Before moving to the result from last night’s MLS game and previewing this weekend’s slate, however, I wanted to flag a pair of semi-fluff items.
First, for those with the broadcast teams from Germany 2006 on your mind, Sports Illustrated posted a pretty interesting piece reviewing those performances and what we can expect in the future. The possibility of Bruce Arena being a studio or game-time color analyst leads the article - for what it’s worth, I think would do all right and he’d certainly be opinionated - but I took more interest in how ESPN’s high-honchos rated the people they had. To provide a peak, Marcelo Balboa came off worst, John Harkes and Eric Wynalda came off best, and Dave O’Brien’s going to get a lot of practice with MLS broadcasts to warm him up for South Africa 2010.
On a personal note, as much as O’Brien wasn’t my favorite, all the abuse he took has me pulling for him. It’s just a fucking game, people. If it’s that bad - and it nearly always is - turn off the volume.
While the second item, a look at Landon Donovan’s complicated path to redemption, isn’t much to read on its own, I actually admire what Donovan had to say about our performance in the Cup:
"'I'm sorry about what happened in Germany,' he told questioning media weeks after his return. 'It was a shame. I hope that everyone remembers that we're people, and it was very hard for us, too. We wanted to win. We wanted to play better. It didn't happen. It's in the past now, and we need to move forward.'"
See? Nice, humble...now, go to Europe, kid. If you want to lose that timidity (mentioned elsewhere) go play where the atmosphere doesn’t recall the third day in a friendly cricket match. Go play where the same thugs you’ll be playing against in South Africa play, so that you learn how to beat them.
And I know Alexi Lalas (see article) doesn’t agree with me, but, hey, as the general manager of the LA Galaxy team that pays Donovan to play, he’s got a vested interest, doesn’t he?
Now, turning to last night’s game, yeah, I blew another one. The Colorado Rapids and Chivas USA played to a 3-3 draw. The write-up made this sound like a good one, with goals going back and forth and Colorado’s Mike Petke getting sent off; and, what do you know, Clint “Cleetus” Mathis scored another one - I still have a soft spot. Too bad nothing was decided on the field.
As for this weekend’s games, apart from Kyle McCarthy’s shorter, but still useful, thumbnail previews, I'm topping each of my previews with links to MLS's big, sprawling pre-game wraps.
Right. Here’s what I’m seeing - and, as always, home team first:
Columbus Crew v. LA Galaxy
Yeah, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Landon leads LA to central Ohio and, unless I miss my guess, he and they walk away with the W. As much as Sigi Schmid has made some eye-catching changes in personnel, the new boys haven’t had enough time together to cure the Crew’s allergy to scoring - an allergy, by the way, that LA shares in equal measure (each team has scored a league-low 15 goals this season).
Red Bull New York v. Kansas City Wizards
McCarthy plays it safe and calls this one a draw - and, assuming he’s talking a goal-less one, he’s probably smart to do so. Being an idiot, I’m going to call this one a win for KC: while it’s time to impress the new boss in both camps, in Brian Bliss, KC’s guys have the added incentive of playing for an interim coach with some potential to stick around.
Houston Dynamo v. New England Revolution
Am I bitter? Possibly. New England’s loss last week to Real Salt Lake not only inspired unhealthy experiments with varieties of alcohol, it also convinced me that New England has slipped away from the league’s elite; McCarthy, who is clearly not as cranky, calls that loss an aberration, but I’m not convinced. Given that the Houston Dynamo is still in the club and given they’re playing at home, I’ve got to call this one a win for Houston. Returning to the Revs, head coach Steve Nicol has got to do something about that defense; it’s distracting the offense.
Chicago Fire v. DC United
Yes, I’m doing it: this is the game that ends DC United’s streak. The maddeningly inconsistent Chicago does its “Doctor Jekyll” this week. I’m going against a lot on this call: not only is McCarthy high on DC - and defensibly so - but USA Today ran an item yesterday that examined the mechanics of DC’s success. In other words, everyone's seeing what DC is doing and loving it. Only a fool would bet against it. I am that fool.
Real Salt Lake v. FC Dallas
I think McCarthy’s got a typo on this one because he calls this game a home win, while also figuring that FC Dallas’ Kenny Cooper scores the winning goal. I don’t know who will score the goal, or goals, that ruins RSL’s Saturday, but, along with the rest of the world, there's no way RSL plays above themselves two weeks in a row.
+++++
Well, that’s all for this week. Unfortunately, “other stuff” will keep me from seeing either this weekend’s game (Columbus v. LA; 1 p.m. on ESPN2), or tonight’s broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel of the Portland Timbers v. Seattle Sounders (it's in here, along with every other broadcast of U.S. soccer over the next 15 days). Of those two, I’m most upset about the Timbers game…dammit.
Talk at you Sunday or Monday.
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