Time for Buckeye to Rant

Earlier this week, the LA Galaxy announced that it would play a friendly on Thanksgiving against FC Kaiserslautern of Germany. This marks the third consecutive season in which the club has played a "postseason tour," obviously for the purpose of growing the Galaxy brand on a global stage. 

Though it is common for European clubs to take preseason jaunts around the world, playing extra games after the season has concluded is quite rare. These postseason tours are unfair to the players, not only because they have to be away from their families on a holiday (the game is in Germany), but also because they deserve a break between the end of the season and the beginning of their offseason workouts. Should the Galaxy reach the MLS Cup Final this year, they would have to fly out the very next day for the Kaiserslautern game. 

A postseason tour does nothing for players trying to make a case for more playing time the next year because they have not had the opportunity to improve over the offseason. I know that everyone in the Galaxy front office is anxious to get all the can out of David Beckham while he's still on the team, but he'll probably be on his way back to Milan anyway to rejoin the Rossoneri in the middle of their season. 

There's a reason nobody watches the NFL's Pro Bowl-once the Super Bowl has ended, fan interest shifts to other things. Once the MLS Cup has been played, the Galaxy's interest should do the same. 

Buckeye out.

Davies injured in car accident

Charlie Davies is in stable condition at a Washington D.C. area hospital after he was injured in a one-car accident in suburban DC. A spokesman for US Soccer told ESPN News Services that Davies' injuries were not life threatening.

It is unknown if Davies was the driver or a passenger of the car when it crashed into a guardrail of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The Washington Post reported that one of the three occupants of the car was killed on impact.

Information ESPN News Services and the Associated Press were used in this posting

Thrilling Win puts Americans back in the World Cup

With a 3-2 win in San Pedro Sula, the US Men punched their ticket to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It was the first time in 18 matches that Honduras had lost in San Pedro Sula.

The Americans came back from a 1-0 second half deficit, with Conor Casey finding the back of the net less than ten minutes after Honduras took the lead. Casey enjoyed his first international goal so much, that he scored again in the 66th to give the US a 2-1 lead.

Casey's second goal came just a minute after the host Hondurans nearly took a 2-1 lead, but were denied by the fingertips of Tim Howard.

Landon Donavon scored on a free kick to give the US a 3-1 edge just five minutes later. Honduras would add a second goal in the 78th minute, and came close to tying the game several times in the last ten minutes.

In the 82nd minute, Maurcio Sabillion nearly put a bicycle kick in the top corner. Five minutes later, Jonathan Spector was whistled for a handball in the penalty area, but Carlos Pavon sent the penalty kick over the bar. Pavon had a chance at redemption in the 89th minute, but missed on a wide open header.

The win put the US through to their sixth straight World Cup.

USMNT Preview-Honduras

This Saturday, the US Soccer team could clinch a birth in the 2010 World Cup with a win. The one obstacle in its way-Honduras, currently 3rd in the qualifying group and hungry for a rare trip to the globe's greatest sporting event. On top of that, the US will battle a hostile crowd (always a given in Central America) in San Pedro Sula. The biggest key for the Yanks coming out of the gate is possession. Besides scoring, overwhelming possession is the best way to take a crowd out of a game, not to mention the frustration that would mount on the Hondurans. The US will be without Clint Dempsey, one of its most prolific scorers as of late, due to injury. Because of this, look for Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo) to get the biggest start of his career tomorrow. Holden has the skills to maintain possession and create opportunities on goal (his cross to Charlie Davies late in the Mexico game nearly created a 2nd goal). In other roster news, veteran defender Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) was added to the roster at the last minute. Hejduk probably will not see the field on Saturday, but he's a great presence to habe in the locker room for such an important trip. Other than that, the song remains the same as far as what we would like to see from the US-attacking early and often, and not sitting back in a prevent once they go ahead. Los Catrachos' sole World Cup appearance was 27 years ago-to say that they will be motivated with such a big game at home is an understatement- they are currently only a point ahead of Costa Rica. Falling into that 4th position would mean a 2 game playoff with CONMEBOL's (South America) 5th place team, most likely Lionel Messi and Argentina. Despite all of these points of interest, the biggest story about tomorrow's match is about television coverage. The Honduran Federation sold the rights to a US Closed-circuit TV company, so the game will only be available on pay-per-view. Check ussoccer.com or TSG for a list of locations around the country showing the game.

Buckeye out