I'm not quite sure when Soccer pregame ceremonies turned into the Cirque Du Soleil but in case you missed it here is the rather odd one before the Euro 2008 Final today...

Ummmm, yeah....that was special. It also went on for about another 20 minutes too, so you're welcome for trimming it down. That really was like a bad acid trip, but also kind of entertaining. Add to that Enrique Iglesias and I'm ready for some Soccer!

I mentioned yesterday about BBC potentially suing the UEFA for losses suffered during the lightning strike, but I had no idea they still had sound! Take notes ESPN....

Vegas for the That video right there is precisely why you foot the bill to send your announcers overseas (and the FIBA Championships in Las Vegas ). I know something of this nature is not likely to occur again, but anything can happen. You'll come across looking much better in the end and we won't have to listen to Rece Davis and Julie Foudy talk about German and Turkish relations during the finish to a great game.

The BBC: Slightly More Prepared Than ESPN (Fanhouse)

Yesterday's match was definitely a show and everyone involved is definitely upset, but the BBC is taking it a step further. They're trying to seek damages after thunderstorms knocked out the International feed of Euro 2008 semi-final game between Germany and Turkey....

UEFA today faced compensation claims from broadcasters, including the BBC, following the loss of pictures during last night's thrilling Euro 2008 semi-final.

Millions of football fans around Europe were left shouting at their television sets when a power blackout interrupted TV coverage of the nail-biting match between Germany and Turkey.

The game was midway through the second half with a scoreline of 1-1 when the first of two blackouts, caused by a fierce electrical storm in Vienna, Austria, hit British viewers watching on BBC1.

I don't know how you can sue for damages during an act of God but stranger things have happened. I'm inclined to believe that the World feed went out, but the conspiracy theorist in me is thinking different. When lightning strikes it doesn't tend to just knock out one tower or signal. No power was out in the town and the Swiss feed was still fine. I'm betting some security guard was just sitting on a cord and everytime he moved it went in and out.

In all seriousness, it stunk for everyone involved and it wasn't anyone's fault but God's. So sue God BBC! Actually they're probably doing that too come to think of it.

BBC may seek compensation from UEFA after storms knock out TV coverage during nail-biting Euro 2008 semi-final (Mail Online)

I really thought that Healey and Gray were the "A-Team" during this tournament but I guess I was wrong. You only get two more games with the duo before the give way to Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth in the Quarterfinals. Here's you Euro 2008 announcing schedule for the rest of the week....

Tuesday 6/17

Netherlands vs. Romania- Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth (ESPN Classic, 2:30pm)
France vs. Italy- Adrian Healey and Andy Gray (ESPN, 2:30pm)

Wednesday 6/18

Greece vs. Spain- Adrian Healey and Andy Gray (ESPN, 2:30pm)
Russia vs. Sweden- Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth (ESPN, 2pm)

Quarterfinals

Thursday 6/19 2:30 p.m. - Portugal vs. Germany- Adrian Healey and Andy Gray (ESPN, 2:30pm)
Friday 6/20 2:30 p.m. - Croatia vs. Turkey- Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth (ESPN, 2:30pm)
Saturday 6/21 2:30 p.m. - Netherlands vs. 2D- Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth (ABC, 2:30pm)
Sunday 6/22 2:55 p.m. - Spain vs. 2C- Adrian Healey and Andy Gray (ESPN, 2:55pm)

Caught this during the Austria-Poland match earlier today and had to share this video with you. Watch closely during the full speed play and then prepare yourself for the slo mo....

"There's a ball smashed in there. Aw, that's gotta hurt."- Robbie Mustoe

Again, every different way a commentator describes a nut shot is different and we can now add Mustoe's English version to the list. Good times.

SS Reporters did some sleuthing and came up with the Announcing Schedule for the first seven days of Euro 2008. The good news is that Andy Gray will be getting a ton of games and while Robbie Mustoe was mentioned in the original release, he may not even get a game in the first week. Here's the schedule....

Saturday 6/07

11:50 a.m.- Switzerland vs. Czech Republic A (ESPN Classic) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Portugal vs. Turkey A (ESPN Classic) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray

Sunday 6/08

11:50 a.m.- Austria vs. Croatia B (ESPN2) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Germany vs. Poland B (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray

Monday 6/09

11:50 a.m.- Romania vs. France C (ESPN2) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Netherlands vs. Italy C (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray

Tuesday 6/10

11:50 a.m.- Spain vs. Russia D (ESPN2) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Greece vs. Sweden D (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray

Wednesday 6/11

11:50 a.m.- Czech Republic vs. Portugal A (ESPN2) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Switzerland vs. Turkey A (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe

Thursday 6/12

11:50 a.m.- Croatia vs. Germany B (ESPN2) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Austria vs. Poland B (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray

Friday 6/13

11:50 a.m.- Italy vs. Romania C (ESPN2) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Netherlands vs. France C (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray

Saturday 6/14

11:50 a.m.- Sweden vs. Spain D (ESPN2) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth
2:30 p.m.- Greece vs. Russia D (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray

Sunday 6/15

2:30 p.m.- Switzerland vs. Portugal A (ESPN2) - Adrian Healey and Andy Gray or Robbie Mustoe
2:30 p.m.- Turkey vs. Czech Republic A (ESPN) - Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth

Euro 2008 ESPN Assignments (SS Reporters)

Obviously it's a huge cost cutting measure to keep your commentators at home rather then send them to another Country, but the practice is usually reserved for smaller events than Euro 2008. According to USA Today that's going to be the case for Derek Rae, Andy Gray and crew this June....

ABC/ESPN will televise 31 games in the tournament, which only aired on pay-per-view TV in the U.S. in 2004 and 2000. The networks normally use American announcers in part to help explain the sport to novice fans. All game announcers this time, however, are foreign-born: Gray, Adrian Healey, Robbie Mustoe, Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth. They'll call it off TV monitors at ESPN's Connecticut offices. "It's a departure for us, a nod towards the game's globalization," said Tim Scanlan, who's overseeing ABC/ESPN coverage.

I know it's not really that big of a deal, but for some reason it really bothers me. Something is lost when the announcers can't get a feel of the crowd and the atmosphere of the game. ESPN did this for the 2007 FIBA Championships in Las Vegas (Allllll the way to Las Vegas? Let's save some coin!) and it just didn't come off right. That was an extremely small viewing audience though, and while Soccer in the U.S. might not get huge ratings this event should be big enough to foot the bill.

Euro 2008 (USA Today)

I know you've been anxiously awaiting this release, and here it is. ESPN even decided to bring on an extra analyst that you maybe very familiar with. English Premier League and England Men’s National Team television analyst Andy Gray will be brought on for the Tournament and he'll be both in the booth and in the studio during the 31 Match Tourney.

Here the rest of your players....

Studio Team: Rece Davis, Rob Stone and Julie Foudy
Play by Play: Derek Rae and Adrian Healey
Analysts: Andy Gray, Tommy Smyth, and Robbie Mustoe
Reporter: Pedro Gomez

It's good to see Pedro Gomez finally getting work now that Barry Bonds is out of the Majors isn't it (I kid, I kid). All in all it looks like a pretty good set of individuals. In the studio, Rece Davis did a pretty good job during the 2006 World Cup and Rob Stone and Julie Foudy are great analysts.

I'm not sure of the announcing teams and who's calling which games, but I'll pass that along as soon as I get word.

(Via ESPN PR)

Unbelievable. I know I'm in the minority here, but I love penalty kicks. It's so damn intense and this shootout was no different. Here it is in its entirety....

Ronaldo and Terry both missed and what a save by Van der Sar. Fun times and I'm officially stoked for Euro 2008.

I don't know what's going on over in Bristol, but ESPN's coverage of Soccer has actually gotten really good. They're airing the UEFA Champions League Final next Wednesday and then go into the month long Euro 2008 Tournament. ESPN is going to start promoting for Euro '08 heavily and has already released ads featuring the Countries of Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy.

Here are two of the five ads (for Portugal and Germany), EPL Talk has the rest. Enjoy Portugal and Germany!

I can't wait to see what they put together for Croatia!

ESPN Launches Ads to Promote Euro 2008 TV Coverage (EPL Talk)