Garyland's Court

Maybe he could've made the "R" a little more
defined to not look like another word?

Today is not a bad day to be a sports fan.

The game of the day is the best rivalry in sports right now: El Clásico. This time Barcelona hosts Real Madrid at Camp Nou in the return leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal. Barça has the 2-1 lead and really the only question will be what retaliation the home side takes out on Pepe.

Slightly before that, and more important to me, Liverpool hosts Manchester City in the second leg of their Carling Cup semifinal. The Reds need just a draw to book a spot at Wembley next month against Cardiff City. City won’t have Vincent Kompany and shouldn’t have Mario “Why always asshole?” Balotelli. Plus Liverpool’s coach isn’t going to jail, unlike another top six side, so we’ve got that going for us.

Finishing up the soccer scene, Team Klinsmann heads to Panama for a rare road CONCACAF friendly. My prediction: Rico Clark won’t score a winner in the 97^th minute. Nice to see a couple more Terps – A.J. DeLaGarza and Graham Zusi – earning caps too.

And speaking of Terps, that’s what brought me out of a five-month blogging hibernation.

Not so much tonight’s game itself, as if I were a betting man I’d take Duke and the 11 points. Even if Alex Len is able to play, he’s not nearly physical enough as seen in the past two games against FSU and briefly against Temple to allow our interior to be remotely successful against the 6’10” Plumlees. Add in a lack of a secondary scoring option behind Terrell Stoglin and an inability to guard the three left over from the old coach and it’s not a good recipe for the first game under Mark Turgeon in this rivalry.

However, there is a bigger event than the game itself. And might be as controversial as moving picks being called at Cameron.

As of tomorrow night, Gary Williams’s signature will adorn the court at Comcast Center. It’s a great honor for the program’s all time winningest coach and the only guy to win a national title for the Maryland men’s basketball team.

The controversy surrounds all that time in Maryland basketball prior to his arrival in 1989. Namely, why not honor Lefty Driesell, coach of 17 years and inventor of Midnight Madness (when it actually was at midnight)?

I understand Driesell’s complaints. But there are two major holes in his argument.

First, I don’t see the school ever giving that high of an honor to the coach of Len Bias. Is that fair? No. But every time ESPN’s cameras showed a guard dribbling up past the Old Lefthander’s autograph, Bias’s name might as well be written right under Driesell’s. And I doubt that’s the kind of publicity the University wants.

Second, the Terps don’t play at Cole Field House anymore. Lefty never coached in the building that is, more or less, the “House That Gary Built.” Comcast opened the season after the national title, which was preceded by a Final Four appearance. Maryland isn’t going so far as UNC rightly did with Dean Smith; this is his name on the court.

In addition to his success with the team, Gary deserves recognition by the University for what that national title did for enrollment. The academic standards have grown immensely since ’02 to the point that most of the people I know wouldn’t have been accepted these days.

Having said all that, for a financially strapped athletic department, the University is making two mistakes.

The game against Duke will always sell out. Instead of an announced crowd – stressing announced there – of 9,979 against Radford two nights before Christmas, they could have doubled that (and at least tripled the number of tickets sold) by naming the court that night. Obviously Gary vs. Duke is special. However, when 8,000+ tickets could have been sold for about $250,000 before you count concessions, that’s a pricy decision.

Also, thanks to Debbie Yow’s amazing negotiating tactics, after next season Comcast’s name will adorn the façade of the building – along with every cable box in the dorm rooms – for the next 15 years with no money exchanging hands. Yow, in her attempt to balance the budget, took all $25 million in the first ten years of the deal. With Gary’s name attached to the court, that’s at least 15 years of no “free” money for the athletic department.

Instead, I like former Driesell and Williams assistant Joe Harrington’s idea: name the floor for Gary for one year to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the national championship, aka Juan Shining Moment. Then you could name the floor next year for Brenda Frese for their 7^th anniversary. After that, sell the damn thing.

If Kevin Anderson really wanted to honor Gary, he should have looked to London for inspiration. At Craven Cottage, Fulham named their pub after American Brian McBride who captained them during the Great Escape of 2007-08. Aside from renaming Bentley’s, what better honor could Gary ask for? Of course, post-Bias it’s a dry campus, so there couldn’t be a full-fledged pub, but surely they could have created one for the suite level.

Or, if you want to make the Cameron Crazies happy, just name the sauna after “The Great Sweater.”

"Don't Read Too Much Into This..."

For the 2 or 3 of you that have followed my work over the past 10 or so years, that was a quote from Bruce Arena to me back in May of 2002.

I was one of a handful of journalists who were able to get to Cary, North Carolina, to watch a scrimmage between the U.S. Men's squad and the USL's Richmond Kickers. The U.S. was about a month from participating in the World Cup, and the team had just looked very uncomfortable and unorganized in the 2-2 draw. In fact, only a late goal from a WAY offside Cobi Jones even salvaged the draw.

So, when we all went out to the field to talk to Arena and some of the players about what had just happened, he opened his statements with the above quote.

He went on to say that the team had only been together for a few days (3 to be exact), and there was rustiness and fatigue as several of the players had literally flown in from the end of their European seasons day or so before.

"We'll be ready for Portugal, trust me."

As history told us, he was right.

Going into Wednesday's game with Mexico, I think we need to remember not to read too much into the result. The U.S. will field several young and inexperienced players on the international scene, while Mexico is bringing a large contingent of the team that won the Gold Cup in June.

As a result, I wouldn't be totally surprised if the U.S. gets thumped at home for the 3rd consecutive time by El Tri.

But in the bigger picture, does the result on Wednesday really matter? If the team loses 4-0, will people already call for Juergen Klinsmann's head? No, the smart ones won't. It's a time to see what Brek Shea, Zach Lloyd, Robbie Rogers, and Kyle Beckerman can bring to the table.

It's a chance to see what the Mexican contingent of Michael Orozco Fiscal (when did he add "Fiscal" to his name, by the way), Edgar Castillo, and Jose Torres can add to the mix. These are players Bradley has not even considered over the past year or so. You can't tell me these guys weren't relieved when Bob was removed as the Coach. Now they get a chance to show what they can do. Imagine that, players who actually play in Mexico being brought in to face the players they play against on a weekly basis. Apparently, this was something Bradley was unable, or unwilling, to grasp.

Sure, there are some mainstays like Donovan, Bocanegra, and Howard, but I believe those guys were more brought in for leadership roles, which no doubt they will continue to have under Klinsmann. He knows these guys are his bread and butter players; now he has to fill out the rest of the roster with guys who will also contribute.

And I wouldn't be surprised if he brings in another slew of players for the Costa Rica game September 2nd, and then all European players for the Belgium game September 6th. Again, wouldn't surprise me at all if several European players not previously capped are brought in.

While Bob Bradley did a good job his first year or so of bringing in new players, he wound up with largely the same group of guys over the past 3 years.

Klinsmann might do that as well, but I can guarantee that between now and the 1st World Cup qualifying match against Jamaica next June, we'll see people not even on the radar right now. That's the beauty and excitement of bringing in some fresh blood in the coaching ranks; we know he'll be bringing some of his own.

So as Arena said more than 9 years ago, "Don't read too much into this..."

We would be wise to remember that after Wednesday's game as well.

Other, yet still related, news:

Just got back from my annual summer visit to Vegas, and we were a few days into the trip when my phone started lighting up about Bradley's removal and Klinsmann's hiring. Everybody, and I do mean everybody, was excited. Yes, we all realize this thing could be a spectacular failure, but hats off to U.S. Soccer for making what was obviously a tough call, and for doing something that has, at the very least, shaken up something that had become quite stagnant.

That was proven as I talked to numerous folks in Vegas who were wearing U.S. jerseys. Not a single person was upset or concerned about the change.

The most common quote? "Watching the U.S. play was SO boring! At least we have an offensive coach who will make us more exciting."

So, Mr. Klinsmann, the ball is in your court. Liven things up!

Other, other news:

1. Walsh's text to me yesterday after Manchester City blew their 2-0 halftime lead to United, after giving up the game-winner in stoppage time. "And THAT is why City can't win the Title." He's right; until City knows how to win games like those, they can't really expect to contend.

2. Another Walsh text, this one after the guy next to me at the Aria sportsbook told me he put $100 down for the MLS All-Stars to beat Manchester United. "Tell him to kiss that money goodbye." About 20 minutes later, the guy got disgusted and walked off, saying "I don't even like soccer." Wow, betting on a sport you don't like and obviously don't follow? Vegas was built on guys like that.

I'll hold off on commenting on yet another controversial MLS referee call, this time affecting the DC United game. If you haven't seen it yet, look for the highlight of Toronto's 3rd goal Saturday night.

For what it's worth, I'll try to blog more now that I'm done with the PDL and W-League seasons. But to be honest, this 1st season has been the most fun I've had with soccer in 20 years. Already looking forward to next year!

Thanks for reading, with a special thanks to Pat for helping to keep this thing going in my absence!

See you next time!

Christmas In July

What? Coaches can have emotion?

After twice being named coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, neither of which was met with much approval from supporters, Bob Bradley has been fired. Both times Bradley was second choice to a certain former German striker by both fans and those making the hire.

After a long wait, Juergen Klinsmann’s day as USMNT head coach has finally come. Or, as Twitter has decreed, the ÜSMNT.

If you’ve been reading this blog you know that neither Wayne Newton Bushman nor I have been a fan of Bob. Which is kinda like saying I like beer. Or that Bob Bradley likes sweatpants.

It’s not all negative thoughts about the Bradley run, though. As his brother tweeted yeseterday, “6 tournaments, 4 finals.” Impressive on paper. But in three of them, better results were expected and only one of the finals was won, losing the last three. It’s more fun to look ahead though, rather than what could have been. So a hearty thanks to Bob Bradley for being the first to win a group at the World Cup, the first to make the finals of a non-COCACAF tournament, and for always leaving us wondering “what if?”

Now we turn to Juergen Klinsmann as thousands of soccer fans and media members try to figure out how to do an umlaut. He’s the guy who was the first choice of fans and Sunil Gulati in 2006 when Bradley was initially hired. And last summer before Bradley was rehired. Now he is the man.

So where do we go from here? Well, here’s my two cents:

Why now for Klinsmann after it didn’t work out in ’06 or ’10?

This year’s failure of the youth system -- the U-20s lost to Guatemala and didn’t qualify for their World Cup for the first time in eight tries and the U-17s were blown out by Germany in the quarterfinals of their World Cup -- combined with the second straight Gold Cup loss means it’s the perfect time for Klinsmann. The former German coach transformed that nation’s youth soccer ranks, forcing each team to play the same way. That will be a blessing here. Righting the ships of the U-20s and U-17s will only help the full national team down the road.

This area will be the most interesting in the short term of Klinsmann’s tenure. Yes, seeing who will be called in for the friendly against Mexico in under two weeks will be as well, but this will be the first test of how much power Klinsi will have. And should give an indication of what we can expect from the MNT.

Who will be called in to play Mexico?

You have to assume the regulars, as long as they’re fit, will be in Philly. I would assume Timmy Chandler gets a call and maybe Mix Diskerurd. But the formation, not the players will be the more intriguing. During Germany ’06 Klinsmann played with a 4-4-2, but not the empty bucket Bradley employed, and it will be interesting to see if he’s evolved with the times and will try a 4-2-3-1. With the glut of central midfielders, who winds up on the field is a question we should be asking throughout the rest of the friendlies this fall. Which brings us too…

How does this affect Michael Bradley?

First, I’m assuming this is how he reacted to the news his dad was fired. Second, just because his dad is gone doesn’t mean MB will be on the bench. His starting had next to nothing to do with nepotism, though it would have been nice to see more of Mo Edu and Jermaine Jones together. However, like at Villa this spring, the starting job will have to be earned. It can be done, but the days of penning Mikey in for 90 minutes are over.

Who else on the team is affected?

The obvious answer is everyone. But here are a few guys in particular…

Landon Donovan: he was disappointed Bradley was brought back and honestly it didn’t look like he wanted to be on the field during the Gold Cup. Klinsmann should utilize LD and rejuvenate him a bit on the international level. Remember, Klinsi tried to get Donovan to Bayern when he was coached them.

Stu Holden: when healthy he can be the one to pulling the strings in a 4-2-3-1. He had a great year for Bolton until his knee found Jonny Evans’ studs. If only he had a bit more size he could see himself at one of the big clubs in England.

Jozy Altidore: what better for an out of form striker than to be coached by one of the all time greats. This also goes for Juan Agudelo and Teal Bunbury, but Jozy needs the confidence boost that Klinsmann can provide. A few goals in Holland wouldn’t hurt either.

Tim Howard: Klinsmann won’t let him daydream about insurance. And might find a way to get THo to make a big save more often than not.

What does this mean for USSF?

Gulati got the guy he’s been after for five plus years. As a result, he’s surely had to cede significant control he was unwilling to relinquish in previous years. Not only with the youth ranks, but I would put a lot of money on there never being a situation like the Spain cash grab friendly played on a poor field three days prior to the start of a tournament under Klinsmann.

This also reminds me a bit of ’98. USSF needed a kick in the ass to go to the next level and Bruce Arena was brought in. He made the Federation more professional and laid the groundwork for the great ’02 run. Similarly, Klinsmann will now give Gulati and company a kick in the ass and hopefully lay the groundwork for a successful run at Brazil ’14.

The new coach should also help draw in more casual fans. The style is likely to be more attractive than Bradley’s and the style of the coach will increase dramatically from sweatpants to Armani. Press conferences will also be more entertaining for my media brethren, but those sound bytes will also help with exposure on SportsCenter. Bob Bradley was never Mr. Personality, but the affable German is more TV friendly and that can only help.

A quick bit of praise for Sunil Gulati, who takes quite a bit of criticism around these parts, for getting this deal done quietly in this age of instant media. Surely Klinsmann was hired before Bradley was fired yesterday. If the decision truly was made after the Gold Cup final, kudos to Gulati for not immediately firing Bradley and opening the can of worms of the open coach search. Having watched University of Maryland AD Kevin Anderson flounder with two coaching hires in the past year, this route was the right one for Gulati. It's also impressive he kept it under wraps until the announcement yesterday.

Who will assist Klinsmann?

The big knock on him after Germany ’06 was that Jogi Loew was the one really doing the coaching. And some claim that his “failure” at Bayern helped prove that (failure being a quarterfinal loss to Barcelona in the Champions league and being just three points out of first with five games to play). But that doesn’t mean he will fail.

I’d imagine at least one American on the staff, though this isn’t as if Jose Mourinho came in and has no knowledge of the American player. I could see Kasey Keller as goalkeeper coach after he retires this fall. And honestly, Bob Bradley wouldn’t have been a bad assistant for Klinsmann, the role he is much better suited than the head coach. Obviously that will never happen.

What was my personal Klinsmann interaction?

Of course I have to name drop. But I talked to Klinsmann after a 9/11 tribute game which saw the German suit up for D.C. United. For Munk and the Mick that was upstaged by John Harkes blowing us off after we asked him why his ’96 MLS Cup ring was on eBay (the club claimed it was the mock up version using Harkes, the captain, as the player). We also told Jeff Agoos he should cut his hair prior to going to South Korea/Japan, which he didn’t until he returned from his awful World Cup outing. But back to Klinsmann, I remember him being extremely considerate and accommodating of not just us but any media types who approached him in a room in which he had more clout in the footballing world than everyone else combined. Just don’t tell Kevin Payne that.

So there are some initial thoughts. As if the US-Mexico rivalry wasn’t enough to have you looking forward to August 10 anyway, having it be Klinsmann’s first game makes it must see TV. Now we have the name we’ve clamored for over the past five years so it’s time to buckle up and enjoy the ride.

That Kinda Sucked

We were this close!!!

It’s been five days since the U.S. Women’s National Team were beaten by Japan. Plenty of time for teh internets to place the “choke” label on the ladies. However, you aren’t going to read about how that pertains to them here.

The closest I’d say they came to “choking” was during the penalties. However, going into the shootout Hope Solo had been mildly injured and the Japanese already saw the Americans shoot PKs once. The poor performance I mostly blame on Pia Sundhage, or whatever assistant is in charge of the penalty round, for not mixing things up in the huge mind game that are penalties. At that point I would have put Abby Wambach first and gone from there. Of course that’s easy to say as A-Dub was the only one to put her spot kick into the back of the net.

As for the game, it should have been game, set, and match by halftime. Hell, it could have been that inside of 45 seconds had Lauren Cheney found the back of the net. The play was a huge turning point as Cheney sprained her ankle, wasn’t right for the rest of the half and came off at halftime.

Why that hasn’t been brought up more, I’m not sure. Basically, the U.S. were without their most influential midfielder for 119 minutes. And that was against one of the best tactical teams in the tournament. Even on the bum ankle Cheney kept the attack rolling and they should have been up by multiple goals at the break. After, when Cheney was on the bench with a ginormous bag of ice on her ankle, the tide turned (even though the U.S. scored first).

Then there’s the fact that the Japanese made offensive substitutions, putting an already shaky backline under pressure. Of course they did so because they were behind, but aside from taking off Cheney, Sundhage only made one other sub and that was in the 114^th minute in taking off Megan Rapinoe, who still had more legs than most of the Americans at that point.

The sub that should have been made was taking off Rachel Buehler, even prior to the first goal. She looked tired and/or slow. Even if she’s been the best defender for the U.S. over the past calendar year, the second half of the final of the World Cup has to be a time of “what have you done for me lately,” which was to be sent off against Brazil. Then she was directly at fault on both goals.

Becky Sauerbrunn helped shut down a good French attack to the point they subbed their best striker out at halftime because Sauerbrunn had marked her out of the game. Why, after being up a goal -- twice!!! -- Sundhage didn’t take a more defensive posture is as bewildering as why Bob Bradley still has a job.

Overall it was a positive month for the USWNT. Following their first ever loss in the group stage they rallied with the dramatic tie with Brazil, and then took out Team Marta on PKs. They didn’t lose to France. And, finally, they played their best half in the final, but it just wasn’t their day.

Let me finish by giving full fledged congratulations to Japan. Obviously the nation has been through a lot lately and they could use this bit of good news. Considering the size of the respective players it was more David vs. Goliath than the rankings (the U.S. were #1, Japan #4) gave the appearance of, but this was not a monumental upset. Again, congrats to Homare Sawa and the rest of Nadeshiko Japan.

Other stuff…

- I also blame this kid’s taunting as the bad karma that started the downfall for the U.S.

- Is it just me, or is there a big similarity to the USWNT and U.S. Basketball? In ’91 for the women (the inaugural WWC) and ’92 for the men (the first Dream Team), no one could touch either team. Now, though the U.S. may be considered the best in both sports, it’s far from a certainty they will win the title. Other nations have caught up quickly and they can beat us with team play and tactics while we rely too much on individual skill and play.

- To show once again how ridiculous FIFA’s rankings are the Japanese women still are ranked #4 in the world behind the U.S., Germany, and Brazil. They just won the Women’s World Cup, but are still behind two teams who were eliminated in the quarterfinals with Japan beating Germany.

- Giving Charm City some love, Baltimore led all markets in viewership not only for the final game, but for the entire tournament. D.C. was close behind making it even more of a brilliant move that the team formerly known as the Washington Freedom were moved to Florida and renamed.

- As I’ve previously pointed out here, D.C. has a nice second half schedule. Following a surprising win at Red Bull Arena and a nice point, though dreadful affair, away to Dallas, things were looking even better. Then United, as it seems all local teams are wont to do, crapped the bed in a very winnable game. Bushman texted me during the first half saying “the goal is coming” to which I replied “unless D.C. are the USWNT to New England’s Japan.” Sure enough they couldn’t score and gave up the second half goal for their third loss at home on the year. So unless they can fleece NYRB for a third time this year and pick up Tim Ream for Richie Williams, it will be tough seeing this team making it past the first round of the playoffs (not including however the hell MLS is adding the 9^th and 10^th teams to the mix this year).

- I’m ending this week with a big EFF YOU to Debbie Yow, former AD at the University of Maryland. Though I was never a fan because of her relationship with Gary Williams, she at least had the good karma of taking an athletic department that was in fiscal trouble and balancing the books. Now it comes out that they are actually $83 million in debt. The main factors: building Comcast, additions to Byrd Stadium, and the decline in production from the two revenue sports, men’s hoops and football which haven’t consistently been going to the NCAA tournament and bowl games. Also, the deal for the naming rights to Comcast Center was valued at $25 million over 10 years which isn’t bad. However, Comcast keeps the name for an additional 15 years on top of having the rights to put their cable in all dorms which I’m sure is a pretty penny for them.

So all of that’s on Yow. That is, unless you are a Republican and blame all of the previous regimes economic troubles on the current leader. So good luck Wolfpack, hope you aren’t broke in ten years.

Thanks as always for reading and avoid the heat.

Hope Keeps US Alive

Sure, it's a corny title that has more ways of being interpreted than I have fingers (I still have all 10, by the way, despite people saying I would lose at least one this year after Kim got me a wood-chipper for Christmas), but is there anything more apropos after yesterday's game for the ages? And I mean that regardless of gender, regardless of World Cup games for the men or women.

Go ahead, list a better game than what we saw yesterday. You can probably count them on 1 hand. For the ups and downs, the ebb and flow, the controversy, the skill (Marta's finish in the first OT was world-class), the (literally) last-second heroics for the team that had been screwed every which way as possible by the officials, and the unreal drama of penalty kicks, this one had it all. And yes, I'm hoarse from cheering, and I freely admit I have never used as much salty language toward a woman as I did yesterday toward the "referee."

As Abby Wambach said in the postgame yesterday "It's what America is all about." It's great to hear that, because all we've heard recently in our lives is that America isn't what it used to be, our best days are behind us. That might be true in some ways, but as the U.S. Men's team showed last June, American soccer players are as gutsy, if not more so, than any other players on the planet.

There was no better example of that than in yesterday's instant classic. While this team is not yet up to the popularity of the '99 World Champs, should they win the Title 6 days from now, I think it might go down as even a more remarkable achievement. The "99-ers" never had to face the kind of adversity the '11 squad did. A referee who should never see the International arena again made more horrendous calls than I've ever seen at the professional level. The red card to Buehler won't be discussed here; that's for every other pundit to scream about. But for those who say the U.S. was lucky not to have Carli Lloyd sent off for a deliberate handball, how about virtually the same play in the U.S. penalty box when Aline, who also got a yellow in the first half, punched the ball with her fist? As far as I'm concerned, those non-calls worked out evenly. More than once was the U.S. able to get behind the Brazilians only to be called offside, and several of those were proven incorrect calls on replay. Then the obvious offside non-call on Marta's 2nd goal.

If you were like me, you had to think "what have we got to do to get a break today?" There were two collisions in the penalty area in the second OT that could have gone either way, but of course the U.S. did not receive the benefit of the doubt.

So there were no breaks to be given; instead, the U.S. made their own.

Megan Rapinoe, who should absolutely start on Wednesday, delivered a cross that should be studied by every winger in the U.S. men's player pool. I thought that if they just kept sending in long balls, Wambach would get to one of them. She did, and the roar of the crowd, who went from neutral to VERY pro-U.S. after becoming disgusted with the theatrics of the Brazilians and the incessant whining from Marta, could probably be heard in surrounding countries. I was especially taken by the absolute and pure joy from Hope Solo as she jumped up and down with her hands in the air, all alone in her penalty area, as the rest of the team swarmed Abby in the corner.

Have to admit that at first I was nervous about the penalty kicks (did our players have the legs to strike the ball well enough, or was the exhaustion too much?). Then I saw Hope. Yep, there she was, standing with her teammates, imploring them to finish an obviously more tired and deflated Brazilian team. I figured we would make at least 4 of our kicks, and that Brazil would miss at least 1. Then we would have 2 chances to win it in the final round. Just like in '99, the third kicker was the charm for the U.S. Solo's save, which maybe one of the best pure saves in PK lore (seriously, watch the replay; that was a well-taken penalty by Daiane), opened the door for the last 2 shooters. Game. Set. Match.

I have to say, that for all of Marta's wonderful play in this tournament, and for her play in the WPS and previous tournaments, she has won exactly NOTHING in International play. Can she lay claim to being the Alex Ovetchkin of women's soccer? Sorry, Caps fans (and count me as one of them), but the truth hurts.

So it's on to play France on Wednesday, less than 72 hours after going through what every player has no doubt been the most emotionally and physically exhausted as they've ever been, and try to repeat the performance. Trust me, folks, France is quite good this time around. They deserved to beat England on Saturday. But unlike the U.S. men last year, who had almost as equal a dramatic win against Algeria only to fall 3 days later to Ghana, I think the ladies do just enough to get by. Let's go with 2-1, with a late goal this time coming from Rapinoe.

Then they will move to the Final, and I'm thinking it'll be Sweden. But that's 6 days away, an eternity in a World Cup tournament. Let's just enjoy this moment for another 48 hours before we all sit down in front of our tv's Wednesday morning and prepare for another nail-biter.

Regardless of that outcome, this U.S. team deserves its' props not only in the annals of soccer history, but as a symbol that the American "character" is far from being a thing of the past.

Lingering Questions

I can't quit you

We’re now almost a week past the latest U.S. debacle in the finals of an international tournament and yet the seat upon which Bob Bradley sits seems as cool as an afternoon in San Diego. Sure there are people, like myself and the Invisible Man Bushman, who think Bob should be fired, but I think we all knew in our hearts it wasn’t going to happen.

In general, the media haven’t called for his head, proving yet again there’s no pressure on USSF. If Mexico lost to Panama the way we did in the group stage, José Manuel de la Torre would’ve been fired before the post-game presser. Instead, Bradley was allowed to continue and, in the eyes of some journalists, somewhat miraculously take the team to the finals. I will give you that he made some good moves to get there, but the team never should have been where it was in the first place.

This isn’t to beat up the USMNT for losing in the Gold Cup final. Mexico was the better team and by far the favorite coming into the tournament. However, there are lingering questions that I have and from what I’ve seen, they were never asked by our media. That’s not to crap on the entire pool, as our buddy Craig Stouffer and Steve Davis questioned Bradley, but for the most part the scrutiny just isn’t there.

What was Bradley thinking when he selected the roster?

Robbie Rogers, widely panned as a poor selection, never saw the field in the Gold Cup. Oguchi Onyewu and Jonathan Spector were also goose egged. Maurice Edu played just 31 minutes in three appearances. Chris Wondolowski, a risky pick, played 101 minutes in the three group games, and then never saw the field again. Tim Ream played the entire first two games and then never played again while Jonathan Bornstein didn’t see the field until Steve Cherundolo’s injury 11 minutes into the final.

On the flip side to that coin, Tim Howard (not a big deal, but still), Carlos Bocanegra, and Clint Dempsey all played every minute of the tournament. Cherundolo would have if he hadn’t twisted his ankle. Michael Bradley played all but five minutes and Clarence Goodson all but twelve minutes. Eric Lichaj played every minute of the final four games. That’s relying too much on a core of players and I’m sure it had something to do with Dolo’s injury.

Of the forwards, only Jozy played a full 90 minutes and that was in the loss to Panama. Though arguably that would have been more if Jozy wasn’t hurt against Jamaica that meant Bob was going into each game already knowing there would be at least one sub made from his attackers. Typical poor game management from the Princeton man.

One of the underappreciated aspects of Bruce Arena was the way he came into a tournament with a plan of rotating players in the group stage. Bradley doesn’t have that vision. And he further hamstringed himself by picking players who are unable to compete at the international level right now. Some of that is on the player pool, but not all of it. Which brings me to…

Why did it take so long to bring on Freddy Adu?

Adu and Jonny Bornstein were the only two players to not play (including the Spain game) heading into the semifinal matchup against Panama. Once he came on, it took Freddy just 10 minutes to set up a goal, the first the Yanks managed in 166 minutes against Panama. In roughly his first half of playing time he had a hand in three goals, or one-third of the goals the U.S. scored in 12 halves of soccer.

So where the fuck was Freddy in the first five games?

I know we don’t get to see training, but there’s no way that you can have someone go from not even making the bench in the group stage to being your most dynamic offensive threat in the final two games. That’s on the coach.

As always, Bob has “his guys.” In this case he was leaning on Kljestan and Bedoya as his attacking midfielders to come off the bench and then using whatever forward didn’t start. None were particularly impactful in the way that Adu was or that even Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez were last summer.

Would a new coach matter?

As I’ve mentioned here and in previous blogs, the player pool isn’t that deep. Some is on the players. But more of that’s on Bob for not finding players or keeping players (honestly, a lot would be resolved if we had Giuseppe Rossi or Neven Subotić, but we don’t so it’s a moot point).

To answer the question, we only have to look at our foes south of the border. Mexico at this time last year were coming off an embarrassing World Cup. They barely scraped through an easy group and were annihilated by Argentina in the Round of 16. Now with de la Torre in charge, El Tri are playing an attractive style and look as good as they have in years. Guys like Chicharito and Gio dos Santos (when he plays internationally, that is) help. But imagine a lineup with some combination of Donovan, Dempsey, Adu, Stu Holden, Jozy, Agudelo, and Bunbury with the likes of Lichaj and Timmy Chandler whipping up the wings. Sounds like fun, no?

The unfortunate reality is that someone like Marcelo Bielsa would help us on the field. However, with Sunil Gulati and Dan Flynn lording over his every move and doing things like scheduling a friendly with the world champions just three days before the opening of your federation’s tournament for a cash grab, can anyone make it work? I doubt it.

Where do we go?

Most likely to Brazil ’14. Which is all that matters to Flynn and Gulati. As long as their coffers keep getting filled by that money, nothing major will change. That, more than the fact the U.S. has lost two straight tournament finals after leading 2-0 or that the last two Gold Cup finals on aggregate are Mexico 9 – USA 2 hurts the most.

That the primes of Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey will be spent under Bob Bradley is depressing. In a country that elected George W. Bush twice, I suppose that stupidity isn’t a surprise.

Jump Back, What's That Sound?

Panama was runnin' a little bit hot on Saturday night.

Saturday night I made one of the better decisions I’ve made in a while. Instead of staying home and watching the toughest group match of the Gold Cup for the U.S. Men’s National Team, I went to Merriweather Post Pavillion and stood for 3 hours to see Phish. (Honestly, it wasn’t that tough of a decision mainly because I didn’t think the U.S. game would be worth watching.)

I had the Panama game set to record, but was getting updates from Bushman while the match was going on. And the entire time I felt like Trey and Fishman yelling back at each other during “Suzy Greenberg.”

WHAT?!?!?!

WHAT?!?!?!

The result was more depressing than shocking. After the Spain debacle and seeing the team struggle to create against Canada, I knew the team wasn’t beating the likes of Mexico (unless they keep losing players). Or even Costa Rica, and possibly Honduras and Jamaica.

But Panama should have been at least a draw. Especially after seeing Los Canaleros struggle against Guadeloupe.

However, no one can send a team out for a big game like Bob Bradley. After 20 minutes the Yanks were down one, and then a pair by the half. Both were preventable, but you can’t say the lead was undeserved.

Clarence Goodson was mostly at fault for the first goal, though Jermaine Jones committed the foul that produced the free kick and Tim Howard reacted like he was daydreaming about Allstate insurance on the initial shot. The second goal was squarely on Tim Ream’s young shoulders. On the positive, Ream is still learning and Goodson made up for his mistake with the lone U.S. goal.

(As an aside, for once I would have loved to see Goodson get up and scream in T-Ho’s face for not making the save. Bushman wondered if we should start a drinking game for every time Howard yells at his defenders, but if I’m going to get black out drunk I’d like to wait until at least the half-hour mark.)

Offensively things weren’t any better.

Landon Donovan has been largely invisible save for his pass to Jozy in the opening match. His set pieces have all been short and Michael Bradley’s flick-on header for the lone goal saved him. The (arguable) best player to ever put on a USMNT shirt needs to do more than what he’s showing. In LD’s defense, he’s not being put in the best positions to contribute as much as he can.

The pairing of two youngsters -- one of whom doesn’t start for his club and the other has scored just two club goals since 2008 and will likely join his fourth club on loan in as many seasons this fall -- isn’t working. Jozy Altidore had a statistically good first game, but didn’t produce much more than that and was a non-factor aside from an immature yellow picked up early in the game. Juan Agudelo is showing flashes, but clearly isn’t ready to lead our national team.

Clint Dempsey has shown he’s better as a withdrawn forward, but for some reason plays the first hour as a wide midfielder (hmm, poor tactics maybe?). Steve Cherundolo has been great getting forward, it’s just unfortunate he traded right feet with Frankie Hejduk and now can’t cross the ball. Our starting central midfielders, Michael Bradley and Jones, are like Bizzaro Xavi and Iniesta when they try to pass; of course it’s harsh to compare them to two of the game’s best, but it’s true.

The obvious common thread in all of these issues is the man in charge, Bob Bradley. The man that few wanted the first time except the frugal USSF is the same man no one wanted after South Africa. Especially the players who look at Brazil ’14 as their last go around.

However, the Emperor from Star Wars clone is still slowly killing the national team.

Of course it’s not his fault that some players have fallen out of form (Jozy Altidore) or been injured (Charlie Davies, Stu Holden) or both (Oguchi Onyewu). And it’s not his fault guys like Chris Wondolowski, MLS’s reigning Golden Boot winner, miss sitters from six yards out. But it is his fault that the 23 players picked for this roster aren’t good enough.

The player pool is incomprehensibly shallower than it was this time last year. In a country of 300 million, losing one or two guys shouldn’t wreak havoc on the national team. But when you play favorites by saying everyone must play for their club team to be considered, and then call in your son who made two appearances for Aston Villa or Gooch who was playing left back in Holland you prove yourself to be a hypocrite.

There may note be significantly better options out there, but I’d rather see what Omar Gonzalez at 100% can do than Gooch at 75% (though we may be seeing the new Gooch at 100%). Or call in Brad Davis, who is admittedly a bit long in the tooth, but is leading MLS in assists rather than the baffling inclusion of Robbie Rogers.

Another issue is motivation with Bob. His teams continually come out flat in both halves and it’s looking like he’s lost the team. When you see Panama go to the locker room up 2-0 fighting with each other while the U.S. trudges in with their heads hanging, that’s a good indicator. It was to the point at halftime of the Spain blow out that I was wondering how many guys were envious of Brad Guzan bowing out of this tournament to get married. Many questioned El Guzano’s desire, but maybe after playing for Bradley at Chivas USA and with the U.S. national team he knew more than everyone else did.

It seems obvious that the end has to be near for Bradley. There were whispers prior to the tournament that he would be fired if he didn’t win. Or if he didn’t make the final. It depended on who was doing the whispering. Now, after becoming the first coach ever to lose in the group stage of the Gold Cup, those whispers should be growing louder.

It was fitting that the game was in Tampa where there’s a pirate ship. Sunil should have made Bob do the post-game presser from there, and then walk the plank. And Sunil should have been walking right behind Bradley.

Turning The Page

Thanks for everything, Gary.

I wanted to blog about the sudden retirement of Gary Williams last week, but honestly I was all over the map on how I felt. Adding in the coaching search that was changing every five minutes and there was no way I thought I could manage a coherent blog. (Cue Bushman asking: “When are they ever coherent?”)

Now I’ve had a week to process Gary moving from the end of the bench to the end of the bar permanently. All the while watching Kevin Anderson bumble his way into a very solid hire, making things are a bit calmer in College Park (Garyland, RIP).

First, on Gary, the one thing I was happiest about during his retirement presser was the new President of the University, Dr. Loh, pointing out how much he did for the entire University, not just on the basketball court. In addition to creating scholarships, Gary leading the ’02 to the national championship raised the number of applicants immensely. As a result, requirements to be admitted skyrocketed to the point that less than a decade after I barely considered a safety school when applying to UMD, there was no way I would have been admitted.

But obviously it was on the court that Gary had his most impact. You surely know the story of him coming from Ohio State not knowing the full extent of sanctions that would be handed down a year later only to resurrect the program and take it to a national title in the following decade.

Since ’02 it’s been more downs than ups, and recruiting was at the heart of the matter. I have always been of the opinion that Gary should have the job until he didn’t want it any more, despite the shortcomings over the past few years. I’m glad that’s the way it worked out.

However, that doesn’t mean that I’m completely sad about his leaving. While I loved having him as coach, the Mark Turgeon era should be more successful in the future than Gary’s team would have been. Turgeon will woo AAU kids, otherwise known as the bane of Gary’s existence, and really can recruit just D.C., P.G. County, and Baltimore and be a top 20 team every year.

Turgeon also quickly made fans by taking a shot at Debbie Yow during his introductory presser saying “Gary won’t sabotage Maryland basketball.” Good stuff. I’m looking forward to the Turgeon era much more than the Edsall one at Byrd Stadium. But I’m not sure that’s saying much.

The man responsible for hiring both, Kevin Anderson, has proven he’s in over his head at his current position. Even going back to last year when he botched hiring the men’s lacrosse coach, another important job at this school, he hasn’t shown competence in selecting new coaches. The process has become progressively worse with football and basketball. Not saying we want Debbie Yow back, but things aren’t much better.

Back to Gary, it seemed like he was a Supreme Court Justice waiting out one President until the next could pick his replacement. He didn’t want Yow to have that satisfaction, the one piece she never was able to do in an otherwise successful run as AD. Though her critics, including me, will point out she never hired a coach that won a national title.

With all of that, Gary won.

He beat Yow. He beat the critics (more often than not). He beat Duke plenty of times. He beat more ACC teams than only Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski. He beat #1 ranked teams seven times, more than any other active coach. Most importantly, he beat Siena, Wisconsin, Kentucky, UConn, Kansas, and Indiana to win the 2002 National Championship.

So here’s to you, Gary. In other words, go have a beer. Or have 668, one for each win in your storied career.

Other stuff…

- Apparently D.C. picked up 4 points last week. That’s what I read anyway since they weren’t televised on CSN. That gives them 11 points in 9 games. I think last year through 9 games they had -4 points. Pretty sure that was possible considering how awful they were under Onalfo. Looking ahead let me remind you that if this club is still in contention come July – say within 10 points – they will make the playoffs with their second half schedule.

- Speaking of United, they still don’t have a stadium. There, I saved you reading 1500+ words in the Post. That piece could have been written any time in the past three years and it would have been exactly the same. I just hope that Steve Goff, who we generally like around these parts (that is when Bushman is around these parts), didn’t hurt himself lobbing the softballs to Kevin Payne.

- Congrats to Man U and superfan Mark Bushman on winning title #19. With all of the accolades being thrown towards Phil Jackson these days, it serves as a reminder of how myopic American fans can be when it comes to sports outside of North America. Sir Alex Ferguson kills Phil when it comes to managing. What Phil has done is unprecedented, but what Sir Alex has done is that times at least two.

- That leaves the biggest game of the weekend to Liverpool and Spurs. Well, aside from that FA Cup Final I suppose. And really City should walk over Stoke in that one. However, with the return to form in the past few months by the Reds, I’m shocked they might be back in Europe next season. King Kenny rightfully was given the permanent job this week after righting a floundering ship. With Spurs sinking quickly and ‘Pool firing in goals like they’re going out of style – 13 in their past 3 games – this could be over quickly. And that would be just fine with me since I’ll be receiving a free Carlsberg beer for every goal Liverpool scores.

Thanks as always for reading and have a great weekend.

Who's The Best Now?

Can we all agree the trophy in the middle of the back row is
the result of the best game played by an MLS Team?

Now that the “Biggest Game Ever in MLS history” went over like it was played at Estadio Azteca, can we still say that D.C. United has the biggest win in the league’s brief existence? I say yes.

This isn’t to diminish what was a great run by Real Salt Lake. I was pulling for them as I think 90% of the MLS fans out there were, and probably 99% of those who live outside of Colorado. But missing Kyle Beckerman and a no-show performance from Alvaro Saborio were too much to overcome. As was Humberto Suazo.

RSL never looked as confident as they have in their previous 37-game unbeaten streak in all competitions. Part of that had to be missing their captain, Beckerman. But I’m sure part was also due to the lofty expectations of many pundits placing the crown on the Royals before the game kicked off.

But that’s the thing, you have to win those games.

MLS moved a weekend fixture against Philly to September so they would have extra rest. Rio Tinto Stadium was sold out and rocking. For once, altitude was on the side of the American team. And yet, none of those factors were enough to win the Champions League.

In hindsight, I wonder if RSL would have been better off not having Javi Morales tie the first leg. That would have put more of an attacking onus on the home team, not allowing them to know they just needed a draw. Maybe then Saborio would’ve known he actually needed to do something in the 90 minutes for his team to go to Japan in December.

All in all, it was a great run by Real Salt Lake. It’s unfortunate they won’t be able to replicate it next spring as they didn’t qualify for the 2011-12 version.

Coming back to my initial point, it seemed like many tried to disparage what D.C. United did in 1998 prior to Wednesday’s final. That was the year United won both the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup and the Copa Ineramericana, a now defunct competition that pitted the North and South American winners against one another.

Few talked about the Champions’ Cup, which is now the Champions League, presumably because the Galaxy won two years later and the competition was basically just an 8 team, single legged knockout tournament. Of course RSL had a tougher task going through the group stage and two legged knockout stages. Yet United’s title run helped give credibility to MLS.

Expanding on that credibility, United downed Vasco de Gama in a two legged final. Granted, the Brazilian side allowed their home game to be played in Florida, meaning United didn’t have to play in hostile territory, but it was – and still is – a big win.

Even if RSL won on Wednesday evening, the case can still be made for United’s Copa Interamericana as the biggest win ever for an MLS team. Achieving that height internationally in just the third year of the league, with the best team ever in MLS despite not winning MLS Cup, added more legitimacy to the league than the boost it would have received from Real Salt Lake downing Monterrey in 2011.

However, in this day and age of immediate journalism, like how Christian Ponder is already a bust for the Minnesota Vikings just a day after he was drafted, the media wanted this win to make it out to be bigger than maybe it was. Again, not saying RSL winning CCL would have been a run of the mill victory, but I’m not sure the league needs the bump in legitimacy today as much as it did thirteen years ago.

Other stuff…

- The other big news out of MLS this week was the 10-game suspension to Colorado’s Brian Mullan for his tackle on Seattle’s Steve Zakuani. Again, with today’s immediate journalism, people like Ives Galarcep were calling for a 10-game suspension before Zak was stretchered off the field.

Yes, Mullan’s tackle was awful and was reactionary to what he felt was a foul that went uncalled seconds before. However, the suspension is equivalent to what was handed to Ricardo Clark for kicking Carlos Ruiz four years ago. (Note: I’m not linking to Mullan’s foul because I can’t stomach seeing Zakuani’s leg flop over again.) Mullan, who was a borderline dirty player for years and is someone I’ve been told is lucky hasn’t broken a leg or three before, at least made a play on the ball. Not defending by any measure what Mullan did, but his red mist wasn’t as bad as Clark’s.

I understand Don Garber said in the offseason he will protect players more. So then, Don Commish, why the hypocrisy?

If the goal of the league is to be “protecting the safety of our players” as Garber said, where is the punishment doled out to Jonathan Leathers, who broke David Ferreira’s ankle on a play that didn’t merit a card, and I’m virtually positive didn’t merit a foul?

Or, going back a few weeks, why was there no discipline handed down to David Beckham after he scissored both legs of Josh Wolff? There wasn’t the immediate reaction of red mist that Mullan had and Beckham has shown in the past, but it’s a nasty challenge and if he was a few inches off Wolff would’ve been on the sideline well before Zakuani.

Consistency has to be the key and I’m not sure when the referees will have it. I talked to several officials who had varying views of whether that Beckham tackle was worthy of a red, and this was several days after the fact, not in the heat of the game. There is also no longer a weekly conference call to review plays like this, so I’m not sure how the interpretations will be similar, which they need to be moving forward.

More than the league needed Real Salt Lake to win on Wednesday, MLS needs to sort out these kind of problems on the field. And on this issue, I agree with Phil Schoen. Not all of the blame lays on the shoulders of the officials, much of it needs to rest on those committing the fouls as well.

- Briefly on the Caps and Skins:

Love that the Caps play Tampa. The Lightning are a team they know well. They avoid a no-win situation in Pittsburgh who are without Malkin and Cindy and have the built in excuse. Plus, Philly and Boston can beat the crap outta each other and be banged up for (hopefully) the conference finals.

Also love what the Skins did in the first round. I don’t know much about Kerrigan, but from what I read he’s a good bookend for Orakpo. Plus they picked up an extra second rounder – reversing recent trends – and could conceivably see Torrey Smith and Ryan Mallet be their two picks. That would be a dream scenario I’d think for Shanahan.

Thanks as always for reading and have a good weekend.

Getting Salty

We really have to root for a team put together by two Dukies?

As much as I loathe heaping praise on a couple of Duke alums, you have to congratulate Garth Lagerwey and Jason Kreis for what they’ve done in turning around Real Salt Lake. They took a team that was as moribund as Toronto is today and have now gone where no MLS team has gone before: the CONCACAF Champions League final (at least in its current setup).

Seriously, anyone remember Nik Besagno going #1 in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft? Here are the guys they could have taken instead of 16-year-old: Brad Guzan, Chad Barrett, Danny O’Rourke, Ugo Ihemelu, Drew Moor, Hunter Freeman, and Michael Parkhurst. Everyone is still contributing to MLS teams or have moved on to Europe. Meanwhile Besagno is plying his trade for the Kitsap Pumas. Yeah, I never heard of them either.

Then there was the whole debacle of leaving Jason Kreis unprotected for Toronto’s expansion draft and having to pay $125k in allocation money to get him back. Makes me wonder how you can retire the jersey of a guy who you left unprotected and only scored 17 goals for you, but that’s another story.

Or the time they traded Nick Rimando to New York, only to have Scott Garlick retire a week later and have to trade to get Rimando back. Maybe this means his jersey will eventually be retired too?

Coming from that level of incompetence to building the strongest roster in MLS is as amazing to me as finding out this guy married Christina Hendricks. Now, instead of those mistakes, they do things like pick up Arturo Alvarez for peanuts and dump Robbie Findley (addition by subtraction). Add in some superior South American scouting in finding Javier Morales, Jamison Olave, Álvaro Saborío, and Paulo Jr. and D.C. fans will want to burn Kevin Payne and Dave Kasper in effigy.

Granted RSL caught a break in not having to face a Mexican team until the finals of the CCL. And really they got a bye in the quarterfinals in facing the newly awful Columbus Crew. But they did win their group that featured Cruz Azul and nearly beat La Máquina at Estadio Azul, which would have been the first win by an MLS side on Mexican soil.

Now they face Monterrey, a side that knocked out Cruz Azul on a last gasp penalty. The Royals do have the advantage of playing the second game at home. However, they’ll have to find a way to not come home trailing by multiple goals like we saw in three of the four UEFA Champions League ties this week.

If Kreis can find a way to come home with a draw or one-goal loss, I’d put good money on them being the first MLS team to go to the FIFA Club World Cup.

Other stuff…

- For as great a story as RSL was on Tuesday night, the USA’s U-20 side was that bad on Wednesday night. Thomas Rongen proved again he’s a guy that can find talent, but underachieves as head coach. He did so when took over for Bruce Arena at D.C. United. He took the U-20s to the quarterfinals in ’07, beating Brazil in the group stage, but lost as heavy favorites to Austria. He underachieved with the same group in ’09, not even advancing out of the group stage. And now he didn’t qualify for the U-20 World Cup for the first time since ’95. If he keeps his job it will show again that Sunil Gulati has no spine. Or if he does, the regression means we won’t even field a team.

- Looking like we’ll have some entertaining UEFA CL semifinals now that we know three of the teams that are advancing. Or, if one of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Schalke don’t advance, we’re in for one of the most amazing quarterfinal second legs ever. The other tie, Chelsea heading to Old Trafford trailing Man U by a goal, could be one for the ages. It’s the last chance at silverware this season for the Blues and might be the last meaningful game Carlo Ancelotti manages for them. I’m just hoping this site doesn’t update…ever.

- Though United were blown out at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Sunday, I’m not sure how much I read into the 4-1 loss. D.C. are missing a few guys and the altitude obviously affected them as the game wore on. Having said that, Bill Hamid needs to start from now on and Andy Najar needs to step up his game like he apparently did against Philly on Wednesday night. Not expecting a win with Team Donovan coming to town -- he always seems to enjoy playing at RFK -- but after that things should get better as the month winds down. Coming out of April with 10 points would be a good showing.

Back to Najar for a second, I can’t blame the kid for choosing Honduras over the U.S. ad I’m not saying that as a United fan. It’s not like Rossi choosing Italy or Neven Subotić choosing Serbia. Andy would have had to wait at least three years before he would be eligible for us because of the naturalization process. And who knows at that point if Bob Bradley would definitely invite him into camps. Gone are the days of rushing through a David Regis, meaning once again the “turrerists” have won.

- Lastly, two thoughts on UConn winning their third title.

First, how long until this is vacated? Calhoun has to be one of the shadiest coaches out there, and I’m really hoping this secondary investigation lands him in more hot water. The fact that he was suspended for three games next season and not this one -- which really affected the NCAA Championships -- is a joke.

Second, thanks to Butler and UConn for making the MD-Indiana final game from ’02 practically look like an instant classic. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep during a final game before Monday. Even if I hadn’t been out at Opening Day for the first placed Orioles (yeah, I just jinxed them like I did D.C. a few weeks ago) I doubt I would have made it to “One Shining Moment.”

Thanks as always for reading and have a great weekend. Bushman might be back next week since he’ll presumably have a lot more free time on his hands once the government shuts down.