Rank or Prank

If you haven't noticed, ESPN is upping the ante with its soccer coverage. They made their big move for English Premier League rights, and next summer's World Cup will be the first where they'll be fully in charge of the broadcast themselves (as opposed to FIFA production arm). The last time something like this happened was when the World Cup happened in the States, and that summer of '94 a producer at Fox/Prime came up with the idea of putting a small rectangle in the upper corner of the screen.

You know an American network is putting their foot forward when the get going with meaningless stats.
It's much like their RPI in college basketball, but put together by an expert baseball statistician. He's written a FAQ about it, and they call it the SPI. And it is much more advanced than the stale FIFA World Rankings, which seems to reward teams for playing matches and gives a favorable nudge its lil' favorites.

I know its taboo to have American input on the Worlds Game, but I think its refreshing.  Both sides can learn and we live in a cooperative world. An infusion of innovation - and dare we say it, experimentation - is much needed in the presentation of top-tier international soccer in the 21st century. Because lord knows the suits in Zurich are too busy getting their shoes shined.