22
Mar

USA shows heart in clutch win over Costa Rica

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By Jorge Andres Mondaca

Commerce City, Colo.

The snow fell by the bucket-load. But a sellout crowd, slowly getting coated in frosty white layer, cheered and chanted unperturbed. Their team needed a win, after all.

Still think there’s no passion in the USA for the beautiful game?

Catch a replay of USA’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Costa Rica and you will see.

There is this long-held belief throughout the world that Americans simply don’t care about this sport. To be fair, it’s been earned through the years – we call it soccer, the rest of the world calls it football (even though the English, the creators of the game, at one time called it soccer themselves). The best athletes in other countries play this sport, in ours they play in the NFL or the NBA, or whatever else will lead to quicker glory and riches than soccer. Our professional league pales in quality and star power when compared to the likes of England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and others.

Simply put, we haven’t devoted ourselves to this sport the way people in other countries have.

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3
Mar

The story behind the story

A number of you noticed and commented on the artwork used to illustrate Rob Stone’s BPL preview this weekend. (It was assembled by ace photo editor Laura “Queenie” Nunez.)

But there’s a story behind it. Literally.

The mystery writer Janice Law has published dozens of books, but her newest, The Fires of London, stands out. It’s a noir take on a real person — the painter Francis Bacon as if he had been Sam Spade — and it’s been particularly well-reviewed.

Law also has a personal connection to FOX Soccer — the editor-in-chief of FOX Soccer is her son. So, with her permission, we slipped an “easter egg” onto the site.

We want to credit the fine folks at Open Road who did the original design, and Mysterious Press for releasing the book. And if you like this sort of thing, we encourage you to check it out on your e-readers or at Amazon.

20
Jan

Tottenham stunned Manchester United in Fergie time with a late goal from, who else, Red Devils killer Clint Dempsey!

Spurs made the title race just a little more interesting after Demps scored his 4th goal of 2013 (after just 3 in 2012 with Tottenham) in the very last minute of stoppage time. Some will question David de Gea’s weak clearance here, but in the end, the tie was well deserved after Spurs dominated the second half.

25
Nov

Nice shiner, Deuce

Clint Dempsey had a great outing with Tottenham in their win on Sunday over West Ham. The American had a hand in two of the three goals. But apparently someone else accidentally got a hand to him in training…

Ouch! That’s a nasty black eye. And according to Deuce, it was his teammate that inflicted the damage.

We’re glad that all is well between the teammates. Plus, Dempsey is rocking that black eye like only the tough Texan can.

16
Oct

Clint Dempsey: Game Changer

Dempsey celebrates with a cut-out of the now-infamous face he made against Jamaica in September.


BY JAMIE TRECKER

KANSAS CITY, Kan., — Clint Dempsey showed again Tuesday why he is the player the USA cannot win without. With two goals and an assist under his belt, the Tottenham Hotspur striker single-handedly solved the USA’s glaring problems on offense – at least for one night.

Dempsey’s skill is his positioning: he’s always where the ball is going to be rather than where the ball is. Tuesday, that was reflected in his diving stab netting the winning goal and his anticipatory run into the box to finish off Michael Bradley’s chip. It’s also reflected in where his coach lines him up: when Dempsey is deployed up top, he is incisive and harrying; he labors when Klinsmann chooses to drop him back into more of a playmaking role. He’s not Wayne Rooney – at least not yet – but he is clearly the team’s go-to guy when they need a big game.

Dempsey was succinct about his team’s woes as well. “We know we have a lot of work to do,” he said. “We know we have to be better in possession and we know we cannot slip up in the next round. We’ve got to be able to consistently show our quality.”

So important is Dempsey that Jurgen Klinsmann admitted that one of the reasons Eddie Johnson was brought into camp was because of his “understanding” with Dempsey, and the gamble paid off: Johnson scored two critical goals in Antigua and Barbuda and had a key assist Tuesday night.

“Eddie and I were in that first [national team] camp together,” said Dempsey. “He was just flying around! It’s great to see him get back here because he’s a great player with a lot of character.”

Dempsey is going to need a lot more support in the coming months, however. The USA are already dangerously close to being just a three-man team with Tim Howard and Michael Bradley the only two other sure-fire starters up the spine. (Landon Donovan has been hobbled by injury, and his future is uncertain.) Were Dempsey to be marked out of a game, the Americans would be in dire straits. Whether it is Johnson, Herculez Gomez, Jozy Altidore or a player yet to be named, finding Dempsey some support will be critical before the Hexagonal bites this March.