Rugby "Porn" (WC Championships) + Houston Dynamo MLS Champs

Keguro inquires in a prior post's comments about this year's Jstheater rugby "porn." T'was here (new and infrequent readers, they do have their clothes on), as I was celebrating midstream this year's Rugby World Cup in France. (The post received few comments, and zero from admirers of the muscly menfolks themselves, leading me to believe that brawn and thick thighs had become passé among my friends on the Internets.) I was remiss in not following up with a post on the championship game, but as Keguro notes, South Africa defeated England 15-6 to win it all and take their second World Cup. My favorite picture from the final is this one, showing the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, hoisted aloft by the diverse squad, an image that would have been impossible 20 years ago.

(Photo Getty Images)

South Africa's tight defense and timely penalty scoring, it appears, proved decisive, but England also suffered from the loss of its soon-to-be-retired star, real life action-figure Jason Robinson (below) late in the game, to a shoulder injury. Keguro broaches the historical parallel of the Boer War, so I'll leave him to pursue that at some point, because you know it'll be amazing. I'll only note that the 3rd place match featured new world powerhouse Argentina defeating host France 34-10. From what I can tell, this pillar of "Old Europe," which had defeated the heavily favored New Zealand "All Blacks" 20-18 and walloped nearly all its other opponents, save Argentina in the opening round, took the defeat pretty well. As for Robinson, he looks like he need some serious consoling.

(Getty Images)

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I used to follow Major League Soccer (MLS) when it began over a decade ago; I can recall DC United defeating Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 back in 1996. Around the turn of the new millennium, however, I stopped following the MLS almost completely, though I have kept up with widely reported league news like the sale of New York's team, Kansas City's team's name change to a geographically neutral high-end scotch brand (Chivas USA indeed!) and the overhyped arrival of David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, which I pray someone out there missed.

Checking the sports roundup yesterday on Yahoo! Sports, I saw that the MLS championship game had just taken place, with the Houston Dynamo, who up until two years ago had been the unfortunately named San Jose Earthquakes, defeating the New England Revolution 2-1. Dwayne De Rosario, the cornrowed Guyanese-Canadian star below, scored the game-winning goal on a rare (for him) header, giving the Dynamo their second championship in a row and foiling New England's hopes for a sixth straight year. Below are a few photos from the contest. I just may start following the MLS again, if I can find the time.

Houston Dynamo's soccer player Dwayne De Rosario celebrates his game winning goal against the New England Revolution in the 2007 MLS Cup in Washington, November 18, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young.

Brian Ching's tying goal breathed life into Dynamo. His PK helped them win last year's MLS Cup. (Steve Grayson/WireImage.com)

New England Revolution's Avery John sits on the field after the MLS Cup championship soccer game Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007, in Washington . The Houston Dynamo defeated the Revolution 2 -1 to win the MLS Cup championship.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Houston Dynamo's goalkeeper Pat Onstad (2nd R) celebrates his team's win with teammates Craig Waibel (C), Ryan Cochrane (5), and Stuart Holden (2) as New England Revolution's Pat Noonan walks off the field in their 2007 MLS Cup soccer match in Washington November 18, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young.

Houston Dynamo's Wade Barrett (C) holds up the 2007 MLS Cup after defeating the New England Revolution, 2-1, in the league soccer final in Washington, November 18, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young.