Hell froze over today as David Beckham donned the Saints fleur-de-lis to show off with Reggie Bush... great show.  Can you imagine the day when an NFL team's highest paid player would be a kicker?  Me either, but if Beckham could wear an NFL uniform for the day, I'm glad it was a Saints' kit.

It also ruins the joke that the Saints have about as much chance to win a Super Bowl as seeing Beckham wear black and gold...

And yet, it seemed like there was nary a Gold Cup highlight on ESPN....  In fact, in the brief ESPN Deportes highlight featured an MLS game instead.  What was the real soccer story on Sunday, ESPN?

I don't think you can draw that many conclusions on viewership of the Stanley Cup Finals because a Canadian-based team was involved.  If there were two American teams, particularly a northeast US team, then I think there would have been more viewers.  I'm sure there are plenty of Canadian Expats in the United States, but they're not all from Ottawa. 

A US National Team game against a rival with millions of expats in the Mexican's favorite sport does not connotate the same feeling as a Stanley Cup finals between American and Canadian cities.  It's not that big a deal that American-based teams have won every year since 1993, but it is in Canada. 

If a US-Canada Olympic medal hockey game or WCOH Final had similar poor ratings as the Stanley Cup finals, then I would be more convinced that this means something significant.  There was plenty of national pride on the line with the Gold Cup, but I don't think many Americans watched the Stanley Cup hoping to see a Canadian team lose another finals.

I think the comparison is apples to oranges.  It does not mean anything.

A response to U.S. households tuned into Gold Cup final

After two disappointing performances in elimination games, the USA Men's National Team brought its "A" game on Sunday in coming from behind to defeat Mexico 2-1.  The officiating was not perfect, but the official seemed to make and miss calls for both sides (to me, that's fair.)  Mexico does not really have the officials to blame for this loss.

My ten thoughts:

1.  Despite Guardado's goal and Sanchez's fantastic saves, Nery Castillo was Mexico's best player.  His speed and playmaking ability set up the goal and had the USA defenders turning in every direction but his.  Unlike the previous two games, the USA's best player was Tim Howard.  He made a couple of beautiful saves and never seemed to lose his cool.

2.  Bradley's substitutions were perfectly timed and impacted the gave positively for the US.  He's no Iain Hume, but Ricardo Clark was a great move, and his energy enthused the US team.  His 59th-minute deflection of a Mexican shot was also significant.  I thought after Dempsey's weak shot that Bradley would remove him.  Max Bretos thought for sure it would be Ching coming out.

3.  I don't see how Mexican fans can think the team was robbed on this day.  With the USA hitting the crossbar (Beasley) and the goalpost (Ching) as well as several outstanding shots by the US (and saves by Sanchez), the game could very well have ended up 4-2.  The first 10 minutes after half-time was the best the USA has played in a long time.

4.  I was not surprised to see Mexican players diving in the box after Megallon's penalty. 

5.  The hush of the crowd after the USA's goal and toward the end of the match told me the Mexican fans wanted this game badly.  From the way they began and played throughout the match, it was clear the Mexican team and Hugo Sanchez wanted this game.  When the USA beats a soccer-loving country in a game they desperately want to win, then the US team has accomplished something.

6.  Bocanegra's retaliation after the no-call on Beasley was deserving of a yellow because the official was able to stay in control and not let the fouls get out of hand.  Again, the official seemed to have a good feel for the flow of the game.

7.  DaMarcus Beasley's free kicks have been outstanding--not too high, not too low.  Why does Donovan take the corners?

8.  After falling behind 1-0, many US teams would have folded.  Particularly since the US had been tearing up the turf on the Mexican end prior to that goal.  I have seen US teams in the past fold after that kind of momentum-change.

9.  Jonathan Spector's play was a surprise, and makes me wonder why Hejduk was in there so long in the first place.  I suspect, though, that he should have been on Guardado when he scored.

10.  I think Feilhaber's goal was more luck than skill.  So many times in that position, the ball sails into the cheap seats.  Still, you gotta shoot them before they go in.  Bravo, Benny.

Upon further review, I actually like that US Soccer has decided to send a lesser talented team to Copa America.  This is the challenge that us fans so far have spared Bradley becuase of the way his hiring was handled.  This is Bob's opportunity to show that he can coach.   Countries like England, France and Italy have to babysit superstars.  You don't have to impress upon any soccer-heavy nations' players the importance of going out and playing well for your country.  Well, one thing Americans can do is play well as underdogs or when no one else thinks they have a chance.

This is Bradley's Herb Brooks moment.  Herb Brooks ran afoul of USA Hockey from the day he got the job--he refused to bow to their player decisions and even benched or berated his own college players who won championships for him at Minnesota.  Bradley has a chance to show US Soccer that he won't be a yes-man or a syncophant, and that he is not an opinionated arrogant arse like Bruce Arena.

And, really, who cares about US Soccer's cred or our reputation to our Yankee-hating fellow American Continental brethren?  The Copa is in Venzuela for gosh sakes.  We don't need cred with these folks because they have none for us in the first place.  American soccer players are discounted from the moment they arrive on the pitch in Europe and Central and South America because of where they are from.   A team of American Soccer superstars would still be laughed at by CONMEBOL Countries.

Leadership can do amazing things.  I hope Bradley has a few tricks up his sleeves to make these mostly kids believe they can actually win a game at the Copa.  Stranger things have happened.  What American team of any caliber would have been thought to hold Italy to a draw with 9 men at the World Cup? 

The Crucible in Caracas awaits you, Mr. Bradley....

A response to U.S. goes young for Copa America

Don't revive the 1980 Olympic analogies anytime soon folks.  The simple fact is that there is a huge void in the American hockey system which these guys will be filling in the next 5-10 years.  In the meantime, players wearing the red, white and blue won't be the contenders for 2010 or the next World Cup of Hockey, whenever that is going to take place.

The decline and looming retirements of players like Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk, Bill Guerin and Brian Leetch (already retired) is going to leave gaping holes in American experience and locker-room cred for the next Olympics.  Ironically, Chelios looks fit enough to play in 2010, and USA Hockey should immediately put Chelly in the Front Office when he retires.

Right now, the best and brightest American players still on the sunrise side of their careers are players like Erik Cole, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury.  Not exactly a murderers row when you consider Heatley, Spezza, Iginla, Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards will be tearing it up for Canada through much of the next decade.  Americans used to have the best defensemen in the NHL.  When was the last time an American was even on the short list for the Norris Trophy?

It's a great achievement for USA Hockey and the USNTDP to have so many Americans taken in the draft.  As a US Hockey fan since 1980, the American program needs the infusion of NHL-ready talent that the National Team is producing and the NCAA Hockey and the USJHL are feeding to them.

A response to Kane, Van Reimsdyk show U.S. hockey progress