Pouting in my blog after a defeat -- keeping that tradition alive too

I think I'm coming off my stupor from last night. Like millions of Americans do every Thursday night, I played the John Harkes Drinking Game where you sip your beer whenever Harkes says "As Well". He squeezes that phrase into any sentence, even when it doesn't make sense. Harkes was in rare form last night, so I, as well, finished a whole 6-pack by halftime and had to make a beer run as well to keep the game going. Now that I'm sober, I find I'm still miffed at the loss to San Jose as well.

Our forwards & midfield as well had their typical anemic attack for most of the game. That's no surprise. The uncharacteristic play came from our midfield as well, which couldn't control possession much less territory, and our defense, which was unfocused and indecisive as well. Despite all of our deficiencies on the field, we still could have pulled of a tie if our defense stayed focused. The problem is that, while the defensive lapse is unusual, it wasn't all that rare just a few games ago. I had hoped that the disorganization had been fixed. This repeat performance suggests otherwise. Maybe we'll just hope it was a one-time relapse caused by the background circumstances surrounding this particular match.

But rather than lingering on the continuing troubles up front, and the surprising troubles in the middle and the back as well, I will say that the Davis-to-Ching goal was top notch. I'll leave with that positive thought before going to the...

Media roundup
The Chronicle has another B-Fall-less recap. It says this about the crowd reception: "It was easy to tell which Dynamo starters did not play in the franchise's San Jose incarnation. They were the three booed in pregame introductions. The rest got cheers from a Buck Shaw Stadium crowd of 10,046 willing to relinquish allegiance from the squad that left for Houston after the 2005 season in favor of the expansion San Jose Earthquakes, version 2.0."

Here's the generic AP recap. "For at least one night, the expansion San Jose Earthquakes were better than the champions they replaced." And the fans? They "chanted 'You're not Earthquakes any more!' and other game-specific songs."

The San Jose paper has an article that merges the AP recap with some of its own writing. Ching says here "I think (the rivalry) is more for them. They're out to try to prove something to us, and we saw that tonight. They came out with an intensity that we didn't match and that was the difference." That's not an inaccurate statement.

Goal.com has a nice, succinct game summary. They also have an essay by Kelly Gray, who is back in San Jose, his fourth team (incl. Dynamo, Galaxy, and Colorado) in two seasons. I didn't realize this, but "There are basically three main agents who have the large majority of players on their client lists: Richard Motzkin, Lyle Yorks, and Patrick McCabe." He lists LA, Toronto, and Houston as the teams with the best community supports. "In Houston, the Dynamo is the only winning team in the city. Because of this there has been a tremendous response from the community. All of the players are well known wherever they go."

The MLSNet has one article that ends with Kinnear's surprising commentary on the Earthquake fans. "The one thing I can say is that I was pretty surprised at some of the things that were said to the players and the staff (by the San Jose fans). A lot of these guys put a lot of effort to put those stars on (the Earthquakes') jerseys. Anywhere around the world, when players have had good careers, at other places when they come back, they get a good reception. I understand rooting for your team, I totally agree with that, but some of the things that were said, really kind of caught me by surprise. I'm disappointed. And I think the guys should feel slighted by the way they were treated. The time that they spent here really made (the Earthquakes) franchise a super success in the early 2000s. The players didn't ask to leave. The players had nothing to do with it. I understand you have to vent your frustrations somewhere, but to vent it at the players that were here and won championships and went out in the community and made friends, I think it's really disappointing and very, very unfair."

And here's another MLSnet recap. "The first half saw Houston struggle to get forward against a physical San Jose defense, and fortunate to go into the locker room scoreless after 45 minutes." Yup.

But what a great goal by Ching, as well!