Copa America Final 2011: 'guay?

The final match of the 2011 Copa America tourney is this Sunday, and this latest edition has been odd to say the least. Brazil and Argentina are nowhere to be found, replicating their disappointing World Cup campaigns from the year before. One finalist, Paraguay, hasn't even won a match yet. Not one. They required penalty kicks to advance in the elimination rounds. Venezuela's in the third place match for crying out loud, a level Hugo "Boss'" team never dreamed of reaching.

Duh, TYING!

The way this tournament is going, it seems that the Copa America has easily dethroned the Gold Cup for the most cataclysmic soccer tournament on the planet. But will the final live up to the precedings? Click to find out more.

TDZ hits 1000

Just over a week away from its 0.5 year birthday, The Danger Zone has eclipsed 1,000 page views! That's excluding my own page visits, so don't act like you're not impressed. I'm just grateful to all the readers and TDZ acolytes who turned this little blog into the bustling hub of sports and whimsy it is today.

Can you guess what the most clicked TDZ news story is at this millennial mark? Was it the ground-breaking All-Kevin Love Team, or subsequent coverage of NBA uber-phenom Ian Mahinmi? Or maybe it was my eerily accurate predictions for March Madness or up-to-the-minute reporting on the 2011 Gold Cup?

The All Big Bigs Team

Baseball has always been known as a plump man's game. Perhaps its biggest star of all-time, Babe Ruth, was infamous for his hot dog binges and plus-sized waistline. Portly players excelling in baseball isn't the exception - it's the norm. Children of America: if you want to be a great ballplayer, don't you dare think aerobics will get you anywhere. The best thing you can do is strengthen those wrists scooping out ice cream.

In recognition of the more corpulent MLB stars, I'd like to present a sabermetric analysis of the best blubbery big league team a manager could ask for.

Respect Mah Trivia

OK gang, here's this week's trivia question. This could either be very tough or very easy, we will see.

The question: which of the following is NOT an alter ego or persona taken on by Cartman in the show South Park? Choices are below.

Good luck to you!

Morbid Trivia Answer - Plus Women's World Cup Thoughts

This weeks question was one of the more difficult ones, but one person did get the correct answer: of the animals listed, horses cause the most deaths per year in the U.S. (link). They account for an estimated 106 deaths per year on the low end, up there with deer as the leading killers.  Following them are stinging insects, cattle, dogs, snakes, birds (?), alligators, mountain lions and sharks. Congrats to the winner, whoever you are! Feel free to comment to gain the recognition you deserve.

On a somber note, the U.S. Women's National Team lost the Women's World Cup final today. It was a crushing defeat, with a comedy of errors on defense and a horrific lack of poise at times. Once the match went to penalties, I knew Japan would win since they were more composed throughout the game.

On the bright side, Abby Wambach and new crush Alex Morgan played very well, and I hope they and Debra Morgan Hope Solo return with a vengeance four years from now. Let's not forget that we've got a Women's Professional Soccer league here in the U.S. that can use our support between World Cups (go Breakers). A big tip of the hat to Japan for playing with a lot of skill and poise in winning it all. This is a great story for a country that's had a lot to deal with this past year.

New trivia question tomorrow!

Here we go lockout, here we go. *clap clap*

Many fans are worried about an impending NBA lockout that will cancel the upcoming season. If you are one of these people, I urge you to take a page from The Life of Brian and look at the bright side: if the season is canceled, the Celtics could get Dwight Howard!

A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE brought up this possibility recently. Howard would only be available if the lockout eliminated the upcoming season, otherwise Orlando would trade him, and the C's don't have the trade chips with their older roster.

Garnett has said he's likely to retire after 2011-2012, creating a defensive vacuum that would need to be filled under the basket. Dwight is the best defensive player in the league when it comes to points in the paint, and if you don't believe me, look at the numbers. The stats here are for team defense in the paint, but let me tell you a secret everyone knows: Rashard Lewis wasn't helping out much.

With Rondo snaking steals on the perimeter and Dwight in the paint, the post-Big 3 future I see is starting to look a bit less dystopian than the one we are surely careening toward.

The Jericho Zone!

Jerichoholics need not be anonymous here at TDZ. Chris Jericho was (is?) everything you could want in a wrestler: good face, great heel; skilled on both the mic and the mat; not too big of an ego to job, while also winning an impressive array of belts, including the first unification of the Heavyweight titles. Above all, he was relentlessly entertaining and one of the all-time greats - dare I say The Living Legend.

Click below for a look at the many names, hairdos, and accolades of this multi-talented performer.