Top 5, 07.10: Osorio, Open Cups, RSL's "Special Talent"

Quick(er) and dirty(er) today...

- As nearly everyone has noted, the U.S. Open Cup got underway last night with FC Dallas just squeaking past the USL-1 Atlanta Silverbacks. The best report I found on this one came from Buzz Carrick's 3rd Degree. It's a bit Dallas-centric, but, boy, is it thorough. Any visiting Silverbacks fans should feel free to balance this account with thoughts of their own.

And the ever-reliable official site of the U.S. Open Cup has a nice spread showing all the third round match-ups...and don't let those June dates throw ya. It's July, dude. I totally checked.

- As reported in a couple places, Juan Carlos Osorio started with the Chicago Fire yesterday. Good for him. Less good for him: his first game comes this Thursday against the uncomfortably hot Houston Dynamo...rut-roh. I don't think many expect him to win that one, but some smart folk have great expectations for the new guy. On a personal level, I just want to add this: MLS is better with a good Chicago team. Same goes for Colorado. Come back, you assholes.

- Iso-Vision: some love it (like me), others find it distracting. If you hop down to the comments on that link, you'll see the rushed defense I made - but, rushed as it was, I stand by it. I find "Iso-vision" really educational. You get to see what a player does during an extended period - e.g. timing their runs, how they fit into the larger shape of the team, how busy they are, how they conserve energy, etc. If you're really lucky, you'll catch them doing the good stuff - e.g. farmer blows, scratching their balls and bitching out the ref.

- Did all y'all see Real Salt Lake's latest attempt at making a local government regret the decision to build them a stadium? Has a stadium ever been built in spite of its proponents? Can this thing still go sideways?

- This last one is just weird. Does the Boston Globe's Frank Dell'Appa get a piece from any trades involving Andy Dorman or something? I'm sure he doesn't, but that why else would he carry water for Dorman's agent?

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