After pulling off the upsets of all upsets against the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team still had to face Finland for the most anticlimactic gold medal in history.
All apologies to the home of Teemu Selanne, Teppo Numminen and lots and lots of reindeer, but Finland isn't Brazil. And if the United States wants to etch its name in the public consciousness, it has work left to do Sunday against the ultimate soccer heavyweight.
- By an almost two-to-one margin, SportsNation feels beating Brazil would be bigger than beating Spain.
Fewer than one out of every three picked the Americans to win when the teams met in group play. And after a 3-0 clinic from the Brazilians, SportsNation offered up the ultimate indictment, with 63 percent saying they'd rather watch Brazil play its brand of soccer than the home team.
- Before Barcelona and Manchester United played for the Champions League, 65 percent of SportsNation hadn't watched a professional soccer game in the last year. But with national pride on the line, half will tune in for Sunday's final.
- Fan groups: USA National Team | Soccer/Futbol fans | Euro Soccer Nation
“If the US gets beaten soundly in the final the rest of the world will forget about [the Spain] game as soon as it's over and chalk it up as a total fluke. As great as this win against Spain is for the US the pressure is really on now.
” -- Triple_Double_32
“Folks, please stop dreaming and lets be realistic. Brazil will win this final because they are the better team, more talented with individual skills, very talented set pieces, they're very technical and unlike Spain who is very predictable. ... Brazil has scored more goals, won more games, won more tournaments, hold the most trophies, have been scored on less then any other team in the history of the game, but I guess they've been lucky all of those years right ?
” -- Bankster00
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SPORTSNATION GRIDIRON CENTRAL
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- NFL Coach Ratings
- Week 11: Wade Phillips at 29 percent after win
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- NFL Pick 'Em Week 12
- SN last week: 13-3
SN this season: 112-48
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- NFL Power Rankings
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Titans No. 23
Bengals No. 4
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- NFL MVP Watch (Wed.)
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No. 1 Drew Brees
No. 7 Ben Roethlisberger
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- College Football Fan Top 25
- TCU holds at No. 4
LSU drops to No. 16
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- College Football Pick' Em
- SN last week: 17-3
SN this season: 204-41
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- Heisman Watch
- Last week's notables
No. 2: Toby Gerhart
No. 6: Kellen Moore
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CHAT IN PROGRESS
Football guru Mel Kiper
- Mel KiperHappy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well. To everybody, a Happy Thanksgiving to all those being loyal to the chats over the years. Thank you for your loyalty. Happy Thanksgiving.
- Mel KiperFor those guys moving up, Derrick Morgan, junior DE from Georgia Tech. He's at No. 10 in the new Big Board. Brian Price from UCLA. He debuted at No. 11 on the Big Board. Those are the two making moves on the Big Board. Danario Alexander, WR from Missouri; Dexter McCluster, RB/WR/KR, Ole Miss; Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers; Marcus Cannon, RT, TCU; Allen Bailey, DE, Miami; Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa.
- Steve (west Hartford CT)You take so far on jacory harris at UM? Does he have big upside as he matures or not?
- Mel KiperI think he has upside, I don't know about big upside. I think he regressed a little this year and that's probably because he's been injured. He's made bad throws in certain games. He's only a sophomore, so he has a lot of growing and maturing to do. Leonard Hankerson, junior WR, has really stepped up this year. They have some RBs in the mix. Damien Berry had a really good game last week against Duke. But for Harris, I thought earlier in the year, he got off to that great start. He's a hard working young man. He has the right attitude, right approach. By the time he's a senior, he could be an interesting player for the NFL.
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- Friday, November 13
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- Does the Nintendo Game Boy deserve a spot in the toy Hall of Fame?
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- SportsNation salutes our Veterans with pictures posted by fans in uniform.
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- Wednesday, November 11
- Do Gold Gloves matter? Jeter might want to put on earmuffs for this answer.



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