the Yanks put on a clinic of how to absolutely make the middle of the park theirs.
But in the end, the class rose to the top. After Timmy Howard made a game-saving stop on a breakaway, Clint Dempsey played one of the better passes you will see this year, putting Landon through and leading to the penalty kick.
And after Carlos Bocanegra headed home Run DMB's deadball, the U.S. was safe from a Panamanian fluke. Lucky for them, because Blas Perez got a well-deserved goal late to make things interesting.
A couple things stood out from this one:
This just in: Clint Dempsey is getting better and better. His passing is just wonderful; whether a knockdown or a through ball, his vision is really setting him apart. Yes, he missed a sitter (maybe he was just trying to make Landon and Taylor feel better?), but the guy keeps reminding me of a Texan Cristiano Ronaldo.
OK, we all want to win the Gold Cup and get that Confederations Cup spot and then go on and put up a fight in Copa America, but the best thing that could come out of this summer would be for one or two young players to really make a name for themselves. Ladies and gentlemen: I give you Michael Bradley. I know I wrote about him last week, but it's worth repeating -- he just plays well beyond his years.
And Bradley and Pablo Mastroeni together in a midfield pairing? See above about midfield domination.
Max Bretos was right, I mean how good would Blas Perez look in a Hoops uniform? Dude can flat out play, huh? But before we go on too far about the Spanish second division player, go back and look at Bocanegra's goal. One step out toward the top of the box and one step back toward the goal, and he completely lost his marker, who just happened to be named Blas Perez.
Speaking of Max and Christopher Sullivan, one of my favorite things about the duo is they tend to invent a word on average at least every other game. One of Sully's faves is "disbalanced." Someone go ahead and correct me, but it sure ain't in my Webster's College Dictionary over on the bookshelf at the TCS Home Office. Such creativity.
What do you say about Frankie HEY!DUCK!? We all know his pros, as far as the engine that never stops and his experience. But a good national team with good strikers can't have a right back who simply can't serve up a decent cross. We all love Frankie, but his play on the ball was shocking.
Wanna see what I have to deal with all the time and therefore why I am so cynical? At 0-0, I was calling for Stevie Ralston to come in and serve some balls into the box, and replace Taylor Twellman. Bob Bradley did exactly that.
I take you to the conversation on my couch:
Tino: "Hey, Bob's doing exactly what I said!"
Queen of the Palace: "Why don't you put that in your column, genius."
OK. I think I will. Actually, right now my loving wife is setting the TiVo to tape like 37 more episodes of What Not To Wear. You know how they have a V-chip to keep kids from watching bad stuff? I wish they would make a G-chip, one for guys to sneak into the TiVo to prevent their wives from filling up the TiVo with that junk.
She'd try and tape some makeover show and the TiVo would buzz like someone got a wrong answer on Family Feud, and then it would automatically tape four more soccer games and a bikini competition. Now that would be some invention.
Sorry, back to soccer. So here's my take: the Yanks are going to win the tournament. Canada is improving, but they can't give the USA a game. And while Mexico is Mexico, 2-0 seems just about right.
THE NEWS: Plenty of MLS action on Saturday.
TCS SAYS: I don't know that I have ever seen anyone as relieved as Sigi Schmid looked in the post-game interview on FSC after his Crew battled the Revs to a 3-3 draw in Foxborough. Remember when the U.S. was about to launch globalthermonuclear war on the Russians in War Games and narrowly avoided it? That moment when they got Joshua the computer not to launch? That's what Sigi looked like getting that point on the road.
C'mon, even after the Crew rallied to tie the game late, didn't we all think they were still going to blow it the way things have been going this year? Good for them. They deserved the point anyway; Adam Cristman's first goal for the Revs should not have counted.
Besides six goals, this game had some great moments of skill, making it a must-see.
For instance, as good as Clint Dempsey's through ball was to Landon in the U.S.-Panama game, Ned Grabavoy's perfectly weighted pass to Robbie Rogers was right in the same class.
And if you like six goals, how about the one between the two teams fighting to play the Hoops at MLS Cup, the Wizards and the Red Bulls? I know this is going to shock you, but Juan Pablo Angel scored two more goals. No, seriously. Angel scoring a goal is about as surprising these days as Nicole Richie skipping a meal or the Fire losing another game.
But seriously, the header Angel fired home for his first goal was just typical of the wonderful year he is having for The Bruce. Not a terrible buy.
And Cleetus has five goals! Cleetus! He is officially the David Hasselhoff of MLS: both were huge early, performed in Germany, and now have revived their careers here. Love it.
THE NEWS: Big week for retirements: Bob Barker and Eddie Pope.
TCS SAYS: (in a whispering voice) While Eddie Pope is one of the quietest players ever to, well, ever, he deserves a loud send off when he hangs 'em up this year. Eddie's decision to stay in MLS, panned by many fans who thought he should have gone abroad at some point, made him one of the best players ever to put on an MLS jersey.
THE NEWS: Tyrone Marshall to Toronto, Edson Buddle to the Galaxy.
TCS SAYS: First of all, it's too bad that one of the last plays Marshall made in a Galaxy kit was that awful tackle on Kenny Cooper. While my first instinct is that I want to make Marshall suffer (you know, get traded to Chicago or be forced to watch back-to-back episodes of So You Think You Can Dance?), he is an otherwise class player who turned himself into a solid defender after beginning his career as a forward and should help Mo Johnston up there. As for the Galaxy, despite his goal Sunday, Buddle doesn't seem to me to be the ultimate answer to their striker problems, so relax Planet LA fans, there will be more to come. Right?
And speaking of the Galaxy, things aren't as bad as they seem. They obviously are going to get a lot better with the talent coming in -- Abel Xavier debuted Sunday -- and Los Angeles has five -- yes, five -- games in hand on the Hoops up top. We all know they won't catch Dallas, but they have a lot of points still to play for.
Plus, Posh just threw out the first pitch at the Dodgers game the other day, so things are getting serious.
During the season, The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com
