I think we've all gotten over the initial shock of yesterday's selections but still, wow. I mean who saw that one coming? 24 years old, and your biggest dreams coming true? Captivating the hearts of a nation and swaying the opinions of some of the world's foremost judges of talent? Congratulations to Lee Dewyze, and a good ole "nice try" to Crystal.


Oh, and Robbie "Even his mother knows he has no chance" Findley is going to the World Cup. Whoops. Mea Culpa on that one, guys. But hey, thanks. Where would bloggers be if we didn't have readers to nitpick every single throwaway joke weeks after we've made them? I kid, I kid. I'm just happy someone besides Jason's mom is reading the site.


Speaking of soccer bloggers, I'm convinced that's how Bobby tracksuit (kudos for his ability to put on khakis to meet the three of the most influential men in the World) picked his World Cup squad.


"You know how everybody thinks Ching is a lock, EJ is my homeboy, Robbie Findley has about as much of a shot as I do when making my annual run at Amy Wynalda, and that I'm going to make Buddle and Gomez work a spot out Thunderdome style? Screw 'em. And I'm gonna take Feilhaber and Torres and leave out my pet project Bedoya. Ever see a blogosphere crap its pants out of shock? Well you will."


Speaking of crapping your pants, who else enjoyed watching the comedy of errors at left back Tuesday night? Jonathan Bornstein looked more lost out there than the tribe of Reuben. Aaron Lennon is already practicing signing a copy of The Sun with a terrible pun on the front page. Heath Pearce looked about as interested in defending as Marcus Hahnemann does at a performance of The Vagina Monologues. "But there's always Bocanegra!" cry the hilariously optimistic US fans. Yep, the same Bocanegra who just had a hernia operation and spent most of the evening filling his finely tuned body with burgers and buffalo wings.


At least it's American junk food. Wouldn't want his time at Rennes turning him into some frog-leg munching nancy boy, like some twisted continental version of Brad Friedel. Or John Harkes, when he tries to drop slang.


Speaking of of Mr. Amy Wynalda (I know! Two Amy Wynalda jokes in one post. I'm so cutting edge, like Vanilla Ice's heavy metal album.), he sounds like an idiot when paired with JP Dellacamera. Putting him in a booth with Martin Tyler is like playing co-op Halo 3 with your friend who spends 6 hours a day on X-Box Live. Either way, it's not pretty. Brad Guzan levels of not pretty.


Tyler and Harkes isn't so much Abbot and Costello as it is Abbot and Carlos Mencia. But hey, it could be worse. I mean, it's not like our three best central defenders have serious health issues and our most important striker couldn't get playing time at one of the most abominable teams in Premiership history, right? I mean, that would bum me out like Taylor Twellman after TMZ's over.


Well, crap.


Better start working your ass off, Landon.

The USMNT's 23-man roster is due out shortly, but I'd like to take a quick minute to talk about what concerned me most last night against the Czechs. And that, dear reader, is the position of left back. At most positions, we at least have one or two players who if, unspectacular, are at least solidly reliable against good opposition. At left back, we've got Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce. A lot of people have noticed that this is a problem area, and you can bet that Fabio Capello is aware of it, too.


I've never really been a fan of Bornstein's. He seems to have graduated cum laude from the Marvell Wynne School of Defense (If you get beat, be fast enough to get back and foul him), and that was painfully evident last night. The main weapon in his defensive arsenal seems to be hurling himself in the general direction of the attacker's feet. As far as I'm concerned, the Hondurans can have him. He's one of a select group of USMNT players whose presence on the field genuinely frightens me.


Heath Pearce, on the other hand, frustrates me because I think he has a lot more to offer than he's currently putting out. I remember his debut, a friendly against Scotland. He came on as a sub and immediately impressed me. He wanted the ball at his feet, was dribbling at the opposition, making incisive runs off the ball, and tracking back on defense. None of that was on display last night, and to be honest, I haven't seen him play well in a while. I was in the press box for Goal.com during the FC Dallas v. Philadelphia Union game last week, and at times, I forgot he was even playing. After the game, I was asked to write a paragraph on him, as part of a collaborative piece on MLS players on the 30-man roster. I went back and re-watched the game, specifically him, and my initial suspicions were confirmed. He seemed content to jog and watch play, rather than get involved. I'm convinced that it's only the dearth of talent at that position that he's even involved.


But the problem still exists of who should play in that position. Carlos Bocanegra has been an option there, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is used there in some World Cup games. But in the England game, we'll probably be facing Aaron Lennon, who has enough speed to negate Boca's defensive capabilities and cause a lot of problems on the back line, or Theo Walcott, who has even more pace with less of an end product. Another option would be moving one of our two right backs, Steve Cherundolo and Jonathan Spector, to the left. Frankly, at this short notice, I'd lump for Dolo. He has enough pace that he won't be completely marginalized, and is a seasoned international defender with a lot of games under his belt.


Whoever Bob Bradley decides to take, I'm not envious of the responsibility facing him. This is, in my eyes, the most problematic and potentially disastrous area for the Yanks, and may be the most difficult decision he has to make before June 12.