Are you kicking yourself yet?

First, an email about the World Cup 101 stuff I did for last week's newspaper:

Dear Mr. Hoffarth:
Enjoyed the article, but you got a couple of key points wrong. France is not the defending World Cup champs. That honor goes to Brazil. "The Game of Their Lives" is about the 1950 upset of the U.S. over England (not Brazil). You did get the major point correct though: Don't root for France. Just because.
Regards, John Hill.

If one of three kicks hits the back of the net, I call it a success.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXO

This email was forwarded from another department in the Daily News office:

Tuesday, June 13th, 8:55am
First Round: Switzerland vs. France
FRANCE and SWITZERLAND, neighbouring countries and long time friends, sharing common cultures and values, are proud of the qualifications of their National Soccer Teams for the FIFA WORLD CUP 2006.
The Consulate General of Switzerland and the Consulate General of
France together with the Goethe Institut Los Angeles invite you to a
breakfast screening starting at 8.30 a.m. Match starts at 8:55 a.m.
PST live from Stuttgart. Coffee and Croissants sponsored by the Consulate General of Switzerland and the Consulate General of France.

Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, 5750 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Seats are limited. Please RSVP till Monday noon, June 12th.

I want to be neutral, but again, how can you not root against the French? Is it too late to stop by for some Swiss cheese on a French roll?

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXO

Another email, this time from a reader named Britt, about World Cup ESPN/ABC play-by-play man Dave O'Brien:

You state he is a baseball and basketball friendly announcer. How would the American population react if the Super Bowl was broadcast using the same criteria? I don't mind where the announcer is, I care that he knows the sport. Today's broadcast was embarrasing. This is the World's sport. It deserves announcers that actually know what the sport is.

The good thing is that I watched the first game and know that for the rest of the World Cup I will be Tivo-ing the Spanish channel's broadcast. I just need to know the names, not the mellow dramatic, WWE-like narratives in the middle of the action.

Marcelo Balboa is fine by the way. I feel bad for him having to cover for O'Brien's completely ignornat comments.

The word is spelled ignorant. That's OK. I get it wrong all the time, too.

XOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Another email:

Tom:
You probably only write a piece on soccer every four years, but is it asking too much to get the last champion correct? It wasn't played at an ideal time for those of us in the Pacific Time Zone, but Brazil won the last cup, not France.
Arnoldo Trujillo
Long Beach, CA

Sorry again, Arnoldo. I'm trying to block out any wins by the French. By the way, I do a piece on soccer every two years, maybe three. You caught me in a bad year.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

This press release was forwarded to me:

LOS ANGELES - In conjunction with 2006 World Cup opening ceremonies today in Germany, the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) released an anti-piracy public service announcement (PSA) featuring Pelé, one of the most well known sports heroes who bears the nickname “The King.� The public service announcement will run on cable networks during the month long World Cup tournament. Those networks include ESPNEWS, ESPN Classics, FOX Sports and HBO Ole.

Pelé is one of the most beloved and talented soccer players of all time. He embodies the notion of fair play and love of the game, and continues to be an inspiration for young athletes around the globe. In the PSA, Pelé appeals to his “friends� to “Score a goal against piracy� explaining that piracy hurts working people – specifically the thousands of people who work on creating movies.

“We are honored to have a distinguished teammate in Pelé in our fight against film copyright theft,� said Chairman and CEO of the MPAA Dan Glickman. “Pelé has a reputation for fair play and in this public service announcement, he carries that message to people - urging them to do the right thing by renting, buying or downloading movies legally.�

Our response: View the promo for yourself at the MPAA Website.
From the IMDB.com movie list, here are the highlights of Pele's body of work in the film industry:

1987: "Hotshot," a drama about an American soccer player (played by someone named Jim Youngs) trying to make it big who turns to Pele for guidance. From 83 votes, it got a 5.2 rating on a scale of 10.

1981: "Victory," another drama with Sly Stallone and Michael Caine, directed by John Huston, Pele has the role of Brazil Cpl. Luis Fernandez, an Allied soccer player. Out of 3,237 votes, it got a 6.0 rating.

2004: "Pele Forever" (Pele Eterno), which is a flick that the MPAA says has been pirated all over South American and caused Pele to want to make the anti-pirating spot. In what's called "the definitive documentary" about Edson Arantes do Nascimento and includes commentary from Huston, Stallone, Henry Kissinger and a bunch of other one-named Brazilians, it was rated a 7.3 out of 108 votes.

Another documentary called "Once in a Lifetime: The story of the New York Cosmos" is scheduled for a July 7 release, two days before the World Cup final. I think I can rustle up a pirated copy of it to show at my house before then.