There is nothing like the World Cup. A coming together of 32 countries every 4 years. To get into the spirit, I recently finished Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World's Biggest Sports Scandal.

Over the last decade, hundreds of millions of dollars determined host cities of various Cups and qualifying teams through an elaborate system of bribes and kickbacks. Many believe that this World Cup would suffer due what was exposed. While ratings are down, I believe very few care or even recall what the guilty parties were convicted of.

A number of the majors have been eliminated. Germany, Spain and Argentina are all already out. Italy and the US didn't even make the qualified teams. Even with some of the favorites out of contention and the fraud overhang, I can't help but be excited for each of the knockout stage games.