December 17, 1998
After a bit of a talking to at yesterday's practice and a re-emphasis on the fundamentals which make us a good team, the lads came out today and a really stuck it to an overmatched Riordan High squad. It was only 2-0 at halftime, but within 15 minutes into the second half the game was effectively over, and we started withdrawing most of the first string. The final was a very pleasant 6-0. One defender, Steve Biondolillo, had a hattrick.

St. Francis 6, Archbishop Riordan 0
Saric (unassisted); Biondolillo (Bustos); Biondolillo (Perego); Vukosa (Saric); Biondolillo (VanDerVeen); Hunner (Anderson)

December 15, 1998
Well, we suffered our first loss of the season today, a heart-breaking 1-0 loss to Mitty on a goal in the final three minutes. We controlled the vast majority of the game but didn't get many good scoring chances. Although the defense played well, the midfield and forwards weren't great. We probably didn't deserve to lose, but we didn't play well enough to deserve to win either. Since now league play has started we've picked a particularly poor time to play lousy. (And did I mention that I hate losing?) Perhaps this will be the wake up call we need.

St. Francis 0, Mitty 1

December 12, 1998
We opened our WCAL season today with an awful 0-0 first half against Sacred Heart Cathedral. Midfield play was lackluster, and we held the ball far too long. The first 15 minutes of the second half were much the same (though the defensive play was excellent), and then some kind of soccer switch was thrown and the offense sprang to life. We had two goals in the next minute and followed with two more in the next 15.

A tragic defensive error by one of our marking backs allowed a Sacred Heart score from a cornerkick, but by that point the game was already over. The final was a 4-1 Lancer victory.

(The game was also notable for the worst refereeing job we've seen this year, but the less said about that the better.)

St. Francis 4, Sacred Heart Cathedral 1
Vukosa (Gil-Ochoa); Perego (Anderson); Saric (Gil-Ochoa); Vukosa (Van Der Veen)

December 10, 1998
Well, it was a disappointing conclusion to a stellar pre-season with today's 0-0 tie of last year's CCS champion, Leland High School. As per usual, we outshot our opponents 3-to-1 (22 shots to their 7), but nothing found the back of the net. We dominated the second half in particular, but just couldn't seem to put anything away.

My own take on things is rather philosophical: You give yourself a chance to win (which we did) and hopefully the ball bounces well for you (which it did not). Other than not scoring, I have no complaints, and I don't think I would change anything if I had to do it over again. It's hard to complain too much when you're 7-0-1.

I thought Leland was a pretty fair team, too, for what it's worth. With luck, we'll see them again in the CCS playoffs.

St. Francis 0, Leland 0

December 8, 1998
Congratulations to the Girls' Volleyball team on winning their second consecutive state title, their fourth since 1993.

Boys' Soccer topped Prospect 2-0 today in the bitter cold. I've played in colder weather up in Oregon, of course, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant (for players or coaches). Defense today was excellent, and Prospect really only had one very good scoring opportunity—and it got that because the referee missed a call.

St. Francis 2, Prospect 0
Perego (unassisted); Perego (Anderson)

December 7, 1998
One searches for positive things to say on the heels of yesterdays awful 23-9 loss to the New England Patriots. One comes up empty. The Steeler offense was offensive, and the defense yielded too many big plays (though at least they have the excuse of being on the field most of the game). Unless the Jacksonville Jaguars utterly collapse, the Steelers have lost the AFC Central title, and they're going to have to claw and scratch their way to a playoff berth. The way the played today, they don't deserve it.

December 5, 1998
Congratulations to the Lancer Football team on their stirring 14-13 CCS Championship win over #1-ranked Oak Grove. The hard-fought contest could've gone either way, but in the end the Lancers captured another CCS title.

That truly makes for a superb fall sports season. Football won the WCAL title and CSS; Boys' Cross Country won WCAL, CSS, and State; Girls' Country won WCAL and CSS; Boys' Waterpolo won WCAL and CSS; Girls' Waterpolo won WCAL and finished second in CSS; Girls' Field Hockey finshed second in CSS in only their first year of existence; Girls Volleyball won the WCAL, CSS and NorCal championships—and they play for the state title tonight. On the whole, a remarkable sports season.

For our part in the winter sports season, the Boys' Soccer team moved to 6 wins and zero losses with 2-0 victory over Aragon High School. Our play was sharp in the first half as we dominated and took a 2-0 lead with 15 shots to their 5. Our play second was, unfortunately, more lackluster and though our defense stayed solid, the play was mostly even. (We were the unfortunate victims of some terrible off-sides calls; the linesman either doesn't know the rule or has vision problems.) A win is win, though, and we'll take it.

St. Francis 2, Aragon 0
Anderson (Perego); Perego (Vukosa)

Sorry to say that the UP Women's Soccer team came up on the short end of the stick once again, losing a heartbreaker 1-0 to #1-ranked North Carolina in double overtime. I didn't see the game, but I understand that it was 22 second away from a penalty kick shootout when the goal was scored.

Nevertheless, this was another great season for the UP Women's program.

December 3, 1998
It took about 10 minutes to get our first goal, and then it started raining them. The final over San Jose Academy was 7-0, but I'm afraid it could've just as easily been in the teens. We played most of the second half with only 10 men (to try to keep the score down). As it was, we outshot them 31-6. Note also that forward Aaron Perego had a monster game with 3 goals and 3 assists.

I'm also sorry to report that San Jose had a lot of injuries. We were simply a more physically imposing team, and the field conditions were awful—something that didn't help.

St. Francis 7, San Jose 0
Vukosa (Perego); Gil-Ochoa (Perego); Perego (unassisted); Vukosa (Perego); Perego (Gil-Ochoa); Perego (Carey); Bustos (Biondillo)

December 1, 1998
We started fairly slow and didn't really begin dominating until mid-way through the first half. In the end, despite a strong offensive effort, we came away with only a 2-0 victory over Monta Vista. It could've been more. We outshot them 18-5, but at least two of their chances required saves at point blank range by our keeper. This could've been a blowout, but, on the other hand, it also (theoretically, anyway) could've been a loss if the ball had bounced funny. We need a greater commitment to defense from our midfield, but I'm sure we'll get it together before too long.

St. Francis 2, Monta Vista 0
Bustos (Clark); Anderson (Gil-Ochoa)

November 30, 1998
Congratulations to coach Brian Curley (sporting a newly shaved head and face) on leading the Boys' Cross-Country team to the California State Title.

Congratulations to the Boys' and Girls' Water Polo teams. Boys' won the Central Coast Section (CCS) while the Girls' finished section.

Best wishes to the Girls' Volleyball team as the head into the NorCal State Playoffs after a domininent season. What's that record, 36-1?

More congratulations, this time to the Football team on their win of the WCAL title and their first-round victory over arch-rival Bellarmine in the CCS playoffs.

November 28, 1998
No injuries and a lot of fun. That's my summary of today's 5-2 win over the SF Alumni team. The game wasn't a great defensive display, but our offense continues to be very potent. There's items to be worked on, for sure, but it's hard to complain about 5 goals. It's also worth noting that this is only about the third victory over the Alumni (which includes some college All-Americans) in about 17 years.

Congratulations to the UP Women's Soccer program, this time on their 2-1 victory over Notre Dame and their resulting advancement into the Final Four. Next up: #1-ranked North Carolina.

November 27, 1998
It was already one of the more poorly officiated games I'd seen, but how do you blow a coin toss? Jerome Bettis clearly called "tails" and even said again "I called tails" when the referee said, "The call is heads." I've reviewed video of the toss four or five times now and the audio is clear enough to say conclusively that the ref just blew it. How, I have no idea, but it gave the Lions the ball going into OT and resulted in a 16-13 Steeler loss.

November 25, 1998
A strong first half performance gave the Boys' Varsity Soccer team a 5-1 half time lead. While we didn't score again (and even allowed a goal), the game was effectively over by that point. Everyone played in the second half. With the exception of two defensive lapses and one potentially serious ankle injury to a forward, this 5-2 victory over Pioneer was very sweet.

The unfortunate part, I'm sorry to say, is the Pioneer suffered numerous injuries. Neither Coach Chavez or myself thought our play dirty in any respect, but the fact remains that when the final whistle blew, Pioneer had two players on the ground on opposite ends of the field, a benchload of injuries from prior plays, and one poor lad who had blood gushing down the side of his head from running into our keeper a minute before.

It seemed more hard luck than anything else, though the opposing coach was all over the referees for not controlling the game better. He received a yellow card for his troubles, and given the amount of abuse he was directing toward the officials, I wouldn't be surprised if the league were to give him something of a talking to.

I hate to add insult to injury, but if the referee had called the game tighter, our score—speaking frankly—would've been even higher.

St. Francis 5, Pioneer 2
Van Der Veen (Vukosa); Vukosa (Anderson); Vukosa (Gil-Ochoa); Gil-Ochoa (Bustos); Bustos (Vukosa)

November 24, 1998
It's a win that showed a fair amount of character, coming back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat Mountain View 3-2. Unfortunately, our defensive commitment was lackluster and it cost us a couple goals. In this regard, the coaching staff was not pleased.

On the offensive end, however, we outshot Mountain View by about 30-3 with shots raining down on the goal mouth from all angles. A number of them just missed, include 4 which hit the cross bar. Were it not for terribly wet and windy field conditions, this might have been a blowout. (It might have been anyway.)

There's good stuff to take away from this game, but I would've vastly preferred a victory where the opposition did not score.

St. Francis 3, Mountain View 2
Bustos (Vukosa); Gil-Ochoa (Saric); Clarke (Anderson)

It's taken me an extra day just to post this bit because I'm still basking in the warm glow of the Steelers' 30-15 victory over division-leading rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars. This puts us one game back in the race for the AFC Central Division lead. In the short, the Steelers defense played a great game, and QB Kordell Stewart is starting to make the offensive plays we all knew he was capable of. Not much rest for the 'Burgh, however. We tackle Barry Sanders and the rest of the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

Congratulations to the Women's Soccer program on their advancement into the NCAA QuarterFinals. Next up: Notre Dame.

November 21, 1998
Played Serra, Mitty, and Sacred Heart in three scrimmages as part of the pre-season WCAL Jamboree. The mighty Lancers came away with a 0-0 tie against Serra, a 0-0 tie against Mitty, and a 2-0 victory over Sacred Heart. We used unusual lineups, and everyone who could play did. Despite the shifting personnel, our defense remained solid—something that bodes well for the season.

November 19, 1998
We travelled a good chunk of road to get there, but thanks to a solid defensive effort and some nifty offense, the mighty Lancers of St. Francis came away with a 3-0 victory over Watsonville. Trust me, this makes the long ride much easier to take.

St. Francis 3, Watsonville 0
Perego (Saric); Vukosa (Warren); Vukosa (Van Der Veen)

November 18, 1998
We led 1-0 most of the game, but in conceding a goal in the final two minutes were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in a scrimmage against Amador Valley. Since this was a scrimmage everyone capable of playing did, and most of the guys performed admirably. The real test will be Thursday when we open our season against Watsonville.

November 14, 1998
In a stirring comeback, the St. Francis football team rallied from a 13-point deficit late in the 4th quarter to pull out a 28-25 victory over previously undefeated St. Ignatious. The victory gave the Lancers the WCAL title, and a great morale boost going into the CCS playoffs.

November 11, 1998
Well, admittedly I missed the best half of Steeler football in the Cowher-era as the 'Burgh jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead over the Green Bay Packers. The Pack rallied in the second half to make it a 27-20 final, but they were helped by a couple of strange plays, including a sack of our backup QB on the Green Bay 5 yard line which was returned for a touchdown. If that play is run "normally," the Steelers either get another TD or, at worst, kick a field goal to make it 30-3. Instead it gave the Pack momentum and turned it into something of a game.

But that's probably being unkind to the Steelers. The reality is that they smacked a very good team, and got the win. Next week: A chance for revenge against the Tennessee Oilers.

November 2, 1998
We've got our team selected for the Boys' Varsity Soccer squad, and despite a rash of early injuries, I think the outlook for the year is fairly good. We should be strong at every position, and, weather permitting, the season should prove to be a good one for us. First game (a scrimmage really) is November 17 against Amador Valley. See the schedule for details.

Why does Offensive Coordinator Ray Sherman continue to run Jerome Bettis wide? It's a question that those of us at the Island are banging our heads against tables trying to answer. It's not like center Dermonti Dawson hasn't been an All-Pro for several straight years. Run the Bus up the middle! For whatever reason, Sherman ran him wide yesterday, and the result was a predictable loss to the Oilers. Stewart's passing was on-and-off, but without a running game to take the pressure off his passing, Kordell had a much more difficult time than he should have. I'm beginning to think it's time to sack Sherman.

October 27, 1998
Pitt comes through on Monday night with a 20-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. I only caught a little bit of the game due to my exhausting day, but "the Bus" was running well and the defense looked great. Steelers are now tied with the Jags for the lead in the AFC Central.

October 18, 1998
Rebounding from last week's lousy defeat, Kordell and Company rally in the second half to stick it to the Baltimore Ravens, 16-6. The defense played an excellent game, constantly using the zone blitz to get pressure to the opposing QB. The offense, with played without injured RB Jerome Bettis, was inconsistent. Backup RB Richard Huntley gave us a reasonably good ground game, and that allowed QB Kordell Stewart to have one of his better passing games of the season.

As a last minute bonus, Doug Flutie led the Buffalo Bills past Steeler-rivals Jacksonville, so the 'Burgh gained ground in the divisional race.

October 12, 1998
Me and the Island guys couldn't have been more disappointed, I suppose, even though we knew we had trouble after the final Steeler drive stalled. A two point led rarely holds up in the NFL, and sure enough the Bengals drove the stake through with less than a minute remaining. The final: 25-20. Consolation prize: Kordell Stewart had his best game of the season.

October 5, 1998
Normally you'd call 21-0 a pretty big thrashing, but when you're missing your top two offensive stars and your best defensive player that kind of changes the equation. Now add in that the opponent was the #1-ranked team in the United States and that they haven't lost a game in something like 8 years. In fact, 21 points is the lowest point total that DeLaSalle High has scored in that time, so this St. Francis football "loss" is actually quite a moral victory. At full power, I think St. Francis even might have had a chance for an upset.

September 28, 1998
Back to "The Island" yesterday for the Steelers' 13-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Thank god we have an excellent defense. Cowher was rightly praising them to the hilt after the game, and he didn't get it wrong. Without big D this game goes in the L column.

That's not to say that the offensive stunk as badly as last week. Offensive Coordinator Ray Sherman finally decided that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line and ran Jerome Bettis up the middle for a change. Not surprisingly Bettis, a power back if there ever was one, was over 100 yards rushing on the day. When "The Bus" goes up the middle, good things happen.

The pass offense, sadly, looks really disjointed. Sherman has Kordell Stewart trying a West Coast Offensive scheme which for which he's really not suited. The Steelers have a bye next week, so here's hoping they get this ironed out over the next couple of weeks.

September 22, 1998
Dolphins 21, Steelers 0. I was very lucky in that I didn't get a chance to see this game. Reports from the Steelers newsgroup indicate this was an utterly disaster offensively. For whatever reason, we continue to try to run Jerome Bettis outside for little to no yardage gains. Given that Bettis is an up-the-middle power back and that he's had terrific success running through the middle, someone should tell the offensive coordinator to get a clue. Kordell Stewart is thus far having a tough year, and with three INTs against the Florida Fish, it's hard to argue. Nonetheless, Bill Cowher's teams have always started slow, and the 'Burgh is still 2-1.

September 13, 1998
Steelers 17, Chicago Bears 12. It came down to a final possession interception in the 4th, and it was an ugly win, but we'll take it. Jerome "The Bus" Bettis rushed for over a 100 yards to off-set a rather lame job by the offensive line. (The Steelers still look pretty weak at both Tackle positions.) Kordell Stewart was mediocre. But 2-0 has a nice ring, especially since the last time we did it was 1995, when we went to the Super Bowl.

September 12, 1998
Despite two fourth quarter touchdowns, the #1-ranked Lancers' rally fell short in a 26-16 loss to #2-ranked Oak Grove. While losses are always disappointing, this should have very little bearing on the success of the season and could even be a good motivational tool later in the year.

September 7, 1998
Steelers 20, Baltimore Ravens 13 in the season opener. This is excellent news for several reasons: First, the Steelers normally start the season slowly, so getting off to a good start like this is very helpful. Second, the Ravens are AFC Central rivals, so their defeat is just about as important as the Steelers victory. Finally, the Ravens did really well stuffing Bettis (and the Steelers running attack in general), so it was up to Kordell Stewart to beat them in the air, and he did it. By most accounts the defense played very well, while the offensive line had some problems (though with the Ravens stacking the line to stop the run that's not too unexpected).

If the Steelers make the playoffs this year, no one can say that don't deserve it. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Pittsburgh "faces teams with a cumulative winning percentage of .551 (140-114-2), highest in the league."

Next week the Steelers face the Chicago Bears who lost 24-23 to Jacksonville. (Darn it.)

August 31, 1998
The Steelers have completed the pre-season, and final roster cuts are due by Sept. 1. The coaches face some tough decisions at running back where they're currently overloaded with talent. Nobody is looking to take Jerome Bettis spot, of course, but there's a lot of really talented backups. The offensive line, always very good, looks to be excellent this year. While there might be some concern about depth at tackle (particularly left tackle), even the backups are very big boys. Kordell Stewart and the receiving corp should be able to do plenty of damage this year, even with the free agency loss of All-Pro Yancy Thigpen.

Defensively, the team will be very solid as well. The linebackers again look excellent, even with the loss of Greg Lloyd. The secondary looks solid if unspectacular, though the depth is questionable. The defensive line should prove sufficent to help stuff the run and pressure the passer. (In the Steelers 3-4 alignment, the majority of the defensive work is actually done by the linebackers.)

Special teams are a very open question. With the exception of kicker Norm Johnson, the Steelers special teams are less than stellar. I'd like to think this year will be different, but I'm taking a wait-and-see approach.

Look for the Steelers to return to the AFC Championship game. A Super Bowl ring shouldn't be out of the question.

August 23, 1998
Steelers 28, Falcon 21.

August 22, 1998
The Steelers signed linebacker Earl Holmes to a three-year, $7 million contract extension. As the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes, for the Steelers "seven members of their starting defensive unit are signed through the next two seasons. Five of them are signed through 2001, including Holmes, Pro Bowl inside linebacker Levon Kirkland, Pro Bowl nose tackle Joel Steed, left outside linebacker Jason Gildon and right cornerback Dewayne Washington." This should insure that Pitt has decent chances at the SuperBowl at least through 2001.

Pitt has two pre-season games left: one tonight against the Atlanta Falcons and one next Saturday against the Carolina Panthers. The regular season opens on September 6 versus Baltimore.

August 2, 1998
I don't even remember the score, but Tampa Bay destroyed the Steelers in first exhibition game of the year. There were a couple bright spots--players who appear to be making the grade--and since the starters played very little and it's a meaningless game, I'll reserve worrying and feeling awful for later.

Fans will recall that last year's exhibition season record was 5-0, and the Steelers got blown out by the Cowboys in the regular season opener. Exhibition season means next to nothing.

August 1, 1998
The Steelers open their exhibition season tonight at 4 P.M. PST on ABC-TV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Don't expect to see much in the way of the starters. They'll get a few snaps, but mostly this is second-stringers and guys trying desperately to make it in the NFL.

With his committment as the assistant to the men's U.S. National Team one wonder how head UP soccer coach Clive Charles had time to recruit. Nonetheless, I noticed that the UP men's team has added Matt Domingo, probably the best high school player in the Bay Area last year. (Domingo played for St. Francis' archrivals Bellarmine so I'm somewhat familiar with him.)

Meanwhile, the UP Women's soccer team is ranked #7 in the nation.

July 30, 1998
Finally ending what was turning into a really dumb holdout, Steelers' #1 draft pick Alan Faneca is set to sign a 5-year $5.3 million deal which includes a $1.6 million signing bonus, according to CBS Sports. Faneca's 10-day rookie holdout was the longest the Steelers have endured since the NFL's free agency policy was adopted in 1993.

July 27, 1998
The first week of training camp is now complete and the word on the street is that contract negotiations between the Steelers and Alan Faneca, their #1 draft pick, have stalled over the amount of the signing bonus. Faneca has returned home to New Orleans in the meantime.

July 18, 1998
I've posted the new 1998-99 schedule for the boys' varsity soccer team. If you're in the Bay Area, come on out to a game and cheer us on.

The Steelers open training camp this Monday. This exhibition season is again 5 games (as opposed to the normal 4), but all are near Pittsburgh unlike past years when the team traveled to Ireland and Japan. Now if we can just get through the camp injury-free....

July 18, 1998
My ratings for France '98 are now available in Opinons, specifically under "World Cup Soccer: Ratings 'R' Us."

July 16, 1998
It's a good news/bad news week for Steelers fans. On the bright side, the organization has signed head coach Bill Cowher to a 3-year contract. Since Cowher has one of the best winning percentages of all-time and has lead the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his six years as head coach, this is very good news indeed.

The bad news is that the Steelers released former All-Pro linebacker Greg Lloyd. This was not altogether unexpected since Lloyd had been hobbled by injury in recent years, including a very serious staph infection last November. Nonetheless, the Steelers clear believe that they have adequate linebackers to fill Lloyd's slot (and Steeler history would tend to say that this is a good gamble) and obviously Lloyd's $3 million a year salary was too big a hit against the salary cap.

July 12, 1998—Final

France 3, Brazil 0: In what can only be considered a stunning upset, France destroys the defending champion Brazil to win their first World Cup. Midfielder Zidane, a superb player having a superb game, scored twice in the first half to put the Brazilians in a hole from which they could never recover.

Brazil looked out of sync the entire match, and star forward Ronaldo had only one decent scoring opportunity. That, plus another cross bar-striking shot from half-time substitute De Nilsen were the only good chances Brazil got. France's defense and midfield, even when down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes, shut down the vaunted Brazilian attack with surprising efficiency and ease. Brazil continued to push men forward, but this only allowed a counter attacking goal by France in the final minute.

Given the nature of the sport in Brazil, the country's media is sure to be all over the coach for this loss. The biggest question though is the one that the team started the tournament with: Wouldn't this team be better with Ronaldo and Romario as forwards? Having seem them play together as recently as seven months ago, I can only say that the answer is "yes." Like the United States, I'm not sure that the best Brazilian team ever took the field.

But this is to take nothing away from France's amazing achievement. They earned this Cup without a doubt.

July 11, 1998—3rd Place Game

Croatia 2, Holland 1: Well, Holland clearly was the better team, but it doesn't matter if you don't score. Croatia played stingy defense, and Holland just didn't have the energy to over come it. In fact, the entire energy level of the game seemed a little low, though that's understandable given that this is the consolation bracket. Nonetheless, all three goals scored were brilliant.

July 8, 1998—Semifinals

France 2, Croatia 1: Playing with 10 men for a good 20 minutes after France lost defender Laurent Blanc to a red card. Croatia fought valiantly, but it was clear that even with 10 men France was the better side. For anyone who's watching such things, please note that I got the winner and the score right in my prediction for this game, the first time that's happened in about 3 weeks.

July 7, 1998—Semifinals

Brazil 1, Holland 1 (Brazil 4-2 PK): This really couldn't have been much closer. Both sides had numerous chances to win, and it really could have gone either way. Yet, when the chips were down, Brazil scored on 4 straight penalties while Holland could only muster 2 of 4.

How crazy are the Brazillians about their goalkeeper now that he's come through in the clutch? According to Reuters, "One news broadcast had a solo female voice singing 'Hallelujah, Hallelujah' over slow-motion footage of Taffarel diving for the ball. Angel wings were shown sprouting off the goalkeeper as he knelt in victory." Who says soccer's not a religion?

July 4, 1998—Quarterfinals

Netherlands 2, Argentina1: Proving that stupidity doesn't pay, both Holland and Argentina have players sent off for incredibly dumb actions. First, Holland's Arthur Numan gets a yellow for a hard tackle on an Argentinian player. Then he has the bad sense to start yelling at the ref while in close proximity. The ref didn't hesitate to pull out the red card, and one can hardly blame him. (Of course this was Numan's second yellow card, so he was gone anyway.) Argentina's star midfielder Ariel Ortega, apparently not content to play with a man advantage, took a dive in the penalty box and got yellow carded for it. Then he decided to headbutt the opposing keeper for good measure. See ya! About 2 minutes later, Dennis Bergkamp scores what can only be described as a brilliant goal, taking a long pass, cutting the defender and rocketing the ball into the far upper V in three quick touches. And this in the 90th minute. What a game!

Croatia 3, Germany 0: One of the most stunning upsets of this World Cup, perhaps of all-time. No one I know picked Croatia to advance over Germany—certainly I didn't—and a 3-0 shellacking was the last thing anyone expected. Germany played down a man for most of the second half and all scoring came after their player was sent off. As a result the Germans are whining about the referee in their post-match comments. Nonetheless, I think this was Croatia's day even if Germany had maintained a full complement of players for the entire game.

July 3, 1998—Quarterfinals

Brazil 3, Denmark 2: Denmark gave us Brazil fans a mighty scare by jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead. Brazil countered with two excellent goals. Denmark equalized early in the second half on a horrible whiff of a bicycle kick by defender Roberto Carlos, but Rivaldo hit a superb game winner from about 35 yards out which found the side net. The Danes played a great match, but the better team won.

France 1, Italy 0 (4-3 PK): Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero completed what for him was a horrible World Cup. Fortunately his team played better, and the Italians, under pressure all game, had winning chances on several occasions. Most pundits (including me) thought this would be a close one, and boy was it ever. It ended on penalty kicks when Luigi Di Biagio's kick hit the cross bar bounced away. According to the Associated Press, this is the first penalty he's missed in more than a year. Despite being outplayed by France, one can't help but feel sorry for the Italians. They've now been knocked out of the last three World Cups by penalty kicks shootouts.

July 1, 1998
Celtic great Larry Bird is voted into the Hall of Fame. One of the great players in basketball history, Bird led the Celtics to 2 NBA championships in the '80s.

Celtics draft prolific scorer Paul Pierce from Kansas. Pegged by many to go at #3 in the draft, the Celtics picked him up at #10, generally a sign that there's some problem. Only time will tell if this is an incredible steal of a draft pick, or if others knew something that the Celtics didn't. Hopefully it's the former.