Looking At The Davies Comeback

So you're saying there's a chance

If you’re reading this blog, you know what happened to Charlie Davies last October. And probably know that he’s in the midst of a miraculous comeback that should, at the least, put his name on Bob Bradley’s provisional 30-man roster for the World Cup.

This week, after his club president said he wouldn’t play this season as our buddy Craig Stouffer first reported over at The Examiner, Davies returned to full training with the team. On Wednesday Davies tweeted that he scored his first goal and received his first tackle.

Those are two good hurdles to be over in getting back to match fitness. The latter part, taking his first challenge, is an ingredient of his recovery that I think is in his favor. That Davies is returning to soccer from a near fatal car crash may actually be easier for him mentally than for someone like Eduardo da Silva, the Arsenal player who suffered a severely broken leg on a horrific challenge on the field (video is here, but not for the faint of heart much like the Joe Theisman injury). I’m sure there had to be something in the back of Davies’s mind as he went through that first challenge in training wondering if his leg could withstand the tackle. And that will happen again in his first game. But he shouldn’t shy away from contact as much as he would have if his injuries had occurred on the field with the thought being “is this tackle going to knock me out of action for the next six months again.” That mental recovery can be just as difficult as the physical in some cases. Not saying Davies won’t be thinking along those lines, but those thoughts should be assuaged somewhat.

Also in his favor is the fact that, due to playing forward, he can be an impact player in just 15 or 20 minutes. I wrote last week that Herculez Gomez could be a super sub type of guy for Bob Bradley in South Africa given his propensity to come off the bench and score for Puebla. However, Davies would be a better option having already proven his skill at the international level.

Unlike Oguchi Onyewu, also returning from an injury suffered just days after Davies, CD9 doesn’t have to be fully match fit. Bradley says he does, and it would be great if he was, but he doesn’t have to be ready to play all 90 minutes on June 12. Onyewu, as a defender, needs to be fully match fit, both mentally and physically. I’m not sure he’ll be 100%, but even at 80-90% he’s our best option as a center back. I hope he’s that far along and that Onyewu is fully participating in Milan’s training now bodes well for his chances. As for comparison, Onyewu can’t be John O’Brien in ’06 while Davies can be Willis Reed for the Knicks in ’70 or even Kirk Gibson for the Dodgers in ‘88.

Lastly, aside from Davies himself, it seems that the person most affected in the accident was Jozy Altidore. Granted, Davies and Altiore were penciled in to be the starters, but with Davies out of action Altidore has seemingly been written into the lineup in pen by most observers and likely Bradley as well. However, had Davies stayed healthy and scored say 10-12 goals for Sochaux while Altidore toiled at Hull (1 goal, 3 assists in 28 appearances), would pressure have mounted to find a more suitable -- read: someone who is scoring -- partner for Davies? It’s obviously a hypothetical, but maybe that pressure would have pushed Jozy to perform at a higher level, not just being the guy drawing a few penalties here and there for Hull, but actually burying his chances. Yes, I understand that Jozy did a lot of the dirty work for Hull and the USMNT needs that as well, but the USA also needs someone to score and during the first half they’ll be looking to Altidore to do just that.

Since I wrote most of this on Wednesday and Thursday, Bob Bradley has come out and said (paraphrasing here) “Charlie has to be where we need him to be to be invited to the pre-World Cup camp.” You can read a full wrap up of it over at SI thanks to Grant Wahl’s reporting. (Even the WaPo’s Steve Goff chimed in on Davies this morning -- I really should have posted this yesterday. Damn you Champions League and Capitals!)

To me, Bradley is posturing and saying to Davies “don’t rest on your laurels, there’s still a lot of work to do.” Again, Davies able to give 15-20 minutes a game is worth a roster spot. Even if it’s at the cost of someone like Jose Francisco Torres, a guy we’d all like to see play, but doesn’t really fit into Bradley’s system and rarely sees the field.

In the end, Davies has until May 11 to show to Bradley he’s worthy of one of the 30 provisional spots. Unless something happens between now and then injury-wise, I can’t see Davies being left off that list. That alone would be remarkable. Bradley also talked of the proverbial dangling carrot the World Cup has been to Davies making his recovery but that he has to do what’s best for the team.

Even if he doesn’t play in any of the games in South Africa, taking Davies for locker room morale might just be what’s best for the team anyway.

- Pat Walsh

Stone The Red?

Losing after being up 3-1? So easy a Caveman could do it.

So what’s tougher these days: being a fan of the Caps or D.C. United? The Caps of course had an amazing season, only to make history by becoming the first #1 seed to lose to an 8 seed after being up 3-1. At least it wasn’t to the Penguins. Meanwhile, United just plain suck.

I’d have to go with the Caps. Getting your hopes up only to have the rug pulled out is much, much worse than knowing your team is more than likely going to lose going in to 75% of its games. This series was like watching the Terps lose in the 2001 Final Four to Duke after being up 22 points. Only this was over the course of six nights. Fortunately it wasn’t to Pittsburgh.

Of course much of the credit to the Caps being knocked out has to go to Jaroslav Halak, who stopped 131 of the last 134 shots he faced in the series and made me think of this. But even more credit has to go to the defense of the Canadiens who didn’t give up as many good looks as the Caps blue liners conceded. That, to me, is where Washington needs to improve the most.

They surely missed Tom Poti in that game 7. But their “star” defensemen, Mike Green, is a liability defensively, especially if he’s not scoring. The Norris Trophy nominee averaged just over a point per game in the regular season, but could only manage three assists in the seven game series and was directly to blame for both Montreal goals in game 7. To win the Norris Trophy you have to be able to play a modicum of defense and that should knock Green out. Also, you’d think a Norris Trophy winner would be a shoe-in for his national team, not sitting at home during the Olympics.

So that ends another forgettable spring for the Capitals. Morath might be back in a few days with a more in depth look at what went wrong. I’m just wondering what curse the Caps have.

- On the flip side, D.C. United won their first game of the 2010 campaign. I think it was because Steve Goff wasn’t there. Neither United nor Dallas were at full strength in the U.S. Open Cup play-in game, but it was a positive result nonetheless. I will say I’m surprised that FCD kept David Ferreira and Jeff Cunningham on the bench when making their final two subs and being down three. You’d have to guess Curt Onalfo would give Adam Cristman, the UVa product, a look this weekend against New York following his two goal, one assist performance.

Speaking of United strikers, another familiar face might be on the field this Saturday afternoon. Luciano Emilio is back with United until at least July and, frankly, it’s a move that speaks of desperation while making total sense. Chris Pontius and Danny Allsopp have hamstring issues and the latter hasn’t impressed in his brief run. Our buddy Craig Stouffer asked if this signing is akin to United bringing back Christian Gomez last season and I’d say no. First, Emilio is three years younger right now than Gomez was last year. Last year Emilio had what was considered a poor year and still managed 10 goals and 2 assists. Gomez, who was a bust in Colorado, had only 3 goals and 6 assists in his year for the Rapids. Plus, Emilio is set to earn a lot less money according to results so on this signing I give United’s front office the thumbs up. Until Emilio starts missing sitters like Troy Perkins fans at crosses, that is.

- Amazing game at the Camp Nou yesterday between Barcelona and Inter. Tactical in every sense of the word from Inter as they mostly shut down Xavi and didn’t allow Messi to be his dangerous self. Even down a man, they bunkered and only let in one on a beautiful Gerard Pique goal (more on that in a second). As for Jose Mourinho, hate him if you want, but he is the best coach in the world right now at the club level; it’ll be interesting to see where he is next fall. Now Inter play Bayern in the finals in what should be a fascinating game when it comes to the tactics between Mourinho and the guy he learned from, Louis van Gaal. By the way, anyone else find it amusing that two guys Real Madrid sold off last summer to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo will be facing off at the Bernabeu as the two Dutch #10s -- Inter’s Wesley Sneijder and Bayern’s Arjen Robben -- face off. Do they fly directly to the Dutch World Cup camp together after that game?

Two thoughts on the officiating. First, it wasn’t a straight red to me for Thiago Motta, but he was on a yellow and that’s surely a second so whether it was straight or not becomes a moot point. Second, Barça had a goal waved off for a questionable handball late in the game, but Pique -- before he hit the circle button for the spin move -- was offsides and that goal should have been disallowed so the calls evened out.

Lastly, let’s see how that big transfer last summer worked out. Barcelona got Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Inter got Samuel Eto’o, €45 million, and a spot in the Champions League final. I’d say Inter won.

- Sad times for Shalrie Joseph who recently entered the Major League Soccer substance abuse and behavioral health program just days after the Revolution announced he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence. Similarly, Craig Stouffer had an exclusive report about the recent problems of Josh Wicks. Best wishes to both of them in dealing with whatever it is they are dealing with.

Back tomorrow with a look at Charlie Davies.

- Pat Walsh

Monday Report

"I'm The Juggernaut, Bitch!"

Interesting soccer weekend, hockey playoffs, and the NFL draft, but let's start with the really big news for soccer fans in the Fredericksburg area:

1. PDL and W-League Come Back To The 'Burg - Remember when I told you a few weeks ago about the rumors of this coming back to the area? Well, it's all but official. The Fredericksburg Area soccer Association (henceforth known as FASA) will field PDL (Fredericksburg Hotspur) and W-League (Fredericksburg Impact) teams beginning in the Spring of 2011. How do I know this? Because FASA has invited me to be a part of it. Pretty reliable information, I would think. My role with the organization has yet to be determined, but I know I can't wait to get started. The group is one of the larger travel clubs in Virginia, with more than 1200 players and 100 teams at all levels. The next logical step was for them to start an advanced team, and they can field it using multiple players who have come up through their system as well as some top-notch collegiate players from schools in the area.

I know there are some doubters who are going to ask why this will work when the Fredericksburg Gunners failed to establish themselves over the course of 3 years? It's a fair question. I think once more information is released, you'll see that FASA has a few advantages over the Gunners. Do not misunderstand me; that's not a swipe at the Gunners AT ALL; they did what they thought was best, and unfortunately, it didn't work out. FASA is doing things a little differently, so we'll just wait and see how it goes. Regardless, this level of soccer coming back to Fredericksburg is nothing but a good thing for the area.

2. USL 2 - For the 2nd straight week, none of the home teams won. Pittsburgh still hasn't scored a goal, but have 2 road ties to show for their efforts after traveling to Charleston. A solid crowd of 4,400 showed up at Blackbaud for that one. Real Maryland traveled to Harrisburg and stunned the Islanders 2-0, while Charlotte got a very impressive road win over Richmond 1-0. The Kickers have only 1 point after their 1st 2 home games, and looked to have lost starting centerback Yomby William for a period of time with an ankle injury. No reason to panic in Virginia's capital city just yet, but coach Leigh Cowlishaw has to be a little bit concerned.

3. Landon Donovan's Influence - So in recent interviews, Donovan has expressed support for strikers Hercules Gomez and Galaxy teammate Edson Buddle to be in consideration for the U.S. World Cup squad. Now that Charlie Davies is a real longshot to make the team as he won't play another minute for Socheaux this season, Bradley HAS to take 1, if not both, of these guys to South Africa. As Walsh and I have said before, Conor Casey brings nothing to the team but size, Brian Ching is still injured and will be recovering even after camp starts, and Robbie Findley and Jeff Cunningham certainly can't cut it at the next level. Does Donovan have Bradley's ear and can convince to bring these guys in? Though it was never confirmed, rumor has it that Donovan was a big reason Jimmy Conrad made the squad in 2006. Yes, Conrad deserved to be there, but was definitely on the bubble, and I'm sure Donovan being in Bruce Arena's ear helped his cause. Will Donovan's pleas fall deaf on Bradley's big ears?

4. Jozy, Jozy, Jozy... - Jozy Altidore sure as hell better show more composure in June. He was baited on Saturday by Sunderland's Alan Hutton and took it hook, line, and sinker. Hutton deserved the red for throwing the ball at Altidore while he lay on the ground, but Altidore cannot retaliate like that. I realize sometimes things get heated in competition, but don't think the U.S.' 1st round opponents aren't going to study that video closely to see what they can do to throw him off his game. Still, it was a nice headbutt...he did some damage to a punk like Hutton, who flopped around like a little girl after the incident. Don't worry, folks, I'm joking...mostly.

5. Capitals - Better close it out tonight, guys. Do you really want to play a game 7 where you've lost 2 of the 3 at home and would go against a team which no doubt believes they can beat you? Could be some excruciating moments tonight up north. Varlamov needs to stay in the zone and withstand the pressure Washington will certainly feel in the first 10 minutes tonight. If they can whether the initial storm, I think they can put the series away.

6. NFL Draft - Was a good way to spend Thursday and Friday evening. LOVED the fact that the new 1st round only took 3 1/2 hours, now that teams only get 10 minutes to pick. Was fairly smooth, although I'm not sure the Redskins took the right guy. I think Okung will be a better pro than Williams, but Shanahan and Allen have forgotten more about football than I'll ever learn. Also, one last question; do you think they should have taken Bruce Campbell in the 4th round? All signs point to him being a decent pro, although his draft stock fell rapidly Thursday. Still, even if he's an average player, he'd be a starter and the Redskins would have bookend tackles for the 1st time since Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels from a few years back.

As for the Colts, loved what they did. Hughes is going to be a monster coming off the corner. He can play LB or DE. With defenses keying on Freeney and Mathis, Hughes could easily have a rookie season like Brian Orakpo's and get double-digit sacks this year. Also added depth at linebacker (Pat Angerer), and hopefully cornerback Kevin Thomas can eventually replace the departed Marlin Jackson.

That's all for this week, folks. Walsh should be back later to talk Champions League, MLS, and other stuff.

As always, thanks for reading!

Who’s Your Pappa?

If I keep doing this all summer, at least the mosquitos won't get me!

Three teams in Washington, D.C. played on Saturday night. All three drew just over 18k fans. One game saw a thrilling, come-from-behind win just seconds into OT to save a season. One game saw a dominant performance in shutting down the opposing team’s offense. One game saw a listless performance by the home side, a game changing substitution from the opponents, and the only loss by a team from the nation’s capital.

Guess which game I attended.

Kudos to the Caps for coming back and not completely ruining my night. I was getting texts as the game unfolded and walked into a bar on Capitol Hill just seconds after Backstrom won the game. Would’ve been nice to catch that one live.

The Nats won behind a Livan Hernandez shutout. Aaaaaand moving on.

Ahh, D.C. United. At least my tickets were free.

Seriously though, what happened to that Tradition? I’m guessing the WeWinTrophies.com won’t be brought up much around RFK this year because with this group they won’t be adding to their league-leading total.

Troy Perkins is a complete disaster. In addition to the two given up late against the Fire, he tried to gift them two more in the first half, but Chicago didn’t take the bait. I don’t know if it’s a confidence issue or trying to compensate for a weak back line, but at this point he might need to sit for a game or two. Not that Curt Onalfo has a better option, but Perkins -- and the full team, really -- can greatly use this bye week.

Going back and watching replays of the 11 goals conceded, the most allowed in MLS, I’d say almost half of them -- two in the Kansas City game in which Perkins made and initial save, the first and last against Philly, and Brian McBride’s on Saturday -- were savable. Now, that’s not the only reason why United has no points thus far, but certainly you need a ‘keeper who was on the radar as the third choice for the World Cup roster just months ago to stand up and make those saves. Especially when you’re paying him as one of the top goalies in the league and gave up a boatload -- a first rounder, allocation money, and the guy who was a better fit as a #10 than Santino Quaranta -- to get him back.

You can also look at United and say that they’ve never needed a stud netminder to win. Just like Joe Gibbs with QBs for the Redskins. I’d say they’re a bit more important today than 10 years ago in MLS, but it’s been since Pat Onstad in 2003 that the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year has won MLS Cup.

Again, this isn’t to say that United’s miserable start can be blamed solely on Perkins. There’s more than enough blame to go from top to bottom in the organization. However, in this case some of it has to be shouldered by the guy wearing a color that might make some fans think he got a wee bit nervous and pissed himself.

Looking ahead, D.C. really needs to rebound in May. Looking at their schedule, they could get points out of the NY and KC games, but I doubt both. Away to Dallas, home against Colorado, and away to Houston might bring another point or two. Hosting Chivas to end the month is the best shot at a win. If not, it’s going to be a long, long summer for the Black-and-Red with no points from June (v. RSL, @ Seattle, @ Columbus) and at least three losses in July (@ SJ, @ NY, v. Seattle, v. LA, @ RSL).

The question becomes what excuse is viable for the organization. Injuries are playing a role, but I’m not sure a Juan Manuel Pena adds that much. Bryan Namoff and Clyde Simms do, and Marc Burch would allow Rodney Wallace to push up into the midfield, but even with those guys healthy all year this still isn’t a playoff team. For a team that prides itself on Tradition and Winning Trophies, a 15-point year is completely unacceptable and would necessitate major changes in the offseason, not just shuffling in a new guy on the bench.

Other thoughts…

- At this point, if Eddie Johnson goes to South Africa over Edson Buddle then Bob Bradley should be fired while the plane is taxing for takeoff. I don’t care that he has just one cap, a substitutes one at that, for the USA. He’s scoring in bunches and four of his seven of them have been set up by the same guy who will be pulling the strings for the Yanks. Plus, you can’t tell me that Super League Greece is much better, if at all, than MLS. According to Wikipedia -- the easiest place for me to do research and, as you know, here at My 2 Cents you get what you pay for -- EJ has two goals in 10 appearances. Soccernet (ok, I dug a bit deeper) only has game logs from last year when he was with Cardiff City in the Coca Cola Championship in England, a league slightly above MLS in quality. There he scored twice in 30 appearances, starting just two of Cardiff’s final 28 games. Form certainly has to play into Bradley’s selection and in this case merits at least a call into the pre-WC camp. Detractors will say that Jeff Cunningham and Robbie Findley were in great form last season and didn’t turn it into meaningful time with the Nats in January. But with the current dearth of solid options and Buddle making history by scoring his team’s first seven goals, let’s hope he can make that jump from MLS to the national team and stay as hot as Leah Francis.

Oh, and Herculez Gomez is in the same boat as Buddle. He’s tied for the league lead in goals in the Mexican Primera and half of his 10 goals have come as a substitute. That’s a role that Bradley could greatly use as he doesn’t have a game changer that he can bring in off the bench to turn a game. Of course that means changing strategy during the game, which isn’t exactly Bob’s strong suit.

- Things got a lot more interesting in England. Man U did what they always do and scored in the dying seconds to pull within one of Chelsea, who were thumped by a very good Tottenham side. It’s a shame Spurs couldn’t put away a few more of their chances to bring down Chelsea’s goal differential over Man U, which currently sits at +3 and effectively gives Chelsea an extra point as that’s the first tie breaker. Definitely looking forward to Man U’s last test of the season this weekend at home against Spurs. Chelsea have a relatively easy road, especially with Fernando Torres out for the season for Liverpool and now has to be considered questionable for the group stage of the Cup. The Blues have to be considered the favorite, but I’m rooting against them mainly to see what Roman would do this summer if they blow this lead.

- Pat Walsh

2010 USL 2 Preview

Let me start out by saying this; if you've come here to get my predictions for the 2010 USL2 season, you're going to be disappointed. Why? Because, like everyone else I've spoken to in the league (officials, coaches, and players), nobody has a clue what to expect this year. The only thing I've gotten from everyone is that "this will be the most competitive season ever in this league." I can't credit that to anyone specifically because it came from 5 different people.

The league has become regionalized, with the 6 remaining teams ranging geographically from Pittsburgh to Charleston. While it limits the amount of publicity for the league, the fans from these teams can expect a better play on the field for multiple reasons.

"With a lot less travel and travel time, the players will be fresher and more fit," said Richmond Kickers Assistant coach Jesse Myers. "There are fewer back to back games, so there will be fewer injuries, which means the play on the field will be high quality." However, as more than one coach said, it's sad there is no Bermuda trip on the schedule this year.

Plus, with the downsizing of the league from 9 teams in 2009 to 6 in 2010, the better quality players are now playing together, which again means a more quality product. "When you see the signings, you know that every team will be strong this year," said Charlotte Head coach Mark Steffens.

With a 20-game schedule, each team will play 4 times, which could be interesting as the season progresses. "You get to know your opponent well...on the other hand, they get to know you too," said Steffens.

"I don't see much separation at all," said Harrisburg Coach Bill Becher. "There no easy games anymore on your schedule. You have to be ready to play every night."

He's right. The playoff formula this year has 3 of the 6 teams qualifying. The 1st place team in the regular season gets an automatic bye into the Championship, and if possible, will host the game. The 3rd seed will play at the 2 seed (again, if possible) the week before. That means every point is important.

Myers said he expects the playoff spots to not be determined until the last week of the season.

"I think it will be so close that only 8 or 9 wins gets you into the playoffs, or something like 32 points. It's going to be a battle every week."

As for the small number of teams, USL President Tim Holt has high expectations for the next few years.

"We expect to have as many as 12 to 16 teams at the start of 2011," he said. "We don't want to just add teams just to have quantity. We want to bring in viable quality franchises, and we have several who will be joining in the next year or 2."

When asked about the locations of these teams, Holt wouldn't elaborate, which leads me to believe that these new franchises will be located in a similar region of the country. Travel really is such a big issue for 2nd and 3rd division soccer, so the budgetary restraints should keep things as logistically sensible as possible.

But back to the issue of good and exciting soccer, Holt thinks these USL 2 teams can match up with anybody in the country.

"Is it possible that Richmond, Charleston, or any of the other teams are capable of making a deep run in the U.S. Open Cup? We absolutely think so."

Holt doesn't embellish, so I think we should take him at his word. And if that's the case, soccer fans in the Mid-Atlantic region are going to see some amazing soccer over the course of the next five months.

What follows is a preview of each team participating in the 2010 USL 2 season and a quote I've gotten from various people associated with the league:

Richmond Kickers - The defending champs return with a bullseye on their back, but for a team returning 9 starters from last year, they're in great shape to make a run at back to back titles. Matthew Delicate is their most dangerous player, but there aren't other proven scorers on the team. They'll need him to stay healthy. Henry Kalungi and Yomby William form one of the better central defender combinations in the league, and returning Goalkeeper of the Year Ronnie Pascale returns to provide his leadership. The midfield is expected to be bolstered by rookies Bobby Fogelsong, whom Myers said has so far exceeded expectations, and UVA's Jonathan Villanueva, who can be deadly on free kicks. Quote - "Richmond is there at the end every year, and this year should be no exception."

Charleston Battery - They were in USL 1 last year before dropping down, where they can renew their rivalries with longtime foes Charlotte and Richmond. Former MLS players Jon Wilson and Stephen Armstrong return as long-time veterans who still have a lot left in the tank. The Battery also took advantage of the Wilmington Hammerheads' disbanding by picking up Mark Briggs and 2009 USL 2 All League 2nd Teamer Colin Falvey. Charleston has brought in several other players who have either trained or played with MLS squads, which means that the Battery should contend for the league title.Quote - "I think Charleston might be the deepest team in the league. They're scary!"

Charlotte Eagles - How do you replace the retired Dustin Swineheart, one of USL's best players of the past decade and also the team's leader on and off the field? You don't, but Coach Mark Steffens has high hopes that players like Greg Dalby, who was with MLS' Colorado Rapids in 2009, can continue his solid preseason form. Steffens says team captain Josh Rife has similar qualities to Swineheart, and should be the team's leader in multiple aspects this season. Diego Martins returns and is always a threat, and defender Chad Smith has MLS reserve experience with both Houston and FC Dallas. All USL 2 midfielder Jorge Herrera should also provide a wealth of skill of leadership. The team does have 12 new players to the roster, so the Eagles will need them to gel as a unit quickly to keep up in this ultra-competitive league.Quote - "They have a lot of new guys, but their coaching and management staff are so consistent that you know they will be successful."

Pittsburgh Riverhounds - New Head coach Justin Evans has an interesting mix of veterans and youth heading into the 2010 season. Nathan Salsi, one of the top USL players of the past decade, returns to anchor the defense in front of goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap, who was on the Cleveland team that won the USL 2 Title in 2008. Midfielder Jason Kutney is in his 4th season with Pittsburgh, and will work with several players who have experience playing for the Riverhounds. Like Charlotte, Pittsburgh has several newcomers whom Evans will depend on to step in and contribute right away.Quote - "Salsi is one of the best players in the league. He works so hard and demands that from everyone else, so you know you're in for a battle every time you play them."

Harrisburg City Islanders - Bill Becher is still adding players to his team, but the ones he has signed to contracts can hold their own with the best in the league. All USL 2 Defender Dustin Bixler returns to anchor the defense, and he'll be free to take more chances with Goalkeeper Danny Cepero, who played for the MLS Red Bulls in 2009, between the posts for Harrisburg. All-time assists leader David Schofield will provide a crucial spark for the offense, and Brian Ombiji, a player from the Islanders' 2007 championship team, returns to help shape the midfield. Newcomers include Nate Jafta, who had great success for 3 years in the PDL, and Mpho Moloi, who previously played professionally in South Africa, will hopefully give the team some goals, therefore, a balanced attack.
Quote - "Harrisburg is always in the mix. They always seem to find the right guys to fit into their system, so they have to be considered a threat every week."


Real Maryland FC - They're very much a wildcard this year, as they have an interesting mix of veterans and youth. Brian Levey and Hamed Diallo, who have experience with the USL 1 Carolina Railhawks. The key returnee, of course, is John Borrajo, who was an All USL 2 team selection for 2009, and was also in the running for Defender of the Year. He was also a key component to the 2009 playoff run. He'll get some help from Mason Trafford, who comes in from USL 1's Vancouver Whitecaps. Ben Hunter, who logged a few years in Richmond, will need be a sharp attacker out of the midfield and create chances up front. He should get some help from former Harrisburg midfielders Nate Baker and Nicki Paterson. Real Maryland has some promising young stars as well. Will they be able to contribute early and help spark another postseason appearance?
Quote - "They're a team we don't really know. They've got some solid core players, and it'll be interesting to see what their young kids will be able to do."

The NHL Playoffs!

The Capitals Be Scorin'!!!

(1) Washington Capitals versus (8) Montreal Canadiens– After capturing the President’s Trophy for the best regular season record in the NHL, the Capitals set their sights on their first Stanley Cup when they face off against Montreal—a franchise that has won a record 24 championships over the years.


Offense – This one isn’t even close, as the Capitals scored 61 goals more than any other team in the Eastern Conference (and 101 more than the Canadiens). Alex Ovechkin (50), Alexander Semin (40), Nicklas Backstrom (33), and Mike Knuble (29) all tallied more goals than Montreal’s top marksman, Brian Gionta (28). Tomas Plekanec led the Habs in points (70) and is a quality playmaker who will be counted on to get the puck to speedy wingers like Gionta and Mike Cammalleri (26 goals in 65 games). Edge: Caps


Defense – Washington’s defense is underrated given the run and gun style they play, but they’ve clearly improved over last year, when they pushed the eventual Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games. The top tandem of Mike Green and Jeff Schultz have another year of experience under their belts and were a combined +89 during the regular season, including an NHL best +50 for the twenty-four year old Schultz. Veterans Tom Poti and Joe Corvo can also move the puck and should log upwards of twenty minutes per night on the backend for the Caps. Meanwhile, Montreal’s blueline features two defensemen who have presented a challenge for Ovechkin over the years: his Russian countryman, slick skating Andrei Markov (34 pts in 45 games), and towering 6’7” Hal Gill (who was frequently matched against Ovie’s line while playing for the Penguins in last year’s playoffs). Jaroslav Spacek and Roman Hamrlik are both accomplished defensemen, but at 36 and 37 years old, respectively, it remains to be seen how they will fare in a series against a young, fast team like Washington. Edge: Caps.


Special Teams – This is where things could get interesting. While the Caps boast the NHL’s top ranked power play (25.2%), Montreal came in second (21.8%). The Habs’ power play scorched Washington and their suspect penalty killing unit during four regular season contests, clicking at a gaudy 36% rate (5 for 14). It will be imperative for the Capitals to stay out of the penalty box, as special teams could be the great equalizer in this series. The Canadien’s PK finished a very respectable 12th overall in the league, 13 spots ahead of Washington’s penalty killers. Edge: Even


Goaltending – It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that all four goalies could see action in this series. Though Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak (26-13-5, 2.40 GAA) and Washington’s Jose Theodore (30-7-7, 2.81 GAA) posted solid regular seasons, neither are proven playoff winners, which could open the door for their young understudies, Carey Price and Semyon Varlamov. Though Halak stole the Hab’s starting job from the more heralded Price, he has only 3 playoff appearances on his resume. On the flip side, Theodore has played in 38 playoff games, but was yanked in favor of Varlamov after a poor performance in game one of last year’s first round series against the New York Rangers. Edge: Even


Intangibles – The fans in Montreal have not forgotten Theodore, who captured the Hart Trophy as league MVP back in 2002. Unfortunately, things went awry for Theodore in the years that followed. His play began to slip, his contract became an albatross, and the Habs eventually shipped him to Colorado near the end of the 2005-06 season. Theodore has a lot to prove, so it will be interesting to see how he responds to the challenge; particularly in the games north of the border, where the Canadien’s faithful will no doubt taunt him relentlessly. The most compelling intangible for the Habs would have to be their New Jersey Devils imports, rightwing Gionta and center Scott Gomez. Both have hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup and know how to get the job done in crunch time. Edge: Even


Unsung heroes:
John Carlson – The Caps’ twenty year old defenseman only has 22 NHL games to his credit, but he played his way into the starting lineup after the Olympic break and could be a key contributor in the playoffs. In the past twelve months, he’s won the Calder Cup championship with Washington’s AHL farm team in Hershey, and scored the winning goal in overtime as Team USA defeated Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships back in January. Though Carlson has flown under the radar thus far, it’s not inconceivable that a couple years from now we could be debating whether Carlson or Green is the Caps’ best blueliner.



Those wild and crazy Kostitsyn brothers – Montreal’s sibling wingers have been somewhat enigmatic thus far in their brief NHL careers, but for whatever reason they seem to step it up whenever they face the Capitals.


Outlook – This series marks the beginning of the third playoff run for the Capitals under coach Bruce Boudreau and expectations are at a pinnacle for Ovechkin and company. The acquisitions of Mike Knuble, Scott Walker, and Jason Chimera (along with holdovers Brooks Laich and Matt Bradley) should provide the gritty secondary scoring that they lacked while succumbing to the Penguins last spring. The Canadiens have a dangerous power play, and a sharp young goalie in Halak, but they finished dead last in the NHL in even strength scoring during the regular season. The Caps absolutely murder other teams in 5 on 5 play, so as long as they don’t take an excessive number of penalties, the outcome of this series should be a foregone conclusion. Prediction: Capitals in 5.



Scott Morath is My 2 Cents' hockey expert, and is our special playoff correspondent for the 2010 season. Walsh and Bushman thank him for his hard and detailed work.

Soccer Saturday

"We've Put Together A Championship Roster!" Um...no, you haven't...

At one point on Saturday, there were no fewer than 5 channels showing soccer games at the same time. Who says Americans don't like soccer? Okay, lots of people, but their voices are growing more and more quiet every year, aren't they? Let's start off the with the main event:

1. Real Madrid vs. Barcelona - The El Clasico wasn't the best game played between these two, but it was some of the best soccer I've seen this year. The scoreline was 2-0 Barca, but I disagree with those observers who saw such a 1-sided affair. Real had 16 shots to Barca's 8, possession was fairly even, and the uncapped Victor Valdes (how in the hell has this guy never been called up for Spain? Oh yeah, some guy named Casillas...) had to make a few clutch saves to keep a clean sheet. But Barca has this year's trump card, Messi, who shook off a hard foul in the 33rd minute and scored a classic goal after a brilliant pass from Xavi (can it be argued that Xavi is Messi's Scottie Pippen?)... after the goal, Walsh sent me this insightful text: "That's what happens when you don't bitch and moan to the ref, get up, and play on..." The best revenge is a goal, and Messi made the kill shot which sent the 80k plus at the Bernebeu fall silent. Xavi's 2nd killer pass of the evening sent Pedro in early in the 2nd half to essentially seal the win, giving Barca the crucial 3 points and the head-to-head tiebreak should the teams end the season tied in points. Cristiano Ronaldo had some brilliant moments for Real but was unable to solve Barca's sturdy back 4. By the way, doesn't Carles Puyol look an awful lot like Bret "The Hit Man" Hart? Just sayin... And if I were a gambling man (hee, hee) I'd put a chunk o' change on Barca winning the double. Do you see any of the remaining opponents in the Champions League matching up with them? No, me neither... And then maybe parlay that into a Spain World Cup trophy, even though Messi plays for Argentina?

2. DC United vs. Philadelphia - Yeah, the level of play was JUST a bit lower since this game immediately followed the La Liga game, but there were some interesting moments. First of all, hats off to a fantastic crowd in Philly. More than 30k showed up for the Union's home opener and went home happy after Sebastien Le Toux's hat trick propelled them to their 1st-ever franchise win. They fell apart a bit in the 2nd half and gave up a 2-goal lead, but didn't panic and shut the door on a United side that is now 0-3. As for United, how early is it to send out the S.O.S? Without Jaime Moreno, the team shows no offensive spark. Troy Perkins has been culpable for multiple goals, the defense isn't doing him any favors, and El Salvadoran newcomer Christian Castillo has shown nothing to warrant any of the preseason hype. So does United bench him and risk (once again) the ire of the El Salvadoran fans who still have not quite forgiven the team for trading their hero Raul Diaz Arce more than a decade ago? And although the heat might be on new Coach Curt Onalfo, when are Kevin Payne and Dave Kasper going to be held accountable for putting together such a lousy team the past few years?

3. Other MLS Thoughts -

A. If you have Edson Buddle or any of the L.A. Galaxy defense on your fantasy team, you're probably leading your league.

B. Chicago has no business losing their home opener in front of a large crowd to a team like San Jose.

C. Kansas City might be a much better team than I thought.

D. Toronto might be just the opposite.

E. I know it's only 3 weeks in, but why do I get the feeling the Western Conference is essentially going to be a 3-team race between L.A., Seattle, and Real Salt Lake? Over/Under on the number of times the lead changes hands amongst the 3? Let's set the line at 12.

4. Washington Capitals - Scott Morath should drop by in a few days to give us his in-depth playoff analysis, but I was watching the NHL Network last night, and they went over their "3 Biggest Stories To Watch in The Playoffs." They were San Jose, Chicago, and...Pittsburgh???? The Caps win the President's Trophy going away, and they don't even rate as viable storyline? Hope Bruce Boudreau puts this on the bulletin board. The Caps still get no respect. Time for them to earn it.

5. Steelers Trade Santonio Holmes To The Jets - New York is really shooting for a Title in the 1st year of their new stadium, aren't they? Only giving up a 5th rounder for the talented (but troubled) Santonio Holmes is a steal. However, with Holmes probably being suspended the 1st 4 games of the season, I think Pittsburgh is tired of the unwanted attention and wants to send a message to anybody else who wants to embarrass the franchise that it will no longer be tolerated. I know you're all thinking that Big Ben is an exception, but no team gets rid of a franchise quarterback...are you listening Philadelphia?

That's all for now. As I mentioned earlier, Morath will give us some good hockey stuff later in the week, and I'm sure Pat will come up with something as well.

Thanks as always for reading!

Messi: Argentinean For God?

You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him.

Have to start with the hot topic of the week: Lionel Messi. If you haven’t heard of him -- and even my mom was asking about him so I assume you have as well -- he’s good. It was almost like the Arsenal defense was Billy Madison “playing” the clarinet after Eric just ripped off a violin solo. There’s nothing you can do, so you might as well just admit it.

The four-goal eruption this week was just the latest example of why he’s the best in the world. I never thought Cristiano Ronaldo was better than him; the only thing CRon has an advantage in is free kicks and looking like an Oompa Loompa. Earlier this week I tossed out the idea to a friend or two that Messi is better, but Wayne Rooney was more important to his team because of all the help Messi has at Barcelona. Then I find out -- because I rarely get a chance to watch Spanish games -- that Thierry Henry only has three goals in La Liga, probably because those refs don’t let you use your hands in the box. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has 15, but Dimitar Berbatov has 12 (really?!?!) to give Wayne a similar foil.

So at this point, Messi is just the best. Period.

Diego Maradona said earlier this week that Messi is “playing a kick-about with Jesus.” Pretty sure he had to go pee in a cup after that comment, but I’m feeling what Diego is saying. There’s no one on his level and Messi is now must see TV. What ABC really needs is for the U.S.A. to get out of the group, beat either Germany or Ghana (this is assuming the U.S. finishes in second, and I hope I don’t have to root against our long shot in Ghana) and then play Argentina on July 3 (assuming Argentina win their group). I still don’t trust the Albicelestes to win the World Cup because of Maradona on the bench, but we’ve seen players win titles in spite of their coaches (see L.A. Galaxy in the Steve Sampson era).

This week’s thrashing of the Gunners leads in to El Clasico tomorrow at 4 pm. I was hoping ESPN would pony up and take the game away from GolTV for HD purposes, but they are showing the North Carolina spring football game (ESPN) and poker (ESPN2) so it’s understandable why they wouldn’t want to bump those. Plus, having Ray Hudson call the game is sufficient consolation.

So be sure to at least DVR the Barcelona - Real Madrid game tomorrow. It’ll be worth 90 minutes of your time.

Of course that’s not all that’s going on…

- Following El Clasico is the inaugural game of MLS’s newest rivalry: Philly v. D.C. Apparently United are taking at least 1,000 supporters, or an equivalent of a FC Dallas home game, to The Linc which should add to the atmosphere in the NFL stadium. With these two teams, I think the atmosphere is going to need all the help it can get. The Union are talking about adding Carlos Ruiz or Luciano Emilio, but they won’t have that offensive help this week. They will see Fred’s debut against his old club, but again I don’t see any goals coming without some help from Troy Perkins. Conversely, though I haven’t seen United, my guess is they’ll score, but only from the penalty spot thanks to Philly’s thuggish defense. After watching Barça-Real, this is going to be a tough one to stomach.

VP Joe Biden will be at the game for a ceremonial first kick. It’s a shame the Union didn’t open with New England so Biden and Steve Nicol could exchange F-bombs.

- So Tiger started out pretty good yesterday. Hope he didn’t blow his load early. I was shocked slash disappointed that he wasn’t the “featured group” on the Masters.com broadcast. But our boy Kevin pointed out they didn’t have a “featured groupies” channel. Should be interesting to see how the weekend plays out. CBS of course is hoping for a final pairing of Tom Watson -- how is he still getting it done? Viagra? -- and Tiger for a ratings bonanza. For my money, though, El Clasico is a tradition just like this.

- Speaking of CBS ratings, that was a hell of a game on Monday night. It was good enough that my girlfriend was even into it and complaining about calls Duke was getting. I don’t think the second half officiating was as bad as the first and a great example is Zoubek’s fouls: first half 0 fouls, second half 4 fouls. Having said that, you aren’t going to win a title shooting 32.8% from the field. Howard missed too many easy chances early on when they could’ve put some pressure on Duke. It was great resiliency from Butler, though, and a great tournament for them. However, as a Terp fan the tourney was all down hill after an amazing first day. At least I’m not a Georgetown fan.

Also, let me add my voice to the droves against expanding the tournament. Yes, I completely understand Gary Williams being in favor for job security. He wouldn’t have been under fire for missing the NCAA’s those few years as a bubble team much the same that Fridge hasn’t been because he can go to a crap bowl in San Francisco that, aside from alumni or gamblers, only has ten people watch. But the point is, it’s great to root for a George Mason or a Northern Iowa, but only when they’re playing the Dukes or Villanovas, not when they play each other. If they think that’s going to be a ratings boom, they need to look at the ratings for Bracket Buster Saturday and see how many people tune in to that. My guess is similar to those that watched the past few Maryland bowl games.

Back next week for probably a blog a trois. EDIT: As my buddy Chris said, it would be nice to see the Caps get to 120 points, but somehow we have to root for Pittsburgh to overtake New Jersey this weekend. I just threw up a little in my mouth typing that. It’s either that or rooting against Buffalo in the first round so the Caps don’t see the Pens until the Conference Finals. Scott should have a preview sometime next week and Bushman is claiming to have some good info for his stuff next week. That is, if he finds the time while not earning our tax dollars being hard at work. Yeah, I’m not taking the high road.

Have a great weekend and, as always, thanks for reading.

- Pat Walsh

The Week That Was

My thanks to Walsh for keeping up the blog last week. I will ignore his repeated jabs at my dedication to this site, though, and play the role of the mature one in our blogging relationship...

So a lot has happened over the weekend in multiple sports; let's get to it.

1. U.S. National Team Insight -

A. Okay, so am I the only one who says that, relatively sight unseen in a U.S. uniform (only 2 caps), that Hercules Gomez (above) be on the World Cup roster? 8 goals in 10 matches (and they weren't the result of cherry picking either), has to include him in the squad, right? I mean, Brian Ching is out for several weeks, Conor Casey just hasn't been dependable, and Robbie Findley and Jeff Cunningham certainly are not able to go to the next level. Charlie Davies looks like he'll be back, but you can't depend on him to play a full 90 minutes after being out for 7 months. He'll be good for 15-20 if you need a goal. But Gomez could prove a good foil for Altidore, and then you could move Dempsey up if you need to. That would give Bradley the 4 forwards a team normally brings for these tournaments.

B. How obvious is it that Maurice Edu should be tabbed to start alongside Michael Bradley in the center of the U.S. midfield? Again, like with Gomes, it's all about current form. Edu is scoring goals as the d-mid for Rangers, something quite unusual for that position normally, but even more so in a rough and tumble league like Scotland's. His skills have developed over the past year, and he's big and athletic. Like a pro coach told me a few weeks ago, "we need to be more physical." Edu, when paired with Bradley, and backed up by DeMerit and (hopefully) Onyewu, gives the middle 4 a more athletic and physical presence the team has lacked for some time. And don't forget about Jermaine Jones' ability to contribute if he can get healthy...

C. There can no longer be any doubt that Marcus Hahnemann is the clear #2 'keeper behind Howard, right? Again, based on current form, if Howard somehow picked up an injury (God forbid), I wouldn't panic if Hahnemann was between the posts in June.

2. Redskins pick up McNabb - Honestly don't know what to think of this move. Sure, it's an upgrade at the QB position, but for how long? When was the last time McNabb stayed healthy for a whole season? Even if the Redskins take Russell Okung with the #4 pick, the line still has a long way to go before they have any credibility. This is the deepest draft in 10 years, at least that's what the experts are saying, and the Redskins have no 2nd or 3rd round picks (they used their 3rd in the supplemental draft last year to take a defensive lineman whose impact was so little that I can't even give you his name and don't care enough to look it up). They also gave up their 6th round pick in the Jason Taylor fiasco. The 'Skins faithful have to be both anxious and excited about this move.

3. College Basketball -

A. So it's a no-brainer that I'm pulling for Butler to beat Duke tonight, but I doubt it'll happen. Somehow beating MSU Sunday while only shooting 31% from the field ain't gonna cut it tonight. However, with a decided home court advantage, this could be the biggest upset since N.C. State beat Houston 25 years ago. And what would be tonight's over/under be for Duke getting charging call?

B. So it would be "beneficial" to expand the basketball tournament to 96 from 64? Wouldn't be beneficial to have an 8-team football tournament to decide the real National Champion of college football? Hello? McFly????? It's like beating your head against a wall, sometimes, isn't it?

4. PDL back to Fredericksburg? - So more than 1 little birdy has told me that the Fredericksburg area is going to field another PDL and W-League team in 2011. It's going to be created by the Fredericksburg Area Soccer Association (FASA), a well-structured and financially secure group that has been around for nearly 30 years. They have hundreds of kids in their youth programs, so stepping up a level is a logical progression. In full disclosure, my father is one of the people who started this organization when it was called the Hotspurs, so I'm a little biased in hoping this comes to fruition. No details have been released yet, and nobody has gone on the record with me yet, but I'm 99.9% sure this is happening next year.

I was going to make some baseball predictions, but then I realized how much I dislike baseball and don't really care...

Look for Scott Morath to give us a hockey playoff preview once it's determined whom the Capitals will face, and as always, Walsh can be counted on to contribute at least once a week.

As always, thanks for reading!

Bonus Friday Blog

Should the "Kyle y Javi Show" go National?

After last night’s pair of games I had some thoughts that needed to be shared. And this way you still get your standard two blogs per week from My 2 Cents, even if Bushman sucks.

On a scheduling note, expect to see some NHL playoff stuff coming up soon from our part-time blogger Scott Morath. Personally, I think it’s just Bushman trying to be even lazier and have another excuse not to blog, but that’s just me.

So, about last night…

- I never thought I’d type this with a straight face, but could we see Edson Buddle in South Africa? Last night was a perfect storm of sorts for the man named after Pelé. Brian Ching went down with a hamstring injury that will likely have him out for at least a month, if not longer. Robbie Findley didn’t start for RSL. Buddle then finished a beautiful goal from Sean Franklin in the MLS nightcap and showed some nice moves throughout. In the big picture, he also has the bonus of playing club ball with Landon Donovan, something that helped Ching get into the national team when he was younger. He didn’t help himself by picking up a dumb yellow for getting in Sacha Kljestan’s face, but I did like the intensity. Now, having said all of that, the U.S. is in trouble if it has to rely on Edson Buddle. We need Jozy and Charlie Davies to be healthy, or Stu Holden to come back to push Clint Dempsey up front where he’s more effective. But, considering the other options (Eddie Johnson, Jeff Cunningham, and Conor Casey) right now I’d rather see the upside of Buddle than the other three. If I had to put money on it, though, it’d be on Casey who just doesn’t work enough for me up front in Bradley’s system.

- Sent a text last night to a couple of friends (who probably comprise half of our readers) wondering if the U.S. could get Javier Morales a green card by June 1 when rosters are due for the World Cup. Mark replied that we are deep at midfield, which is true. But I’d counter and say none of the central midfielders -- assuming Donovan’s out on the left -- are as creative as Javi. As far as I can tell he never played for Argentina and as friend of the blog Kevin chimed in, “it worked for David Regis.” I’d wager Morales would be more effective and probably never go with silver hair, which I think is a positive. It won’t happen, but naturalizing players is something that’s rarely touched on anymore in the U.S. aside from dual citizen Mexican-American kids and one Italian-American. If you think its immoral, look at how many Brazilians played in the ’08 Euros, specifically how important Marcos Senna was to Spain’s winning side. Hell, even Mexico is doing it these days.

- Unlucky for Real not to walk away with at least a point last night in Houston. Jamison Olave can’t be dumb to give away points by conceding two PKs like that. However, I was a bit surprised to not see one called on Houston late when Andrew Hainult -- pretty sure it was him -- leaned in with a shoulder to undercut Espindola on a cross. You can say the cross was too high for Espindola to get, but I’d counter by saying that Cameron wasn’t getting to the ball on the first penalty kick and remind you of the penalty kick given in the U.S. v. Honduras game when Jimmy Conrad grabbed a guy from behind when the ball was nearly out of play and well over the goal.

Oh, and Real should’ve won 3-2 when Espindola go two points for the takedown on Bobby Boswell in the dying minutes. He probably deserved to be sent off, but now he can’t be suspended as the ref dealt with the issue on the field.

One last RSL note, if they come out of April with five or more points, eight total, it will be a successful month. Tough to say considering they’re an MLS Cup quality team, but MLS schedulers did them no favors with this set of four games: @ Houston, v. Seattle, @ Los Angeles, @ Columbus (who will be rested with a bye the week before). After that, though, let’s just say you might want to load up on the Royals in MFLS.

- Not only did the crash and burn at startup for MLSSoccer.com make a lot of fans mad on the weekend, but also it delayed MFLS scoring for a few days. That’s when you know you really have a problem. Scores have finally been updated for the first week, but there are no links to recaps or box scores of any kind so all you know is the final score. The stats still have Jeff Cunningham as the league leader in goals with an impressive 17 in just one game, which is amazing considering Dallas scored just once last week. I could go on, but it would be nothing compared to a very long, but very good read, over at Fake Sigi.

- Lastly, I want to send out congratulations to Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes. Vasquez won the Bob Cousy award yesterday given to the best point guard in the NCAA. You can argue whether he’s the best -- personally, I’m not sure he is -- but it says something of his national recognition when he beats out guys like John Wall, Evan Turner, Sherron Collins, John Scheyer, and Scottie Reynolds, who somehow beat Vasquez out for first team All-American honors. Following that up, Eric Hayes torched the field at the college 3-point shooting contest. I hope he pulled a Larry Bird and walked into the locker room and asked, “who’s coming in second?” It was a great day for both to officially end their careers at Maryland.

Have a great Friday and good Easter weekend.

- Pat Walsh

About Last Week

United we stand, together we fall...hard

I can say that Bushman’s been working hard and that’s why he’s not been around. It has nothing to do with the two of us wanting to take a huge mulligan for putting D.C. United so high in our preseason predictions.

Man, what a disaster that game was.

Yes, it was just one game and there are 29 more. But it was against a side many thought would be well out of the playoff race. Granted, with Ryan Smith spicing up the attack and Jimmy Nielsen holding down things in the back, we may well be wrong about that. However, the 4-0 result looks to be an ominous beginning to the Curt Onalfo era.

I didn’t get to see the game, which is probably fortunate, but the most troubling aspect of the highlights were that two of the four goals were off rebounds from Troy Perkins. It didn’t look like he was getting much help from the back line and it was raining, but making those kind of saves is why United sent a big package to Philly for his rights. Josh Wicks can give up those kind of goals even with one shoulder out of commission.

According to Soccernet -- have to go there because the new MLSsoccer.com doesn’t have anything updated from last week -- United managed just one shot on goal. For an allegedly revamped attack, that’s unacceptable. But the reason I’m kicking myself is going off preseason results, which you should never take much stock of, and the fact that I knew Onalfo’s teams in Kansas City struggled offensively and this makeshift back line isn’t going to win many games.

Suffice it to say, it appears it will be a long season at RFK. It might be too much of a knee jerk reaction, but the fact is now with 16 teams in the league you can’t start slow. On the bright side, even though the stadium is falling apart they will now serve Ledo’s Pizza and Ben’s Chili Bowl. So they’ve got that going for them.

Other stuff going on…

- Couple of great games in Champions League action this week with Bayern this time coming back against Manchester United and a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates. Bigger than the games, though, were the injuries to Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas. Kind of takes the luster off of the return legs and really opens the door for Barcelona to repeat as CL champs. Arsenal’s only hope lies in that Barça’s first choice center backs will be out of the return leg and Rafa Marquez is always susceptible to being sent off; however, I don’t see that happening (Arsenal advancing, not Marquez being Marquez). ManU can get a 1-0 result, but they’ll need a great performance out of Ryan Giggs and have Dimitar Berbatov show up in a big game. Not sure they can get past Lyon without Rooney, though.

- Injuries are mounting for World Cup players, as noted above. Rooney seems like he’ll be back in plenty of time, though with ligament damage that’s no sure thing. Fabregas though apparently broke his leg while taking a penalty kick -- we’ll find out for sure this afternoon. How the hell does that happen? The only positive, as an American fan, is for once the injuries weren’t to one of our players.

- The other big winners? Chelsea. By not playing midweek, and therefore not having anyone injured, once again they seem to be in the driver’s seat for the Prem. A win at Old Trafford this weekend would be huge for the home side, but I’m not sure ManU have the horses with Rooney on the sidelines. A draw wouldn’t be disastrous, as they’d maintain their one point advantage. Arsenal aren’t out of it, but it would be nearly miraculous for them to win any silverware this year.

- Switching gears to hoops, gotta pull for Butler this weekend as a Terps fan. Obviously Duke isn’t getting any support and West Virginia isn’t much better, even if they do have Billy Hahn on the bench. (Btw, Hahn hasn’t lost any intensity, has he?) I still don’t even want to talk about Michigan State other than to say doesn’t this disprove the theory you have to have great guards to win in March? So in the end, I have nothing against Butler, so that’s who I’m rooting for. The lesser of all evils wins on this one.

- Finally, in somewhat breaking news (as I was about to post this, at least), MLS has officially added a second DP slot and will allow teams to buy a third. My initial thought is this gives an inherent edge to NY and LA with Seattle and D.C. maybe being other teams that would buy the third slot. It will be interesting to see how a second DP is used as teams have shown that just one doesn’t work, but perhaps having three stars on a team might tip the balance in the favor of the DP. Beckham and Donovan showed last year two big guns can do some heavy lifting and if they had a third musketeer, maybe Bruce Arena wins his third MLS Cup.

It also belies the notion over the winter that the owners were complaining about losing money. If they were that concerned this wouldn’t have passed. Of course, they couldn’t admit to that until after negotiations with the union were done.

Also interesting to me is that DP’s now only count for $335k against the cap. The salary cap this year was raised by $235k, so teams only have to cut $100k of other salaries to add a DP.

But, hey, kudos to MLSsoccer.com for getting the scoop from down the hall. Now get functioning scoreboards!

- Pat Walsh