Germans Have a Good Luck Charm
Ancestral bloodlines aside, there is an intriguing reason to root for Germany in this year’s World Cup competition.
When Germany won the 1974 World Cup, Franz Beckenbauer served as team captain. The Germans won in 1990 with Beckenbauer as their coach. If they can take it this year -- Germany plays Argentina in a quarterfinal Friday -- it will be with Beckenbauer as head of the German Organizing Committee, which is playing host to the tournament.
“Now that,” according to sportscurmudgeon.com, “would be an impressive Triple Crown.”
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Counterattack: Sneaking off to the Austrian Alps between matches last week, Beckenbauer, 60, married Heidi Burmester, 39, his longtime companion. “In lieu of wedding gifts,” wrote Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times, “the newlyweds got carded by the referees.”
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Trivia time: Which team won the first pick in the NBA’s inaugural draft lottery in 1985 and whom did it select?
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Appetite for success: During Alexi Lalas’ recent appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” the Galaxy’s president and general manager who has served as a commentator for ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup said Brazil was the favorite but that its star player, Ronaldo, had been called “blatantly fat.”
Replied Colbert: “Hey Brazil, where did all your good players go? Oh that’s right, they were all eaten by Ronaldo.”
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More munchies: “I’m not saying Phil Mickelson is getting a little plump,” wrote Mike Bianchi in the Orlando Sentinel, “but I think I saw him marking his ball with a Junior Mint at the U.S. Open.”
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Ozzie rules: Asheville Tourists Manager Joe Mikulik was suspended seven days and fined $1,000 for his epic meltdown on Sunday, but Peter McEntegart wrote at SI.com: “Baseball officials say he could have avoided suspension if he’d simply insulted a sportswriter.”
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Cover up: Italy’s soccer trial that centers on alleged match fixing is scheduled to begin this week in Rome. Wrote Dan Daly in the Washington Times: “Am I the only one who thinks that, instead of prison terms, the guilty parties should be subjected to penalty kicks?”
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Past present: It was another of those turn-back-the-clock, retro-uniform nights recently at San Francisco’s AT&T; Park. Wrote Tim Kawakami in the San Jose Mercury News: “The Giants celebrated the 1982 season, which is when their best current players were in their primes.”
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Looking back: On this date in 1907, Branch Rickey was behind the plate for the New York Yankees when the Washington Senators stole 13 bases. Fortunately for baseball -- and particularly the Dodgers -- Rickey later proved much better behind a general manager’s desk.
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Trivia answer: The New York Knicks won the first draft lottery and selected 7-foot Georgetown center Patrick Ewing.
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And finally: On three-time defending Wimbledon champ Roger Federer’s being the heavy favorite again, Greg Cote wrote in the Miami Herald: “The last man to perform so well on grass was Jimi Hendrix in the late ‘60s.”
