ESPN with the National Team All Summer Long

Hey everyone, you're going to get a great big update this weekend but for now I wanted to alert you to an ESPN article that is all the rage.

Fevered Pitch follows the US National team as they fight their summer battles. At each game for each game they have a unique write up, very good pictures, as well as video of the team doing all the things we don't usually see them doing. Hanging out, having fun, reviewing tape, getting ready for games, feeling it.

The articles are short, the media is high quality, and you should read it!

A Long-Bow Story: The Parable of The Real Madrid fan and The Wizard's Fan

One day a Real Madrid fan, was walking along a country road when he overtook a poor Wizard’s fan going in the same direction. Now the Real Madrid fan was very grasping, like most of his class, and was lamenting that he had had no chance of making any money that day; but at the sight of the man in the Jimmy Conrad shirt he brightened up wonderfully.



'That is a piece of luck,' he said to himself. 'Let me see if this Wizard’s fan is not good for something'; and he hastened his steps.

After they had bid one another good day very politely, the Real Madrid fan said to the Wizard's fan:

'I was just thinking how dull I felt, when I beheld you, but since we are going the same way, I shall find the road quite short in such agreeable company.'

'With all my heart,' replied the Wizard’s fan; 'but what shall we talk about? A big soccer man like you will not care to hear about how the Red Bulls are going to be the worst MLS team of all time.'

'Oh,' said the Real Madrid fan, 'I'll tell you what we will do. We will each tell the other the wildest tale we can imagine, and he who first throws doubt on the other's story shall pay him a hundred euros.'

To this the Wizard’s fan agreed, and begged the Real Madrid fan to begin, as he was the bigger man of the two; and privately he made up his mind that, however improbable it might be, nothing should induce him to hint that he did not believe in the Real Madrid fan's tale. Thus politely pressed the great man started:

The Real Madrid Fan's Tale


'I was going along this road one day, when I met Manuel Pellegrini traveling with a great train of footballers laden with Nike boots --'

'Very likely,' murmured the Wizard’s fan; 'I've seen that kind of thing myself.'

'No less than one hundred and one footballers,' continued the Real Madrid fan, 'all tied together by their nose strings -- and stretching along the road for almost half a mile -- '

‘Well?' said the Wizard’s fan.

'Well, a hawk swooped down on the foremost footballer and bore him off, struggling, into the air, and by reason of them all being tied together the other hundred footballers had to follow --'

'Amazing, the strength of that hawk!' said the Wizard’s fan. 'But -- well -- yes, doubtless, yes -- well -- one hundred and one fooballers -- and what did he do with them?’

'You doubt it?' demanded the Real Madrid fan.

'Not a bit!' said the Wizard’s fan heartily.


'Well,' continued the Real Madrid fan, 'it happened that the Sheik of Manchester City, Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was sitting in his private garden, counting his money, when he looked upward and that wretched hawk, with its prey, went soaring overhead; and, as luck would have it, the footballers gave an extra kick just then, the hawk lost his hold, and the whole hundred and one footballers dropped right into the Sheik's left eye!’

'Poor thing!' said the Wizard’s fan; 'it's so painful having anything in one's eye.'

'Well,' said the Real Madrid fan, who was now warming to his task, 'the Sheik shook his head, and sprang up, clapping his hand on his eye. "Oh dear!" he cried, "I've got something in my eye, and how it does smart!

'It always does,' observed the Wizard’s fan; 'perfectly true. Well, what did the poor man do?’

'At the sound of his cries, Robinho came running to his assistance. "Let me look," said he; and with that she gave the Sheik's eyelid a twitch, and out came Cristiano Ronaldo, which Ronaldo put in his pocket --' (' Ah!' grunted the Wizard’s fan) --' and then he just twisted up the corner of his handkerchief and fished a hundred more of them out of the Sheik's eye, and popped them all into his pocket with the other.'

Here the Real Madrid fan gasped as one who is out of breath, but the Wizard’s fan looked at him slowly. ‘Well?' said he.

'I can't think of anything more now,' replied the Real Madrid fan. 'Besides, that is the end; what do you say to it?’

'Wonderful,' replied the Wizard’s fan, 'and no doubt perfectly true!’

'Well, it is your turn,' said the Real Madrid fan. 'I am so anxious to hear your story. I am sure it will be very interesting.'

'Yes, I think it will,' answered the Wizard’s fan, and he began:

The Wizard's Fan's Tale


'My father was a very prosperous man. Five rainbow Wizard’s jerseys he had, and three ticket stubs to the MLS cup, and half a dozen autographs, and memorabilia in abundance; but of all his possessions the thing he loved best was a Wizard’s blue Chevrolet Camaro. Oh she was -- oh, a very fine car!’

'Yes, yes,' interrupted the Real Madrid fan, 'get on!’

'I'm getting on,' said the Wizard’s fan; 'don't you hurry me! Well, one day, as ill-luck would have it, he drove that car to the Wizard’s vs DC United game with a torn seat cover. A six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon sat in the tear and ripped it further, so that when he got home there was a rip as big as the palm of your hand.'

Yes,' said the Real Madrid fan impatiently, 'what next?’

'It was June,' said the Wizard’s fan, 'and you know how, in June, the air is full of dust-storms with rain at times? Well, the poor car got dust in that rip, and what's more, with the dust some grains of wheat, and, what with the dust and the heat and the wet, that wheat sprouted and began to grow!’

'Wheat does when it gets a fair chance,' said the Real Madrid fan.

'Yes; and the next thing we knew was that there was a crop of wheat on that car's seat as big as anything you ever saw in a hundred-acre field, and we had to hire twenty men to help reap it ! '

'One generally has to hire extra hands for reaping,' said the Real Madrid fan.

'And we got four hundred bushels of wheat off that seat!' continued the Wizard’s fan.

'A good crop!' murmured the Real Madrid fan.

'And your father,' said the Wizard’s fan, 'a poor wretch, with hardly enough to keep body and soul together -- (the Real Madrid snorted, but was silent) -- came to my father, and he said, putting his hands together as humble as could be --'

The Real Madrid fan here flashed a furious glance at his companion, but bit his lips and held his peace.

"I haven't tasted food for a week. Oh! Great master, let me have the loan of sixteen pounds of wheat from your store, and I will repay you."

"Certainly, neighbor," answered my father; "take what you need, and repay it as you can." '

‘Well?' demanded the Real Madrid fan with fury in his eye.

'Well, he took the wheat away with him,' replied the Wizard’s fan; 'but he never repaid it, and it's a debt to this day. Sometimes I wonder whether I shall not go to law about it.'

Then the Real Madrid fan began running his thumb quickly up and down the fingers of his right hand, and his lips moved in quick calculation.

'What is the matter?' asked the Wizard’s fan.

'The wheat is the cheaper; I'll pay you for the wheat,' said the Real Madrid fan, with the calmness of despair, as he remembered that by his own arrangement he was bound to give the Wizard’s fan a hundred Euros.

And to this day they say in Kansas, when a man owes a debt: 'Give me the money; or, if not that, give me at least the wheat.'

-Taken word for word from The Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Player Profiles: Zoltan and Edgaras

The MLS transfer window has brought two interesting developments, new players not from South America, but from Western Europe. Hungarian striker Zoltan Hercegfalvi was introduced today as Kansas City’s newest, and much needed, footballer.

Earlier this month, New England added a footballer with a very interesting past and storied carrier. Edgaras Jankauskas hails from Lithuania and has been named the Lithuanian footballer of the year five times.

Let’s look a little closer at each of their pasts, the clubs they have represented, and any video available of them working magic.

A Life in a Few Words: Zoltan Hercegfalvi

Zoltan Hercegfalvi, was introduced today as Zoltan (and shall here forward always be known in the media as Zoltan), was born in Budapest, Hungary.

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If you were a fan of the Hungarian football league, you would know who Zoltan is. Now at age 29 he has arrived in the United States having spent much almost all of his life playing in the tumultuous league.

Zoltan began his playing career with Budapest Hunved in 1998, where he stayed for five years before moving on to two other Hungarian teams, as well as one Czech team, before returning to his first team in 2006. Much of his life he has played in the small confines of Bozsik Stadium, a small but storied 5,000 seat arena.


Video


A Life in a Few Words: Edgaras Jankauskas

Edgaras Jankauskas was born in Vilnius, Soviet Union in 1975.

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By the age of 16 he was picked up by a local youth side and continued to make his ways up the ranks, moving from team to team until he made history by signing with FB Bruges for 2.3 million Euros.

Once in Bruges, Edgaras’ stock continued to climb until he reached the pinnacle of his career, signing with FC Porto, then coached by the special one, Jose Morinho, where he won every trophy imaginable except the FA Cup.

With Porto, Edgaras picked up two Portuguese league trophies, the Portuguese Cup, the Portuguese Super Cup, the UEFA Cup, and most impressively in 2003-2004, the UEFA Champions League, making him the only player currently in Major League Soccer to hold the honor.

Although Edgaras was not a starter, he still played an important part in the victories. After winning the Scottish cup with Hearts, he was about to settle down into coaching when Steve Nichol gave him a shot.

Video
Scoring a cracker for Porto (3 minutes in)


Scoring for the Lithuanuia vs Belgium in 2004


Playing Basketball in a High School gym?


Edgaras scored his first goal in America in this year’s Superliga.


Watch Edgaras as he romps through MLS and remember the storied history and trophies he has gathered along the way.

Beckham vs the Wizards

Not a full update, but I had to share this insider video of Beckman shaking hands with the KC supporters. It captures exactly what was said that made Beckman so angry.


I love it.