This is really good news…Howard continues (hopefully) getting consistent playing time and improves his game, while getting out of the destructive microscope that is being a player at Manchester United.

I must say though, we are somewhat lucky that it did not go as planned. If the final score line had been 1-0 or 2-0 Mexico, would that have been entirely unjust? I think not, but in the end all that matters is the result, not how we arrived at it. And how did we arrive at that result? Strong defense throughout most of the game. Even if Jimmy Conrad does not score off the corner there is still an argument to be made for him as Man of the Match. The central defense combining him and Bocanegra was impressive. Blanco had a little bit too much space in the first half, but to no result. Borghetti was marked out early, but made his presence know in the closing stages of the game when the Mexicans had 15 forwards on the field. Howard looked a little uncertain in the first moments of the game, but when truly tested at the end he acquitted himself well.

The wing backs left something to be desired in the first half, Bornstein clearly showing some nerves and inexpiernce and Chris Albright, well, was Chris Albright. Bornstein’s second half was strong, very solid, defended on and off the ball better and was a threat going forward. If he continues to play for the National Team as he did in the second half he’ll be the man to beat for the starting left back position in 2010 in South Africa. And as much as I like Josh Gros (seriously, he is probably my favorite MLS player), he looked out of his league, over committing on some balls, getting caught in the center too often. To be fair it must be a shock to the system for your first cap to be in the middle of a US-Mexico game just as Mexico is committing to an all out attack. I’d like to see how he performs in a lower intensity game such as Ecuador, and perhaps he can dial it up from there.

The weakest part of the US game last night was the attack, and that problem began in the midfield. Both Ricardo Clark and Pablo Mastroeni sat deep in the midfield, and with Dempsey and Convey tending towards the touchlines, there was a large whole in the formation between the midfield and the forwards. Personally I would prefer a diamond formation with Donovan as attacking midfielder so he can run at the defense and not worry about having to make runs off the ball. Then in his place you could insert EJ or TT. At any rate, not too sound too much like Eric Wynalda but I thought Rolfe was awful. I don’t know that Eddie Johnson was involved enough to say something either way.

Off the field, I must say that I am enjoying the Wynalda-Arena-Stone campaign to remove the interim tag from Bob Bradley and simply name him head coach. I whole heartedly agree with them Sunil Gulati sounded a little silly with his talk about waiting for the European season to be over so the coaches there would be free to sign on.

Dos a cero, bitches

Your thoughts?

- Middlesbrough
- Real Madrid
- Fulham
- Inter Milan
- AC Milan
- Chelsea
- Marseille

That’s not a bad list of teams! I wonder how much of it was true and how much was positioning done by Onyewu’s agent or a team. I, personally, am glad that he is in the EPL. In the States we certainly have more access to EPL players than other Yanks abroad, not to mention that I’d question whether a move from Belgium to France was really a step up. I’m interested in seeing how the big guy performs in the EPL, not to mention where he will wind up permanently.

. . . a source close to the organization of this year’s tournament told USOpenCup.com that “the teams participating in the [SuperLiga tournament] will be included, either as automatic entries into the tournament, or participating in stand-alone qualifying matches against other MLS teams for the right to compete in the tournament.”

This is wonderful news. Regardless of your perception of the Lamar Hunt Open Cup, it is 1) our domestic cup championship and 2) in honor of a great man who was pivotal in the development of soccer in the US. For any MLS team to simply pass on the Cup tournament (as was originally thought based on earlier reportage) in favor of some silly experimental SuperLiga money grab would be a disgrace and a slap in the face of the legacy of the recently deceased Lamar Hunt.

This has got to be frustrating for the big guy, to twice have the coach essentially say “I don’t expect him to play again for us”, only to have none of the many possible deals go through. It may be easier for Onyewu to move this summer, as he can move on a free transfer. I wonder, however, why none of these deals has been completed. Is Gooch or his team asking for too much? Do the teams not think of him too highly?

Beckham’s playing contract falls well short of the big deals signed in Major League Baseball, where Alex Rodriguez is being paid $252 million and Derek Jeter $189 million, both over 10 years.

With all this information in hand, I feel better about the whole Beckham situation. MLS takes little financial risk (most of it is on Phil Anschultz and AEG) and gets a players that will raise the profile of the league. Hopefully tons of fans will come out to see Beckham at his away games, and maybe a small percentage of them will realize ‘Hey, this is a great game, Becks or no Becks. I wanna come back next week!’. One other concern is that the MLS will be seen as the retirement home for European players. While I agree this is a risk, I think we all need to keep in mind it was only 7 short months ago that Beckham was captain of the English National Team. Washed up, I think not, but it all depends on how seriously Beckham approaches the game here in the US.

Finally, as a DC United fan, having Beckham on the LA Galaxy will make their failures all the more enjoyable.

I’m hoping that MLS, and soccer in America, will finally reach its potential and find a place in the saturated American sports landscape. Beckham can do so much for the sport, not so much on the field (although he is a very good player and should improve the quality of play in MLS), but especially off the field. The buzz and publicity he will create just by showing up should only be good for the sport.

ABC News and the Sports Business Daily are amongst the news outlets reporting David Beckham’s imminent signing with MLS. Coincidentally (or not), these reports follow yesterday’s rumors that Beckham’s talks with current club Real Madrid have stalled. Whether they have stalled or not, Beckham seems to be on the outs with Real. I’m not one to much stock in rumors, but at this point, are we beyond rumors? I have a good feeling about this…

Choo Choo….

EDIT: Add CNN/SI to the mix. And this sounds more like CONFIRMATION!!!!!!!!! than rumors…