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DEL.ICIO.USSorry is the hardest word
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Guess Freddy Adu apologized to his teammates after all, since he’s been cleared to play for D.C. United in Sunday’s MLS playoff match against the Chicago Fire.
That would be the same MLS playoff match that’s airing on ESPN2, of course, but me cynical? Hah! There will be time for that later, when the subject is Liverpool.
The Freddy Saga has got all the dramatic ingredients and narrative flow of a typical D.C. political melodrama. Teen hero wails about a lack of playing time, coach rips him for trying to be above the team, suspends his posterior for the first half of the playoff series because he won’t apologize to his teammates in a timely fashion, and both teams play to a yawner 0-0 draw.
After the initial outburst, everyone stopped talking but now that a resolution has been resolved, United’s top suit says — virtually on cue — “It’s ancient history.” Oh, please, it was just last week.
How Washingtonian.
Young Freddy even took part in Tuesday’s kickabout as the defending champs try to regain normalcy. Another old lame-o Washington line.
So how have the playoffs been for you? The only one on my cable radar range was the Galaxy-Earthquakes affair on the Deuce, with Landon Donovan earning Mr. October dubbing. The Quakes are down 3-1 with the return leg at home, but local lad Ricardo Clark (AFC Lightning Club and St. Pius X) got the goal that gets them within a reasonable chance.
Some watching other games weren’t exactly turned on, and these are the diehard fans here. Long an American soccer aesthetic complaint — why should we be subjected to gridiron lines? Answer: soccer-specific stadiums.
Here’s a good roundup of the playoffs on the official MLS site.
Now, on to the seventh circle. I passed a vehicle on I-75 South in Buckhead today proudly displaying a “Champions of Europe” bumper sticker. Enough to feel a bit better after a horrendous 2-0 loss to Fulham on Saturday. Upon my arrival at the office, I find that Liverpool crashed out of the Carling Cup to — ahem — Crystal Palace. And Rafa Benitez, who scolded the Reds for their attitude over the weekend, merely “thanked” them after the latest humiliation. Here’s the Guardian’s take.
Yes, the league cup is small fry when you’re the Champions of Europe, and with Rafa’s mediocre lineup already stretched thin, who needs the aggravation? These guys need to find the plot — fast. Some Liverpudlians are more optimistic than I’ll ever be at this point.
Rafa-lution? A Crystal Palace Coup, maybe.
Becks gets his red card overturned for his temper tantrum in Spain. Oh, it does help to be blond after all.
On the Yanks Abroad front, Captain America is down again for Manchester City, meaning Reyna probably will be scratched from the U.S. friendly against Scotland Nov. 12 in Glasgow, his former Rangers stomping ground.
Here’s a terrific Q and A with DaMarcus Beasley, who says Eindhoven reminds him a little of back home in Fort Wayne, except that everywhere in bloody Holland you’ll find nude women on billboards and casual consumption of a certain kind of tobacco good for treating glaucoma. No, DMB, you’re not in Indiana anymore.
On the USL front, how about this shot to the gut? The Richmond Kickers, who reached the First Division finals last year, have booted themselves down to D2 to save money. Some league, eh? This has been one of the more stable franchises, and now this.
The travel arguments made in this piece make sense. I’ve often wondered why USL didn’t go more for the regional approach, rather than a tiered organization, to stem such frequent comings and goings of teams on a huge continent.
In the past, Atlanta has played conference or divisional games against Charleston, Nashville, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Raleigh, Richmond, etc. Now, only the Battery is left.
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By Chris
November 1, 2005 4:25 PM | Link to this
Wendy, Reading the responses (0) to your blog it appears that there are not to many folks in Atlanta that care about soccer. Either that or they don’t want to talk about it. It was neat to watch the DC faithful get crazy rooting for their team win or lose. I am happy that we are able to keep our USL team no manner what division they stay in.