Almost Famous

“We don’t want respect, we want to win.” - Landon Donovan, after losing 3-2 to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final


It would be easy to agree within Landon, America’s superstar forward, and say that the US soccer team is to the point where respect doesn’t matter, only wins matter. In the case of the Confederations Cup final, which the United States lost 3-2 to Brazil yesterday, however, respect does indeed matter.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that winning isn’t the ultimate goal every time Bob Bradley sends his men on the field.. It is. Just because the US team fell short of that goal, it doesn’t mean that it came away from the game with no goals met. Sports aren’t an all or nothing proposition.

Before the Yanks can beat the perennial soccer powers (England, Brazil, France, etc.), they have to be able to run up and down the field with them for ninety plus minutes. The runner-up finish in the Confederations Cup is particularly hard to take because for the first forty-five minutes, the US seemed to be clicking on all cylinders. Tim Howard was making save after save, Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu were in the right defensive spots, and Landon Donovan was slicing through the Brazilian defense with well-timed runs.

The United States took the lead on a Johnathan Spector cross to Clint Dempsey eerily similar the same assist to goal combination from the US win over Egypt days earlier. Circumstances got even better for the US when Charlie Davies and Landon Donovan showed the world their speed with a sweet give- and-go, resulting in a powerful strike from Donovan to give the Yanks a two goal lead headed into the break.

Everything changed with the Luis Fabiano goal less than a minute into the second half. The US went from on the attack to on its heels, from being the hunter to being the hunted, and ultimately from the winner to the loser. From there it was only a matter of time, Brazil smelled blood, tied the game, and then sealed it with Fabiano’s second goal with just over six minutes left.

This isn’t the team for mainstream sports fans and pundits to give up on US soccer.

If anything, Sunday’s loss should be the introduction of an inspiring, growing soccer program to the American public. I realize that soccer will never trump the big three (baseball, basketball, or football) in this country, but it may break into the top five with a solid performance in next year’s World Cup. Everyone loves an underdog, and the US soccer team is the preeminent soccer minnow in a pool of European and South American sharks.

Landon Donovan is right, it is about wins. They will come in time. For now, we need to realize that the American effort on Sunday is a reason to watch for what’s to come, not a reason to ignore US soccer until another mainstream media splash.

An Upset for the Ages

USA 2, Spain 0. (Let's put that score up there again, just for good measure) USA 2, Spain 0.

It’d be nearly impossible to underestimate the importance of today’s victory over the world’s consensus best soccer team. Without even getting into the game itself, think about Spain’s recent soccer history: Spain had won fifteen straight games, hadn’t lost a game in 36 matches (November 2006), and hadn’t allowed a goal in the Confederations Cup before today’s loss to the Americans. Spain’s fifteen match winning streak was an all-time FIFA record.

I’d go as far as to put this victory as the fourth biggest victory in the history of US Soccer, only behind the two dazzling victories over Portugal & Mexico at the 2002 World Cup and the historic 1950 World Cup victory over perennial soccer power England.

In terms of the victory’s effect, however, it may be the biggest in American soccer history. You simply can’t downplay the importance of beating FIFA’s number one ranked squad in a talent-laden international tournament on foreign soil.

Today’s game was a showcase game for coach Bob Bradley’s boys, who surely showed up and then some.

Certainly the United States’ last victory over a number one-ranked team, a 1-0 win over a Brazilian squad at the Gold Cup at the Los Angeles Coliseum was a huge win (albeit in front of less than 13,000 spectators), but it occurred on US soil. The stunning defeat of the Spaniards occurred in South Africa, host of next year’s World Cup, and was watched around the world.

It’s hard to pick out one shining star from the match. Jozy Altidore’s strong turn and powerful strike was impressive, as was Clint Dempsey’s ability to be in the right place at the right time for the all-important second goal. Say what you want about Landon Donovan, but his fitness and effort against the world’s best team was unmatched.





The defensive unit as a whole deserves the most credit for holding onto a one goal lead under stifling pressure from the likes of Fernando Torres and David Villa. Tim Howard, the goalkeeper who is cheered wildly as a top-shelf keeper in the EPL had an amazing game. Center backs Jay DeMerit & Oguchi Onyewu both had forceful games, diving in and out of spots when and where they were most needed. Johnathan Spector showed why he will eventually become the first-choice right back, matching up somewhat well with the speed of the Spanish attack. Even Carlos Bocanegra, the US captain making his first appearance of the tournament after a hamstring injury, was mostly effective.

The American team showed today what this country is all about: heart, effort, and downright grit. They may not be the world’s best team, but for a day, they were even better. And now Bob Bradley gets a prize for all his trouble on Sunday: soccer goliaths Brazil, or host country South Africa in a showdown for the tournament championship. I think we've learned not to count the Yanks out of that one either.

Facial Fur Fever

Summer has arrived, and unless you're a die-hard baseball fan, the sports landscape is vastly different. It may even be downright boring. There is one topic, however, that easily makes any summer sizzle: facial hair. I'm using the 1990s as our starting point on this list, so as much as we all love Joe Namath's fu-manchu, you won't see it here.



Clay Zavada

Clay is included here because he's a modern Rollie Fingers. If some of Rollie's talent rubbed off on Zavada he'd be set.







George Parros

Parros is another member of Team Stache. His facial forerunner harkens back to the days of Lanny Mcdonald (see below)...Good times.







Adam Morrison
I'm not exactly sure who Morrison was trying to impress with his peachfuzz. My best guess is that it was a lucky charm from his AAU days and he was worried it could be a Samson situation if he trimmed it off.








Drew Gooden

Gooden has changed facial hair almost as many times as he's changed teams (six different teams at last count). I’m all for mixing it up, but at what point do you just grab a razor and start over?









Jon Garland

Garland has arguably the most indecisive facial hair out there. His look says "Yeah, I'm sporting this look for my man-card, but I'm not too sure where it's headed."









Kimbo Slice

One word: fear. Any guy that would show himself on national television with such hair growth is downright scary.










Scott Spiezio

Spiezio gets points here for the color coordination, but as far as team spirit goes, aren't there more manly things? Like kittens and bunnies..







Scott Pollard

Over the years Scott Pollard has been well-known among NBA fans for his sense of humor, but braiding your goatee with rubber bands? What’s that thought process like?








Alexi Lalas

With apologies to Rick Sutcliffe, Lalas may have a more legitimate claim to the “Red Baron” moniker. Lalas sported the prototypical soccer player/rock n’ roller look, and it didn’t hurt that he was good at both his sport (US soccer icon) and his music (his band once opened for Hootie & the Blowfish).








Rasheed Wallace

Before Kimbo slice, there was Rasheed Wallace. Rasheed may have been using his gruff for a more practical reason: storage. There was always something hangin' out in the beard.





Ryan Franklin

One major prerequisite to being a closer: gruesome facial hair. Franklin's look can't be for the ladies...it looks like a few newborn chicks could nest in there with ease.






Michael Phelps

Phelps was the story of the year in 2008, winning an amazing eight gold medals at the Bejing Olympics. Coming back stateside brought a new set of problems (and questionable choices caught on camera), but he used comfort facial hair as opposed to a comfort food to cure what ailed him. Now if only disco made a comeback..







Mike Commodore


Commodore is the obligatory NHL playoff beard pick. If you're going to grow the afro, you might as well match it with a killer peice of facial fur right?







Lanny McDonald

He falls out of the timeline requirement, but any discussion of facial hair in sports has to include Lanny to be true to form.

A Rainout to Remember

There's no shortage of intriguing storylines from the ongoing monsoon that was the US Open at Bethpage Black. Let’s touch quickly on five:

A New Champion

Although relatively unknown in most households, Lucas Glover is somewhat recognizable to most golf fans. He ranks in the top 75 in driving distance, driving accuracy, and putting this year. There’s nothing flashy about Glover’s game: he simply hits fairways and makes putts. That formula means he’s got a better chance of winning another major and rising above other names who won the US Open before fading into anonymity (Rich Beem, Steve Jones, Scott Simpson, etc.).

The Comeback Kid

David Duval’s resurgence is arguably the biggest story of the weekend. To put it in perspective, you have to think about the arch of Duval’s golf career in the last fifteen years. He was the 1993 National Player of the year at Georgia Tech, and became the world’s number one ranked player on the PGA Tour in 1999. Duval won the British Open in 2001, which somewhat amazingly, was his last win on tour. Duval came into this year's tournament with a shocking world ranking of 882 (which is now held by David Bransdon, who has competed in one tournament, the 2009 GS Caltex Maekyung Open on the Asia Tour). Duval's professional and personal struggles have been well-documented. Even if Duval isn’t back on top, he’s back in the conversation with a second place finish, and that means a lot to the former world number one.


Coming up Short

Phil Mickleson gave all he had this weekend, if only enough for a runner-up finish. Phil did what he does best: crush the ball of the tee well enough to give him a shot to win it all come Sunday. There was a moment, as the ball was rolling in the cup for an eagle on the 13th hole in the final round where most of America though Mickleson would give his wife a reason to smile. Phil went on to bogey two of the last four holes, obviously physically and emotionally spent.

World's Best? Not this week.

Frustrating is probably the one word that describes Tiger’s weekend better than any other. His drives were sprayed across the course and his putting was inefficient and painful to watch at best. That said, Woods was the only golfer to shoot three rounds in the sixties at Bethpage Black. It’s going be to hard to bet against Mr. Woods when the British Open goes to Turnberry next month.

Potential Finally Realized

If Ricky Barnes’ performance had come in 2003, no one would’ve been shocked. At one time, Barnes was the next American star: powerfully built, brash, and seemed to be in a class all his own...on the amateur level at least. The 2002 US Amateur champion has had a rough transition to the pros since posting an impressive 21st place finish as an amateur at The Masters in 2003. The man Barnes defeated for his amateur title in 2002, Hunter Mahan, has had a much more impressive career to this point. This weekend, however, may have been a coming out party for Barnes, who hadn’t placed in the top ten in any PGA event until Bethpage. Barnes brings big game and personality to golf, so let’s hope he has finally arrived.

US Open Preview

The third weekend in June is viewed by many golf fans, fanatic and casual alike, as the most riveting of the year due to the US Open.

The Masters at Augusta may have Southern charm, the British Open unique history, and the Tour Championship clubhouse cache, but no other major is viewed with such wide-eyes as the US Open.

One obvious factor Open’s prestige is in the name itself, it is in fact an open-invitation tournament. Any player with a handicap of fourteen or under, from weekend hacker to scratch golfer or tour professional can go through qualifying for a shot at playing in front of the eyes of the nation for all the marbles.

Don’t let that fool you. Another important aspect of the Open’s esteemed status comes in form of the historically immense challenge it presents. Although the qualification process is wide-open, the chance to actually win America’s tournament surely is not. Since the Official World Golf Rankings became the measuring stick for tour professionals in 1986, no player outside of the top hundred has won the US Open.

Perhaps the least talked about aspect of the US Open’s impressive distinction is the access it provides. The winner of the US Open not only receives a ten year exemption to the tournament itself, but also invitations to golf’s other three majors (Masters, British Open, & the Tour Championship) for the next five years.

The challenge of the US Open comes in the form of its unique tournament setup. The rough is Paul Bunyan beard dense, the greens are Usan Bolt on Red Bull fast, and the course as a whole is longer than Pinocchio’s nose after a weekend in Las Vegas.

Four particular skills are at a premium for the US Open: fairways hit (driving accuracy), greens in regulation, driving distance, and putting efficiency. Bethpage Black puts tremendous emphasis on all four aspects.

Many popular players (Ernie Els, Ian Poulter, and Sergio Garcia just to name a few) possess one or more of such skills, but not all four.

With all of that in mind, here are..



Four Players with a Real Shot:

Tiger Woods

No explanation is even needed for Tiger. He’s the world’s top-ranked player, and if he’s hitting fairways at Bethpage Black like he did at the Memorial (49 of 56), he may run away with the tournament for his fifteenth major. It doesn’t hurt that Tiger won the last time the Open was held at Bethpage Black in 2002.

Phil Mickleson

He’ll be the sentimental pick here, as everyone knows by now that his wife Amy is in a fight of her own against breast cancer. Outside of being a sentimental pick, Mickleson has quietly put together a great year, including five top tens and two wins. The one thing that has always hurt Phil is his driving accuracy, which is ranked 182nd on tour this year.

Paul Casey

Although no European has won the US Open in nearly 40 years (Tony Jacklin in 1970), many in the golf community feel America’s prized municipal course plays right into Casey’s strengths. He’s long off the tee, has a tremendous short game, and knows how to capitalize on opportunities (Casey is fifth on the tour in birdies).

Jim Furyk

Furyk has a few things in his favor: five top tens (including the recent Memorial), arguably the best touch around the greens on the tour(ranked third in putts per round), and the previous experience of having won a US Open in 2003.


Four Players Capable of Shocking the World:

Sean O’Hair

O’Hair has been in the hunt for every tournament this season. He opened up with a fourth place showing at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii, won at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, and finished second to Tiger at Bay Hill. O'Hair is having the best year of his young career, ranking second in greens in regulation and fourth in birdies.

David Toms

Toms is a guy that plays smart and is always lurking on the leaderboard, and yet he has just one major (the Tour Championshinp in 2001) to his credit. 2009 has been kind to him, as Toms ranks first in driving accuracy while being among the leaders in putting and greens in regulation. He gives up length off the tee, but if he can stay out of the trecherous rough at Bethpage he may find himself among those vying for the title as dusk falls Sunday.

Tim Clark

Clark ranks near the top of this year's PGA tour in driving accuracy (fourth), putting (seventh). He's got four top tens, including ninth at the Players and second at the Colonial. Clark is the model of efficency, but his lack of driving power (148th) may hurt him down the stretch.

Justin Leonard

Leonard is having a resurgent year this year with four top tens in fifeteen events. He's very accurate with his driver, a decent putter, and has won a major (1997 British Open). Leonard's hot streak could carry him onto the leaderboard.


Four Players You can Count Out:

Sergio Garcia

For all of Sergio's talent, he has the same number of major victories that you do right now: zero. Garcia exploded onto the golfing world in 1999 at just nineteen. He has several top-shelf endorsement deals including Adidas and Taylor Made. Garcia's game has one glaring weakness, putting, where he ranks 146th. All stats aside, is someone that once spit in the cup on national television really ready to win the US Open? Didn't think so.

Geoff Ogilvy

Ogilvy is one of the hottest players in the game today. He's a darkhouse pick for many experts. Ogilvy has a deft touch on the greens, drives the ball far, and already has two wins this year. Much like Mickleson, however, Ogilvy has trouble driving the ball with accuracy. He's ranked 150th in driving accuracy, which could spell doom for him on Sunday.

Vijay Singh

Singh was not dominant in 2008, but quite efficient with three victories overall including two victories out of four events in the Fedex Cup. Although Vijay has a solid record in the majors including a Masters (2000) and two Tour Championships (1998 & 2004), he hasn't been driving or putting well in 2009. He ranks 103rd in driving accuracy and a startling 183rd in putting.

Henrik Stenson

Stenson may be the sixth-ranked golfer in the world, but his game simply isn’t built for the US Open. He ranks low both in putting (129th) and total driving (192nd). If there’s one thing you have to do to win the Open, it’s make your putts, and Stenson has yet to show he can do that on a major stage.

King Phil?

Another NBA season has produced yet another NBA title for Phil Jackson. Say what you want about the Zen Master, but you can't deny his coaching prowess.

Jackson has recently cemented himself as the winningest coach in American sports. His critics will use three words to minimize his accomplishments: Jordan, Shaq, & Kobe.

Kobe is excused from any further comparison, as his 4 titles have come under the Big Hippie's guidance. The results experienced by Shaq and MJ with and without Phil are vastly different.

You can't deny the supreme talents of the two players. Instead, it's easy point to what happened when a supreme coaching mind in Jackson was able to join forces with two dominant players: dynasty level success.

Let's take a look:

Jordan without Phil
279-295 .486 (0 Championships)

Jordan with Phil
443-131 .771 ( 6 Championships)

Shaq without Phil
478-341 .583 (1 Championship)

Shaq with Phil
435-189 .697 (3 Championships)


Actions speak louder than words, and in sports, winning speaks louder than anything. Phil Jackson has won with three teams with distinct personnel. The Bulls of the late 90s, Shaq & Kobe's Lakers, and now Kobe's (singular) Lakers all believed they could do what needed to be done to stand alone at the end of the NBA season: win.


Phil Jackson is no Bob Knight, but he's no Dick Vermeil either. He isn't a screamer or a crier, but instead is the ultimate thinker. This basketball intellectual just happens to have 10 championships, the most in NBA history.