Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe Go Bear at Giants Game

While U.S. Women's World Cup soccer star Hope Solo is taking it all off for a magazine photo spread, teammates Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe are going bare too-- make that panda bear.

Wambach and Rapinoe were spotted at last night's San Diego Padres/San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park wearing panda bear hats which were, hopefully,  in support of the Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval and not for the Chinese soccer team.

"Kung Fu Panda," as the chubby Sandoval was allegedly nicknamed by teammate Barry Zito,  is a fan favorite in the city of the World Champions.

Not much has been seen of the star forward and mid-fielder since losing to Japan in the Women's World Cup championship game last month.  Maybe it's because Wambach and Rapinoe, who hails from northern California, have been covered up by the floppy-eared panda hats.

If they were trying to go incognito, the two teammates missed their goal.  Oops, too soon?  They were pretty obvious in the crowd of over 41,000.

The Giants won 2-1, behind the pitching of Tim Lincecum. 

Kung Fu Panda went 0-for-3.

Hope Solo and Abby Wambach Do Stupid Soccer Tricks on Letterman Show

Hope Solo and Abby Wambach, two members of the silver medalist US Women's World Cup soccer team, appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and took shots at four moving taxi cabs outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City yesterday.  Solo, a goaltender, finally put a ball right through the sliding door; while Wambach's kicks sailed wide or bounced off the taxis.

Maybe the US goalie should have taken one of the penalty kicks during the championship game loss to Japan on Sunday?

The losing American team is still getting a rousing welcome home after being upset by Japan.   They were greeted at the airport by fans when they arrived back in the United States and Letterman was one of the first stops for the two stars of the team.  You would have thought they won the whole enchilada.

Solo and Wambach, seated on a couch next to Letterman's desk, looked nervous and demure--a stark contrast to their individual on-field persona.

Letterman opened the interview with the obvious. "Tough loss," the gap-toothed host said.  Both players shook their heads before he lobbed this bon mot," It looked like you were all over those people, the Japanese."

Solo said she received a "good luck" email right before the game from a friend--and one of the opposing Japanese players-- and responded by emailing back; "Whatever happens, happens."  Letterman then joked, " You should have said 'Would it have killed you to lay down.'"

Letterman finally admitted," I know nothing about the game," but never asked the question everyone wanted to know: Do you think you choked?

Solo did answer that question in an interview on ESPN.  It sounded like an apologetic "No."  Then she added, "Only if you truly don't know the game."

While the US team licks their wounded egos, the same darlings of the media are still getting the star treatment for coming in second.

This week's cover of Sports Illustrated will feature a photo of Solo with the headline;  "HEART AND HEARTACHE- Japan Shocks the US..."

Shouldn't Japan's veteran leader, Homare Sawa, be gracing the SI cover for winning the World Cup?

Amazingly, the US women's team gets the winner's treatment.  I didn't see a photo of LeBron James on the cover of SI for being upset by the Dallas Mavericks or the brooding faces of the men's 2004 Olympic basketball team who came home with bronze.

The US appearance in the World Cup may have drawn more fans to the sport of women's soccer, but give the winner's their due.

Japan's upset could cost the most recognizable faces of the US team-- Solo and Wambach-- millions of dollars in endorsements said Bob Dorfman.

Dorfman, who rates endorsement potential of athletes as Creative Director of Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco, thinks the deals could dry up fast.

"I heard there were some marketers who were planning on using them-- but decided not to because of the loss," said Dorfman.  "Everyone likes a winner."

Rumors that GoDaddy.com had it's sights on goalie Solo joining Danica Patrick in their racy ads, but after the loss they backed off. 

GoDaddy.com spokesman Nick Fuller said," At this point in time, GoDaddy.com is not pursuing a sponsorship deal with Hope Solo."

Getting attention and attracting new fans to the sport are still viable assets for the two break-out female stars claims Dorfman.

They can still work in the "glamor" areas like Patrick and Maria Sharapova do, he said.

While it lasts, Solo and the rest of the team should enjoy all the adulation the USA can throw at them; for if they played for North Korea, chances are, they would probably be serving some sort of penance on a work farm.

Tweet Victory For US Women's Soccer Team On Sunday

The US Women's soccer team may have lost to Japan in Sunday's Women's World Cup Championship match up but, after being upset, they were a part of a record for the number of tweets sent after the game.  The story-book ending for Japan was tweeted about more than any other event in history.

The wild finish to Japan's penalty kick victory over the Americans in the championship game help set the record of a staggering 7,196 TPS-- that's tweets per second-- according to Twitter.

To put it into perspective, Osama Bin Laden's death topped out at 5,100 TPS.

The previous record of 6,939 TPS was set just after midnight on New Year's Day 2011 in Japan.  Coincidentally, after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Twitter reported 5,530 twitters per second.  Japan used the disaster as inspiration during their unbelievable title run.

For all the geeks keeping score, here's how the Women's World Cup TPS record stacks up against the men's.  Last year's men's World Cup opener between host country South Africa and Japan --  I'm seeing a trend-- boasted only 3,282 TPS at it's peak.

Other notable big-tweet days include the Green Bay Packers victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV which hit the 4,096 TPS mark and the Royal Wedding with William and Kate which scored a commoner-like 3,966 tweets per second.

The US/Japan record was almost topped on the same day after the Copa America quarterfinal match up between Paraguay and Brazil came in at 7,166 TPS.

Before the Women's World Cup Final, even President Obama tweeted the US squad to wish them well: "I'm thinking:  Score a goal, be a leader, let's get this done."

The President may the only person in the world who still uses proper English in his tweets.

According to Twitter, it handles over 200 million tweets a day and has over 200 million registered accounts.  Some claim that total is more like 300 million.

One trend I'm noticing about tweeters is they tend to be Japanese and are partial to soccer.

No matter how annoying tweeters pecking away are, they still aren't as bad as vuvuzelas.

Japanese Women's Soccer Team To Meet United States in World Cup Final

Japan defeated Sweden today, 3-1, and will be making it's first appearance in a World Cup Final.  They will meet the United States who, earlier, overwhelmed France late and won 3-1 on a rain-slicked field.

It's hard for the world to not root for the big underdogs from Japan, especially after the Japanese players once again unfurled a huge banner after the match that read, "To Our Friends Around the World;  Thank You For Your Support," which refers to the world-wide outpouring of aid after the the March 11 tsunami and earthquake that left 23,000 people dead or missing.

The U.S. team hopes to win their first World Cup title since 1999 when they defeated China.

The Japanese just want to bring hope home.



Japan has a tough road to victory and is 0-22-3 all-time against the U.S..  They lost three games this spring against the same squad of U.S. players.

The Japanese team shocked Germany earlier in the tournament before beating perennial women's soccer power Sweden today.  It is a totally different collection of players who played that series vs. the U.S..   Japan was devastated by the disaster and the the team did not practice for weeks before those games.

Sunday's final will pit the finesse of Japan against the tenacity of the U.S.

Japan's game is filled with fine-tuned trapping and passing while the Americans are bigger and more athletic.

The U.S. team is led by sure-handed goaltender, Hope Solo, and striker Abby Wambach-- who has headed in go ahead goals against both Sweden and France.

Japan is filled with interchangeable players who can frustrate an opponent with their trademark short-passing and unselfish play.  Nahomi Kawasumi scored two goals today after getting a surprise start.

Wambach, even after the U.S. victory, thought France"outplayed" her team today.

"In the end, we're in the finals," she boasted.

The Japanese team is playing for a lot more than the title.  Respect is such an important aspect of Japanese society and the team representing their country has already earned so much of it on an international stage.  Now they just want to bring some happiness back to their recovering homeland.

Before the game against favored Germany, Japan's coach Norio Sasaki, showed the team photographs of the victims and the devastation of the tsunami and earthquake to inspire them.  He didn't do it today and probably won't do it on Sunday.

The Japanese team already has those horrible images in their heads to push them on.

It's hard not to want to see the Japanese women unfurl that banner in Frankfurt on Sunday and thank the world once again...this time holding the World Cup Championship trophy.

North Koreans Fail Drug Test at World Cup and Await Fate at Home

The North Korean team knows no boundaries when it comes to trying to pick up a win at the women's World Cup.  Two defenders, Song Jong Sun and Jong Pok Sim, were suspended for Wednesday's match against Columbia after testing positive for banned substances

Both players tested positive after North Korea's first two group games.

It hasn't been a very good time for the two players.  Last week the team claimed they were struck by lightning and now, they face the wrath of their people and Kim Jong-il.

North Korea was eliminated from the World Cup without scoring a goal.  Besides a 2-0 loss to the U.S., the North Koreans lost 1-0 to Sweden before the 0-0 draw with Columbia.

In an unprecedented move, the remaining 19 members of the North Korean team were subjected to a doping test according to FIFA.  The banned substance was not identified by FIFA.

Theo Zwanginger, president of the German Football federation (DFB), was harsh in his criticism of the North Korean squad.

"This incident underlies the impression of the inhumane system in North Korea, where attempts are made to give success to athletes by any means," he said.  "Success which can be used for government propaganda."

The testing of the team was coordinated with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which states "whenever more than one member of a team has been notified of a anti-doping rule violation, the ruling body for the competition shall conduct appropriate target testing of the team."

Last week, after the loss to the U.S. squad, North Korea manager, Kwang Min Kim, blamed the defeat on a lighting strike to a group of his players in North Korea.

"During training, our players were hit by lightning and more than five of them were hospitalized," he said.  "The goalkeeper and four defenders were most affected."

Kim strategically waited until after the loss to lay blame on Mother Nature.  There was no way to verify the weather conditions in the Fatherland during the alleged incident.

The team hastily flew out of Germany Thursday morning, but who knows what fate awaits the team when they return to North Korea.

Last year, after the North Korean men's team was outscored 12-0 at the World Cup, the players were forced onto a stage at the People's Palace of Culture and shamed in front of 400 journalists and students during a "six-hour barrage of criticism"  as penance for their presumed less-than-world-class play.

These poor women are probably looking at lightning striking once again.

Swedish Women's Soccer Team's Victory Dance Over U.S. is a Winner

I watched Sweden's 2-1 win over the United States, in their FIFA Women's World Cup soccer group-play match today, and learned a few things about women's soccer I never realized before.

First of all, every women's team seems to have a team victory dance they perform after every goal or win.  My vote for best choreography  goes to Sweden.  It's a Nordic Polska with a little gangsta crotch-grab to spice it up. 

Here's a few other things I picked up on the sport today.

Apparently, the women's style of soccer play is just as scrappy as the men's but they don't cry, roll around in agony and there are way less prat-falls and flopping.  That's probably because an Italian team wasn't on the field.

There is a lot of spirited chatter on the field but, thankfully, it's not as loud as an NCAA women's softball game or the grunting at a Wimbleton Women's Finals match.

The sideline bench area looks more like a nail salon than a sports bench.  Did you see those seats?  Who supplies them, Audi or BMW?  Those blue and white bucket seats, complete with headrests, look like they should be sitting in front of a 60-inch flat screen in some dude's man-cave.  I'm almost sure they have vibrating magic fingers.

The U.S. goalie, Hope Solo, is pretty cute, and not related to Han, and the Swedish team is 92.5% blond.

Finally, the ESPN soccer announcers are the biggest homers in all sports.  They make excuses for every U.S. misplay or loss.  If it's not a "that was a bad call against the U.S.," it's a "this loss will make the U.S. team stronger, that's just how they are."  Get over it, Sweden is a pretty good team.

Now, the U.S. will face Brazil in a tough  quarterfinal match on Sunday.  The U.S. team has been relegated to second place in Group C due to the loss.  It was the United States women's soccer team's first  loss in group play in their last 17 appearances.

I knew that.