Mondoweiss,

Yes, penalty kicks are bad -- but they're not used so often in "regular" soccer, i.e., in the various leagues around the world. During the season, the teams simply tie.

But in an elimination round of the World Cup, there can't be a tie. Only one team can move to the next round! So we soccer dilettantes get all up in the soccer world and tell them they don't know how to run their games, when what we're seeing is the exception, not the rule.

Still, yes, it's a demoralizing ending; the question is: what's a good alternative? After a full _two hours_ of soccer with extra time, the players realistically can't play for much longer. Baseball is a leisurely stroll compared to soccer, so you can continue extra innings indefinitely -- plus you have a bigger dugout of reserve players to draw from. Maybe at least the limit on subs should be killed in soccer during extra time, so players don't have to have a heart attack.

Me, I think they should eliminate the offsides rule _completely_, which will create more goals. It'd be much more exciting.