Tango Yak

The host country Germany will play Japan on Saturday July 9th at 11:45 AM (PT) on ESPN. The Germans looked strong against a very good French team. They will have the home crowd behind them, but do not count out the feisty Japanese team. They had been red hot of late until they lost to England.

France plays England on Saturday July 9th on ESPN as well at 9 AM (PT), a classic match up. The Brits have gotten stronger and stronger with each game and might very well be the surprise of the tourney. The French team is confident despite their loss to Germany where not a lot was at stake. Look for a hard fought game, we are after all in the sudden death phase.

The US loses to Sweden and gets Brazil in the sudden death quarter finals on July 10th at 8:30 AM (PT) on ESPN. They  played their worst game against Sweden and clearly must pick it up against Brazil if they are to stand a chance. Their defense looked slow except for center back Rampone who remains a speedster. Goalie Hope Solo is fantastic and had a shutout going until that game. Goals were no fault of her own, a deflected penalty and a penalty kick. She made a save reminiscent of the Casillas vs. Robben save in the men’s finals. The US offense appeared anemic without Heather Oreilly, and many scoring opportunities were lost. Will the defense stand up against Marta and the rest of the Samba Queens? We shall see.

Sweden looks strong and fast. They play the crafty Aussies in the quarters on July 10 unfortunately at 4 AM (PT) on ESPN also. The Swedes will have a huge challenge on their hands. The Aussies are fast as well and hungry for fame and glory. This game will be a toss up, but the socceroos have a reasonable chance here. This one is for the DVR. The Yak will be back.

Groups A and B: Germany defeated France yesterday and both advance to the quarterfinals with Germany in first place of Group A. The Germans will play Japan who ended up in second place in Group B behind England, in the sudden death phase. England plays France next.  Canada, Nigeria, Mexico and the Kiwis are out.

Group C: USA and Sweden battle for first place in this group today Wednesday 7/06 at 11:30 AM on ESPN. The winner gets to avoid Brazil in the quarter finals. The US team looks great and excels in all aspects of the game. They will be tested against Sweden. North Korea plays Columbia at the same time and both are out (snore).

Group D: The fantastic showdown between Norway and Australia today Wednesday 7/06 at 8:45 AM ESPN results in a huge win for Australia. This has been the game of the tournament so far. The Aussies (Matildas) now advance to the quarter, not a small achievement in this tough Group. The socceroos are fast, strong and crafty and have many tricks in their pouch. Is this exciting or what? Brazil dispatches Equatorial Guinea and finish in first place of Group D. they play the loser of the US vs. Sweden game in the quarter finals.

This is a great day to watch the US team in action. The winner of this Group avoids Brazil in the first round. The Brazilian team did not do a lot of preparation due to limited resources. That means they will get better and tougher with each game. All the quarter final spots will be decided today. Soon, it will be on to the next round. The group A/B quarterfinals will be on July 9th, and the C/D groups play each other July 10th. It will be sudden death after today’s matches. The Yak will keep you posted and the schedule will follow soon. Enjoy the day.

This well established festival takes place in beautiful Denver in heavenly Colorado. Great city with lots to do and see. The Denver / Boulder community of dancers is large in numbers and excellent in quality.

The DJ team includes Lung Kuei from New York, Ramu Pyreddy (Tango Sutra) from DC, Lampis Zalavras (the chic Greek) from LA, Felipe Marinez from San Francisco and yours truly from San Diego for the alternative milonga. It has been a while since I’ve seen Ramu and listened to his great music, am looking forward to his milonga as well as the rest of the DJ team.

The teachers include her majesty Marika Landry as well as the master of disaster and agent provocateur par excellence, Mr. Ney Melo. Felipe Martinez, Tara Fortier, James Friedgen and Crista Rodriguez round out the team.

The last Denver Festival was one of the good ones, we all had a great time and hopefully this one will be the same. Am looking forward to great dancing, good music and seeing many good friends. Here is the web link: Denver Labor Day Festival