Euro 2008: Group A

11:50 AM EST:
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic
2:30 PM EST:
Portugal vs. Turkey

When I did the World Cup in '06 my blogging was mostly along a Winners & Losers, Heroes & Villains line, and I think I'll probably stick with that.

These aren't that hard to choose on either register. One of my best friends from high school grew up in the "Little Prague" section of Randolph and so Czech Republic was one of the teams I was most rooting for in the World Cup 2006. Though they underperformed a bit in that tournament I think they're pretty likely to advance in this one. I generally like Switzerland, and I'll probably be rooting for them in later games, but today it's all about the Czech.

Portugal vs. Turkey is easy: I have friends from Turkey and Portugal is probably my most hated squad from 2008, what with their constant dirty play and shameless diving. But they're going to beat Turkey, and they're also sure to advance, so I'll be resenting them for a while yet.