Catching up on soccer and media

It’s a busy, busy day. And still a somber one for Bobby Rhine’s sudden and tragic death. I’ve known Bobby since he was an MLS rookie, when an FC Dallas assistant pointed to him on the preseason practice field and said “He’s gonna be a pro for a long, long time, trust me.” Later, Bobby became a friend and a guy that I, like so many others, enjoyed being around. Immensely. The world is just a little less today.

So I’ll need to put in more writing time later. For now, here’s a quick catch-up on media matters.

Here are the SI.com player ratings from yesterday. I always look to see where my grades differ from a few other guys I respect. We’re usually close. In this case, I apparently thought a little bit more of Clarence Goodson and Steve Cherundolo than others. What say you?

Some of you like tactics pieces. Some, not so much. For the tactically inclined, here is the latest Talking Tactics piece at MLSSoccer.com, about Sporting Kansas City’s “dynamic” system. Generally, “dynamic” is shorthand for a system unburdened by rigid tactical roles. Is it working at SKC? You be the judge.

Here is Jacob Steinberg’s interesting SI.com piece on “Eight finals before the final.” I was lucky enough to be at two of them, including the Argentina-Netherlands quarterfinal at World Cup 1998. I leaped up said “Wow!” out loud when Dennis Bergkamp changed the tournament with those three sublime touches in Marseille. Eight years later, I was on the teeming Dortmund grounds for the Germany-Italy 2006 World Cup semifinal, easily the best atmosphere I’ve ever been part of for a World Cup match.

Finally, I saw a piece on “How Barcelona are destroying football.” Seriously? Classic case of over-thinking. I was going to link to it, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.