MLS Cup - Newsclippings

An essay on the similarities and differences of the Cup contenders, Dynamo-Houston and the New England Revolution.

Here's an article discussing the philosophies behind the two teams. It has some opinion about the benevolence of Jair Marrufo when dealing with Nate Jaqua's foul on Jewsbury.

This piece by Greg Lalas in Sports Illustrated has more on the philosophies going head-to-head in this "mouth watering" match. So, we're the artists who play with heart, and we're facing the technicians who play methodically? I can handle that. Right brain vs left brain. Dionysus vs Apollo. Brazil vs Germany. (Okay, that last one might be a stretch.) I like the concept behind the article, and I even agree with it to a good extent, although the dichotomy is probably a bit more subtle than the metaphors suggest.

Like the previous article, the SI article concludes with criticism for Jaqua not receiving a red. Greg Lalas (brother to Alexi) even beseeches the Powers That Be to suspend Jaqua from the final, kind of like they did to excess with Clark, you know? If they could successfully plunder the Dynamo's squad by getting both Jaqua and Clark out, and add to that Ching's injury, we'd have ourselves a right boring contest for the League's marquee game. But that's okay because maybe Sunil Gulati's team would win.

Not surprisingly, current Rev Jay Heaps agrees with former Rev Greg Lalas. Heaps said, "Jaqua shouldn't be playing in the final. That was not just an elbow, he followed through with it." It's one thing for columnists to lobby for a suspension, but a player? That's poor sportsmanship at best.

And as the Revs lobby for the Dynamo squad to be depleted, I've got to wonder: Shouldn't they at least pretend to want to settle it on the field? Their best versus our best?