June 12, 2010: USA vs. England and the "Hand of Clod"

You've heard of "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29"? Well…

June 12, 2010: Soccer's World Cup continues in South Africa. The U.S. team plays England at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. The teams had played each other in a few games of low meaning, but hadn't played in a game that truly mattered since 1950, when the U.S. shocked England in the World Cup in Brazil.

This time, the U.S. is better than it was in 1950, but this is England's "Golden Generation": Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson of Liverpool; Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole of Chelsea; Wayne Rooney of Manchester United; Ledley King, Aaron Lennon and Peter Crouch of Tottenham Hotspur; and former Liverpool star Emile Heskey and future Liverpool star James Milner, both of Aston Villa.

The U.S. have no chance. An English paper, The Sun, had described Group C as "EASY: England, Algeria, Slovenia, Yanks." (Hardly the 1st thing that rag got wrong.) On ABC, former Liverpool legend Steve McManaman says England will win 3-1.

Sure enough, Gerrard gives England an early 1-0 lead. But shortly before halftime, goalkeeper Robert Green of West Ham United mishandles a shot by Clint Dempsey, and the ball goes into the net, stunning everyone.

During halftime, Mike Tirico tells the audience that he'd just explained to McManaman who Bill Buckner was, referencing the most famous error in baseball history, in the 1986 World Series. The game ends "USA Beats England, 1-1."

Two different English newspapers, the Daily Mirror and the News of the World, did a takeoff on Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" cheat for Argentina against England in the 1986 World Cup: They called Green's howler the "Hand of Clod."

If, as the only saying from American football goes, "A tie is like kissing your sister," then, for the Americans, this tie was like kissing your sister's really nice-looking best friend; while, for England, this tie (they would say, "draw") was like kissing your sister's other best friend -- you know, the one with the "great personality."

Elsewhere that day, Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 at Johannesburg, and South Korea beat Greece 2-0 at Port Elizabeth.

The U.S. and England both advanced to the Knockout Stage, and both lost in the Round of 16.

UPDATE: They would play each other again in the 2022 World Cup, in Qatar, with England again favored. That would also be a draw, 0-0.

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June 12, 2010 was a Saturday. American-style football was out of season. Hockey season had ended 3 days earlier, when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Finals to win the Stanley Cup. The NBA Finals were between Games 4 and 5, and the Los Angeles Lakers went on to beat the Boston Celtics in 7 games.

And these games, mostly Interleague, were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros, 9-3 at Yankee Stadium. Javier Vázquez was the winning pitcher. Derek Jeter hit 2 home runs, and Jorge Posada also hit a homer.

* The New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Nationals, 7-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-5 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Carlos Guillén win it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 1-0 at Coors Field in Denver. Jason Hammel pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Manny Corpas finished the 4-hit shutout.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-1 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-4 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.