I'm Wet and I'm Cold, but Thank God I Ain't Old

It's not very often that a World Cup qualifying match gets the kind of advance publicity in the United States that tomorrow's encounter between the Red, White, and Blue and El Tri has generated, but then again, the U.S. is coming off its best-ever showing at a FIFA Tournament with a runner-up finish during June's Confederations Cup and looking to avenge a 5-0 throttling at the hands of our arch-rivals last month in the Gold Cup Final.

The fact that just last month Mexico pulled off a curb-stomping of the U.S. that Ed Norton would have been proud of is no reason for alarm, though. The resemblance between the lineup that Bob Bradley penciled at Giants Stadium and the one that will take the field tomorrow at the Azteca Stadium will only be slight at best.

Tomorrow, the U.S. will have the fantastic opportunity to re-awake the spirit of "Old Rough and Ready" himself, Zachary Taylor, and walk into Mexico ready to emerge victorious. I'm not sure where "entering into your archrival's national stadium, looking around at 114,000 screaming fanatics who would like nothing better than to see you eviscerated, and then emerging victorious" ranks on the "lifetime experience" list for an athlete, but hopefully the U.S. will be able to answer that question tomorrow evening.

Go get 'em, boys.

Sometimes It's Hard to Know Where I Stand

A few notes from, as Luke Reeves might say, the world of "obscurity"...

Liverpool captured their first Premier League win of 2008 with a 3-0 defeat of Sunderland courtesy of second-half goals from Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres, and a late-penalty (pictured below) by skipper Steven Gerrard. After a January that saw the Reds draw against Wigan, Middlesbrough, and Aston Villa, lose a last-minute heartbreaker to West Ham United, it's not an overstatement to say that this win against Sunderland was sorely needed. Now, the Reds face familiar rivals Chelsea FC on Sunday at Stamford Bridge in London. There's one thing I can guarantee you following this match: Either John Middleton or yours truly will be writing derisive messages to the other party while most of you roll your eyes in boredom. That's really why you come here, isn't it?

Also, on Wednesday the U.S. Men's National Team faced off against archrival Mexico at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Sure, they called this an international "friendly", but when these two get together, that term really shouldn't be applied. For goodness sake, I think some bad blood is still simmering over the Mexican-American War. When Zachary Taylor is historically involved and the conflict only ended 160 years ago, I think it's asking a bit too much for two teams to stage a "friendly".

Take that, Santa Anna.Perhaps I've reached the limits of my insight on this matter, but my esteemed colleagues at the Jig and Twig were able to score tickets and provide a first-hand account of the madness. You can find Jig's account here, and Lance's thoughts here. As I've always said, it's good to know people in high places.

Gol de Mondragon (MEX) Gol de Altidore (USA)
Uploaded by DJKALIN24

The match ended in a 2-2 draw, and probably should have seen the U.S. earn a 3-2 victory courtesy of a goal by Nacogdoches native Clint Dempsey, but he was judged to be off-sides and the goal was disallowed. Even through the internet, I can hear my Dad muttering the words "of course, they're always off-sides."

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy a Jozy Altidore jersey. The kid's going to be a star. A star, I tell you!