World Cup - Final Weekend

The month-long World Cup finally draws to a close this weekend. Uruguay plays Germany tomorrow to determine 3rd and 4th places; and Netherlands and Spain play in the championship game on Sunday. . It's been a fantastic tournament. South Africa is to be commended for putting on the tournament without a hitch. Some favorites stumbled (France and Italy); some dark horses excelled (Ghana and Uruguay); only the officiating stank. So on to our as-reliable-as-always predictions... .

3rd-4th Place Game : Uruguay 1 - Germany 0

This is a mild upset. On paper, Germany is the better team. But Klose is hurting, and the Deutschlanders are bummed that they're not playing for the championship.

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OTOH, Uruguay has gone a lot farther than anyone expected, and Suarez is back from his 1-game suspension for his brilliant "Hand of God" penalty against Ghana. They're on a mission to reclaim their former glory (they've twice won the World Cup, albeit a long time ago). So they roll against Germany, who just goes through the motions.

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Championship Game : Spain 2 - Netherlands 0

One of these teams will win their first-ever World Cup. Netherlands beat Brazil, which is always an amazing feat. But the way Spain just shut down the German attack in the semi-final impressed the daylights out of me. To boot, Paul the Octopus claims Spain will win, and he's been perfect so far. You can read about this 8-limbed prognosticator here.

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Who am I to argue with a cephalopod? Spain, I apologize for questioning your pedigree. All hail the Spanish Conquistadors!