Dear Ernie,

What the hell man? Guard play is one of the team’s strong suits. We’re solid on it. We have depth there. Gil, Nick Young, Caron Butler, Deshawn Stevenson, and Mike James. Yes, we could stand to get better. A true point guard wouldn’t hurt. But a pair of combo guards at positions that we don’t really need? What the hell man?

Meanwhile, our front-court looks like Brendan Haywood coming off injury; Javale McGee, who’s about 30 pounds from being a big time NBA player; Antawn Jamison, who’s a couple inches and an inside game away from being a conventional power forward, Dominic McGuire who is not starting material; and Andray Blatche, who, barring a long-anticipated breakout season, is not starting material either.

So there are no real effective bangers on the team and no point guards. But plenty of combo guards! You missed the opportunity to snag Ricky Rubio, who’s a real point guard, by trading the draft pick before the draft even happened. What the hell man?

I see one course of action here: you need to clear out this logjam with a good trade or few, and fast. Unless you plan on equipping Flip Saunders with a four-guard lineup, it’s crunchtime on acquiring that big man that we’ve always needed. So whattya say Ernie? Go ahead and make my day.

Love,

A confused and disgruntled Wizards fan.

54: US defense holding it together, but the American counterattack is very underwhelming most times out.

59: 10 Spanish corners so far! American third is pretty much under siege from the Spanish attack.

63: Spanish players looking frustrated and rattled, particularly Villa after putting a good chance wide.

64: US hanging in there with slides, hustle plays, and Tim Howard. It’s gettin’ gritty out there.

66: US D holding too far back, Spanish counterattacking like lightning. Time for Bradley and Clark to start to step up.

67: Athleticism of Onyewu continues to keep the clean sheet going. 

69: Sub time: Cazorla in for Fabregas and Feilhaber in for Davies. Probably dropping him back into the midfield, to help fight the donut effect. More pressure on Altidore to hold onto the ball better.

I count seven white shirts in their own box right now. They’re realllly packing it in.

71: del Bosque looks about as happy as a…a coach of an undefeated team getting beat by a huge underdog.

72: With Feilhaber in, US looks to be retaining possession a little better, despite Altidore’s best efforts.

73: GOAL! Dempsey scores on a series of glorious passes circling the box, keyed by Feilhaber and Donovan. Lucky deflection off of Pique’s ankle puts it right on Dempsey’s feet with an open shot.

77: Crowd seems to be enjoying everything regardless of the result. Loathing and confusion on the faces of the Spanish. Along with a sense of urgency.

78: Dangerous free kick for Spain. Villa strikes right to Howard under the wall.

79: Palms are getting sweaty. US needs to continue to guard better out wide and hold the ball better on offense.

80: I’d love to see the possession stats. Great montage of slow motion shots of Spanish players.  Torres and Pique on the verge of tears. Rocket shot by Alonso knocked away by Howard.

81: Bob Bradley must be living right. The US is getting all the breaks and the bounces on the deflections.

82: The US just fighting off chance by chance. Conor Casey coming in for Altidore.

83: US contesting Spanish possession all over the field. Props to Bradley for the Feilhaber sub, the midfield is far more shored up.

84: Onyewu heads away a dangerous cross. He’s got a couple inches of height and leg reach on darn near every Spanish attacker. Rock solid this game.

85: Casey stupidly gives the ball away and is then a couple yards offsides. MLS’s finest.

86: US continuing to yield possession to Spain in the corners.

87: Bradley red card! This could change things. Weak call on a slide tackle. Ball into the box cleared by a bicycle kick by Clark, and Onyewu knocking away another pair of Spanish chances. He and Howard get gold stars for this one.\

88: Bornstein in for Dempsey. Dempsey gets hugs on the sideline. Frustration foul/dive against Pique. Pity the Spanish locker room.

89: Casey kills some time in the corner. US clearing the ball and holding out.

3 minutes of Stoppage

90: Howard snags a give-and-go, thwarting Mata. Yielding the corners seems to be far more effective at this stage, compacting the penalty box.

91: US continues to clear, reform, land try to weather another storm. Bradley looks on the verge of a smile.

92: 20 seconds left. I’m giddy. Spain…less so.

93: DO YOU BELIVE IN MIRACLES! Spanish players in tears, or on the verge. US stood up and silenced all the critics after the two utter failures against Italy and Brazil.

• Continue to keep the Spanish attack in front of them
• Not allow the seams to be so vulnerable
• Clear the ball better from the back
• Develop more consistent counterattacks
• Hold the ball more on offense

We’ll see how it goes.

Both teams took the surprising step of being anti-racism.

Nothing too surprising from the Spanish formation, and the US has opted with a 4-4-2, the conventional lineup. They’re putting 4 in the midfield to try and stymie the Spanish buildup.

And we’re off!

1st: Spain works the ball in, but it ‘s cleared away before Torres gets an open shot. So far Spain are dominating possession and the flow of the game.

3rd: Altidore works it up the side and earns an American corner, knocking it off Puyol. Landon Donovan strikes a good corner, but it’s cleared away.

4th: Good through ball almost puts Davies in on goal, but Casillas comes out to knock it away. Donovan is carded for a slide.

So far it seems like the US is playing a containment game, just trying to keep the ball in front of them. Retreating to the half and playing within there.

6th: Good cross from Dempsey and a bicycle by Davies goes wide. Americans holding their own so far.

7th: Pressure from the US gets another cross in, and Dempsey slides a powerful shot on the ground a foot wide.

Containment and pressure are the names of the game, and the US is sticking to it so far.

11: A nice bit of passing sends a ball to the post and Torres is unable to get there in time, knocking it up high

Spain still dominating possession, and the US is struggling to break out of their end. However, they’ve  been aggressive in Spain’s third.

15: At around this point against New Zealand, Torres had three goals. None so far. Good sign.

16: It’s essential for the US to move the ball around cleanly, and they’ve struggled with that a bit.

17: Even though Spain are dominating possession, the US doesn’t look totally overwhelmed. A good pass to Torres at the top of the box is stopped by Howard, but Torres is offside anyways.

19: Some good passing from the US in Spain’s third, but so far the Americans have been too eager to hit the long ball to space.

20: The US defense has effectively conceded the wings to Spain in an effort to make the middle more crowded for Xavi and the Spanish center mids.

23: Charlie Davies having a solid game so far, causing some nerviness among the Spanish defenders.

27: GOAL! Altidore gets a pass from Dempsey, ditches Capdevila on a thunderous turn, and shoots a rocket off the hand of Casillas into the goal!

28: Spain hadn’t given up a goal since April. Which, if you’re scoring at home, makes 450 goalless minutes.

29: Sergio Ramos moving upfield from his spot on D to attack left the space where the American goal happened. Momentum shift since the goal is notable. US looks a lot more on their toes.

32: Golden chance for Villa but he puts it high. Spain continue to run the flow of play, but the Americans are making ‘em fight for it.

37: Free kick from Donovan headed just wide by Dempsey. Bocanegra had the better angle, but it was a good chance regardless.

39: 61-39 possession percentages. Guess who the 61 is.

42: Good passing in the area of the US box gets Torres a chance, but it’s knocked away. US strategy so far on D has been to contain and then put pressure when the opportunity is there.

44: Athleticism from US defense has been their salvation, and another good chance for Torres is blocked by Howard and cleared out.

As if the Cowboys weren’t hated enough, several of them decided to form a heavy metal band. This is noteworthy because of the ridiculousness and absurdity of the story, so kudos to whoever dug this gem up.

Nate Silver skyrocketed to fame during the 2008 presidential elections for his election previews. However, he made his name doing baseball stats for Baseball Prospectus. He is at the forefront of the new movement that uses statistics to analyze fielding skill. Here, he takes an in-depth look at what teams improved or declined in the field. By looking at the changes in the field for several teams, he is able to explain their performance.

Through the grace of God and a late goal by Clint Dempsey (above left), the US men’s soccer team advanced to the Confederations Cup semifinals. Despite a pair of embarrassing losses to Italy and Brazil, the US beat Egypt like a used drum. They face Spain on Wednesday.

By contrast, Spain did this to New Zealand in the first game of the tournament. They were up 4-0 by the half. “La Roja,” as they are known, ride in on a 15 game win streak and a 35 game unbeaten streak. The first question you have to ask is, “Does the US even stand a chance?”

The obvious answer is yes. The great thing about sports is that every game starts at 0-0, and every team always has a chance. On paper, however, the outlook is far more negative.

Spain is playing the best soccer in the world right now, and they boast a mercurial attack, an accomplished midfield, and a tough young defense anchored by superstar goalie Iker Casillas. The US will struggle to contain striking duo Fernando Torres and David Villa up front, and to put pressure on distributing midfielders Xavi and Cesc Fabregas. The Spanish are a well-oiled machine, stressing possession and technical skill.

Meanwhile, the US needs to figure out how to unleash the offensive juggernaut they discovered in their trouncing of Egypt. However, the Egyptian and Spanish midfields are worlds apart. While the US may try to pack the midfield to disrupt Spain’s possession game, it would come at the cost of the attacking pair of Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies that worked so effectively against Egypt.

If the US wants to win, they need to execute on a basic, fundamental level, but that’s just the first step. In addition to playing error-free defense, they need to pressure the attacking Spanish defenders, and not allow the Spanish midfield to totally control the game.

If Spain wants to win, they simply need to do what they’ve been doing.

A US win could be the most impressive win in American soccer history. Think something like this, but without the global political implications.

1. Take Aim at an Audience
   Steinberg’s blog aims at stories that are a little off the hard mainstream of sports. Instead of doing the obvious leads, he pursues the oddities that most fans are curious about. When a fan sees something curious, like guys dressed as umpires at a Nats game, Steinberg pursues it.
2. Access + Contacts = Newer and Better Stories
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3. Find a Unique Angle
   There are literally thousands of bloggers. What sets one out from the rest? A gimmick, or a fresh perspective, can give a blogger a competitive edge.

Norm Chad writes for the fans, and this entry about the increased scrutiny of middle school athletes is an excellent example of his style. Without getting on the soapbox, he mocks the attention paid to younger athletes.

Buster Olney is one of the best baseball writers around, and he gets in-depth looks at dozens of stories from around the majors.