As I wrote in my City Pages A-List entry, tonight is the official groundbreaking of the forthcoming Twins Stadium. Needless to say, it's only going to remain "Twins Stadium" until old Carl gets his many millions from whatever corporation showers him and his minions with more cash. Target Field? General Mills Stadium? Taxpayer Park?

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Last night's SuperLiga final was extraordinary. Pachuca was clearly the better squad, but the Galaxy put forth a heroic effort. The crowd was electric. Landon Donovan was a menace. Abel Xavier again proved himself the best defender in MLS. But it was Joe Cannon who repeatedly saved the game with mind-blowing saves. And then the most unlikely equalizer ever by Chris Klein. But the Galaxy--with Landon Donovan primed to deliver the $1-million gamewinning goal--somehow found a way to lose on penalty kicks. Grant Wahl has a great little write up over at SI. And oh yeah: Beckham got hurt--again--and he cried. Watch the highlights here.

Look: it doesn't matter that the Twins came into Cleveland with a five game win streak under their belts. If there was momentum, the Indians didn't feel it. After all, four of those victories were against an Orioles team that is nearly as woeful at the plate as the Twins, but also lacks our depth in the arms department. As if to really drive the point home that we are floundering, Cleveland bludgeoned the Twins 8-3, turned a triple play (a wonderful thing), while across Lake Erie and up the Detroit River the Tigers thumped the suddenly vulnerable Yanks 16-0.

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Well, the Twins certainly asserted themselves mightily today, beating the Seattle M's 8-4 after a 7-run first inning. The initial frame included a grand slam by one Michael Cuddyer. The game got so out of hand that Dan Gladden and Jack Morris started yakking about anything and everything (though they do this in tight games as well). In the gabfest Gladden mused about young players coming up and going down to Rochester, and stated that Terry Ryan sometimes agonizes over calling up the better prospects because it might hurt the farm clubs during a tight pennant race. Which only makes this scribe say: Huh?

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Folks will be gathering tomorrow night at the Sweetwater Bar & Grille at 7 p.m. CST to watch the U.S. take on Sweden. The game is actually being broadcast live from Goteborg at 1:30. But since most folks have day jobs, tape delay is the best option. The U.S. will be looking to rebound from its miserable showing at the Copa America and will field a strong, primarily European-based squad. Look for a starting XI something like this:

Howard
Cherundolo-Bocanegra-Onyewu-Bornstein
Dempsey-Bradley-Mastroeni-Beasley
Donovan-Ching

Since there is virtually nothing to be written about last night's 9-4 bludgeoning at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, let's ponder instead Patrick Reusse's column of August 19. Mr. Reusse looks to be examining, and perhaps explaining, the challenges of being Terry Ryan, the Twins highly regarded GM. Reusse writes: "Baseball is the only sport in this country where the triumph is in the pursuit as much as in the ultimate result." Although there's some truth to that, it's depressing when that appears to be your team's core philosophy.

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Johan Santana broke the all-time Twins single-game strikeout record, fanning seventeen Rangers. As usual, a great pitching performance had to be a tightrope walk over rusty razor blades, broken glass, and spikes, since the offensive half only scored a single run.

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The headlock that Abel Xavier put on him after he scored last night looked mighty uncomfortable. Let the guy celebrate his damn goal. And can someone explain to me exactly what the hell Troy Perkins was doing? Anyway, here it is:

See, "Two-i" Torii Hunter barked at the Twins recently. "You stink," he told everyone in the clubhouse, an oddly mild thing to say to a bunch of grown men. I don't know if Minnesota Parent had a beat writer in attendance, but that's what Torii said. Today, after he pretty much won the game all by himself, he added, "We stink... though awesomely."

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Don't miss this piece about D.C. United's loudest, most unruly supporters section in today's Washington Post. The audio gallery, in particular, is fantastic.