I only have one thing to say. Brazilians all over the world better be thanking 3 things. God, the goalpost, and, what my Uruguayan friend calls, some "crooked" referees.

          First off, if God wasn't watching over the Brazilians, they probably wouldn't have advanced. Secondly, if it wasn't for the goalpost, yes, the Brazilians wouldn't have made it to the final.

         When Pablo Garcia, the former Madrid player, struck the ball for his penalty, I thought Uruguay had knocked off Brazil and made it to the final. But, thanks to the goalkeeper's best friend, they didn't. 

       And when the last pk was taken by a Uruguayan, who had to make the penalty in order to keep his country alive, AS Roma goalkeeper, Doni, had taken at least 3 steps out of his goal, before the ball was kicked.

      That is a no-no, according to FIFA rules and regulations. So, I thought that Uruguay would have to retake the penalty, but the head ref said no. That moment, reminded me of the 2005 Champions League Final between Liverpool FC and AC Milan. One of Milan's players had a to take a penal, but, then Liv'pool keeper, Jerzy Dudek, had also taken 3 steps off his goal-line to block the penalty taker and make Liverpool the Champions of Europe for 2005.

What are your thoughts on this whole situation?

Nery Castillo is becoming more and more known throughout the world, due to his great performances in the Copa America. Nery was born in Mexico, in June 1984, but supposedly, both of his parents were Uruguayan. His club is Olympiacos, of Greece, and he is a regular starter, thanks to his playmaking abilities, his aggression, and his speed. His performances at the UEFA Champions League level, caught the attention of Juan Ramon Carrasco, then head coach of the Uruguayan national team, but Carrasco wasn't the only one to spot Castillo. The Mexican press were praising his performances and said that Castillo was eligible to play for Mexico, since he was born there. When he had to make a choice, Nery Castillo picked Mexico over Uruguay and, soon enough, became a regular starter on the national stage, as well. BUT, in FIFA 07, the widely-known football video game, Castillo is put under Uruguay. If you have the game, no matter for what game system, if you check "International Selections-Mexico", Nery will NOT be there. If you go to "International Selections-Uruguay", he WILL be there. The people at EA Sports will have to fix that, come FIFA 08. But, for now, FIFA 07 lovers will have to play with Nery Castillo, as a Uruguayan.

What do you make of that? 

This year in the Copa America, Argentina are the clear favorites to win it all, but Brazil could have a say in that. The Samba Boys didn't come with a full squad and haven't had the best of starts to the competition, but they seem relentless on retaining their Copa crown. Putting Argentina and Brazil aside, Mexico have a great squad and they even defeated Brazil in the first round, so they CAN NOT be overlooked, especially with Rafa Marquez as their captain. Also, a lot of people are pulling for Uruguay, but they looked very shaky in the group stage. They lost 3-0 to Peru in their opener, they barely got by Bolivia 1-0, and lucky for them, the draw with Venezuela was enough to get them through to the quaterfinals. On the other hand, all of these teams have VERY strong squads and could spring a suprise at any moment. So, I ask...  

Who are your favorites to make it to the final?