Posted by Mark Young

JOHANNESBURG -- In the aftermath of the England calamity, my initial reaction was to curl up in the fetal position under my card table of a desk and hope the whole sorry mess would just quietly slip out of Africa. But not everyone can be Sepp Blatter. While Das Blatt plans his latest video technology stonewalling spin, I'm coming clean: Paul the Psychic Octopus, I'm sorry I ever doubted you.

Full disclosure: I cast aspersions on the mystic cephalopod's ability to correctly predict Germany's results, but it's hard to argue with 4-1. Did Paul have the referee and the linesman wrapped around his tentacles? No; the only nefarious activity in Bloemfontein was the Eleven Loonies robbing a proud football nation of its dignity.

If England's Olden Generation could play like its hype machine, the World Cup would be no contest. But in sports, as in life, character emerges in adversity. England has a legitimate right to complain about the Pablo Fandino fandango, but it was the tough that got going in the second half. And they were the players in white shirts with three stars on their chests. At the end of their "Mullering," the England players swapped their scarlet shirts for scarlet letters.

So what's next? An Argentina-Germany quarterfinal, that's what. And how great is that going to be? The only thing better would be an Argentina-Germany final. On the sidelines: the grand opera of Diego Maradona bursting from his rumpled suit, and Jogi Low, the cool boss in Hugo Boss. While on the field, the possibilities are endless -- all of them involving breathtaking speed, power and skill.

Yes, the ball crossed the German line, but the bigger scandal is FIFA drawing a line on video technology in the wake of the "Hand of Gaul" incident. Will Das Blatt give video review das boot again? FIFA isn't talking -- only Paul the Psychic Octopus knows.