The women's results turned out a bit more favorable to us than did the men's.

wow, that's a good team. seriously, the bench would have a strong chance at a medal. here's hoping they can keep it together and the breaks fall their way....

The bench would have a strong chance at a medal? Huh?

Two third-place teams will go through to the quarters. However, under the circumstances, I'm not sure it will be the two best third-place teams.

If you're not on this 25-player roster, the chances that you will be among the 22 who will be traveling to China is presumably pretty slim. Thus, it is a bit disappointing that current and former Freedom players who were on the bubble, such as Joanna Lohman and Ali Krieger, were not called up.

say what: what I meant was that the talent on this roster is so deep, that the bench players would be strong enough to challenge for a medal against other nations' first string sides.

The picture of Germany's WNT honorary captains shows three men. No women? Couldn't Angela Merkel, the first female Chancellor, be an honorary captain? Oh well, Steffi Jones leads the organizing committee and Mattheus showed up for the photo op :-).

BTW, the roster includes HEATHER MITTS!!!!!!!

From her Wikipedia article, it appears that Jones' international career began in 1993. I don't suppose that the USWNT program of that era had its act together enough to make a play for her, although I don't know whether they would have had a chance in any event. I wonder whether there are any similar dual citizenship cases out there today (apart from the several well-publicized losses from the MNT program).

Biggest Surprise: How the heck did Brianna Scurry make this side? It really time that she be put out to pasture, as she now risks being viewed as a female Tony Meola, IMHO.

Throwin: If Scurry isn't the third-best keeper available, then who is, in your opinion? No one outside that trio has been capped in ages. (Olympic rules require that three keepers be on the squad.)

new National Team ad from Dodge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYGbILT6R44

I kind of don't like it. After the really really bad Nike ads from WWC, I don't think this is the right tone either. I wonder if the players have any say in this or if the price of the full time support is to subject themselves to this.

I kinda like it. The self-deprecating humor is a nice touch.

I imagine they do have some say in whether or not to participate and earn some $$.

The ad is OK. It is a case of preaching to the choir. It will make sense only to people who already understand the significance of "Brazil 4, USA 0." For that reason, I wouldn't expect to see this commercial except during any warmup friendlies that are televised, as well as the Olympic competition itself.

By contrast, the "I will have two fillings" ad created by Goodby, Silverstein for Nike in '99 was a classic, in large part because it conveyed the idea that there was something special about this team, and grabbed the attention of people who weren't already WNT fans.

Interesting about India Trotter and Dowling. Pia doesn't seem too secure with her backs right now.

Two fillings was a classic.

It is interesting what YouTube enables you to see, that you wouldn't see as the images fly past you on TV. For instance, there is the "No Petrol" sign. The only place you'd see such a sign between LA and Rio is in Belize, and you'd have to take a detour to see it. Also, at the end, the alleged Canarinhas are wearing outfits with collars that look almost like rugby kit, but not quite.