Neither Ike's gusty winds nor Schelotto's gimpy hamstring could knock the power out of the Columbus Crew's high-voltage offense on Thursday night. With MVP candidate Guillermo Barros Schelotto in a suit, and many central Ohioans in the dark, the charged-up Crew generated 3.0 goalawatts of scoreboard-lighting electricity to jolt the New York Red Bulls, 3-1.
Despite carrying the better of the play in the first half, the Massive Bananas found themselves in their usual uphill battle. Playing with 10 men for 10 solid minutes as players received medical treatment, Columbus fell behind in the 21st minute when Juan Pablo Angel scored a 30-yard bomb of a free kick. It was the 14th time in 25 games that the Crew had given up the first goal and, as usual, it wasn't that big of a deal.
"I felt like we played a man down for the first 20 minutes because we always had somebody out cut and injured," said Crew coach Sigi Schmid. "It was a questionable foul that led to the goal. It was a well-struck free kick for sure, but after that I thought we took over the game and I was very proud, again, of our ability to come back."
Red Bulls forward Mike Magee was a one-man demolition derby in the opening stages of the game. In the 15th minute, his midfield collision with Stefani Miglioranzi knocked the Crew midfielder out of the match. Television replays showed blood seeping through Miglioranzi's shin guard as trainer Jason Mathews helped him off the field.
"Stefani took 20 stitches - 10 inside and 10 outside," said Schmid. "It was down to the bone. No foul, by the way."
In the 17th minute, Crew forward Alejandro Moreno went up for a header and knocked noggins with Red Bulls defender Andrew Boyens, who temporarily left the field with a bleeding gash on his forehead, making it 10-on-10.
Three minutes later, Magee ultimately sent another Crew player to the bench, although it was the result of a seemingly innocuous play. He and Danny O'Rourke were standing at midfield, making a play on a bouncing ball, when Danny busted his eye open on Magee's skull.
"I went up for the ball with Magee," O'Rourke explained. "He's a buddy, and we were battling and whatever. He's smaller than me, so I tried to get up over him and my eye hit the back of his head. It was a fluke play. He didn't do anything."
A minute later, the bleeding forced O'Rourke to the bench as Emmanuel Ekpo came on in place of Miglioranzi, and as a head-wrapped Boyens returned for New York. At the next whistle, New York scoring ace Juan Pablo Angel bent in his Beckham-esque 30-yard free kick to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, O'Rourke received treatment for the same eye wound he had suffered against New England. After originally being closed with three stitches two weeks ago, the Crew's medical staff opted for four stitches when reclosing it on the sideline.
"Whatever it takes to keep it from opening again," O'Rourke said.
The Crew finally returned to 11 men at the end of the 25th minute. It would take another quarter hour of solid play before they'd change the game in their favor.
Frankie's Floater
The Crew equalized in the 41st minute on a stunning goal by Frankie Hejduk. After duping Jorge Rojas into making the always-solid defensive move of leaping high into the air on a hip fake, Hejduk walked around the airborne Rojas, noticed that Red Bulls goalie Jon Conway was cheating off his line, and then chipped the stranded keeper from the top right corner of the box. Frankie's shot floated down under the crossbar and beyond Conway's desperate, backpedaling "oh fudge" swat.
"It certainly lifted our spirits," said Schmid. "We thought we were playing well and were taking the game to them. We were probably frustrated, too, since not only did we feel like we were playing with 10 men for much of the first half, but we also felt that they were playing with 12. That goal from Frankie lifted everyone's spirits. Then we could just settle down and do what we knew how to do instead of worrying about good calls and bad calls."
Given that it was an unorthodox goal, and given that Frankie's crosses can sometimes get away from him, many wondered if the strike was a cross, a shot, a crot, or a shoss. Hejduk was glad to clear it all up afterward.
"It was definitely a shot," he said. "After the guy jumped in the air, I was going to hit it hard on the ground, but then I looked up and saw the keeper was off his line. It was either going to be a goal for me or a tap-in for somebody running in. I was definitely trying to chip it over him. Right when it left my foot, I knew it was a goal."
"I wasn't really surprised that it went in," said Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers. "If you take a look at the replay, you can see Frankie looking to see where the keeper is. The keeper thought he was going to cross it for sure, and Frankie just chipped him. That's just experience. Frankie has been playing forever. He probably won't like me saying that, but then again, he still runs around way more than I do."
Robbie Rips a Rocket
Rogers turned the game on its ear before half the players on the field were fully stretched out for the second half. Just 19 seconds in, No. 19 put the Crew on top, 2-1, with a net-seeking missile from 30 yards out. After receiving a scoop pass from Gino Padula on the left flank, the Olympian slalomed through the defense from left to right before unleashing a swerving rocket that beat Conway to the far post.
"I haven't seen it yet," Rogers said from his locker. "I kept my head down trying to keep the ball down. I heard it was pretty good, so I am excited to see a replay of it later tonight.
"(Coming out after halftime) is a dangerous time for us attackers," he continued. "We like it when defenders are trying to get back into a game. I think Parke may have been flat-footed, and their keeper as well. We just have to punish teams if they come out like that."
Putting pressure on the defense is what the Crew wanted to do from the half's opening whistle. Having the kick, the Crew dropped the ball to Brian Carroll, who played a long ball into the New York end for a Red Bulls throw-in. New York restarted play, Padula intercepted a pass, and the rest was Goal of the Week material.
"That's something we always want to do," said Schmid, of playing the kickoff deep into the opponent's territory. "We just want to put the ball in their end and put them on the defensive. If we get on the end of it, great, but even if we put it out deep in their end, we'll make them play down there. If you start by playing it back and then turn it over in the middle of the field or in your third, suddenly they have some momentum coming out right after halftime."
Instead, all of the momentum belonged to the Crew. Rogers' goal was a stunning punch to the gut for New York.
"It destroyed everything we talked about at halftime," said Red Bulls' coach Juan Carlos Osorio.
A Trip Down Memory Lane With Sigi
Rogers' goal brought back memories for Sigi, who was on the receiving end of such a devastating half-opening goal in the past.
"One time when I was in L.A., we took a goal like that," he said. "I think it was one of those afternoon games in Dallas when it was 118 degrees. I don't even think I had made it to the bench yet. I was still walking behind the goal. It's certainly something that demoralizes you. Especially the kind of goal it was. You've had your halftime talk, you've went over your game plan, and you plan to get back into the game and settle into the game, and then before you even have the chance to make your first run, the ball is in the back of your net. It's a shock to a team. Obviously, it was great for us and great for Robbie."
Gaven's Goal
The Crew put the game away in the 85th minute when Eddie Gaven scored his second goal of the season. Gaven's goal was the culmination of 12 passes and 38 seconds of possession. And that wasn't even the Crew's most breathtaking stretch of sexy soccer of the night. (More on that later.)
At the end of the play, Pat Noonan played an incisive through ball to Hejduk, who raced into the box and laid the ball off to an unmarked Gaven, who had a rather simple finish.
It capped a night where the offense once again came from different sources.
"It's like we always said, we've got different people that can score goals," said Schmid. "Tonight, it was Eddie Gaven that scored a goal. Robbie Rogers finally got off the mark and had a great goal. And Frankie was chipping the ball over the goalkeeper, he wasn't crossing it. He scored a great goal, as well. Obviously, those two goals, I think, are Goal of the Week candidates. We find goals from different places."
The Depth of This Team Is Deep
Ha! That subject heading is a quote I got from Chris Armas after a World Cup Qualifier earlier this decade. It still cracks me up.
Anyway, it's kind of weird to contemplate a Crew team that is so amazingly deep in talent. Missing an MVP candidate? No sweat. Replace him with an MLS All-Star and U.S. National Team player. The replacement starting d-mid has to leave with a gash in his shin? Oh well. Time to mix it up and put in an every-game player for the Olympic silver medalists. Heck, on the bench, the Crew have a soul-of-the-team guy in Duncan Oughton, and not even dressing is a young talent like Ricardo Pierre-Louis, both of who seem to get more first-team action with their respective national teams than they do with their massive club. It's mind-boggling.
"This is the deepest team I have ever been on," said Gaven. "From guy one to the last guy on the bench, everyone can step in and do their job. We've seen it all season and it is going to help us as we head toward the playoffs. Guys are going to get cards or injuries, so it's good to know that guys can come in and play at that same high level."
"I think one of the great things about this team is how many good players we have, the depth of our team," added Rogers. "That's why I think it would've been great if our team was in the CONCACAF Champions League or one of the other tournaments because I think our depth is one of the greatest in the league. Guillermo is a great player, and he adds so much, but then we also have some other players that can attack and create and do some things."
"I think we're a tough team to play against because you can't focus on one guy," Schmid said. "If you focus on one guy, somebody else is going to come through and be the one to put it in the back of the net."
True enough. Hejduk's goal means the Crew have gotten goals from 14 different players, which is tied with Colorado and Toronto for the most in MLS. The difference, obviously, is that the Crew gave gotten plenty more goals out of those 14 players, whereas the other teams have taken the "blind squirrel finds a nut" approach to goal diversification. Columbus has scored 44 goals, Colorado 33, and Toronto 25.
An In-Depth Look At Depth
I did not do the research in this sub-section. Rather, it was the excellent work of Crew fan Doug Sershen, but I felt it was worth sharing. With his blessing, I am going to pass along some of his own research as to the Crew's depth. It's stuff I wish I would have though of, but didn't.
One caveat: Doug didn't do league-wide research. He compared the Crew to fellow contenders New England, Chicago, D.C. United and Houston, as well as the league's top offensive team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. I have also added New York to the list. Those are certainly the most interesting comparisons, but I just wanted to make it clear that this isn't a league-wide look. Also, these totals include players who may not still be with that team. (Chad Barrett, formerly of Chicago, I am looking in your direction.)
Doug's first bit of research related to game-winning goals. The Crew have gotten game-winning goals from a league-leading nine different players. Chicago, New England, D.C., and Houston have all gotten them from seven different players, while LA and New York have gotten them from four.
Second, Doug looked at how top-heavy these teams are in terms of goal scoring, calculating how many of a team's goals were scored by its top two goalscorers. Ranked by diversity, here are his findings, which I have updated after this weekend's games:
- Columbus: 14 of 44 (31.8%)
- Chicago: 10 of 31 (32.2%)
- New England: 13 of 36 (36.1%)
- Houston: 15 of 35 (42.8%)
- D.C. United: 21 of 41 (51.2)
- New York: 16 of 31 (51.6%)
- Los Angeles: 32 of 49 (65.3%)
And to take a singular event out of the equation, here are the teams ranked by the number of players with more than one goal:
- Columbus: 10
- Chicago: 9
- New England: 8
- Houston: 7
- D.C. & N.Y.: 6
- Los Angeles: 4
And finally, Doug points out that in the first seven games, Rogers and Moreno scored 10 of the Crew's 14 goals, and there were a total of five different scorers in that time, plus an own-goal. Then came the shutout streak. But since the shutout streak ended, Rogers and Moreno have scored just five of the Crew's 30 goals, and there have been 13 different scorers in those 14 games.
Again, thanks to Doug Sershen for crunching those numbers. Excellent work!
Sigi's Props For Padula
After another solid defensive effort by his team, Schmid took a moment to single out the performance of everyone's favorite pirate, Gino Padula.
"The defending is something we have been focusing on, and it's because of the usual suspects," the coach said. "But a guy I want to point out is Gino Padula. I think he did a great job in the New England game against Nyassi, and he did a great job tonight against a very dangerous player in Dane Richards. It's tough when you have to mark a guy who is faster than you, but you have to deal with it and not panic. He got some help from Robbie at key times, and we also tried to force New York to play the ball to the right so that Richards couldn't get in behind as much."
Mr. Numbers Nerd: Allow The First Goal Edition
Earlier in the week, the nefarious numbers runner known as Zman emailed me and asked for some historical perspective on the Crew's ability to rally after allowing the first goal. I am sure Z was motivated by some sort of lucrative bookmaking venture, but it piqued my curiosity. So I looked it all up and crunched all the numbers. On Wednesday. Then on Thursday, the Crew forced me to go back and update my calculations.
Please be aware that all calculations are from the "modern" (i.e. post-shootout) era, as it made little sense to invest the time to heavily research game-by-game results in an effort to recalculate history and pretend that shootouts never existed. For apples to apples comparisons, this examination starts in 2000, the first year that draws were possible.
With Thursday's win, the Crew improved to 4-6-4 when allowing the first goal. Their fourth victory set a new team record, breaking the previous record of three, set by the 2001 club that went 3-4-4 when allowing the first goal. The fourth win of 2008 equals the total number of victories from 2005-07 combined.
The fourth win also puts the Crew in an eight-way tie for third in league history. The 2000 Chicago Fire won six games after allowing the first goal, and the 2001 Miami Fusion won five.
The Crew have now collected 16 points when conceding the first goal, which broke the previous club record of 13 set by the 2001 team and temporarily tied by the current team.
The 16 points puts the Crew in a three-way tie for third all-time league-wide. The 2000 Fire (6-7-1) grabbed 19 points, and the 2006 edition of Real Salt Lake (4-9-7) equaled that mark.
The current Crew are now averaging 1.14 points per game when falling behind 1-0. Only seven other teams have averaged a point per game in that circumstance, including the 2001 Crew team that averaged 1.18 points per game.
The league record is held by the 2001 Miami Fusion, who went 5-3-1 to average an astonishing 1.78 points per game!
The last team to average at least a point per game was the 2005 San Jose Earthquakes (4-4-3), who averaged 1.36 points per game.
Here are the seven teams in modern MLS history that have averaged at least a point per game when allowing the first goal:
- 2001 Miami Fusion (5-3-1): 1.78 ppg
- 2001 Chicago Fire (4-4-2): 1.40 ppg
- 2005 San Jose Earthquakes (4-4-3): 1.363 ppg
- 2000 Chicago Fire (6-7-1): 1.357 ppg
- 2003 Chicago Fire (3-4-1): 1.25 ppg
- 2001 Columbus Crew (3-4-4): 1.18 ppg
- 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy (4-6-2): 1.17 ppg
And for those who want to see how special this group is in Crew history, feast on these Crew numbers, which show the record and points per game when allowing the first goal:
2000: 1-13-1 (0.27)
2001: 3-4-4 (1.18)
2002: 3-10-1 (0.78)
2003: 2-11-2 (0.53)
2004: 1-4-5 (0.80)
2005: 1-12-0 (0.23)
2006: 1-13-4 (0.39)
2007: 2-8-1 (0.64)
2008: 4-6-4 (1.14)
The Kings of the Comeback
Seriously, so what's up with this team and all these comebacks?
"We don't panic," said Danny O'Rourke. "We feel like we can come back from anything. Obviously, we'd rather win 1-0 or 2-0 and keep that shutout, but we have confidence in each other that we can score if we give up a goal."
"We've got strong character," added goalkeeper William Hesmer. "We've proved time and time again this year that we're a resilient group. We've had a troubling past two years and now we don't let things get us down. We always know we're in the game. One goal, to us, is nothing. If we give up an early goal, we feel that we have the firepower to get it right back and hold a lead."
What a Week
The lead-up the Thursday's match was an eventful one for the Crew. Their flight home from Toronto got caught up in Hurricane Ike-related windstorm that hit in Columbus on Sunday. After many tense and turbulent moments above the city, their flight was diverted to Cleveland, where they caught a bus home to Columbus.
Upon arriving home, they learned firsthand that more than 350,000 American Electric Power customers in central Ohio had lost power, affecting millions of people across the region, including the players themselves. Even Crew Stadium was without power until Tuesday.
In days loaded with easy and understandable distractions, the team focused on their game plan and took care of business Thursday night.
"The guys have been great," said Schmid. "Everyone has stayed on an even keel. They've been tremendous. A lot of the guys like candles anyway, so the power outage didn't bother them. The flight from Toronto was rocky, but luckily I wasn't on the plane or I would have had a barf bag for sure. But they stayed even keeled."
"This is our job," said Rogers. "It's our job to stay focused. Me and my roommate Brad (Evans) don't have much to do anyways, so all we look forward to is training and game days and playing for the fans. We're in first place and we still have a lot to play for, so we can't let anything cause us to lose focus."
"It was a different week for sure," added Hejduk, "but we were able to put that stuff behind us and get our game faces on."
The game faces and the 3-1 result were very important to the coach. "Today we said we wanted to send a message," said Schmid. "This is a team we could run into in the first round of the playoffs, so we wanted to make sure they know that if they come into Crew Stadium, they are in for a fight. This is our house, and we are strong here. That was our message before the game, and our guys showed their character and rose to the occasion."
Heart & Soul
The cover of the Crew's 2007 media guide featured photographs of Frankie Hejduk and Duncan Oughton, who were respectively (and appropriately) labeled "Heart & Soul." One of the more touching scenes from Thursday's game happened during the celebration after Hejduk's goal, when Frankie made a 60-yard dash to the Crew bench and leaped into Oughton's arms. While Frankie said it wasn't premeditated, it was nonetheless a wonderful Black & Gold moment.
"I don't score enough to have planned goal celebrations," said Hejduk. "It was pure adrenaline. I just ran over to the bench, and Duncan was the first guy to run out to meet me. I think Duncan was happier for me than I was."
Robbie's Celebration
Rogers' goal celebration was also of note. After giving the Crew the lead, Rogers sprinted across the field to embrace the fans in the Nordecke.
"Those guys went up to Toronto last week and they have been great all year, so I had to give them a little something after I scored," he said. "I got drenched in beer, but it beats getting bottles thrown at me like in Toronto."
The Bee-YOO-ti-ful Game
"One of the things we have gotten better at as the year has gone on is keeping possession of the ball, stringing passes together, and moving from one side of the field to the other to get the defense off balance." - Sigi Schmid.
About 10 minutes before Eddie Gaven iced the game, the Crew put together another breathtaking display of soccer that will never show up on a score sheet. But these beautiful stretches deserve their due, so here's a timed breakdown:
74:32- Gino Padula heads down an aimless New York clearance on the left side of the Crew's defensive third. The ball bounds to a retreating Robbie Rogers along the left sideline near midfield.
74:40- Rogers crosses midfield, cuts to the middle and drops a ball to Brian Carroll in the middle of the center circle.
74:43- Carroll plays a slightly backward diagonal ball to Hejduk on the right side, just behind the half line.
74:45- Hejduk one-times a back pass to Danny O'Rourke.
74:47- O'Rourke one-times a pass up to Carroll, who is in the center circle again.
74:49- Carroll takes a controlling touch and plays forward to Emmanuel Ekpo, who is in the middle of the park, just ahead of the center circle.
74:53- After taking three dribbling touches forward and to the left, Ekpo lays the ball off to Padula on the left sideline.
74:56- Padula quickly plays the ball up the line to Rogers, who is about 30 yards out.
74:57- Rogers one-times a pass to Ekpo, who is left-center, about 25 yards out.
75:01- After shielding the ball and fighting off a challenge from Andrew Boyens, Ekpo dribbles back and drops a pass to Eddie Gaven, who is right-center, maybe 40 yards out.
75:06- After taking the space he has been given, Gaven squares the ball to Ekpo in the center of the field, about 25 yards out.
75:09- After Gaven pulls a defender out of the way with a run across the top of the box, Ekpo makes an easy pass to Pat Noonan, who has his back to goal at the edge of the 18, near the right corner of the box.
75:10- Noonan one-times a pass back to Ekpo, who had moved over to the right to be in perfect alignment with Noonan.
75:13- After holding the ball for a beat, Ekpo squares the ball to Rogers in the middle, just as Hejduk begins making a backside run from the right flank.
75:15- Rogers pops a delicate right-footed spinner into the New York penalty area as Hejduk angles in from the right side. The ball checks up beautifully and hits Hejduk in stride. Both Hejduk's run and Rogers' pass beat three Red Bull defenders.
75:17- Hejduk's shot is saved by Conway.
75:21- Rogers' rebound shot is also saved by Conway.
75:24- Conway pounces on the trickling ball to snuff out the Crew's threat.
The whole sequence was what makes this game so beautiful. The final tallies: 52 seconds, 15 passes, 8 players, 3 gradual sideline-to-sideline switches, 2 shots, and 2 forced saves.
That's right, only Hesmer, Marshall, and Moreno did not get a touch during that stunning stretch of sexy soccer. Like I said, it will never show up in a box score, and 52 seconds is an awfully long highlight, especially when no goal is involved, but dammit, that sequence deserved some recognition.
(It should be noted that Marshall and Moreno had touches in the Crew's 12-pass sequence that led to Gaven's goal, and we'll give Hesmer a pass since he's a goalie.)
Where There's a Will, There's a Save
After the Crew came up empty on their 52-second poetry session, the Red Bulls almost equalized moments later when John Wolyniec ran up the middle of the field and was in clear on Hesmer. Woly was stoned by the goalie.
"Will Hesmer made a great save to go down to his right," Schmid said. "It was a big-time save at a key moment in the game. That's what you need out of your defense. Defenders need to step up and make plays, and goalkeepers need to step up and make plays when you need them."
The Stanford Rifle
With Crew dead-ball wizard Guillermo Barros Schelotto resting his hamstring, others had to fill the void on corner kicks and free kicks. When Columbus earned a free kick 30 yards from goal in the 10th minute, the obvious choice to strike the ball was... Chad Marshall? Perhaps being on the receiving end of Schelotto's free kicks allowed the towering center back to learn by osmosis. He struck a shot that was destined for the upper part of the net before it was comfortably snagged by Red Bulls goalkeeper Jon Conway.
"That was the first one I ever took," said Marshall. "I was so nervous, I just wanted to get it over with. At least it was on goal."
The Danny O Goal Watch
Danny O'Rourke has now played 91 career games without a goal. Teammate Brad Evans has predicted that Danny will score a goal in 2012, but Danny has said he is aiming for 2011.
Stoppage time in a 3-1 game rarely brings the kind of excitement that a national television audience witnessed when Danny O made a run up the middle, received a pass from Eddie Gaven, and ripped a shot that traveled mere inches over the crossbar. Just 120 lousy inches over the crossbar. (Andy Iro is not available as I write this, so I cannot have him convert it to centimeters.)
"My fantasy stock watch is rising," Danny joked from his locker. "I keep getting closer and closer. I was excited to play in the midfield for the last 10 minutes of the game. BC obviously does a great job, but through injuries and because we added another defender, I got to move up. I was happy to do whatever it took to help the team out, but it so happened that I made a late run and Eddie played me a great ball. I thought 'why not?' and decided to let it rip."
O'Rourke didn't mind at all that his shot sailed high, adding, "At least it didn't go out for a throw-in."
He Wears No. 2 For a Reason
There's comedy, there's high comedy, and then there's the postgame game scene when deadline-frenzied reporters anxiously waited for Frankie Hejduk to emerge from an interminable treatment session in the trainer's room. As the desperation mounted, the reporters relied on creativity to save the day. The locker room TV started showing Hejduk's postgame interview with ESPN. In an instant, up went the volume as several recorders were held directly in front of the TV's speakers.
While the reporters stood on their tip toes and held their recorders up to the wall-mounted TV, Hejduk emerged from the trainer's room and walked right past the gaggle of TV-taping journalists. Frankie grabbed a drink of water, fiddled with some items in his locker, and seemed to enjoy the surreal scene. It was fitting that his locker's nameplate reads "2 Frankie Hejduk."
"This is awesome," he said. "It's like a have a clone, and I'm just letting my clone do interviews for me."
Once the media stopped recording his clone's TV interview, everyone gathered around the original Frankie, so they ultimately got the quotes they wanted without needing the express written consent of ESPN and Major League Soccer.
Frankie the Fall Guy
Hejduk was an offensive force throughout the game. Not only did he have a goal and an assist, but he could have had multiples of each. Frankie attributed his big game to the cool September evening.
"I told everyone that I wish every game was played in this type of weather," he said. "Hopefully some day we get to play in the winter instead of in the summer heat. The game is faster and the guys are more in tune with the game because they don't have to fight the sun and humidity. I feel like I could run for a second game right now. If you play in the weather that soccer is meant to be played in, it's that much easier. I thought everyone had a lot more energy, I thought the game was more exciting, I thought the fans were more pumped up...and I think all of that had to do with perfect soccer weather."
The marketers, accountants, and public at large might find the concept of winter soccer to be untenable in the United States, but it would certainly play to Hejduk's strengths.
"There's no question that that's my game-running," he said. "It's so much harder to do when it's 90 degrees and humid compared to when it's cooler. I can play my game when it's cooler. I can get up and down, make my runs, and then get back. It was easy to play out there."
Beard Contest Update
When I saw Adam Moffat in the locker room, I noticed that rather than sporting some "sick designs" in his facial hair, he merely displayed the kind of thick stubble that suggested he had probably shaved as recently as halftime. So I asked him about the results of Paco's beard contest.
"It just kind of ended and there were never any rulings," he lamented. "They didn't even hand me a trophy. I'm so distraught that I might never grow a beard again."
By the time our brief conversation had ended, he had in fact grown another beard.
Timing is Everything
Given that the remnants of Hurricane Ike knocked out power to Crew Stadium for two days, MLSnet beat writer Craig Merz couldn't help but feel relieved at how it all worked out.
"We got lucky with the timing of the power outage," said Merz. "In another two weeks, it could have melted our Butter Bruce."
For those who missed our ridiculous conversation in a previous Notebook, Merz has proposed that the Crew carve a giant butter sculpture of Los Angeles head coach Bruce Arena during the Galaxy's visit on October 4. During his stint with D.C. United, Arena was a frequent critic of the "circus-like" atmosphere of soccer in "Middle America." Merz sought to add a state fair touch this year, since nothing says entertainment to "Middle America" more than butter sculptures.
"If that power outage happened the first weekend of October, all we would have had is a buttery puddle of Bruce," he added.
Duncan's Trip Home
After being called back in to the New Zealand National Team for the World Cup Qualifiers against New Caledonia, Duncan Oughton got to visit with his family and some familiar names. The Kiwis beat the New Caledonians to win the Oceana title and a place in the Confederations Cup. New Zealand will eventually face the fifth-place finisher in Asia for a spot in the 2010 World Cup.
"It was a very fruitful trip," Duncan said. "Two wins, we qualified for the Confederations Cup and now we're 180 minutes from the World Cup. Over there, we won 3-1, and then didn't need to worry much about the second leg since we'd taken care of the business on the road. We are very happy because the Confederations Cup will be a huge cash injection into our country, soccer-wise, and then to be that close to the World Cup is great."
While New Caledonia sounds like a small-town high school, it is actually a series of islands about 750 miles east of Australia. It is a non-self-governing French territory. Let's turn it over to Duncan for more.
"New Caledonia is a French population," he explained. "They speak French there. They have quite a few useful players. They were the best team we played in qualifying, and they have a nice, proper stadium, which isn't the case with some of the other countries, so we were able to knock the ball around.
"We had Ryan Nelsen in from Blackburn and Simon Elliott was there, too, so it was nice to have those guys back in the fold," he continued. "And it was good to get 90 minutes in with the first team. Plus I got to see my mom, dad and brother, so it was a bit of a family reunion. It was a good experience, but then it was good to get back here because we are doing so well. Tonight was a fantastic win for us because it's good to get that separation in the standings again."
Dunc's Pub Thingy
There will be a slight delay in our official focus group naming of Duncan's dreamed-of future pub. I did not do as a good a job as the team did in maintaining focus during a crazy week.
When I first proposed this idea, Dante Washington could not believe I was going to go through with all of it. And really, it is a quite an undertaking for such a stupid joke. But as I told him at the time, "If something isn't worth doing, it's worth overdoing."
It's just not worth overdoing on time, apparently. We'll get the final results for the Crew-Galaxy Notebook, and of course give Duncan his chance to speak his mind about the whole absurd process.
Players Are Fans Too
Remember that game in Kansas City last year when the Crew were victimized by an atrocious stoppage-time penalty call? Remember how angry you were that the game was decided by a deplorable refereeing decision?
Well, Frankie Hejduk feels your pain. I'm not referring to the pain he felt that night, which was a different sort of pain since it was literally his team and his job. But Frankie feels your pain as a fan because in week two of the NFL season, his hometown San Diego Chargers were victimized by a game-deciding referee blunder. Long story short, the Chargers had forced a fumble from the Broncos quarterback with a little over a minute to play. They recovered the ball and should have won the game, 38-31. However, the referee ruled it an incomplete pass, and since he had blown the whistle, the ball got to stay with Denver even though instant replay confirmed it was a fumble. Two plays later, the Broncos scored the winning touchdown and two-point conversion to beat the Chargers, 39-38, dropping San Diego's record to 0-2 on two last-second losses.
"Why have instant replay?" Frankie the Chargers Fan grumbled when Danny O broached the subject. "That's what it's for, right? It was a definite fumble, everyone knew it, the whole league knows it... whatever, dude. The Chargers were 0-2 last year and still won 11 games."
Footballers' Fantasy Football
While Frankie might get a little worked up over the real San Diego Chargers, a group of Crew players reserve that sort of anguish for their fantasy teams. Fantasy football talk is the bane of the office water cooler, but one can't escape it in a professional locker room either.
The Crew's league consists of chief smack spokesman Danny O'Rourke, along with Hesmer, Carroll, Marshall, Miglioranzi, Moreno, Plotkin, Garey, Noonan, and Gruenebaum.
"I have a tough matchup this weekend with Andy Gruenebaum," said O'Rourke. "His team name is something stupid about the Chiefs always losing, since that's all they do. He's a Chiefs fan. He and I just made a blockbuster trade, and if you ask anyone else, they will say he is an idiot. We traded two studs and some crap players, but I got Terrell Owens and he got Michael Turner. I drafted Turner late and was able to sell him high. Our matchup this week could come down to that trade, but I have all the confidence in my team."
(UPDATE: I don't know how their match-up turned out and I don't know how fantasy scoring works, but Turner rushed for 103 yards and 3 TDs, while Owens had 2 catches for 17 yards and no TDs. That doesn't look good for Danny.)
After two weeks, Marshall, Hesmer, and Plotkin lead the league with 2-0 records. "You know who the big surprise is? Chad Marshall," O'Rourke said. "He's a fantasy rookie and on draft day we were all laughing at some of his picks, but his team is shaping up nicely. I am proud of him. Chad actually beat me in week one by three-and-a-half points. He made a big-time move by starting Philip Rivers over Derek Anderson and it paid big dividends for him. I applaud that move. I wouldn't have done it."
Two guys are suffering from tough luck, according to O'Rourke. "BC (Carroll) had a good draft, but he's been hurt by injuries," he said. "Stefani picked Tom Brady, so he's our charity case. I might just give him some of my good players since I can't play them all."
While Danny is confident his team will win the title, he's also geared up to ensure that his bitter rival does not. "As long as Will doesn't win, we'll be okay," he said. "Will knows a lot about fantasy football. We'll come home from practice, and we'll both be reading stuff about players and then looking over to see what the other one is up to. It's a war within a war."
Some might argue that O'Rourke and Hesmer had an unfair research and transaction advantage this week since they never lost power at their place. Danny didn't disagree. "The two best players in the league had power, so it was a case of the rich getting richer."
Sight of the Night
At the player tunnel, two loyal Crew fans proudly dressed head to toe in the Crew's famous banana kit. The thing is, only the shorts were real. These two men had painted the jerseys and socks onto their bare skin. With an astonishing eye for detail, including the Crew logo and the Glidden sponsorship, one guy painted himself into a Frankie Hejduk jersey, while the other painted himself into a Guillermo Barros Schelotto shirt. It was a hilarious sight.
This sort of bodypainted jersey thing works well for stripper soccer tournaments during the World Cup or European Championship, but for two dudes? Not so much. Especially when one of the guys commented, "I'm not shaving everything for just one game."
When Duncan Oughton came out of the tunnel for pregame warm-ups, he took one look at the fellows, paused, leaned up against the fence, and pretended to lose his dinner. And his lunch. And possibly his breakfast.
The rest of the players seemed amused as they jogged past for warmups. Hejduk even offered a hearty "All right, dudes!"
But after the game, Oughton was still scarred by the encounter. "The only thing I have to say is that that one guy was wearing the hairiest Crew shirt that I have ever seen."
Steve Sirk is a contributor to TheCrew.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs. Questions? Comments? Reading this internet article by candlelight because you still don't have power? Feel free to write at sirk65@yahoo.com.
