Say it ain't so, Zizou

But for Buffon's spectacular deflection of Zidane's hard header in the first period of extra time, it would have been a different story.

That story, the narrative of the 2006 World Cup, was until that point looking to be the saga of the French No. 10's glorious exit from international soccer. But no. Somehow, Buffon got his fingers on the ball and tipped it over, and minutes later came The Head-butt. Zidane's exit turned out to be a tad less than glorious.

I don't quite believe FIFA's denial of having reviewed the play with video, but that's that. The bottom line is that Zizou let himself be suckered into retaliating. He had a history of responding to verbal provocation. Not that it's a sporting thing to do, but a smart, cynical opposing player in a Winner Take All game might be expected to see if he could push such a player's button at a key time.

The dogged Italian defense, spectacularly tenacious (if occasionally thuggish), clever and opportunistic in coming forward at key times, was not quite as interesting a story as the ascension into heaven of Zidane. But that's the Story of the World Cup we're left with. Hats off to the Azzurri. And Zizou still rocks.