Wizards, Orioles, and the World Cup

I'll be brutally honest here, after the Wizards' collapse in the playoffs, I haven't really been too into the sporting world.

Sure the NBA Playoffs continued, but watching the Conference Finals -- East or West -- would have been a waste of my time. Spurs vs. Heat has been the storyline the whole season.

This year's path was very familiar. The Heat rolled through the East, while the Spurs got off to a shaky first round start but turned up when it mattered, ending OKC's season in an OT Game 6.

My take on it all? Spurs in 7. Duncan deserves 5, the guy ages slower than an orca whale. LeBron will get his with whoever he ends up with in the coming seasons, but the Spurs are walking with their best snowshoes on thinning ice.

In the MLB, my Orioles are hanging in there, as Baltimore fans have come to (expect?) the last few seasons. The League's most dangerous player -- Nelson Cruz -- drives in runs seemingly every night. Through 55 games, he has 55 RBI and 21 HRs, on pace for 162 and 62, respectively.

And yet, it's not holding my interest.

I'm waiting for the World Cup, where friends are made and memories are forged.

I can vividly the past 3 World Cups; where I was, who I was with, what I had for breakfast. For the USA this year, I'm actually more hopeful than most. The squad plays better when it has nothing to lose, as is the case in the Group of Death this year.

Ghana.
Portugal.
Germany.

Each nation's strengths vastly overpower the USA's weaknesses. But again, I remain hopeful. I'm used to seeing 40% -- sloppy -- possession with maybe a handful of scoring opportunities per match.

This time around, the tides have changed. We generate attacks from the back line and give support to our strikers, rather than leaving them with a 2v6 all game.

We create chances, we just can't finish.

This is a problem I embrace.

Chances are, someone will go LeBron and put these opportunities away, so long as they continue to occur.

Thursday, June 12 marks the start, when host Brazil takes on Croatia. The USA must wait until Monday, June 16 to meet up with Ghana, a tantalizing foe in both 2006 and 2010. Ghana handed the USA a group stage 2-1 defeat in 2006, and punched the Stars & Stripes in the gut and out of the tournament in the 2010 round of 16, again 2-1, in extra time.

I see USA going 1-1-1:

Ghana: 2-0, USA
Portugal: 3-1, Portugal
Germany: 1-1

This next week will be a long one...