We Got This

Just a friendly reminder to all the English fans out there that a little less than one year ago, the US beat the best team in the world. Saturday is gonna be like my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.

Déjà Vu All Over Again

2-nil, again. And the hits just keep on coming...

Guerra Fria

Bring it, Mexicanos. Bring it.

Freddy Who?

The kid is back. Shivered my way through the USA’s 2-0 victory over Guatemala at the Dick last night, and since the US had already qualified for the final round, I got a chance to see head coach Bob Bradley turn the reins over to the youngsters. Boy, did they not disappoint. Jozy Altidore and Kenny Cooper got their long-awaited combination off on the right foot as Jozy set up Coop for the first goal, while Freddy Adu and Sascha Kljestan ran the midfield the way everyone hopes they will for years to come. Special bonus: getting to see Freddy notch his first goal for the senior national team on an exquisite free kick (at the 2:45 minute in the highlights video).

Two downsides. One, the sparse crowd. Yeah, it was cold and a meaningless game, but that was a pretty weak showing. I’d be shocked if Denver gets another game any time soon. And two, this video is the official US Soccer highlights video. Um, hi. You guys are US Soccer. This is a US Soccer match. Yet you couldn’t come up with anything better to post than this clip that looks like it was recorded on an overdubbed VHS tape from 1986? Lame.

Working-Class Hero

It’s been a good week for my soccer teams. The US Men romped their way through the Gold Cup group stage, looking better and better through each of the three matches they played to set up today’s quarterfinal against Panama. The Yanks have scored seven goals so far through six different players, and the US defense has yet to allow one. In their last match against El Salvador, they didn’t even give up a single shot on goal. Dominant, but against some of the smaller countries in the Gold Cup, not entirely unexpected.

On the other hand, what was unexpected was DC United defeating the New York Red Bulls last Sunday behind a hat trick from midfielder Ben Olsen. Benny entered the league back in 1998 as a speedy winger/forward and serious offensive threat, although more often than not his speed and youthful energy resulted in him running around like a chicken with his head cut off. But a couple of serious ankle injuries forced him to change his game. Since his return, Olsen reestablished himself as a hard-nosed defensive midfielder. He may be slower than in his youth (who isn’t?), but he learned to read the game much better, and by the ripe old age of 28 had become a veteran leader for United. He’s also become a fan favorite (and a personal one of mine—I proudly have his jersey hanging alongside my Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna replicas) for his passion and his tough tackles, but nobody expects much in the way of goal-scoring from Benny. Happily, this surprising offensive outburst put the spotlight squarely on Olsen, as he was honored with both MLS Player of the Week and Goal of the Week for his third strike, an absolute blinder of a half-volley from 25 yards (scroll down to Goal of the Week and chose Week 10). It’s nice to see a blue-collar guy like Ben on the receiving end of a lovefest like the one he’s gotten this week, because his role on the field is often a thankless one. Many writers have been quick with praise, but the one that sums it all up best for me is this thoughtful and heartfelt post from Dan Loney. As DC’s Screaming Eagles supporters group likes to sing, we love you Benny, oh yes we do.

UPDATE: Despite no goals from Ben, DC won again last night, defeating the Chicago Fire 3-1 to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games.

Shove Thy Neighbor

U.S. v. Mexico. ESPN2, 9pm Eastern. No love lost between these two squads, as the first real test of Bob Bradley’s tenure as coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team takes place in Glendale, AZ tonight. Mexico also has a new coach in Hugo Sanchez, and he’s called in all their stars in an effort to turn around the recent trend in this series, as the U.S. are 7-2-1 in the last 10 meetings.

The U.S. roster is mostly comprised of domestic players, with just four European-based players (including Clint Dempsey, above) crossing the pond for this one. Should be interesting, as the crowd figures to be about 75% Mexican fans. How will the young U.S. roster hold up in a hostile environment? Sadly, I predict they will struggle. Mexico, with a lot more to play for, is due for a win. 2-1, bad guys.

UPDATE: I am happy to say the U.S. proved me wrong and continued its domination on home soil with yet another 2-0 win. Landon Donovan continues to play the thorn in the Mexican side, assisting on the first goal and scoring the second to ice the match.

The Golden Child

I haven't posted anything about soccer in quite a while, but Monday brought the surprising news that DC United had traded starlet Freddy Adu to Real Salt Lake. Freddy was packaged with backup goalkeeper Nick Rimando in exchange for RSL's backup 'keeper Jay Nolly (who's younger and has a much lower salary than Rimando), a major player allocation, and future considerations. When my dad first emailed me the link, I thought it was a joke, but after more consideration, this seems to be a pretty good trade for almost everyone. United unloads a high-profile but somewhat temperamental teenager who hasn't always had the strongest relationship with his coach, and who also seems very likely to move to a team in Europe this summer once he turns 18 (FIFA rules prevent players from playing for teams outside their home country before their 18th birthday). They also move a goalie whose salary was much too high to be a backup and could be starting on several other teams in the league. In exchange, they receive a lot of cap space, the ability to sign several high-profile players they've been scouting before the season begins (rather than in the middle of the year, which would have been the case had they held onto Freddy and he left for Europe), and still receive a good portion of the transfer fee if Freddy does end up being sold to a Euro team.

For Freddy, he gets reunited with his Under-17 coach, John Ellinger (now coaching RSL), and gets the chance to play his preferred position in central midfield. At DC, he was stuck behind reigning MVP Christian Gomez, who DC just re-signed to an extended contract. In Salt Lake, he has the chance to be the Man.

The only party who has the chance to lose out on this deal is Real Salt Lake. Right now, they're going to enjoy the bump in publicity (and likely, ticket sales) as Freddy's presence should attract a lot more casual fans and their pre-teen children. But if Freddy does jump ship and head to Europe in the August transfer window, RSL takes a big credibility hit and is left holding the bag on this trade.

This trade actually got some play outside of the traditionally soccer media, most notably on Sportscenter and even rated a mention during halftime of Monday Night Football. There's been plenty of coverage in newspapers and on the internet, and I've included a variety of links below. Prepare yourself for a whole bunch of bad puns on "Adu/Adieu".
DC United/MLS Press Release
United Trades Adu, Washington Post
It's A Win-Win for Adu and United, Washington Post
DC Deals Teenage Star Adu to RSL, Salt Lake Tribune
Adu's Arrival Leads to Lineup Questions, Salt Lake Tribune
Furor Over Freddy Might Not Last Long, Salt Lake Tribune
Much Adu About Nothing (oh, how original), Sunday Herald
Adu Bids DC United adieu, traded to Salt Lake, ESPN/AP
Adu Starts Over in Real Salt Lake, ESPN
Adu Still Hampered by Unrealistic Expectations, ESPN
DC United Reap Rich Haul from Adu Trade, ESPN
"Best Place for Me", SI.com/AP
Five on Freddy, SI.com

And in other soccer news, after a long and fruitless pursuit of Juergen Klinsmann came to naught, US Soccer announced that Bob Bradley, former coach of the Chicago Fire, NY/NJ Metrostars, and Chivas USA and former US National team assistant, has been named interim head coach of the National Team. An odd move, and one that has been much-debated by soccer pundits since Bradley is perceived by many to be a chip off the block of Bruce Arena, the coach US Soccer just fired. I think Bradley may turn out to be a better choice than most people seem to think, but only time will tell. Here's a few links on that as well.
Official US Soccer Press Release
Bradley Named US National Team Coach, ESPN/AP
Gulati Right Not to Rush the Decision, ESPN
Search for a New Coach Far from Over, ESPN
Bombshell of a Day, SI.com

Dazed and Confused

Well, after 5 days, I'm finally starting to feel settled in Denver. It's still a bit disconcerting to be living in a furnished sublet. I feel like I have to be on my best behavior since it's someone else's stuff (although given the state this place was in when I arrived, I don't think that's much of a worry), and despite being completely unpacked, I still don't feel like I live here yet. My life for the past few days has been a blur of wandering around downtown, searching maps to find nearby stores for cleaning supplies and things I forgot, trying to learn the ropes at work, and catching World Cup highlights whenever I can. All of this is made more difficult by the fact that I'm heavily jet-lagged due to the switch to Mountain Time. I keep nodding off around 9:30, and I wake up at the crack of dawn every morning raring to go. I did finally start to catch up a little this afternoon when I came home from work and grabbed a quick nap by the rooftop pool.

Overall, the decision to move out here seems to be a good one. Once I get comfortable at work, I think it's going to be a great spot for me, and the city itself has been nothing but amazing so far. The weather's been fantastic, and it just smells clean and healthy here, a welcome change after downtown Indy's ever-changing assortment of unpleasant scents. That said, there are some things I miss about the Circle City. Most of them will fade soon, but as long as AB is still there, I'll always be thinking about Indy.

Meanwhile, I'll try to find ways to amuse myself out here. With the holiday weekend coming up, there should be plenty of chances for fun. The Rapids apparently put on a great fireworks show every year, although the fact that they're matching up against the Revolution may not produce many fireworks of the goal-scoring variety, as neither team has been finding the back of the net too often lately. Thankfully, I'll have World Cup matches to keep my thirst for soccer sated. There's also a little movie coming out on Wednesday that I want to check out; haven't seen much publicity for it, but I think it's based on an old comic book. And in true competitive fashion, Marvel has cleverly timed the release of the teaser trailer for Spider-Man 3 to steal a little bit of DC's Superman thunder. Looks like, as rumored, Venom and Sandman will be the baddies this time. Hopefully, it stays truer to the quality of the first two movies and doesn't go the way of X-Men.

I'd talk about the US's early exit from the World Cup, but I'm still too annoyed to think coherently. I don't think Bruce Arena should be fired unless they have a better candidate lined up (too bad Guus Hiddink's not available), but I do think some new ideas would be a good thing for that coaching staff. Obviously, there were plenty of cracks in the dam, and when the pressure was on, they all burst. Mostly, what I learned from this World Cup is that the Yanks aren't anywhere near as good as they (or their fans) would like to think, and Clint Dempsey is the only US player who showed up. I'm guessing at least a few Euro clubs took notice.

Road Trip

So, after spending my last few days of work feeling like a graduating senior, I continued that analogy and did what every kid headed on to the next phase of their life does... ignored all my responsibilities and took off on a road trip. In this case, AB and I headed down to meet my brothers and their girlfriends at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN. We arrived Thursday night around 8pm and left Sunday around 7pm, and in that amount of time saw at least part of the performances by all of these artists: Andrew Bird, Ben Folds, Nickel Creek, Oysterhead, Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (who brought out Stevie Nicks for a couple of songs), My Morning Jacket, Rusted Root, Beck, Radiohead, Abigail Washburn (with Béla Fleck), Soulive, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Son Volt, Matisyahu, and Béla Fleck again. I also managed to see the US-Italy travesty... I mean, game, on Saturday in a tent with 850 people. Highlights for me were Andrew Bird, Nickel Creek, and seeing Béla perform 3 times on Sunday. The lowlight was getting some kind of flu/food poisoning thing that took me out of commission for most of Saturday, including having to leave Radiohead's show about halfway through because I felt so crappy. To understate enormously, that sucked. Otherwise, the weather was hot, dry, and dusty, but I had a really good time. That many bands in three days is pretty amazing. I figured my tolerance for live music would run short pretty quickly, but it never did. Lots of good energy there, both in the crowd and coming from the bands. Also, lots and lots of hippies. Check out some photos from throughout the festival.

Now back to real life. Three days of packing, then I'm off to Denver.

SOUNDS
Song of the Traveling Daughter, Abigail Washburn
The Sparrow Quartet EP, Abigail Washburn
Get Behind Me Satan, The White Stripes
Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane

The Break-Up

Ugh.

Expect changes to the lineup for Saturday. If the US play like this against Italy, they deserve to be packing their bags and heading home. Qualifying's only half the battle, guys. You have to actually show up and play. Now go out there on Saturday and show us the team every US Soccer fan was expecting to see, not the pale imitations who played in their place on Monday. Just win.

SOUNDS
Lost: Original Television Soundtrack, Michael Giacchino

The Center of the World

As you may have heard, the World Cup has started, and it's been a perfect distraction as I've been trying to pack up my apartment. It's been a highly entertaining Cup so far—the games have been a lot more wide-open than I remember from past tournaments. Teams have been very willing to continue to attack and look for a second goal instead of cynically sitting back to try to protect a one-goal lead. Then again, the Italians haven't played yet. Adding to the excitement is the fact that there's also been some unexpected heroes, such as 37-year-old Trinidadian goalkeeper Shaka Hislop (getting mobbed by his teammates above) who only got the call after the regular keeper injured himself in warmups. Hislop responded by making 7 saves and shutting out a highly-regarded Swedish squad.

The Cup always provides some interesting matchups. Obviously, my heart goes the way of the USA, but I generally have a few favorites beyond the Yanks (this year it's England, the Netherlands, and the Ivory Coast), and I usually pick a team to root for in each first-round match. But every once in a while, I'm presented with a pairing where I wish it was possible for both teams to lose. Case in point: today's game between Mexico (hated regional rival) and Iran (well, plenty of reasons to cheer against them). I guess a Mexico win is a good thing, because it brings more respect to the CONCACAF qualifying region (which also includes the US), but it goes against everything I believe in as a soccer fan to ever want the Mexicans to win. I would assume they'll have a fairly easy match with Angola (who the US beat 1-0 in a pre-Cup friendly last week), but hopefully Portugal spanks the Mexicans hard.

But really, all of this is just a way to pass time until the most important game of the first-round: the US v. the Czech Republic, being shown live tomorrow at 11:55 a.m on ESPN2. Needless to say, I'll be taking a long lunch. Not for eating, of course. Not sure my extremely nervous stomach could handle food right now.

IMAGES
Battlestar Galactica: Season 1, Disc 5
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2, Disc 1
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2, Disc 2

Auf Wiedersehen America

The Nats are headed for Germany. After three warmup matches against Morocco, Venezuela, and tonight's opponent Latvia, the boys are ready to wing their way to Hamburg, where they will settle in for training camp ahead of their opener against the Czechs on June 12. I can't say they looked fantastic in any of the three send-off games (other than the snazzy special-edition red jerseys they wore in tonight's match), but there were some promising signs of improvement through each game. Bobby Convey was particularly impressive over the past two games, and I still think Clint Dempsey has the potential to make some noise in the tournament. If the Yanks can keep up the kind of possession and passing we saw tonight, I feel better about their chances, but I'm still afraid they won't advance out of the first round. My heart says they lose 1-0 to the Czechs, then beat Italy 1-0 and Ghana 2-0 to take 6 points from 3 games, which should get them through. On the other hand, my head says they tie the Italians 0-0, meaning only 4 points and they miss out on advancing due to the first tiebreaker, goal differential. As a hopeful pessimist, I'd love it if they surprise me... but I won't be surprised if they don't.

The great Denver apartment search is on. What did everyone do before Craig's List?

WORDS
The Plot Against America, Philip Roth
The Codex, Douglas Preston

IMAGES
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Swingers
Rushmore

30 Days

Hard to believe, but the World Cup begins one month from today. Bruce Arena made his roster announcement last week, but has already had to replace one of the players he chose when Frankie Hejduk tore his ACL. Chris Albright to the white courtesy phone, please. There's been a fair amount of coverage, but USA Today gets the gold star for this player-by-player breakdown of the roster. ESPN's Andrea Canales has also been busy, examining the effects of the US performance at the World Cup on MLS and profiling Landon Donovan (above).

However, the biggest pre-World Cup hype machine award goes to Gatorade, who has put together this series of clips from the US's World Cup Qualifying run set to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." More importantly, they've shelled out to get this commercial on the networks during primetime. I've seen it on ESPN during Baseball Tonight and on CBS between 9 and 10 pm as I was flipping channels, which makes me happy. There have been a number of terrific soccer commercials over the past few years, but the problem is you only ever see them during soccer broadcasts, so they end up doing nothing more than preaching to the choir. By getting these images in front of the Average American, Gatorade is doing its part to raise awareness of the Nats during the buildup to the World Cup, and for being the only soccer sponsor in the country stepping up to the plate in that regard, I'll reward them by buying more Gatorade.

IMAGES
The Man Who Fell to Earth

When It Got Dark in Germany

The Nats went to Hamburg yesterday missing just about all of of their big stars. No Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride, Eddie Pope or Oguchi Onyewu. Germany, on the other hand, had a rather full roster, headlined by such world stars as Michael Ballack, Oliver Kahn and Miroslav Klose. On paper, it looked like it would be a blowout, and for once, that held up on the field. The US "B" team may be able to handle Guatemala and Norway, but a nearly full-strength Germany is another thing entirely, a fact that was painfully driven home as the Nats ended up on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline.

The US started well, weathering the initial storm, and had a few good chances in the early first half. But as the half came to a close, Germany began to apply more pressure, and the Yanks were lucky to get to the whistle without conceding a goal.

The second half was a disaster. The Americans looked like they were sleepwalking through much of the half, giving up a goal in the first minute and then a flurry of three goals later in the half. They didn't close any attackers down, gave them loads of space to run, and gave away too many sloppy passes. Ballack didn't have a defender within 10 feet of him when he scored his goal, and he was standing on the penalty spot. You can't give a player of his quality that kind of space. Keller had no chance. The US was able to pull one back through Steve Cherundolo's 75 yard pass that squirted through everyone and rolled into the goal, but it was a fluke. They were lucky to get it, although it made up for Eddie Johnson's earlier header from a corner kick that would have been a goal had Oliver Kahn not bent his body like Gumby to save it.

Players that I think helped themselves: Cory Gibbs and Jimmy Conrad (despite getting shellacked, both looked like they belonged on the field with the world-class German players), Bobby Convey (several dangerous runs and free kicks), and maybe Eddie Johnson (wasn't real involved in the game, but came very close to scoring once and collided with Kahn on 'Dolo's goal).

Players who did nothing to improve their status: Brian Ching (invisible except for 1 shot early on), Josh Wolff (came off after 17 minutes with a concussion), Pablo Mastroeni and Kerry Zavagnin (had a few good tackles but gave way too much space to the German midfield).

Players who hurt their cause: Gregg Berhalter (caught ball-watching on a couple of goals, totally at sea). He should not make the roster over Gibbs, Pope, Bocanegra, or Conrad.

Michael Lewis of ESPN.com has a different opinion.

I don't know that underselling the team to our European opponents was a bad thing, but it still hurts to travel all that way and get pounded. Even Bruce Arena admitted the game may have been a mistake (since it was not a FIFA-sanctioned date, we weren't able to get a lot of our players released for this match). I'm trying not to read too much into this result, since the US roster was so depleted, but it still stings given that recent successes of the team.

Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/GettyImages

Free time

Beware the Ides of March, because it usually means there's a bunch of crap at the movie theaters. Since my schedule was pretty light this weekend, I hit the old Yahoo Movies listings to see what I could catch up on, and there wasn't a single thing that made me excited enough to want to leave my couch. The mainstream theaters are full of crap like The Shaggy Dog, Madea's Family Reunion and Failure to Launch, and even the new Landmark Theater has the same old stuff. If I didn't want to see Capote and Transamerica two months ago, I still don't want to see them now. The only thing that looked mildly interesting was The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, but mildly interesting is not enough to get me to drive 30 minutes and pay $8. Thankfully, the Sopranos starts tonight, so I can at least get an hour of decent entertaiment this weekend.

So instead of a movie, I decided to simulate the US's first round of World Cup games on FIFA 06 (yes, I was really bored, and yes, I am also a big nerd). Playing in order, I took on the Czech Republic, Italy, and Nigeria, who took the place of Ghana, who are not available on the game. And I have to say, if the actual World Cup turns out the way my games did, I'll not only be shocked, but ecstatic.

For my lineup, I set up the team in a 4-4-2 with a box midfield, since that seems the most likely formation given the way the US has played in the past. I assumed either John O'Brien or Claudio Reyna would be injured, so I left O'Brien off the squad in favor of Clint Dempsey. Also, I played Bobby Convey at left back, even though Eddie Lewis has been playing there a lot. But I prefer to have Convey on the field, and there wasn't a place for him in midfield. So my US squad that took the field against the Czechs like this:
Johnson McBride
Beasley Donovan
Mastroeni Reyna
Convey Bocanegra Onyewu Cherundolo
Keller
The US started well, but the Czechs took the lead against the run of play on a breakaway in the 13th minute. Soon after, Brian McBride was injured on a a nasty tackle from behind that only earned a yellow card for the Czech defender. McBride couldn't continue, so I had to sub him in the 21st minute for Taylor Twellman. After a back-and-forth game, the sub finally paid off as Twellman got on the end of a Beasley cross and headed home in the 80th minute. With a final of 1-1, the US earned a point in their first match.

Against Italy, I started with the same lineup. I assumed McBride had recovered, so he returned to the starting lineup, and made a major impact on the game. In the 4th minute, the US earned a corner. McBride headed Reyna's kick towards goal, and in the ensuing scramble, an Italian defender knocked it into his own net. 1-0 US. The US kept the pressure on throughout the first half, and at the stroke of halftime, Donovan crossed for McBride, who knocked it past the Italian keeper. 2-0. Apparently, the injury was completely gone, because in the 65th minute, McBride got on the end of another Reyna corner, and this time put away the cross himself. 3-0. In the 80th minute I subbed Dempsey for Reyna and Twellman for Johnson. Both players managed to hit the post in their 10 minutes, but the game ended 3-0.

So with 4 points in their first two matches and the weakest opponent coming last, I decided to rest a few players. For Nigeria/Ghana, the starters looked like this:
Johnson Twellman
Beasley Donovan
Mastroeni Reyna
Lewis Bocanegra Pope Cherundolo
Keller
Despite a few backups in the lineup, the US ran roughshod over the Africans. Mastroeni headed in a corner in the 30th. Beasley tucked past the keeper on a breakaway in the 41st. Johnson headed in a corner in the 45th. Beasley finished another breakaway in the 70th, and Twellman topped off the scoring with another breakaway in the 90th minute. Dempsey entered for Reyna and Cory Gibbs for Mastroeni in the 81st minute, and the game ended 5-0.

So with 7 points, I decided the US would advance to the next round where they would have to face mighty Brazil. I went back to the original starting lineup, and they did not begin well, allowing Ronaldinho to touch home a corner in only the 4th minute. The US recovered their composure and took the match to the Brazilians, paying off their hard work in the 20th minute when Landon Donovan knocked in a deflected corner kick. But just after halftime, Ronaldo showed some of his old form and left 3 US defenders in the dust to tuck home past Keller. Despite the introduction of Dempsey for Mastroeni in the 71st minute and a slew of chances for the offense, the US was never able to find another goal and were eliminated from my simulated World Cup.

Now, I very highly doubt the US will score 9 goals in their first round games, but a tie and 2 wins in the first round would have Nats fans going nuts come June. Hopefully, the outcome is somewhere close to this favorable.

The Blahs

No, not my mood. For no particular reason, I decided to search Blingo for "blah blah blog" today, and after 54 pages of links and not a single mention of my page, I've concluded that there are about 47,310 blogs with the same name as mine, which is about 47,309 too many. So look for a name change fairly soon, as soon as I can stop grinding my teeth about work long enough to think of one.

Speaking of work, I'm going to break one of my two rules for this blog (because so many people from both these parts of my life read this, no bitching about work and no discussing my love life) for a brief moment here: one of the dangers of the accessibility of design software over the past decade or so is that now everybody thinks they're a designer. If one more editor questions me on a font choice or color selection or whether something is visually spaced correctly, they're going to require major surgery to have my keyboard removed from their ass. I read what goes in the magazine, and I have an opinion about it, but that doesn't make me an editor. Now if I went back to school and got my journalism degree, then I could complain. And when the editors I work with get their BFAs and have 10+ years of experience laying out magazines, then they can talk to me about leading and kerning and why we can't use the bold weight of our san serif font instead of the semibold weight of the serif font for that caption that had to absolutely be squeezed onto a very self-explanatory photo with a busy background in a layout which I designed using only the serif font.

Whew. OK, I feel a little better.

So, lots of soccer stuff since my last post:
I know this was more than a week ago, but the Nats earned a rare win on European soil, beating Poland 1-0 in the snow in Germany (Lewis and Galarcep analysis). Clint Dempsey scored the only goal, furthering his cause for inclusion on the WC roster.

In MLS, the Name Game continues. Houston 1836 (nee San Jose Earthquakes, nee San Jose Clash) changed their name to Houston Dynamo because of protest in the Hispanic community that 1836 was the year Texas won its independence from Mexico. Apparently, 170 years is not too long to hold a grudge in Texas, but don't you think it might have been a wise idea for team officials to figure that out before they had a press conference announcing the name and colors and logo? And what's going to happen when the Ukranian community in Houston starts protesting that they stole the name from Kiev's greatest team?

And over on the Eastern Seaboard, an infusion of new money into MLS is creating a lot of flap, as Red Bull, (makers of the energy drink of the same name who also own a team in Austria) swooped in to purchase the NY/NJ Metrostars this week, immediately rebranding them "Red Bull New York" (Galarcep analyzed this too). New Jersey officials immediately took umbrage, and I think rightly so, seeing as how the team plays at the Meadowlands and is building a new stadium in Harrison, NJ, neither of which are in New York. Ugly new uniforms will be unveiled when they open the season April 2 at home to my beloved DC United. No matter how they change their look and despite what team president and GM Alexi Lalas has to read from a teleprompter, they still don't have any trophies.

Both MLS participants in the CONCACAF Champions Cup traveled to Costa Rica this week to get knocked out of the tournament, as the LA Galaxy blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 in overtime, and New England lost 1-0 to LD Alajuelense. Here's another example of why MLS desparately needs their own stadiums for every team so that they can start playing on the same calendar as the rest of the world. MLS teams have won this tournament twice in 11 years (LA in 2000, DC in 1998), but usually they tend to crash out early because they're barely into their preseason and are playing teams that are in midseason fitness. Granted, LA played a magnificent first half on Wednesday, and they got totally jobbed on the phantom foul that led to the overtime winner for Saprissa, but they were a completely different team in the second half and lost their legs at about the 70th minute. I tihnk it's far to say that they deserved to lose the match.

On a sad note, however, LA's president and GM, Doug Hamilton, died of a heart attack on the plane returning from Costa Rica. He was only 43, and left behind a wife and young son. Hamilton had worked for LA and the now-defunct Miami Fusion over the past 6 years. The Galaxy were planning to stay in Costa Rica for training, but are returning to the US for the funeral. They have established a fund in support of Hamilton's son, and I would hope the team will wear a patch or armband in his memory for their opener on April 1.

And finally, heading across the pond, I caught the tail end of today's Chelsea-Tottenham match. What an amazing finish, and a heartbreaker for Tottenham. But seeing William Gallas' game-winning strike really brought home the difference in quality between MLS and the Premiership. Granted, Chelsea is a superclub and have amazing players at every postion, but you'd never see an MLS right back hit a shot like that. Hell, half the forwards in MLS probably couldn't hit that shot.

Catch Up

As I stated so eloquently yesterday, I've got a mess of stuff to talk about, so here it is:

James Jean. If you read my recent post about Fables, you might recognize James' work from the covers of the collections. But he's also done some great work for Spin lately (pictured here), as well as some excellent stuff for other magazines and comics. I'm especially digging his cover for Green Arrow 50. But my favorite part of James' site is his blog, which gives the reader insight into how he works. Very cool stuff. I'd love to hire him, although I'm not exactly sure "Top Doctors" or "12 Hot Neighborhoods" is really his thing.

The Weathered Look. I'm always looking for new ways to make my layouts interesting, and lately I've been playing with different ways to antique or weather objects artificially. I've tried a lot of different things, both hand-crafted and digital, but recently I came across a handy little set of Photoshop filters that might make life a little easier. MisterRetro has created some very cool effects with his Machine Wash Filters which seem like they could be a massive step down the road towards getting that weather-beaten look. And for only $32 per disc, what a bargain!

...and the #1 song in the nation is... Here's a fun thing. You can select any day of the year (ideally your birthday) and find out what the #1 song was on that date every year since Billboard has been keeping its charts. The day I was born, the top song was "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight & the Pips. But my favorite birthday #1 is definitely 1990: "Ice Ice Baby". Word to your mother.

And finally, Füssball. The Nats take on Poland tomorrow in Kaiserslautern, Germany (TV coverage on ESPN2 at 2 pm eastern). This will be a good chance for the US to see one of the stadiums where they'll play this summer (they face Italy in the same stadium on June 17), but more importantly, it's a chance to work European players into the squad. Barring injuries or big surprises over the next two months, tomorrow's lineup should be very similar to the starting 11 who line up for the first match of the World Cup. The Yanks traditionally don't play well in Europe, so it will be interesting to see how they do tomorrow. Surprisingly, there should be a strong American presence in the crowd due to nearby Ramstein Air Force Base. After playing in front of so many hostile crowds in the US, it might be nice to play in front of a friendly crowd across the pond.

Like it or not, soccer is working its way into the American conciousness. Here's two articles from This Is American Soccer and The Sports Network that take two different angles but both suggest the same thing: soccer is already here, and it's just around the corner from huge popularity. Thanks to Todd and my dad for the links.

Easy like Sunday, uh, afternoon

Chalk up another W for the Yanks. A very weak US squad (at least on paper) rolled over Guatemala this afternoon in Dallas to the tune of 4-0, getting goals from my boy Ben Olsen, Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, and Chris Klein. Lately, it doesn't seem like it matters who Bruce Arena puts on the field. The engine is humming along, no matter which parts get switched out. Missing all of their European players (except longshot left back Heath Pearce), and even some of the bigger MLS stars (Landon Donovan, Taylor Twellman, and Clint Dempsey were among the players allowed to return to their MLS squads in preparation for their upcoming CONCACAF Champions Cup matches), the US had a rough start, struggling to hold possession and looking very much like a bunch of guys who hadn't really played together. Luckily for them, Guatemala was struggling just as much in the 30-degree temperatures and freezing rain. But much like the Japan match, once the US had a chance to settle down and feel out their opponent, they began to exploit the weaknesses. Guatemala was very susceptible to long cross-field passes, and the US made them pay twice in the first half. First, Klein sent a long ball from the right to Olsen who was streaking up the left side. Olsen touched the ball down, then quickly fired a volley over the Guatemalan keeper, catching him completely by surprise. The US kept up the pressure, and just before halftime, Josh Wolff and Klein played a quick one-two off a restart, and Klein sent another high cross into the box. Brian Ching brought the ball down, created a small amount of space by touching it around his defender, and buried a shot to give the US a 2-0 lead at the break. But the Nats didn't stop there. Arena introduced Eddie Johnson for Wolff in the second half, and Johnson quickly made his presence felt, bulling his way through two defenders and flicking a shot past the keeper less than 2 minutes after the kickoff. And the final blow came off a corner kick. The ball deflected around Guatemala's box and fell to an onrushing Klein, who capped off his stellar day by sending home a bullet from 18 yards. After a shaky 20 minutes to start the match, the US once again dominated play, and Guatemala, already suffering in the wintry conditions, never had much of a sniff at goal, instead forced to endure wave after wave of US attacks. In the four games the Nats have played in 2006, they're 3-0-1, outscoring their opponents 12-1. Not bad at all, but the real test will come in March, when they play two friendlies in Germany against Poland and the Germans.

Good showings from several US players today will make Arena's life even more difficult. Klein was undoubtedly the player who helped himself the most with a goal and two assists, but Ben Olsen also showed well. Brian Ching helped himself by scoring, but still didn't do enough to make me think he'll make the WC roster. Kerry Zavagnin had a better game than usual, and on defense, Jimmy Conrad played an outstanding match, always appearing in the right spot to shut down the few forays Guatemala had into the US end. I also thought Heath Pearce got forward well, although I don't think he has much of a chance of making the World Cup squad. But he's helping himself for the future, that's for sure. That's also the case with Chris Rolfe, who buzzed around the offensive end creating several chances, and was unlucky to have a goal called back early in the match. He's a big long shot as well, but he should see plenty of action after the World Cup is over.

Also, the US debuted their new jerseys today, although strangely, they wore their road kits. I'm not so big on the blue jerseys (I'd prefer that they go back to red shirts for their away matches), but I do really like the retro feel of the white jerseys. Hopefully, we'll see the players wear those in March.

Local flavor

One of the perks of working for a media company is that every once in a while, something really exciting passes across your desk. Friday was one of those times for me, when I was given an advance copy of the first major release by a local band, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. Their name has been popping up around town for the past year or so (they played several nights of the Midwest Music Summit and a lot of dates at the now-defunct Patio), but I was never really that interested in seeing them. I kept envisioning a female-fronted ska band. Well, I'll happily admit my mistake on this one. The Dust of Retreat is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time. The music is bittersweet and gorgeous, and the first comparison that came to my mind was Bright Eyes without Conor Oberst's lisp. Aside from the usual guitar-bass-drums setup, the band also incorporates cello, keyboards, and trumpet, giving the songs a rich, layered texture that creates a surprisingly mature sound for a band that's only been together for less than two years. Dust has actually been released already on a small local label, but it's been remixed and remastered by Artemis and is slated to get a national release in March. MNSS is already touring the East Coast in support.

You can hear the album streaming at Margot's MySpace page, and read more about them in their official bio (not much help), AllMusic's bio (better), and NUVO, the local alternative weekly paper here in Indy (the most interesting read of the bunch). Me, I'm just excited. I had pretty much given up hope on the local music scene, but if stuff as good as this is coming out of here, maybe it deserves a second chance. I have a feeling big things are ahead for MNSS, but even if that's not the case, I'll keep listening. I mean, they named their band after a character from a Wes Anderson movie. Obviously, genius at work.

Other news from the weekend: Fox ran two hours worth of Arrested Development on Friday night as the "season finale". But as Kristin at E! Online reports, it might as well have been a series finale. Sucks that Fox had such little respect for this show that they put it up against the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and probably ran a total of two commercials over the month leading up to it. At least AD went out on a high note. I still hurt from laughing.

Later that night, the US men beat up on Japan in San Francisco. The final score (3-2, good guys), was in no way reflective of the game. Japan got two late goals after the US had started subbing out half of their starters. Granted, I'd like to have seen the Nats close out the game in a better fashion, but they had played 60 minutes of full-throttle soccer with their foot on Japan's throat, and it's hard to maintain that pace for an entire match. Great games again from Taylor Twellman, with a goal and two assists, Clint Dempsey, who was beaten down almost every time he touched the ball and still managed to score a classy goal, and Eddie Pope, who seems to be rounding into form after a long recovery from injury. For a game that was supposed to be a much tougher test after walking over Norway, the US still looked mighty impressive. And that's always a good sign in a World Cup year.

And finally, I guess the Olympics started. Yawn.

Don't tread... on a widescreen iPod

Soccer in the United States has gone through a number of phases over the last 10 years. First, it was MLS, the new kid on the block, building on the success and featuring the heroes of World Cup '94. Then it was an inexpensive family-friendly alternative to the overblown egos of most pro sports, with easily accessible players who presented a squeaky clean face to the world. Sort of the "we may not make much money, but we sure love our fans" approach. But after the Nats' successful run at World Cup '02, the sport began to take itself a little more seriously. The media profile began to rise. Freddy Adu and Landon Donovan are household names who show up regularly on MTV. Advertisers are beginning to take notice of soccer's appeal and show their love with, well maybe not wads of cash, but at least some decent money. Slowly but surely, US Soccer is creeping its way into the public conciousness. With that in mind, last year Nike began its Don't Tread On This campaign, announcing to the world that the US was no longer a soccer doormat, that we were ready to play on the big boys' level and win. All fine and good, but you need a fan base and an advertising audience that believe that message. Well, here's a big step down that road. US National and New England Revolution midfielder Clint Dempsey (aka Deuce, as the hip-hoppers say) has teamed up with Houston rappers Big Hawk and XO to create "Don't Tread", a rap video that is slated to become the centerpiece for Nike's campaign. This campaign is getting notice from news sources like ESPN.com and Soccer365, among others, and it seems like an interesting new direction for the National Team heading into this year's World Cup. While the overly-blinged hip-hop set isn't really my style, I've got to respect Nike for going for the street cred, since in most parts of the world, it's soccer fields and not basketball courts that fill the poor places. Suckas better recognize. And God, anything's got to be better than that horrendous "Goals, Goals, Goals" song they play at Nats matches now. That shit sounds like the Wiggles on meth. The Nats take on Japan tomorrow night in San Francisco (on ESPN2 at 11:00 ET), which should be a much tougher test than Norway. Japan is also World Cup-bound, so their players are fighting for roster spots just like the US players. I expect this to be a pretty tight game played at a high level. And during the breaks, I would assume we'll see the commercial version of the "Don't Tread" video several times.

In other interesting news, it looks like Apple is already planning to turn their video iPod on its side, preparing a touch-sensitive widescreen iPod for release sometime later this year. Gizmodo and Engadget have the details, and Engadget also has some back story on Apple's patent work for a tablet-style Mac that allowed them to have the touchscreen technology available for the new iPod.

And in other Apple news, the iTunes Music Store is headed for its one billionth download. Cool prizes await, so get in there and buy tracks, people! I need to win me that grand prize! The very thought of a $10,000 iTunes gift card gives me dollar sign eyes...