Monthly Archives: June 2018

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 7 Comments

by John Walters

Tweet du Jour

Starting Five

They Put Out The Damn Paper

The War on Civility found a new front yesterday, as a gunman walked into The Capital Gazette, an Annapolis, Md., based newspaper, and gunned down five employees. And then the staff still went ahead and put out today’s edition.

And while the gunman had his own issues with this particular staff, it’s disingenuous to pretend that a president who calls the press “the enemy of the American people” at every opportunity, including just two nights ago, is not an accessory to this crime.

2. Oregon Statement

One week shy of July 4th, and the NCAA is still staging championships. That all ended last night as Oregon State took down Arkansas in the College World Series. Last year Pat Casey’s team went an astounding 56-6 but lost to LSU in the CWS. This year the Corvallis-based Beavers faltered some (55-12) but beat the Razorbacks two straight after losing the first game of the double-elimination final.

A YUGE subplot of this team the past two years has been pitcher Luke Heimlich, who last season went 11-1 with a 0.76 ERA and this year was 16-3 with a 2.92 ERA. A few years ago Heimlich pleaded guilty to sexually molesting his 6 year-old niece. And now you’re in the midst of a land mine field…

Another Beaver hurler, freshman Kevin Abel, was the star in Omaha. Abel pitched a two-hit shutout in last night’s decisive game and also got credit for the win Wednesday, coming on in relief. He won a record-setting four games in Omaha during this CWS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nazUHZaOgc

What this CWS may best be remembered for, though, is a near-Bucknerian collapse by the Hogs in Game 2 of the series Wednesday night (we’ve already taken the switch to MH’s College Baseball intern for missing this): Arkansas had already won the first game and had a one-run lead with two outs in the top of the ninth when OSU’s Cadyn Grenier hit a foul pop close to the first base stands. Three Arkansas fielders allowed it to drop between them.


Given second life, Grenier followed with a game-tying hit, then Trevor Larnach clobbered a two-run go-ahead home run. The Hogs would not score again in this series.

Casey and Oregon State won the CWS twice before, in 2006 and 2007.

3. Jon Stewart Nails Trump (Again): “Gleeful Cruelty”

Man, do we ever need Jon Stewart and David Letterman more than ever. The former showed up on Stephen Colbert‘s show last night (must have been taped before The Capital Gazette shooting) and reminded Trump that as a nation, most of us are not assholes. And that you can’t turn lying and bullying into a virtue, no matter how often you try.

4. Bye Bye, Cars

If you live in Manhattan, you know what a panacea Central Park is to your physical and mental health. In the near-three decades I’ve resided here, I’ve always wondered what many of us have: How much more salubrious would CP be if cars were not allowed to traverse through?

After years of incremental steps, Central Park finally became a totally car-free zone this week (although I’m sure the cops will still zip through it whenever they like). Vehicles NEVER belonged here and the canard about how it made the flow of traffic all over the city easier was bogus. There’s only one horsepower that belongs in CP, and it’s attached to a buggy (and we’re not even crazy about that, for the horsies’ sake).

The closer all of Manhattan gets to being an auto-free zone, the better. We’d start with only allowing taxis, delivery trucks and mass transit. No more personal-use vehicles allowed in the city.

5. Whoa-oooooh, We’re Halfway There!

It’s a Friday and also the last day of June, which is the sixth month of the year and while July 2nd actually marks the year’s midpoint, we thought we’d have a little fun with superlatives/predictions/a look back.

Best Sports Moment Thus Far: Many to choose from, from Alabama’s championship-winning touchdown pass in overtime (ballsy call, Nick) to that crazy Hail Mary-ish pass in Minnesota that got the Vikings through to another round, to that NCAA women’s 4 x 400 final in which that USC sprinter redeemed herself from a year ago, but we’ll go with UMBC’s upset of Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA’s. A 16 had never beaten a 1 and the entire second-half gave us goosebumps.

Best TV Moment: We told you earlier this week. James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” with Sir Paul McCartney. If you still haven’t seen it, find it. It’s all over YouTube.

Worst Horror Story: Believe it or not, totally unrelated to anything with Trump. For me it was reading about the six people who climbed into an open-doored helicopter for a scenic sunset tour of Manhattan. The chopper lost power, plunged into the East River and the six young passengers (but not the pilot) were so securely strapped in that they drowned. All were consciously and likely fine as they hit the water and then all sat next to one another as they drowned in the cold, murky water, just a few feet below the surface.

Worst Stock Picker: Me. This year’s stock pick, Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), started the year around $27 and is now at $8.37. Oh, you didn’t realize I meant that you should short it? Anyway, other MH stalwarts, such as AMZN, NFLX and MCD, are all doing well. We shouldn’t have gotten cute.

Reserves

Shanghai Noon


It begins with an under stable request from Pablo, but ends with an excellent point from Bomani (Have you ever asked a black man, “What country do you think you’re from?”)

Music 101

Prayer For The Dying

In one year in the early Nineties Henry Samuel, a.k.a. Seal, had three near-death experiences: he walked away from a nasty car wreck, came down with double pneumonia, and was standing right next to someone as they were fatally shot. The experiences caused him to ruminate a little on mortality, which produced this tune off his 1994 album, Seal (both of his first two albums were titled Seal), which went to No. 21 on the Billboard chart. We’ve always thought of Seal as Peter Gabriel’s English world-music soul brother. No?

Remote Patrol

SATURDAY
World Cup

Argentina vs France

10 a.m. Fox

I don’t care what you say, Olivier Giroud is not THAT handsome. He’s just NOT. Okay? He’s not “Jerry, it moved” dashing and I’ll hear no other arguments on this issue. Lionel Messi and friends try to drive the Frogs back across the Maginot Line. Will they fare better in Eastern Europe than Napoleon? It’s knockout round time.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 9 Comments

by John Walters

Starting Five


Snake Shack

One…two…three…perhaps as many as four Surrender Cobras spotted wearing German uniforms during its 2-0 defeat to South Korea. Let the schadenfreude begin! Here’s the deal: with Mexico crumbling 3-0 to Sweden, all the defending World Cup champions needed to do was beat South Korea. Which entered the match 0-2.

Ozil: the illegitimate grandson of Peter Lorre says, “Rick! Rick! You’ve got to hide me, Rick!”

Instead, Germany allowed a goal off a corner kick in stoppage time and then an empty netter. Auf wiedersehen.

2. Summer of Dictators Continues

In June it was Kim Jong-Un. Now, on July 16, one day after the World Cup final in Moscow, President Trump will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow for a summit. The two will reportedly discuss whether Kawhi and LeBron can coexist in Los Angeles.

3. Civility Wins! (In the Detroit Tiger Clubhouse)

You can still say anything demeaning you want about anyone if you’re the President of the United States (or a blogger!), but that sh*t won’t fly in the Detroit Tiger clubhouse. The franchise fired pitching coach Chris Bosio yesterday for making a demeaning remark to a member of the staff. No one is sure exactly what or to whom Bosio’s remark was about, but  the former Major League hurler who once threw a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway is gone.

Bosio, 55, was also the Chicago Cubs pitching coach when they won the World Series two years ago.

4. The Gallopin’ Grandma

This is Emma Gatewood, the first woman to solo the Appalachian Trail and complete it. The year was 1955 and by that time Gatewood was already 67 years old and had given birth  to 11 children. She was  already a great-grandmother.

Gatewood is profiled in a new feature in The New York Times called “Overlooked,” in which  obituaries are written about people who are long dead but may have been somewhat, um, overlooked at the time of their passing (yours or mine should be appearing in the year 2132).

Walk on, Emma. Walk on….

Why she took to hiking is an intriguing story that I’ll leave you to find out for yourself. But she was the first woman to hike the 2,050-mile trail, the first person of either gender to do so multiple times (three in all), and by the time she died at the age of 85, she’d also hiked the 2,000-mile Oregon Trail.

If you’re thinking, Maybe she just couldn’t stand to be around her husband…you’re right.

5. L.A.Bron?

So you think Brentwood? Or should I pull a Kobe and copter in from Newport Beach?

We’ll know by the end of the day tomorrow, right? LeBron James either opts to remain in Cleveland or to become a free agent, no? Our guess is that, while Utah is the better fit and Philadelphia is his best bet for returning to the NBA Finals (to lose) a couple more times and that Boston would say, “Thanks, not interested,” our guess is that he follows his manifest destiny and heads to Los Angeles.

He already has two homes there, he wouldn’t be the first superstar to don a Laker jersey at the peak of his career or later (Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Karl, Gary, to name a few), and that the Lakers just have the mystique.

Exclusive look at Laker preseason scrimmage

And if you think this is all just a ploy to inveigle Susie B. to return to the Comments section, well, maybe you’re correct.

Would LeBron (now L.A. Bron or LeBrea) insist on joining the Lakers on the condition that they acquire Kawhi Leonard? Perhaps. Remember, Kawhi grew up in the L.A. area and it seems as if he just wants to go home. A Laker team of LeBron, Kawhi and Kyle Kuzma would certainly be an upgrade, but they’d still be lacking enough dead-eye three-point shooters (sure, LeBron is a terrific three-point shooter, but he needs a marksman to dish off to when he’s doubled).

Kuzma averaged 16.1 and 6.3 as a rookie. He was arguably the steal of the draft. Do NOT lose this kid.

Notice I didn’t mention Lonzo Ball. He’s a good player and his shooting will (MUST) improve, but he’s not indispensable. And I’ve gotta think L.A. Bron would not exactly mind if LaVar were not around. Magic Johnson is enough off-court hot air for one NBA franchise.

But if the Lakers deal Kuzma to get Kawhi, they’re making a fatal error. They’d be dealing a taller, younger, less traumatized version of Kawhi to get Kawhi.

Also, I don’t know that you need Paul George. Just another limousine parked outside of Katsuya, know what I mean?

Music 101

Beautiful Sunday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU4bwT8v_sQ

Did you order the one-hit wonder? Well, here it is. Daniel Boone‘s 1972 ode to the sabbath, which is pretty much the polar opposite of Johnny Cash’s classic “Sunday Morning Coming Down” (written by Kris Kristofferson), peaked at No. 1 in four countries and went to No. 15 in the U.S. The British musician’s real name is Peter Green.

Remote Patrol

World Cup

England vs. Belgium

2 p.m. Fox

Citizen Kane

They’re both through to the Round of 16, but who cares? They don’t like each other, plus Harry Kane of England is in the lead for the Golden Boot (most goals.). You have to think Belgium will hold out Lokaku.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | Leave a comment

by John Walters

Tweet du Jour


Aaron Judge is the nicest budding superstar you’ll find. Derek Jeter never played catch with a fan in the stands between innings (Yeah, but he was playing shortstop) Shaddup!

Starting Five

Diego F**k Yourself!

Argentina and Lionel Messi were less than four minutes plus stoppage time away from an inglorious group-stage exit from the World Cup and then this happened….


And then Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, who’s sort of the Charles Barkley-Joe Namath-Dennis Rodman-Pete Rose of retired international soccer stars, reacted as he did above to a fan/fans who’d probably been heckling him most of the match.

Argentina, by virtue of the 2-1 win, moves on to the Round of 16 to face France, which has the most handsome player in the tournament, Olivier Giroud.

2.  Viva Alexandria!

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28 year-old Latina from the Bronx, defeats the top-ranking Democratic congressman under the age of 70, 56 year-old Joseph Crowley, in the Democratic primary. A change is gonna come, after all. Ms. Cortez, a former campaign worker for Bernie Sanders, campaigned on the platform to abolish ICE and as a working-class woman of color.


A few weeks ago Ocasio-Cortez was scheduled to square off against Crowley, who represents the Bronx and Queens but does not live in New York and sends his kids to school in D.C. The 10-term congressman instead sent a female surrogate to take her on. Bad move, Joe.


To his credit, Crowley conceded defeat by picking up his guitar and playing “Born To Run” in Ocasio-Cortez’s honor. For the first time in maybe forever the pol understood the lyrics, Highways jammed with broken heroes….

3. Civility War!

That’s John Lewis, now a U.S. congressman, being treated in a less than civil manner in 1964 for walking across a bridge in Alabama.

We don’t know exactly when it began, but it was some time before Robert De Niro took to the stage at the Tonys earlier this month and pointedly stated, twice, “F**k Trump!” Anyway, ever since the Red Hen owner POLITELY took Sarah Huckabee Sanders aside and told her that she was not welcome to dine there last Friday night, there apparently has been a WAR ON CIVILITY.

Funny, no one was mentioning civility after “grab her by the pussy” or “Pocahantas” or “Little Mario” or mocking the NYT reporter’s handicap or pointing at the press and declaring, “They’re the enemy.” But now every Deplorable you can find is taking his white gloves off, sniffing at Jeeves, and declaring that they shan’t put up with such umbrage while issuing the harshest of “Good day, sir!”‘ ‘s in your general direction.


You know what? F**k ’em.

4. Lost Boys

In Thailand, an entire soccer team of teenage boys is missing after they went spelunking in a cave that is subject to tidal overflow. On Saturday the dozen boys, ranging in age from 11 to 16, and their 25 year-old coach, apparently parked their bikes outside the complex of caves and traveled through a narrow, 50-foot channel to enter the caverns.

The caves are off-limits during the rainy season, which has just begun, because they can become flooded and trap visitors. A sign outside them says as much. The team has now been missing for four days.

5. Cold Fun In The Summertime

Take a gander at Gander: We’ve actually passed through this northern Newfoundland town (don’t tell anyone: it’s beautiful up there!). It’s also the setting for the sleeper Broadway musical hit, Come From Away. But it’s also located pretty far north, and so earlier this week kids were wondering if they’d have a snow day instead of having to go to school.


Granted, it was a light dusting compared to what the Ganderians (?) are used to, but it’s still snow in the summer time.

Music 101

IKEA

Dive into the clever, nerdy, guitar-addled mind of Jonathan Coulton, the only rocker who probably enjoyed high school chemistry lab. He has a mix of songs as quirky and funny as the one above, such as “Millionaire Girlfriend” and “Skullcrusher Mountain.” This is a man who keeps his picks and capo in the same art box as his icosahedron D&D die.

Remote Patrol

World Cup

Mexico vs. Sweden

10 a.m. FOX

Germany vs. South Korea

10 a.m. FS1

“Chicharito” is Spanish for, Didn’t I used to be in Party of Five?

El Tri are 2-0 in Group F and on the verge of elimination. Que? When Germany defeated Sweden on Saturday, it put both sides at 1-0-1 and within striking distance of Mexico. If Deutschland, the defending World Cup champs, put a big hurt on South Korea (expected) and the Vikings beat Mexico handily, our best friends directly to the south will be sent home on goal differential (since all three sides will be 2-0-1 and 1-0-1 versus each other). It’s bordering on insanity.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | Leave a comment

by John Walters

Tweet du Jour


Nature ALWAYS adapts. When will man learn?

Starting Five

It was a chippy match, and Ronaldo (who got a yellow card), might have deserved a red card late

Portugal Escapes

If you were glued to the set on a Monday afternoon watching Portugal trying to desperately elude Iran in a soccer match, you’re not alone. The Lisbon gang hung on for a 1-1 draw with the upstart Iranians, who had a golden chance at a go-ahead goal in stoppage time that would have knocked Ronaldo & Co. from the World Cup, but it was shanked wide.

Portugal gets Uruguay in the Round of 16. Spain gets Russia.

2. Hogs Get Slaughtered

In the past 24 hours, in a two-fer only he is capable of, Donald Trump took on a black Congresswomen and one of the most iconic middle-aged American white guy brands that has ever existed: Maxine Waters and Harley-Davidson.

Over the weekend Waters, who will turn 80 later this summer (hopefully), reacted to the Red Hen Kerfuffle by advocating more grass roots defiance. “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them,” Waters said at an event in Los Angeles. “You tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

Well, that sounds more like harassment than free speech, and maybe “push” was the wrong word choice. No, it definitely was. But then Donny Sr. tweeted a not-so-veiled threat:


Then yesterday Harley-Davidson, responding to the tariff war Trump initiated, announced that it would shift SOME of its motorcycle production overseas. See, Donald decided to put tariffs on European imports, thinking they’d cower as if the Republican party has, but instead the EU struck back with tariffs that would add a 31% increase to the price of a Harley in Europe, so the Wisconsin-based manufacturer announced it would some of its production to Europe.


Now Donny is threatening that H-D will lose its “aura.” It’s so maddening when all the subjects don’t kiss your ring, isn’t it, Donald?

 

3. But Would You Bake Them A Cake?

ESPN’s Body Issue made its debut yesterday and Olympian couple Sue Bird (hoops) and Megan Rapinoe (soccer) made quite the splash. Another former UConn Player of the Year, Breanna Stewart, also shows up. UConn women’s hoops must lead all teams in Body Issue selections, as Diana Taurasi is a former model.

If we know Geno at all, he’s been making jokes about how it is a travesty that he has not yet been asked to pose, as he is the sexiest person in the UConn program (psst, Swin Cash is/was; has she been asked?).

4. Fox Plays Its Red Card

There’s a short connect-the-dots between Fox News and Vladimir Putin and we wonder if that had anything or everything to do with this puff piece Fox aired yesterday on Josef Stalin’s dacha, or vacation retreat, in Sochi. When a segment begins, “Think what you will about Josef Stalin….” WHAT?!?! The dude was responsible for the deaths of as many as 20 MILLION people. Think what we will?

The piece did delve into Stalin’s paranoia about being assassinated, but never speculated as to why. Maybe if they’d mentioned the millions of his own countrymen that he had executed? There’s pivoting to video and then there’s plain ol’ propaganda. You DO remember whose regime inspired 1984 and Animal Farm, don’t you?

5. And I Would Run 100 Miles

It was more than a little warm for this year’s annual Western States run across 100 miles of wilderness terrain in northern California. At the Mile 78 river crossing, the mercury climbed to 106 degrees. And yet overall winner Jim Walmsley set a new course record (as opposed to setting an old course record) while female winner Courtney Dauwalter ran the second-fastest female time yet.

Walmsley, who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona (of course), shaved more than 16 minutes off the course record, crossing the finish line on the track at Placer High School in Auburn, Calif., in 14 hours, 30 minutes and 4 seconds. Second place this year finished an hour and 24 minutes behind.

You may remember Walmsley as the man who two years ago was leading Western States and 20 minutes under the course record when he took a wrong turn with less than 10 miles to go and lost it all.

Dauwalter

Dauwalter, 31, finished in 17 hours and 27 minutes flat, an hour and 13 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher for females.

Walmsley is a north Scottsdale native who attended the Air Force Academy and then worked on intercontinental ballistic missile systems in Montana as part of his five-year service obligation. It was running outdoors in Montana (he’d been a standout cross-country guy at AFA) that made him fall in love with ultra trail running.

Crazy Fact: Walmsley’s high school teammate, James Bonnett, was the youngest Western States finisher (at the time), crossing the finish line when he was 18 years old.

Dauwalter, like Walmsley, was a varsity college athlete in the state of Colorado. She was on the Nordic ski team at the University of Denver. She’s now a school teacher.

Reserves

Watch…

Music 101

Wishin’ and Hopin’

Dionne Warwick originally recorded this song in 1963 and released it as a B-side. Dusty Springfield (above) heard it, recorded it, and then the song’s writers, the hit-makers Burt Bacharach and Hal David, leaked it to a New York City deejay (Dusty was ambivalent about stepping on Dionne’s shoes). It became a No. 4 hit in 1964.

 

Remote Patrol

World Cup

Iceland vs. Croatia

2 p.m. FS1

Nigeria vs. Argentina

2 p.m. Fox

Croatian striker Luka Modric has a checkered past….

Group D: Croatia is through to the knockout round. Iceland MUST win and hope Argentina wins and   Argentina MUST win and hope Iceland loses. Nigeria is in if it wins or draws (I figured this out on my own so it’s probably about 50% correct).

 

 

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 5 Comments

by John Walters

Tweet du Jour

Starting Five

1. Day Tripper

Not just the best thing we saw this weekend, but the best thing we’ve seen this year. Sir Paul is impossibly gracious, humble, warm, funny, sweet, insightful and altruistic. Also, the execution of this idea was imaginative and inspired. We’ll say no more other than to suggest that the long and winding road is a glorious one, for all of us.. Simply watch and remember that these are the final lyrics from the final recorded Beatles song….

And in the end,

The love you take,

Is equal to the love you make….

2. Plucked From The Red Hen

We wouldn’t have refused to serve Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her party, but we would have definitely separated the younger patrons from the older and not told either side where the other was seated. Then, as someone suggested on Twitter, we would have never brought out the meal and every time Sanders inquired about it, would have told our waiter to say, “I’ll have to get back to you on that” or “I”ll have to refer you to the kitchen.”


MH has obtained Sanders’ rescinded order: “bull-your-base and a Coke with no ICE.”

The restaurant’s owner, Stephanie Wilkinson, explained her actions and how the incident unfolded to The Washington Post. It is a little ironic, no, that MAGA types feel it is their right to refuse service to people based on their sexual orientation but are outraged when service is refused to them because they have a policy that directly contradicts Jesus’ most fundamental rule: Love one another.

3. Now THIS Is A Royal Wedding 

Everyone’s favorite Game Of Thrones couple (unless yours is Jamie and Cersei Lannister—ew, you’re creepy!), Jon Snow and Ygritte, got married for reals this weekend in Scotland. The King of the North getting hitched to a dead Wilding…hey, if Melisandre can give birth to a phantom demon, anything is possible.

Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie, both 31, wed near Inverurie and then, because of course Leslie’s clan owns a 900 year-old castle, the party retreated there for the royal bedding. The guest list included a number of GoT stars but, wisely, not Walder Frey.

There are a few folks out there, not nice folks, who are claiming this is the second royal marriage in the U.K. this summer with a bastard groom.

4. Senegal-Ease-y Feeling


Sure, we were gobsmacked by Germany’s stoppage time goal versus Sweden that halted the “From bad to Norse” path they defending champs were traveling. But it’s been impossible to ignore the pure joy that Senegal, which played to a draw versus Japan yesterday, brings to each match. The above was from a practice session. It’s almost as if these player don’t realize that they live in a sh*thole country.

5. Super Steeplers

Jager…meister

At this weekend’s USA Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Evan Jager (men) and Emma Coburn (women) each won their seventh national championship in the event. Jager’s are consecutive, while Coburn has won hers over an eight-year period. Jager’s race was delayed nearly three hours by thunderstorms on Sunday but he said he’d have been willing to wait until 2 a.m. to run it.

We see the steeple, but where are the people?

The star the meet was Arizona State alum Shelby Houlihan, 25, who doubled up by winning both the women’s 1,500 and 5,000. The last woman to do that was proven drug cheat Regina Jacobs in 2000. Also, how can we get through this item without noting that Notre Dame alum Molly Huddle won the women’s 10,000? We cannot. We did not.

Houlihan upset Jenny Simpson in the women’s 1500

Note: The Western States, the granddaddy of 100-mile races, also took place this weekend. We’ll get to that tomorrow.

Music 101

Go All The Way

If you were a child in the early Seventies, you occasionally found yourself (on afternoons when it was too cold to go outside and play) sitting in front of the tube watching the Mike Douglas Show, a PG-rated afternoon talk show originating from Philadelphia. Somehow Douglas, the most gracious and polite of hosts (and a decent crooner himself) would book hot artists who’d then (almost always) lip-synch their hit tunes. Working in Mike’s favor: American Bandstand was also based in Philly. For bands, it was a two-fer.

Here are the Raspberries, whose lead singer Eric Carmen would have a hit solo career, singing about a girl asking a guy to, as the title bluntly states, “go all the way.” It was in the afternoon and I was probably eight years old, so I had no idea what he was talking about.

Remote Patrol

World Cup

Iran vs Portugal

2 p.m. FOX

The two earlier Group A matches won’t change the final standings: Russia and Uruguay are onto the knockout round of 16…their match is simply for seeding. This one is a win-or-go-home (and it’s a lot different returning to Tehran than it is to Lisbon) affair in Group B.  A draw sends Portugal and Ronaldo on to face either Russia or Uruguay.

By the way, Iranian fans are already doing everything in their power to help their side….