Enthusiasts hopeful Women's World Cup will boost interest

Me - 3 brothers. I'm ace at football. The England women's team are out of the contest 'cos they are rubbish at taking penalties. So nearly winners ...... Good grief, it's not cricket. At school, I was a demon hockey player. These days taking the garbage and recycling stuff up the drive and duvet cover changing are demanding sports.

Morning HAZEL.
 
I can't sleep so I thought I'd check in.
 
Not much of a sports fan here.
 
I played field hockey in high school and a little tennis after I got married.
 
Now days I like to read and play on the computer.

'Ello korthal~ hope you manage to get some sleeeeeeep. I get under the duvet with my cat and radio BBC World Service. Sometimes I get up and make hot chocolate. Not sleeping is not good, I end up doing the afternoon nap thing, then, of course, I'm wide awake at midnight.

Breakfast .... loads of coffee, bacon butty with some of that green tomato relish.

Not much of an athlete here..not competitive enough. Field hockey was a terrifying experience for me to see my nice friendly classmates turn into crazed demons with sticks and so soccer was more preferable to me, but volleyball in the pool is more my style.

However, that said, Power to the Female People. Yay for good examples for young women to be inspired by. Bend it like Beckham!

I think the coffee's ready.

Can't say that I find the topic overwhelming either.   I am glad that the women are doing well and getting the recognition they should have had long ago.  Didn't find yesterday's topic exciting either.  Kind of a busy weekend which is nice.  The weather has even cooled off a bit.

In the good ol' U. S. of A. these days, the main sport seems to be politicians knee capping each other.

Sometimes the game gets so brutal it is hard for the citizens to watch.

As a former competitive surfer, from the old days, I recognize how hard it is for any women in sports to achieve attention, in general, for their contribution. Men tend to dominate the airwaves when it comes to being recognized as serious athletes.
When I started surfing, at a very young age, I believe, in Hawaii, there were only a handful of females participating.
As I grew older, began to travel round in the competitive circles, there were still only about 20-25 women competing in surfing. We all knew each other and were very good friends. No money, cheap trophies and few folks coming to watch. Didn't matter - we did it to meet up and find out how much we were evolving as surfers.
Most of us ended up either making clothes for other surfers or beach hangers, shaping boards or moved on in life.
Today women have as good a chance at sponsorship, prize money and being able to make a living in the sport they excel at. Will they make as much money as men? Probably never. Why? Probably because men are avid sports fans and really more interested in how their gender shakes up.
I would venture to say that if nude women mud wrestling were to become a professional sport, those women would end up quite rich, on the news and have cards with their images collected round the world. Some things don't change.

It's not that I"m not a "team player" because I am. I'm very cooperative and work well with others,but sports, in general, have never tripped my trigger,  The idea of getting all hot and icky with sweat with a bunch of others who are also all hot and icky with caked sweat has never been appealing to me.  I do admire, however, the girls/women who can overlook that and have a grand time running around a field or a court.   It takes a real determination to put aside the amount of time it takes to become really reallly good at your chosen sport and to be able to make that choice and do all else that's necessary is a wonder to behold.

Elite, international women's soccer is played on a little higher level than men's because women seem less willing to hurl themselves to the ground writhing in agony over an injury that didn't occur.
They commit fewer aggressive fouls: the act of kicking, tripping, jumping in/at, charging, striking or pushing an opponent.
Which may explain why there is not as much punkish thuggery displayed by their fans.
It is still a low scoring game which magnifies the not uncommon officiating errors which are not explained by the governing body because they don't have to.
Women's soccer was the talk between two tables in a restaurant last night. I don't want to say that the place is pretentious, but, if somebody else did...
There was basil in the red dessert drizzle.
Neither table was ours and it seems that even soccer parents have limited recognition of our national stars: "Was she the girl who took her top off or the one who married six-time Red Sox All Star infielder Nomar Garciaparra? Wasn't it sad that they couldn't win it until he left?"
My brother, in Lexington, Ky., where a large tournament is underway this morning, is involved in youth soccer. His best stories are usually about parents.
It would be interesting to see if TV boiled down to soccer or hgtv home buying, how many millions of viewers would surrender to the torture of under-financed, overly self-important, young couples of one sort or another who imagine that they should begin home ownership at a point it took their parents thirty years of hard work to reach.
Master suites, granite countertops, stainless appliances and for some strange reason, large bathrooms. What are they planning on doing in there?
Sometimes, we find ourselves rooting against their getting financing.

Back in the day, the only competitive sports teams were for boys.

The girls were limited to being cheerleaders and serving on pep squads.

Fortunately, that changed, albeit slowly.

Newspaper sports departments were slow to recognize the change.

Newspapers did not cover girls' athletic teams.

One sports staff member I know had to battle his superiors -- all men, of course -- to get his newspaper to begin covering girls' sports.

Now, I am glad to say, such coverage is common.

As it should be.

The janitors who polished the rather grand parquet floors in our school did the job by skating around with dusters tied to their feet, playing a sort of hockey with a tennis ball. I just did the 100yard dash to the clothes line to rescue nearly dry laundry as it's raining- again. If you have not seen video of 'extreme ironing' that's good for a laugh. Mr P cannot be serious, this topic will not keep us amused all day. While I am delighted to see women making a career in sport, I can't resist coming up with daft ideas, like contests to don pink rubber gloves (damp) and duel at dawn with lavatory brushes. Nude mud wrestling - now, there's a thought. Eeeew, maybe not - years back, we used to go to a local nudist beach full of paunchy old men and ladies with tits like spaniel's ears. Not a pretty sight.

well HAZEL, YOU certainly can keep us amused all day with that hilarious brain and imagination of yours! I thought of another sport I like, Scrabble. And occasionally I like using my forefinger on the button of the slot machine (being located only mere miles away from 2 giant casinos in spite our quaint historical veneer). And of course, the Crossword Puzzle. Tits like spaniel's ears!!!! You are too funny....

Sportsmanship - my son, about 7 years old, came home with a school report that said he was rubbish at sport, which I knew was not true. When I asked him, he said that because he was good at the academic stuff, he thought it was fair to allow the less bright kids to win at something. O, was I proud of him!

Village folks,
I am looking for a few new, good leeks recipes. Have never cooked with them as I had bad memories of eating leek soup 7 days a week at convents. Now my husband says he would love to have some leek meals. Would love any and all ideas. I hear leeks are very good for us. Thanks!

Almost any recipe that calls for an onion is delicious with leeks instead or added. That might be the way to start to get inspired by them. I am fond of braising them and then serving them chilled with vinaigrette. When I braise them I remove the stem and of course most of the green but I leave them whole. For the rest I usually chop away. My hokey Dad used to love to say "Here's the recipe for vichyoisse (sp) 'first you take a leek...'" Cracked him up every time. Now I have inherited his inabillity to refrain from telling that dopey joke at the mere mention of the vegetable.

idaho~ pick out nice thin leeks, top and tail them, slice them lengthwise and wash out any soil/grit. Steam or simmer them to nearly done, rinse off in cold water. Wrap each leek in a thin slice of ham. Smother in a cheese or hollandaise sauce with a generous topping of breadcumb and parmesan topping & bung in a hot oven. Now then, there are foods that I hated from school dinner days. Have a go at making home-made leek and potato soup - a goodly dollop of white wine and cream helps.

At the girl's boarding school where my sister teaches, all of the best students play field sports. There are no bad students. Anything under 3.0 for the term and they are sent packing.
She went there and thinks it's normal.

Cold cooked leeks cut into rings are great in salads.
 

ChefDeb~ Percy Thrower, a famous TV gardening expert in the days of live TV, informed the nation that "There's nothing like a good pea in the garden" You could hear the camera and sound crew cracking up in the background.

HAZEL love it!

HAZEL:  It is obvious that you have done well ...  Children learn by what they see us do, and very little by anything that we say to them ... Your son picked up Proper Values, a sure sign of commendable example ...
 
Not a Fan of Girls on the Futbol Field ... Prefer to see them at Tennis, Badminton, Croquette ... or even Bocce ... Something civilized, for the Ladies ...
 
Possible Exception:  GIRLS, VOLLEYBALL, BEACH ... A "Sporting" Event that can be watched for hours ....... Just imagine the change in Nomenclature at OTB ...

The psychology or is it sociology of what people watch and support on their own time is interesting.
Some have CNN on all day, many, The Weather Channel, not a few (probably men) watch the cable ladies undergarment channel.
It isn't an eat your spinach deal. They get to view what they find interesting.
Our daughters were all in high school sports, trained hard, ate and slept right and improved the teams that they were on.
They were all cheerleaders as well and none of them ever complained about funding or support.
I think they were more interested in boy's athletic teams.
It isn't ignorance or cultural indifference that keeps soccer in general and women's soccer in particular out of the top tier of spectator sports. It is choice and for many, even most, sports fans, the choice is something else.
A lot of people never watch sports at all.

Wouldn't you know... no pool and the hottest, most excellent swimming weather in our lifetimes.
 

I hope Team USA Women can win the championship today, but if not, they certainly have shown great fortitude and talent! Mr. P's theme, I believe is that their successes will be a good thing for the young women of our nation in inspiring them to get out, exercise, compete, and aspire to excellence, not merely stand on the sidelines and cheer the others.
 
My own kids both played soccer from ages 6-13. Both quit when they hit high school, although my son did play football, tennis, karate, and wrestling, while the daughter ran track, cross country, and  learned tennis. Both still cycle, play tennis, and do city walking as they are now in their 40's and live in the middle of the city. 
 
I remember the weekly practices in the afternoons, taking my turn with the orange slices and Gatorade for the teams, and then Saturdays in the stadium watching their teams compete. Son was goalie for a while and had a powerful ambidextrous kick. Daughter was on a playoff team that had to play at the military base on a rainy day, so there was mud all over the field, especially in front of the goals. The first few minutes at the field, their coach told them to go out and run through the mud so they would not be "girly" when the game started and be afraid to get dirty! Good psychology! It worked. They got muddy, but loved it after all was said and done. (Don't recall who won.)
 
Now, granddaughter has played soccer on a mixed-gender team, but was not too keen on it. It seems the boys are a bit more aggressive by nature, but she did score some goals, so was not entirely a bench babe. She is 9 and also plays basketball on a team, and has done karate for 3 yrs., just earning her 4th belt promotion. She likes that sport and discipline, although, again she is one of only 2-3 females among 18-20 boys. I say it is ok if some women want to be athletic and compete, and also ok if some of us don't. In college, I played softball, tennis, and volleyball for the sorority intramurals, but only excelled at Posture in which I won second in the campus Posture Contest:  (laugh if you must!) They had us in swimsuits and then in evening attire, walking up and down stairs on a stage before the entire Physical Ed dept. coaches as judges! *grin* :-) It seemed valid at the time!
 
There are lots of other activities in which to excel, as others have listed. I like Scrabble, dominoes, and crosswords, as well as reading, gardening, and writing. To each his own: Vive la difference!  ( Is it le or la?)

Not much of a sports fan.  I think I was immunized at a very early age between my brother and father who listened to everything on the radio......Just as certain songs make me a little queasy since I was pregnant with someone or other when they were popular, certain sports announcers do the same thing.  So what did I do?  I married someone who would watch a marble tournament if it were available -- but otherwise, he's a great guy.
 
Like you, Moose, I love Scrabble, crosswords, word games of most kinds -- sports involving, well, sweat, sounds so tiring :)

I did not love NYT Thurs. July 7th... at all.

The ladies undergarment channel - we don't get that here, but we do get ads for sports bras that look as engineered as a cantilever bridge. It must be uncomfortable to be a well-endowed lady. I'm blessed with boobs like fried eggs and don't have to worry about such things. And what are those thongs about? I'm all for the Aussie approach to foreplay, as in "Get yer kit off, Shiela!"

Soduku .... and Scrabble and crosswords

Stoney, what was the theme of the NYT puzzle that day?

I just finished watching the film "Billy Elliot". I had forgotten how amazing it was. Courage to break the gender sterotype certainly works both ways.

lotlot, your "traffic stop" story yesterday was beautiful.

Andy, love the marble tournament quip. :) My husband loves watching curling.

Hazel, you are a "stitch', and a most delightful one at that.  Obviously, as has been said the topic is not of the greatest of interest so everybody bumps it a bit and then goes on to induce others to chat about something else.
 
One daughter and her family had a long run with soccer.  Now they have moved on to other activities.  Me, I watched and cheered them on.  Sideline mom and grandmom.  Thank goodness I'm back to the crossword puzzle and books.

Thanks, Rusty~ I just so rely on this page keeping me amused that I try to return the blessing.

HAZEL:
You're the blessing to us.
 
I got some sleep after the am shout out to you.
 
Hope to be able to skip that afternoon nap and sleep tonight.

The game is on and from the sounds coming from the family room I'd say Japan is winning. I can't watch soccer with daughter it makes me tense. She played soccer from the time she was five until her Junior year in High School when shin splints forced her to stop, and she really gets into the game.

Women and sports run in my family. My Mother was voted "Most Athletic" her Senior year (1954). I played Varsity Tennis and swam Free Style before joining the Army and learning to run. And then my Nieces and Daughter came along and soccer replaced tennis as the family sport. Thank you Title Nine.

I think Women's soccer is the only televised soccer to watch. The fake drama and the slow pace of the men's game can't keep me on the couch. The best soccer to watch though, is six to eight year olds, everyone chases the ball except the goalies and they are all having such a good time. It is a joy to watch. If you ever get the chance go to a game and relive the little pleasures of childhood.

As for leeks, nothing beats cock-a-leeky soup.

Jax -- hope mine doesn't find curling on cable - but there's always the chance for a new sport for ESPN to bore us with

Lady J~ as in a mix of chicken and leek soup cock-a- leeky? O YES! Great stuff.

I use leeks a great deal in winter dishes, but not so much in summer.  In the book about how Frenchwomen stay so slim the author credits a couple days of leek broth as a quick slimming secret.  It'n not bad........but it's not that good, either.  And I'm no testament to its slimming properties.

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

If I had only known that you were going home this weekend, you could have dropped the $5,000 off at my house (I live in Barbourville, KY.)!

Hi, Mooseloop.  It's la.  Let them laugh if they will at your posture contest, but good posture dosen't just make you look better.  It is good for the health.  Really.

rsaunders, not sure if I have welcomed you to the Village.

So, just to be sure -- Welcome.

Welcome to the Village, where -- to purloin a phrase -- all of the women are beautiful, all of the men are strong and all of the children are bright and well behaved.

Salutations lotlot & everyone! I am a new face here, but the Village seems to be my kind of plce.

rsaunders~ Hello! Those things where the computer sends your message in triplicate or more are known as Bert-burps, as his machine is expert at it. Who was it in the Winnie-the-Pooh book who lived 'under the name of Saunders?' Sorry, I'm a bad, bad girl and read your Nome-de-plume as beginning with arse.

I know nothing about soccer.  I've never had any desire to hit a ball with head.  Also, I know nothing about Winnie the Pooh and leeks.  So, Ill just sit back and watch the fun.     

rsaunders-  Welcome to the village, a sentiment worth repeating.

Where is every buddy tonight? Who won the soccer match? Soaking wet cat on my knee just come in from the rain.

Saunders was the former resident of the house in which Winnie the Pooh lives now.  The name was still over the door when he moved in so he now lives "Under it."  
 
It's over!  Japan defeated the Americans.  Just heard it in passing on the TV.

Okay, time for food again:  had steamed crabs for the first time this season -- so, so good :)
 
The Americans snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory -- but we were rooting for them....ah well.
 

Thanks, Rusty~! The 'Under the name of Saunders' rang a distant bell. I read that book ragged when I was a kid.

It's way past duvet time in rainy Wales. No da, dear Villagers.

Well, Lady J was right....the Japanese women won 3-2. I know the ladies were disappointed, but then part of competing is learning to lose gracefully, too. (I can't understand the bad behavior in a town when the losing team riots and tears up the place, as in the last hockey finals. )  How is that good sportsmanship?!
 
 Maybe more emphasis on civilized behavior would benefit all the teams. Some of the college fans have done very mean, damaging acts, also. The poisoning of the historic trees in Auburn by the Alabama fan is an example. But then we see the behavior of some of the college and pro athletes who seem to use their benefits and millions to indulge in excess. What happened to the idea of a standard of sportsmanship that would make an athlete proud of his good reputation? Or is it only the bad boys and girls who get the publicity?

Eeeew~ how did I get that wrong? NOS DA.  - Goodness me, Moose~ horrible how some people behave.

I know you are not supposed to say it to a rabid fan, but....."It's just a game."
 
Welcome Rsaunders.....There is a cure for that hiccough of repeating the post. I think Spring Fragrance has explained it in the past. Something about using GoogleChrome instead of Internet Explorer, but I could be wrong. Maybe Spring will come on again and give the advice that clears up the burping post problem.
 
Good night....I have the grandkid this week and we have to get up early to make the starting time at the horse camp! Granny Duty calls.....

Mr. P - I like the soccer ball globe! Nice touch!

Thank you one & all for the warm welcome! hazel leese, my wife would say that your interpretation as arse is an accurate observation! Winnie the Pooh has always been a favorite of mine, although I relate with Eeyore. Mooseloop, I commiserate, as we have 2 grandkids this week, early risers!