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TREADING WATER EDITION

Give me a story, not a bunch of quotes strung together. Give me some entertainment, not a bunch of clichés I’ve heard a thousand times over. It’s getting to be a bleak world for fans of the well-written word, and its getting harder and harder to find a great soccer story every week to share. Oh New York Times, why can’t we get some more features like this on your soccer page? Don’t tell me soccer doesn’t have enough good stories that are due some good telling.

What’s left after a week of pressing the gimpy ankle that is soccer writing is after the jump…

What’s that? Fabio Capello met with Sunil Gulati and Bob Bradley, and Sunil doesn’t want to talk about it. That’s about as surprising as the lackluster performance we got this week from our men’s national team. It’s gotten to the point where there is no need to bother asking questions.

Steve Goff’s feature, if we can really call it that, on Abby Wambach is the one must-read this week, if only because this woman is the real deal. The final quote says it all: “You know you are going to have a battle with her all night — and you know you are probably going to lose.”

But even this nice spotlight screams of something thrown together, what with it’s lack of narrative. I don’t blame the writer. For me, they get the benefit of the doubt. It’s an editorial call; I have no doubt Goff would love to spend a few weeks working on a story. Clearly he didn’t have much time for Abby.

For the historically minded, Culture of Soccer’s David Keyes does his usual thorough job, this time discussing the history of American soccer via David Wangerin’s book, “Soccer in a Football World.” It’s always nice to remember where you come from. The Paul Gardner and Howard Zinn collaboration, “A Hispanic history of American soccer,” can’t be too far behind (trademarked! Guys, lets talk).

In other history news, I’d be remiss not to mention the fact that Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy are going to be inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York. A nice way to open the 2007 World Cup campaign.

For all the news every day, head over to soccer’s Library of Congress du Nord. Note the comment in today’s post about the 15K+ that attended the Portland v Charleston USL game. NY Times, Timbers? feature? hello, is this on?

Have a nice weekend. Stay off that ankle.