PTS

Yep, like when everyone in the media was praising the Obama administration for working with the Muslim Brotherhood after the fall of Hansi Mubarak. From day one, Beck was the only idiot screaming and shouting about them being really bad people with goals that basically go against everything we believe in. Oh wait, the idiot was the only one right. Or when he said from the administration did nothing in Benghazi because they didn't want to expose their gun running to Syrian rebels who are basically Al Qaeda.

http://m.si.com/3216007/u-s-holden-suffered-torn-acl-in-gold-cup-final/ Poor kid. Can't shake the injury bug.

I'll echo your thoughts Cugalabanza. Spot on. Holden news could be devastating. His injury saga is starting to remain me of John O'Brien from the early 2000s. Absolutely top class midfielder for the US who could never stay healthy and reach his peak. In good news, 22-year-old forward Aron Johannsson announced today he is filing a one-time switch to join the USMNT program. He is a dual-national: US-Icelandic, born in Alabama of all places. Once the paperwork is accepted by FIFA, he is officially cap-tied to the US. VERY good player that will excel in Klinsmann's system. He can play striker, CF and both wings. Additionally, 20-year-old stud John Anthony Brooks looks very likely to also join the US over Germany. He has been called up for next month's game in Bosnia. It's not a cap-tying game. If he does commit, he'll very likely become the best CB in our pool. This tournament proved that the depth of the program is getting VERY strong. Now it seems like anyone with American ties wants in. This will be a team to reckon with come 2018 ... maybe even next year. There will be a lot of good players cut from the World Cup team, something we could never say before.

I'm really disappointed in Mexico losing. The coaches, players and fans for El Tri have this cocky arrogance about them and how they believe they are far superior to the USMNT. Even with the US beating them often over the past 15 years, they still believe it was only through luck or bunker play. This US side would have smoked Mexico in the finals playing a style Mexico hasn't seen. That said, Panama has the better squad and deserve to be in the finals. They will make it tough but I still fully expect a multiple goal victory. As for Landon Donovan, soccer players (non-goaltenders) almost always regress when they hit 30. He's one of the very few that I can think of that actual get better with time. I'm all for him taking a sabbatical to Cambodia every year if the results stay the same.

Still not sure why CONCACAF plays both semi-final games at the same venue, hours apart. They essentially design the tournament so the USA will always play Mexico in the finals. I think it's safe to say that most of the stadium will be empty when US takes on Honduras and it will start to fill in toward the end of the second half when the Mexican fans stroll in. That said, this is CONCACAF. I shouldn't expect anything else. I know the USSF has asked for more control over the ticketing situation so they can get the supporter groups taken care of. I'm sure there will be more than a few dual-national Mexican-American fans. I've been to two USA-MEX games, both 2-0 for the good guys. Each game we saw plenty of green shirts being taken off late in the games to reveal US jerseys. As for the games, this might be the best I've seen the US ever play. They are firing on all cylinders and I'd expect at least a 2-3 goal victory. As for Mexico, they are simply a mess. They will have to claw their way to victory like they did against Trinidad in the quarters. I think they go to extra time with Mexico eventually beating Panama.

Reminder: USMNT kicks off Gold Cup tomorrow night at 8pm PT (11pm ET) in Portland versus Belize. Should be an ass-kicking. In Group A, Mexico lost to Panama yesterday (they are crumbling right now) and Martinque beat Canada on a last second screamer. Winner of this Gold Cup will play the winner of the 2015 Gold Cup for the right to go to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. US demolished Guatemala 6-0 three nights ago in a friendly. The big story was the comeback of Donovan, Holden and Onyewu. Donovan scored two (50th and 51st career goals) while Stu Holden was dropping picture perfect passes all over the field in the 45 minutes he played. I was skeptical of Holden being able to return to his pre-injury form but those 45 minutes have me and many Bolton fans very encouraged. Klinsmann has said he is very excited about Holden and Friday's game proved why. If injuries don't become a problem, the US will be stacked at midfield. Gooch still looks a bit slower than before but he won EVERY single ball in the air. I think if he can keep getting games, he will be in Brazil. His size, toughness and aerial prowess are needed. The other great showing was by Mix Diskerud who I rate very highly. He entered the game in the second half at CM with Holden and they both were vital to orchestrating the five goals in the final 45 minutes. As I mentioned the US is looking pretty damn good in the midfield. Moving Donovan up to a central forward role (like they did in the second half) improves the attacking options. Donovan even stated after the game that this cycle will have the most talented depth of any he's been apart of. If Klinsmann can shore up the backline, US can make noise in Brazil. Especially if they get a good group draw.

I'm a beach bum and have been to my fair share of beaches around the world. My current favorite is Kiawah Island in SC. It's my family's go-to destination now. We just got back from a long weekend there in early June and have another trip planned in August. That said, I'm also a big fan of the beaches in Punta Cana, Maui, Kauai and pretty much any beach on Oahu not named Waikiki.

Game's not over but Ghana will do the US in yet again. They are up 2-0 and the Young Yanks look sub par today. Disappointing way to end the tournament. Still think there are a players we will see soon on the national team. Gil, Yedlin and Cuevas to name a few.

AS IF IT COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE: Boston investigators are now investigating Hernandez for a double homicide that was committed last June. http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/22702430/2013/06/27/source-hernandez-investigated-in-boston-double-killing

If you want to slam your head against a wall, go to Twitter and search #SCOTUS to see reaction to this ruling. There are so many uninformed citizens in this nation. The only thing worse is the moronic "celebrities" that comment when they simply have no clue about anything in the real world. This is also too funny: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/25/democratic-lawmaker-hits-justice-uncle-thomas/

Yes, unless they get one of the top eight seeds -- which will not happen even if they win every game 5-0 between now and the draw. I believe the top eight seeds (actually seven as the host nation is always the first seed) will be based on the flawed World Rankings. That said, FIFA has a history of changing the seed formula if they want to favor certain nations. http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/index.html

Totally agree.

For those of you that don't know, the FIFA Under 20 World Cup is going on right now with US playing in the Group of Death. After losing to Spain 4-1 in their first match on Friday, US got a big 1-1 draw against France this morning. Now they need a good result against Ghana on Thursday to move on. Overall, I'm very impressed with the style the young Yanks are playing with and how Tab Ramos is coaching them. I think we are starting to see an overall vision that Klinnsman wanted from the youth level up. The scoreline from Friday was not indicative of how the game was played. The USA was very aggressive, held much of the possession against Spain but was killed on counters. Spain's goals came from guys that already play for Barcelona and Real Madrid and are already considered stars. The French team is no different. They featured a player in Pogba who plays central mid for Juventus. Pretty much the entire team is made up of guys that play in France's Ligue 1. For a team of a few budding MLS stars and college players, they are doing well. I just hope we don't trip over the Ghana hurdle like the men's team has done twice in last two World Cups. Next game against Ghana is Thursday at 1pm on ESPN or ESPN2. On a side note, I closely follow the U20 team and believe it's a good indication of where the national team will be in 3-5 years. I attended the Under-20 World Cup in Canada in 2007 and that US team featured many of the mainstays on the current USMNT. If not for torrential rain and what I would consider anti-American officiating in the knockout stages, that team would and should have won that tournament or at least played in the finals. This current U-20 side is missing three or four top class guys that would be starting in some key positions. There is a lot of talent coming up the system and I think we are going to see a big boost in the quality of the national team as depth gets much better over the next cycle.

One of the benefits of being first generation Polish-American is getting married because Polish people go nuts with weddings gifts. It's like they need to out-do each other. On average, we got about $150-$200 per head from my Polish relatives and friends. My wife's family is half Polish-American and half Italian-American. I've heard Italians are the same way with weddings. One of the funny trends we noticed was that foreign-born guests gave the most on average, first generation guests gave the second most, followed by second generation and so on. Another trend we noticed was that the guests that we would consider most affluent gave far less than the normal guest. We also had 3-5 guests that barely covered half their cost of being there but we expected that and would never hold it against anyone. Needless to say, our entire wedding and three week Hawaiian vacation were well covered and we still banked a big chunk of change after that. When it comes to giving gifts, we typically give $200 unless the bride and/or groom attended our wedding. In that case, we usually give the same amount they gave us. As a guest you should take into consideration the venue, open-bar or cash bar, quality of meals that will be served, etc.

I think it's actually at 9pm start time. With how all the other games are turning out, three points tonight would open up a big gap between them and the fifth place team (which doesn't qualify to Brasil or a playoff against New Zealand). Winning the next two would surely do the trick and would allow Klinsmann to try out some new players. There are a few young, promising dual-nationals as well that he might want to cap-tie to the USMNT.

Finally finished off Season 4 and I loved it. Very well done, great writing and I loved how the episodes all tied into each other. It was a very interesting way to do the season. I'll probably watch it again soon and concentrate on the background stuff that I missed the first time around. I think my favorite episode was Maeby's. Also hearing that Netflix wants more seasons if the cast wants to do more.

I've read that this season is getting mixed reviews. I'm five episodes in and absolutely loving it. I'm wondering if it's because some of the viewers are new and not "in" on all the subtle jokes.

Watched most of the first episode this morning. We've got lots of family staying with us this weekend so I wasn't able to keep watching but the show did not miss a beat. You'd never know it just came of a 7-8 year hiatus. I can't wait to watch the rest. Looks like they are full 30 minute episodes.

Chicago thug politics is now infecting DC. What a joke. Looks like it might have to do with the Fast & Furious investigation. Will Eric Holder say this, too, was the most dangerous national security leak he's ever seen? I'll say it again, this Obama administration is filled with corruption at all levels and it will be exposed sooner or later.

@jboyst62: Do you recommend any markets in Charlotte? Took the family to one by the airport which I thought was pretty good.

I get that a lot. TPS I am not. I've been trying to stay away from politics and this forum but this administration is a disgrace.

I always said that as soon as Obama's out of office, the rumblings of mass corruption in his administration would begin. Looks like we don't have to wait that long. This administration is doing their best to keep their tabs on anyone that could potential harm it. That's why they selectively cherry-pick which leaks they go after. You leak a story that makes Obama looks good, no problem. You leak a story that makes him look stupid/bad/corrupt, start running. He's honestly made Nixon look like an amateur.

Those Cascadia soccer clubs are first class organizations ... along with their fans.

Jimbo was excited for JP ... and for Trent ... and for Fitz? Well maybe not the last one but of course the greatest QB in franchise history is excited at the chance that another QB will bring the Bills back to prominence.

Go with Green Giants. Leylands are more prone to deers and bug diseases. Both grow fast and look almost identical. Leylands handle hot summers better while Green Giants handle cold winters better. To maximize growth rates make sure your soil is getting the right nutrients. A soul test would be wise. Miracle-Gro also makes great fertilizer stakes for evergreens that people swear by.