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Gold Cup

I guess MLS is in the final stages of negotiating Busio's transfer to Venezia in Italy. $10-$11M transfer fee PLUS other incentives from Venezia.

MLS may be more willing to hold on to Dike and pay him more as he is clearly a huge marketable name for them.
Busio has an EU passport. Dike does not.
 
Busio has an EU passport. Dike does not.
OK, for someone not in the know on all these things, is that only meaningful because it's easier to get Busio into Italy right now with all the COVID restrictions in place? Or is that a factor in terms of roster spots. I know MLS can only have so many international players per roster...do other countries have similar restrictions?
 
Donovan Ricketts used to always tell my son's team "Pass with purpose".
Walter Schnoor used to always tell my team "go Ace!" As in "you better get moving, you pain in the ace!"

I'm other words, be more direct! Too much tippy tappy.
 
I guess MLS is in the final stages of negotiating Busio's transfer to Venezia in Italy. $10-$11M transfer fee PLUS other incentives from Venezia.

MLS may be more willing to hold on to Dike and pay him more as he is clearly a huge marketable name for them.
I guess MLS is in the final stages of negotiating Busio's transfer to Venezia in Italy. $10-$11M transfer fee PLUS other incentives from Venezia.

MLS may be more willing to hold on to Dike and pay him more as he is clearly a huge marketable name for them.
Dang, the American owner is overpaying already. I wonder how long he is going to last there.
 
What a trip it would be to play in a place like that. I wonder what he picked up that club for. The stadium only holds around 8k right at the end of Venice
Pull up in your yacht to the stadium to watch a game then grab a Gelato at half time. Break open a bottle of local Prosecco after the game. I dig it. Baylor wishes they could be that cool.
 
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Pull up in your yacht to the stadium to watch a game then grab a Gelato at half time. Break open a bottle of local Prosecco after the game. I dig it. Baylor wishes they could be that cool.
So Baylor's marina was a cool thing for students when I worked there back in the late 90s. Students, faculty, and staff could check out paddle boats, skiff sailboats, and kayaks to cruise around the Brazos. There was also this small hill leading into one of the dock areas and I learned that one of the favorite past times of Baylor student groups was to go buy 3-4 25lb blocks of ice and then go "Ice Blocking". You basically sat on this giant piece of ice and slid down the hill into the river. It was a little crazy.

I don't know what building McLane Stadium did to that area of campus.
 
So Baylor's marina was a cool thing for students when I worked there back in the late 90s. Students, faculty, and staff could check out paddle boats, skiff sailboats, and kayaks to cruise around the Brazos. There was also this small hill leading into one of the dock areas and I learned that one of the favorite past times of Baylor student groups was to go buy 3-4 25lb blocks of ice and then go "Ice Blocking". You basically sat on this giant piece of ice and slid down the hill into the river. It was a little crazy.

I don't know what building McLane Stadium did to that area of campus.
I mean. It’s a bit different when the main mode of transportation in your city is a boat.

I wonder if the Venician club can get some sort of sponsorship with a Doge-Coin business. It would make too much sense!
 
Pull up in your yacht to the stadium to watch a game then grab a Gelato at half time. Break open a bottle of local Prosecco after the game. I dig it. Baylor wishes they could be that cool.
About 100 yachts dock on the pier at the edge of Husky Stadium in Seattle. We tailgated on the boat, enjoying freshly caught fish homemade into sushi and fine local Washington white wine. Then strolled up the hill about 100 feet into the stadium. It was an amazing time and I’m by far not hoity-toity. Weather was perfect. The trip up took about an hour up there through Puget sound to the stadium from where we launched. You can also take a water taxi to the game from downtown for like $50 round trip. Highly recommend you pull out the stops if you go to the 2023 TU game up there.
 
About 100 yachts dock on the pier at the edge of Husky Stadium in Seattle. We tailgated on the boat, enjoying freshly caught fish homemade into sushi and fine local Washington white wine. Then strolled up the hill about 100 feet into the stadium. It was an amazing time and I’m by far not hoity-toity. Weather was perfect. The trip up took about an hour up there through Puget sound to the stadium from where we launched. You can also take a water taxi to the game from downtown for like $50 round trip. Highly recommend you pull out the stops if you go to the 2023 TU game up there.
I’ve always liked the vibe in Seattle and the PNW in regards to the outdoors and the water. Been there a few times. If I knew how I would deal with the constant rain and I had the job opportunity I would absolutely think about living there somewhere.
 
I’ve always liked the vibe in Seattle and the PNW in regards to the outdoors and the water. Been there a few times. If I knew how I would deal with the constant rain and I had the job opportunity I would absolutely think about living there somewhere.
I've only been to Seattle once and it was in March. It was rainy/foggy the whole time except the day we were headed back. On that day Mt. Ranier all of a sudden appeared in my hotel window...we hadn't seen it all week. The food scene in Seattle is amazing even if I did have to explain to a coworker what "squab" was and why the Chinese restaurant needed 24 hrs advance notice if you were going to order it. I don't think we were there long enough to know enough about the area and whether or not we could live there full time. I think Seattle/Tacoma area would be fine...not sure I could really live anywhere else in WA though.

And the constant rain would drive me nuts.
 
I've only been to Seattle once and it was in March. It was rainy/foggy the whole time except the day we were headed back. On that day Mt. Ranier all of a sudden appeared in my hotel window...we hadn't seen it all week. The food scene in Seattle is amazing even if I did have to explain to a coworker what "squab" was and why the Chinese restaurant needed 24 hrs advance notice if you were going to order it. I don't think we were there long enough to know enough about the area and whether or not we could live there full time. I think Seattle/Tacoma area would be fine...not sure I could really live anywhere

And the constant rain would drive me nuts.
I’ve kinda been all over Seattle. Climbed Rainier with a group a few years ago. Spent time in and around the city as well as in Olympia which is a nice little town. That area is kind of a base for the American climbers who do a lot of the Himalayan excursions. A friend and I stayed at our guide’s house and we took his boat across the bay to go to an Indian restaurant. Interestingly, he was an Everest guide who’s wife was Nepalese so she knew the best things to order.

Before that I took a trip over there and visited North Cascades National Park and the Olympic Peninsula. The Hoh rainforest is really astounding.

I’ve thought about buying a sailboat and retiring up there. The rain might suck, but it doesn’t snow for 9 months of the year, and it doesn’t typically have 100+ degree heatwaves all summer like Oklahoma does.
 
Thoughts on the first half of US/Jamaica, maybe this game will teach the defense not to fart around with the ball in the penalty area. Short corners piss me off. When you put the ball in front of the net anything can happen, your player may get a shot, there may be a rebound chance, the keeper might fumble it or there might be an own goal. Hoppe had the best strike for the US and was robbed by the Jamaican keeper. On to the second half.
 
US wins 1-0 in probably their best overall game of the Gold Cup so far. Hoppe with a goal in the 83'. I like Hoppe. He can create, he's got a goal scorers mentality and he seems to be a good complement for Dike. Hoppe just needs to reign in his enthusiasm a bit. He can get a bit out of control. The more and more I watch Busio play against higher than MLS competition, I realize he is really raw. Acosta was really good tonight. The CBs played well. Moore and Vines really made things go as they found some good wide spaces today.

Qatar will be a different story on Thursday. They've got a really dynamic trio of guys capable of creating problems up top. Afif is a quality player who'll be playing somewhere in Europe after this tournament. He's too good of a player to languish in some Qatari domestics league.

Canada looked good tonight as well. They really made Costa Rica look miserable.
 
I am usually critical of Zardes but I thought he helped change the match tonight. He was finding space and positions to be dangerous.
 
It was a very exciting game and I think that’s primarily because of the aggressiveness of the Jamaicans. I also like Hoppe, he’s a dangerous man up front and would have had several goals in this cup if not for some excellent goalkeeping. He’s only 20 so he has lots of time to grow.
 
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I am usually critical of Zardes but I thought he helped change the match tonight. He was finding space and positions to be dangerous.
Yeah, I thought Zardes' activity up front forced Jamaica to change the way they played in the back forcing both CBs to play more centrally which also forces the wing backs to tuck in just a bit giving guys like Vines, Moore, and Roldan more space wide. It also allowed more space for the attacking mids (Lletget and Busio) as the Jamaicans sagged to clog the passing lanes to Zardes. Zardes is a veteran like that. Dike is still a pup at the professional and international game. He'll learn to find that space and make the dynamic runs.

Hoppe is also just a pup. He reminds me of a faster, taller version of Josh Sargent. Hoppe is already making those dynamic runs and he's good at attacking a defender 1 v 1. What he needs to learn is to make sure it's only 1 defender he's going at...there were 1 too many times last night he tried to take on 2-3 defenders. He has got that go forward mentality. He's also a dynamic goal scorer meaning he can beat you 1 v 1, he can beat you in the air, he can strike from distance, and his ability to crack a shot off a volley is exquisite. With more experience, he's going to be this generation's Clint Dempsey. And I love the fact that he commits to track back and play D. Schalke is going to turn him into a big payday after they sell him.
 
Hoppe has real fire. He goes at people and doesn't seem to put up with crap. I have a hard time believing he is going to be left off the qualifying team.
 
Hoppe has real fire. He goes at people and doesn't seem to put up with crap. I have a hard time believing he is going to be left off the qualifying team.
Who do you take right now as that back-up #9 (or even a 3rd...do you even take a 3rd). I am assuming that Sargent and Zardes are going to be the primary 2 in that scenario and then it would come down to Hoppe and Dike. Right now I give the edge to Hoppe because he appears to also be able to play outside but you would never start him over Pulisic or Reyna. He is a bit more physical than both Pulisic and Reyna though. Hoppe's 20 and apparently a late bloomer. Didn't they say something about him being released from his LA Galaxy youth academy team when he was 15? Unfortunately Hoppe was not able to single handedly save Schalke last season and they've been relegated to Bundesliga 2 for the upcoming season. We'll see...I do think he's got a tremendous upside and I hope we get to see him with Pulisic and Reyna getting him the ball. Hoppe makes some great dynamic runs but the quality of service he gets from this US "B" side is lackluster at best. Can you imagine him taking service from Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie, Tyler Adams, Dest, et. al.?
 
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If Dike shows up like yesterday, I think Hoppe, Sargent and Zardes will be the dudes. I am rooting so hard for Dike given he is from OK but I am also not naive enough to think Berhalter will do something stupid. Hoppe is dynamic enough to okay other places and not just up top though., which might give an opening for Dike. I have no confidence in our back line as it stands, which is obviously another topic but good lord, we have dudes getting burnt in one in ones, out of place and lack pace. If we see, Tim ream's name on TV, my wife and both pop beers and say we are in for a ride tonight. That said Kellyn Acosta was just killing it on tackles the other night. He reminded me of Jermaine Jones.
 
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Acosta looked much better in that central defensive midfield spot.
 
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Acosta and arriola always seem to be spoiling for a fight. There’s a difference between being tough and being an asshole.
 
Moore is too slow for the Qatar forwards so maybe Canon at half. That plus Zardes for Dike.
 
Arriola has also been very quiet so maybe Roldan there.
 
After a very shaky first half they looked much better in the second, putting pressure on the Qataris and coming out with the win. The key though was the Qatar player missing the penalty.
 
Turner ain’t bad.

Neither is Zardes.

/ducks
 
Really entertaining night of Futball. I do not follow clubs at all and had no idea that Canada had so many talented players. They have come a long way.
 
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Turner had great saves tonight. He is making a case for #1. Stefan may play at Man City but he also isn't playing as much.
Let us not forget Ethan Horvath as a #1 or #2 goalie who saved our bacon vs Mexico recently. Hopefully Turner will have a strong game in the final against them on Sunday. Well, I poor-mouth Zardes always since it's been about 3 years since he scored a meaningful goal for us until a couple days ago. Unfortunately, he's a lock for quals & the WC finals. Personally, I'd rather see Kristen Press as a center forward for the MNT than this guy.

What the hell's going on with Acosta? This guy believes he's the baddest dude in the land. Stupid fouls, always in the middle of controversy, pushing, shoving, etc. He's a walking red card & PK opportunity for the opposition. He's another that Beer?halter will surely have for the Finals.
 
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Over a quarter century later and I’m still pissed we didn’t have anyone better than Meola?! Lol, I should get over it already.
 
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This group of USMNT has started to gel once Berhalter figured out combos that worked. They've looked good the last 3 games. It's been a successful Gold Cup knowing this team is clearly the B team and a showcase for guys to see who is going to fill out the WCQ roster.
 
Mexico is ridiculous. Rude, stupid, dirty, not sportsmanlike. The last yellow should have been a red.

I made any number of obscene gestures at my TV when we scored. We are far and away the better team right now. This was mostly our B team against mostly their A team. Bastardos.
 
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