Yesterday was great for footie. The Crew and the Fire played to an entertaining 1-1 draw on ESPN2 and both goals were out of this world, really high quality stuff. It always kills me when the nationally broadcast games are poor but this one featured lots of one-touch passing, counter-attacking, and guys just taking players on. I had the game on in the background while writing (a soccer story, as it turns out) and took what was supposed to be a five minute break to watch. It was so gripping I ended up watching most of the second half. 55,000 on hand in Chicago to watch this game followed by Chivas vs. Real Madrid.

The U.S. squashed Jamaica yesterday with DaMarcus Beasley scoring twice and getting an assist in the 3-1 win. Of course, I only know this by reading about it–Univision broadcast the Honduras vs. Costa Rica game instead, damn them. I remember reading a few footie columns that blasted Landon Donovan for returning to MLS rather than sticking it out in Europe. Jen Chang of ESPN’s soccernet.com specifically said DaMarcus should be the Golden Boy of US Soccer considering what he’s done with PSV Eindhoven; I didn’t disagree then, and DaMarcus’ shining play in the Champs League, the Dutch Eredivisie, and the way he’s elevated his game for the national team speaks for itself.

In other happy news, it sounds like Milwaukee is trying for an MLS expansion bid with Peter Wilt heading the charge. This is awesome news even if it doesn’t materialize for a few years. MLS needs more local rivalries and a Milwaukee vs. Chicago hate-fest would be more than welcome. The Fire screwed up royally when they axed Wilt who was the nicest guy I ever met from any MLS team when I worked at US Soccer. What’s more, his record with the Fire was phenomenal so firing him in favor of a suit was ridiculous. I sincerely hope he gets Milwaukee off the ground and can stuff the Fire a few times each season. And wouldn’t it be cool for the Fire’s Jesse Marsh–MLS veteran, Racine native, and good friend of a friend–to come play for Milwaukee? Well, now I’m just being silly…

And poor John Ellinger at Real Salt Lake. First, he has to deal with that stupid team name. Second, he’s got to deal with Clint Mathis. And third, his team blows. In 1998 when the league first expanded, Chicago won the whole shebang–won MLS Cup and did the double by capturing the US Open Cup, too. The Miami Fusion wasn’t so shabby either, making the playoffs in their two years. But man, RSL and Chivas USA both really suck. Is the league that much better or did Chicago just do a great job in their expansion draft? Anyway, I happened to meet John Ellinger once at a conference and he seemed like a very soft-spoken, humble guy. I hope he doesn’t get drummed out of Salt Lake, but his team did get spanked by Chivas USA last weekend; and Chivas have won exactly two games, both over RSL. Since both teams are in the Western Conference and thus can’t both miss the playoffs (a tragedy, that) someone’s going to have an easy first round against whichever teams manages to bumble into fourth place.