Turns out that had the Blue Samurai advanced to the quarterfinals against the Portugal/Spain winner(it turned out to be the latter),they would have been without three core pieces(Keisuke Honda,Yasuhito Endou,and Yuuto Nagatomo)due to cumulative cautions(2 yellows):each got one in the group round and received their respective seconds in the Paraguay match though the ref wasn't exactly level-headed(he booked several players from both teams in that match).However,as only red card bans extend beyond the World Cup and cumulative yellows don't,they could have actually been severe underdogs against the winner of 'the battle of Iberia' had they scored goals against Paraguay...

As for the other teams,barring a Uruguayan upset of the Netherlands,we could potentially see our second straight all-European World Cup final.Speaking of Oranje,I figured they had the best chance of anyone to knock the Brazilians out anyway...

Another bad thing about the World Cup winding down as that the annual Tour des Drogues is underway.Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that not many Japanese cyclists have a 'fair-and-square chance at winning' at this 'prestigious' event.In my eyes,professional cycling needs to take an extended sabattical(at least a couple years)before the sport can be trusted.Thank goodness for baseball season and football training camps...

Of course,the 'rad' stock free-fall continues days after the June SSS report:At one point yesterday,one share of Rite Aid stock hit 88 cents(same as our regular price of a single serving candy bar).I was almost hesitant to check Y!Finance's basher-plagued Rite Aid board which I hadn't checked since Tuesday(when it was still worth over a buck).Maybe Wall Street's short 4-day week(they observe Independence Day on Monday)will be a blessing in disguise...

Happy 40th birthday to Yuuko Nagashima...