Euro 2012

• Television coverage of Italy's 2-1 victory over Germany in the Euro 2012 soccer championships Thursday night set an all-time ratings record for the winning side. 23.3 million Italians, 79.
(Hollywood Reporter)
• KIEV, Ukraine -- The sweetest moment of Euro 2012 didnt fit the script.
(CNN Sports Illustrated)
• AccuScore simulated the 2012 European Championship final 10,000 times and calculated Spain to be favorites but not nearly as strong as most would expect.
(YAHOO!)
• UEFA Euro 2012, one of soccers top international competitions, is here. To celebrate, Playbook has teamed up with ESPN FC and the World Cup on ESPN Facebook page to offer sights and other delights from around the competition. Loss. It hurts.
(ESPN)
• As expected, once I resigned to picking favorites in the Euro 2012 semifinals, one -- and very nearly both -- lost. The upset came Thursday, when favored Germany lost to Italy, 2-1, on a breakout two-goal performance by Mario Balotelli.
(Seattle Times)
• Cristiano Ronaldo might have been left out of the semifinal shoot-out drama with Spain but he is "confident" that his performances for Portugal at Euro 2012 will win him the Fifa Ballon D'Or.
(New York Daily News)
• After scoring a brace against Germany to send Italy in to the finals of Euro 2012, Mario Ballotelli has been praised by football experts on Twitter, particularly for his second goal, which saw him slam the ball into the net from 20 yards out.
(YAHOO!)
• Khryak the Pig has been strangely silent these past few weeks. The zozulicas have not added to the celebratory din that marks big football clashes. And the Euro 2012 theme song is no match for Waka Waka (and not just because of Shakira).
(Economic Times)