"Celebrate Good Times, Come On!" **UPDATED**

The US Women's National Team has made it into the Finals of the Women's World Cup. Woohoo! It was an exciting match, dominated in possession by their opponent, France, but the US scored the most goals, 3 - 1. This is the first time the Women's Team has made it back to the Finals since the incredible win against China in 1999. That match was won on penalty kicks, and gave us this iconic image of Brandi Chastain, who put in the winning strike (photo credit Atkins/AP):



What an amazing moment that was. Just breath-taking.

Another soon-to-be iconic moment was the Japanese Women's National Team before their semifinal match on Wednesday against Sweden, which they won, 3-1 (AP Photo/Michael Probst):



They turned to all four directions of the stadium making a "human sandwich," and then they bowed. It brought tears to my eyes. Given all the tragedy with which Japan has been dealing following the earthquakes and tsunamis, their Women's Team making it to the Finals is a bright light for them. Congratulations to them. Well done.

The final between the US and Japan will air Sunday at 2:00pm EST on ESPN. It should be a very exciting match, especially since the two teams have very different styles of play. Go, USA!

And since it is Friday, I will leave you with a swinging ditty from Jimmy Smith to get your feet tapping, a little shout out to the Prez and the Congress:



One last thing: One of my oldest friends is in town for a visit, so this will be my last post until Wednesday, July 20, unless something major happens that I feel compelled to write about, that is. Have a good weekend, everyone.

UPDATE: After a well played 90 minutes, plus two 15 minute overtimes, the USA went down in defeat on Penalty Kicks to Japan. It was probably the best I had seen the USA play all tournament long, but Japan got the edge in the PKs. I am very disappointed, of course, but for Japan, this is a bright, shining moment. Well done, and congratulations.

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