Removing The Dead Weight

"This Is How Many Good Plays I Made In Game 7!"

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Had a death in the family and was out of town, and Walsh is slammed with Finals and all of the mutants he has to deal with. You've already seen the U.S. preliminary World Cup roster by now and read everyone else's opinions about it as well as formed your own. I thought he might bring in Edgar Castillo or Jermaine Jones just for a look, but Jones just couldn't get healthy and Castillo made up his mind to play for the U.S. too late for Bradley to really get a good look at him. However, Castillo and Charlie Davies could be big pieces of the puzzle when the U.S. starts qualifying for 2014. Let me take a minute or 2 to give my predictions for the 7 players whom I think will be left off the squad and why. Bob's taking 3 goalies, so we don't need to discuss that. So let's look at the defenders:

Defenders - He called in 9, so I'm thinking he'll take 7. That leaves Heath Pearce out as Bornstein, Bocanegra, and Spector can all play on the left. Then it comes down to Chad Marshall and Clarence Goodson. Tough call on this one, as I can make a case for either to make the squad or get cut. My gut tells me Bob goes with Marshall because he has been one of MLS' top defenders for several years, is fully fit, and has more international experience than Goodson. I wouldn't look for either to play regardless of who makes it. Bob will use a 3-man rotation of Bocanegra, DeMerit, and Onyewu. Plus, if Oguchi can't play all 90, Maurice Edu could see some time back there as well.

Midfielders - Probably the toughest to call. Bradley will probably cut 3, so let's go with DaMarcus Beasley, Robbie Rogers, and (gulp) Sacha Kljesten. That last one is tough, because he's one of Bob's "finds." Still, I don't see how he would see any playing time when there are 5 or 6 options in front of him. Alejandro Bedoya has the least experience of this group, but, like Davies and Castillo, has shown enough promise that he will probably be a player in 2014, so Bradley wants to get him some experience at the big level. Plus, since he plays wide, can bring some much needed pace if the team starts showing some fatigue and needs some fresh legs. Beasley hasn't had "it" for nearly 2 years, and Rogers is a solid MLS player who has yet to distinguish himself during any of his limited international appearances.

Forwards - If anyone other than Eddie Johnson or Robbie Findley are cut, then I agree with Walsh's statement a few weeks ago that Bradley should be fired before the plane even taxis' on the runway to South Africa. Seriously, Johnson has scored a couple of goals in Greece and deserves a look. But is the Greek league better than the Mexican 1st Division, or even MLS for that matter? And to be brutally honest, the guy doesn't exactly have the best reputation in the locker room. Does Bob want to possibly jeopardize the chemistry that is vital to succeed in this tournament? Findley is in camp because Davies is not, simple as that.

So there you have it. We'll find out in a few weeks if I'm right.

And yes, I was wrong about Giuseppi Rossi. Honestly, he deserves to be on the team, or at least in consideration for it. Still pissed he didn't want to play for the U.S. though. Hey, it's my blog and I can be bitter.

As for other news, Chelsea wins the EPL by 1 point over Manchester United. The Blues won their last 3 games by a combined score of 17-0. They also became the 1st EPL team to score 100 goals in a season. I don't like 'em, but they deserved the Title this year.

DC United followed up a big win over Kansas City with another inept performance on the road against FC Dallas. Friend of the blog Craig Stouffer (the only "legit" reporter who emphatically said over the past 2 months that Charlie Davies would not be fit for the World Cup) told us he's hearing that DaMarcus Beasley is a player who could be added to the team after the Cup. Not sure how well he would do, as I think all of the injuries he's had have taken their toll on him, but at this point, what does DC have to lose? Oh, yeah, that's right; many, many games...

After spending last weekend in Pittsburgh and seeing nothing but Crosby and Roethlisberger jerseys (the latter of which surprised me), it was nice to watch the Penguins get ousted last night...at home...in game 7. Guess this proves the Capitals were beaten by a team much better than everyone thought. Still agree with Ted Leonsis that despite the regular season success, the overall season was a failure. 1 last word on that; is it possible for Mike Camilleri to give Alexander Semin some tips on what it's like to actually show up in a playoff series?

Finally, when is it fair to start making comparisons about LeBron James and Alexander Ovechkin? The best players in their respective leagues with nothing to show for it? Just sayin'...

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next week!