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Gold Cup. It was a frustrating one to watch, though with moments of promise… such is the life of a US MNT fan. I have two short game notes. One regards my man Gooch. Man, he is in a rough patch. Let’s hope after he returns to the field, his touch returns too. It’s almost as if he is too big for his own good out there. Lately, he’s had this brute quality, and it’s just too easy for the refs to blow the whistle on him, especially against a little goat like Ruiz. Which brings me to point number two. I cannot express how much I dislike Ruiz (the Paris Hilton of the MLS?). Any respect I held for him prior to this game is now lost. He is my best example of what is wrong with the sport today.

It’s a short barometer today, as it’s all Gold Cup, all the time. Head over to du Nord for links to, well, everything. Add to your list of links the new site from some Yanks Abroad apples, which have fallen from the tree. Of course, they only fall so far. Should be interesting to see how all this shakes out.

As Ives Galarcep mentioned last night on his blog, he is next up on my conversational tour with the nation’s best soccer writers. Ives is a bit worried he won’t be as interesting as Grant Wahl or Jack Bell, but I beg to differ. He might not have the famous photos, but as true a beat writer as soccer has, he has some things to say that everyone needs to hear. So check back soon for that. In the meantime, check out Ives’ blog. He might not be based in what has become the Mecca of MLS soccer this summer (and where the US MNT train) like another blog by beat writers, but for news and thoughtful commentary from the entire world of soccer, it doesn’t get any better than Soccer by Ives.