The Entire World is Waiting...

Italy: World Cup 2006 Champions

Tomorrow begins the biggest sports event of the year: World Cup 2010.  I can't wait.  In anticipation, here are a few links to get you ready:

• Tim Howard, one of my favorite players and no.1 keeper for the US, is featured on Fifa.com

• Five questions about the US team that will be answered in the coming weeks

• Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart thinks that Holland has as good a chance as anyone to win the cup

• "The Evolution of the World Cup Ball" - pictures of the official voetballen (aka soccer balls) for each of the 19 WC's

And of course - though not World Cup related - the Dutch election results. Due to the political system here in the Netherlands, a coalition of parties must be created in order to form a government. The goal is to form a coalition that achieves of a majority of seats in the "Tweede Kamer" (i.e. House of Representatives). But that process can potentially take weeks to finalize, as the parties involved have to position and re-position themselves in order to make it work. That is, by the way, why the government collapsed in February: two of the three parties in the coalition decided that they could no longer work together. So, the coalition folded and the Prime Minister handed in his resignation to the Queen...which spurred on this whole election thing to begin with.

Hup Holland, Hup!