More proof that ESPN's ombudsman is a joke

For at least several months, ESPN.com has joined the cavalcade of media organizations and introduced its own ombudsman, George Solomon, to point out the sketchy journalism practices at the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader." And some of Solomon's criticisms are on the ball, like his regular harping on using anchors and other "personalities" in commercials for products other than their shows.

But it's very clear that Solomon still doesn't quite get it, like in his reflection on ESPN's coverage of the World Cup.

Aside from a somewhat vague remark about how ESPN's analysts "haven't always been balanced," he really doesn't get at the fundamental issue, which is that they've all been irredeemably biased. Now, maybe that's a product of employing almost exclusively ex-members of the U.S. national team to provide color commentary and studio analysis. But that doesn't excuse their endless use of the "we" pronoun in reference to the current national team, and the thinly veiled rooting for the U.S. in its matches.

Plus, Solomon described the lead broadcast team of Dave O'Brien and Marcelo Balboa as "solid," when in fact Balboa is one of the worst sports commentators I've ever heard. He's prone to contradicting himself (saying a referee was overzealous in issuing bookings, then praising the job the the ref did), and in general he just detracts from my enjoyment of the matches.

I wish I had thought to do like some bars and taverns have evidently done, namely muting the ESPN audio and listening to the match on BBC radio. That would have been much better. Better yet would've been to have just gotten the BBC television feed. If the crumminess of ESPN/ABC's coverage persists, I might have to seek out Univision, Telemundo or whichever station is carrying the Spanish-language broadcasts.

Brilliant

The raisin bran was crispy, the iced tea cold and the footy brilliant.

As predicted in this space a few hours before, the endless hype, buildup and cockiness surrounding the first U.S. match in the World Cup yielded an embarrassing result.

The Czechs carried the pace really the whole match, orchestrating an impressive 3-0 win. It was a rather dominating performance, beginning when Jan "Goal Monster" Koller headed in a gorgeous cross from Zdenek Grygera in the fifth minute. Later in the first half, Tomas Rosicky drilled a beautiful strike from about 30 yards into the upper corner, and struck the woodwork in the second half before flicking a shot past the U.S. keeper Casey Keller for his second goal of the match. Truly impressive.

Truly unimpressive was the performance of the U.S. side, which failed to live up to any of the hype. There were very few quality scoring chances for the Americans, and in general they just couldn't create anything near the goal. It seemed like every ball they sent in the box was cleared from danger with ease. And the supposed U.S. "stars," namely Landon Donovan, and also Damarcus Beasley, didn't seem to show up. A great result all around.

Of course, ABC/ESPN's coverage remains dubious. I especially liked when play-by-play man Dan O'Brien asked color commentator if it would hurt the Czech side when Koller went off with an injury near the half. Because it would be really bad for a team with a 2-nil lead to lose an attacker. And for the record, the Czechs still managed to score without Koller.

I also found it endlessly annoying how ABC/ESPN kept trying to rewrite history, claiming that the Czech Republic hadn't played in the World Cup since 1990. News flash: the former Czechoslovakia didn't merely change its name to Czech Republic. It became two completely new countries. And while the Czech Republic is one of the successor states, it's not the same thing as saying it's still Czechoslovakia.

Don't even get me started on all the mispronunciations. Saying Tomas Rosicky "put the sick in Rosicky" made me cringe every time.

Rants

First, I'm still pissed that Continental charged me a $100 change fee plus a $41 "fare difference" for cancelling the first half of my round trip ticket from Vegas to Cleveland so I can instead attend a family funeral in Indiana. How does me not filling a seat on the first leg of the trip make it cost them more money? And why should I get hosed for not using the outbound portion when, had the tables been turned, I could've simply not shown up for the return trip and paid zilch for not taking up space on their airplane. If anything, one would think they'd be grateful that I was willing to forfeit half my ticket without a refund, thereby giving them the chance to sell the seat twice.

This is why Southwest will ultimately bankrupt the major carriers, or at least force the legacy airlines to switch to the Southwest model. (For comparison's sake, I cancelled my Southwest one-way ticket from Seattle to Vegas and not only was not charged for the change, but was also allowed to apply the funds for the original ticket toward future travel, which means that I didn't have to shell out extra to buy a new ticket from Indianapolis to Buffalo so I can belatedly begin the vacation I'm interrupting for the funeral.)

I also like that Continental offers "bereavement fares," which means they'll give you a whopping 5 percent discount after the fact to travel to a relative's funeral. They'll still gouge you for purchasing travel so late in the game, but a least they gouge compassionately.

Second, I like how ABC is overhyping the U.S. team in advance of its World Cup opener Monday. Evidently this is America's chance to show the world it's now a football powerhouse. And U.S. coach Bruce Arena is similarly letting the hype go to his head, harping on how his side is a "sleeping giant" and likely playing the "no respect" card.

Right, because when your most highly touted star, Landon Donovan, is a hack who couldn't get off the pine playing in the elite German Bundesliga, clearly you're ready to compete with the world's best.

Actually, this is really less of a rant than a welcome omen, because all this cockiness can only augur poorly for the U.S. side in the opener. And that is music to my ears.

My only dilemma now is which Czech football jersey to wear while I watch the match tomorrow morning: Pavel Nedved (the creative Juventus midfielder playing in his only World Cup) or Jan Koller (the hulking "goal monster" of Borussia Dortmund)? Decisions, decisions.

Pardon my French

Evidently it ain't easy being French-American. Although the Franco-American community in Maine is trying to revive the French language.

I find it really interesting that this article notes how "Maine elected its first openly French-American congressman, Michael H. Michaud, in 2002." I guess being French-American carries almost as much stigma as being gay. Who knew?