I was lucky to actually attend the World Cup in Germany in 2006. A few photos from my trip are embedded in this post. This year I'll have to watch all of the matches remotely.So where are the best places to go to get your fill of World Cup news? Here are my views.

There are a few obvious online sources to follow the World Cup this year. First and foremost is probably FIFA's official site. It's pretty comprehensive and includes a lot of historical information. I don't find the navigation that easy and I'm not a fan of all the corporate sponsorships (e.g. Budweiser Man of the Match, McDonald's Fantasy World Cup Game, etc). I get it, they need the cash, but I think it just makes it too corporate for me. Luckily the game itself has not changed very much over the decades.

My favorite site has to be Soccernet by ESPN. First off it's ESPN. They get how a sports web site should be run. There's many of the same features that you'll find on the FIFA site - photos, history, video, fantasy game, team informations - but ESPN just does a better job at presenting the news and stories. For the record, I've submitted my picks via the ESPN fantasy game.

Yahoo! used to be the destination for all things World Cup. In fact, they used to have a partenrship with FIFA but that seems to be gone this year. The site is good with links to photos, news and, yes, a fantasy game. But Yahoo! lacks a lots of stories. I do like their mobile feature.

Another well rounded site is Goal. It's less flash than ESPN and FIFA but the content is good and you'll get all you need to follow the action, but there are better alternatives.

If you're looking for a different point of view I suggest you check out the BBC's World Cup site. Once again there is a lot of pressue for England to win it all from English supporters and this site leans toward more coverage of England. I actually like the Telegraph's site better. And in my opinion you can skip the Guardian's site.

There are also of course the sites that offer unique angles that I have enjoyed reading. One is MarketWatch. Yes, the finance site. They've done a great job and findnig unique story angles and stories about the business of World Cup. Such as why FIFA is the world's strongest sports organization and how to define success of team USA. They don't have a lot of news but the stories are well written and quality material.

I also like what the NY Times has done with covering the World Cup. Once again there aren't a lot of bells and whistles here, but in typical NY Times style the writing is superb. What I like that they've done is their coverage of individual players. Not a fan of Damarus Beasley (@DemarcuBeasley)? Read this. It changed my perception of him. Why are USA goalies in so much demand? Here is a great story mostly about Tim Howard. Is Jozy Altidore (@JozyAltidore17) over or underrated? I'm less impressed with him because of this story.

I'm also extemely fortuante that I'll be at an annual conference in London the week of June 7, and I've extended my stay with some personal time to ensure that I'm there on June 12. My only problem is do I wear the white or blue jersey?

Where else are you getting your World Cup news? Did I miss any quality sites? Who are you predicting to win it all? Are you in ESPN's fantasy game? If so let's create a group and see how we do head to head.