Thanks for the Extra Time, Brazil

Woke up late.

Didn't matter. Still saw enough.

When Abby Wambach's header went in during stoppage time of extra time of Sunday's Women's World Cup game between the United States and Brazil, I exploded. Too excited to think straight.

Thank goodness for Twitter for reminding me.

Brazil lost because they tried to cheat. Cheat the clock, that is.

The phantom sniper shot flop by Brazil's Erika should serve as a reminder to all who are watching that taking a dive is one thing, but overacting is another.

When did the US tie the game? In the extra time provided by your Razzie award-winning performance.

FIFA, soccer's international governing body, always trumpets Fair Play. Sure, she got a yellow card for her actions. But if FIFA wants to put an end to this practice, they need to allow referees to start giving straight reds for such incidents of obvious acting.

If she stays on the stretcher all the way back to the bench, no one's going to question whether she was faking it to milk the clock. After playing as long as they had, there is the definite possibility of cramping. But get on the stretcher, get some water and then, once you've reached your bench, get off.

But we shouldn't be dwelling on the cheating.

The US came back from questionable calls and being a player down to advance to the semifinals of the Women's World Cup. And in doing so, they won over the crowd.

Did you hear them in the final 30 minutes? Chants of U-S-A, U-S-A ringed the stadium ... in Germany. Europe. There's not a time in the last 10 years I would have ever thought that would happen. Not in Germany. Not anywhere but here.

Marta, FIFA's five-time women's player of the year, was getting jeered every time she touched the ball. The Brazilians, whose men's team is the architects of "The Beautiful Game" and well-regarded by crowds everywhere, were the villains.

Which brings us back to Fair Play. And sportsmanship. And the lessons of sport.

Play hard and you'll be rewarded. We'll all be rewarded.