The World Cup is so over that even the most pretentious Europhiles have finally shut up, but Seattlest has some unfinished business. Before the tournament started we set up something called the Seattlest World Cup Challenge over at ESPN and a bunch of you joined, despite our lack of creative naming skills. Some of you joined and forgot about it, only to get the points a monkey flipping coins would have. We doubt we'll see you at the G&D come the new season. Some of you played along for awhile and then dropped out a little later. You may stop by for an FA final or something and we'll see you then. A brave few stuck it out to the end and are just poor guessers. You guys are probably listening to too many American announcers on Fox Sports World. And then there's the guy that won: Capitol Hill Seattle. more ›

There are only two World Cup matches left to be played: there's the loser's game on Saturday in which Germany will pummel Portugal 8-0 to the delight of 8 trillion England fans and the satisfaction of 0 German fans, and there's the winner's game on Sunday, the result of which is not going to be revealed by Seattlest until after the match. We can't tell you how that game will end because we want to win the Seattlest World Cup Challenge, sorry. Any prizes we promised in the past for that affair won't be awarded to ourselves but to who ever finishes second or the "France" of the fantasy league, shall we say. Oops. more ›

Things are getting dire at work with regards to the World Cup. Seattlest isn't sure how many two-hour lunches it's proper to take over the course of a month, but we're quite sure we passed that number long ago. Today (deep breath) is an off day. A vacation, holiday, break, pause, a rest from leisure. There are no games today. The second round is over, and the semi-finals don't start until Friday. more ›

Ah, shit. Two things had to happen today for the U.S. team to finish second in the group, advance to the next round of the tournament and then get destroyed by Brazil in a lackluster showing. Italy had to beat the Czech Republic, which they did, and the U.S. had to beat Ghana, which they did not. Like an idiot Seattlest picked the U.S. to win today in the Seattlest World Cup Challenge. Betting with our heart there - The U.S. deservedly lost and have exited the tournament, hopefully marking the end of the Bruce Arena era in which we have consistantly sent out superbly conditioned and tactically sound duds as fodder for hungrier and more skilled teams to chew up. more ›

On one hand, the U.S. team gave an encouraging performance in their 1-1 tie with Italy over the weekend and managed to avoid the label "mathematically eliminated" at least for another few days. On the other hand, being excited about a tie with the boot nation in any endeavour is downright unAmerican. Outside the confines of our little Group E, the soccer powers continue their relentless march into the later stages. Germany, England, Argentina, Brazil, Spain. Boooor-ring. Are there any wee teams out there that can knock out a giant? It appears not. more ›

75 minutes in, the Germany vs. Poland match was a draw -- then Poland's Sobolewski, in a snit after being beaten to the ball, tripped up Germany's Klose. Two yellow cards made a red, and Sobolewski was sent off to leave his team short-handed for the remaining 15 minutes. more ›

Show of hands - How many people are ditching work on Friday? Not that there aren't a million reasons to fail to show up to work on any give day, but the start of the World Cup should keep more of you than usual away from the cubicle. 9am Friday morning is the first match of the tournament with Germany set to eat Costa Rica like a plate of schnitzel. Should be fun to watch someone from our qualifying group get destroyed in front of four fifths of the world's population. Here's a helpfull hint for your World Cup fantasy pick 'em group: Germany will win that game. Alright, we gave you the first one - Now go sign up for the Seattlest World Cup Challenge. What did we say we'd give the winner again? Sounders tickets, possibly. Obviously that pales in comparison to the reflected athletic glory and acclaim that will be awarded the winner, but in case you needed that extra bit of motivation. more ›