SPORTS IS SUPPOSED TO BE ENTERTAINMENT TOO:

U.S. defeats Honduras, 2-0: Clarence Goodson and Kenny Cooper each score a goal for the defending champion American team, which will face Mexico in the final on Sunday. Mexico beats Costa Rica on penalty kicks. (Associated Press, July 23, 2009)

First the big boys in South Africa, now the JV at home. No matter who the United States puts on the field these days, they're finding a way to win.

Clarence Goodson scored at the end of the first half and Kenny Cooper at the end of the second to give a young American team a 2-0 victory over Honduras on Thursday night and a spot in its third straight CONCACAF Gold Cup final. The Americans, winners of the last two Gold Cup titles, will play Mexico in Sunday's final at Giants Stadium. In the other semifinal, Mexico defeated Costa Rica, 5-3, on penalty kicks after the teams were tied 1-1 after 120 minutes. [...]

U.S. Coach Bob Bradley did a complete makeover of his roster after the Confederations Cup, letting most of his top players return to their MLS teams or take time off ahead of the European season. In their place, he brought in a bunch of youngsters, many making their first appearances with the senior national team.

While they might not have the flair of Landon Donovan, Tim Howard or Carlos Bocanegra, the kids have been more than all right.

The Americans have gone unbeaten in the tournament, and several young players have emerged who could play a role in next year's World Cup. Holden had assists on both goals Thursday, adding to the two he scored in earlier games.

While there's certainly something admirable in Coach Bradley's determination to develop a deeper squad even if it means losing the competition, one wonders if this was the best moment to play such ugly soccer--even by normal soccer standards. The team has finally won some national attention and that seems like something it would be better to build upon. Plus, he only figured out that they need to play a 4-2-2-2 (or 6-0-4, take your pick of what you call it) halfway through the South African tournament. You'd think it would make sense to get the starting players some more time in the formation before you play Mexico twice in three weeks. Winning those two games would go a long way to establishing the team as newsworthy. Of course, they also need to figure out how to get the games on tv....

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 24, 2009 6:28 AM