Sport Today

I'm sticking my neck out and predicting
an Ecuadorian victory over England tomorrow,
if it doesn't rain, which it looks like it won't.

I hope Stuttgart is ready for what follows.

What's the rain got to do with it?

I think he means that a cool rain is more likely to benefit the English,
whom we are lead to believe would not fair as well against a hot and humid
pitch as the Ecuadorans.

I don't see the English getting knocked out of the box or much affected by
the climate unless it is extremely hot and dry and breezeless.  

Eriksson's model for this Cup will be to hope that England is first scorer
within 15, not more than 30 minutes of the match, and then to bring
everyone back and wear down the opposition's midfield with long kicks to
the opposition's corners, since England's defense is more solid and prevail
when it does not become a shoot-out offensive merry-go-round.  They'll
depend on Rooney to coordinate this first important goal, either by
significantly assisting, or running it in past 2 or 3 Ecuadorans himself.  

The Ecuadorans may have more stamina.  Don't they play in stadia at high
elevations?  Their hematocrit and myoglobin storage capacity values are
likely to be high, if so, which means they can put on bursts of speed for
more cycles.  Unless they English are packing their *** or were training
in the Alps (is there a prohibition on *** packing by FA or FIFA?).

Mean annual temperature Quito 13C
Mean annual temperature London 11C

Hottest month
Quito Aug av max 23C
London Jul av max 22C

If England lose, they'll need a different excuse.

Boy was I wrong. A well deserved loss for
Ecuador. They looked terrible.