Countdown To Euro 2012: 10 Days To Go - Russia

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Russia

How'd they get here: Won qualifying Group B

Last Appearance: Euro 2008 (semi-finals)

Best Appearance: Euro 1960 (Champions as U.S.S.R.)

Schedule:

                        June 8 vs Czech Republic

                        June 12 vs Poland

                        June 16 vs Greece

The Story:

The Russians came out of Euro 2008 as undoubtedly the talk of the tournament. A semi-final berth at the expense of the Netherlands had everyone rightfully talking about Guus Hiddink's side. The 3-0 loss to eventual winner Spain did nothing to quell people's opinion that this Russian side was a team on the rise. 4 years later and one failed World Cup qualifying campaign (for the 2010 World Cup) has caused several changes for a Russian team that no one knows what to expect from.

The first change being behind the bench, gone is "Lucky" Guus replaced by fellow Dutchman Dick Advocaat. Andrei Arshavin (now the team's captain) is no longer the darling of Europe but rather a frustratingly inconsistent Arsenal FC Player that has struggled in the last couple of EPL seasons. A player that will have to step up if Russia has any aspirations in matching (or topping) Euro 2008's showing. The team is also entering the tournament with unusual circumstances as it is known that Advocaat is stepping down from the bench after the competition. Whether or not this will have an effect or not on the psyche of the Russian players remains to be seen.

The Dark Knight Rises vs. The Avengers

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Last year, everyone would have told you The Dark Knight Rises was going to be the must-see movie of the year and the highest grossing as well. It has a lot to live up to, but Nolan is a trustworthy director who has yet to disappoint his audience. The Dark Knight was one of the most hyped movies of all time when it was released and until the final Harry Potter film came out last year, it held the top spot on the opening weekend chart. As everyone knows, The Avengers abolished both opening weekend amounts, besting Harry Potter’s by nearly $40 million.

So how was The Avengers able to overcome even the most generous estimates and perform so well at the box office? Aside from being the biggest blockbuster of all time, combining four Marvel franchises into one movie, Marvel initiated a marketing campaign that probably had a budget equal to that of the entire film’s production. They released countless TV spots and clips, and as many people joked, you could have combined all the released footage and watched the entire film at home. Regardless, people still showed up and are still showing up to watch the film in theaters.

Countdown To Euro 2012: 11 Days To Go - Sweden

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Sweden

How'd they get here: Advanced automatically as the best runner-up in the qualifying group stage

Last Appearance: Euro 2008

Best Appearance: Euro 1992 (Semi-finals)

Schedule:

                        June 11 vs Ukraine

                        June 15 vs England

                        June 19 vs France

The Story:

Sweden's success in this tournament will most likely rise and fall based on their star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic's form and knowing Zlatan (as well as someone who follows his career through the media can know someone), he wouldn't have it any other way. Sweden comes into this tournament as one of the unknowns because of their aging but experienced side that has been fairly inconsistent as of late. Head coach Erik Hamrén will employ an attacking 4-3-3 formation with this team that will look to stretch opposing teams therefore creating spaces for the talented attacking players this team possesses. 

Much like Croatia, the problem with this Swedish team is on the defensive end of the ball as the back four will be anchored by 34 year old former Aston Villa player Olof Mellberg and 35 year old Celtic defender Daniel Majstorović. If the other Group D members can exploit what looks to be the weakest point of this Sweden team, the Swedes could be in for a long tournament. In attack Sweden looks to be as talented as its Group D counterparts with a young midfield core led by Sebastian Larsson (scored a couple of screamers for Sunderland this season) hoping to provide service to Johann Elmander and Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front. 

Game of Thrones Season 2 Episode 9 - "Blackwater"

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If you plan to watch this episode, do not read the following article until you have watched it. Ok realistically I can’t stop you, but there are SPOILERS below. You have been warned.

I’ve tried about three different ways to start off this review, but I really can’t express how amazing I thought his episode was. For the first time in this series, the entire episode focused on only area of Westeros and it was completely warranted. If they had stuck to flip flopping around the whole map, this episode wouldn’t have had the impact that it did. “Blackwater” focuses on the long awaited war between Stannis and the Lannisters, with some amazing side bits.