Seattle's 10 Greatest Athletes

This week, the Yankees are hosting the Seattle Mariners.

Seattle's 10 Greatest Athletes

Remember: These performers are being measured only by what they did with Seattle teams. Some of them, had they spent their entire careers in the Emerald City, would rank considerably higher.

Honorable Mention to Seattle Seahawks Hall-of-Famers, who are not otherwise in the Top 10:
Kenny Easley, Cortez Kennedy and Walter Jones. Shaun Alexander should be allowed to join them.

Honorable Mention to Seattle SuperSonics Hall-of-Famers, who are not otherwise in the Top 10: Lenny Wilkens (also the coach of their 1979 NBA Champions), Spencer Haywood, Dennis Johnson and Ray Allen.

Honorable Mention to Lauren Jackson, forward, Seattle Storm, 2001-12. A 3-time WNBA Most Valuable Player and 2-time WNBA Champion, she also won 4 MVPs in her native Australia. The Storm retired her Number 15, and she was named to the WNBA's 20th Anniversary Team.

Honorable Mention to Jack Walker and Frank Foyston, members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, who helped the Seattle Metropolitans become the 1st American-based team to win the Stanley Cup, in 1917.

Honorable Mention to members of the original Seattle Sounders, 1974-83, who were, admittedly, typical of North American Soccer League players in that they were well past their best: Bobby Moore, Mike England, Alan Hudson and Roger Davies.

10. Edgar Martinez, designated hitter, Seattle Mariners, 1987-2004. He had a .312 lifetime batting average, was a 7-time All-Star, and led the American League in batting average in 1992 and 1995, and in RBIs in 2000. The Mariners have never reached the postseason without him; with him, they did so in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001.

The M's have retired his Number 11, and named him to their team Hall of Fame. Their fans believe he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But his career numbers don't hold up: He collected only 2,247 hits, and only 309 of them were home runs. He was not a good runner. He was not a fielder at all. He was a one-dimensional player.

9. Clint Dempsey, forward, Seattle Sounders, 2013-present. Perhaps the greatest American soccer player ever, he has now played longer with the Sounders than with any other team, scoring 128 of his 467 professional goals for them. He helped them win the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup in 2014, and the MLS Cup in 2016.

8. Harry "Hap" Holmes, goaltender, Seattle Metropolitans, 1915-17, with a return 1918-24. He and Jack Marshall, a teammate on the 1914 Toronto Blueshirts and a fellow member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, are the only 2 men to have won the Stanley Cup with 4 different teams.

Holmes, along with Georges Vezina for whom the annual award for best goaltender in the NHL is named, was 1 of the top 2 goaltenders of the 1910s. He won the Cup in 1914 with Toronto, then helped the Metros become the 1st American-based team to win the Cup, in 1917. He joined the brand-new NHL in the 1917-18 season, and won the League's 1st title and another Stanley Cup, with the Toronto Arenas, the team that became the Maple Leafs.

After just that 1 season away, he returned to the West Coast to play out his career. He helped the Metros win the Pacific Coast Hockey Association title again in 1919 and 1920. He won another Cup in 1925 with the Victoria Cougars, the last team from outside the NHL to win the Cup. This team, sort of, moved to Detroit in 1926, and eventually became the Red Wings. He was posthumously elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

7. Russell Wilson, quarterback, Seattle Seahawks, 2012-present. He's been in the NFL 6 seasons, and has reached the Pro Bowl in 4 of them. He was NFL Rookie of the Year in 2012, and on February 2, 2014, at the Meadowlands here in New Jersey, he led the 'Hawks to fulfill their destiny, winning Super Bowl XLVIII.

He got them back into the Super Bowl the next year, and made a mistake: He should have disobeyed head coach Pete Carroll and done a Bart Starr-style quarterback sneak. Had he done so, he'd have back-to-back titles, and be Seattle sports' greatest hero. He still might become that, as he doesn't turn 30 until this coming November, and could lead them to a 2nd World Championship, something no other Seattle sports team has (unless you count the Storm). Oh yes, he's also married to singer Ciara.

6. Gary Payton, guard, Seattle SuperSonics, 1990-2003. A 9-time NBA All-Star, all with the Sonics, "the Glove" led them to the 1996 Western Conference Championship, being named Defensive Player of the Year. Unfortunately for Seattle fans, he didn't win an NBA Championship until 2006, with the Miami Heat.

He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and, while this has nothing to do with the Sonics, he won Olympic Gold Medals with the U.S. teams at Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. He has been working to get the NBA back to Seattle, stating that he doesn't want his Number 20 to be retired by the Oklahoma City Thunder. To their credit, they have not reissued it since the 2008 move. His son Gary Payton II now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

5. Sue Bird, guard, Seattle Storm, 2002-present. The native of Syosset, Long Island, New York has led the Storm to the 2004 and 2010 WNBA Championships, and is the league's all-time assists leader. She is a 10-time WNBA All-Star, including last season, which ended with her turning 37. She was named to the WNBA's 20th Anniversary All-Time Team. Presuming the Storm survive, they will almost certainly retire her Number 10.

4. Steve Largent, wide receiver, Seattle Seahawks, 1976-89. A 7-time Pro Bowler, he helped the Seahawks to their 1st Playoff berth, reaching the AFC Championship Game for the 1983 season, a feat they wouldn't achieve again for 22 years (by which point they were in the NFC). His 819 catches, 13,089 receiving yards and 100 receiving touchdowns were all records, since surpassed.

The Seahawks retired his Number 80, and named him to their Ring of Honor. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, and The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, ranking 46th. Oddly, he was not named to the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players in 2010.

In 1994, he was elected to Congress from his home district in Oklahoma. He was re-elected until 2002, when he decided to run for Governor, getting the Republican nomination, but losing by less than 7,000 votes.

3. Randy Johnson, pitcher, Seattle Mariners, 1989-98. He might be the last pitcher ever to win 300 games (303, 130 with the M's). He's the all-time strikeout leader among lefthanders with 4,875 (2,162), had a career WHIP of just 1.171 (1.250), an ERA+ of 135 (128), made 10 All-Star teams (5), won 5 Cy Young Awards (just 1 in Seattle), led the league in strikeouts 9 times (4) and ERA 4 times (once).

He reached the postseason with the Mariners in 1995 and '97. He pitched 2 no-hitters, 1 with the Mariners. He became the 1st AL lefthander to strike out 19 batters in a game, then did it again, then became the 1st lefty in either league to strike out 20 in a game.

He was one of the all-time great Yankee Killers, due to his performances in the 1995 ALDS with Seattle, the 2001 World Series with Arizona, and the 2005 and '06 ALDS with… the Yankees. He has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Mariners have not yet officially retired his Number 51. They may be waiting for a dual ceremony with...

2. Ichiro Suzuki, right field, Seattle Mariners, 2001-12, with a brief return in 2018. After 9 seasons with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, he came to America and set the baseball world on fire with his bat and his arm, winning the American League's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. (Despite his being 27 years old and it being his 10th season of top-flight baseball, he still met MLB's definition of a "rookie.")

In 2004, he set a new major league record with 262 hits in a season. He reached the postseason with the 2001 Mariners and the 2012 Yankees, but never won a Pennant. He retired earlier this season, with 3,089 hits. Counting his 1,278 in Japan, that's 4,367, more than Pete Rose, but neither MLB, nor the Elias Sports Bureau, nor the Hall of Fame counts it that way.

The Mariners will almost certainly retire his Number 51, although they may do it for both him and Randy Johnson. Barring doing something stupid like Rose or a revelation that he was once caught using PEDs, he's going to the Hall of Fame, probably in his 1st year of eligibility, which will now be 2024.

1. Ken Griffey Jr., center field, Seattle Mariners, 1989-99, with a return in 2009-10. In 1999, while not yet 30 years old, "Junior" was selected by The Sporting News as one of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and by fan balloting for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He batted .284 lifetime (.292 with the Mariners), with a 136 OPS+ (144), 2,781 hits (1,843) including 630 home runs (417) -- 4th all-time among honest men, including the 2nd half of back-to-back jacks with his father on the 1990 Mariners -- and 1,836 RBIs (1,216), including 8 100+ seasons (7).

He was a 13-time All-Star (10), a 10-time Gold Glove winner (all in Seattle), the 1997 American League Most Valuable Player, and, in 1995, told the Mariners to "Jump on my back," and he carried them all the way to the AL Championship Series, probably convincing voters to approve the funding for what became Safeco Field, and saving Major League Baseball in the Northwest.

Ironically, the new ballpark was, unlike the homer-happy Kingdome, a pitcher's park, and it's one of the reasons he left. In 8 seasons in his adopted hometown of Cincinnati (Number 24 had been retired for Tony Perez, so he switched to his father's number, 30), he and the Reds never made the Playoffs, and they traded him to the Chicago White Sox, and he helped them win the AL Central Division, after 2 AL West titles in Seattle. But he never appeared in a World Series, giving him more career home runs than anyone who didn't.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his 1st year of eligibility, with a record 99.32 percent of the vote. The Mariners retired his Number 24, and both they and the Reds elected him to their team Halls of Fame.

Bruce Arena Made America Great Again

Last night, the U.S. national soccer team played its 1st game in the 2nd tenure as their manager by Bruce Arena. It was their 1st since the firing of Jurgen Klinsmann.

Klinsmann was one of the best forwards in the world in he 1980s and '90s. He starred in Germany for hometown club VfB Stuttgart, and also played for Internazionale in Milan, Italy; AS Monaco in the French league; Tottenham Hotspur of North London in England's Premier League; Bayern Munich back in his native Germany; and Sampdoria in Genoa, Italy. He won the UEFA Cup with Inter in 1991 and Bayern in 1996, and the Bundesliga (German league) with Bayern in 1997. With the German national team, he won the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96.

But as a manager, he is horrible. He managed Germany on home soil in the 2006 World Cup, and choked in the Semifinal. He managed Bayern in the 2008-09 season. Bayern have been known since the 1970s as a team that cheats. Germans call it "Der Bayern Dusel," or "The Bavarian Luck." The season before and the season after, Bayern won both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal, the German version of the FA Cup. In Klinsi's season in charge, they won nothing.

In spite of this, when Bob Bradley was fired as manager in 2011, Klinsmann was hired. Results: He won the U.S.' continental tournament, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, in 2013, and got us to the Group Stage of the 2014 World Cup; but choked in the 2015 Gold Cup and the 2016 Copa America, finishing 4th both times.

He also had this nasty habit of winning friendlies, but not matches that actually counted for something. On August 15, 2012, he guided the U.S. team to their 1st-ever win over arch-rival Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Six months earlier, he'd led the U.S. to a win over Italy in Genoa.

On June 2, 2013, I was at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington for a match celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the U.S. Soccer Federation, the governing body of American soccer. Even though it was against Germany, JK managed to win, and won, 4-3... nearly blowing a 4-1 2nd-half lead. Also, it wasn't exactly the best possible German team, as Bayern and Borussia Dortmund had played in the UEFA Champions League Final the weekend before, and their players were excused from this match.

After the 2014 World Cup, he managed wins over the Czech Republic in Prague, the Netherlands in Amsterdam, and Germany in Cologne -- all friendlies.

But Belgium was there for the taking in the Round of 16 match at the World Cup, and while he pushed the game to extra time, he couldn't win it. In the 2015 Gold Cup, he embarrassed us with his team selection, and lost both the Semifinal to Jamaica and the 3rd Place Game to Panama on home soil. He lost to Mexico on home soil in another tournament that year, the CONCACAF Cup (not the same tournament).

With the 2016 Copa America on home soil, he lost to Colombia in a pathetic opening match, and the team looked totally useless in the Semifinal against Argentina and the 3rd Place Game, a rematch with Colombia. Despite reaching the Semi, the goals were 8 for our opponents, 7 for us.

He then lost qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup against Mexico at home and Costa Rica away -- last night, The Guardian accurately called our effort in that game "abject tosh" -- putting us last in our group in the "Hexagonal" phase of CONCACAF qualification. We were in serious danger of not qualifying for the tournament at all.

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Klinsmann was finally fired. Bruce Arena was brought in. He is 65 years old, was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Franklin Square, Long Island, and graduated from Cornell University. He didn't have much of a playing career, but he turned the University of Virginia into a national power, winning 4 straight National Championships from 1991 to 1994. In 1996, he managed the U.S. team at the Olympics in Atlanta.

He was thus a natural to be the 1st manager of MLS' Washington club, D.C. United. He took them to the Double, the MLS Cup (the league's playoff championship) and the U.S. Open Cup (our version of the FA Cup), in 1996; the Supporters' Shield (finishing 1st place overall in the regular season) and another MLS Cup in 1997; and 1st place in the Eastern Conference and the CONCACAF Champions League title in 1998.

He was named manager of the U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) -- after having been DCU's manager and manager of the USMNT Under-23 squad at the same time, enabling him to manage the U.S. squad at the Olympics -- and won the Gold Cup in 2002 and 2005, and took them to the Quarterfinal of the 2002 World Cup in Korea, the team's best performance since making the Semifinal of the 1st World Cup in 1930. This included the iconic "Dos A Cero" win over Mexico at Jongju on June 17.

He returned to MLS, with the Los Angeles Galaxy, winning the Western Conference in 2009, the Supporters' Shield in 2010 and 2011, and the MLS Cup in 2011, 2012 and 2014. There are 2 iconic clubs in MLS: DCU and LAG, who've won 9 MLS Cups between them, and Arena managed 5 of those.

So when Klinsmann had to go, Arena was called, and he answered. He managed the team in 2 friendlies earlier this year, both in America: A 0-0 draw with Serbia, and a 1-0 win over Jamaica. Last night, they played the next World Cup Qualifier, at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California, home of Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes, against Honduras.

Klinsmann had frozen out Clint Dempsey, probably the greatest player in U.S. history thus far (only Landon Donovan seems to throw that into question), and Arena started him. Klinsmann had also frozen out North Brunswick, New Jersey native Tim Howard, the greatest goalkeeper in U.S. history, the former Everton star now playing out the string with the Colorado Rapids. Arena started him.

Klinsmann had also frozen out Dax McCarty of the Chicago Fire, the longtime New York Red Bulls star. Arena called him up, although he left him on the bench for last night. Klinsmann had also frozen out Arena's former Galaxy player Sebastian Lletget. Arena gave him a start, pairing him up top with Dempsey.

It was a bloodbath -- in our favor. Lletget scored just 5 minutes in, his 1st international goal, a rebound of a deflected shot by 18-year-old Dortmund star Christian Pulisic. In what was clearly a retaliatory foul, Lleget was hacked by a Honduran defender, and had to leave the game only 18 minutes in.

In the 27th minute, U.S. Captain Michael Bradley, the Toronto FC and former Princeton University star (and son of former Princeton and USMNT coach Bob Bradley), made it 2-0, showing a flash of brilliance that we haven't seen from him for a while. Just 5 minutes later, Dempsey made it 3-0, and the losses to Mexico and Costa Rica seemed very far away.

The Guardian's as-it-happened coverage, which is a rare beacon of light in soccer journalism, which (especially in England) tends to be horrific and heavily biased, wrote at the half:

Three-nil to the home side, and a thoroughly impressive 45 minutes. They snapped into tackles, passed decisively, and scored three nice goals. Honduras have been pretty rotten, to be honest, but USA have been excellent. Bruce is working his magic already. See you shortly for the second half. 

True, Honduras were bad, and would get worse. But that's not the issue. The issue is, if Klinsmann had been managing this team, it would likely have had us going through minutes 80 through 90 at 1-1, sweating and chewing our nails, hoping not that we'd get a late winner, but that we'd avoid a stoppage-time defeat.

A mere 10 seconds after the 2nd-half kickoff, Pulisic made it 4-0. Not 3 minutes later, Dempsey made it 5. Just 6 minutes after that, Dempsey made it a hat trick. It was 6-0, and the "Kick the extra point" jokes started on Twitter.

There would be no more, but it didn't matter. The only downsides were the injury to Lletget, and John Brooks apparently being ill. Both, along with Jordan Morris and Michael Orozco, also apparently injured, have been sent home, and won't play Tuesday night. Replacements have yet to be made.

Last night, a great leader made America great again. And it wasn't Donald Trump, it was Bruce Arena.

As for Jurgen Klinsmann, he can take solace in knowing that Trump and Paul Ryan, and anybody else who hates Obamacare, had a worse day than he did.

But if Klinsmann ever gets another managing job, it will be at a team with very stupid owners.

Anyway, we play again Tuesday night, against Panama, in their capital of Panama City. It is the 4th of 10 games in the qualifying process. The top 3 teams qualify. If we beat Panama, we'll be 3rd.

Thank you, Bruce.

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Days until the Red Bulls play again: Actually, they're playing as I type this, away to Real Salt Lake. Their next game will be a week from tonight, at 8:30 PM Eastern Time, away to the Houston Dynamo.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 3, this Tuesday night, away to Panama. It is still a must-win.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 6, next Friday night, against the New York Islanders, at the Barclays Center. The next game against the Philadelphia Flyers is the next day, Saturday, April 1, at the Wells Fargo Center. The Devils do not play the New York Rangers again during the regular season. Barring a miracle, they won't play the Rangers, or anyone else, in this season's Playoffs.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 8, a week from tomorrow morning, at 11:00 (4:00 in the afternoon, their time), home to Manchester City.

Days until the Yankees' 2017 season opener: 8, a week from tomorrow night, at 8:00 PM, away to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the Yankees' 2017 home opener: 16, on Monday, April 10, at 1:00 PM, home to the Rays.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 21, against D.C. United, on Saturday, April 15, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. They will next play the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, May 6, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. They will next play the New England Revolution on Saturday, May 27, at Red Bull Arena. And they will next play a Hudson River Derby against New York City FC on Saturday, June 24, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 31, on Tuesday, April 25, at 7:00 PM, at Fenway Park.

Days until the next North London Derby: 36, on Sunday, April 30, at White Hart Lane, for the last time, before Spurs' old stadium us mercifully demolished to make way for the new one. This game was moved from the 29th to accommodate the TV networks. It is also possible that Arsenal could face Tottenham again this season, in the FA Cup Final -- the result of which would absolutely be treated as a referendum on Arsène Wenger's last season as manager. Well, maybe not if he wins it.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 161, on Saturday, September 2, 2017, home to the University of Washington. A little over 5 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, as the 2017 schedule hasn't been released yet. I now know that high school football games have been scheduled in Middlesex County, New Jersey on Friday night, September 8. That's 167 days from now.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 227, on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. A little over 7 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 218, on Saturday, November 11, 2017, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 243, on Thursday morning, November 23, 2017, at 10:00. Under 8 months, and thank God it's at home at Jay Doyle's grove, rather than at the purple shit pit on Route 9.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 453, on June 14, 2018. Under a year and a half, or a little under 15 months. Has Bruce Arena turned our chances around? Or will Trump ruin them? Maybe, with the tournament on his soil, Putin will tell Trump to tell Bruce Arena to tank the games. Maybe not. Or maybe just if we end up playing Russia. I don't think Arena will listen. I hope his life insurance is paid up, because Putin kills people.

Days until the next Congressional election: 592, on November 6, 2018. Under 2 years, or a little over 19 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 655, on January 9, 2019. Under 2 years, or a little over 21 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 1,020, on January 8, 2020. Under 3 years, or a little over 33 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,218, on July 24, 2020. Under over 3 1/2 years, or a little under 40 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,320, on November 3, 2020. Under 4 years, or a little over 43 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,398, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little under 4 years, or a little under 46 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not Donald Trump. Mike Pence wouldn't be better, just differently bad.

Our Foreigners Are Better Than Your Foreigners

Last night, the U.S. team played Ghana in their first game of the 2014 World Cup, at Arena das Nunas in Natal, Brazil. After Clint Dempsey scored 30 seconds into the game, the U.S. held the lead until the 82nd minute, when Ghana finally equalized. But in the 86th minute, John Anthony Brooks (he goes by all 3 names), a defender, headed in a corner kick to win it.

Someone made the point that Brooks, who plays centreback for German side Hertha Berlin, was born in Berlin. Another defender, Timothy Chandler, also plays for the Bundesliga club in the city in which he was born: Eintracht Frankfurt. Still another defender, Fabian Johnson, was born in Munich, and plays for German club Hoffenheim.

All 3 are the sons of German mothers and American fathers, men stationed in Germany, as a result of our winning World War II and needing to fight the Cold War (though they were born at the tail end of that).

This does not include midfielder Julian Green, whose American serviceman father and German mother moved to the U.S. before he was born, and so he was born in Tampa. Though he played for German youth teams and is signed to Germany's most decorated club, Bayern Munich, he chose to play for America -- probably because Germany's team is too good for him to make it, at age 19.

Then there's midfielder Mikkel "Mix" Diskerud, son of an American mother and a Norwegian father, born and raised in Norway, and plays for Norwegian side Rosenborg.

This is to say nothing of the Hispanic immigrants, or the sons thereof, who have played for the USMNT (United States Men's National Team) and gotten it into every World Cup since 1990. The current contingent includes defender Omar Gonzalez (born in Dallas to Mexican immigrants) and midfielder Alejandro Bedoya (born in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey to Colombians). While not Hispanic, Aaron Johansson was born in Mobile, Alabama to immigrants from Iceland.

And then there's Gedion Zelalem. Born in Germany to Ethiopian parents, after his mother died he moved with his father to America, to the suburbs of Washington, D.C. He now plays for Arsenal, thankfully, and recently made his first-team debut, against Coventry City in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, despite having just turned 17. But he hasn't decided who to play for internationally: Germany, Ethiopia, or America. Having not played at the senior level for any, he is eligible to play for any of the 3 -- but only for 1 of the 3.

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So, what's the deal? We can't find enough Americans? No, we can find enough Americans. Whether they're "American" enough for you is beside the point: We're not breaking the rules, we're using the rules.

So is everyone else. Well, not quite everyone else. But most of the teams. Here are the other countries playing in this World Cup, in alphabetical order, with their foreign-born players:

* Algeria: Only 7 players were born at home, the other 16 in France: Cedric Si Mohamed, Madjid Bougherra, Faouzi Goulam, Nabil Ghilas, Sofiane Feghouli, Yacine Brahimi, Medhi Lacen, Carl Medjani, Nabil Bentaleb, Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaïba, Hassan Yebda, Saphir Taïder, Aïssa Mandi, Riyad Mahrez, Mehdi Mostefa and Raïs M’Bohli.

In 2010, 17 of their 23 were born in France. This is a by-product of the 1954-62 Algerian War of Independence from France. While many men born in one of France's former African colonies have played for France -- most notably, Senegal-born Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira -- with Algerians, it has usually been the other way, with the most notable exception being Zinedine Zidane.

Former Arsenal star Samir Nasri was also born in France of Algerian descent, but chose to play for France -- until current manager Didier Deschamps, himself a sensational France player once, dropped him from this year's squad.

* Argentina: Gonzalo Higuaín (France).

* Australia: Dario Vidošić (Croatia) and Nikita Rukavytsya (Ukraine). Vidošić is 1 of 7 players on their roster having names suggesting ancestry from the former Yugoslavia. Despite this, and despite liking to claim (like America) that they are a nation of immigrants, the other 21 players on the team were all born in Australia.

* Belgium: Anthony Vanden Borre (Congo, formerly Zaire, formerly Belgian Congo).

* Bosnia and Herzegovina: Emir Spahić (Croatia); Zvjezdan Misimović, Sead Kolašinac and Muhamed Bešić (Germany). Considering the piece-by-piece breakup of Yugoslavia, the fact that a Croatian-born player is playing for Bosnia is hardly a surprise.

* Brazil (hosts): No foreign-born players.

* Cameroon: Benoît Assou-Ekotto, Charles Itandje and Allan Nyom (France); Maxim Choupo-Moting and Joel Matip (Germany).

* Chile: Jorge Valdivia (Venezuela), Mark González (South Africa), Matías Fernández (Argentina).

* Colombia: No foreign-born players.

* Costa Rica: Oscar Duarte (Nicaragua).

* Côte d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast: Sol Bamba, Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro and Giovanni Sio (France); Mathis Bolly (Norway).

* Croatia: Eduardo da Silva and Sammir Cruz Campos (Brazil, both of whom go by only their first names); Vedran Ćorluka and Dejan Lovren (Bosnia). Croatia was the heart of the former Yugoslavian team.

* Ecuador: No foreign-born players.

* England: Raheem Sterling (Jamaica -- at least it's a member of the British Commonwealth).

* France: Patrice Evra (Senegal), Rio Mavuba (born on a boat fleeing the Angolan civil war, grew up in France).

* Germany: Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose (Poland), Cacau (Brazil), Marko Marin (Bosnia & Herzegovina).

* Ghana: André and Jordan Ayew (brothers from France), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Germany -- his brother Daniel has played for Germany), Adam Kwarasey (Norway), Albert Adomah (England).

* Greece: Loukas Vyntra (Czech Republic), Panagiotis Giorgios Kone (Albania), José Holebas (Germany, in spite of that Spanish-sounding name: Greek mother, Uruguayan father).

* Honduras: No foreign-born players.

* Iran: Daniel Devari (Germany), Steven Beitashour (America -- San Jose, California, his immigrant parents being an Assyrian Christian father and a Persian Muslim mother).

* Italy: Thiago Motta (Brazil), Gabriel Palletta (Argentina).

* Japan: Gōtoku Sakai (America -- New York City).

* Mexico: Miguel Ángel Ponce and Isaác Brizuela (America -- both from California, the former from Sacramento, the latter from San Jose. Possibly payback for all those U.S. players with Mexican parents?).

* Netherlands: Bruno Martens Indi (Portugal, parents from Guinea-Bissau, though has lived in Rotterdam almost his entire life), Jonathan Alexander de Guzman (Canada, the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario).

* Nigeria: Peter Odemwingie (Uzbekistan).

* Portugal: Pepe (Brazil); Nani (Cape Verde), William Carvalho (Angola), Éder (Guinea-Bissau). Each of those countries was once a Portuguese colony.

* Russia: No foreign-born players. Not even players from the other "republics" that once made up the Soviet Union.

* South Korea: No foreign-born players.

* Spain: Diego Costa (Brazil). No other foreign-born players -- and the team's Catalan and Basque players don't seem too interested in changing that through their regions' independence movements.

* Switzerland: Johan Djourou (Côte d'Ivoire), Valon Behrami and Xherdan Shaqiri (Kosovo); Gelson Fernandes (Cape Verde), Blerim Džemaili and Admir Mehmedi (Macedonia). Somebody showed me a graphic saying that, if only players whose grandparents had all been born in Switzerland were eligible. only 3 of the 11 players in the starting lineup for their 1st World Cup game would have qualified.

* Uruguay: Fernando Muslera (Argentina).

A Tie Is Like Kissing...

U.S.A. 1, England 1. Kind of like the War of the American Revolution: By not losing, we gain in reputation; by not winning, never finishing us off, England look awful.

An old saying in American football is, "A tie is like kissing your sister." (I know of at least 4 different coaches to whom it's been attributed.) For America, this tie was like kissing your sister's really hot best friend. For England, this tie was like kissing your mother-in-law.

It wasn't a very good game, and both teams missed plenty of opportunities to finish the other off.

I am disappointed that Wayne Rooney didn't do anything to get himself a red card, or that he, or John Terry, or Steven Gerrard, got called for diving; but that just makes it more likely that "Shrek," "Captain Adultery"/"Captain Chav" or Stevie G will do some such thing in a win-or-go-home game.

Did anybody else think of Bill Buckner when seeing replays of Robert Green's misplay of Clint Dempsey's shot?

On the other hand -- almost literally -- the man of the match was North Brunswick, New Jersey's own Tim Howard. What a performance he had in goal.

How are the ravenous English tabloid media handling this?

The Daily Mirror, a good liberal paper, does a takeoff of the Diego Maradona line "Hand of God," calling poor Green "THE HAND OF CLOD." The News of the World also chose that as their headline.

The Sun, Rupert Murdoch's bundle of lies despised all over the world, especially on Merseyside for the way they treated the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, didn't go for an embarrassing headline, but, connecting Green's goof with past Three Lions goalkeeping goofs, said, "ENGLAND were struck by the curse of the keepers as Robert Green's clanger handed the USA a point."

The Times, London's supposedly repsectable paper, but also tainted by Murdoch, gives the somewhat understated headline, "Green horror show hands draw to USA."

The Daily Express, a right-wing rag more obvious than any U.S. paper except maybe the New York Post, the Washington Times and New Hampshire's Union Leader, has already released its June 13 editions (it's 9:22 PM as I type this, making it 2:22 AM London time), and the front page says, "HIT AND MISS," the "hit" being Stevie G's goal; while the back page says, "CAPELLO TO AXE CLOWN GREEN." Secondary headline: "England won't keep calamity keeper." This, after David James, England's longtime Number 1, has frequently been called "Calamity James," and is knocking on the door of 40 years old. He is probably still a better option.

The Daily Telegraph, another right-wing rag, a.k.a. the Torygraph, quotes Bob Wilson, the English-born but Scotland-playing goalkeeper who backstopped Arsenal's 1971 Double-winning side, and later became one of the world's foremost goalkeeping coaches. Bob called Green's goof "a basic schoolboy error, a howler."

As an Arsenal fan, I have to admit, along with "Bill Buckner," I thought "Lukasz Fabianski."

"There are no excuses," Wilson said. "There were a couple of bounces en route, but it was just down to poor technique. It was a howler.

"You always need a second barrier as a goalkeeper. He almost shovelled it in with his hands. You can't blame the ball for this goal, or the pitch. It was awful, a basic schoolboy goalkeeping error.

"We always teach and talk about a second barrier in goalkeeping and he led with his hands and scooped it past him. A horror moment."

But Wilson doesn't blame Green alone. He goes after England's Italian-born manager, who must have had flashbacks of Italy's disastrous 1974 World Cup, the only one in which he played:

"It creates a huge problem for Fabio Capello, and lots of fingers will now be pointing at the manager.

"He still doesn't know who is the best of his three 'keepers. Rob Green was trusted with the Number 1 jersey and now the critics will be saying he should have gone with Joe Hart because statistically he had the best season.

"You could see the look of horror on the faces of all the players, but everyone will have spoken to him at half-time and given him their full support. The fact that it happened in the first half gave him the chance of redemption in the second 45 minutes.

"The error reminded me of Dan Lewis letting in the goal in the 1927 FA Cup final when Cardiff beat Arsenal, the only time the FA Cup went out of England. Lewis allowed the ball to slip out of his shiny jersey and into the net. The shot was almost identical."

Having recently gone over the Arsenal: The Official History DVD, that particular gaffe was fresh in my mind, and I thought of that, along with Buckner and "Flappy-handski." Supposedly, Lewis' shirt was new and slippery, and the ball just plain skidded under his armpit and into the net.

In the tradition of ESPN Classic, I give you...

The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Robert Green for England Failing to Defeat the U.S.A. at the 2010 World Cup

5. David James and Joe Hart. England's other choices weren't obviously better in the run-in. Making Green the choice of...

4. Fabio Capello. He picked Green.

3. England's Attack. In 97 minutes, one of the world's supposedly best teams scored only one goal.

2. The U.S. Defense. The game went 97 minutes, counting each half's injury time. They stopped Steven Gerrard for the last 93 minutes, and for the entire 97 minutes, they stopped Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard; for most of the game stopped Emile Heskey; and ,for the last few minutes, stopped Heskey's replacement, the 6-foot-7 Tottenham bastard Peter Crouch.

1. Tim Howard. The opposing goalie was an absolute beast.

So... England are facing the same old story: Before the World Cup, the homeland press are calling them champions-to-be; after one bad group-stage game, they're spitting blood, or saying the sky is falling, or both.

But if I know the U.S. team (and I think I do), they'll be so proud of themselves over this that they'll clown their way through the Algeria and Slovenia games, and either blow a chance to finish 1st in their group, or even miss 2nd and fail to advance at all.

If the U.S. can beat Algeria, as they should, they'll advance no matter what happens against Slovenia. If they only get draws against both, and England beats both, and they draw against each other, that will leave the group standings as...

ENGLAND 7
U.S.A. 3
ALGERIA 2
SLOVENIA 2

And we advance, most likely to play Germany in the first knockout round. I don't want to lose to the Krauts... but we probably will.

But we proved a point to the English. And by the way, it's "soccer," not "football." You got a problem with that? Come and beat us!

As for those other Yankees, they beat the Houston Astros today, 9-3.