Your first edition of the daily Olympic round-up below the jump:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Oh, Canada...
“Many of the faces are, by now, familiar. So, too, the increasingly-hollow pre-kickoff voices of burnished optimism”
A good place to start your morning reading on the Canadian side is the Postmedia profile on John Herdman. For those familiar with the group think of the Carolina Morace era you may find Candace Chapman’s comments jarring.
"I feel much more prepared than ever before.”
Apparently the Italian wasn’t the only coach in the world able to lead Canada to better times then. Herdman’s only been in charge 10-months, but those 10-months are more and more illustrating just how toxic Morace was. If you want to point to one solid reason why Canada has a chance to improve on the disaster of Germany it’s right there – they cut off the infected limb.
(And those that still want to blame the CSA over Morace...how come she isn’t coaching somewhere else yet if she’s so valuable?)
Yankee watch
God, Americans are obsessed with college soccer.
Today’s Yankee Watch looks at the evolution of the USWNT’s roster away from what was nearly an extension of the North Carolina Tar Heels back in the early days.
It’s an interested illustration if just how popular the game is now in all parts of the U.S. – the only country in the western world where you can make the argument that the women’s national team is more popular and has more influence than the men’s
It’s not just about CONCACAF!
It’s not England’s Games, it’s Great Britain’s!
Cardiff gets the privilege of kicking off the games and the Welsh are very excited. The beer will be flowing on St. Mary Street (it is Wednesday, after all)!
What about the men?
In lieu of a link today, my fearless picks for the men’s tournament, which kicks off Thursday.
Group A
1. Uruguay
2. Team GB
3. Senegal
4. U.A.E.
Group B
1. Switzerland
2. Mexico
3. South Korea
4. Gabon
Group C
1. Brazil
2. Egypt
3. New Zealand
4. Belarus
Group D
1. Spain
2. Morocco
3. Japan
4. Honduras
A1 v B2 – Uruguay v Mexico -- Uruguay
C1 v D2 – Brazil v Morocco -- Brazil
B1 v A2 – Switzerland v Team GB -- Switzerland
D1 v C2 – Spain v Egypt – Spain
Uruguay v Brazil – Uruguay
Switzerland v Spain – Spain
Bronze – Brazil v Switzerland – Brazil
Gold – Spain v Uruguay -- Spain