Changes Have Arrived

Thank goodness for my disclaimer.

Two days after I told everyone that Toronto would take a while to unload Darren Huckerby's rights on the San Jose Earthquakes, the teams went and closed the deal.

Luckily my contract contains a clause that shields me from liability for predictions that don't pan out, but still I'm surprised and a little disappointed that it happened so quickly.

Anyway, it's done and right now I -- and everyone else who covers MLS -- am trying to figure out what Toronto will receive in return for Huckerby's rights.

Several blogs have speculated that San Jose will send allocation money, and that would make sense given that John Carver and Mo Johnston have been talking all season about signing a high-scoring striker, and that such a player would cost more than a little cash.

But at the moment it's speculation.

That's why people like me work phones, hoping to bring you details while we all wait for the league to finalize the deal....

We'll see what emerges.

IN THE MEANTIME....

...I'm well-known overseas.

Well, not exactly, but the Star's TFC coverage recently got a little pub in England.

This is the soccer non-purist in me speaking, but I'd never heard of the MK Dons until early June. That's when Lee Scriven, the journalist who puts out their game-day program, emailed me, explaining that he'd be in town filming the latest installment in his online soccer travelogue. For some reason, folks over here told him I know my stuff, so he wanted to know if I'd take a few minutes to give his viewers the straight goods on TFC and MLS.

So I talked and he filmed.

I returned to work and he edited.

I forgot about it and he remembered.

And yesterday he sent me the link.

The highlight (or lowlight, depending on what you think of me) begins about 5:15 in.

-- Morgan Campbell

Transfers, All-Stars

A few of you had sent comments and emails asking me why the opening of the MLS summer transfer period seemed to have moved from June 15 to July 15, so I made a few phone calls and found your answer.

Turns out the league's pre-season literature contained a typo. Even though this year's official MLS Factbook says the transfer period starts in mid-June, opening day has always been July 15.

Last season FIFA mandated a 60-day summer transfer window, running from mid-June to mid-August. This year, according to my guy at the league, FIFA wanted a month-long transfer period, prompting the shift to July 15. Apparently this was all decided before the season, but not reflected in the Factbook.

So now we know.

ALL STARS I

TFC's head coach John Carver is still in the running to coach the MLS All-Stars against West Ham on July 24.

MLS awards the All-Star gig to the coach whose team has the highest points per game as of June 29 and right now TFC is one of four teams with a chance to top the league in that category. New England, Columbus and LA are the others.

So what will it take to put Carver in charge on July 24?

TFC would have to defeat New England at Gillette Stadium this weekend, Columbus would have to lose and the Galaxy would have to lose or tie.

The other possibilities are numerous, and the league outlined them in its weekly newsletter to the media. For clarity's sake, I'll paste them below.

* If the Revolution defeat Toronto FC, Steve Nicol is the All-Star Game coach.
* If the Revolution tie Toronto FC and Columbus loses or ties, then Steve Nicol is the ASG coach.
* If the Columbus Crew defeat the Colorado Rapids and New England ties or loses, then Sigi Schmid is the ASG coach.
* If Toronto FC defeat New England and the LA Galaxy win and Columbus loses there is a two-way tie with Carver and Gullit each having 1.714 points per game.
* If Toronto FC defeat New England and the LA Galaxy win, and Columbus ties there is a three-way tie with John Carver, Ruud Gullit and Sigi Schmid each having 1.714 points per game.

Tiebreakers work the same way they do in the playoffs. Head-to-head records first, then goal differential, then fewest goals against and so-on.

But somehow I don't think it'll come to that.

REUTERS PHOTO

TFC leading scorer and a good quote: Dichio is an all-round all-star.

ALL STARS II

All-Star voting closes July 2 and I'm literally in the middle of filling out my ballot. Here's my team so far:

GK -- Jon Busch, Chicago

D -- Marvell Wynne, TFC; Jimmy Conrad, K.C.; Adrian Serioux, Dallas

M -- Becks, L.A.; De Ro, Houston; Amado Guevara, TFC

F -- Landon Donovan, L.A.; Danny Dichio, TFC

You guys who hate Landon Donovan (and I know there are PLENTY of you in Toronto) probably find it ironic that I've got him paired with Danny Dichio, but TFC's leading scorer was actually my third choice at forward. I would have selected Edson Buddle but he's not on the ballot.

(Sidebar on Donovan: I know local fans can't stand him but from a media standpoint he's one of the best players in the league to deal with. Always makes time for the press, always forthright with his quotes. You've got to respect that, fans, even if you don't like him.)

Now, you may have noticed that I've only chosen nine guys, but as I said, my All-Star ballot is still evolving.

They asked me to choose up to five midfielders and I could easily add Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Guillermo Barros Schelotto to this list. Stats certainly say they deserve it. But as much as I hate playing coach, I had to think tactically for a second:

If I add Blanco and Schelotto to the midfield, who's going to play defence?

Answer: Nobody.

So I'm still seeking two defensive midfielders. I'm keeping my ballot open until early evening and listening to any and all suggestions.

** Just before I posted I added Shalrie Joseph to my ballot. It's nice to actually see the first-place team represented. Anyway, still seeking one defensive-minded midfielder....

-- Morgan Campbell

Carving up the national team...again

It's Tuesday, which means John Carver's unhappy with the national team.

Any national team.

Just about every national team.

Last week Carver was miffed that Canada's head coach, Dale Mitchell, hadn't called him to discuss how the two teams would share players, even after TFC training staff helped treat national team standout Julian de Guzman.

This morning Carver complained that the U.S. national team keeps grabbing Maurice Edu for games in which they don't really need him.

Edu, the 2007 Rookie of the Year, will miss yet another MLS game this weekend because of U.S. World Cup qualifying.

Carver says there's nothing wrong with that.

He's more upset that this past Sunday Edu dressed for a U.S. squad that featured only six MLS players, playing about half an hour in an exhibition against Argentina, but missing Toronto's game in Houston.

Carver points out that Houston stars Brian Ching and Ricardo Clark have played for the national team in the past but weren't called up for Sunday's game, so they played against TFC. He thinks the U.S. national team should have done TFC the same favour with Edu.

But since they didn't, Carver came up with a new rule.

No national team games for anyone except for FIFA match dates.

Period.

Yes, Carver realizes that all MLS teams lose players for international games, but he suspects that the CSA and U.S soccer don't respect TFC the way they do more established clubs, leading them to borrow TFC players more liberally whether or not they plan to use them.

"I've got no interest in what happens outside of here," Carver said. "If it's not an international date, I don't care who it is. They're not going. This has hurt Toronto more than anyone else in the MLS."

Hemming and Hawing

Tyler Hemming has signed with TFC.

Again.

You probably remember that the team released him in late April, dropping him from the roster as it signed Oliver Tebily. Evidently Tebily's presence started a chain of events that ended with the team offering Hemming to the developmental roster, with the pay cut that goes with it. Hemming wasn't interested, so the team waived him on April 25.

Both the player and the team seemed to move on.

Less then a week after his release Hemming returned to BMO Field with the New York Red Bulls reserves, but didn't stick with the team.

He later flew to Sweden for a 10-day trial with Hammarby IF, where he says he played well but, couldn't win a job on a squad already stocked with midfielders.

Meanwhile TFC kept making deals, and Jarrod Smith's promotion to the senior squad opened up Hemming's old roster spot, and earlier this week the team phoned to ask if he wanted it back.

Of course he did.

If you're keeping track, Hemming has gone from opening day starter to the end of the bench, to Stockholm and back to BMO Field -- all since the end of March.

At 23 he'd like to settle in and start his career somewhere, but says he's made peace with the itinerant life of a young soccer pro.

"For two years I've been basically living out of a suitcase," he said. "But that's what I signed up for. I could have a 9-to-5 job, but I wanted to to this and I chose to do this."

-- Morgan Campbell

Au Revoir Altidore...McBride? Maybe, maybe not

Looks like the last time we saw Jozy Altidore in Toronto will be the last time we see Jozy Altidore in Toronto.

Unless MLSE can manage to lure Villarreal here for a friendly.

Our friend Ives Galarcep is reporting that the Spanish club has bought the New York Red Bulls' teen phenom for an MLS record $10 million.

To put this potential transaction into perspective, think about this:

When Freddy Adu, the previous "next big thing" in American soccer, and a player way more famous than Altidore among mainstream sports fans, transferred to Benfica last summer, he commanded "only" $2 million.

If this move pans out the timing is ironic. On Monday our friend Ives penned a story for ESPN.com exploring whether the hype that has surrounded Altidore since he entered the league had finally gone to the 18-year-old's head. The story detailed a slackening of Altidore's practice habits and a decline in his playing time.

The folks at Villarreal either didn't read the story, or read it and didn't care about what the unnamed sources had to say about Altidore. Red Bulls boss Juan Carlos Osorio defended his young star, saying he's got a bright future in the sport.

Looks like that future will arrive this summer.

MORE ON MCBRIDE

Elsewhere on his blog Ives speculates that Wednesday morning's trade -- Pat Phelan to New England for an international slot -- was a prelude to a deal between TFC and Chicago for former Fulham striker Brian McBride.

I wondered the same thing when I received the news at practice, but I'll be damned if I could get Mo Johnston to clarify it for me afterward. He was at his oblique, evasive best when I asked him whether the Phelan trade set the stage for future deals. After tree or four minutes of talking a lot but saying very little, Johnston chuckled.

"You're not much further forward, are you?" he said.

Nope.

But it's the dance we do. My job is to ask questions, and his job is avoid answering them directly if that's what serves his purpose. Sometimes speaking honestly to the press might jump start a dormant deal, and those days you might get something truly useful. But as far as McBride is concerned, all parties involved are keeping the important info real close.

Still, Johnston did manage to illuminate the situation a little, though I'm still not sure he did it intentionally.

To recap, McBride is a Chicago-area native looking to return to MLS after four seasons with Fulham. He wants to play for the Fire, but TFC own his MLS rights.

Johnston is sympathetic to McBride's wishes but says TFC has needs too.

"It's nice to have a dream and to finish your career in front of your hometown fans," he said. "But to make that possible Chicago needs to come deal with me."

Add yesterday's comments with Johnston's assertion last week that TFC was "looking for something big" in return for McBride's rights, and the picture becomes a little less murky.

TFC wants to make a deal but wants Chicago to offer more.

Either way, McBride can't play anywhere until the transfer period begins in mid-July, so there's time for the two teams to reach a deal.

But which side will get what they want?

And what happens to McBride if they can't agree?

Stay tuned

-- Morgan Campbell

Truly Bush League

A couple of weeks back we talked about ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, and co-host Mike Wilbon's assertion that the streamer tossing common at Toronto FC games is "bush league."

In that post I argued that while TFC fans' streamers are annoying and maybe a little played out, they're an ultimately harmless expression of the fans' enthusiasm, and not among the top factors damaging soccer's credibility among mainstream sports fans stateside.

Nineteen days after I wrote that true hooliganism would drag MLS into "Bush League" territory faster than streamers alone ever could, the fans at Crew Stadium in Columbus illustrated exactly what I meant.

If you haven't already read the stories or seen the clips, understand that throughout last Saturday's home game against New England, Columbus fans showered the field not just with streamers, but with sausages (apparently it was $1 Bratwurst night), lit flares and, after Kheli Dube's game winner in the 89th minute, racial slurs.

Listen closely to that youtube clip and a little past 22 seconds in you'll hear some Columbus heckler drop an N-bomb.

Who knew Michael Richards was a Crew fan?

Anyway, the league has already responded to the incident ... sort of.

Here's all of what commissioner Don Garber had to say about it:

"We are investigating reports of incidents from the May 24 match between the Columbus Crew and New England Revolution and will take appropriate action based on our findings."

I'm not kidding when I say that's the entire statement. Enlightening, I know. They're not even investigating the incidents -- just the "reports" of them.

Way to take a stand, guys.

I put in a call to the league (waiting for a return) to find out if MLS has guidelines regarding fan behaviour or if they leave it to teams to set the rules in each stadium. When I find out I'll fill you guys in, but after Saturday it wouldn't surprise me to see the league try to legislate fan behaviour in the future. This is a very image-conscious league, one still trying to gain traction with the elusive "family" demographic in several U.S. markets. They can't risk turning off the "family" crowd with boorish fan antics.

I'm not a gambling man -- if I were I'd cover a gambling sport, like horse racing, or the NBA -- but if I were I'd bet on MLS banning any and all projectiles at games.

Three weeks ago Garber defended streamers, calling them a "unique phenomenon that happens all over the soccer world." Instead of shunning streamers, he said we should all "embrace the passion and electricity that makes soccer the world's most popular sport."

But that was then.

After reading media reports about Saturday's match there's a pretty strong perception that streamer throwing leads to more serious misbehaviour.  You don't have to believe that theory any more than you buy that marijuana is a one-way street to harder drugs. Plenty of streamer tossers would rather eat expensive stadium food than chuck it at somebody, and would never dream of levelling a personal, let alone racial, attack at an opposing player. But the perception exists that one form of heckling leads to the next, so expect the league to act on the perceptions.

Enforcing a ban on projectiles seems pretty simple. Search fans when they enter the stadium and confiscate what you find, then have security and police deal with anyone who still manages to throw something onto the field.

But what about the racial slurs. You can stop people from bringing streamers to the stadium, but how do you stop them from talking? Does a foul language ban at TFC games stop fans from swearing?

Exactly.

When it comes to racial slurs and other offensive language fans are on an honour system, but clearly folks like Mr. N-Bomb from Columbus don't care much for honour.

So with their image at stake, what's the league to do?

I'll find out as soon as they call me back.

-- Morgan Campbell

Coach ducks dive-bomber

And so it was on to Montreal last night for the second game ever at Saputo Stadium against the Impact.

The atmosphere was outstanding for a chilly weeknight, or any night, in no small part because of the scarf-waving, scarlet-clad crazies who made the trip from Toronto and stood throughout the game - they even scored the sunniest corner of the north-facing stand. Well played.

As for the action on the pitch, well, it took a while for TFC to find their feet against lower-league opponents who, it has to be said, looked like they were distinctly up for it.

Much of that had to do with the local supporters. Indeed, even the Montreal seagulls were determined to get their licks at the boys in red.

In the first half, animated TFC coach John Carver was directing traffic from his technical area, as is his wont, when he looked up and saw to his horror one of the birds was making a divebombing run at his face. Cue the rapier-like reflexes as the affable Geordie ducked and stumbled out of the way.

"I nearly died there!" a grinning Carver said after the game. "At least the crowd got a laugh out of it."

Sean Gordon

Making plans with Nigel

Enjoyed tonight's 1-0 victory in the pressbox flanked by Toronto football's renaissance man Nigel Reed, and MLS's top beat writer, Steve Goff of the Washington Post.

Nigel was clearly not enjoying a night off from his CBC play-by-play duties. As play went on, he kept up a running commentary under his breath. Though, removed from the booth, he was freer to let his rooting tendencies show through.

"C'mon ... head up, head up. ... That's IT! ... right now ... ooooh, poor pass .... well done, Marvell, well done," Nigel went on for 90-plus minutes. This was great stuff, like your own personal broadcast. It also helps when you've got your head down tapping during the action. Always know when something's up.

About half way through, Goff leaned in to me and said, "Is that guy, like, a fan or something?"

"No, he's the TV play by play guy."

"Oh. Got it," Goff said and tucked his head back into his keyboard. We both kept an ear open. Good job, Nigel, as always.

----

Toronto FC coach engaged the Shola Ameobi-to-Toronto FC rumour the way he engages all rumours around this club - in a maddeningly oblique way. He commented on how well he knows the former Newcastle striker, what a marvellous talent he is, how much he would have cost three or so years ago when top teams still wanted him.

He added a strange aside about how much Ameobi enjoys the "North American lifestyle" including sports like hockey. Hockey? For real? Somehow that seems like a sop to the Toronto audience but we'll see.
The final word was: "If we could get Shola to this club, I'd be delighted."

So definitely. Maybe

---

Carver also said that Jarrod Smith is very close to cracking the starting XI, one presumes in place of the out-of-touch looking Rohan Ricketts. Bottom line: the change will not happen while the club is still winning. But if this team needs a roster shake-up to jog the offence in the case of a loss, Smith will clearly be the first option.

Cathal Kelly

I Heart Huckerby? Still?

With his season in England over and his contract with Norwich City finally expired, Darren Huckerby has reappeared on TFC's recruiting radar.

You guys might remember the rumours that few around this winter that he wanted to follow John Carver across the pond and sign with TFC, and that the team was interested him despite his age (32) and the chronic hip problems that sidelined him at times this season.

TONY BOCK/TORONTO STAR

John Carver's radar still stretches across the pond.

Right now Huckerby -- who was recently named to Norwich City's all-time, all-star team -- isn' t saying much about a potential move to MLS.

But after a short practice this morning Carver cleared up a few things about the team's reputed courtship with the 5-foot-9 striker.

Yes, TFC is interested in him. They have indeed filed a discovery claim with the league, giving them the first right among MLS teams to sign him.

No, they haven't offered him a contract.

Carver says Huckerby's aware of the club's interest in him, and it's up to Huckerby, who scored five goals in 26 league games this season, to make the next move.

But right now the he's waiting.

ON SOCCER TALK

Those of you who still lament the lack of soccer jargon in my writing will be pleased to know that Saturday evening I used the term "final third" in a post game chat with Danny Dichio.

And he didn't laugh in my face, so I must have used it correctly.

See? I'm learning.

But I still draw the line at "pace."

-- Morgan Campbell

Toronto v. Red Bulls reserves

Toronto Red Bulls

On a gray and gusty Friday morning at BMO Field Andrew Boyens trotted out on to the turf at BMO Field to begin the second half of the reserve game between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls.

Just as he emerged from the tunnel a handful of TFC fans (hardcore ones; the kind who do crazy stuff like, I dunno, show up the cold morning after a frigid night game to watch the reserves) started heckling him about his jersey.

A brand new, long-sleeve Red Bulls model, number 25. So new it didn't even have his name across the back.

The fans thought it sucked, and they told him so.

But they knew he didn't have much choice about it.

Boyens was the second pick in TFC's inaugural draft last January, but as we discussed a few posts ago, a flurry of April transactions made him expendable. The team left him in Toronto when they traveled to L.A. to play the Galaxy, then released him not long after beating Beckham and them.

He didn't stay on the market long.

Quickly, his agent arranged a week-long audition with the Red Bulls. That week turned into another, and the second week led to a contract.

And all that led him back to BMO Field, where he spent Friday morning trying to keep Jeff Cunningham off the scoresheet.

"It's kind of ironic, really, to be watching the game last night and enjoying the home support," he said. "It's good to see that the team's doing well, and I'm happy to be playing here as well...At the moment it's about adjusting to a new team and trying to play my way into a good situation."

Boyens played all 90 minutes today, but with Kevin Goldthwaite and Jeff Parke anchoring New York's central defence, he said it's too early to tell when he'll make the game day roster.

Either way, he says he's grateful for the new gig, and not bitter at all about the way he left Toronto.

"I definitely miss Toronto...but that's the life of a professional footballer. You sometimes have to move around," he said. "Hopefully a missed opportunity here is a new opportunity in New York.

And while the three weeks have taught Boyens that this business can be ruthless, they've taught Tyler Hemming the power of networking.

TFC's signing of Olivier Tebily last Friday started the chain of events that ended with Hemming - a starter in the season opener - out of contract and back home with his parents in London. When they learned Hemming was a free agent the Red Bulls grew interested, but didn't know how to find him.

Enter Boyens, who passed Hemming's contact info to Red Bulls brass. They phoned Hemming Wednesday, and Friday morning he started the reserve game.

But unlike Boyens, Hemming's not sure where he's headed next. He says he's trying to decide between the USL, Europe or another shot at MLS.

As far as the Red Bulls are concerned, though, Hemming says he's just waiting for a call.

Tebily - You can't teach size

This guy is big.

When TFC finally signed him Mo Johnston talked about all things he would bring to TFC's central defence - pedigree, experience, professionalism.

It all sounds good but it's all abstract. I'm a concrete thinker, so I needed to see something solid.

Like the hit Tebily laid on New York's Ricky Schramm Friday. It didn't look to me like Tebily tried to flatten the guy. I just know (with a nod to the Fugees) that two bodies can't occupy the same space at the same time, so when the two men met near a loose ball, it wasn't pretty. Think Smart Car hitting a Hummer.

Tebily's a big, big guy, and you can't teach size.

Later on Tebily and New York's silver-haired striker John Wolyniec met in mid air. That one got ugly, too. Think golf ball versus medicine ball. It ended with Tebily standing tall and Wolyniec lying on his belly, holding his head. Not injured, but clearly hurt.

When he finally rose Teblily walked over to say something, but I don't think Wolyniec even noticed. He was too busy limping and rubbing this throbbing head.

So if you want to know what Tebily contributes, just ask Wolyniec.

As soon as the ringing in his ears stops.

Oh Yeah, the game

2-1 TFC. Goals from Joey Melo and Kevin Harmse. New York goal from Sinisa Ubiparipovic.

Hope that helps.

-- Morgan Campbell

On Soccer Terms

Received a lot comments on my last post. Minus my own comment we're at six braces and counting...that's 12 for the soccer impaired.

Seems it unsettled a few of you to learn that I have no interest in speaking soccerese, either online or in print. But before I pointed it out how many of you even noticed?

Two posts ago, when I wrote that few MLS players can match Marvell Wynne's "flat-out speed," were any of you confused? Did any of you think to yourselves "I wish he had used 'pace' because I don't quite know what 'speed' means..."?

After reading Wednesday's story about Julius James, were any of you still in the dark about his "match fitness," because I didn't use that exact phrase, or did you understand that he's just about ready to play?

Exactly.

I know you guys are smart, so I don't worry about you making the intuitive leap from soccer jargon to plain English.

So before any more of you wonder whether I'm trying to alienate my readers by excluding certain phrases from my copy, you need to remember two things:

1. Changing location changes language

On some level even the most ardent soccer purist understands that. Toronto FC plays in Major League Soccer, and not "Major League Football." And they play at BMO Field instead of "BMO Pitch." Are any of you planning a campaign to scrap those names in favour of something more "football specific"? I doubt it. You understand that to market this sport in North American you have to North Americanize certain small details.

At the same time, while working the soccer beat, I've learned few words and phrases and synonyms specific to the sport -- "dead leg," "niggle," "transfer window," etc. -- but it doesn't mean I'll ever use them in my copy outside direct quotes.

I'm pretty sure that if the Indianapolis Colts played the Chicago Bears in London, writers there would discuss what happened in "training." They would talk about Devin Hester's "pace" and wonder if Marvin Harrison was "match fit" after the knee injuries that hampered him last year.

But I doubt they'd call Bob Sanders a "centre back."

After all, we're talking "football," not "football."

2. I'm a Writer, not a stenographer

When I covered cops and courts I dealt with police-speak every day. Following up on a police report I might phone the police station and hear something like this:

The incident began as a confontation involving two adolescent males, which then escalated into an altercation, which culminated in one of the adolescents receiving sharp instrument wounds to the abdomen.

In the paper I'd summarize it this way.

An argument between two teenage boys turned into a fight, which ended when one of the boys allegedly stabbed the other in the stomach.

Which account makes more sense to you? Which is easier to read?

The point here is that outside direct quotes, I don't have to speak to my readers the same way my sources and interview subjects speak to me.

In fact, it's usually better if I don't.

What I have to do is tell good stories in language everyone can understand, which often means replacing genre-specific jargon -- whether it's "a brace" or a "sharp instrument wound" -- with something more universal that enlightens the uninformed without insulting the experts.

Everyone understands "two." Everyone understands "stab."

That's writing 101....

Still with me?

Good.

On of the commenters, I think it was "Skinn," asked me for my official position on the use of soccer specific terms....

SO HERE IT IS

For me, they fall into three categories.

First, you have terms specific to the game. These are words you MUST use to make any story make sense....free kick, six-yard box, player positions, etc. I learned the hard way that soccer doesn't have a "crease," and I can't call a centre back a "free safety" just because I'm comfortable with American football terminology. In this instance, you learn the language and you use it in your stories.

Then you have phrases that could go either way. Personally, I'm comfortable with either "supporter" or "fan." I realize that in other sports a "reserve team" might becalled a "practice squad," but day in, day out, "reserves" works for me.

After that, you have what I lovingly call "soccerese." These aren't "soccer specific" terms. They're just terms soccer people like to use, terms that have perfectly suitable plain English synonyms, and terms that sound fine with an English accent, but sound utterly pompous when uttered by people like me.

For example, if I'm writing about T.J. Ford, I'm writing about his speed. If I'm writing about Jose Reyes, I'm also writing about speed. So why if I'm writing about Dane Richards, do I suddenly write about "pace"?

How does that make sense?

It's pretentious, so I avoid it.

Same goes for "fitness," which sometimes refers to conditioning and sometimes refers to health. If a guy is healthy I'll say he's healthy. If he's in shape I'll say he's in shape.

And a brace?

Didn't even know what it was until January. I had to ask Cathal Kelly.

And again, this is something I think readers understand when they think about it. Last year I took a lot of heat when I wrote that Danny Dichio "crashed the crease."

Fair enough.

But two weeks ago when I mentioned that Landon Donovan had both L.A. Galaxy goals, nobody emailed me asking "where's my brace?"

And if you had I'd have said, "it's on your ankle, where it belongs."

Off to practice now... I hope this blog didn't make me late...

-- Morgan Campbell