Who can tell why, but the pattern of one great game a day, and one disappointing one, held throughout the first knockout round. Italy and Brazil went through as expected, but in contrasting styles, and the best game of the tournament so far was saved for last.

Monday:

Italy squeaked by Australia, 1-0, on a disputed penalty on literally the last touch of the ball, four minutes into extra time. Leave it to the Italians to pile on the drama. (Oh, did I mention they were playing a man down almost the entire second half?)
So, speaking of dramatics, was the controversial penalty call a dive? Probably. But it was also a foul. Perhaps unintentional, but clear, inside the box, on a player going toward goal with the ball. That's a call the referee has to make. Still, the Sockeroos can justifiably feel betrayed by fortune, if not by the ref; they played almost well enough to win, controlled possession, but couldn't quite get the final pass through, or shot on target. Speaking of which …

Ukraine outlasted Switzerland in penalty kicks in the afternoon game; and if Australia lacked the final touch, here were two teams who looked like they didn't have any clue how to go about creating an attack. For once, it was a relief when the game went to a penalty kick shootout, because you got the feeling these guys could've played for hours longer without creating any scoring chances. Hell, Switzerland couldn't even score in the shootout, losing 3-0, and exiting the tournament without allowing a single goal. Surely that's some sort of record for offensive futility?

Tuesday:

Brazil dispatched Ghana by a methodical 3-0, and as a contest it was about that one-sided. But the scoreline doesn't reflect a couple of realities: Ghana had the best of the possession, and actually won most of the midfield battles, only to be undone (like Australia) by poor finishing, time and time again. But for a few flashes of counterattacking brilliance, the Samba hardly looked like the big pre-tournament favorite they were hyped to be. Still, the coaches all stress that for Brazil, it's a seven-game tournament; no point peaking early. And I suppose if I'm grousing about the quality of their 11th straight WC win, – and a 3-0 win at that – they must be doing something right. In the same vein, how about that Ronaldo? Old, fat, slow … seems like nowadays all he can do is score game-winning goals. What a bum!

France ousted Spain, 3-1, in the last game of the round – clearly the best-played, most competitive game of the tournament so far, pitting two teams with very high expectations, as well as big chips on their shoulders. For France, this WC is the last stand of a generation – Zidane, Thuram, Barthez, et al. – who won it all in 1998 and 2000, then got swept out of the 2002 WC with three losses and no goals. For the Spaniards – who have famously never advanced past the quarterfinals despite almost always being among the favorites – it was another bitter disappointment; they'll be little cheered by the promise shown by this very young team, or by the fact that they played such fine, smart, inventive, attacking football … and still fell just barely short. No moral victory here.

So, now it's on to the quarterfinals, Friday and Saturday. More on that soon.

A couple of crackling games on the afternoons, and a couple of relative duds each morning: Saturday: Germany looked very strong, very comfortable, in taking out Sweden, 2-0. But it's hard to tell, really, how good they are; they scored twice in the first 12 minutes, and then effectively killed the game; the Swedes never really challenged, especially going a man down with 10 minutes to go in the first half. Argentina, on the other hand, looked vulnerable for the first time in the tournament, leaving it late before pulling out a 2-1 overtime thriller over Mexico – on the best goal of the fortnight, Maxi Rodriguez's perfect volley from the corner of the box, into the opposite top corner of the goal: a 40-yard pass, chest, to foot, to goal. Bang. Mexico, you're dead. So it's Argentina-Germany on Friday in Berlin. Still looking like the two best teams in the world, but how good are they? Sunday: England advanced over Ecuador, as expected, behind a gorgeous David Beckham free kick in the 60th minute. This did not, however, look like a confident team – or a good one, for that matter. Especially not a fit one. Becks was throwing up on the field for most of the second half, and the entire team looked absolutely gassed by the finish. Fortunately for them, Ecuador seemed inexplicably content to settle for the 1-0 loss, so England move on. Unfortunately for them, their next game, against Portugal on Saturday, is another afternoon game. If they somehow manage to push it into overtime, I seriously worry for the lads. Someone's going to die out there. Portugal ousted Holland in the late game, and if Argentina-Mexico was the best-played game of the weekend, this was the most competitive. Russian referee Valentin Ivanov handed out an astounding 20 cards, including four reds (two to each team), but his meltdown somehow didn't hurt the game any; these were two top-quality squads, battling 90 minutes. Great stuff.

Here are the Round of 16 matchups, along with menus for the WC Breakfasts I'm hosting at my house. Drop by! Saturday:
10am: Germany-Sweden. The hosts will be favored, but Sweden is dangerous. Cheeses and sausage of course, and perhaps dueling pancakes; apfelpfannkuchen were a crowd favorite in the first round, and I have some Swedish pancake mix.
2pm: Argentina-Mexico. Mexico got the draw nobody wanted; Argentina has been flat-out dominating at both ends of the field. Migas, perhaps menudo, yerba mate, Quilmes & Tecate, lots of fruit juices.
If things go as expected, this will be a killer quarterfinal next Friday. Sunday:
10am: England-Ecuador. Brits should take this one, but losing Michael Owen to a torn ACL will hurt them at the next level. Bangers and crumpets have become a standby, of course, as has the Wensleydale and other cheeses; good thing Ecuador advanced, because I never got a chance to try out the yucca and eggs in the first round.
2pm: Holland-Portugal. The Portuguese handled Mexico fairly easily while resting six of their best players, and the Dutch are always a treat. Pannenkuiken met poedersuiker, some rather nice Portuguese sheep's cheese and sardines. Monday:
10am: Italy-Australia. Italy has a huge talent edge; but scrappy Australia produced two of the best games of the first round. Foster's vs. Peroni. Spaghetti vs. Toast with spaghetti and baked beans. Vegemite vs. Mascarpone. What's not to like?
2pm: Switzerland-Ukraine. Two dark horses who've played very well (except for Ukraine's first-game horror-show). Cheeses, again, and a couple of other Swiss snacky things. Having a little trouble finding an appropriate beer, though. Tuesday:
10am: Brazil-Ghana. The last stand of the Fufu (barring the upset of the century), fried plantains, and otherwise I'm still working on the menu; Brazil has been the favorite beverage nation, though; try some Xingu beer, various juices, and most notable, Cachaca and Cashew juice.
2pm: Spain-France. Perhaps the biggest big-name matchup of the first round. Croissants, perhaps crepes, assorted toasts, and Benedictine, which has become the new tradition for the Francophiles in the crowd.

Rockstar Games, following its reign as cool-gaming king with the Grand Theft Auto series and the retro-hip Warriors, decides to lower the stakes with Table Tennis. Their latest release focuses less on style and lets the simple beauty of the sport shine. The players are rendered well without dropping any jaws, and the soundtrack sidesteps the unnecessary hit parade. Instead, Ping-Pong is allowed to be the quick-witted game of finesse that it is. The controls are easy to learn (the training mode takes about 10 minutes) and difficult to master (keeping track of the ball's spin puts quite a strain on the eyes), as they should be. Rockstar chooses an underrepresented sport and produces a respectable simulation. That's cool.

The debate over whether professional or collegiate sports is more exciting to watch lingers as a water-cooler topic and has no end in sight. Some argue that professional athletes are prima donnas who slack off once they've made their money and that college athletes play with hustle and all their heart. Others feel that college players have inferior skills and that, therefore, the quality of the game pales in comparison to the pros. While that argument stalemates, the battle between MVP 06: NCAA Baseball and MLB 06: The Show steps into the batters box.

The beauty of boxing is its simplicity. It's a sport of man vs. man with nothing but some barely forgiving gloves and only-somewhat concerting low-blow protection. This focus on the human form – one of the toughest challenges for game designers – makes boxing video games a struggle to perfect, kinda like trying to make a ballet video game. Nintendo's Punch Out severely lacked the finer aspects of what is known as the "sweet science." Fight Night Round 3 takes some great strides toward capturing the technical grace of pugilism.

First the science, or technical aspects: Even for the increasingly dated PlayStation2, the visuals are impressive; the controls are tried, true, and intuitive; and the character creation options are respectable. That alone makes Fight Night a winner. Not quite a KO, the soundtrack consists of too few hip-hop tracks – many with infuriating fighting imagery ("Mama Said Knock You Out" is thankfully absent). The sound effects are unobtrusive until a blood-/spit-misted knockdown punch is replayed in slow motion and the Foley artist gets a bit overzealous.

Staying loyal to the AFL rules and regulations, EA Sports' Arena Football aims to keep sports junkies hooked on the juice during the off-season. However, unlike real-world NFL, Madden NFL 06 has no off-season, thus the need for another game is eliminated.

Necessary or not, Arena Football garners a lot of rave for its slamming sidewall and hyper-speed plays, but these features just dilute the feverish intensity of how a football game should play.

If your player gets anywhere near the Great Walls, he slams onto the ground or flies over the rails and crinkles like a tin can. Like driving a bumper car, except every time you hit something, your car dies. Warp-speed plays and passes keep you on your toes but make the action so fast that you never enjoy the precious moments playing as the Austin Wranglers or one of their rivals, let alone perform a play that is strategically satisfying or longer than five seconds. Overprotective walls and speedy play ejaculations turn what should be an exalting experience into a one-night stand.

In the contest between rival basketball games ESPN NBA 2K5 and NBA Live 2005, things are as lopsided as a San Antonio Spurs-Chicago Bulls tilt. San Antonio (NBA Live 2005) by 20. Much like the Bulls, Sega's NBA 2K-whatever franchise was in the past a mighty contender, but oh, how the mighty do fall. Once at the top of their field, Sega's basketball series has become as ugly as a Pacers-Pistons matchup (Ben Wallace even graces the cover of this wretched attempt at hardwood happiness). This year's model is pretty much an unplayable mess. Poor graphics, poor gameplay, and basically poor everything else sum up ESPN NBA 2K5. Don't be seduced by the low retail pricing: Put those ducats toward EA Sports' vastly superior NBA LIVE 2005. As the Spurs dominate all competitors with a solid defensive mindset, Tim Duncan's inside presence and MVP abilities, and the gutsy team-first play of Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker, so, too, does NBA Live 2005 with strong, realistic graphics, a satisfying Dynasty mode, and the best gameplay on the market. The improved Dynasty mode is the way to go here. General manager, owner, coach, and player are the positions you fill here, and all must work in tandem to bring your hometown the coveted NBA Championship trophy. See how well you can handle the salary cap and re-sign free agents as you lead your squad into the future. While not quite as addictive as EA Sports' ultra-successful Madden franchise, this hoops game will keep you red-eyed and bleary all through the night.

EA Sports has truly outdone itself with this year's installments of Madden 2004 and NCAA Football 2004, with each game taking its respective franchise to the next level. College football is known for its wide-open and exciting play, and NCAA 2004 mirrors it. The graphics are beautiful and amazingly realistic. Whether running Cedric Benson up the middle, tossing deep to Roy Williams, or running the option with Vincent Young, you are 100% immersed in the game (and will hopefully fare better than sad sack Mack Brown). NCAA 2004 includes 36 new 1-AA teams and more than 100 classic teams, as well as an improved dynasty mode and the requisite online play. The improved dynasty mode gives armchair athletic directors more power to recruit for and build up their school's program and prestige. All of this adds up to one of the best (if not the best) video football games ever.