Monday, April 27, 2009

Six Punches to the Face

Total Domination

Picture this: A new stadium, a young team, a fiery young coach, the best football of their lives. It sounds like the perfect setting for a drama where a coal company tries to buy out the stadium to start a mine but the whole community comes together to fight the big company off and instill community values and love throughout the atmosphere.

Well it wasn’t quite that, there was a mining company but they sponsored the stadium instead of turning it into a huge pit. I’m speaking of course of the Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution

The Beat Down of a Life Time
Jason Kries
Six goals. One half. Saturday night Real Salt Lake played the best football of the team’s young life. This is what new stadium are built for. An almost full stadium cheered on the hero’s as RSL starts to come of age.

It wasn’t just a culmination of soccer culture in Salt Lake, it was a culmination of Jason Kries hard work. Kries has brought together a diverse group of players and taught them to believe in themselves. Kyle Beckerman was a steal from Colorado that I’m sure Jason Smith would love to have back. Yura Movsisyan moved disgruntled and upset from Kansas City to a team and supporters that gave him a second chance.

Clint Mathis looks like his old self. Disparaged in the media, Mathis is bringing it hard. He is transforming yet again into the playmaker of yor. Beautiful passes, hard strikes, Kries has given the old charge renewed energy and ferocity.



New England: Down and Out
Could New England have played any worse? Remember when New England was going to the playoffs no matter what? Well they sure don’t look like that team anymore. New England looked miserable and without hope in the high altitude.

The only players who looked decent were the always stalwart pair of Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz . With Taylor Twellman out possibly forever, will New England find a way out of this slump? Making it all the harder is lack of commitment by their team owner, who would rather go see an NFL game then New England in the Championship.

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