Dai…er, Weekly Sweeper, 11.16: Things That Are Wrong + MacGyver Lives in Africa

Maybe this would be better as a weekly feature…while I’m pondering that, here’s the most interesting stuff I saw in this, the final week of 2007.

– Apart from sharing his memories from MLS Cups past, Ives Galarcep reported today that we can expect to see Fernando Clavijo back at the helm for the Colorado Rapids in 2008. This is the thing that is wrong…well, one of them. COLORADO RAPIDS FANS: Boycott this team, cancel season tickets, etc. And when you do, call the front office to tell them exactly why you’re doing so. Contempt doesn’t have to be a one-way street.

– Turning to the other wrong thing, tucked into a Seattle Times primer on MLS arriving in Seattle is more talk of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) letting a second-division Seattle Sounders carry on…in Poulsbo, Washington. While a bad idea on a number of levels, it poses additional problems for Portland Timbers fans. To which team will they direct their unconditional hatred, the MLS Seattle team or the weird transplant USL-1 incarnation they’ll play week in and out? It ain’t right, I tells ya.

– Luis Arroyave confirms my suspicions about the parties around MLS Cup. It’s the dude party stuff I’m referring to.

– With the expansion draft coming next Wednesday (right?), a few sites (including this one) have kicked around notions about which players from their team they would release and expose. WVHooligan goes the extra mile and plays the game with all 13 teams. This is a two-parter: Eastern Conference and Western Conference. This is a pretty good way to start getting your head around this stuff.

– Inching as we are toward the time when we’ll all start looking back on the 2007 season, I thought I’d flag a good one in case anyone missed. It’s going to be tough to top Who Ate All the Cupcakes 2007-in-review post. Let’s hope it’s not their last.

– Finally, before getting to the run of random crap with which I like to close my Fridays, enjoy this beauty goal kick from some random indoor game.

Now…on with the crap!

My MLS Cup Pick….Drumroll, Por Favor

Well, it’s time.  Time to make this, my final prediction of the 2007 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.  The standings for the Center Holds It/Who Ate All the Cupcakes Playoff Picks Duel appear over on the sidebar of the Cupcakes site and, incredibly, I’m actually in the lead.  El Guero is close enough to force a tie, provided he nails the result and score and I flub both – something certainly within the realm of possibility.

And, before going further, I’d like to thank Team Cupcakes for a well-fought contest.   Now…my pick…

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the two dudes subbing in for Allen Hopkins has me second-guessing myself; that both guys seem to lean toward a win for my team – the New England Revolution – only further muddies my thinking.  And, as confessed in my first preview post, the object of this week’s blogging efforts boiled down to convincing myself of the possibility of a Revolution victory.

Against that, however, is a prickling kind of fear about picking the Revs to win.  I mean, what if they lose?  I’ll find myself both disappointed and wrong, and I’m not clear on how I’ll handle that…I hate it when the kids see me cry…

And so the fundamental question is, do I stick with what has worked in terms of picks – e.g. the multiple choice test approach, where you stick with the first answer that comes to you?

Answer: Shit…do I have to?  All right, all right.

You know what?  Screw it.  New England 1-0 Houston Dynamo.  I’m big enough to handle a double-dose of pain…and there’s a fifth of whiskey handy in case I’m not.

All right.  I’ve got a Daily Sweeper coming in a couple hours.  If you’re wanting more, do check out Blue Blooded Journo’s dialogue with Martek and CeltTexan, to die-hard Dynamo fans who Jimmy Chowda invited to his site to discuss Sunday’s big game.  It’s educational and who doesn’t love that?

MLS Cup Preview: Dynamo’s O versus Revs’ D

Welcome to this, my last MLS Cup preview, where I’ll turn my (divided) attention to how the Houston Dynamo’s offense matches up with the New England Revolution defense.  I’m burning out ever so slightly on this project, less because it doesn’t interest me than it only feels like more blah-blah-blahing as we get closer to the point where all the talk becomes immediately irrelevant – e.g. kick off.  On the upside, this will be my shortest selection…I hope.

Before getting into my copy, I want to flag Allen Hopkins’ (exceedingly lazy) column for ESPN, the one where he turns over his space to an anonymous player and coach and has them breakdown the game (nice work if you can find it).  At any rate, that both seem to favor New England is only the most curious part of an interesting read.

But that’s there stuff.  Here mine…which, not surprisingly low-balls the Revs’ chances: