Summer Sports Report

Many fans of the U.S. women's soccer team, who played in the Women's World Cup in Germany (hmm, they seem to stage the Women's World Cup in the host country of the men's World Cup before last) are upset about the penalty-kick loss of the Cup to the Japanese team yesterday. To which I say, get over it. The U.S. women's team has already won the Cup twice; we're still waiting for our men's team to win once!

Anyway, it was Japan's first victory in the Women's World Cup soccer tournament. Japan obviously needed it, after the earthquake in March and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear plant disaster (which, of course, has fallen off the American media's radar screen, leading many Americans to think that the damage in Japan is all cleaned up). I didn't get to see any of the games this time around, but I'm sure it was exciting, and I'm happy to see the Japanese win.

So, with American sportswriters relieved that they no longer have to cover women's soccer because it involves having to talk about women and soccer, they're praying to the spirit of Vince Lombardi that the NFL can avoid a lockout. Now they're looking forward to covering a real, all-American sport like football, and they hope the season will be saved.

Reports now circulating suggest that the lockout is almost over. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But sportswriters must be relieved, because the alternative would have been to cover something they consider even more unmanly than the Women's World Cup - the Pan American Games in Mexico in October.

Oh, no, Guadalajara won't do.