Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Semi #1 Roundup

Euro 2012 has seen 311 minutes of pitch time since Xabi Alonso did Spain right with an unmarked header that gave new definition to the idea of "open play." Since then the only kicks that have found the back of the net have come from the penalty spot. 


Amazingly though, two straight goalless draws have produced the two highest fantasy scoring outputs of the tournament. 

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Qtr #1 Roundup

For those like me who are conflicted about the ambivalent nature of their mixed feelings toward Cristiano Ronaldo, the first game of the Euro 2012 Knockout round dished out a generous slice of cake then let us take a big old bite.

Ronaldo's performance vs. the Czechs came flavored with all his classic attitudes, emotions, and abilities. Early, it was petulance dashed with determination topped off with a bit of blubbering disbelief. Later, strong notes of savage brilliance, and a tiny sprinkle of raw, honest patriotism, all served up with a sauce of brittle arrogance, unable to forget for even one single moment that most of the world still thinks Messi is better.

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 10 Roundup

From the moment the balls were drawn in Warsaw last winter, they called it the Group of Death. And when it came to the action on the pitch, they couldn't have been more correct - even the mighty Germans could never be assured of advancing until they scored in the 260th of the 270 minutes the Group Stage contains.

But gambling doesn't always imitate life, and for fantasy purposes, Group B will likely end up as the liveliest of all.

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 6 Roundup

An explosion of scoring in Group B led to some big moves on the Fantasy leaderboard on Day 6, and the contenders for the big money are starting to pull away from the pretenders, permanently.


Speaking as a pretender, this sucks.  As a fan of drama and scenario generation, however, I'm lovin it.  Barring a Konoplianka hat trick or two, I can start to make peace with the fact that this isn't gonna be my four years.  But I am still here to serve those of you in the pool with the same dedication, hopefully a few of y'all enjoy these writeups to make it worth the effort.

Euro 2012 Diary, Day 6 - Desperate Dutchmen

It's been a couple days since I've pumped out any non-Fantasy Pool related thoughts on the Euros.  Chalk it up to equal parts busyness, fatigue, and lack of inspiration. Almost halfway through the group stage and I have only really gotten to sit and watch a couple of games with full focus - and unfortunately one of those games was England v France, which literally put me to sleep in the second half.

Day 6 brings a remedy for some of those problems, but not all.  I'm still busy and I'm again on the day shift which means not watching the games live, but I've finally caught up on sleep, I feel fantastic, and today's matchups come loaded with inspiration.

Topping the list of things to look forward to: Desperate Dutchmen. 

Euro 2012 Fantasy Player Pool - Day 2 Roundup

Which of these guys would you guess is the full-blooded German?

Day 2 of the Fantasy Pool was headlined by two stars ... one of them Kind Of German and the other one Very German.  Gomez's header was the only goal scored by anyone active in the player pool, and Neuer's 3 saves nosed him ahead of a large group of back liners who joined him in picking up Clean Sheet points.