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June 26, 2006

Marcelo Balboa is a disgrace and should resign as of yesterday

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I watched the England-Ecuador World Cup round of 16 game yesterday with increasingly rapt attention as the scoreless minutes crept by and the clock inexorably moved toward what might well become a PK shootout.

As the game moved into its middle third, Balboa, the ABC analyst, started hammering on the fact that David Beckham simply wasn't doing much on his side of the field and needed to be subbed for by someone who could pick up the pace for the English.

Wait a minute — in a game this sluggish and seemingly even, couldn't the presence of the world's greatest set piece/free kick artist possibly turn out to be decisive?

I don't know anything about soccer but even I could figure that one out.

But no, Balboa just kept hammering on Beckham's seeming disappearance from play and repeating that England needed to get him out of there so as to get more movement of the ball down that side of the field.

Announcer Dave O'Brien didn't address the issue.

In minute 60, as is now well known everywhere in the world, Beckham lined up a 27-yard free kick and drove a beautiful ball (top) into about the only ball-sized space within the goal frame that was available to him.

His magnificent shot scored what proved to be the single, monumental goal that propelled England into the quarter-finals this coming Saturday against Portugal.

But here's why Balboa should be gone: after Beckham's kick, when O'Brien said (tentatively) gee, maybe it was a good thing after all that England hadn't subbed for Beckham, Balboa replied sure, it was a great kick and all but he still believed Beckham hadn't been doing much and shouldn't have been in there to take it.

Hey, Manny Ramirez is not gonna win a Gold Glove out in left field anytime soon — it's more likely he'll be killed by a fly ball bonking him on the head.

But you're not gonna take him out of the lineup just because he can't field, are you?

Marcelo, you're a bozo.

Being wrong is one thing; not being big enough to say hey, I was wrong, is another.

You're a loser — go home.

June 26, 2006 at 02:01 PM | Permalink


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Comments

Let Manny be Manny.

Posted by: tom | Jun 28, 2006 8:26:14 AM

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