Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A Must-Win for US Soccer

Last Friday Jamaica delivered a blow to the US men's soccer team giving them 2-1 loss in Kingston, Jamaica. Tonight, the US will be playing in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd in their unofficial home of Columbus Crew Stadium in Ohio. The US has never lost here in qualifying, and they'll need the support to beat the feisty Jamaicans. The US will have to defend better after the disaster in Kingston on Friday. Luckily, defenders Steve Cherundolo and Carlos Bocanegra, both of whom are very solid and vital members of the team, should be on the field for the match tonight. And with the anniversary of 9/11, the threat of elimination and the wiles of head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the US should have the motivation and the players to beat the Reggae Boyz and keep their 2014 World Cup qualifying hopes alive. It's not time to panic yet, but it is a good idea to be concerned. I still have confidence they'll win tonight, though.

Monday, September 10, 2012

White Sox need to get their act together

I'm going to take a break today from the potentially divisive political posts and focus on something else: Sports. My beloved Chicago White Sox have been surprising everyone this year, especially since they were expected to finish in last place in the AL Central. However, they've been leading since May. But they've been struggling since the beginning of August and have only won 3 of their last 10 lately. That's not how a Division leader should be playing, but thankfully, the Tigers have been playing just as bad. It's a wonder the Sox even have the AL Central lead, especially when they keep losing to Kansas City!

Yesterday the White Sox had multiple chances to win the game, but couldn't, and they guy they had at the plate (Onyedo, I think) swung at pitches that were so obviously bad that I think he was desperate. That's not how a team should be playing at this point in the season. The Tigers are coming up, and the White Sox have played just as poorly against them as they have the Royals. They need to win some games or else this season will be over. I just hope that Robin Ventura has something up his sleeve. He's surprised me many times this season, so he might just do that.