Firing Jurgen Klinsmann was American Stupid

Axing the German coach was ill-conceived and will set USMNT's prospects backwards.

International Soccer

Last year, I wrote that If You Want Klinsmann Fired, You Are Dumb. This year, I declare that the powers that be at U.S. Soccer are officially stupid. Klinsmann was the best thing that ever happened for American soccer and U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati just made the poorest executive decision.

By jettisoning Klinsmann, Gulati refused to stand for positive progress and long-term goals in the wake of criticism. Instead he bowed down to American whining, the mob mentality of social media, and the underdeveloped writers and pundits of American soccer media.

Klinsmann led our national team to unprecedented friendly wins in Europe. He steered the team out of the Group of Death in the last World Cup. A group that included eventual champions Germany, a Portugal squad that ended up recently winning the Euros, and U.S. kryptonite Ghana, a team that had knocked the U.S. out of the previous two World Cups. The national team finally exited in the knockout stages in overtime to talent-laden Belgium.

And in the next biggest tournament, Klinsmann led the U.S. to the semifinals of Copa America Centenario. The Americans finished better than Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico and Costa Rica in a tournament that mattered. But stupid people focus on the fact that the U.S. got smoked by an elite Argentina. In what universe was the U.S. ever going to beat Lionel Messi and the number one ranked Argentinians?

Despite all of his success, ignorant individuals called for Klinsmann’s exit by pointing to a loss to Jamaica in the Gold Cup in 2015, a loss to Mexico in the Confederations Cup playoff the same year, and recent World Cup qualifier losses to Mexico at home and Costa Rica on the road.

Jamaica hurt, but Gold Cups do not matter. The U.S. outplayed Jamaica that game but lost on two crucial mistakes. John Brooks, a then 22-year old developing center back got beat on a throw in. And recently promoted goalkeeper Brad Guzan made an egregious hand-ball mental error. Are any morons aware that you play these guys in the Gold Cup to get experience so that they can perform on bigger stages like the Copa America and World Cup? Do people know what development is?

Mexico is better than the U.S. at soccer. Get over it. I was there at the Rose Bowl in the Confederations Cup playoff. Mexico simply has more skill and speed than the Americans. Yet the Yanks clawed back twice in that game only to fall to a world-class strike in the 118^th minute. In a rematch in Columbus, the U.S. looked far the better team after the first 30 minutes and lost on a late goal because Jozy Altidore fell asleep on Rafa Marquez. Yes, the same Rafa Marquez that played 163 games for Barcelona and captained Mexico for four World Cups.

“But we lost to Costa Rica?” We always lose to Costa Rica on the road. Heading into that game, the U.S. was 0-8-1 on Costa Rican soil in World Cup qualifiers. And it is the same Costa Rica that beat Italy and Uruguay on its way to the World Cup quarterfinals and has Real Madrid’s number one keeper. A now 23-year old Brooks got schooled in this game, but that is experience he needs to excel at the next World Cup.

Despite the two results against difficult teams in World Cup qualifying, the U.S. was still on its way to qualify for Russia in 2018 under Klinsmann’s guidance. If the national team does not qualify for Russia or performs disastrously over there then you consider chopping Klinsmann. You do not judge world caliber coaches on intermediate results. That is akin to Apple firing Steve Jobs because the company had a bad quarter before the iPhone debut.

Klinsmann has already brought about the future of U.S. Soccer. Brooks is 23 and our future at center back. Bobby Wood is 24 and already a star at striker. Christian Pulisic is 18 freaking-years old and may be America’s best player already. Deandre Yedlin is 23 and faster than you. Add them to Fabian Johnson (28), Timmy Chandler (26), Geoff Cameron (31), and Julian Green (21) who all were brought along by Jurgen Klinsmann.    

Klinsmann has stressed the importance of overseas development because he knows Europe is where the best progress occurs. All the aforementioned new guys as well as the most recent successes (Bradley, Dempsey, Howard, Altidore, Jones) received European training. Yet senseless people want domestically grown players and think the MLS is the answer. The MLS is garbage and we are decades away from competing if that league becomes our solution.

The critics of Jurgen Klinsmann have an inferior soccer knowledge and mind compared to him. The Taylor Twellmans, Alexi Lalases, Abby Wambachs and Landon Donovans of the world are pittance versus Klinsmann. He coached Bayern Munich and laid the groundwork for Germany’s World Cup title. Americans are just that--American. There is not a single American in the world that is as qualified as Klinsmann and apparently most of them do not have the soccer wherewithal to accurately judge what he has done or could have done with our country.

Firing the German with American children and an American wife just set U.S. soccer backwards. 2016, you are the worst.

The Russell Westbrook Implosion

Why an inefficient one-man show is no formula for success.

NBA

Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to implode this year. The combination of Westbrook’s selfish alpha ego and the media’s ability to create conflict and reinforce false beliefs will mix into a concoction that OKC cannot contain.

The sinking ship started when Kevin Durant left town. The media went to work when it got wind that Westbrook felt slighted on KD’s way out. Reporters did not report but rather writers wrote. They set up a narrative that KD wanted out of OKC and away from Westbrook. Writers took any quote from KD’s honest reflection about his new team and “twisted” it to fit their story.

In reality, KD took an opportunity for his own personal growth as a man and as a basketball player in joining the Warriors. He then gave an honest assessment about his new team’s “selfless” environment. Last year the Warriors led the league in assists by a whopping 3.3 assists per game. The difference between the Warriors and second on-the-list Hawks is same gap as between the Hawks and the 13^th ranked Nets. “Selfless” is exactly how you describe that kind of environment.

When a reporter relayed KD’s comments Westbrook took the bait. He responded with a “that’s cute” and “we’re going to worry about all the selfish guys we have over here apparently.” Westbrook clearly took it as a dig and his bothered reaction is only going to cause writers to stroke the fire all season.

Westbrook is in fact a selfish player. He’s all-world athlete at the point guard position but he ball hogs. His two most recent all-star games tell a story.

In 2016 on the West’s team he missed as many shots (11) as Kobe Bryant attempted (11). He heaved up a 7-17 line from three-point range, his weakest skillset. He took more three-point shots than stud deep rangers Curry (13), Harden (12) and Thompson (10). He missed more threes in the game than each of ice-cold Thompson’s 3-10 and KD’s 1-8.  He had more turnovers (3) on his team than anyone other than Paul (4) who dropped 16 dimes versus Westbrook’s 5. In 2015, coming off the bench he still missed more shots (12) than seven of his teammates attempted. He dished out one assist in over 25 minutes.

Unfortunately, both games he was awarded the game MVP mainly because he racked up the most points on the winning team. His selfish gameplay continually gets reinforced from applause from all around. Pundits construe his style as pure aggression and killer instinct. Westbrook is exciting to watch, but his efficiency will doom his team.

It is only fitting that Mr. Kobe Bryant would praise Westbrook has having a similar killer instinct. In Westbrook’s second game this season he scored 51 points, but on an atrociously high 44 attempts. That efficiency is old-Kobe bad. There is a reason Kobe shooting poorly resulted in cellar dweller Lakers. The fact that Kobe’s final night overshadowed a 73-win season mark is reflective of a misinformed audience. Yes, Kobe scored 60 points, but on 50 shots! Take Curry’s efficiency that same night and double his shot attempts and he is bucketing over 92 points.

The fallacy that individual points scored regardless of efficiency doomed the Lakers the past few years and it will doom the Thunder. Without KD and with Westbrook leading the charge in 2015 the Thunder missed the playoffs. This year Westbrook will continue to drop stat stuffing numbers, but the Thunder will struggle. Factor in they lost their defensive stalwart in Serge Ibaka who also spaced the floor. The team that led the world in standing around and watching one of their two guys go one-on-one, lost their most efficient one-on-one guy in KD. They are now turning the reins to Westbrook to take on the world by himself.

Sure the Thunder won their first two games. But a late comeback win against the Sixers? And overtime at home to the Suns? Please.

Best case scenario the Thunder are either James Harden’s Rockets last year or Anthony Davis’s Pelicans two years ago that eked out a bottom spot in the playoffs only to get tossed in the first round. Maybe for the Thunder and their small market, making the playoffs is gold, but for Westbrook it will not be enough. Writers will continue to remind him how far away from a championship he truly is.

His 44-shot night shows how little faith he has in his teammates. When things start to go bad, Westbrook won’t ease up on the gas and try to work his teammates in more. He will spurn his trust that others can get it done and assume that he can do it all. He started to become this player even with the four-time scoring champ by his side.

Without KD, Westbrook will imagine it is Russ or bust. But the day will come when all Russ is bust. When that realization occurs the question is does Westbrook stay in OKC?

Draymond Green is the Warriors’ Most Indispensible Player

NBA

If one of Steph, Klay or KD is out due to injury the Dubs can still compete for a championship. No chance if Draymond goes down. Why? Because defense wins championships.

Draymond Green is the Warriors’ key to reclaiming the throne. His defensive versatility and formidability keeps the Dubs championship contenders. They won the title in 2015 with Draymond as the main defensive cog when he was robbed of Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award. If after last year Kawhi Leonard has established himself as DPOY stud #1, then Draymond is 1A and everyone else takes a number behind them.

We know the Warriors have the offensive firepower. That is even more evident with the arrival of KD. But with the addition of KD came the subtraction of Bogut and Ezeli. The two big body centers provided a key aspect of “rim protection,” everyone’s favorite buzzword phrase to describe the Warriors weakness. I understand that blocks is an easily digestible stat and observing the last line of defense swat the ball away is sexy. But rim protection is not what made the Warriors a top defensive team the past two years. What made them elite and will keep them there is their first line of defense, their ability to disrupt the offense.

Basketball offense is predicated on getting open and mismatches. It is why every offense runs screens to free up men for open looks or place men in superior matchups. A mismatch is where Steph torches big men out on the perimeter. It is where the Grizzlies’ ZBo and Gasol and the Spurs’ Aldridge pound on little men on the block. It is when Griffin “outathletes,” Lebron outmuscles and Harden “outquickens” their guy.

What Draymond does is level that equation. He bangs with the seven footers and moves with speedsters. This allows the Warriors to switch on every screen reducing open looks and containing mismatches. With Draymond hovering the Dubs use their wing length to rotate and contain. Their primary is not blocking every shot but rather making every option not a good one. It is why the Death Lineup is the scariest of it all.

The Warriors blew out a lot of teams last year with their centers playing the main minutes because they were simply better than their opposition. But what pushed the Warriors into a 73-9 stratosphere was the Death Lineup. Steve Kerr employed it in close games to separate and in trailing games to flip it. If you are unaware of its consistency, it is where undersized Draymond plays center and Steph, Klay, Iguodala and now Durant (formerly Barnes) fill out the small ball lineup.

The Death Lineup creates all the floor spacing and offensive mismatches the Warriors utilize. Opposing defenses cannot keep up. The Dubs become a scoring juggernaut but it is their personnel (specifically Draymond) that solidifies them as a defensive force. With the Death Lineup last season the Warriors outscored their opponents by 47 points per 100 possessions. Without the Death Lineup, Steph and Co. do not turn the tables and take down Lebron in 2015. Without the Death Lineup, 73 wins is a dream, not a reality.

Without Draymond, 2017 is another missed championship.

Shut Up Abby Wambach

International Soccer

Yes, Abby you are in fact ignorant and you should stop talking about the USMNT’s foreign born players.

This is what you said:

“Do I agree with everything Jurgen has done? No, I do not. It’s just my opinion, and I’m entitled to that. It feels a little bit odd to me that you have some guys that have never lived in the United States that play for the United States because they were able to secure a passport. To me, that just feels like they weren’t able to make it for their country and earn a living, so they’re coming here.

But do they have that killer instinct? I don’t know. I’d love to sit down with Mix Diskerud and some of these other guys and talk to them about it. I’d love to understand how much they love their country. I believe they can have love for both countries, but I’d love to hear it, and I think so many other people would, too. If this is an ignorant opinion, I’ll raise my hand in the end and say, “My bad.” But I’d want to have that conversation.” (Abby Wambach, Retired U.S. Soccer Star, Reflects on Her Addiction)

And here is an equally ignorant and plagiarized statement made about your homosexuality:

“Do I agree with everything the government has done? No, I do not. It’s just my opinion, and I’m entitled to that. It feels a little bit odd to me that you have some humans that have never been heterosexual that get to marry because they were able to secure legality. To me, that just feels like they weren’t able to marry for real and earn a living, so they’re marrying the same sex.

But do they have that marital instinct? I don’t know. I’d love to sit down with Abby Wambach and some of these other gays and talk to them about it. I’d love to understand how much they love their spouse. I believe they can have love for both sexes, but I’d love to hear it, and I think so many other people would, too. If this is an ignorant opinion, I’ll raise my hand in the end and say, “My bad.” But I’d want to have that conversation.”

Or how about this equally ignorant and plagiarized statement about your book:

“Do I agree with everything Dey Street Books has done? No, I do not. It’s just my opinion, and I’m entitled to that. It feels a little bit odd to me that you have some humans that have never published anything that get write a book because they were able to be a professional athlete. To me, that just feels like they weren’t able to make it in a real career and earn a living, so they’re taking advantage of their celebrity.

But do they have that writing instinct? I don’t know. I’d love to sit down with Abby Wambach and some of these other celebrities and talk to them about it. I’d love to understand how much they love writing. I believe they can have love for both careers, but I’d love to hear it, and I think so many other people would, too. If this is an ignorant opinion, I’ll raise my hand in the end and say, “My bad.” But I’d want to have that conversation.”

These are your words framed in a way that I imagine you would find offensive and hurtful. I hope this perspective allows for your introspection. Your ignorant speech is damaging and you should check yourself. But, hey, if this is out-of-line, I’ll raise my hand in the end and say “My B,” I just wanted to let you know.

Colin Kaepernick is Right and You Know it

NFL

It is not a controversy. Nor is it a scandal. It is damn right American. Kaepernick is not the one who crossed the line to inappropriate. Rather, everyone else did when they carved that line in the sand, took a side and started firing away.

Kaepernick made a simple gesture of protest in a preseason football game. He sat down during the national anthem. It was peaceful. No one was hurt. But Kaep’s simple statement started a wave of consequences that flowed into repercussions.

After the Twitterverse and the rest of social media’s bombastic messages to Kaep’s move, Kaep then had to explain himself. He had to dissect his personal choice into deeper details than even the usual magnifying glass questioning of tactics or decisions on the gridiron. Kaep was up for the challenge and he challenged us right back. He is using his platform as an NFL quarterback to push a conversation into the spotlight. He wants to voice what he feels are social injustices. Kaep offers reasonable solutions such as accountability and more qualified police officer’s training. His concerns are not unwarranted and as a society we need to address them with a better game plan. Doing nothing and considering nothing is not progress.

A majority of the media does not listen to the arguments and does not hear the concerns. It focuses on the imagery of a football player defying tradition. People get riled up that he is being disrespectful to the flag, the military, etc. Forget his explanation that he intends no disrespect because no one is remembering that. Apparently, he is out of line by displaying a symbolic peaceful form of protest on a public stage where few get the opportunity. That is American. That is quintessential to American values and beliefs to be able to peacefully protest the status quo.

Disagreeing with him is also perfectly American. He can be wrong and you can voice your opposition too. But demanding that his protests should be stopped is flat out wrong. Suppression is wrong and football is not above it all. Protests reveal issues, which leads to conversations that create avenues of progress where multiple sides work together. It is about recognizing an injustice, bringing it to the forefront, and then we deal with it as a united society.

Unfortunately, protests too often devolve into sides. Who’s side are you on? Who’s side do you take? Who is right? These are the wrong questions. These questions divide people into positions, which are fought tooth and nail with very little wavering. If you are forced onto a team then you will defend that team. The questions should no longer be about who, but rather how. How do we solve police brutality? How do you reduce homicides with more training? How does the community embrace cooperation with the police? When you ask the how, you are no longer taking a position but rather you are discussing problems and solutions. Every single how question requires all sides to discuss and grapple back and forth.

The concept that the protesting during the national anthem is off limits is absolutely bull. There is no sacred object that demands my obedience without reason. I was once threatened with physical violence at a MLS game because I didn’t take off my hat during the anthem. I was told that “people have died so you can wear that hat.” I chuckled it off and turned around, not wishing to engage the meathead that had his sights targeted on me. In truth, people have died for me to do whatever I want to do with that hat. That is America’s freedom and that is America’s tradition. America’s other “tradition” is that you have to take your hat off and salute the flag with obedience. Some call that tradition. I call that America’s fascism. It’s the same “tradition” that deems we must keep the Redskins as an acceptable NFL name. This isn’t about disrespect. This is about authoritarian ideals cramming “traditions” and “disrespectful behavior” into the lexicon to cloud the real issues and suppress people.

One Friday night I was playing in my weekly pick up soccer game. Our game happens to take place on an adjacent field to a high school football field. We played there joyously to escape and play freely without disturbing others. We were perfectly allowed to play there. It was a public field. However, someone from the brass was sent down from the football game to tell us in no uncertain terms that we had to stop playing for the national anthem. That it was disrespectful for us not to salute the flag and that they were going to get someone to kick us of the field unless we complied. Never mind that our friendly soccer game started well before their official football game, on a separate field where we had been playing for hours. Never mind that the majority of the players in my pick up game were foreigners and had no blind allegiance to salute the American flag. But authority or apparent authority has its powers. So for every subsequent week, an hour or two into our pick up game we had to stop our fun and face the flag with a bunch of immigrants trying to further understand American culture. They are told they must stop what they’re doing and respect the American flag, or the police will be called to shut our friendly soccer game down. Again, that is bull.

My family has felt the burn of tradition. Tradition was a key ingredient to Japanese Internment. Apparently, Japanese Americans, (you know, U.S. citizens) did not fit the traditional mold of America and therefore a swift incarceration of over 100,000 people was carried out. We were enemies simply because of our ancestry. I refuse to accept that there are American traditions that we must obey or else. I refuse to accept that Muslim Americans are next. I refuse to accept that minority oppression is the way of America.

I’m with you Kaep. Go Niners.