Anthropomorphizing in the News

Hilarious tidbit from a local news website about a recent earthquake in Cleveland probably resulting from the Akron Magnetic something-or-other:
"It was formed when North America tried unsuccessfully to split a billion years ago."
It's OK, North America. We all fail sometimes.

So my eyes sting today because it was storming this morning and I was awakened at 7:20 am as opposed to remaining obliviously asleep until 10:30. Boo. It was the type of lightning/thunder that makes me cringe and cower a little, but then a particularly shocking flash will come along and I have to open my eyes, I just have to, to make sure a bomb didn't just go off.
We're supposed to have more storms today, but the sun has been "reluctant to participate," so perhaps we won't get hot enough to make anything happen.

Frankly, I need to get some sleep tonight so I can get up fully charged for the US vs. Ghana footie game tomorrow. That's right, I said footie. Not the kind that you put on before you try on shoes at the shoe store, but the kind that we so stubbornly call soccer when no one else does. I don't really care, I just want to see good looking boys run around and kick a ball.
Speaking of which, did anyone else find the ESPN headline "France Blow It" disturbing? We can argue about whether France is a collective noun, but wouldn't it have been easier to write, "French Blow It," which ultimately sounds better? It's the same number of letters, and is more consistent with the announcers, who would have said "France blows it," and have in fact said similar things all World Cup long.
Furthermore, I have finally identified the Irish voice I was hearing in some of the World Cup matches; his name is Tommy Smyth, his accent is mad fun, and did you know there is an entire organization for Gaelic games?