Sorry, a late start for me this Monday since I had a bunch of stuff to deal with in the office this morning, so call this my afternoon edition of musings:
1. Seattle gets named. Very soon today, the Seattle expansion MLS franchise is about to announce its new name. Let us all strongly hope that none of the three pre-existing choices (which apparently were chosen after extensive research) make the cut. For those of you that haven't been following along -- the three choices are Alliance, Republic and FC. Not only are those three of the blandest, lamest and most unimaginative names around (and yes Toronto FC and FC Dallas, I'm including your franchise names in that mix), I find it hard to believe that the Seattle ownership paid good money for someone to come up with those choices. A blindfolded Chimpanzee picking words at random from a Thesaurus could have done a better job. Luckily, the public has spoken (complained) and has been given a write-in vote option, with many likely to choose Sounders -- which would be a far better choice.
2. Fulham's American contingent. After the latest shellacking, this time at the hands of relegation rival Sunderland, it's all but certain that Fulham will be dropping down a notch next season to Championship-level play. While in some respects it's certainly embarrassing for U.S. Soccer fans -- especially considering that Fulham currently has five past or present U.S. national team players -- the bigger question is where/if these players will land in the EPL again. Of the five, it's likely that only Clint Dempsey might find himself back in the Premiership next season, and even that's not a certainty given his struggle for playing time and dip in form late this season. As for Brian McBride and Kasey Keller, I think age makes them less appealing for prospective suitors, although McBride certainly is still capable of starting for certain teams in the EPL. Eddie Johnson won't be going anywhere since he's just arrived and Carlos Bocanegra probably isn't highly regarded enough in England to land back in the top flight.
3. Around the Horn. After taking a look at backup Tony Caig in action for the Dynamo, I think Dominic Kinnear needs to add "competent backup keeper" to his list of needs. While forward Franco Carracio is starting to show signs of life as a possible foil to Brian Ching, the Dynamo's renowned depth has clearly taken a beating with the various departures this offseason. Caig looks to be a massive downgrade from Zach Wells.
4. Kenny Cooper is back. After a two-goal performance against Houston (the first being excellent, the second simply a result of poor goalkeeping), it appears that FC Dallas' Cooper is fully recovered from the injuries that ruined last season for him. Cooper is one of the few strikers in the current U.S. pool that appears to have the potential to be a McBride-like target man, so the hope here for U.S. fans is that he continues to develop in that vein. However, I've heard whispers that on his last go-round with the U.S. team, national team observers and coaches weren't too impressed with him in training and remain unconvinced that he has the ability to make it at a higher level.
5. Totally off-topic. Unrelated to soccer but since the NCAA Championship final is tonight, is a comment by Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin. I caught it on "ESPN First Take" this morning, where Boldin was talking about his annual event where the NFL's best basketball players gather. Answering a question about whether or not a team comprising such NFL players could beat either Kansas or Memphis, Boldin said that it would be "close" with Kansas or Memphis probably "edging" them. Are you kidding me? If the NFL players he named (himself, Clinton Portis, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson and Santana Moss) went up against Kansas or Memphis, they'd lose by at least 50 points. Even if you gave them Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates (real college ballers with some actual height), they'd still lose by at least 30. I don't know if the NFL's best basketball players could even beat MLS' best basketball players (I'm assuming there have to be some ballers in MLS). Sorry, rant over.
Jen Chang
