There have been practically no new posts lately because I’ve been completely engaged in work, ultimate, and, more importantly, the World Cup.

The World Cup is definitely one of my favorite sporting events.

You can sense the extreme feelings of nationalism and comradere just from seeing the diehard fans spill into the host country from across the world.  You can argue that the Olympics serve a similar purpose - but the coverage of the World Cup is more about sport and less about drama, although the American broadcasters wouldn’t have you know it.

Unfortunately, it still doesn’t seem like soccer has picked up steam as a major American sport.  That may change over the course of the next decade though.

Rumor has it that English superstar David Beckham of Real Madrid will move to America in the next few years to play for an MLS squad.  And with the increasing Latino and Asian populations in the US, interest in soccer is bound to grow.

For updated scores and in-game coverage, check out the NY Times’ World Cup blog.  In addition to live-blogging each game, they provide some good analysis and a look at the complete picture in Germany.

USA Today: Conquest of USA Beckons to Beckham

NY Times: World Cup blog