On today’s PTI, shortly after Michael Wilbon said that he’s worried for J.J. Adande’s safety during the World Cup (funny, I didn’t know Lt. Dangle was attending), ESPN’s Tommy Smyth (above) made the following statements :

a) he doesn’t understand how a player making 150 grand a week can be complaining about blisters. Someone let Josh Beckett know that Tommy wasn’t talking about him.

b) he’s picking Italy to win the tournament. If you’re still paying attention, that means that Smyth believes the Azzuri will either win their group (one that includes the Czech Republic and the U.S.) or they’ll be runner-up and will defeat their almost-certain opponent Brazil in the round of 16.

Gianluigi Buffon would like to know if Tommy is ready to put his money where his mouth is.