I've been getting up at 5:30 to walk over to the gym before work. It's a pain in the ass, but it has to be done. As you might imagine, the Wilshire corridor is not exactly hopping at that time of day, usually. This morning was WAY different. I heard the drum beats and other loud music from blocks away. Then right across the street from the gym I saw it--a couple of thousand crazed Red Devils, watching a gynormous screen, preparing to cheer for their Asian Tigers. The 6 a.m. Pacific kickoff brought together two of the expatriates' national passions: their soccer team and getting up early. When I left the gym at the half the mood was a bit more somber, but I'm sure Hanmi Plaza was rocking by the end.

I'm avoiding talk of other sports news until a few more facts are in and the situation going forward seems clearer. Bad times, but not the bad bad bad bad times it seemed at first, when I got 2 calls and 2 emails from 4 separate people within 10 minutes.