Griddle

It's that time of year in my desert hamlet, where the temperature soars to triple-digits and my A/C gets a work out. Last summer, I played in a men's league in lovely Fontana, CA (aka Fontucky, the Methamphetamine Capital of the Southwest), which was once home to Sonny Barger's Hells Angels and is now somewhat of a bedroom community, though it retains the rough edge of its outlaw past, all of which acccurately describes the pitches we played on. They are Field Turf, which is not as difficult to play on as you might think. The ball rolls true and it's not fast, like astroturf, but you do get a lot of extra english on bent balls, which check up like on a golf green. The worst part is the field is cushioned by ground up tires, black rubber, so the pitch retains heat in the summer. It's like playing on a hot griddle.

So we quit that league. It wasn't just the pitch. The crooked referees played a big part. As the only non-Latino team in the league, we were consistently screwed by gamesmanship and an inability to plead our case in spanish to the referees, who were continually sympathetic to our opponents.

Yesterday...new league, actual breeze, lovely grass pitch, English-speaking man in the center. Only negatives on the day were the draw, a 2-2 game we led twice and should have won by three goals, and the soreness in my legs from not having played in six weeks. Plus, we only had 12. Anybody near Chino Hills and over-30 need a team?

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US into the quarters of the Gold Cup as expected. We're sure a diffferent team when Davies and Feilhaber are present. That first goal against Honduras was as nice a build-up as we've ever seen from the Nats. Didn't see the Haiti game, but caught Holden's equaliser. What a hit, son. What. A. Hit.

The only Frine Players who seem to have done themselves any favors are Holden, Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers. Marshall's had a mostly good tourney. He and Parkhurst got split quite a few times by Honduras, but I'll chalk that up to unfamiliarity and the fact Parkhurst has been middling, at best. Marshall marshalled (ha!) Carlos Costly pretty well.

I love Holden. He's got confidence. He demands the ball. More Dempsey than Donovan, the latter of whom too often waits for the game to come to him. Holden can play anywhere in the midfield, too. Versatility is nice. He's in the conversation for 2010, I think.

Rogers has looked very good, but the level of opposition is cause for optimism. Wait and see attitude.

On the subject of one Brian Ching, it has been patently obvious that he's nothing but insurance and should not be starting any meaningful games for the US team. Even his "goal" against Honduras was a nearly whiffed-header that went in off the defender's shoulder.

The other past starter, Steve Cherundolo, has looked fine. I would not consider it egregious if he started next month in Azteca in favor of Spector. Going forward, of course, I prefer Spector, but I don't see that he's blocked any longer by Coach Bradley's obstinance.

Up next for the US is Panama, who tied Mexico in that game which featured El Tri's manager kicking the Panamanian player while the ball was still in--or very close to being still in--play. Javier Aguirre got a three-game suspension for that little act of Roy Riegles/Woody Hayes-esque petulance, which is minor and akin to a pitcher, working on four days rest, getting a four-game suspension. He was never going to get a ban that endangered his being on the sideline for the qualifier against the US next month. Of course, Mexico still need to get by Haiti on Sunday, which is no gimme.

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Davies to Socheaux...know nothing about them except that their top striker from last term inked a deal with PSG. Hope it works out for him. Good league for his talents, I think, and a definite step up from Hammarby, though I love Stockholm.

Cheers to him.