Monday Musings

Pretty big week in sports, wasn't it? Tons of Gold Cup action, albeit with a bunch of B teams from the U.S. and Mexico, plus some other stuff thrown in.

1. Gold Cup - Hard to get excited about a tournament that has few players and/or teams worth watching. I'm not sure what Bob Bradley is putting on the field, but surely there must be SOME players in Europe or MLS who are a better quality. I got a text from a pro coach who said "Really? Clyde Simms can't play for Bob but Logan Pause can?" Kyle Beckerman didn't do much for me either, and unfortunately, neither did Kenny Cooper. Brad Evans and Davy Arnaud were so-so, as was Chad Marshall and Clarence Goodson.

On the good side, Troy Perkins was a bit of a revelation in goal. He might make a push to be the 3rd keeper next year in South Africa. Charlie Davies continues to impress, and hopefully he'll make a smooth transition to his new French club Sochaux. Santino Quaranta is also making a case to be called into future camps...

As for the rest of the teams, Haiti has looked decent and should be a tough out for a B-side Mexico, while the Canada/Honduras match looks to be the most even of the quarterfinal games.

Speaking of Mexico, did they dodge a bullet or what with the suspension of Aguirre? 3 games, which will most likely be the remainder of the Gold Cup, is a slap on the wrist. Had numerous colleagues tell me he should be banned for 6 months minimum. This guy is a nutjob who I'm not sure will last a year with this team before they turn on him. And this isn't the first time he's swiped at a player; remember the kicking gesture he made toward Claudio Reyna years ago? I sure do... And Bruce Arena's 3-match ban for verbally chastising the ref years ago in Costa Rica is equal to the attempted assault on a player?

2. MLS - Freddy Montero continues to make a case for MLS MVP with his 9th goal in Seattle, but Patrick Ianni stole the show with a spectacular bicycle kick to give them a 2-1 win against Houston...2 games went 0-0, so let us never speak of them again...L.A. gets big a win in The Classico as Beckham and Zidane watched from the stands, while Toronto gets to the top of the table in the East (tied w/ Chicago) via a 3-1 win over a struggling San Jose team.

1 last thing; with the Gold Cup taking several of the top MLS players, how does MLS justify charging people to attend those games this weekend?

3. Richmond/Bermuda - Remember a few weeks ago when I said Western Mass. was the worst pro team I've ever seen? Yeah, they've been eclipsed by Bermuda, who gave up 5 goals in the first 30 minutes to the Kickers en route to a 7-2 loss. And 1 of the Hogges' goals was a "gifted" penalty that one Richmond player told me "would NEVER be called in a close game." And, believe it or not, the Bermuda 'keeper played WELL. It could easily have been 10 or 11.

Bottom line is that Richmond is peaking at the right time. After 4 straight draws at home to start the season, they've scored 15 goals in their past 3 homes games (all wins), and seem poised to take over 1st place from Harrisburg. Mark your calenders for July 29th, the last time these 2 play for the season. Might determine 1st place.

4. The Beckham Experiment - Got the book last week and can't put it down. Might have it finished before I fly to Vegas on Thursday (yep, it's that time of year again)...Grant Wahl has done a masterful job at explaining in detail all of the good, the bad, and the ugly of David Beckham's L.A. journey. We got Grant's answers to our questions we submitted last week, and will post them on the blog tomorrow to coincide with the release of the book.

That's all for now. As I said, check back tomorrow for our Q&A w/ Grant. As always, thanks for reading!