Who do you want?

Some wonderful examples of stating the bleeding obvious as journalists desperately try to make a story out of pure speculation over the FIFA World Cup Draw in Cape Town this evening:

A favourable draw for Bafana will give the hosts a chance of making it past the early stages of the first World Cup on African soil.

Wow. Who knew? Presumably a less favourable draw would reduce that chance?
(This is just a guess).

Three possibilities loom for Bafana Bafana when the 2010 World Cup draw is made: an easy passage to the second round, a challenging yet still possible promotion to the last 16 – or the dreaded Group of Death.

In between these three possibilities lie other inter-possibilities. Like, for example, Bafana Bafana getting drawn in the Group of Traumatic Amputation, which isn’t quite as bad as the Group of Death, but which they will want to avoid more than the Group of Permanent Injury or the less difficult, but nevertheless potentially challenging Group of Unfortunate Infection.

“I just hope that we won’t end up in the toughest group,” said French federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes.

Never mind, even if you do Jean-Pierre, I’m sure you’ll handle it (in true French tradition).

US coach Bob Bradley said his team was hoping for a group in which they would have a “good opportunity to move forward.”

This is the sort of coach I like. Not one of those coaches that comes out with lines like “I really want us to fall at the first hurdle” or “I hope we lose all our games”. That’s positive thinking right there, Mr Bradley and it’s to your credit. Nice work.   

Tomorrow on 6000 miles…, we continue our exploration into the possible religious views of the Pope and the defaecation habits of ursines.