Sprinkles - While the cat's away, the mice will play (and sleep on the futon)

I figured that since Shoe's out of town that I'd awaken from my slumber as ECB converts Shoe's beloved futon into his permanent bed. I know it's been a busy few weeks in MLS and US Soccer in general, but I've been overwhelmed since being pwned by seeing Chivas USA's #1 fan Morrissey in concert. So I'll quickly touch on some things, as I watch Ryan Leaf's brother prove himself to be an even worse quarterback.

- Puerto Rico's dream of advancing to the CONCACAF Champions Cup has ended, but not after a stellar performance in the CFU Club Championship. The Islanders fell 1-0 in the semifinals to Joe Public FC of Trinidad & Tobago. Joe Public, featuring a few of players from the T&T 2006 World Cup squad, scored the lone goal in the 80th minute through Gregory Richardson. The loss is heartbreaking, as I and I'm sure every other USL First Division fan was rooting for the Islanders, who had breezed through the group stage and quarterfinals before finally running into some competition. Joe Public will now meet Harbour View FC (Jamaica) in the finals on Friday for a spot in the CCC. Following their elimination on penalties in the semifinals of the USL Playoffs, this is another great result for the Islanders, who seem to have built a strong and successful organization in just a few years time, on an island that's not necessarily a hotbed for soccer.

- Luciano Emilio picked up the MLS MVP Award on Thursday, surprising quite a few people, including this wanna-be pundit. Not to deny Emilio's great season, I just think he had a lot more talent around him than the other two finalists for the award, Juan Pablo Angel and Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Take either of those latter two players away from their respective teams and they don't make the playoffs. No doubt about that. Isn't that what MOST VALUABLE means? Emilio might have had the MOST OUTSTANDING season, but he certainly wan't the most valuable to his team.

- I wish I didn't have to work Saturday morning so that I could watch the South Africa-U.S. match. Not in particular to see how the U.S. looks, but mainly to see if South Africa is going to embarrass themselves in 2010 or not. Landycakes won't play, he got hurt in the meaningless Copa Minnesota game the Galaxy played last Sunday. From what I hear, David Hayes of the Silverbacks was a pest to Donovan all night.

- Great update from Yanks Abroad on ECB's favorite US Youth International, Sammy Ochoa. We followed him closely after he returned from the 2005 World Youth Championships and headed to Tecos in Mexico, where he got some run early on (even scoring a game-winning goal against Pumas) before being relegated to 2nd division Tecoman. Now he says he'd like to come play in MLS next season, and many are speculating he'd join his 2005 coach Sigi Schmid in Columbus. My take? Hey Sammy, don't be a lame construction worker, join up with Sacha and Juanito in LA and put on the red and white! In all honesty, isn't Ochoa the kind of player Chivas USA promised to build their organization on, young Mexican-Americans?