The Blue Links: 12/19/13

There were reports that Dom Dwyer might go on loan to a Championship team right after the season ended. Now there are reports that Dom has been training with Charlton Athletic for a couple weeks. Not sure how reliable this is since every report contains the exact same words. A little social media stalking did confirm Dom was in England but nothing more yet. SKC contacts confirmed they know nothing about a loan (at this time) and he is under contract for next season. Not really sure any loan right now would be worthwhile and give him time to assimilate into a team.

SKC defender Seth Sinovic is one of those guys that fans think is either great or not so good. Not a lot of middle-of-the-road opinions on Seth it seems. Well Ridge Mahoney has him as the best left back in MLS and I would agree. One of the complaints about Seth is he is not big or strong or fast but Seth is as tall as DaMarcus Beasley and weighs more. I know when Seth arrived in Kansas City he looked like a refugee from a harsh New England winter but since then SKC has bulked him up. He has added a few pounds and quite a bit of strength. Probably never as fast as Beasley but Sinovic is a natural left back with lots of game experience and he makes few mistakes.

Nate Silver is usually pretty darn good at this stuff and he gives the U.S. a 39.4% chance of getting out of their group at the World Cup. A few World Cups ago that would have been great for the U.S. but I think we have high expectations for the Yanks now. It is a tough group...

U.S. beats Brazil so bad in soccer that they quit! Must seem like Bizarro World for Brazilians to get beat so bad by Americans that they just quit and stood there for the last few minutes of the match. That is exactly what happened recently when the U-17's hammered Brazil 4-1. The Brazilians received their second straight red of the match with a few minutes left and then just stood there at center of the field, not even challenging for the ball in the offensive half.

Speaking of beating Brazil: Best of U.S. Soccer #100years edition bracket winner was announced and it was Wambach's goal against Brazil in the 2011 Women's World Cup that took the top spot.

Former Dallas, Wizard, Fulham, Cardiff City, Aris, Preston North End, Sounder forward Eddie Johnson is now with DC United. For some reason people are wary of the move. I'm sure this is where Eddie will be happy and productive.