The score held at 1-1. It was a fair result although I'd say Canada had a snitch better run of it. Here are a few select quotes from the post-game press conferences and mixed zone.

Even Pellerud, Head Coach Canada

"It was not the most exciting soccer from either team. The match was more solid than fantastic."

"The first half was a little dull but it picked up in the second."

Jorge Barcellos, Head Coach Brazil

"Goal for the Olympics is to win the gold."

On Marta

"She is able to solve problems that you can't even predict."

"She doesn't like to be treated as the best. She is a team player. Marta cannot play alone."

Christine Sinclair on the spirit of the match

"Brazil is not the cleanest of teams. Maybe we're not either ..."

Melissa Tancredi, who broke suffered a broke nose in the match, will "consult with U.S. player Carli Lloyd about face masks and is looking forward to having two matching black eyes with Carli."

Greetings from Toronto. I am in the press box at BMO field for Canada's match against Brazil. The stadium is top notch and I have a lovely view of the city and the lake from my seat. (Unfortunately, not as great a view of the field thanks to some large window panes.)

We're about 17 minutes in. Canada has had the run of it in the opening minutes although Brazil is starting to string things together. Maicon just missed a header right in front of the goal.

As expected, Brazil is absent some key players (Marta, Christiane ...).

From the look of it, things may get a little chippy on the pitch before the match is done.

After spending an evening commiserating with our English friends, the Fair Game crew stuck around to watch the Brazil vs. Norway quarterfinal and then took a couple of days off to see Beijing.

The quarterfinal was my first chance to see Marta in person and I was not disappointed. In fact, I probably was able to enjoy her play more since I was not emotionally invested in the match. The first time Brazil served a long ball toward the end line and Marta took off after it, I was reminded of the often-used Anson Dorrance expression, "she looked like she was just shot out of a canon." She was that fast. Formiga was also as impressive as ever. As to Brazil in general, they showed moments of brilliance and were astounding at times, but looked somewhat sloppy and undisciplined in the back, just like they usually do. I like our chances tomorrow.

On our first day off, we took a train into Beijing and visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is massive and a little bit difficult to appreciate as a result. I'm a lousy tourist anyway and found myself feeling a little like Clark Griswold; nodding my head a few times and ready to move on to the next thing.

The next thing for me was a shopping excursion at the Silk Market, a massive shopping center filled with booths packed to the rim with designer shoes, bags, clothes, electronics and who knows what else. I gave up after two floors. The whole shopping experience in the markets in China is really exciting at first. It is all about salesmanship and negotiating. Every time you pass a stall, a sales person yells out, "Heylady, heylady, heylady. I make you bargain. You want shoes? You buy t-shirt?" The sales people are very aggressive at getting you to look at their merchandise. It is all very amusing for about 15 minutes, but after about the 20th time of getting grabbed and pulled into someone’s stall, it wears a little thin.

Once you eye something you're interested in, the real fun begins. My friends and family will attest to the fact that I'm a little contrary, so I love to bargain. Once I even hinted that I was interested in something by making eye contact or asking a question, the first response was always "How many pieces you buy?" Once that was settled, the salesperson would pull out a calculator and show their "best, special friend, just for you price" which would be ridiculously high by Chinese standards (probably would not be so bad if in the states). My response would be to shrug it of and make a face as if it were the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard, followed by a wave of my hand and an attempt to walk off. Then the salesperson would give me the calculator for me to type in my "best price" which was usually about 10% of their asking. They would hold their chest and act like I had insulted their mother and then take the calculator and make their next offer, usually while telling me about the "high quality" of the merchandise. This would go on for a while and usually ended with me walking off as if we were done and being chased for several stalls (one time a city block) and finally settling on a price between 10% and 25% of the original asking price. I took some victory in each successful negotiation, but somehow still feel that there are several Chinese merchants still laughing at the "stupid American" that over paid.

Our second day off (and probably the last of our trip) was spent on an excursion to The Great Wall. The trip was spectacular and one that I'm glad I made time for. We took a ski lift up. There was an anxious moment or two mid ways through the ride as we wondered how we would get off, as we weren't wearing skis. We got off without incident and proceeded to climb up. The view was amazing. The mountainous scenery would be worth the hike, but the combination of what God had made with the wall that man built was awe inspiring. We hiked until we had had enough and then headed back to where we started and enjoyed a moderately thrilling ride down on a toboggan. I have to confess that I was little bit surprised that you could ride down the Great Wall in a toboggan, as it seems a bit commercial, but you can and it's an experience I highly recommend.

Speaking of commercialism, I was quite amused to find a sign at the Forbidden City emblazoned with the American Express logo. I have no idea what the sign said as it was in Chinese, but it did give me a chuckle.

Sightseeing is over and we're back to soccer. I am watching Germany and Norway live at this very moment and it is shaping up to be a great match. I'm looking forward to the "other" semi-final tomorrow and am very intrigued by the news that Greg will start Briana Scurry in goal. Should be a great evening. See you then!

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the Fair Game UK staff has avenged England's loss to the U.S. by defeating the American's … in bowling.