Stop freaking out about the United States’ World Cup draw

Yes, this is a hard group.
Really, it couldn’t have been more difficult. The Americans open the tournament against Ghana, who eliminated the U.S. in the last two World Cups, and then face two of Europe’s best teams in Portugal (in the Amazon rainforest) and Germany (who the U.S. lost to in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups).
Compounding the task of advancing to the second round is the ridiculous amount of travel facing the United States. The Americans will have logged nearly 9,000 miles after they complete group play. To recap: The U.S. will play the team that has ended their last two World Cup runs, one of the best players in the World, and a three-time World Cup champion.
In 20 years, there hasn’t been a harder Group of Death. But this is why it’s going to be OK.

The U.S. is fitter than any other team on earth.

A mourning nation prepares for Mandela funeral Dec. 15

The former president will be given a state funeral in the Eastern Cape village of Qunu

Story Highlights

• Funeral service to be held in Eastern Cape
• Dec. 15 is day of funeral
• Mandela will lie in state from Wednesday until the burial

Flags flew at half-staff Friday as South Africa, in deep mourning, prepared for a week of reflection, prayer and remembrance before Nelson Mandela is laid to rest in a state funeral next Sunday in the Eastern Cape village of Qunu.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu led a prayer service in Mandela's memory on Friday at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.
"All of us here in many ways amazed the world, a world that was expecting us to be devastated by a racial conflagration," Tutu said, recalling how Mandela helped unite South Africa as it dismantled apartheid and prepared for all-race elections in 1994.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange paused trading at 11 a.m. to mark the passing of the anti-apartheid leader and former president.
Hours after his death, a black SUV-type vehicle containing his flag-draped coffin pulled away from his home after midnight in Johannesburg's leafy Houghton neighborhood, escorted by military motorcycle outriders, to take the body to a military morgue in Pretoria, the capital.
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Nelson Mandela: Sport pays tribute to former South Africa president.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has led the sporting tributes to his "dear friend", South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela, who has died aged 95.

Mr Mandela had used sport to bring his country together following strict racial segregation by his predecessors.

Nelson Mandela: Key dates

• 1918 Born in the Eastern Cape
• 1943 Joins African National Congress
• 1956 Charged with high treason but charges dropped
• 1962 Arrested, convicted of sabotage, sentenced to five years in prison
• 1964 Charged again, sentenced to life
• 1990 Freed from prison
• 1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize
• 1994 Elected first black president
• 1999 Steps down as leader
• 2004 Retires from public life

• BBC History: Mandela's defiant freedom speech

Blatter said: "It is in deep mourning that I pay my respects to an extraordinary person.

"He and I shared an unwavering belief in the extraordinary power of football to unite people."
Blatter added: "He was probably one of the greatest humanists of our time."
Mr Mandela once stated: "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people, in a way that little else does."
Fifa's president hailed Mr Mandela's impact on football's 2010 World Cup in South Africa and said there would be a minute's silence as a mark of respect ahead of the next round of international matches.
"When he was honoured and cheered by the crowd at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium on 11 July 2010, it was as a man of the people, a man of their hearts.
"It was one of the most moving moments I have ever experienced. For him, the World Cup in South Africa truly was 'a dream come true'," Blatter added.
After he was elected as president in 1994, the 1995 Rugby World Cup was to be the showcase event for Mr Mandela's unifying agenda in South Africa.
One of the defining sporting images of the century was to follow in the final when, after South Africa's 15-12 extra-time victory against favourites New Zealand, Springboks captain Francois Pienaar was handed the trophy by Mr Mandela.
In that moment, racially divided South Africa came together in a way unimaginable during the 27 years the Nobel Peace Prize winner was incarcerated for his actions in the fight against apartheid.
South Africa rugby tweeted: "Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela. We will never forget the role you played in our country, in our sport, and for that we are eternally grateful."
Joost van der Westhuizen, who played in the 1995 World Cup final, said on Twitter: "A sad day for our country. Rest in Peace Madiba. Condolences to his family and friends."

15 of Nelson Mandela's best quotes

 

 

 

 

Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has died. During his long life, Mandela inspired countless individuals. Here is a collection of quotes that personify his spirit:
1) "Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."
2) "It always seems impossible until it's done."

TIMELINE: The life of Nelson Mandela

ON MANDELA: 'Everyone was in awe of him'

Obama: Mandela 'belongs to the ages'

President Obama pays tribute to Nelson Mandela

• Former U.S. presidents pay their respects

 

President Obama said Thursday that Nelson Mandela inspired millions of people across the world — including Obama himself — to work for freedom, justice, and democracy.
"He no longer belongs to us," an emotional Obama said at the White House. "He belongs to the ages."
MORE: Transcript of Obama's remarks on Mandela
Obama described Mandela as "one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth."
The president gave his eulogy less than an hour after the announcement of the South African leader's death.
Obama noted that he first became involved in politics at a protest against apartheid in South Africa. He said he has studied Mandela's writings throughout his career in government.
"Like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set," said the nation's first African-American president. "And so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him."

Nelson Mandela saw sport as way to connect S. Africans

(Photo: Ross Setford, AP)

Story Highlights

• Springboks victory in World Cup at home was defining moment for South Africa
• Mandela saw importance of rugby to millions of white South Africans
• He recognized transformative power that sport could have

It is hard to think of any person — political, cultural or otherwise — of the past 25 years who inspires such universal admiration as Nelson Mandela. We seldom associate him with sports. The index in his autobiography makes no mention of sports, even though he excelled as a boxer and a runner in college. Nor is there any reference to "soccer," the sport that the majority African population of South Africa claims as its own.

The only sport discussed in Anthony Sampson's authorized biography is rugby. Mandela never played it. He barely understood the rules — until, that is, 1995's defining moment when South Africa's rugby team won the rugby World Cup on its home pitch.

Perhaps you will recall the picture of Mandela, in a replica of Francois Pienaar's green and gold jersey, awarding the trophy after South Africa's Springboks won the tournament, one of the iconic sports photos of the past generation. If you remember the expression on Mandela's face, it is impossible to picture anyone happier.

Gun-control ad debuts ahead of Newtown anniversary

 

Push for gun-control legislation comes as Americans mark one year since 20 children, 6 adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

(Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

Story Highlights

• 20 children and six adults died during massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year
• President Obama, groups have demanded gun-control legislation in wake of tragedy
• House passed plastic gun ban but no action taken on expanded background checks for gun owners