-Donovan Mcnabb and the Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) march into Irving, Texas to take on T.O., Tony Romo, Adam”Don’t Call Me Pacman” Jones, and the Dallas Cowboys (1-0). Both teams are coming off of gigantic Week 1 wins. Monday’s matchup should see its fair share of scoring and exciting plays, and Dallas is favored at +3.5.

-Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost has been fired after the Brew Crew were swept 4 games to 0 by the Philadelphia Phillies.  In the interim, third base coach Dale Sveum will take over in efforts to right the ship. Milwaukee has lost 11 of their last 14 games. Yikes.

- Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter on Sunday in his first start after suffering rotator cuff tendinitis. It was Z-Pac’s first no-no and his first win since August 21. The Cubs starting rotation of a healthy Zambrano, Rich Harden, and Ryan Dempster is atop the list for best in the National League, and possibly all of baseball.

-The NFL has downgraded referee Ed Hochuli after he admitted to blowing a call during the Chargers-Broncos game. It remains to be seen if he’ll be able to officiate playoff games or any games at all. Hochuli is best known for his impressive physical stature, so we’ll see if a possible demotion leads to some negative side effects.

-Yankees catcher Jorge Posada thinks pitcher Joba Chamberlain should return to the bullpen instead of remaining in the starting rotation. Of course, Posada is talking about next year because, well, the Yankees aren’t going to make the playoffs. But I guess it’s the thought that counts… In other news, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada talks bad-mouths former Red Sox great Pedro Martinez in reference to the Sox-Yanks brawl in the 2003 AL Championship series: “I thought he was going to hit me in the head with a bat, after we had the fight and he pushed Don Zimmer. It was ridiculous. I mean, he throws at Karim Garcia because he’s losing the game. I mean, there’s no class.”

On Monday afternoon, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick announced that MVP quarterback Tom Brady would undergo season-ending knee surgery as a result of a low hit delivered by Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard.

While this comes as a devastating blow, given New England’s hopes of riding into the Super Bowl on Brady’s shoulders, little positive light has been shed on the grim situation. Almost instantaneously, thoughts of now-starter Matt Cassel leading the Pats to the big game have been written off.

Though it would be naive to expect Cassel–who hasn’t started a game since high school–to step in and do what the best quarterback of the modern era has done three times, it would be more than naive to expect anyone but Tom Brady to be Tom Brady.

I’m not saying that Matt Cassel and the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl, but I’m not saying they aren’t either. If anything, the New England Patriots, without Tom Brady, are an above-average football team in a weak conference. Whether spoiled fans accustomed to winning choose to believe it or not, the Patriots are still alive.

And while the thought of an inexperienced Cassel leading the team to a Super Bowl victory is far from conceivable to most, it serves function as a harsh lesson to spoiled Patriots fans.

Prior to Sunday, the thought of losing Tom Brady was always seen as something that could happen, but in ‘reality’, wouldn’t.

It’s time to wake up.

The focus of the 2008 season has conjured a whole new meaning. The concepts of completing the task at hand, believing in one another, and discovering the true meaning of the word ‘team’, are at the summit of the proverbial mountain and will truly test the mettle of every player for the next 15 weeks.

The season should not be written off, because even if the Patriots only go on to win a meager 8 games as predicted, essentially, they will have strengthened a bond that appeared to break rather than bend in Week 1.

If you ask me, battling through an 8-win season without the league’s MVP is a far greater accomplishment than coasting into the Super Bowl with him and failing to come out on top.

Earlier this summer when Leo Messi was attempting to get released by his club in order to compete in the Olympics, the Barça bosses said that they could not afford to lose him because of important Champions League matches during the Olympics.

Well, if yesterday was any indication, Messi can spend a good amount of time away from the club and they will be just fine.  Samuel Eto’o netted a brace and Xavi and Thierry Henry also scored in Barça’s 4-0 win against Wisla Krakow.

Was this the game they needed Messi for?

Sure, it’s always good to have your best players. But this was a chance for new coach Pep Guardiola to get a feel for his other players and give some of the newcomers a chance to prove themselves.

This was just another step forward for the Spanish giants in their quest to put last season’s disappointing run behind them.  They are doing well thus far—smoking every opponent they have faced.

It will be interesting to see with which lineup Barcelona starts the season. They have so much new talent and many players that can be successful at every position on the field.

One worry that plagued Barcelona last season and could come up again is their defense.  They have four strong players at the back, but because of their preferred 4-3-3 format they do not have the midfield help and the back line is often left alone.

Barça is at their best when their midfield and forward players are controlling so much of the ball that it does not matter because the opposing team never has the ball enough to be dangerous.

The real tests for this team will come once La Liga and the Champions League seasons begin in earnest and we see how this team responds to adversity—exactly what caused so many problems last season.

If the preseason means anything, though, Barcelona is going to be a team to be reckoned with in every competition this season.

I cannot wait for Dec. 14 at the Camp Nou for the first installment of El Clásico between Barca and Real Madrid.

Another note that I just come across in reference to Barcelona: Why are they going after Berbatov? Where would he play? Maybe on the six-man front line of Messi, Henry, Eto’o, Hleb/Gudjohnsen, Krkic, and Berbatov?

The MLS could be on the verge of losing another one of it’s brightest stars to Europe.

LA Galaxy and US national team midfielder/striker Landon Donovan has been contemplating a move to the English Premier League over the past couple of weeks, according to goal.com.

“I’ve had in my mind for a while now that if I have an opportunity, a real opportunity, a good opportunity, to go somewhere, that I would examine it,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

Who can blame the guy. His team is currently in fourth position in the Western Conference and just went through a massive shakeup as their head coach quit and their GM was fired.

At 27 years of age, it makes sense that Donovan would be interested in expanding his horizons and seek better competition.

“The older I get and the more I play, the more I’m yearning for that highest level I can play at,” Donovan told the English press. “I think the Premiership would be the best place [to] play.”

But how would Donovan fair in the EPL? In his two previous stints in Europe—both with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen—he did not do well at all.

The English game, though, is much different from that played in Germany.  The Bundesliga is known for their slow, methodical, pounding style that does not fit Donovan’s aggressive, slicing game.

If he does indeed move to England, Donovan will have to adjust to the extremely physical style of play, but the up-and-down attacking game would fit right in to Donovan’s skill set.

While it would be a sad day to see Donovan leave MLS, I think it would be a great move for one of the league’s greatest players and a huge boost for the US National team that is lead by Donovan.

Maybe it was a dream on my part to think that the US squad had any chance at a medal or to even get out of the group stage at the Olympics.  Really, what was I thinking?

I should have rethought after the team barely scrapped by against a poor Japanese side, and I should have rethought after the team blew a lead in the next round on a stoppage time goal to the Netherlands.

But I guess I was too caught up in national pride.

I even set my mind to waking up at 4 a.m. to watch the team play Nigeria live. What was I thinking? Sure I did that during the World Cup in 2002, but that was a World Cup. This was the group stage of the Olympics. This is basically a U-23 tournament.

Somehow the US gave me hope that these players—the future of the country’s national team—were a special group and were capable of greatness.

I guess I was wrong.

Sure they put up a good fight. And that draw against the Dutch—no matter how heart-breaking—showed that the USA has risen to a level where they can at least compete against some of the best in the world.

I concretely believe that if it was not for the stupidity of Michael Orozco and his completely unnecessary elbow in the THIRD MINUTE that lead to a red card, the US would have at least managed a draw against Nigeria and advanced.

But it was silly errors like Stuart Holden’s foul that lead to the free-kick goal against the Dutch, Freddy Adu’s silly yellow card against the Dutch that ruled him out against Nigeria, and then the straw that broke the camel’s back was Orozco’s utter idiocy this morning.

When you are an underdog, you cannot make mistakes. And that is exactly the mistake the US made.

This team is very good, and many of these players will be on the senior national team before long, but they better learn from their mistakes.

For the third time this season the Chicago Fire defeated the New England Revolution.  The perennial Eastern Conference contenders are currently the top two teams in MLS and both harbor championship hopes.

But on this night—and the previous two meetings between these two teams—Chicago had New England’s number. They have won the three games by a combined score of 9-1.

This game was by far the most challenging of the three as the Fire had to come back from an early goal off the head of recently healthy striker Taylor Twellman. But thanks to a sinking knuckleball from Gonzalo Segares and a rebound from Wilman Conde, Chicago got the win and pulled to within one point of first place.

Chicago has been knocked out of the playoffs the last three seasons by the Revolution and the rivalry between these two teams seems to grow every year.

Budding rivalries like the Fire versus the Revolution are exactly what the MLS needs to continue pushing forward and improving their standing in the world of soccer.

Both Chicago and New England have been paving the road for the growth of MLS, especially in the past two seasons.

Chicago made one of the largest splashes last season when they signed Mexican international Cuauhtemoc Blanco. And they have continued their quest for international talent with the acquisitions of the Colombian, Conde, Lider Molina from Paraguay, and recently acquired Marco Pappa from Guatemala.

The Revolution have been one of the top teams in MLS over the last two seasons, finishing runner-up in the last two MLS Cups, and becoming the first MLS team to win the Superliga title.

These two teams are on the forefront, driving MLS in to the future that looks very bright. It is great to see this rivalry grow and blossom.

Here are the top eight stories today and my not-so-humble opinion on them.

1. Brett Favre and the J-E-T-S? Who saw this one coming? I don’t think Favre will pull a Namath and win a Super Bowl, but I do think he takes a team that won just four games last season to the playoffs.

I also would like to see the Jets release Chad Pennington already so that the Bears can add him to their stable of unreliable, mediocre quarterbacks. One positive about Pennington: he is much better than Grossman and Orton.

The Patriots are safe on the top of this division for at least another year.

2. In honor of Landy I will delve into the Packers. This was a huge mistake. Plain and simple. ESPN’s Rachel Nicols asked the question that I would like to see answered: “Are the Packers better off with Aaron Rodgers than Brett Favre?”

How can they answer that with a yes? They have never seen Rodger play for a whole season, and while I am sure he will be decent, Favre is a Hall of Famer. There is no comparison. This is a win now league and the Packers just shot themselves in the foot.

3. Because we are The Looper I have to mention something having to do with golf don’t I? How ironic would it be if Sergio Garcia won the PGA Championship this weekend? The man that was expected to challenge Tiger Woods wins his first major with Tiger sidelined with an injury.

But, to tell you the truth, I hope he wins it. I think without the pressure of having to beat Tiger, Garcia will be loose and this could mark a significant turning point in his career if he is able to pull it out. He is just one shot off the lead after most of the field finished the first day and he is one of the top five most talented golfers there so why not?

4. Have you lost count of how many players Georgia has suspended this season already, because I have. They are named the preseason number 1 and immediately their players begin to act like they just won the National Championship.

Let me be the first to say that I don’t think Georgia will finish in the top 20. They obviously don’t have the maturity or leadership, their coach, Mark Richt, doesn’t have the experience to withstand the pressure and while their star running back, Knowshon Moreno, will be a front runner for the Heisman, he is not prepared to lead this team through the heart of an impossible SEC.

5. Can’t you see it now. Kids all over L.A. with dreadlock wigs and wearing number 99 Dodgers jerseys on Halloween as the Dodgers battle deep into the playoffs behind midseason acquisition, Manny Ramirez. So far Manny has hit four home runs in just six games and has energized this team that was struggling mightily to score runs.

I still can’t believe the Red Sox made the trade. I know Jason Bay is good—I have seen him 16 times a year when the Cubs play the Bucs—but he is not Manny. This is a team that is fighting for their playoff life and they traded away their best bat.

If they are able to overcome the Rays and withstand a run from the Yankees and make the playoffs it won’t matter but I don’t know if they will be able to without Manny in their lineup.

6. Sticking with baseball, how can I not mention the Cubs. Just a week and half ago people said they were going to fail as they fell into a tie with Milwaukee. But just five days later the Cubs were the proud owners of a four game sweep of the Brewers and a five game lead in the division.

Since that series the Cubs have continued to roll winning nine of their last 11 games. Meanwhile the Brewers have been winning but have also been fighting—Parra and Fielder’s little shoving match in the dugout the other night—and seem frustrated after not taking advantage of a great opportunity with Chicago in town for four games.

In no way am I writing off the Brewers but I do think they need to pull themselves together the rest of August in order to avoid a catastrophic collapse like we witnessed last season.

7. Why is there football on tonight? It is not that I am not ready for football—it reminds me that fall is coming and that is always a good thing—but it seems so early for people to be hitting each other.

Am I going to watch any of the games tonight? No. Maybe I will turn on the Bears game for five minutes to see Orton beat up by the Chief’s fourth string defense, but otherwise these games are absurd.

These EXHIBITION games are more for the coaches than anyone else and all the hoopla that comes from these games is completely ridiculous. The football writers need to wait until at least Labor Day, please.

8. I guess I will finish up with the Olympics, which begin tomorrow. I am excited to see the summer games. Great athletes competing in the largest competition in the world is always good time.

Highlights for me have to be whether the USA basketball team can actually win gold, Michael Phelps (why did he grow that disgusting ‘stache, by the way?) run for eight golds and how many people asphyxiate do to the poor air quality.

Should be a good time had by all.

So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed and hope that it inspired Nicks and Austins everywhere to come out and write once in a while.

Good news from Spain’s defending Champion, Real Madrid, as their star midfielder, Wesley Sneijder, will only be out for three months and not the previously feared six.

The injury, suffered on a vicious tackle by Arsenal’s Abou Diaby in a friendly on Sunday in the Emirates Cup, was originally diagnosed as a torn cruciate ligament according to El Marca newspaper.

But after an MRI Monday Real Madrid reported on their Web site that Sneijder will avoid surgery and will only be out three months.

While this is much improved over the original assessment, it will still leave Madrid with out an integral piece for at least the first two months of the season, which is scheduled to kick off August 31.

Possible Replacements

Los Blancos did not any waste time adding midfield help in the form of Sneijder’s compatriot, Rafael van der Vaart. A deal that had been in the works for a few weeks between the Spanish club and Hamburg of the Bundesliga finally went through on Monday.

The 25-year-old van der Vaart—a central midfielder—will not directly replace Sneijder, who spent most of his time on the wings, but will be able to take on some of the playmaking responsibilities lost with Sneijder.

It will be very interesting to see how Madrid lines up to begin the season because Van der Vaart is much in the same mold as a Madrid standby, Guti, and manager Bernd Schuster will have to decide if the two of them can play together.

Besides Van der Vaart, the injury to Sneijder directly effects two players seeking transfer: Madrid’s Robinho and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

I have read a few reports that say that the loss of a Sneijder will prompt Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon to step up his pursuit of Ronaldo, but I think this is completely the wrong move.

Real currently sports an imposing midfield and the last thing we need is another midfielder and especially one that is more focused on himself than the team—every player in this midfield is going to have to learn to share time.

A much better move would be to prevent Chelsea from signing Robinho. The Brazilian is incredibly skilled and is extremely dangerous streaking down the wing. Playing on one wing opposite Arjen Robben, Robinho can excel and help drive Madrid towards its title defense.

For a team that is weak at the back and thin up front after Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who are both aging, there are much better places to spend money than on more midfielders.

The Midfield Log Jam

Sure there is always the issue of what to do once Sneijder comes back and increases the log jam in the midfield.

Currently Madrid has three defensive midfielders in Mahamadou Diarra, Fernando Gago, and Ruben De la Red who all deserve playing time. I could see at least one of them tested out more in the center of midfield.

The heart of the Madrid machine will be run by Guti and Van der Vaart. Guti is one of the most inconsistent players for the team, but when he is on, he can be the best distributors of the ball in the world. Hopefully the young Van der Vaart can learn from the veteran Gutti and slowly take his place with the starting eleven.

Los Blancos also have Royston Drethe, Julio Baptista, and Javi Garcia in the midfield mix, but none of them have proven that they deserve consistent playing time as of yet.

How Schuster decides to figure out the players in the midfield could well determine how Madrid does this season.

What do you think Madrid should do in the middle? How much will the loss of Sneijder effect Real’s drive for their third league title in a row?

During the half time report at the MLS All-Star game, MLS commissioner Don Garber stated that the Brian McBride saga is over.

Sure this saga was nothing compared to Cristiano Ronaldo-to-Real Madrid, but for fans of MLS—especially those fans of the Chicago Fire and Toronto FC—this has been drawn out far too long.

While Garber would not say full out that McBride is on his way to Chicago, he did say a deal was done and an official announcement would be made tomorrow.  He also said that it would be nice to see McBride playing in Chicago

These comments along with McBride’s persistence on playing for the Fire, lead this writer to believe that ex-Fulham player will soon be playing in Chicago.

This deal has been in the works for weeks and it looks like it was finally completed. Toronto FC owns the rights to McBride and Chicago needs to complete a deal with them in order to aquire the striker.

While I have no idea what Chicago gave up for McBride, I am sure it was worth it.

After a dry spell, the Fire have improved and currently sit third in the Eastern Conference behind the New England Revolution and the Columbus Crew.

For a team that is traditionally strong in the second, the addition of McBride would be a huge boost for the Fire.

Paired with the likes of Cuauhtemoc Blanco, John Thorrington, and Chris Rolfe, the Fire could possess one of the top offensive teams in the league to go with their already stingy defense that has given up only 14 goals in 16 games this season.

Should be fun to watch.

When the summer transfer window opens, owners and managers make lists of players they would like to sign, but rarely are they able to complete what they set out to do. That is unless you are Atletico Madrid boss Javier Aguirre.

At the beginning of the summer Aguirre set out a list of six players that he needed to sign to push his team to the next level.  Of those six, he has signed five—all since July 1.

Aguirre has used the momentum from a surprise fourth place finish in La Liga last season and the prospect of playing in the Champions League this season to reel in five top players:

Tomas Ujfalusi. The defender captained the Czech team in the recent European Championships and had a strong season with Serie A’s Fiorentina last season.

Florent Sinama-Pongolle. The French striker is just 23-years-old and scored an impressive 22 goals last season with Recreativo in Spain.

Paulo Assuncao. The Brazilian midfielder spent last season in Portugal with three time champion FC Porto.  His arrival most likely spells the end of the line for Portuguese midfielder Maniche.

Gregory Coupet. The French goalkeeper joins Atletico from Olympique Lyon where he had won seven straight league titles.  While he is 35-years-old, he is still considered one of the best in the world.

John Heitinga. The most recent and the most expensive of the signings, Heitinga is a strong defender who was at only 24 was named the Netherlands’ player of the year last season.

These players will be added a team that is stacked with young talent in every part of the field and will surely challenge their cross-town rivals to the crown in La Liga this season.

One place where Atletico was weak last season was on the back line.  They were known for scoring goals but also giving them up.  Heitinga and Ujfalusi, along with Coupet, will immediately fortify the back line and give the talented midfield more freedom to roam.

Speaking of the midfield, Atletico has one of the most creative and dangerous midfields in La Liga and possibly the world.

While Assuncao is expected to play right away, it may be hard to sqeez him in.  The midfield is led by Argentine playmaker Maxi Rodriguez and Portugues winger Simao.

Last season Raul Garcia played in a more holding midfield position often joined by young star Ignacio Camacho. Liverpool cast-off Luis Garcia, José Reyes, Jose Jurado, Cleber Santana will all be fighting for playing time in the center of the pitch.

Up front was where Atletico were extremely dangerous last season.  The pairing of Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero and Diego Forlan combined to score 44 goals last season and was one of the most dangerous pairs in the world.

Add Sinama-Pongolle to that mix and this team is sure to score a lot of goals.

Atletico has not appeared in the Champion’s League in the last 11 years but with this club they have a chance to make a deep run.

If nothing else, Aguirre signalled the rest of La Liga—especially Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Villareal—that they are here to stay and are prepared to win.

Spain newspaper El Marca is reporting that Real Madrid have come to an agreement with 25-year-old Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.

The Dutch midfielder would join fellow countrymen Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the attacking half for the defending La Liga champions.

After being linked to Tottenham earlier this summer, van der Vaart had reportedly said he would rather stay with Hamburg than leave for a club at the same level. But he did hint that he would be open to a move to one of the major clubs in England, Spain, or Italy.

Over the last two summers Madrid has signed four dutch players—Robben, Sneijder, and Royston Drenthe joined the club last season—and will now sport five on their roster.

After watching this year’s European Championship, it looks like Madrid hope to replicate some of the attacking prowess that the Oranje showed in Austria/ Switzerland.

When my friend sent me a post from the German newspaper Kicker announcing the trade this morning, the only word of the article I understood was “Madrid.”

Both Kicker and El Marca are reporting that a deal is done with van der Vaart and a transfer is expected to be completed with over the next few days in the neighborhood of €20 million.

Where will van der vaart fit in with Madrid? The Spanish giants seem to have an abundance of attacking midfielders with Robben, Sneijder, Robinho, Baptista, and Guti.

If recent reports are correct, Robinho could be on his way to Chelsea which would explain Madrid’s thinking when bringing in van der Vaart.

Another big issue this raises is Los Blancos’ interest in Cristiano Ronaldo. Earlier this summer the transfer looked inevitable but with talks slowing down lately and this deal, it looks less and less likely that Ronaldo will join Madrid.

With this deal all but finished, here is a look at what Real’s starting lineup could look like as they attempt to defend their La Liga title:

GK: Iker Casillas.

DEF: Fabio Cannavaro, Sergio Ramos, Gabriel Heinze, Pepe.

MID: Fernando Gago, Sneijder, Robber, van der Vaart.

ATT: van Nistelrooy and Raul.

This is an incredibly potent team that can score goals and will not give up many. They also leave Bernd Schuster a lot of options whether he wants to play a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1, he has the players.

What do you think about this transfer and what it will do for Madrid this next season and what it means for Ronaldo’s future with Man U.

A report this afternoon stated that Michael Ballack could potentially miss Sunday’s Euro 2008 Final against Spain.

Soccernet reported that Ballack suffered an injury to his right calf. The German midfielder missed training on Friday and then again on Saturday night—24 hours before the match.

The effects of not having their star midfielder in the final could be devastating for the Germans.

Ballack has been hot and cold all tournament long—scoring two goals but also struggling against Croatia. Regardless, Ballack is incredibly important to his side and would be sorely missed.

Spain’s major weakness against the Germans will likely be in the air and without Ballack the German’s will be without one of their most dangerous aerial weapons.

The German Football Association said that the situation on whether Ballack would play or not is still “fully open.”

Can Germany win without their captain?

No matter how many times I say that it does not get old.  It has been 44 years since Spain last won a major tournament, but Sunday they will have their chance.

The game was not pretty for the first half with both teams playing more to avoid defeat than grab the victory.  But that all changed in the second half when Xavi buried a shot/pass from Barça teammate Andres Iniesta.

From that point on it was all Spain. The Russians looked the part of the inexperienced, overmatched side and could not recover from the Spanish goal.

The goal actually made things much worse for the Russians who were suddenly forced to attack with more players and thus leaving their back line unprotected to the deadly Spanish counter attack.

A one goal lead soon expanded to two on a beautiful flick from Cesc Fabregas that found Daniel Güiza alone in the box.  Güiza chested the ball down and then used his right foot to flick the ball past the diving Igor Akinfeev.

Spain added one more goal for good measure when Iniesta found Fabregas streaking down the left hand side of the pitch.  Cesc settled and found David Silva in the box for his first goal of the tournament.

Spain now enters their biggest test of the tournament against the pre-tournament favorite Germans.

Here is a look at the keys to Spains victory over the Russians:

1. Depth

The depth of this Spanish side cannot be understated.  It was on display against Greece in the meaningless group game when 10 new players started for Luis Aragonés and won.  And it was on display again tonight

When the tournament’s top scorer, David Villa, went down with an injury in the first half, Aragonés brought on Fabregas and Spain adjusted their lineup from two strikers to a formation with Fernando Torres up top alone.

Cesc made an immediate impact—he assisted on the goals by Güiza and Silva—and controlled the midfield well along with Marcos Senna.

Fabregas, the youngest player on the Spanish squad and the star midfielder at Arsenal, will most likely take Villa’s place in the final after he was ruled out with a quad injury.

Spain will miss Villa for sure.  There is no doubt about that.  But this team is very deep and will be able to adjust.

2. Sergio Ramos and the defense

I was not a fan of the way the Real Madrid defender had played in the first four games of the tournament.  I thought he went forward too much without any results and struggled at the back.

That all changed against Russia.

Ramos got forward like always but, this time, he was incredibly dangerous.  He took on, and beat, defenders and played a few very nice crosses into the box.

But what impressed me most about Ramos was his play at the back.  Sure a few times he was beaten, but every time he fought back to win the ball.  His sure play shut down Yuri Zhirkov who has caused so many problems going forward this tournament.

The solid play by Ramos set the tone for the rest of the defense as well.  Throughout the tournament, Spain has looked shaky at the back and vulnerable, but except for a couple of early chances for the Russians, the back four were a rock.

Casillas is a great keeper.  And a goalies best friend is a solid defense and only had to save one shot against Russia.

3. Counter Attack

I have written this before, but I will say it again: Spain is at their best when they are running at teams.

They are amazing on the ball and are the best passing team in the world.  But they spend way too much time moving the ball in circles without actually accomplishing anything.

This was the story in the first half of the game.  But then things changed.

In no way am I saying the loss of Villa was a good thing, but it did cause more of the midfield players to get involved at run at goal without the ball—exactly how Xavi scored.

And then the next two goals were pure counter attacks after Russia began to push everyone forward—very reminicent of the first game between the two teams when Spain won 4-1.

Against Germany it is most likely that Torres will be up front with five midfielders behind him.  While he and Villa worked great together, Torres is better suited to working up front alone and making magic in the counter attack.

It will be something Germany will have to be weary of, especially if Spain takes the lead and Germany must push more bodies forward.

4. Superstitions

Spain is known for coming up short in every major tournament and being unable to live up to expectations.

The team seems to have shaken all of those sentiments this tournament.  First it was defeating Italy—on the dreaded June 22nd and on penalties no less.  Then came the dreaded yellow jerseys—mustard colored according to the very superstitious Aragonés—that did not seem to slow Spain down against Russia.

Now the only thing that stands in the way of Spain and breaking their “curse” is the Germans.

No matter what team lines up for Spain on Sunday, the game should be incredible.  Both teams are world powers and the game should be a true slugfest.

HALA ESPAÑA!

I will put it out there right now: I don’t care much about hockey in general. But Barry Melrose made me care.

Whether he was calling a game or analyzing games in the closing moments of SportsCenter, I loved the mulleted man.

Melrose was the best analyst in any sport.

He was simply a joy to listen to. And no matter what he was talking about it was entertaining and more educational than any other analyst.

Hockey is a sport in the United States that has begun to fall behind the other big four national sports in recent years. And in accordance, ESPN dedicated less and less attention to it, but still Melrose was there in the studio doing his thing and giving life to hockey.

And if the three minutes he was given during SportsCenter was not enough (it never was) there was always the Melrose Line—one of two podcasts I was willing to listen to week-in and week-out.

Melrose and his savvy commentary and incredibly deep knowledge will be sorely missed by hockey fans and non-fans alike.

Tampa Bay got a steal when they brought Melrose in. He has a genius mind for the game of hockey and with talent like Vincent Lecavalier, No. 1 pick Steve Stamkos, and Martin St. Louis, look out.

I am not predicting Stanley Cup the first year—or any year for that matter—but I do know that the Lightning are a lucky team and fans of the NHL everywhere will sorely miss his witty commentary.

Even though Jim Morrison of Doors and Wayne’s World 2 fame most likely was not predicting the course of soccer in America over the 30-plus years since his death, the guy couldn’t be more right.

After a recent scoreless draught against Argentina, Spain, and England –– three of the world’s soccer elites –– which included a scoreless draw against Leo Messi and the Argentinians, you’d think that Morrison was right, and I’d agree (in spite of the fact that I don’t like The Doors).

Yet, whatever the case may be, the U.S. side isn’t eligible for the “Not Enough Athletes” excuse, which is reserved for mid- to low-major college basketball teams taking on, say, North Carolina.

To say that most of America’s top athletes don’t play soccer is an acceptable contention. That would be like saying that more people go out for MTV’s Real World than Road Rules nowadays because, seriously, when have we last seen a new Road Rules that wasn’t on at 3 a.m.

To say that America’s top athletes don’t play soccer and therefore hinder the sport’s levels of success and growth, though, is just wrong and missing the point.

For my money –– and I don’t put it out there unless I’m sure (except, um, at the track) –– soccer or football, depending upon where you are, has the best pound-for-pound athletes in the world.

As much as you would like to knock soccer, you cannot fight the fact that soccer players have to play at a run, without timeouts, for 90 minutes or more. For the best players this means running a 10k or more. I’m sorry, but I doubt that Kobe Bryant or Lebron James could keep up into extra-time –– Leo Messi (photo), Cristiano Ronaldo or Michael Ballack could run circles around either of them.

Add supreme eye-foot coordination (odd, yes), body control and touch to the sheer endurance from above and you have a superior athlete, looking at any soccer player could tell you that. There is no excess muscle or weight on a soccer player, they simply couldn’t get around the pitch with it.

In terms of mental toughness, soccer athletes are not the most impressive. This honor must go to golf, the ultimate head game. Tiger Woods’ recent U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines is proof enough. Woods went out with not just a bum knee but a knee that was barely serviceable and won the most grueling tournament in the sport. The mental toughness of golfers is beyond doubt.

To speculate what big-time athletes in other sports would make great soccer players is a crap shoot, largely because while the other major sports are in the trend of having BIG players, soccer is still a game where smaller athletes flourish.

(See: Messi, Robinho, Rafael van der Vaart, Cesc Fabregas and Franck Ribery –– all under six feet.)

The best American athletes are, generally, just too big for soccer. To wonder what success a team of Kobe, Reggie Bush, David Eckstein, and Tiger Woods would make is an impossible, pointless task, comparable to predicting the career success of those very same Real World cast members.

What it comes down to, and what you can actually make a case for is that U.S. soccer has not experienced enough success to create the popularity necessary to lead more athletes to the sport.

The athlete base is there: The U.S. can draw from more talent than can France, England and Germany combined. The draw is the thing that isn’t.

The cultural dynamic will begin to change the day after the U.S. wins the World Cup –– until then, it’s just paddling upstream.