I'm sure you've all heard that a federal court in California found the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional based on its use of the phrase "under God." And you've got the typical outraged cry from the populace that the court's gone too far, and legal scholars who don't see this holding up. It won't, and probably shouldn't.

But consider what President Eisenhower wrote when he signed the bill that included that phrase into the pledge: "Millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty."

If I weren't of the Judeo-Christian family of faiths, that sort of talk would make me a little nervous, especially if I'd spent part of my life in a country where being the wrong religion can lose you a job, shut you out of schools, or get you killed. And given the whole "Christian right" thing, I can see where some may be concerned now. Thankfully, we live in a large and pluralistic society, one which if the government woke up one morning and told us "Oh, by the way, the only way you're getting a job, education, or the right to vote is to become Presbyterian," we'd probably find a less intrusive government post haste.

And besides, the kids can just not say "under God." Or they can put in their own: "under Jehovah," "under Allah," "under Baal," whatever. That's kind of what I do when I'm bored during the national anthem, and I start to channel Enrico Palazzo.

Which reminds me of a funny story. I was at a Nashville Predators--Chicago Blackhawks game back in 2000, and during the anthem the scant Hawks fans in the crowd went nuts, as they do at every home game. Yelling, cheering, the whole bit. The home fans, not used to this sort of thing, would turn and look every few seconds, probably to make sure the Chicagoans weren't going to start throwing things. So, once it's all over, the locals start in, led by a woman who asked "Don't you have any respect?" Clearly, these folks had never seen a game played in Chicago on the TV, and I thought their defense of our unsingable, wordy anthem was cute. Especially considering that some of them would have prefered Dixie to anything else.

Two examples of how my life goes sometimes.

1. On Monday, I gave the campus life presentation to a group of incoming students here for the Freshman Assessment Program (at least that's what I think it's called; nope, it's the Foundation Assessment Program). It's a fun filled day of testing and getting talked to by administrators. It's not even an overnight, taking away some of the zaniness that some orientation programs present.

In any case, the usual m.o. was to get to the FAP lunch location early, spread out, and wait for the kids to show and eat with them and answer their questions (the one time students actually talked to me, we wound up talking about hideous sports injuries). Past lunches included a teriyaki chicken and lasagne. What is it on my day? Tacos.

You may be thinking, "So?" Consider this: I was wearing a white shirt. And have a tendency to spill.

But the expected catastrophe didn't occur. O happy day! The talk went fine, the tour only marred by my forgetting my ID to get into one of the buildings, and some of the students were actually engaging as we walked.

So I dodged one there, but fate will undoubtedly get me back when I least expect it.

2. Germany beat South Korea yesterday to get into the World Cup final. I did predict this (not the score, but the result), so what's the problem?

In my World Cup Challenge group on ESPN.com, I originally picked Germany to win it all. I then read more about the groups and saw what others picked, and changed my finals selection to Italy. You see how well that worked out.

At least I didn't have any money on it.

I also have an unrelated question for you, my public. Has anyone out there ever been to Normandy? I'm thinking about trying to get over to the D-Day sites while I'm over there, and could use some suggestions as to how to get there from Britain, the best places to go, and so on. I'd like to fit in Mont St. Michel and the Bayeux Tapestry as well, but will take what I can get. Write me if you've got pointers!

Oh, yeah, World Cup semis. Let's see how bad I can screw this up.

South Korea v. Germany Should be a lot like the German's last game, with their size against the Koreans' speed. I'm going for size this time, especially given that the Koreans have gone to OT their last two games.

And is it me, or has the schedule been changing to keep the Koreans in Korea each round? I could have sworn that this game was to be played in Japan. I suppose they want the host to play in their own country as long as possible, but if you've got a schedule you should stick to it.

In any event, Germans 2-1.

Brazil v. Turkey First round rematch, which Brazil took 2-1. Turkey played well in that match, and if they can get the Brazilians to make the same mistakes this time around, they've got a shot. Play maker Ronaldinho (apologies if I've misspelled) is out for this game, but Brazil's so deep it may not matter.

Just to be a pain I'm going to say 1-0 Turkey on a golden goal by Hasan Sas. It beats any analysis I could try to come up with.

A little while back you may remember that I mentioned a movement to stuff the major league baseball All Star Game ballot box with Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos votes. While the movement hasn't quite taken off like some did, there's evidence that it's having some effect.

It's more noticable with the American League, as there is a Twins player in the top five at each position. Torii Hunter is among the top three outfielders, meaning he'd start. Considering he's actually had an All Star year, this result may not be solely from the ballot stuffing. But it couldn't have hurt.

Most of the other Twins aren't that close to the position leaders. Corey Koskie is about 110,000 votes behind Shea Hillenbrand of the Red Sox for third basemen. A. J. Pierzynski is in third for catchers, while Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers, who's only been playing for a couple of weeks after a back injury, is in second. So perhaps he'll sneak in on the bench.

The Expos are finding less success here, perhaps because Internet folks are less sympathetic with the idea of folding the team, given their lack of fans. But they may wind up with two starters, Vladimir Guererro (who is third for outfielders) and Jose Vidro (who is less than 10,000 votes behind Roberto Alomar at second base). Vladi is a little off his usual game, but is still a strong outfielder, while Vidro probably deserves the start given the year he's had.

Other Expos do make the top 5 at third, short, and catcher, but none are in striking distance of the front runner. Fernando Tatis is in fifth for third basemen, and Orlando Cabrera is in the same spot for shortstops. Michael Barrett is in third for catchers, and is about 5000 votes behind Benito Santiago for second (Mike Piazza has more votes than the two combined).

Internet voting ends on Thursday, so I'll channel Richard J. Daley and ask you to vote early and often. You have 25 votes to spend.

Came across the news last night that Southwest Airlines has a policy regarding people who don't fit in one seat. Turns out that they want folks to buy a second seat if the first isn't enough.

I'll admit to being of two minds on this. One the one hand, people who clearly need a second seat (like this guy) probably should pay for it, at least on fully booked flights.

Where I would have trouble with this policy is in one of two cases:

1. The flight's not full. One hopes that the gate attendants, knowing that the flight only has 50 people, wouldn't force the issue. Given Southwest's sky train approach, though, they might have to check the 4 or 5 stops to a destination if the person is on one of the milk runs. It's a workable situation, though.

The page I link to above suggests that the person has to buy the seat first and then get reimbursed if the flight isn't full. That's stupid. It's not commuter rail; the odds of walk up traffic filling a plane that has more than five empty seats on it are infintessimal.

2. People who are big,but not so big that they clearly need a second seat. I'll use myself as an example here. Having flown Southwest, I can vouch for the fact that the 18 3/4 inches they have per seat doesn't quite do it for me. My desk chair has somewhere between 20 and 21 inches between the arm rests, and that's OK.

(As an aside, is it me, or do veal cattle get more than 18 3/4 inches? The next time I go to Fenway I'll have to measure my seat there to see how big they are. Just hope the usher doesn't force me to pony up more dough.)

So do I have to buy a second seat or not?

Also, is this solely a weight issue, or do other body shapes come into play? Most of my weight is, in true Irish fashion, front-loaded. But I have big shoulders and long arms, which more often than not invade my neighbor's airspace. If I'm on the aisle, I'm probably going to have a foot or a knee in the aisle.

Does this merit a second seat? The Southwest page mentions girth, which I don't think covers long arms or big feet. From our friends at dictionary.com:

1. The distance around something; the circumference
2. Size, bulk

Perhaps I should ask my boss's Magic 8 Ball again. But she's in a meeting.

I've never been asked to buy a second seat, and for some reason I don't think I'm quite big enough for Southwest's fatty profiling.

At least I hope not.

The airlines are doing one thing to help in this regard- they don't serve food anymore. Nothing like spending half the day in a plane trying to make do with two ounces of honey roasted peanuts and half a Coke. I'm almost surprised Ensure or Slim-Fast or someone isn't trying to get their shakes on board as a meal equivalent.

In sum, it appears that Southwest doesn't LUV everybody. Still better than flying US Air, though.

Looking back, I got three winners from the World Cup quarterfinals. None of the scores were right, but at least I got the teams. I did get the score right in the Sweden-Senegal match, just mixed up the teams. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I should stick to the NFL playoffs. Nah. Set your alarm clocks, kids.

Brazil v. England There's a very winner take all feel to this match, especially after England throttled the Danes. Brazil's not playing their best football, but even at 80 percent they're still a top 5 team. Belgium gave them more of a workout than I expected. Then again, Belgium was probably playing for the tie and hoping for a break in PKs.

I really have no idea how this one is going to go. So I'll go with the side that seems to be playing better football with each game: England. 2-1, golden goal from somebody. Michael Owen seems most likely, but he's a little beat up and Brazil won't leave him alone. Perhaps Sol Campbell or Teddy Sheringham.

Germany v. US After their opening 8-0 throttling of Saudi Arabia, Germany's been good but not great. They gave a tie away to Ireland, gave Cameroon the business, and then struggled to get past Paraguay. The Germans have only missed the quarterfinals once- in 1938. So perhaps they were destined to wind up here regardless.

The Germans are big, and can use that size to their advantage, especially on corners. Which means we may see a lot more deep clears and less concession on set-pieces. The hope would be that on the clears some of the speedier US players, such as Donovan or Beasley, can get to them and counter-strike quickly. Unfortunately, it may mean that we spend 90 minutes watching a larger-scale version of ping pong.

The US could also use its speed to wear down Germany's best players in the first half, and then stick the knife in that much more by subbing in Cobi Jones in the second half. If the US can play tight D and turn the offensive part of the game into a track meet, they've got a shot.

Being a homer worked with the Pats, so let's see how it works here. US continues its improbable streak with a 2-1 win; an early John O'Brien goal, with Sanneh crossing into Brian McBride for the winner.

Hey, a guy can dream, right?

South Korea v. Spain As much as the US run has been the stuff of dreams, the Korean express through the World Cup is like some sort of crystal meth dipped in LSD freak show. People screaming and banging drums for two hours. A stadium full of red shirts. 80 some odd minutes of hypnotic and hallucinatory sights and sounds before a guy probably named Kim, Lee, or Choi puts one in the back of the net.

You'd be hard pressed to find a team that's done more with the home field advantage than South Korea. The US did well in 1994, and France rode the home crowd to victory in 1998, but for a team that never won a World Cup game before to get to the quarters, and then topple Italy? It's like something out of science fiction.

Spain, on the other hand, is enjoying a good tournament so far, certainly better than their first round and out four years ago. Nine points in group play set them up for a grueling match with Ireland, which they won but may have resulted in Raul, their best player, being unavailable for this match-up. A problem, given that he's scored one third of Spain's goals.

Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's manager, said this about Spain when looking at their first round group: "They always seem to go out unluckily." Ask this guy to pick lottery numbers quick, because a home crowd plus a star's injury tend to add up to an unlucky result.

Koreans win 1-0 on a Spanish own goal. How's that for unlucky?

Turkey v. Senegal Two teams that no one thought would get past the first round play for a berth into the semis. Whoever loses the England-Brazil match is going to look at this pairing and cry.

Turkey's looked good at times, and not so swift at others. I still haven't seen Senegal play, but this Diop guy seems to be the real deal.

Hmm, so how do I pick this? I go into my boss's office and ask her Magic 8 Ball.

Will Turkey beat Senegal? "As I see it, yes."

Will Senegal beat Turkey? "Very doubtful."

I should have started using the Magic 8 Ball a long time ago.

3-1 Turkey, for the lack of anything better.

You want fun? Call the company (or companies) that handle your student loans and ask them for the payoff amount.

You want real fun? Do that and then send in the checks for that amount.

My bank account, swollen like Hasim Rahman's head, will soon shrink to the size of, uh, something with a tiny head.

OK, not my best metaphor, but you get where I'm going.

Truth be told, I've only gotten to ask about payoff amounts once. One lender provides it on their automated system (which, in other circumstances, seems cruel), while another loan actually lists the payoff on the bill so I can see my progress month to month. I do have one other loan I get to do this with, but it's not arrived just yet.

In any event, I will soon be debt-free (or debt really small). I thought I'd be old and grey before that happened.

Well, one out of two ain't bad.

On behalf of American soccer fans everywhere, I'd like to thank the South Koreans for their 1-0 win. It's the least they could do for us keeping them out from under the communist bootheel 50 years ago.

The round of 16 is now set, and to many people's surprise, the US is in. I wasn't as surprised, as I had them picked to get to this round, but I will say this is not the route I figured they'd take. You figure they go 1-1-1, and it's a loss to Portugal, a tie with Poland or the Koreans, and a win over the other (personally figured win over the Koreans, tie the Poles).

Then again, I underestimated both hosts, as I didn't have either of them going through. I know, a host nation has never failed to go through, but in this case I thought I had an argument, seeing as neither country had ever won a World Cup game. What I failed to take into account was (a) the amount of preparation both countries put in to developing their teams, especially Japan, whose J-League started around the time of MLS, and (b) the intense support of the home fans, creating a real home field advantage.

OK, so we've got 16 teams left. Here's my take on the round:

US v. Mexico There may be no team the US knows better than Mexico, and vice versa. Constant clashes in CONCACAF play and a favored friendly match-up, there will be no secrets from either team.

The first key for the US is to put Jeff Agoos on a plane headed in any direction away from the stadium. The US player with the most caps before playing a World Cup game, Agoos has done nothing to show that he deserved to get off the bench. His "highlights" include:

* The own goal scored for Portugal
* Letting Seol loose to score the equalizer for South Korea
* Poor marking that allowed his man to score Poland's second goal

Agoos met Bruce Arena (the US coach) in high school, played for him at Virginia, and has been a member of the national team since before Arena's arrival. One hopes this doesn't further cloud Arena's judgment in setting the lineup against Mexico.

The Mexicans have had a great tournament, beating Ecuador and Croatia and drawing the Italians. I'm not sure where the US will attack them. The US never plays Mexico well, but that's usually because we're playing them in Mexico or a Mexico-friendly venue (someone got smart and put Mexico's visit to the US for World Cup qualifying in Columbus, Ohio. In March. US wins, 2-0).

I'm guessing that Mexico will win thanks to a greater talent pool, but it won't be easy. 1-0 or 2-1, perhaps even a little OT or PKs if the US can pick itself up of the floor and come up with a game plan to contain Mexico's attack.

Germany v. Paraguay Germany played very un-German soccer in the run up to the tournament. Qualifying was a chore, and there didn't seem to be anyone on their side who struck fear in the hearts of opponents.

Then they beat the Saudis 8-0 and it's like old times.

Paraguay is a good team with a very good goaltender. They showed some heart in getting this far, scoring three second half goals against Slovenia to take the second spot. They've also showed some dodgy play, both in their tie with South Africa (which Chilavert missed) and loss to Spain. Perhaps they've found their stride, but it's a fair question to ask which Paraguay will show up.

Germany wins 2-0.

Denmark v. England A personal quandry here. I like Denmark. Want to visit there. If descriptions of the national character are accurate, I think I identify with the Danes.

Then, there's Sarah. Her mom's English. She's lived in England. She likes things that are boiled within an inch of their life. She likes the Spice Girls, one of whom is married to English captain David Beckham.

And I can't root for a tie anymore.

The Danes were the surprise winner of their group, which included France. They weren't even a solid second place choice, sharing that honor with Uruguay. But they played no-nonsense, limited mistake soccer to get to the top.

The English worked a little penaly magic against Argentina to get here, drawing against Nigeria and Sweden. They've looked pretty good, but haven't quite put it all together. Beckham's injured foot has put him in more of a support role to Michael Owen. Which is fine, given Owen's level of play so far.

Which may be the difference here. Denmark doesn't have a big-play guy, and if both team play with their tendency to draw, it's going to be a big play that'll turn things. The Three Lions go through 1-0.

Sweden v. Senegal Sweden won the Group of Death, probably the least favored choice to do so at tournament's beginning. Senegal is the surprise of the tournament, qualifying past France and Uruguay with players not well known- until now.

For reasons I can't articulate, given that I've not really seen either team play, I think Senegal's magic ends here. 2-1 Sweden, who has too much experience to let Cinderella get the best of them.

Ireland v. Spain This could be the most entertaining match of the round. Spain has shown real flair, and hasn't displayed the tendency they've developed over the last decade or so to underwhelm despite being deep. Ireland has opened up their offense, no longer happy with playing for the tie on all occasions. They still tie a lot (drew with Germany and Cameroon), but now it's due to their skill level, not their game plan.

On paper, Spain should win this game. In reality, it's just about time for them to start sucking wind. Ireland may be well positioned to steal a game here, especially if they can score first. Either Spain will win 3-1 or lose 1-0. I'm going with the boys in green for this one.

Brazil v. Belgium Brazil's rocky road in qualifying kept them out of the limelight during the opening round, but now that they're here and Argentina, France, and Portugal aren't, they're the presumptive favorites. Especially playing a Belgian side which would have gotten knocked out if they were in any other group. Brazil wins comfortably, 4-1.

Japan v. Turkey Turkey goes through in their first Cup appearance since 1950. Japan makes it through for their first time. Turkey finished second to Brazil in their group, and played them very well. They've not looked anywhere near that good since.

Japan is playing well, but perhaps got an easy group (the one with Belgium, Russia, and Tunisia). Home crowd carries them through here, though. 2-1.

South Korea v. Italy South Korea looked impressive in every game they played. They have a huge, vocal following.

The Italians started slow, and needed help from Ecuador to get here. Outside of Christian Vieri, no one's looked that impressive.

So why am I picking the Italians? History. This is familiar ground for them. The Koreans, not so much. I see this in the same light as the US-Brazil match from 1994, an over-achieving host playing soccer royalty. I'm thinking this game goes to PKs, with Italy winning 4-3.

Oh, and happy trails to Scotty Bowman. I suppose nine Stanley Cups are enough.

Had the opportunity this past weekend to do something I'd not done in some time- go looking for sneakers.

Do you even call them sneakers anymore? Is there a term that's more hip? I'm sure Steve in marketing came up with some sort of hip-hop styled term that all the 12 year olds are using.

Anyway, my current pair of sneakers are about 5 years old, and in the condition to prove it. The various rubber bits that make up the sole are coming apart, there are holes along the seam where the sole meets the upper, and where the sole come up over the front of the shoe it's come loose, so I make this flapping sound most of the time.

This breakdown in footwear shouldn't be such a big deal, and for most folks it isn't. But when you wear size 15 shoes, the search takes on a new dimension. Usually, it's futility.

Go back to high school. I had to special order football cleats my senior year as the local stores had nothing. I will say that they were the best cleats I had in four years of playing. My sister, stumbling across a cache of oversized Avia high-tops (is Avia still around? Apparently, they are) buys the lot, including a pair of size SEVENTEEN that linger in my closet for years until we donate them to our church's clothing drive. I'm sure they're being used as matching baptismal fonts in some church in Benin.

Another trip led my mom to buy a pair of Converse that were adorning a life-size cutout of Larry Bird. It took her a few minutes to explain to the guy at the counter that she didn't just want a pair of those shoes, but that she wanted those shoes.

So I didn't have much hope for our trip to the Natick Mall, and I was rewarded by striking out at Foot Locker, Sears, and Champs. There were at least 2 other places I could have looked, but I was too dispirited. Especially by Foot Locker, who used to carry Reeboks in my size on a regular basis. Well, OK, they did have one pair of 15 sneakers, but they were (a) ugly, and (b) 80 bucks. I admit it: I have big feet and I'm cheap. Not the best combination for these purposes.

Plans were thus made to return to the scene of my last sneaker-buying experience: Filene's Basement. But instead of the mother store in Downtown Crossing, it was off to the Dedham location. I know the chain's had some financial issues, and may have struck upon a reason. The entry to the Dedham store may be the least enticing retail entryway I've ever been in. First off, half of the doors are locked tight. Then there's the lighting, which seems to be out. Leaving the lobby in a very drab gray half-light. Throw in some cinder block walls, the lack of any sort of eye-catching detail, and cleanliness most often associated with a Cuban jail, and it's no wonder people who love bargains are going somewhere else.

And for our trouble, going back on to the Providence Highway a week after a trip to buy cheap patio furniture (four white resin chairs and matching table, still awaiting our inaugural use), there were no sneakers in my size. You know the gods are against you when the Basement's offerings end pretty much at 13.

But in my last ditch search, what did I find? A pair of size 15 brown cap-toed oxfords. Forty bucks. O happy day!

I've never been really into the whole Star Wars thing. I didn't see the first trio of films all the way though until they were a couple of decades old. I'd seen them in bits here and there on TV and occasionally when someone rented one of them, but the re-releases a few years back were my first exposure to the films in an uninterrupted, unedited (well, nothing removed) format.

I'd made the argument once that I wasn't into the movies as the original came out when I was eight. The friend I was talking to, a fan of the series, retorted that he'd been in his third trimester when the original came out. Touche!

It may just be that I'm not much of a sci-fi person in general. I watch Star Trek but don't have the depth of knowledge that makes me a Trekkie. I've read the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but didn't care for it. I did, however, enjoy the movie. I don't read general sci-fi books, but do read a lot of alternative history, which is a sub-genre of sci-fi (as the folks who write it are, mostly, sci-fi folks).

I bring all this up as preface to mentioning that Sarah and I saw Attack of the Clones last weekend. Not being fluent in the first three films, and finding The Phantom Menace pre-teen twaddle, I perhaps didn't get as much out of the movie as I'd hoped. Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu was fun, and seeing Yoda swing a light saber was cool. Otherwise, eh.

I suppose my biggest problem was that we never really saw the intervening years between the two movies. Anakin has a bug up his ass about how Obi-Wan is "holding him back," but we never see how that developed. The Jedis are losing their ability to use the Force, but we really only know about that from Windu talking to Yoda. And for some reason, Anakin is now a grown man, while Senator Amidala looks pretty much the same. Then again, the lush beauty of Naboo would probably slow anyone's aging process.

There was a lot they needed to set up for the third film, and at times I thought Basil Exposition was making a cameo. But I don't think it was as bad as some critics said. But it wasn't the sort of movie that made me see what I was missing, either.

Getting back to things I more normally care about, the great World Cup betting experiment is over. I finished ahead by about $30. Picked Mexico to beat Ecaudor (originally even money, but the odds changed to -120, so I only got $50 on my $60). I also took the US-South Korea draw, doubling my $25. I would not have minded had Clint Mathis' goal stood up and I lost the bet that way, though.

Even so, the US seems poised to make the round of 16. Portugal spanked Poland to get back into the race, and also helped to demoralize the next American opponent. I watched about 5 minutes of the Portugal game, and I have to say they played in a rain of Biblical proportions, easily the heaviest rain I've ever seen a sporting event play in.

I didn't care for the way the US went into the bunker in the second half, and think that if they'd pressed just a little they could have avoided the Korean goal made inevitable by our passivity. As it stands I think the Koreans are going to have their hands full with the Portuguese, who really must win to keep going (they could tie and hope for a Polish upset victory, I suppose).

Tomorrow starts the last round of prelim games, with drama right off the bat. The French play Denmark to see if they can repeat. Things could get really interesting if France and Uruguay get one goal wins, as I think that would tie everyone up in points and goal differential. Not sure what the tiebreaker situation is, but see them going to drawing lots or monkey knife fight.

Today is the first of the Fridays I have off over the summer; Babson operates on a 4 day work week for June, July, and a bit of August. We work longer days during the week, and take slightly shorter lunches, but it's not a bad trade for a three day weekend. And how am I spending my first Friday off?

I'm in my office.

No, I'm not doing work or cleaning my desk (though it needs it badly), but rather am goofing off after coming back to campus and not wanting to tackle the hill yet (for reasons I'll expound upon presently).

Here's how my first day off's gone so far:

6:35 AM Alarm clock goes off. As usual, Sarah asks for another 15 minutes, so I reset the alarm. OK, it's not all Sarah where the extra time is concerned.

6:50 AM Alarm goes off again. We don't actually get up quite yet, but who really jumps right out of bed first thing?

7:10 AM Finally underway, Sarah getting ready for work, me getting ready to not work.

7:25 AM Tune into the England-Argentina match. As much ribbing as I give Sarah about being English, I actually like their side. My only real beef with English soccer is Manchester United, and that's only come from their being in league with the Yankees for cross-marketing and the like.

My rooting interest is further cemented by my general disdain for the Argentines, who are very good but leave me a little cold. I've also never been a fan of Maradona's, for all his brilliance, given his personal issues and ego. I can't say I dislike any of the current Argentine players, but I do marvel at how many of them have Italian or German sounding names (first or last).

For all the talk about David Beckham (Mr. Posh Spice) and his injury, it's Michael Owen, the teen sensation from France 1998 who is impressive. He sends a ball of the post early, tortures defenders all evening, and draws the foul that Beckham converts just before the half to give England the 1-0 lead they'd hold to take the win.

Argentina, for all the talk about them being the favorite to win, don't look that good. They do press very well in the second half, but send most of their shots well over the crossbar or wider than Scott Norwood's nighmares.

This being the "group of death," this win is momentous... for about a minute. Then you remember that Sweden topped Nigeria, eliminating the Super Eagles. Sweden and England both have 4 points, Argentina 3. Sweden plays Argentina in the last match, and have very little motivation to go beyond a tie- that gives them 5 points and a quarterfinal berth. Same goes for England against Nigeria, who would probably just like the point so they don't risk finishing last. A tie only gives Argentina 4 points and an early exit (barring a Nigerian upset of England and the tibreaks working out).

9:30 AM A solid block of goofing off. Some TV, some computer (currently playing a lot of Word Racer on Yahoo), the usual.

11:04 AM Shower. OK, it may not have been 11:04 AM exactly, but this isn't a deposition.

11:45 AM Arrange a taxi to go to my doctor's appointment. I'd tried this once before, only to have the cab not show. I make sure the dispatcher knows where I am and how to get here before hanging up.

12:00 PM Random lunch and an episode of The Twilight Zone- a guy's going to be executed at 9:30 AM, but it's pitch black out. Turns out that everywhere that hate flourishes (such as this little town), it's dark and getting darker. An OK episode.

12:45 PM Cab to the doctor's office. Nothing special, but if there's no rain I'm walking back. I kind of feel like a chump taking a cab for the mile and a quarter to the office.

1:10 PM Check in with the receptionist and start filling out forms. Not too many, thankfully.

2:35 PM Dr. David Wenzel introduces himself. Just as Sarah and I have been fishing for a church out here, I've been looking for a new primary care physician. I'd been using my respiratory doctor for that purpose since high school, and given my current location that didn't seem to make sense (not that it made much sense when I was in Boston, but I also had the house in Manchester to go to and from). Went to a doctor over at Harvard Vangaurd, but didn't care for the facility. A very typical HMO sort of experience.

That was not the case today, but given that I'd asked for a physical (my first real physical in some time) I figured that it'd be a process. And it was, with all the attendant poking, prodding, coughing, and what have you to go with it. Those of you who know the movie Fletch may be glad to note that at no point did I have cause to sing "Moon River."

Before any of this, though, the doctor asked me a litany of questions to get my background. Going through my family medical history was a real treat, as it reminded me just how much loss I've had up to this point.

Got some blood taken, and opposed to all the horror stories from people who get butchered and have a nice bruise on the inside of their elbow for a week, I barely even felt the needle. Heck, I don't even think I really needed the band-aid to cover the hole (well, there is a speck of blood). Also got an EKG, which took more time to set up than administer.

At this point, things seem OK with me other than weight, though the doctor was more concerned about activity.

I really like this doctor. Finally!

2:47 I'm out of the office, armed with samples of Singulair, a once-a-day tablet for asthma. We're going to see how this goes. I take one a day before bed. The doctor suggested going off of inhalers after about a week (but still have them around if needed), which is where the fun will begin.

Rain stopped, so I'm walking back. It's not a bad walk, pretty much straight line with only one real hill, and even that's not too big. You can tell I live in a town where people don't walk because every other house has a tree or shrubbery that's growing out into the sidewalk. I get to dodge any number of leaves, branches, and fronds on the walk, wondering if next time I should bring a saw.

There's a 4 way intersection right where the school begins, and as I cross, the car coming across the way doesn't wait for me, but rather drives around me. This pisses me off, as (a) being the pedestrian, I have the right of way, (b) in Massachusetts, it's state law that a driver must stop for a person in a crosswalk, and (c) it's just plain rude. Like the guy couldn't wait five seconds for me to get across his lane?

I've given some thought to getting a bike or a moped or some sort of locally useful conveyance, but probably won't. I dislike the idea that I could be riding down the streets here while some overworked financial analyst or soccer mom who's too busy talking to another soccer mom on a cell phone steers their two and a half tons of steel and chrome into my back.

3:12 PM I'm at the campus center, walk took about 20 minutes, putting me well in the normal 3-3.5 mph walking pace. Got a drink, grabbed the mail, and got into the office. Where I'm now figuratively talking to you nice people.

Not much else on tap for the day. Some dinner, probably rent a movie. At some point we have to make banana pudding for a dinner party, but that may wait for tomorrow.

In other news, my plan to get rich by betting on the World Cup has gone completely awry. Did Jon Couture's example teach me nothing? I had Denmark, Uruguay, and Paraguay to win. Got two ties and a loss for my trouble. Paraguay was a reach, based on Chilavert's return. Uruguay presented good odds. But Denmark only tying Senegal? That was my biggest bet, and it hurt.

Time to get back on the phone and check the damage.

When today's front page of Boston.com mentioned "big-toothed agents" in a story about the spate of spy movies on tap for the rest of the year, I would like to think they were getting a dig in at Ben "Dr. Teeth" Affleck. But I know that they were merely referencing Austin Power's outsized choppers.

Which is too bad. Affleck's got some genetically-altered, freak nuclear accident-fueled teeth.

Speaking of him, have you heard about his spat with some of the Red Sox players? When the Sox were in Toronto, Affleck made an appearance in the booth (being in Toronto to hype The Sum of All Fears and being, one would think, a Sox fan). I saw him in the booth with Sean McDonough and Jerry Remy; the IMDB blurb about this made it out to be a national crew, but I don't think Sox-Jays were on nationally at any point.

Anyway, Affleck starts making disparaging remarks about Lou Merloni, a utility infielder who has been on the Boston-Pawtucket bus a lot in his career. The remarks centered on things Merloni said (I think last year) about how getting sent up and down so much "made a mockery of his career" or something along those lines. Affleck seemed to think that Merloni's career wasn't of the level where it could be mocked.

Affleck apparently also threw some digs at Trot Nixon, the Sox' fairly solid right fielder, whose been in a slump since an illness a few weeks ago.

General clubhouse response focused on just the right thing: Affleck's "acting" ability. Kind of hard for someone whose resume includes Pearl Harbor, Reindeer Games, and all that other crap to talk about other people performing below average, isn't it?

All in all a tempest in a tea pot, but it was nice to see Nixon note that Matt Damon "made" Affleck. Pretty much true, too; without Damon, Affleck would probably still be scraping up roles from Kevin Smith (which isn't so bad in itself, I suppose).

That was unexpected.

For those of you who haven't heard, the US pulled off the second biggest upset of the World Cup so far by topping Portugal 3-2. If it weren't for those wiley Senegalese booting the French in the petard, the US would have the biggest upset.

Still, it's going to be the talk of the Cup for a while.

Portugal came into the Cup with a lot of pressure. Their older players are from what's touted as a "golden generation" that had a lot of success as juniors, winning a few world titles. In their grown-up years, they've been seen as underachieving, given the lack of Cup appearances and not winning the European title in 2000. This is probably the swan song for stars like Luis Figo and Rui Costa, their last chance to lead Portugal to a title.

But apparently that golden generation didn't include the defense, as they had a lot of trouble in the first half getting together. That was clearly a problem on the US first goal, but bad clears and dubious marking allowed the US the room and time to set up all their goals (one an own goal, a deflection off of a defender's head). If you haven't seen Brian McBride's game winner, find a tape or a clip on the Web.

The game may not have been as close as the final had Jeff Agoos, the American with the most international appearances without playing in the Cup, put in an own goal to cut the lead to one. I suppose after waiting so long, he wanted to get in the record one way or the other.

In opposition to Portugal, youth was served with the US team. Established stars like Cobi Jones and David Regis gave way to players like Landon Donovan and DeMarcus Beasley, a pair of 20 year olds who, for perhaps the first time in US team history, combine speed with the skill to be dangerous (Jones, who did play the second half, has skill but is more known for speed).

So this screws up Group D quite nicely. South Korea are your leaders, with three points for beating Poland and a +2 goal differential. The US is next, 3 points and a +1 (this is where Agoos' mistake may hurt us)., Portugal with no points and -1, and Poland nothing and -2.

We play the Koreans next, they with an extra day's rest. After watching them dominate Poland, I'm a lot more worried about this game than a week ago. That the stands will be packed with Korean partisans just adds to the concern. However, the US is clearly more fundamentally sound than Poland, who looked way out of synch in their opener.

Which may give Portugal their open door back into the group, if they can tag Poland with a big loss and the US and South Korea tie. Which would set them up for needing to beat the Koreans, which on most occasions would be a foregone conclusion.

But not this month.

In other Cup news, Russia topped Tunisia 2-0. Why is this significant? It represents a win on my first World Cup bet. Not that I got all that much for it; I cleared a little over $30 for putting up $50 on the Russians. I was going to put a throwaway bet on the US, who was 5 to 1. Of course, if I did that, they'd have gotten drilled.

The deed is done. We passed papers on the house yesterday.

My role in the process was by and large ceremonial. Not being on the deed, I had no need to sign anything, so instead I watched my brother and sister sign a few things. I felt bad for the father of the buyer (the buyer still being in Texas, his dad had power of attorney for this), as he must have signed about 50 documents while I was there. I hate to think how many he signed after we left; the stack of paperwork was at least three inches thick.

Watching this process makes me think living in rent-free college owned apartments isn't such a bad thing. It just gets to be a hassle if you want to come and go as you please, have friends over without worrying about security or parking, or get a dog. Or have kids, for that matter.

Anyway, after the legal stuff we had the celebrating. Much, much celebrating. Not much to give by way of details, but if you are in Salem, Massachusetts over the summer you should take a trip out to the Rockmore Drydock's floating bar (I think they call it a floating restaurant, but it's really a bar with food). A little pricey, but fun for a drink or two.

Along for the day was Bob, the owner of the restaurant where my sister works. I don't think he quite knew what he was getting into, but he didn't seem to mind.

I took the train in, so I got to check out a couple of possible wedding reception sites. One is the Peabody Essex Musuem, which I have a personal pull towards, as I went there a lot in fourth grade as part of an academically talented program (which they later changed all around and screwed up royally). Nice musuem, but they may not have a room of the right size for us. Our estimated size falls right between what all the rooms can handle.

The other place is Hamilton Hall, one of those random old civil buildings that seem to crop up from place to place in eastern Massachusetts. It may be too much building for us. It also has no parking.

So, all in all, quite the day out, the importance of which perhaps hasn't fully sunk in quite yet.