David Beckham urinates on U.S. soil

David Beckham has arrived. He was just unveiled at the Home Depot Center. There have been a lot of very silly words printed about Beckham and what his arrival will mean for soccer in the U.S. Most of these articles raise the question of whether footyball will ever catch on in this country. (See this AP piece for a particularly tedious example of the genre.)

Here's a newsflash: soccer is already thriving in this country. MLS is here to stay. All the angry old white guys that staff the sports desks of daily newspapers will have to find some other bogeyman to foam at the mouth about. The only article you need to read about Beckham is by SI's Grant Wahl. He's the best soccer scribe on the planet.

More importantly, the U.S. under-20 squad is still alive in the World Cup. They gutted out a 2-1 comeback victory over Uruguay on Wednesday night. Freddy Adu was once again the catalyst, setting up both goals with sterling corner kicks. Michael Bradley bungled in the gamewinner in the 107th minute. The kids will face Austria in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 1 p.m. CST. Folks will be gathering locally to watch at the Sweetwater.

Don't miss this sweet, beautifully written story about the Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba, and the end of that country's brutal civil war. (Cribbed, of course, from the greatest soccer blog on the planet, Du Nord.)

Finally the mighty Minnesota Thunder are back in action at The Jimmy this Sunday at 5 p.m. They take on the Montreal Impact (6-3-6). Amos Magee's squad is still mired at the foot of the table with a record of 2-6-5. Despite this dismal record, they've only been outscored by a margin of 15-10. So I remain delusionally optimistic.