# Ongoing Euro '08 matches. Spoilers included **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 10, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387 "2008-06-10T00:47:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/281 "2008-06-25T22:30:10Z")
[QUOTE=RedFury] Just hope these glitches don’t surface in Vienna tomorrow nor Sunday – what a disaster that would be for such a great tournament. [/QUOTE] A news item from Reuters says: > [@](#): > > Some of the thrills were lost on television audiences as a storm in Vienna cut the signal from the tournament’s International Broadcasting Centre in the Austrian capital, blacking out screens during and at the end of the second half. Why the television signal for a match in Basel would have to go through Vienna is a mystery to me, but there you have it. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/282 "2008-06-25T22:32:33Z")
And from Associated Press: > [@](#): > > A violent thunderstorm swept across Austria to knock out telecommunications for most of the second half of the gripping match. Television pictures reappeared briefly, but then vanished altogether for most of the last 15 minutes, when three goals were scored to give Germany a place in Sunday’s final. Internet coverage of the game also was interrupted. > > Spectators at the match in the Swiss city of Basel remained dry and unperturbed throughout. Only on Swiss TV and Al-Jazeera was the entire game available. > > The problems arose in neighboring Austria, where lightning, thunder and torrential rain caused a power outage at the International Broadcast Center in Vienna, from which the telecast is beamed all over the world. ESPN cut back to its studio analysts during the outages and showed video of spectators watching at a FanFest in Basel. I guess it’s time to write to Time/Warner and demand that they start offering Swiss TV (or Al-Jazeera!) in their lineup. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/283 "2008-06-25T22:51:36Z")
Thanks, **Arnold**. But the explanations given go right over the top of my bald pate. It’s like you said, why couldn’t the Swiss-TV feed go straight to air? Beyond that, and pardon my Swiss, HTF did Al-Jazeera (of all stations!) stay on the air? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/284 "2008-06-25T23:14:41Z")
[QUOTE=RedFury] It’s like you said, why couldn’t the Swiss-TV feed go straight to air? [/QUOTE] German TV switched to Swiss video (including Swiss graphics and everything) for the last few minutes using an improvised satellite link and a commentator on the phone. According to the commentators the contracts specified that everybody except the Swiss had to receive their video via the International Broadcasting Center. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/285 "2008-06-26T00:10:00Z")
[QUOTE=kellner] German TV switched to Swiss video (including Swiss graphics and everything) for the last few minutes using an improvised satellite link and a commentator on the phone. According to the commentators the contracts specified that everybody except the Swiss had to receive their video via the International Broadcasting Center. [/QUOTE] Ah! Money. Should have thought of that before. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/286 "2008-06-26T00:24:22Z")
Re-broadcast is on right now if anyone has access to ESPN LA. ETA: Same score as the last time. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/287 "2008-06-26T01:15:05Z")
Rebroadcast is on now on ESPN Classic (9 to 11 EDT), and again will be on ESPN2 at 10:30 PDT. Also, sometime on Saturday, though I don’t recall when. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/288 "2008-06-26T03:42:05Z")
Okay, I’ve been scratching my head over some of the stats that keep popping up on the ESPN telecasts, most of which seem meaningless (to me anyway). What exactly does the “distance” stat mean? Is it how far a said player has run, passed the ball, or what? ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/289 "2008-06-26T09:37:18Z")
With regards to the coverage, I listened to it on BBC 5 Live, so my service was uninterrupted - apart from the occasional announcement from the commentators that they were now being broadcast (as audio-only) on BBC1 as well. 😃 There was a great theory (made in jest) on the 606 show after the match that the blackout was all a conspiracy. Basically they suggested that UEFA was panicking because it looked like the Turkish might actually win and, not wanting to risk another “junior” international side winning the tournament like Greece did last time, they put their “Plan B” in to action. Plan B involved UEFA cutting the live feed and then putting a fake audio commentary in its place. That gave them time to switch to a _pre-recorded_ version of the game in which the Turkish team were represented by look-alikes. The Germans then “won” - giving them a place in the final, whilst the _real_ turks were threatened/paid off without viewers knowing about it. They warned we should keep an eye out in case a lot of the Turkish squad go “missing” or die in unexplained “accidents” in the next year or so… :eek: 😃 > [@](#): > > Okay, I’ve been scratching my head over some of the stats that keep popping up on the ESPN telecasts, most of which seem meaningless (to me anyway). What exactly does the “distance” stat mean? Is it how far a said player has run, passed the ball, or what? Thats because they mostly _are_ meaningless. They’re mainly there because the various techies at Sports Production Companies need an excuse to buy the latest computers/fun stuff and use the ability to generate stats as an excuse. Also, they’re even worse in the US because American sports fans are used to their sports being stats-heavy, and expect footie to be the same. Some stats are useful - but they tend to be the ones that mean something over a whole 38 (or more) game season, because they give you a better insight into players than mere “goals scored” or “appearances.” Emanuel Adebeyor from Arsenal was ruled offside more than times than any other player last season, for example, whilst Frank Lampard has the highest shots-to-stands ratio of any player in Europe. That tells you a lot about both of 'em. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/290 "2008-06-26T12:55:36Z")
[QUOTE=Tony] Okay, I’ve been scratching my head over some of the stats that keep popping up on the ESPN telecasts, most of which seem meaningless (to me anyway). What exactly does the “distance” stat mean? Is it how far a said player has run, passed the ball, or what? [/QUOTE] It is how far the player has run. Supposedly, it is a measure of two things: how active the player has been (they usually only pay attention to the stat for midfielders) and how tired they might be. Stupid “stat.” Only one stat that matters in football. 3 - 2 in this case. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/291 "2008-06-26T13:40:57Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] Typically, of course, the Germans score in the last minute and win … [/QUOTE] Hey **Svejk** , got any thoughts you want to share on lottery numbers or anything? ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/292 "2008-06-26T14:47:42Z")
[QUOTE=garius] Also, they’re even worse in the US because American sports fans are used to their sports being stats-heavy, and expect footie to be the same. [/QUOTE] In the MLS broadcasts, they constantly talk about a goalkeeper’s GAA (goals against average) as if it were akin to a pitcher’s ERA or perhaps the goalie in hockey. From the little I know of hockey, an outstanding goalie can make up for a poor defense but in soccer, if the defense lets him down, there’s only so much he can do over the long run. A goalkeeper is not so much the only one in charge of defending the goal as the last line of defense. The GAA makes little sense and is a way to appeal to the non-soccer American fan but I figure American soccer fans find it, and other stats like it, useless. Also, speaking of useless information, I find annoying the constant notes that come up that detail that the winner plays so and so and the loser is eliminated. Is the concept of an elimination game that complicated? ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/293 "2008-06-26T14:52:53Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] It is how far the player has run. Supposedly, it is a measure of two things: how active the player has been (they usually only pay attention to the stat for midfielders) and how tired they might be. Stupid “stat.” [/QUOTE] And what use will that be to me as an American sports fan when it’s in metric? Now I’ll never know if any of these players have rushed for more yards than Jim Brown or O.J.! ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/294 "2008-06-26T15:54:01Z")
[QUOTE=Tony] And what use will that be to me as an American sports fan when it’s in metric? Now I’ll never know if any of these players have rushed for more yards than Jim Brown or O.J.! [/QUOTE] Well, the typical soccer player runs somewhere around 6 miles during the course of a 90 min. game. That’s just under 10km. Think about that. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/295 "2008-06-26T16:07:42Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] It is how far the player has run. Supposedly, it is a measure of two things: how active the player has been (they usually only pay attention to the stat for midfielders) and how tired they might be. Stupid “stat.”… [/QUOTE] Not so from the coaching staff POV and although **garius** is right that in Europe we don’t get statistics-laden matches and graphics, they certainly keep tabs on the number of minutes played by each and go through all sorts of recovery therapy and fitness tests between matches. That’s why all teams have their own physicians and trainers – even if a particular player is dying to be in the line-up, he’ll still have to be close to his peak capacity. Otherwise it makes sense to A-limit his playing time or B-start another player. For instance, there was much talk in Spain the day following the Italy match as to how Senna, who’d run his heart off vs them, would recover in time for today’s match – the tests results would go a long way in helping Aragones make-up his mind. Turns out he’ll be on the pitch…barring a last minute surprise which would see us start Xabi Alonso. Also, there’s little doubt that at this point of the **year** , the Russians have the freshest legs of all the teams in the quarters. Why? Because their season doesn’t run parallel to any of the major European leagues as their weather doesn’t permit it. To put it simply, while German, Turks, Spanish and Italian players already have a season’s worth of running under their legs, the Russians are just into the tenth match-day of their league play – and whatever minutes some of them added in European club competition, such as Mini-Might, Arshavin, who won the UEFA Cup with his club, Zenit St Petersburg. Though also keep in mind he was suspended for his first two matches here so not much mileage accumulated in his legs as opposed to others. Definitive? Of course not. Ultimately it’s up to the players on the pitch. _But it is a factor worth considering_ even as far as strategy is involved. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/296 "2008-06-26T16:15:27Z")
Sorry. Missed the edit window. The “hope that helps” was directed to **Tony** not **DSYoungEsq** , who I’m sure already knew this. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/297 "2008-06-26T19:09:14Z")
It’s still a stupid stat to keep and to try and convey to the public. 😃 50/50 game right now… ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/298 "2008-06-26T19:13:52Z")
By the way, I understand that those aren’t “yellow” jerseys, those are “mustard.” Aragones isn’t keen on the color yellow. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/299 "2008-06-26T19:25:11Z")
Wow, Villa goes off with injury. Not good for Spain… ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387/300 "2008-06-26T19:36:37Z")
Bah, yesterday’s game much more entertaining. Spain still look tense, like they don’t want to lose, just as they did against the Italians. Russia clearly determined not to let in four goals like they did in the first game. Making for less than exciting soccer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ongoing-euro-08-matches-spoilers-included/452387.md?page=16)