Monday Potpourri (and Wynalda Speaks!!!)

Not just a soccer column for today. Lots of interesting things going on in the sports world, so I'll touch on a few. Don't worry, soccer fans, the end of the column will contain some (hopefully) good info...

1. Will They Ever "Get It?" - Steve McNair, Sean Taylor, Darrent Williams... all good guys (at least that's what most have said), and all are dead. Not by accident; murdered. The NFL needs to take a serious look at the players in their league, especially the rookies, and get them counseling and guidance on how to reduce their risk of being in a bad situation. Have symposiums; again, they do that for rookies, but apparently they aren't taken seriously. The Washington Wizards have a program in place where the players are counseled and advised about the various situations (most of them bad) and how to handle them. Each NFL team should take hard look into doing this as well. Bring them in during training camp. I think Management can sacrifice a couple of hours of practice if it'll help keep their players out of the tabloids, and better yet, out of jail, the hospital, or the morgue. I'm thinking that most of the current players are thinking "that'll never happen to me." I'm pretty sure McNair, Taylor, and Williams thought the same thing...

2. Favre - Give it up. You're doing this to spite the Packers, and you're putting yourself before the other players on the Vikings, if in fact you do play. Don't you think the veterans on that team can see right through you? i wonder how long it'll take the younger players to figure it out. Maybe you should just go back to throwing the ball through that tire you've got on the tree on your farm in Mississippi. Of course, your animals will probably intercept it and go the other way for 6, but whatever...

3. Michael Jackson - Can we please stop idolizing this sick pedophile? I admit that I liked his early stuff, and own most of it. But the last 20 years have been full of sick, demented things that would make anybody else a pariah in society. If certain people had their way, they would make a friggin' National Holiday for this asshat.

4. Roger Federer - There's been a lot of discussion about whether or not he's the best Men's player of all time because he's won 15 Grand Slam Titles. Yesterday, after winning Wimbledon in an absolutely ridiculous final over Andy Roddick, he walked to the back to do an interview with John McEnroe. McEnroe said "I'm here with Roger Federer, the greatest of all time." He might be a psychopath, but if McEnroe said it, case closed...

5. The Beckham Experiment - Grant Wahl's new book about the past 2 seasons of David Beckham's adventures in MLS and the soccer world. If you read the snippet on cnnsi.com, you, like me, cannot wait for this to be released next week. Wahl is arguably the best soccer writer in the U.S., and I guarantee you this book is not going to be a hatchet job on Beckham. That wasn't Grant's angle when he started writing this thing 2 years ago. He told me her thought it would be a fascinating story, regardless of where it went. As a special treat, we're going to do a Q&A w/ Grant next week when the book is released. If you've got a question you want him to answer, send it to Pat and I and we'll send it along. We can't promise he'll answer every question we send, but we'll try to make sure he gets to the big ones!

6. Eric Wynalda - I emailed Eric last week about his take on the U.S. Men's showing in South Africa. Here is his response:

"Ever been to Vegas and gone on a good run? Won a couple hands, got a little lucky, having fun? You are winning.

Then suddenly the dealer goes on a run of her own and gets blackjack or 21 12 times in a row. ALL YOUR MONEY IS GONE!! You walk away from the table wondering, what the hell just happened? I was doing so well.

That's how virtually EVERYBODY feels after playing Brazil. (EVEN GERMANY, FRANCE, SPAIN AND ARGENTINA) Some times the house just wins brother. They are Brazil.

The only ones we earned respect from are those who know exactly how hard it is to beat Brazil. Its a very small group. Our guys have earned respect from the people who matter.

Personally, I am extremely proud of their performance and encouraged that our chances to do well next summer are substantially better than a few weeks ago..."

Well said!

Don't forget to send us your questions to Grant!