Another Week Down

Anyone else a bit weirded out by Logan Pause's expression?

Again Bushman is outta town so I’ll be your humble blogger for the week. Which probably means just today, but you never know. Let’s get to yet another busy weekend in the “Summer of Soccer,” which has rarely seen the temperature reach 90ºF. Read into that however you like.

• The U.S. advanced to the semis in a tough game over Panama. Good win for this team, but certainly doesn’t exude confidence heading into Thursday’s semifinal game against Honduras. Granted, the Yanks beat Los Catrachos in the group stage, but there won’t be the cavalry of Benny Feilhaber and Charlie Davies coming off the bench to save the game again. Not saying Honduras will win, just that it won’t come easy for the Yanks.

Looking back, I only caught the first half, as there was a recording error on my part. But what I did see made me wonder why Jay Heaps was in the lineup and why more defensive cover wasn’t made available in Bradley’s lineup. Also wondered why Panama didn’t consistently go down their left wing to attack Heaps. Like the Confed Cup there are roster issues -- the former brought players who Bradley had to know from the outset weren’t up to par, while this one brought too many players who Bradley had to know would be returning to Europe, and then compounding the problem by not naming players to the provisional spots who could then be brought in to cover, specifically at the two fullback spots.

Logan Pause can probably be lumped in with Heaps in wondering why he’s on the roster, as I can’t think of anytime after the first game he has had an impact. Tough to imagine there aren’t better options in MLS -- the D.C. fan in me immediately thinks of Clyde Simms and Brian Carroll -- or even on the roster with youngster Sam Cronin.

From what I understand, Kenny Cooper missed a few chances and you have to start wondering about his national team future. It would be nice for the big man to get a chance with the rest of the regulars and see what that does for him.

Finally, it was hell of a goal by Kyle Beckerman. Made SportsCenter’s top 10 as the number one highlight. Pretty cool to see that while downing a few Guinness at an Irish bar and listening to a good band.

• Going back to the defensive depth, or lack thereof, my boy Jimmy Conrad took a nasty knock that left him wondering if he was in Philly or Oz. Got an email from him this morning saying he’s getting better, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be playing again in this tournament. Or with the Wizards for a bit.

• D.C. United picked up another win Saturday night, scoring all four goals in a 3-1 win. Bryan Namoff (speaking of guys that could have gotten a look, probably over Jay Heaps) scored a brace, one for and one against. Should be a fun stretch run with four teams atop the East separated by just two points and Kansas City lurking six points further back, but having two games in hand. If they’re against New York, that means an easy six points.

• Apparently David Beckham can’t waltz back into town like the prodigal son. He had a relatively quiet night last Thursday in New York while Landon Donovan did all the heavy lifting. And, frankly, that’s what the Galaxy need and would make them a contender in November. However, upon return to the HDC for a game against his former (and future?) club, AC Milan, he was greeted with a less than warm reception as fans booed him had some harsh signs (can’t wait to see what United fans have for him). He also had a “confrontation” with a fan that jumped over a railing when Becks told him to come closer. The Gals drew with Milan, but the atmosphere should make the game worth watching despite knowing the result when FSC airs it tonight.

• Congrats to Abby Wambach as the Freedom striker notched her 100th international goal in her hometown of Rochester, NY. Amazingly she accomplished the feat in just 129 games. By comparison, when he hits that number of caps, Landon Donovan will have about 45 goals, though that depends on how many penalties the U.S. gets in qualifying. Obviously the competition for Donovan is a bit tougher, but just puts things into perspective for what an amazing achievement that is for A-Dub. She won’t top the number of goals scored by Mia Hamm or the number of caps for Kristine Lilly, but considering today’s game Wambach’s feats can be argued as being right on par with the greats of the US Women’s National Team.

• Away from soccer, congrats to Tom Watson on an amazing British Open. Or the Open Championship. Whatever the hell it’s called. Was sad to see him blast the ball through the green on 18 on Sunday and the last putt never had a chance, unlike Stewart Cink’s a bit before on the same green. Still though, gotta give it up to Watson for performing at such a high level against guys 20 and 30 years his junior. I mean, to paraphrase Mitch Hedberg, I could go back and kick some ass in little league, but that’s a bit different (and I’m no Danny Almonte).

- Pat Walsh