Gonzo

I guess Benazir Bhutto was a cricket supporter. I always loved her and Ang San Suu Kyi. Those women have or had more guts than most of us.

The vuvazuaelas are a harmless joke. You would not want to listen to the crazy din, when Australia plays a test series in India. It is part of the game and the Aussies don't whinge about it.

In Sri Lanka cricket is the main religion. I drink Dilmah tea from Sri Lanka only. I like Murali's (sorry, I cannot be bothered to look up his full name) bowling and after Shane Warne, he is the best spin bowler in the world. Larrikan Warne has retired from International cricket and Murali will be the beast spin bowler in the history of cricket forever. I have less regard for the Pakistani cricket team, except Imran Khan, who was one of the true gentleman on and off the cricket ground, when he was still playing. These days he is brave enough to risk his life , by choosing to become a Pakistani

The normally cocky Australian media have a less confident approach for the upcoming series. I have never experienced this in previous Ashes tests. You blokes are full of confidence and have a better side than your last side, which won the last test series in England, which could have gone either way. Make no mistake. We love the Barmy Army, which leaves the Australian Fanatics Army for dead. If people think they are fanatical about soccer, they don't have a clue what goes on in cricket. One and a half billion Indians cannot be be wrong.

How do they dare not to use a Kookaburra? Lords is the holy grail of cricket. Aussies just love to beat the English at another game invented by them. I played fairly good baseball by Australian standards at an amateur level. I did less well playing cricket for an amateur team in Darwin. I was hopeless batting and bowling but did very well as a second choice wicket keeper or playing in the slips. To have Pakistan play at Lords is fine, but goes against tradition. There was no other choice, as there is no way to play Pakistan in Pakistan under the present political situation. It won't b

Would you care to explain yourself in detail, instead of replying by grunting with a silly one-liner?

You never forgive and forget. Good on you. I totally agree with you. What about about that Spanish cunt of a referee, who awarded a penalty against Australia in 2006 after that cheating Italian prick Grosso took a dive into the penalty box in the last minute of extra time. That was the most painful wrong decision I have ever seen. Lucas Neill never touched that Italian cheating cunt.

If it was such a poor tournament, why did most of the world stand still and watch it. Even the majority of of the many negative thinkers on this board were mesmerized and nothing else mattered for a whole month. Poor Nadal won Wimbledon and no-one noticed. Webber had another win in Formula 1 racing yesterday and no-one noticed. New Zealand played a fantastic game against the South African Rugby League team in the Tri Nations cup and no-one noticed. Cadel Evans has managed to grab the yellow guernsey and Lance Armstrong, a 7 times winner of the Tour de France had a bad crash and no-one took

No sour grapes, mate. I did not have a wager on this match and I did not support either team. I sat up all night to watch a good game. I have not missed watching one Soccer World cup final since 1954, when West Germany beat Hungary 3:2 in Switzerland. I barrack for German and Australian sporting teams or competitors. I have just watched the highlights of the Formula 1 race, which was won by an Australian with a German second. Formula 1racing is exciting and Nascar racing is less exciting for me, as I don't follow Nascar racing a great deal. Go back to watching replays of the Bluejays in Toront

To be honest, I feel the same way. World cup finals are seldom the best of games with so much at stake. Lady Luck was on Spain's side and they did not really deserve to win this World cup. They were a much better side when they won Euro 2008. A lot of the super stars did not reach their full potential. Holland would have won tonight, if van Robben and Snyder would have played their normal game.

It's all over red rover. Lucky Spain and unlucky Holland. Neither of those great teams deserved to win or to loose this final.

Commiserations Holland. 1:0 Spain after a goal from Fabregas after 116 minutes.

A red card for Heitinga and Holland has to survive now for another few minutes and show the better nerves in the penalty shoot-out.

The game is deadlocked at half time in extra time. Are we going to see a penalty shoot-out?

I am enjoying this now. Holland missed two good chances.

Extra time, with Holland leading 6:3 in the yellow card count. Is this a record for a World cup final? The two teams have canceled each others skills out so far.

Villa missed the biggest chance in the 70. minute. It will suit me, if the match goes into extra time. It is just past 3 AM and I have to catch a mini-bus at 6 AM for my 3-monthly visa run.

Van Robben should have scored in the 62. minute, with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Holland are leading Spain 5:2 in the yellow card count after one hour's play.

0:0 in an evenly matched first half. Neither team looked like scoring so far. 5 yellow cards were given by Webb. De Jong was lucky not to get a red card, when he kicked Alonso into the chest with a karate kick.

The Germans just won an entertaining game against Uruguay 3:2. Forlan hit the cross bar with a powerful shot in the last second of the match. Joachim Löw deserves all the admiration for fielding a youth team against a surprisingly strong Uruguay. Both sides deserved to win, but it was good to see a preview of the German team for Euro 2012 and the next World cup. I was pleased when Kießling and Tony Kroos from Bayer Leverkusen came on as substitutes as well. They are exciting players. I think Ballack and Podolski will find it hard to get back into the team. Friedrich, a great defender is an old

Are you saying it is important to have a good command of English grammar to post on this board? What about the many posters, whose first language is not English? In my experience, most people from English-speaking countries seem to be unable or too lazy to learn another language. What do you mean by common denominator level? I think you meant to say most members are at the lowest common denominator level. I agree with you on the importance of having a good understanding of mathematics. I think Thai Immigration should insist on a written math test up to the level of infinitesimal calculus befor

There were several reason why Germany did not qualify for the final. Germany had inside information that Webb would be the referee for the final, with the intention to red-card Schweinsteiger and Klose early in the game. Ballack told the team the bad news and unsettled the side, when Lahm called him a liar and said he would continue as captain. He told Ballack to piss off for good, which caused a deep division amongst the players and created a Lahm and a Ballack faction. The octopus factor. Changing from black guernseys to the white coloured ones. The Reneeder threat that H

Revenge is a dish best served cold, as my friend Sweeney Todd used to say. I know how frustrating it is to be runner-up. We managed to be runner-up four times in the last 16 World cups and your team only had to endure such agony twice in 1974 and 1978. If your team looses next Sunday it will still only be your third time of loosing in a World cup final, which is still better than having lost it for a fourth time. Playing for third place and loosing is not as bad, as hardly anyone takes any notice.

He also scored the only goal of the match and won a lot of money for the girls by doing so. Maybe, I should let my hair grow long again or by a Puyol wig. Spain cheated as well. The fielded seven players from Barcelona. They are Catalans and not Spanish. Ask a person from Madrid what they think about Catalans. The are held in the same regard as the Basques, as they want independence from Spain.