Let's begin the first baseball column following the World Cup with some words of congratulations and praise to everyone involved in that spectacular event. It was an exciting tournament that mesmerized most of Japan and South Korea, especially during the first half of June prior to the elimination of the cohost teams.
Though admittedly not a soccer fan, I even got into it a bit, attending a couple of World Cup-watching parties at the homes of friends and tuning in at other times to see how the matches were going.
I especially thought coaches Philippe Troussier of Japan and Guus Hiddink of the South Korean team did a remarkable job, and I felt the criticism of Troussier for his handling (some would say mis-handling) of the Japanese players in their 1-0 loss to Turkey on June 19 was harsh and uncalled for after he had taken the team so far.