USSoccer

Holy hyperbole. Mo isn't anywhere near any of that. Yet.

Cutler is really good.

Realistically, how much can he have left in the tank?

YESYESYESYES

I think it's safe to say Bayern's in the last 8. They can put out a C squad in two weeks and still move on. Great result for Liverpool, winning 1-0 at Real Madrid. The English teams are all in decent shape (Man U is in the worst shape and they just have to win at home) while the Italian teams aren't looking too good. Man U is going to stomp Inter at Old Trafford like they stomped Roma 2 years ago if Inter show like they did yesterday. Their keeper had to stand on his head to keep United off the scoresheet, and Cristiano still nearly won it at the death with a dead ball that Julio Ceasar saw for the first time at home on TiVo. Inter is just too damn slow. No midfield speed at all. Ibra was a non factor, a complete non factor. Their backline was absolutely awful. Only poor finishing and poor final passing kept that game from being 4-0.

That loan deal is dead. You have to have serious heart and talent to win over Ruminegge and Hoeness. I think they'd buy him in a second for around 5-6 million, but MLS want at least 12 million. Not gonna happen. He hasn't flopped, but he just hasn't taken the opportunity by the throat, and that's what he needed to do to win over the management family. Landon's attitude is just the antithesis of Ruminegge and Beckenbauer. He needs to go to a club like Everton or Villarreal. Good, but not in the spotlight or such serious executives. Klinsi didn't do him any favors, nor did Bayern's form in the matches he played in, but I'd agree that it's the asking price that's going to kill any permanent move. And I can understand that. For $12m I'd want a guy who's going to be a real impact player, and Donovan didn't show that. I think he'd be a great fit at Everton or Aston Villa. Villarreal would be ok by me as well but I can't see it happening. They have 3 guys they rate highly up front if you assume Jozy's going to come back for the 09/10 season. Not that I feel it's likely...but Inter Milan would be a great fit for a withdrawn striker like Landon. He could run off of Ibra and Adriano all day. And on the Everton/Villa tip...Dempsey's contract is up next year. I could see him slotting in nicely at either side.

That loan deal is dead.

I will fly to Manchester and run naked around Old Trafford if Sir Alex starts Berbatov at sweeper tomorrow. Actually, given the fact that they have like one eligible/fit defender, they should just say f it and start this lineup: Rooney Berbatov Tevez Ronaldo Giggs Scholes Nani Park Carrick The Brazilian Guy Whose Name I forget Basically just start 9 offensive players and make Inter chase them til they cry

Given the amount of missile fields there, one could say North Dakota is death

Id have said 0-0 Udinese suck. EDIT And of course, it ends 2-2

Unless he goes nuts with Toni out, he's not going to command the price MLS will want for him. He's going to end up back with the Gals. The gamethread on BS seemed to have the slant that LD had a few clear chances, should have put one away and wasn't as assertive as he needed to be, but that FC Hollywoods' keeper and backline suck.

I don't see how anyone could say Pardo was good with a straight face, unless referring to the 2 free kicks. The Mexican midfield was completely outclassed.

I thought the US performance in the 2nd half suffered because of the wind

Oh, much love. I thought we were fantastic in the 1st. The wind probably had a bigger affect on the 2nd half than anything else. I rated them on the same scale I rate my peeps at work: 5 is average, anything above 7 is very good. I would have been interested to see this game played in neutral conditions. I think it could have been more lopsided. Mexico isn't very good, and without Vela, Guardado, Magdallon, etc...they're flat bad.

Howard: 7 Gooch: 5 (not a good game, struggled early with positioning) Boca: 5 (ditto) Pearce: 5 (okay at times, killed some attacks. Lack of minutes at Hansa showed as he seemed gassed after 60) Hejduk: 6 (typical Heydude performance. Lots of running and effort and cutbacks and poor crosses.) Sacha: 4.5 (poor game. didn't get forward much, showed little as far as imposing himself) Bradley:7.5 (MOTM) Beaz: 6 (unexpectedly better that I though, strong 1st, meh 2nd) Dempsey 6 (I might be overrating it by .5 here 'cause he's my guy. Strong 1st half, seemed gassed in the 2nd. Stronger defensively than offensively, but forced Sanchez into a save) Donovan: 6 (BS posters think he was poor, but I saw a guy who Mexico tried to man mark out of the game, and he still managed to set up both goals, and like Clint was a step away from a couple other chances) Ching: 5.5 (held well but didn't link well. Subs: n/a; not enough minutes, although Jozy was too casual on that first holdup and Clark gave the ball away every time he touched it. Bob Bradley: 5 (Should have subbed Sacha out sooner, probably should have subbed Clint or Beaz out sooner, had the US inexplicably sink back after the Marquez red) 1st half rating: 6.5 2nd half rating: 4.5

-M Bizzy was the MOTM. Not just cause he scored both, but because he showed every positive facet of his game. His disrupted the midfield and pretty much controlled everything in the center of the pitch. FAR and away his best game in a US shirt. -Donovan and Beasley played really well. Landon was very creative and unselfish, and Beaz played much better than I thought he would, especially in the first half. -Clint was really good in the first half, and then dropped off in the 2nd. -Sacha K. did nothing on the day. Not a good performance. -The backline really didn't have a good start, but after the first 15 or so they settled down and played well. Credit to Frankie Hejduk. He played a strong game. Overall I thought the team in the first half was really good. They played possession soccer, switched the point of attack and controlled the game. I don't know if it was tactical or weather in the 2nd half, but we didn't do much until a couple counters at the end, and up a man at home I thought we should have gone for the kill. Beaz and Deuce seemed gassed at that point, cause there were a couple times Donovan had to pull up on the break because he had no runners in the box.

Lineups per Ives: Not really surprising, although I was hoping for JFT to be on the left over Beasley. Ives also says the weather sucks and conditions are horrible, and some goof on BS is claiming the game is canceled. I get why USSF picked Columbus, but if this is PPD I'm going to be right pissed.

Boy, France have zero quality in the center of the pitch. Absolutely none. Their wingers and strikers are starved for anything resembling service. I actually think we're better than they are.

Everything i've read says the worst of it should be done by kickoff

Pretty excited for the game right about now. The wind makes me a little nervous as poor conditions tend to be an equalizer and favor the less-talented side.

the new ones should come out in about a year For $50 you can have it customized...i already have a dempsey kit...who should I get next? For some reason I'm leaning either Jozy or Torres. i got jozy away for xmas I think that's the way to go. Tomorrow's game looks like it's going to be played in a hurricane.

the new ones should come out in about a year For $50 you can have it customized...i already have a dempsey kit...who should I get next? For some reason I'm leaning either Jozy or Torres.

??? why wouldn't he be? Because he's a fat guy with old player skills. he's not really fat at all though. hell, isn't he in Subway Diet commercials with Jared? Oh, well that changes everything.

??? why wouldn't he be? Because he's a fat guy with old player skills.

I think this is primarily an issue for people who have some sort of fairy tale notion of athletics and baseball. The people that tear up at Billy Crystal-narrated histories of the game. Basically baby boomers who idolize "the way things were" and such, who grew up hearing stories about the 1929 Yankees and watching Mickey Mantle and such. Applying any modicum of critical thinking leads to the conclusion that if you believe usage was widespread, the playing field was relatively even, and cheating in baseball isn't anything new.