Team USA disappointed in Gold Cup 2011 but they made quaterfinal

I've never kept it a secret that I'm a fan of three of the soccer teams I often write about here. The Philadelphia Union, the United States men's national team and West Ham United of England always will hold serious places in my heart. All told, I've seen the three of those teams play, in person, more than 30 times in the last 12 years.

The blogosphere, so to speak, is a different animal to print and other traditional media in that regard. But, just because I express an allegiance to certain teams, it doesn't mean my analysis is all rose petals and violins. Hey, if a team claims your soul, then they had better produce performances that wreak of passion.

That was far from the case in the U.S. men's 1-0 win over Guadeloupe on Tuesday night in the last Group C game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. American striker Jozy Altidore scored a belter of a goal from 30 yards out in the first half, but the rest was a case of "nearly" from a U.S. side that flattered to deceive.

No matter, as the U.S. will play Jamaica in the quarterfinals at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on Sunday at 3 p.m. (Fox Soccer). The pedestrian play shown by the Americans has to be wiped completely off the "white board" by coach Bob Bradley. There has to be a vibrancy to the U.S. gameplan that we really haven't seen since the last few minutes vs. Algeria last year in South Africa.

I've also said on here before that I've actually taken days off work to watch the U.S. men play in FIFA tournaments such as the Confederations Cup and, of course, the World Cup. I'll always "root for the shirt," as we say in this sport. But, I must say, that undying enthusiasm is getting much harder to muster. I at least want to be entertained by the product.

I hate to say it, but soccer's growth in the U.S. seems to have got to this team. When you make the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine and are hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread, the effort levels are bound to dip. The Landon Donovans and Carlos Bocanegras of the world look to be coasting and resting on their laurels.

Then, there's Mexico. They have been the revelation of this tournament, with a 3-0-0 record in group play. "El Tri," as they are known, have scored 14 goals and conceded just 1. They're scoring goals for fun now, and I hear regulalrly from local friends such as Jessica Figueroa of Linwood and Antonio Cortes of Pleasantville about their advanced level of play over the last week.

Many other pundits have written about this in recent days, but I agree that the Bradley coaching experiment has gone stale. How can a team with Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard be struggling like a junior-college side? You have to think that a foreign coach might have to be the way to go here, although there is another type of option ... semantically, at least.

Don't look now, but Philadelphia Union manager Peter Nowak just could become the next U.S. coach. He's been at the helm for younger age groups within the American setup, but his work with the Union has been stellar this year. If Bradley is fired and Nowak gets the call, don't be surprised if Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz lets his manager go and hands the team over to assistant John Hackworth.

Nowak is from Poland, but he's been involved in the U.S. hierarchy for years. He'd almost be the perfect candidate for the national team ... he has the foreign pedigree but he knows what makes American players tick, so to speak. But, we digress. The U.S. team has Jamaica in front of them Sunday. For now, that's all that matters.

USA beat Guadeloupe to ensure their quaterfinal against Jamaica

Rarely is any win widely labeled as a failure, but the United States have captured that rare distinction tonight with their embarrassing 1-0 win over Guadeloupe. Though Jozy Altidore hit a fantastic strike in the 9th minute to put the United States up 1-0, they missed an absolutely unbelievable volume of chances and played completely lackadaisical throughout the second half. Guadeloupe hardly showed up to the game, and the fact that they were only able to win 1-0 in a must win game at home against such a poor side is extremely disappointing.

The general consensus is that the performance they put in tonight would get the USMNT embarrassed by Mexico and beaten quite easily by Jamaica and Costa Rica, so they will have to bring a much higher level of focus and energy against the Reggae Boyz

Clint Dempsey, in particular, had what can only be described as one of the worst games of his professional career. The attacking midfield player has been great for Fulham and the United States over the years, which is exactly what made his performance so shocking. He could have very easily had a hat trick, and his 75th minute miss was worthy of an all-time great misses lowlight reel.

Even more puzzling than the United States' atrocious finishing and their seemingly limited effort in the second half were the substitutions that Bob Bradley made. Despite the fact that his team had all of the possession and Guadeloupe appeared to have no chance to make anything happen, he brought in midfielders for strikers with his first two substitutions, then made a like for like change with the third. The decision to sit back and try to kill off a game in which his team held a 1-0 lead against an inferior opponent was baffling.

This was about the least impressive win that the United States could have possibly posted, and they look like a team that will be defeated by Jamaica without much of a problem. They have the rest of the week to sort themselves out, and despite the bad performances so far in Gold Cup, that quarterfinal matchup should be a close one.

Hanging bodies found from bridges in Mexico

Calderon blames the United States, at least for the guns. Though the proportionate amount of weapons coming out of the U.S. has dropped to 70 percent from the 85 percent reported in 2009, it's tough to argue against the Mexican president Along those lines, the American ban on assault rifles lifted in 2004 contributed to the spike in bloodshed.

The report "recommends stricter laws around assault rifles, especially military-style weapons imported from Eastern Europe, and points to gun shows as a source of these types of weapons."In Mexcio, meantime, the burned body of a man was found Monday hung from a bridge in Monterrey, police said, the AP reports.

The second man was found in the nearby town of Guadalupe early Tuesday. Witnesses say he was hung from the bridge at around 7 a.m. after being shot and killed. Police reportedly found him in the river below because the rope had snapped.

Gang killings are often carried out in daylight in view of drivers on busy streets below.Last week in Monterrey, two men were found dead and a teenage boy shot and hanged by his arms but alive in the same spot where the burned man was found Monday.

Mexico has seen unprecedented gang violence, with more than more than 40,000 killed, since Calderon stepped up the fight against drug trafficking in December 2006, deploying thousands of troops and federal police to cartel strongholds.

Last Thursday alone, five people were killed in a nightclub in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, 21 bodies were scattered around the streets of the western Mexican city of Morelia, in Michoacan state, and 10 bodies were found in mass graves in the resort city of Acapulco, DPA reports.

A 3 years boy found a dead body into car

A 3-year-old Guadalupe County boy, discovered dead in the family car Sunday, likely slipped away from his napping dad and climbed into the car on his own, authorities said.The investigation isn't finished, but Sheriff Arnold Zwicke said interviews and preliminary autopsy results point toward a tragic accident.The family home is located in a rural area between New Berlin and La Vernia.

“The boy and his dad were supposed to be taking naps while mom was doing something at church,” Zwicke said. “The little one got up while dad was asleep and got out of the house and got into the car. All evidence right now leans toward it being accidental.”When the boy's mother returned home, she asked about the boy. His father, not knowing the toddler had slipped away, went to the boy's room to wake him, only to find an empty bed.

The parents made the heart-wrenching discovery moments later, Zwicke said. The car wasn't locked.The exact time of death hasn't been determined. The 911 call came in to the sheriff's office shortly before 5 p.m.Temperatures reached 98 degrees Sunday, meaning the heat was above triple digits inside the car.Kids and Cars, a Kansas-based advocacy organization, said it was the fourth such death in Texas and 10th in the country so far this year.

An 18-month-old girl died in a hot car in Hidalgo County on Saturday; a 1-year-old Austin girl died on May 25; and 6-month-old Mya Wallace of New Braunfels died on March 8. In each instance, those children were left alone in hot cars by drivers.

Last year, 49 children died from hyperthermia, said Johnny Humphreys, chairman of the Texas Task Force of Safe Kids USA's “Never Leave Your Child Alone in a Car” campaign. Safe Kids USA is a Washington-based advocacy group.Nearly a third of the heat-related child fatalities, Humphreys said, occur when a child slips away unnoticed and gets into a car, ultimately succumbing to the heat.

His organization offers several suggestions to keep children safe:Drivers should always lock car doors and trunks, regardless of the situation.Keys should be kept away from children.Children should not be allowed to play in cars.When a child is missing, vehicles and trunks should be checked first.

Grass fire making problems for car near NB

A broken-down vehicle on the side of the road is the suspected cause of the large grass fire on Sunday along Union Wine Road in the New Braunfels area.

“A Jeep got stuck on the side of an unpaved, private road and either the engine or catalytic converter started a fire,” Seguin Fire Marshal Greg Dreiss said.

Falls from tree makes death sure

A Baytown man died Saturday after falling from a tree, hitting the ground and ending up in the Guadalupe River, an official said.

Brandon Allen Cooper, 20, was rushed to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital-New Braunfels, where doctors pronounced him dead, said Lt. Mark Reynolds of Comal County Sheriff’s Office. He said a justice of the peace ruled Cooper’s death an accident due to a fall.