MLS Daily Sweeper, 3.18.08: Amado Guevara’s, Obsession; Cramped in CONCACAF; + One More

Knowing I not only buried this feature, but essentially chastised myself for ever creating it, it feels like I should acknowledge that - no links, though. That said, my New Year’s resolutions usually die a quiet death somewhere around January 10 and this one was no different. Well, there was my resolution to go bald…that one is going like gangbusters.

Moving on the stories I liked/that mattered today…

- You’ve all heard by now about Honduran midfielder Amado Guevara’s apparent, looming return to Major League Soccer (MLS). (UPDATE: Soccer Insider reported later today that this deal is in “long-shot” mode. Well…dammit, people.) But I haven’t yet read anything as his motivation. He’s not positioning himself for a hop to Europe, not at his age, and it sounds like things were going well enough in Honduras: so, what is it that keeps Amado coming back? And it’s worth remembering that he made some noises about wanting to return last year, so this isn’t exactly spur of the moment. Anyway, it sounds like he’ll head to Toronto, news that has the locals (somewhat over, perhaps even irrationally) excited. Some call it, desire; Amado calls it….obsession.

- Andrew Dixon, of Gol Noir and a contributor to USSoccerplayers.com, wrote a column this morning about feeling uninspired by the opposition in CONCACAF. He figures we’ve outgrown our small pond. On a coincidental, yet somehow related note, MLS Rumors passed on word (well, it actually appears closer to a comment of dubious context and significance, but let’s run with it) on MLS clubs getting into the Copa Libertadores. Doubt this is anywhere near happening, but count my corner of Center Holds It as four-square behind the (non-existent) proposal. Actually, count me a fan of merging CONCACAF and CONMEBOL for World Cup, and all other, qualifying, having the smaller nations do preliminary qualifying, etc. Does this mean we’d miss out on the World Cup - perhaps even more than from time to time? Yup. But the virtually automatic bid we’re now getting through CONCACAF leaves me feel cheap and dirty. We should earn our bid. It should make us stronger on the occasions we do arrive.

(For the record, that photo came up when I typed “shame” into a google image search, something I was trying to use to capture my feelings about our automatic bid; that’s my general m.o. lately with the images I post. It came from this page, which, for reasons I’m probably too old or straight to understand, features women flashing cleavage over PS3s. I also don’t know what this has to do with Armenians….and, yes, I did hide the image behind the jump.)

- Finally, the Lider Marmol saga - e.g. one of the stories I find interesting, but never had occasion to post on absent this feature. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can read the professional version of this fascinating story of two MLS clubs pulling on the arms of the same player…or you can read the one dripping with schadenfreude. There is no right or wrong on this one, at least not for me. It’s just fun.

I think Marmol is the guy on the right. But I don’t know that.

GREAT OUTDOORS
- Here’s something I want, but peg my chances of knowing what to do with it pretty low…even the duct tape.

- Horror-themed reality show, anyone? How ’bout if it’s made by Sam Raimi? (hat-tip: Fark.com)

- Ladies and gentlemen: my hometown…and why I’m not often sad I left…

- I want this for a ring-tone, exactly this…though without the visuals, obviously.

- Finally, good bit from The Onion on the FCC’s obscenity guidelines and those who make them.  The key line: “That would be beautiful.”

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