Sports Nut: Heartbreak

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sports nut Heartbreak Team USA loses to Japan in a bizarre Women's World Cup final. Plus: What's the future of U.S. women's soccer? By Brian Phillips Posted Sunday, July 17, 2011, at 9:54 PM ET May you live in interesting times, or--if you're a sports team--may you play in interesting matches. On Sunday, the U.S. women's soccer team, which had brazenly passed through a pair of wild, close games to reach the final of the Women's World Cup, finally ran out of lives, losing a thrilling and deeply weird championship match to Japan on penalties. It was a game that didn't just defy history--Japan had never beaten the U.S. women in its 25 previous matches. It also upended everything we thought we'd learned about these teams during the tournament. To start with, the teams swapped styles. Team USA had been lauded all month for its athleticism and fitness, which translated into a direct, whack-and-run style of play. In their semifinal match against France, the Americans looked blunt and clumsy, letting their more technical opponents hoard possession for long stretches and eventually winning 3-1 thanks only to a late burst of energy from Megan Rapinoe and some inept French defending. Japan, by contrast, was a team of quirky angles and fine-grained passing, a flair side organized around midfielder (and eventual Golden Ball winner) Homare Sawa. So, of course, in the final, the U.S. women spent much of the match playing like a team Zinedine Zidanes--holding the ball, exploiting gaps, repeatedly splitting the pitch with precise passing--while Japan struggled to string two passes together and desperately looked for a counter. To continue reading, click here. Brian Phillips writes regularly about soccer for Slate. He blogs at The Run of Play. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Hey, Tea Partiers: That Balanced Budget Amendment You Love Is a Constitutional Travesty Bikes Win Carmageddon Challenge! Cyclists Beat JetBlue Flight From Burbank to Long Beach. Don't Hate Weeds--They're Beautiful and Valuable	Advertisement
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Apple's REAL Earnings Expectations

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		Tech Media Wall Street Markets Strategy Sports Lifestyle Politics Europe Video Latest Monday, July 18, 2011 Apple's REAL Earnings Expectations Apple is reporting earnings tomorrow and it is bound to deliver spectacular quarter results once again, based on the fact that the company has always been lowballing its guidance. Its quarterly EPS has been outperforming guidance by 41% on average, and revenue has been 16% higher than revenue guidance. Based on this trend, Apple should report EPS of $7.09 on $26.72 billion revenue, while its June EPS guidance was announced at $5.03 of EPS on $23 billion revenue guidance. Wall Street consensus is at $24.92 billion for revenue and $5.80 for EPS, expecting solid iPad sales. Read » Also On SAI Today: Confessions Of A Patch Advertiser: It Hasn't Helped Business Yet, But I'm Hopeful Can't Spell? You'd Make A Great Reporter Cisco Slashes Workforce By 11,500, Including 15% Of Execs GIRL TALK: How I Actually Create The Musical Mashups That Make Crowds Go Insane Advertisement CHART OF THE DAY: Google's Headcount Continues To Soar CHART OF THE DAY: Despite Android's Rise, It's Losing Developer Support CHART OF THE DAY: This Is What Microsoft Is Getting For Its Big Bing Investment Share this: Buzz Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit StumbleUpon LinkedIn The email address for your subscription is: dwyld.kwu.wyldside@blogger.com Change Your Email Address | Unsubscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe to the SAI RSS Feed Business Insider. 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

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