle
| Winner: Czech Rep.See full predictions | 58 |
| 13 | Bob Knorr USA | Winner: Brazil | 55 |
| 14 | Steve Baird Aberdeen | Winner: Germany | 52 |
| 15 |
Gretchen
Washington State, USA
| Winner: GermanySee full predictions | 49 |
| 16 | Robin DiStefano Huffman, TX | Winner: Brazil | 48 |
User gallery
DISCLAIMER: World Cup Predictions is an unofficial competition and is not affiliated in any way with FIFA or the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Germany.