The only thing better than noshing fresh hot empanadas at 7:28 a.m. is watching tempestuous Argentine hero Diego Maradona go apeshit while you chew. Special correspondents C.T. Schwink and Mike Madden report from El Patio in Rockville early Thursday morning, where the owner demands that everyone stands during the broadcast of Himno Nacional Argentino:

1st minute-About 30 people are here. They've set up rows of seats inside, as well as tables outside to watch the game. Couple of guys throw their blue and white jerseys over their button-up shirts and ties. Seems some people will be late to work today.

16th minute-Argentina goes up 1-0. The applause here lasts almost as long as the Univision announcer's "gooooooooooooooooooool!" That applause turns to snickering when the replay reveals that South Korea knocked the ball into its own net.

32nd minute-Argentina goes up 2-zippy. A man is tossing his baby in the air in excitement. The baby, for some reason, doesn't seem as thrilled.

45th minute-Two young Korean women, who wandered into the restaurant midway through the first half, shriek with delight as South Korea scores a goal just before halftime. A cameraman from Univision videotapes their celebration. Everyone else mostly ignores them. The Koreans leave abruptly after finishing their breakfast. As they depart, a waiter remarks, "I couldn't believe they were cheering for the Korean goal...but they're cute!" About 50 people are here now.

75th minute-Argentina scores again! An older woman in the kitchen starts ringing the order-up bell with a beaming smile.

Final whistle-Argentina wins, 4-1. A waitress points out that Schwink's Spanish is about as poor as the Koreans' play on the pitch today. At least his empanadas era muy delicioso.

Games resume at 7:30 a.m. Drinks at 8 a.m. Where to go? Consult our trusty guide: Where to Watch the World Cup.

Photo by Arne Musseler/Creative Commons Attribution License

Thankfully, it's all clear now, this question of whether Sosa is trying to lighten his skin.

He told the Spanish-language Univision this week that he is indeed using a "bleaching" product, but only in the name of softening his skin. He is getting older, you know. "It's a cream that I have, that I use to soften, but has bleached me some. I'm not a racist, I live my life happily," he said.

He added: "I don't think I look like Michael Jackson."

The latest report has Sosa planning to endorse the cream and market it in the U.S. and South America.

Photo by delusionalcubsfan, Creative Commons Attribution License

Don't throw your rabbit ears away just yet, soccer fans. At least not until the CONCACAF Gold Cup is over.

I watched last night's USA/Honduras match in glorious analog, complete with an old-school non-digital antenna hooked up and pointing skyward.

The match was broadcast live from RFK on WMDO-47, an over-the-air Spanish station that is part of the Miami-based Telefutura network, itself a subsidiary of everybody's favorite telenovela source, Univision.

If you've got the lowest tier cable TV, you wouldn't have been able to watch the game, since WMDO (like the Anglo Fox Soccer Channel, which is also showing some Gold Cup games) isn't in every package.

But if you've got no cable, like those of us now forced to live on a budget, you could cheer our boys on.

The supposed drop-dead date for analog TV in the U.S. was June 12, when the federally mandated switch to digital kicked in. Apparently something got lost in translation, because not only is WMDO still clogging up the airwaves with analog signals, but the station doesn't even offer viewers a digital option.

"There shouldn't be any analog stations out there anymore, except for maybe a high school or college station," says "Joanne" of the FCC's Digital TV Hotline out of Niagara Falls. "Everybody's supposed to be transitioned to digital by now. Our map of DC isn't showing any more analogs."

Well, then, City Desk readers, please promise not to spill the beans on WMDO to the Feds! Not for a few more weeks! Because I plan on adjusting the rabbit ears and trying not to poke myself in the eye all over again tomorrow night for the El Salvador/Jamaica game, and again July 23 when my Gold Cup TV schedule tells me WMDO will be broadcasting both Gold Cup semifinal matches.

It'll be just between us!