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Whether Abby Wambach’s miraculous goal against Brazil Sunday was the most dramatic American sports moment of the century will require a bit of time and perspective.
But it was the most dramatic American soccer moment since Y2K — including Landon Donovan’s last-second heroics against Algeria in last summer’s World Cup.
It’s not just because Wambach’s goal came in the quarterfinals while Donovan’s was in pool play.
Nor is it because the consensus feeling is that the women have a chance to win the Cup while the men never really did.
No, it’s because American fans have a history with the U.S. Women’s National Team that isn’t as potent with men.
We watched the women beat China in 1999. We glorified Mia Hamm and celebrated Brandi Chastain’s sports-bra moment.
In terms of a female team garnering support in this country, U.S. women’s soccer is simply without peer. And the ladies can expect an even greater audience for the semifinals.
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OK, what is up with these gloves the goalkeepers at the Women’s World Cup, like the USA’s Hope Solo, are wearing?
This may be another case of sports technology gone out of control — like the speed suits worn by Olympic swimmers when they were breaking every world record over and over again, or the carbon fiber composite tennis rackets that allow players to serve the ball at 300 mph.
We’d like to see more of the world’s best athletes depend only on their God-given talents and training.
But if you’re going to allow goalkeepers to wear these gloves, they should at least be sponsored by Hamburger Helper.
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Six pitchers selected to play in today’s All-Star Game won’t participate because of a rule the prohibits pitchers who pitched Sunday from pitching in the All-Star Game.
There’s a simple solution that would enable MLB to protect the arms of its most prized pitchers and still allow fans to see the best pitchers pitch in the All-Star Game.
Move the All-Star Game to Wednesday and make the break a four-day break for all teams.
As it is, 16 of the 30 MLB teams already have a four-day break with only seven games slated for Thursday.
