Saturday, July 05, 2014

Around the Horn – July 5, 2014

At first, jilted US soccer star Landon Donovan chimes in on the US departure from the World Cup. Whether or not he should have made the team (and can any seriously doubt that the departure of Altidore would have been less substantial with Donovan available?), his comments are correct. Klinsmann failed in his strategy. You can’t tilt that heavily too defense at that level of soccer. You give up too many opportunities, and eventually, a mistake is going to happen. It might be a mental mistake, a field condition like a slip or fall, or an unfortunate bounce. But it will happen. Disappointing, not that they lost, but that the game was the kind of game it was.

At second, US goalkeeper Tim Howard has been showered with praise for his efforts in the match against Belgium, and he deserves it. He did a magnificent job. However, a goal keeper should not be making sixteen saves in a game. That, in itself, revealed a bad game plan by Klinsmann. You shouldn’t put your goal keeper in a situation where he has to do that.

At third, the term “rape culture” is getting thrown around a bit these days. To quote Mr. Montoya, “I don’t think that means what you think it means.” Scott Johnson at Power Line links to a piece about the so-called rape culture in America. Rape and sexual abuse is unconscionable and should be addressed with swift and strong punishment—retributive punishment. But let’s not overstate the problem, even with good intentions.

Last, here’s a page with a lot-o-links to some online seminary classes that might have something of interest for you. I have identified a few already for summer morning walks, and I look forward to downloading them and listening in.

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