Ask xTian: Sports Round Up Edition

Wherein we cover a few questions that were raised this week
-World Cup Qualifying
-Michael Vick


More...
What's up with all of these qualifying matches? Do some teams get a bi from this? Do any big teams ever fail to advance out of their pre-Cup bracket? It would be odd to see a World Cup without England, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, etc.- Sparks
Great question. There are a ton of qualifying matches. One has to remember that only 32 teams are invited and they come from 6 regions (into which all the countries of the world are broken into)

* Europe (UEFA): 13 places
* Africa (CAF): 5 places
* South America (CONMEBOL): 4 or 5 places
* Asia (AFC): 4 or 5 places
* North, Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 3 or 4 places
* Oceania (OFC): 0 or 1 place
Note: South Africa qualified automatically as host nation for a total of 6 places

As you can see the strength of soccer, number of countries in the region, and population of the regions all come into play. There are some swing scenarios where the 5th place team from CONMEBOL has to play the 4th place team from CONCACAF to see who gets that swing spot.

Now within each region, the countries are seeded and the higher seeds don't have to play in the first rounds of qualifying. This provides some additional advantage to Argentina and Brazil (the tops in CONMEBOL) and to the US and Mexico (I think in CONCACAF).

It should be pointed out that this does not preclude movement. Back when the drug lords were running things Colombia was a World Cup regular. Since abdicating that position a few countries have stepped up to grab that last spot. In the last two world cups Dr. Orgy's adopted country Ecuador has grabbed that last spot It's an open question who will grab it this time.

Why did the Philadelphia Eagles get Michael Vick? Why was Donovan McNabb for this move? Why didn't Michael want to go to a place where he could start? What does Tony Dungy, neither a league nor eagles offical have to do with any of this? - The Bump

From Vick's side - According to Peter King, Vick wanted to come back and prove he was a good teammate and a still an effective football player first. Then in year 2, find a situation where he could be a starting QB. Going to the Redskins, might seem like a good idea, but in addition to having to deal with the fall out and the protests he would also have to win games.

From McNabb's side - McNabb has taken the eagles to a Superbowl and taken his team to 5 NFC Championship games in his career. he is one of the better QB's of the last ten years, third best in my opinion after Peyton and Brady. Yet Philly has never embraced him. If you listen to people like Eagles Super Fan Sleeve, you will come to believe that this is because these jackasses are basically racist and always looking to start a white guy. I can't comment on this, but everyone knows that Philly sports fans are animals and dangerous to themselves and those around them. Normally, the old saying goes that the most famous guy in town is always the back up QB. Will that be the case with Vick? Probably not. Thus McNabb can QB without people screaming about starting Jeff Garcia (like they did 2 years ago) or Kolb (like they did last year)

From the Eagles side - They get a guy who can literally change the game. Whether or not Vick was a great QB is irrelevant. He was a great football player and he could win games by himself. If he can still do any of that then they win. They are also forgiven for taking the chance because Tony Dungy (Apparently, he won the title GREATEST MAN EVER while I was not looking) told the NFL that Vick was repentant and that was enough for the NFL to reinstate him. He also stood with Vick at the Eagles Press Conference and spoke as much as Vick or Andy Reid did. Honestly, that's enough for me and enough for most football fans out.

From my side - I get that what he did was unconscionable. I also get that he went to jail for 18 months and lost 75% of his unguaranteed contract while in there. He's paid his debt to society period. If you don't think he should get a second shot then you don't believe that anyone who gets out of jail should be given a second chance. That makes you unfair and an idiot.

Thanks