Pool Party

Big thanks goes out to the Continentalist and his lovely wife and daughters for hosting us all for the Euro 2008 Final.

Banana Island enjoys the Spanish victory (and pool title) with KC Barstow.

Coincidence? Mimosa's made of Cava with the same name as two of the members of Spain's backline.

The Continentalist puzzles over Germany's inability to score.

Insult to Injury: Eastern Influence is marauded by revellers after Spain's historic win. (click to enlarge)

Pool Standings: Euro 2008 Final

1. Banana Island - 45 pts* (12-3)

2. Cantona - 43 pts* (12-3)

3. Real Marin - 41 pts* (11-4)
__Team Auckland - 41 pts* (11-4)

4. Team Jerusalem - 39 pts* (10-5)

5. The Continentalist - 30 pts (11-4)
___Eastern Influence - 30 pts (11-4)
___G.D - 30 pts (8-7)

7. BigMaggie - 29 pts* (7-8)

6. Myron - 20 pts (9-6)
___The Jerver - 20 pts (8-7)

8. JL - 14 pts (6-8)

In a shock to the traditional powers-that-be, Banana Island has emerged as champion in the Euro 2008 Pool by virtue of the fact she was the only one to pick Germany over Portugal in the quarterfinals, but Spain over Germany in the final. Congrats to Banana Island for climbing to the top of the table in only her second outing. She's obviously putting all her football watching to good use - it's just too bad there wasn't something more tangible than prestige on the line to sweeten the victory. It's also worth noting that a full six teams picked Spain as their bonus pick to win-it-all as indicated by the (*) above. Guess this Euro reeked of Spain from the get-go.

Xavi voted Player of the Tournament

Congrats to Barça's Xavi Hernandez on being voted Player of Euro 2008 for his key role in marshaling Spain's midfield. While Xavi certainly was amazing, a strong case could have been made that holding midfielder Marcos Senna was Spain's most important player. Could the fact that Senna's Brazilian born have played a role in the voting?