England goes through

Mondays here are intersting because for the most part, it's still Sunday back home. So, there's time to catch up on late Friday mail and mail over the weekend (unless you did that on our Sunday, like I did this week). So, Mondays can be somewhat mellow, depending on the level of activity. Clients usually don't show up until mid-week. The TechEd team here is working hard and buttoning up the final details and briefings for the show, which begins Monday. Most of us will fly over on Sunday.

Wimbledon has begun, which is a huge news event in London, but the talk of the town continues to be the lads in Portugal. England faced its first sudden death threat last night (they needed a tie or a win) and came through with flying colors. After falling behind 1-0 in the first five minutes, the Brits came back to eliminate Croatia, 4-2, and claim the No. 2 spot from Group B in the Euro Cup. This is the first time that England has gone through to the knockout rounds in 23 years and the first time ever on foreign soil. The football team here is the source of enormous pride and the city comes to a halt during the cup games. Wayne Rooney again is the toast of the town, boy wonder, etc. He's even being compared by some to a young Pele! He has risen to fame over his last two performances in which he has scored a total of four goals and is now the leading scorer in the tournament.

England goes on to the quarterfinals where eight teams vie for the cup on July 4. England plays (they would say play here) Portugal on Thursday evening. The game is again at 7:45 p.m. local time, which means I might have to miss it because of calls back to the U.S. that night.