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OK, so I’ve been away while and I’m trying to catch up. So let’s recap the going’s on with sports…

Soccer:

DC United vs CD Olympia
DC United wrapped up the second leg of their games against Honduran team CD Olympia. They won at RFK 3-2 on two goals by Luciano Emelio and another by Christian Gomez. They move on to the next round against Mexican team Chivas of Guadelajara.

My take on the home and away series? Well, there is some good and bad. Offensively, we look real good. The trio of Christian Gomez, Jaime Moreno and Emelio brings back some very happy memories of the old “Magic Triangle” days with Raul Diaz Arce, Jaime Moreno and Marco Etcheverry. Gomez has picked up right where he left off, and Jaime looks pretty good. Emelio give DC the presence they haven’t had since Esky in 2004, a guy who will stay high, pressure the defense, and really sell out just to get a goal.

The defense, however, is still a huge question mark. They gave up lots of chances, and frankly we got lucky that Olympia was not a good finishing team. Against Chivas, we could be in real trouble unless we tighten up in that area.

And the experiment with Olsen on the wing I count as a complete failure. He just doesn’t have the pace to run up and down the sidelines anymore. And with Erpen behind him that is just a disaster waiting to happen… oh wait, it did already. Olsen in center midfield works great and thats not a slight against Clyde Simms who took over that holding midfield role in this round, but rather just that Olsen is so good at it. This all just confirms that we really, really need to pick up a winger somewhere, somehow.

Links to news:

DC United in General

  • Dominic Mediate is waived. He suffered a broken leg last year, and I’m guessing he wasn’t recuperating the way DC was expecting, so they let him go. Since we are already VERY thin at the wing position, that makes me think either a) Coach Soehn thinks Olsen is the answer… in which case, we are in serious trouble b) Soehn thinks that one of the young guys like Moose, DeRoux, or McTavish is the answer… fair enough c) there is a new signing coming in who plays the wing position… I think this is the most likely outcome especially given the hints dropped by Goff and BigSoccer poster Red&Black.
  • Marco Etcheverry takes on new role as “Special Consultant to the President”. The title includes scouting and such. Link for more info here.

Beckham
Of course he hurts his knee :) He should be back in 4-6 weeks in plenty of time to get back to match fitness and join the LA Galaxy this summer. Link to news here.

UEFA Cup games today and tomorrow
Catch the games on ESPN2 at 230pm, or on ESPN Deportes (if you get that channel) has like 3-4 games per day. Liverpool vs Barcelona highlight today’s action and Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich highlight tomorrow.

U20 gets their World Cup Draw
As you probably already know, the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada starts this June. The draw was held on the 3rd and the US got put into a group with Poland. South Korea, and . . . (wait for it) . . . (take a deep breath) . . . (drumroll please) . . . BRASIL. Ouch, thats a tough group. Full news here, quotes from the players here. Also, ussoccer.com has a neat page just for the U20 World Cup here which includes Total Access videos, podcasts, photos and more.

Football

Redskins
Outgoing:

  • Derrick Dockery – This is what always seems to happen. We get a guy who was very raw (3rd round from Texas in 2003), we spend time to groom him to be a respectable player in this league, and then we let him go. He signed for about $7million per year. I’m not terribly upset as I don’t think he was *that* good especially for that kinda money, but we are real thin on the offensive line and losing him doesn’t help that.

Incoming:

  • London Fletcher – Over 30, middle linebacker. Fills a need and he has been very productive and knows Greg William’s schemes. Of course this is still trying to fill the hole that was left open when Antonion Pierce left a few years ago…
  • Fred Smoot – This is a hit or miss one. He didn’t play much last year for the Vikings due to either poor play or injuries depending on who you ask. He played well in the system and we really need a 3rd corner so having a trio of Springs, Smoot and Rogers would be pretty good. That is unless Springs leaves (if he hasn’t already) which then leaves us with Smoot and Rogers and I’m not so comfortable anymore.