I've been quite bored over the past few days and weeks of summertime, and as such I've been spending an alarming amount of time lying on a comfortable sofa, eating Doritos and channel-hopping on a 60-inch plasma.

Boredom in Western society really is a bitch, isn’t it?

Anyway, a "highlight" of these week's sporting offerings is the Women's World Cup, held this time in the home of the two-time defending champion, Germany.

Now Germany, as you may know, are quite a good male soccer team, and as such one might expect the country's sizable soccer-loving population to be watching in droves; both to sate their thirst for the beautiful game during the summer break, and also to celebrate what would likely be another World Cup win.

After all, this is the 21st century, and we are not sexist; they should truly be no difference between the men's game and the women's game because we're all equal after all.

Or maybe not.

The standard of play is terrible. Just terrible. There's no other word for it. I'm going to be brutally honest here; the women's game has no pace, no technique, and no excitement.

At least with women’s tennis, some of the players are nice-looking, but with the exception of Hope Solo, all of these players are not nice to look at, to put it plainly.

The German No. 18 is hideous. She’s their best player, but she’s hideous.

The Lord giveth, and he taketh away.

All I could say as a positive is that the majority of the teams held their shape quite well, and a couple of goalkeepers (my favorite, Hope Solo from the US, for example) were quite good.

The teams had no rhythm or plan with their passing, defenses didn't hold their line or play with any kind of synchronicity, the long ball game was used far too often and to no effect. It was like watching a pickup at the park.

Or the MLS.

Ah, here it is, my major observation of the week! And as it's so important, it gets its very own line.

In my opinion, there was no difference in quality between the teams in the Women's World Cup and the MLS. They're both as bad as each other.

That's bad news for American soccer. Really, really bad news.

Let's contrast soccer with basketball, where we have the NBA and the WNBA. The NBA right now is as popular as it's ever been, with arguably the best athletes in America wowing the audience with spectacular moves in every game, setting attendance and TV ratings records.

Compare that to the WNBA, where it is about as likely as a player dunks as it is for a game to sell out. Or even fill 50 percent of the stadium. In basketball, the difference between the men's and women's game is like night and day; for American soccer, it's shades of gray.

I try not to watch the MLS because I grew up having a season ticket to Newcastle United in the English Premiership, being treated to quality soccer week in, week out. The MLS, and even the men's national team, can’t hold a candle to that quality of soccer.

I'll write an article in the coming weeks as to why that is, but for now just consider this: If the worst NBA team in the country played the WNBA All-Stars, it would be a blowout. I could honestly see the score being 150-10, or something that ridiculously lopsided.

If an average MLS team played the US women's soccer team, I honestly don't know what the score would be. From my view watching my 60-inch plasma, there's very little difference in the quality of the technique, coaching, systems, and savvy of the average MLS team and the women's national team.

That's a pretty damning critique of American soccer, and even though the men are undoubtedly better athletes, pure athleticism won’t win games against the best teams in world soccer.

This is a point I will revisit, but the majority of the men's national team plays have roots in the MLS. The two best players, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey (Landon Donovan is horrifically overrated), are the only two active players on the team to have made a successful transition to European soccer, where the cream of the top talent in the world plays.

That's it.

One could make a case for Stuart Holden of Bolton, but one good season does not a career make. Landon Donovan, worshipped by the "once every four years" American soccer fan, has failed three times to make the transition.

Jozy Altidore, "the future for American forwards" couldn't even make the starting eleven for a team destined for relegation from the Premiership.

And don't even ask about Freddy Adu, I thought he was dead before he showed up in the Gold Cup a few days ago.

I'm going to make a list now off the top of my head of American players in the past twenty years to have made a successful transition to European soccer. By that, I mean, they have made a significant contribution to a top-tier team in one of the big five leagues (English Premiership, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, German Bundesliga).

Here's the list: Alexei Lalas, Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey

Just seven players—three goalkeepers, two defenders, a midfielder and a target man striker. That's in twenty years. Hardly going to strike fear into the hearts of Brazil and Spain, is it?

And judging by the way the team was manhandled by Mexico in the Gold Cup final, a team with one world-class player who didn't even play well that night, US soccer is about to suffer a downturn in fortunes in the coming years.

Fortunately, there is a way to solve this problem. It'll take time, and a complete overhaul of the way the MLS and American youth soccer development is done now. But I think I have the answer, and I'll give it in part two.

So for now, thanks for reading, feel free to comment, and part two should be done next time I'm bored, so definitely by next week.

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Freddy Adu.

The prodigal son of the MLS.

"The next Pele."

Perhaps his name should now be "Icarus."

Adu, at 14 years old, was proclaimed the future of US soccer. He was drafted first in the MLS Superdraft by D.C. United. He did commercials with Pele.

He floundered.

The last seven years have not been kind to Adu. He's been on seven different teams during that time, finally ending up in Turkish second division club Caykur Rizespor. He was long-thought to be an outcast to the US national team and hadn't played for the national team since 2009.

The whispers and rumors about his downfall could be heard amongst those "in the know" in the soccer community.

Adu was a headcase. A prima donna. A diva who refused to work hard and expected things to come easy for him.

When coach Bob Bradley included him on the US national team for the 2001 Gold Cup, more than a few eyebrows were raised. MLS didn't even want anything to do with him.

Then came last Sunday's came against Mexico. You could call it redemption for Adu. You could call it a comeback.

He was far and away the best player on the American team.

He displayed the quickness and creativity that caught the eyes of soccer scouts almost eight years ago. He ran at the defense and found pockets of space. He made outstanding passes.

Here was, finally, the player we all thought Adu could be.

Bradley proclaimed that Adu had grown up—that he was impressed that Adu was willing to linger in Turkey's second division and work hard and be humble. Adu even did a self-professed Twitter ban.

So, the question is: What's next for Adu?

I don't think he's ready for any of Europe's top divisions, and I don't know he'll ever be that player. He's still young, at 21, but he hasn't proved himself anywhere, unless you count a relatively prosperous streak at Real Salt Lake in 2007.

The MLS is where Adu should be—if they'll have him back.

Adu burned so many bridges with the MLS brain-trust it wouldn't surprise me if they had pictures of him on their toilet paper.

The simple fact is that the MLS makes the most sense for Adu. It's a competitive league, and certainly better than Turkey's second division. But it's not so competitive as La Liga or the Premiership. He would playing at home, and, best of all, he would be under the watchful eye of the US soccer federation for the national team.

It's time for Adu to accept the fact he'll never be the "second coming of Pele," but he could be a very good American player for years to come.

Thus, the Portland Timbers are the perfect place for him.

The Timbers are the hottest show in the MLS right now. Their stadium is sold out and their fans are rabid. It's a wonderful atmosphere.

The Portland media are almost contrite in their treatment of Timbers players.

Best of all, Portland needs a play-making central mid-fielder. Diego Chara just isn't working out.

Adu could provide that spark of creativity missing from Portland's mid-field. Adu and Kalif Alhassan could create a potent combination. Kenny Cooper would love to have Adu's service.

This, of course, all depends on the "new and improved Freddy Adu." If it's the old Freddy Adu, then don't waste anyone's time. The last thing the Timbers require right now is a decisive voice in the locker room.

I'm not sure about Adu's contract. I don't think it would be difficult to get him.

The fact is that America is about second—and third, and fourth—chances, and Adu deserves his.

John Spencer, the coach of the Timbers, would be perfect for Adu. He's no-nonsense and doesn't accept excuses for laziness. If Adu wasn't cutting it, Spencer wouldn't hesitate to bench him.

It's an experiment that could work for everyone involved.

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It only took the executives at MLS 12 years to figure out that the Pacific Northwest is the hotbed, and future, of soccer in America.

Yes, 2009 was when the revitalized Seattle Sounders joined the league to sold-out stadiums and rabid fans. Rather than watching thousands of empty seats in Chicago or New England, Qwest Field was continually sold out and the fans, well, were fanatical about their team.

In 2011, the Portland Timbers upped the ante by selling out every game of their inaugural 2011 season. Although not the size of Qwest Field, at 18,000 plus, Jeld-Wen field is still plenty big for the MLS.

The Timbers fans are even more rabid, and more obsessed, than their counterparts up the I-5. Watch one of the Timbers' games on TV and you would swear you were watching Liverpool in Anfield. The Timbers are, without a doubt, the biggest thing in Portland right now. How many other US cities can say that about their soccer team?

Also in 2011, the Vancouver Whitecaps joined MLS to sold-out stadiums. Yes, Canadians are by their nature more congenial, but their sold-out games have generated a great buzz in Vancouver, B.C.

The fact is that the Seattle-Portland rivalry is the best in the MLS—by a very, very wide margin.

The heartbeat of English soccer runs through Liverpool and Manchester—the American game runs through Portland and Seattle.

It's amazing that it took the so-called "experts" to figure out that the Pacific Northwest is the best place for soccer in America. If they would have looked at the old Sounders-Timbers-Whitecaps rivalries from the NASL in the 1970s and 1980s, they would have understood the deep roots of the game in the land of the evergreens.

I don't know why soccer is so massive in the PNW. Maybe it's the weather. Perhaps this much rain makes people want to kick something. Maybe it's the fact that there's much less competition from other sports. We don't have the baseball tradition in the East Coast or the obsession with American football in the Midwest and South.

Yes, they want soccer to be massive on the East Coast and in southern California. They want those television markets in Los Angeles and New York. The two soccer figureheads in the MLS, David Beckham and Thierry Henry, both play in Los Angeles and New York, respectively.

Heck, most people in the United States probably can't even find Oregon on a map, much less Canada.

The US soccer federation still hasn't learned from MLS mistakes. How many US soccer tournament games have been scheduled in the Pacific Northwest in the past few years?

That would be zero.

Apparently the higher ups would rather see a half-empty stadium at Ford Field in Detroit than a packed, crazy house at Jeld-Wen.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Wasn't it wonderful watching the US and Mexico play to a packed house in the Rose Bowl? Oh, that's right, a good 80 percent of the fans were rooting for Mexico. Oops.

That wouldn't happen at Qwest. You'd get a packed house rooting for the red, white and blue. No doubt.

Heck, they should have just scheduled the game in Mexico City.

It's embarrassing watching our home country being drowned out by visiting fans—even if those fans are from our neighbor down south.

Why is this so hard to figure out? All the energy in the MLS right now is coming from the Northwest. Portland, Seattle and Vancouver have ignited a fire that, quite frankly, the league has been waiting for since its inception.

It's not just the MLS—the amateur soccer in the PNW is, without a doubt, the best in the country. Every town and city has competitive and traveling teams. Dozens of soccer camps and clinics are held every summer.

Nike and Adidas both call Oregon their home.

The University of Portland, University of Washington and University of Oregon are all very good with the respective soccer programs.

Figure it out.

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Harrison, N.J.—On Tuesday night, the New York Red Bulls hosted USL PRO club FC New York for their third-round match of the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Playing with mostly reserves, the New York Red Bulls rallied to defeat FC New York 2-1 in front of 2,074 fans. With Tuesday's comeback, the Red Bulls will advance to the quarterfinals of the Open Cup where they'll face the Chicago Fire, who registered a victory over the Rochester Rhinos 1-0.

Meeting for the first time ever, FC New York had every intention of upsetting the favored Red Bulls in Red Bull Arena. Despite the Red Bulls' ball possession and shots-on-goal advantage (4-0), FC New York's goalie, Steve Diaz, kept his teammates in the game with four saves of his own.

In the second half, FC New York's Owen Morrison gave his team a 1-0 advantage with an unassisted goal. For possibly the first time in Red Bull Arena history, the opposing side's supporters temporarily silenced the South Ward's Viking Army when they chanted, "We can't hear you."

Sadly for FC New York and their fans, the celebration ended when Corey Hertzog tied the game for the Red Bulls, as he accepted Juan Agudelo's pass before blasting the ball past Diaz, who up to that point was playing well.

In the 65th minute, rookie John Rooney scored the game-winner for the Red Bulls. Despite FC New York's attempt to tie the match, they were unable to penetrate the ball into the penalty area, and the Red Bulls simply held on.

In a game where the reserves had their opportunities to make the most of their playing time, Marcos Paullo played well the entire evening and displayed some solid ball-handling skills.

With Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup win, the Red Bulls conclude their four-game road trip against the San Jose Earthquakes at the Stanford Stadium on Saturday. Following that game, the Red Bulls will return home for their match versus Toronto FC, Wednesday, July 6th.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press and USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and on Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.

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So, Bruce Arena, it had to take to 62 minutes and a surrendered goal to finally get your troops to come to your senses, eh captain?

I fear for the worst in Tukwila, Washington. More on that in a bit.

Anyway, for the record, Mike Magee's magic struck again, noble readers on the View from Victoria Street and on Bleacher Report.

Four days ago, it was his newly-discovered goalkeeping ability that made him the hero against San Jose in Major League Soccer action.

On Tuesday night, it was Magee delivering the same magic, this time in his natural position at forward that gave Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-1 victory over Charlie Naimo's Los Angeles Blues in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Titan Stadium on the campus of California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, California.

“It was a good win. I thought the L.A. Blues played quite well. They really got after us and stepped up and pressed us for a good part of the evening," Arena admitted to reporters after the match. "I think when we went down a goal I told our guys on the sideline I wouldn't be surprised if we got two goals and win this game in regulation. In the second half we created a lot of chances and had the run of play it was just a matter of time till we got a goal.

"The [Omar] Gonzalez goal was a heck of a goal, great header. We put a lot of pressure on them and I thought the second goal was going to come. Give our opponents credit they played quite well tonight.”  

I have to say that for a side just months in existence, the Los Angeles Blues actually held their own against the league's best team in terms of overall record.

Arena was impressed.

“We should be a little bit ahead of them technically and maybe professional fitness," Arena said. "A lot of those players in the Blues have played in the league. We knew that obviously they have enough experience to give us a good game.”

To hold the Galaxy scoreless in the first half and even take the lead thanks to Cesar Rivera in the 62nd minutes takes plenty of guts. Or as they say in Mexico, cojones.

It's these types of goals that do wake up a favorite from their slumber. It's these types of goals that cause the managers to push a button, bringing in one of the starters to rectify the increasingly dire situation on the pitch.

After the 62nd minute, the addition of Juninho combined with Miguel Lopez changed the dynamics of the match. Suddenly, the Galaxy were wearing down the Blues, who—to their credit—threw everything and the kitchen sink at Arena's men.

The G's then played the type of attacking football that will be crucial towards a successful shot at revenge against the Seattle Sounders in the quarterfinals at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. They maintained possession, defending their own third, and were rewarded for pressing the Blues with goals from Omar Gonzalez in the 75th minute and Magee in the 81st minute.

“I think we just woke up," Magee said on the victory. "I think the first half we were kind of slow and sluggish and we might have thought it that it was just going to come to us and then as soon they got the goal it kind of lit a fire under and we started playing better and obviously resulted in a win.”

I'm not sold on Brian Perk, though. Here is a keeper who literally had his dress rehearsal for next Monday's league tilt against the Sounders, and was average. He held his own, made some saves, but really could have done better stopping that Rivera goal. The backline of the Galaxy must be aware of the speed the midfielders and forward of Seattle possess.

Arena, however, thought the world of the third-string keeper not named Mike Magee.

“I thought Brian [Perk] did very well," Arena said. "I thought he had a good night. He looked comfortable in the back I was pleased with his performance.”

“Brian is steady back there," said Gonzalez. "Brian is good with his hands, good with his feet, so I had no worries about it and I think he did great tonight. I’m looking forward to him doing well against Seattle.”

If Perk gets hung out to dry like he did on that goal, Los Angeles's dominance of the Sounders in league competition might be turned on its head in a hurry.

"I have the game coming up on Monday so this is great getting used to it again," Perk said after the match. "This is great for me getting into a full game, full 90 that means something. I have played three reserve games which helped me do this and I have all the confidence to step in Monday and do the job just like I did tonight.”

As for the Galaxy, they were only able to have their serious face on after they found themselves trailing. When they make the trip for the quarterfinals, that "serious business" needs to be on for the whole 90 minutes. (Plus stoppage time and penalties, if need be.)

You know, I have been scrutinizing Mike Magee for a while due to his inability to finish, or to deliver, but in the past two matches, he has taken the initiative to acquit himself of his misdeeds by delivering the goods when it matters most.

It doesn't matter if he is a goalkeeper, a midfielder, or a forward: Mike Magee's versatility and reliability as an all-purpose player could prove useful for the remainder of the season. Heck, he could score on Real Madrid on the 16th of July if he's given the start! Magee has made strides, and he will continue to when he comes up with big plays on the pitch.

“Luckily I don’t have a twitter account because I’ve heard it’s been pretty intense on twitter," Magee said of his coming-out week. "But I’ve gotten a lot of text and phone calls from family and friends, it’s kind of fun because they are having a lot of fun with it. But it’s been pretty nerve-wracking. I’m still a little nervous from playing goalie, the butterflies haven’t left yet.”

The quarterfinal between the Sounders and the Galaxy is scheduled for Tuesday, July 12 at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET.


INS AND OUTS
Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy Under-18s ended their sorry season with a whimper as they fell to Texas Rush AJ Auxerre 3-1. Juan Mendoza scored in the 82nd minute for the Galaxy.

As for the Under-16s, they get to fight another day after they defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1. William Raygoza scored in the 50th minute, Drew Murphy made it 2-1 in the 59th minute and Justin Dhillon put the game out of reach in the 78th minute.

With the victory, the Under-16s advance to U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals Week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 9-16. Other teams progressing in the Under-16 category include CASL Chelsea FC Academy, Dallas Texans, North Carolina Fusion, PA Classics, Real Salt Lake AZ, Real So Cal and the Seattle Sounders.

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The Seattle Sounders took their first step toward claiming a third consecutive Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title on Tuesday night, in front of over 3,800 fans at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.  But the adversity they faced in doing so was certainly greater than anticipated, as their lower-division rivals, the Kitsap Pumas, brought the difference to within one goal in the second half and nearly equalized on multiple occasions.

The Pumas, a USL Premier Development club coached by Seattle soccer hero (and member of the Sounders broadcast team) Pete Fewing, were surprisingly resilient through most of the match, attacking hard and defending well, save for two brilliant goals by Seattle forward Mike Fucito.

The first goal came in the 39th minute, when Fucito collected a cross headed down by Nate Jaqua and slipped it past Kitsap goalkeeper Bryan Meredith off the volley.

Then, in the second half, Fucito received a good ball all alone in the box and danced around Meredith and several defenders before firing a rocket into the back of the net.

But the Pumas were far from giving up. In the 71st minute, off a perfect corner feed, Pumas midfielder Nik Besagno got a touch to slide the ball through, past Seattle goalkeeper Terry Boss to bring the goal difference to one. And they weren't done yet. 

Among the nail-biting moments for Seattle was a missed opportunity by the Pumas in the 83rd minute, when Brazilian-born Kitsap forward Warlen Silva got a breakaway opportunity that caused a gasp in the crowd as it hit the side of the netting. But Seattle were able to hang on and secure their spot in the quarterfinals of the nation's longest-running soccer tournament for the third consecutive year.

The Sounders next Open Cup match will be held again at the Starfire Sports Complex against the Los Angeles Galaxy at a date to be determined.

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy take on Charlie Naimo's Los Angeles Blues in the third round of the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Titan Stadium on the campus of California State University, Fullerton.

The winner of this match will take on either the Kitsap Pumas or the Seattle Sounders.

Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing live coverage of World Football at its finest.

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It may have been one of the goofiest moments of the season, directly following one of the most infuriating and controversial.  

In any case, soccer fans around the nation will never forget the image of Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee pulling the oversized keeper jersey, with the name of the ejected backup keeper Josh Saunders (who is six inches taller than him), over his head.  

We all may have chuckled a bit, but an impressive six saves and one clean sheet later, Magee landed his spot as the MLS Week 15 Player of the Week.  And he's the first goalkeeper to do so.

In a decision that will surely live in infamy, the referee showed Saunders a straight red card in the 43rd minute after San Jose forward Steven Lenhart attempted to illegally head the ball out of his hands.

In the resulting scramble to recover the ball, Saunders appeared to accidentally strike Lenhart with his elbow while fending him off.  The referee, uninterested in the fact that the entire incident occurred as a direct result of a blatantly illegal move by Lenhart, took the strike to be intentional.

Out of options, and with nobody stepping up, the 5'10" midfielder took charge, later being quoted on the league Web site, saying, "I nominated myself.  I think I looked around.  Looking back, I don't know why." 

But in taking the position, Saunders, who says he has never played in goal in his life, "not even in a non-competitive match," took control of the game.  And despite Galaxy defenders doing everything in their power to keep the ball far away from goal, he still had to come up big more than once, leaving San Jose disappointed in front of their home crowd, and preserving a crucial point on the road.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Sounders surely watched, hoping for a Galaxy loss and a chance to pull within three points of the Galaxy in the standings.  Little did they know that Magee had other plans.

With the Galaxy next on the Sounders' schedule, and with the Sounders desperately hoping to make up some crucial points against the division leaders, they surely had to wonder for a moment if they'd face the surprisingly brilliant Magee in goal at the Home Depot Center on July 4, especially with Donovan Ricketts out with a fractured arm and Saunders serving his one-game suspension.

Alas, all indications seem to be that Galaxy's third goalkeeper, Brian Perk, will get the start. Which may actually cause a sigh of relief for the Sounders.

But, at least the Galaxy know that if Perk isn't cutting it against the streaking Sounders, they will always have Magee.

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Harrison, NJ - Hours before New York Red Bulls GK Bouna Coundoul's mistimed his attempt to make a save, resulted in a 1-1 tie against the Chicago Fire, their loyal supporters from the South Ward, the Viking Army, hosted the Viking Army Invitational 2011 Pegasus Cup.

Taking place at the Harrison Courts in New Jersey, Sunday's Pegasus Sporting Goods round-robin tournament featured the Viking Army, New York Reds (Manchester United Supporters) and Peña Madridista NYC Futbol Club.

This tournament was all Viking Army as they dominated their way to the Pegasus Cup by outscoring their opponents 16-3. In the opening match of the tournament, the Viking Army won 6-0 over Manchester UTD REDS NYC. They carried their flow in their second match against Pena Real Madrid as they won 6-1.

The third match of the morning featured Manchester UTD REDS NYC and Pena Real Madrid NYC. In a match where the winner would face the Viking Army in the Championship match, both teams battled hard. While both teams advanced the ball well, neither side was able to produce a goal. With the possibility of a shootout taking place, Pena Real Madrid NYC scored the game winner to win over Manchester UTD REDS NYC.

In the Championship Match, the Viking Army jumped to a 3-0 lead before Pena Real Madrid NYC made a furious rally as they went on a 2-0 run to make the score 3-2. However, just as the momentum swung towards Pena's way, the Viking Army was able to make one more charge as they took a 4-2 lead in the waning minutes.

Following the trophy presentation, we headed to the Greenroom to watch the New York Red Bulls tie the Chicago Fire. Despite the Red Bulls winning only once in their last 10 games, I'm more than confident the Viking Army and the entire South Ward will continue to support their team.

While they may have been playing for the Pegasus Cup, they were also playing for charity. All proceeds from Sunday's tournament went towards the nonprofit organization created in honor of Private Nicholas Madaras, Kick for Nick.

Out of the Supporters Clubs the New York Red Bulls have, I will admit that I have a close relationship with the Viking Army. Considering that I'm a proud Borough Boys member who grew up loving the New York Cosmos goes to show you how much respect we have for each other.

What impresses me most about the Viking Army is their commitment to their community. While it's easy to see them as a bunch of Red Bulls fans who proudly cheer for their beloved Red Bulls, I see them as humanitarians and mentors to their younger generation of members. 

As their membership continues to grow, I can envision this tournament as well as their charity drives growing each year. While we may probably never root for the same team, I have no reservation in watching a game a with them or covering an event that they're hosting. 

Of course, I'll be sure to wear a Cosmos green shirt.

About Kick for Nick

From the Website: While home on leave from Iraq in July 2006, Private Nicholas Madaras rounded up as many soccer balls as possible to bring back to the children near his post. Being a passionate soccer player, he wanted to give the balls to the children as a gesture of good will. Unfortunately, Nick was killed by an IED on September 3, 2006 and was never able to distribute the balls himself. Instead we have taken up a crusade on his behalf to fulfill his dream…

Shortly after Nick’s passing Kick For Nick was started when Ken Dartley of Wilton, CT contacted Shalini and Bill Madaras after reading about Nick’s passion for the sport and his desire to share this love with the Iraqi children. Ken wanted to start a program of collecting soccer balls in Nick’s honor to fulfill Nick’s wish to share his passion.

The support for Kick For Nick has been worldwide and letters have been received from people from many different countries. Soccer balls have been received from 45 of the 50 United States.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press & USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.

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What to say about the Portland Timbers in their inaugural MLS season?

At 5-7-3, they currently stand at seventh place in the western conference with 18 points in 15 games played.They are nursing a rough patch of 4 losses in their past 5 games, and are still winless on the road.

Those are the negatives.

The positives are that they could easily be doing much, much better. The Timbers have, until their recent setback against Dallas, played inspired and creative soccer. They completely dominated the New York Red Bulls and Colorado Rapids, and it was only dumb luck they didn't win those games.

Take some of the bad fortune that has come the Timber's way in the last few games.

Against the Red Bulls, the Timbers were up 3-2 in injury time when Rodney Wallace inexplicably commits a handball in his penalty area with literally ten seconds left on the clock. New York completes the PK and gets a point.

The Colorado Rapids scored on a set piece with, again, ten seconds left on the clock in injury time. This after the Timbers failed to score on numerous opportunities and dominate possession.

They have converted just one out of four penalty kick opportunities this season.

Kenny Cooper might be the unluckiest player in MLS. In 15 games he only has netted three goals. But, that number could easily be nine or ten goals. He's had four goals, at my count, nullified due to offsides. Goalkeepers seem to turn into the second coming of Peter Schmeickel when he's shooting and have made world-class saves on four or five balls that should have gone in. He could have easily had a hat rick in the Chivas game, but came up empty.

Jorge Perlazza has had three breakaways in the last three games where he was one-on-one with the keeper and failed to score on any of them.

In games against D.C. United and New York, the opposing sides were awarded penalty kicks when Timber players committed hand balls inside their own penalty area. Both penalties were critical to the outcome. I don't think I've ever seen this happen to a professional team.

Unfortunately for Portland, they do play in the western conference. If they were in the eastern conference, they would be in 5th place with 2 games in hand behind 4th place Houston.

This looks like a team with a lot of talent, surprisingly so, but just doesn't quite believe in itself. I do wonder if they need a true Captain, who has been through all of the battles and has a cool head under pressure.

The Flounders, to their credit, have Kasey Keller with years of World Cup experience—and years of playing in the premiership. New York, or course, has Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez. Los Angeles has Landon Donovan.

Does Portland need that Talisman, that leader who can keep the ship calm under fire?

That said, below is my assessment of the Timbers after 15 games.

Forwards: I just can't knock Perlazza and Cooper too much. Cooper's work rate is immense every game and, again, it's bad luck he hasn't netted nine or ten balls. He leads the team with 34 shots and 12 shots on goal.

Perlazza is making outstanding runs behind the defense and has great pace—he just needs to convert. I'd like to see him take more shots, as he's only taken 18 all season. A forward needs to shoot the ball!

Mid-Field: Jack Jewsbury is without a doubt the MVP thus far in the season. He's calm, steady and might be the best set-piece taker in the league. He leads the team with four goals and six assists.

Kalif Alhassan has been a find at right mid-field and has five assists. He has outstanding dribbling skills and seems to find pockets of space. He was really running at defenses to start the season and I'd like to see him be more aggressive. He can light up most fullbacks when given the chance.

If there is a player that I'm most disappointed with it's Diego Chara, their central mid-fielder and lone designated player. He has zero points and zero assists in the season. I just haven't seen enough of him to warrant his salary and the designated player tag.

He isn't the play maker that I thought he'd be and he doesn't run at the defenses. He doesn't stop a lot of counter attacks and organize the mid-field. I know he did great playing in Columbia for Deportes Tolima. So, it could be he's adjusting to playing for a new team—in a new country with a different language.

On the other side, Darlington Nagbe hasn't done much to warrant his selection in the MLS Superdraft. He's a serviceable but unspectacular player with no assists or goals. He's now splitting time with Sal Zizzo, who has a bit more pace up and down the wing.

On the defensive side, Troy Perkins has been an outstanding pick-up and is a top class keeper. Eric Brunner is a very good central defender. Rodney Wallace and Jeremy Hall are sometimes good, and sometimes completely unreliable on the wings. "Futty" Dunso plays alongside Brunner in the middle and, again, is sometimes outstanding and sometimes unfocused.

I don't know how good this defense is.

They've had clean sheets against the likes of Columbus, Philadelphia and Real Salt Lake. They've had very, very solid performances against Seattle, Colorado and Chivas.

Then again, they've imploded against New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and D.C. United.

In the past two games they've given up seven goals, and haven't had a clean sheet in almost a month.

Against Dallas they gave up two opening goals off of corner kicks!

This seems like a very young team (which it is) that is having trouble with composure and consistency. They are still learning how to play together.

The defense's focus in the latter part of games is absolutely terrible. They've given up so, so many late game goals, and it just can't continue. They must learn how to maintain focus and deal with pressure until the final whistle.

Otherwise, there's a lot to like about this team. They are much, much better than I thought they would be for an expansion club.

I think coach John Spencer is excellent and the exact type of coach this team requires. He's intense and positive (for the most part), and keeps working with the boys to keep their head's up.

If the team can play like they did against New York and Colorado, then undoubtedly good things will start happening.

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