Cugalabanza

I lost a little piece of my soul in front of the tv that day.

Basically, it's just been benefit of the doubt for me too. I stuck up for him in the past because, once the Klinsmann hopes were dashed, I thought it would hurt the team to keep going with just an "interim" coach. Plus, around that time, the team was looking impressive against Mexico and beating up on the tiny Island countries. That CONCACAF competition really skews your perception. Just wait & see how spectacular we look in the first WC qualifier against Barbados on 6/15.

Yeah, all kinds of crazy stuff goes on in D.C. Stuff they don't want you to know about. That's why they don't want us to go there. Next they're gonna move it to a secret location in 4-dimensional space/time so even Charles Whidmore can't find it.

So, they are going to restrict people from entering these neighborhoods, but the people already inside will be free to leave whenever they want? Not good enough!

Well, the U.S. was able to play one half of decent soccer. Freddy Adu looked great! Too bad he couldn't go the full 90. My opinion is he's absolutely ready to claim a starting role in midfield. Without him, it was a different game--no creativity at all. I saw enough in one half. The kid is good! I honestly don't understand why Josh Wolff keeps getting minutes. The poor kid does not belong out there. Please, Bob Bradley, move on! Dempsey, sweet Christ man! Act like you give a crap. Typical Eddie Johnson performance. Shows flashes of skill and speed. Poor finishing. Unbelievably lazy at times. Frustrating! Did you see, at about the 25 minute mark, how he let that nice long ball go over the end line for a goal kick? Really really really poor effort. He improved his hustle after that, but he really needed to bury that header near the end of the half. Eddie Lewis. I really thought his national team days were over. But he has showed a lot the last two games. His cross to EJ's head was perfection. EJ blew it. And his nice free kick almost found the top corner. Beasley. They keep making the coming-back-from-injury excuse for him. But does that excuse him from constantly making bad decisions with the ball? Michael Bradley. Poor overall game. Showed good hustle getting back on D, but looked like the stereotypical dumb American against Spain's quality. His muffed header at the end (even though it if was offside anyway) was embarrassing to watch. I think he can be a good player, but I'm starting to get those "coach's son" thoughts when I see him get every single start and never get subbed. The back line. Same as usual. Decent marking overall, but lousy control and outlet passing. Way too many weak, panicked clearances giving the ball right back to the opponent. In the second half, everybody looked bad, except maybe Guzan. Xavi's goal was amazing! Spain played with lots of skill, class and patience. Could easily have been 3-0.

On a tangent… I love the Steve Perry psych-outs in Baseketball. "Shoulda been go-one." They had to ban them because they were too effective.

I absolutely agree. Ironically though, against England, a couple of old guys, Eddie Lewis and Frankie Hedjuk, were about the only ones playing with any fire. The young guys looked dazed and in awe of England in all it's history and with all their superstars.

I like this very much. Why is Altidore not a part of this run of important friendlies? Is he injured? Seems like now would be the time to get him prime minutes. Every time I hear the words Josh Wolf (although I'm sure he is a very nice person), I just get a bad taste in my mouth.

Agreed. That's the part that hurts. Hopefully, in the next two games (tomorrow vs. Spain and Sunday vs. Argentina), we'll see some fuggin guts out there.

In Bob Bradley's defense, he's looking at WC 2010. He wants to look at these young guys to see who will be the future. In the England game, we learned that Ricardo Clark and Josh Wolf are NOT capable. I would really like to see Freddy Adu for a full 90 minutes against Spain. Against England, in very limited time, he started off terribly (bad touches, one incredibly poor free kick sent absolutely nowhere), but then showed some skill and even a decent shot on goal. As bad as the England game looked, I don't think it's time to give up completely. Replace Wolf and Clark with Donovan and Feilhaber and suddenly you start to look competent. I think the central defense (Onyewu & Bocanegra) is better than people think. Generally, they are solid, with occasional boneheaded mistakes. I think they will grow into something quite good. The midfield has lots of potential. Both Donovan and Dempsey can play forward or midfield. Feilhaber is hurt now, but he'll be back and has great instincts and toughness. Bradley (coach's son) shows lots of promise. I'd like to see him put in positions to score goals, not so exclusively in a defensive role. Adu, who knows? He seems to have the skills to be something special. But, what the hell is taking him so long? Beasley has had a lot of injuries lately. If he's 100%, he really brings something with his attacking speed. Forwards? I'm not so sure. Eddie Johnson has skills, but his laziness just kills me. I like Brian Ching a lot, but he has not been consistent enough. Dempsey can be great at times. Altidore, I just don't know. Past that, I just don't know. Not a lot of options here. I wish Brian McBride were about 4 years younger.

Yeah, that was really terrific top-notch stuff. The insight, the wit, the originality. A-plus all the way.

The good news: Ricardo Clark has been taken off the roster. Man, I'm tired of his lousy first touches and constistently terrible passing. The bad news: Still no Landon Donovan. Also, Josh Wolf is still on the roster for some unknown reason. Hopefully, he won't see the field. I still have faith in Dempsey, but he's not the player who can do it on his own. I understand Pablo Mastroeni is back. They could use his experience at midfield. I thought Eddie Lewis was about the only U.S. player that looked any good against England. I think Adu needs to start and play the whole game. He looked really shaky last week, but he's supposed to be a playmaker and you have to give him his shot. Probably Bradley starts again too. Forwards? I guess you gotta go Dempsey and Eddie Johnson, but that's not exactly striking fear into anybody. If it were up to me, maybe I'd sit Eddie down and have Beasley as a fifth midfielder, making runs forward.

Soccer? I hardly knew 'er.

Yup, that was kick ass hockey! I was there to the end.

U.S. vs. Spain Wednesday June 4 Estadio El Sardinero, Santander, Spain 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2, ESPN360 Ok, it will be painful to see our fellow Americans get dismantled by a first class side, but it will be fun watching Fernando Torres, one of the most exciting players in the world.

Happy Birthday, droogs!

Ooh, those are both really great movies.

...but you'll have to be more specific. This describes about 800 guys.

Is this where they make Utica Club? If so, it's a godsend.

sadly, yes

These are really good ones.

Ooh! Really good one! This also gets the top spot in the "best movies not yet on dvd" list.

I told you so. Capt. James T. Smirk Karl the Kraut Malodorous Melvin Kindhart Alge Crumpler Flimsy Joe, the weakling The Hobo Poet James Jeffers phlegm-neck Hobart, the tracheotomy survivor The Naked Cowboy (aka "Little Pistol-Totin' Sam") Talkin', Spittin' Clem "Psychiatric" Patrick Livingston The Shanty Glen Scarpelli "Tricky" Ned Kelsey, the swindler

Lookout! I brought this up recently as a good movie and I got blasted for it.