Bob Your Head

"All I have to do is shake him and he's my yes man."

Seeing as Bushman didn’t really recap the MLS weekend yesterday, or the weekend abroad for that matter, I was all set to do that today. However, thanks to Comcast not showing D.C.’s game and an overwhelming urge to not sit on the couch and watch soccer all weekend, I didn’t see too much soccer aside from a few minutes of the Steven Gerrard show at Upton Park and the second half of the Galaxy-Sounders slugfest (yet another West Coast rivalry being born?).

Instead, I bring you this gem that arrived in my inbox late Sunday night. For those of you unfamiliar with my old radio show, this is resurrecting the Munk and the Mick XI, which served as a finale to our interviews by asking players random, mostly non-soccer related questions. The always-accommodating Jimmy Conrad, the most recent MLSer to have his own bobblehead (see above), hooked this one up for me, so thanks as always to JC. To avoid repetition, “yeah” was deleted from the start of every answer.

Munk and the Mick XI

1. How often have you wanted to go “all Pepe” on Carlos Ruiz? (just for clarification, this is in reference to Real Madrid defender Pepe kicking that dude after he dragged him down, video here)

Jimmy Conrad: I think Ricardo Clark from the Houston Dynamo took care of that impulse for all of us a few years back when he actually did go all “Pepe” on Carlos Ruiz. And if I remember correctly, Ricardo got a 10 game suspension so I don’t think I would be helping my team out by going that route.

2. Has Seattle really eclipsed all others as the toughest atmosphere to play in?

JC: Not yet. I still believe that Toronto has the edge but Seattle is not too far behind.

3. Have you thought about getting a headset to be able to talk to referees during the game?

JC: I have thought about it, yes, but I doubt they want to hear running commentary about their performance from me or anyone else. Those guys get verbally pelted from all sides for 90 minutes and I’m not sure why they decide to show up week after week.

4. What would you do for a Klondike bar?

JC: Just about anything.

5. Who in MLS would be the best entrant on the Celebrity Apprentice? Who would you want to see get fired?

JC: Preki would be the best entrant because he’s the most competitive person I have ever met and he would most likely win because he would do whatever takes to make that happen BUT it would be fun to see him get fired to hear him offer up excuses as to how that could possibly happen.

6. What new band can you suggest to keep your indie rock cred?

JC: Well, I could name a few to solidify my indie rock credibility, however, I’ve been listening to The Airborne Toxic Event and I was reluctant to like them at first but they’ve won me over because their debut album is very, very good.

7. How many pop culture references are lost on your younger teammates?

JC: Well, I guess it depends on how far back I go. To use video consoles as an example, if I throw out any Nintendo or Sega Genesis references, then they look at me like I’m the same age as their grandpa, which is funny and sad for me at the same time.

Bobblehead related

8. Be honest, how many full conversations have you had with your bobblehead?

JC: Since the Jimmy Conrad bobblehead is the only (ceramic) person in my life who takes the time to LISTEN to what I have to say and tell me EXACTLY the answer I want to hear, then I’ll be honest and say that we have conversations on a daily basis. It’s quite cathartic.

9. Who was really the model for the Jimmy Conrad Bobblehead?

JC: Brad Pitt.

10. Troy Dayak has a cowboy hat on in his bobblehead. Any thought of adding an accessory -- maybe the braces from the broken jaw -- to yours?

JC: I thought the perfect part in my bobblehead’s hair was its signature but upon reflection, I think making the head bigger to match the size of my ego would be the best course of action.

11. Are you surprised that my Taylor Twellman bobblehead still works and his large noggin hasn’t broken the spring yet?

JC: They must have “taylor-ed” his bobblehead to real-life dimensions to make sure that the spring would remain intact. If they had enlarged it to a normal bobblehead size, then the spring would’ve broke right after you took it out of the box. By the way, I haven’t spoke to him in awhile, is he planning on playing this season?

Thanks again to Jimmy, and be sure to check out his new site, JimmyConrad.com. I’ll be back later in the week with some more thoughts, though hopefully I’ll be bumped by Scott with a preview of the Caps in the Eastern Conference finals. Unfortunately, I’m not counting on that.

- Pat Walsh