Well, it is time for the World Cup, and that means that American television sets will tune back and forth to see how well the US is playing. My first bet is that TV ratings closely follow the success of the US team. The better they are doing, the higher the ratings.

My second bet is that a European team will win the Cup. Now, I don’t follow International Soccer, so why would I assume that a European team will win? Easy, I am playing the percentages. When the World Cup has been played on European soil, European teams have won 9 out of 10 times. The only time they did not was the 1958 World Cup, held in Sweeden. So you could also go as far as to say that European teams are 9 for 9 when the cup is held in mainland Europe.

The trend also follows where, when the Cup is not contested on European grounds, South American teams have gone 7 for 7 (or 8 for 8 if you are going to make it ‘mainland’ Europe). It may be luck, it might the the extra moral support, but it would seem (with only one expecption in a small sample size of 17) that European teams win when the contest is played in Europe, South American teams prevail when it is not.

So keeping that in mind, and based on the current betting odds, here are my favorites for the Cup:

1. England - Get a boost, even if only motivational, with the return of Wayne Rooney from a fracture in his foot.
2. Germany - Home country always seems to get a boost and play at a high level (see: ‘02 South Korea, ‘98 France, ‘90 Italy, ‘78 Argentina, ‘74 West Germany, ‘66 England, ‘62 Chile, ‘58 Sweeden, ‘50 Brazil, ‘34 Italy, and ‘30 Uruguay)