The quick and dirty preview, San Jose v Houston

By: Melissa | May 21st, 2008

Time is of the essence, and this week, I have very little of it. So let me go ahead and pull this preview out of my ass… then get on with it. This Thursday we will be kind of sort of playing ourselves but at the same time kind of not. In fact, you could say we will be playing with ourselves and I really really hope whoever does the color commentary on ESPN for this game (John Harkes?) mentions that at some point during the broadcast. Onward…

Major Leagu—whaaaa? Houston used to be San Jose until 2005, when they packed up their belongings (sans trophies), headed east, and became Houston. If this was a lesson in American History, I would’ve just blown your mind. Ok, in all seriousness, the Houston Dynamo are coming off a very important win over Chicago after a slow and mostly winless start to their season. And their season just happens to echo their late-to-start performance from last year - which finished with the team taking home the MLS Cup. If history, which often repeats, is any indication, this is the beginning of many wins for the Dynamo. The Earthquakes, on the other hand, remain the typical expansion team and their out-of-the-blue performance against Colorado appears to be a mere one-off. So to make a long story short, both teams really really really need a win right now.

Any line-up changes? Starting Ned Grabavoy as a forward against New England was a bit of a shock to me. Did it work? Hmmmmm. Question: even with our injuries, Salinas and Johnson rarely get the nods to start. But surely they can do more than just spark up the second half? Well, according to Jeff Carlisle, Johnson may get a start on Thursday alongside Kei Kamara. And to that I say, hallelujah – let’s score and score early.

Who is out? From now on, if I don’t mention Jay Ayers’ name, just assume he’s still recuperating. Otherwise, Gavin Glinton and Peguero Jean Philippe are still injured. Nick Garcia is still “probable.” But since Hernandez has been holding it down alright, Garcia may again sit this one out.

Who is gonna score? Shea Salinas! Yeah! Just because!

Who is gonna shine? The entire team. Seriously. Let’s just forget New England ever happened.

Predictions? 0-0 tie. The hometown crowd will keep our defense focused the entire 90+ minutes meaning no more slip ups. Our offense will again find its spark sometime late in the game and create a number of close calls that never quite make the back of the net. I will spend the entire game wondering if our boys just have bad aim.

At this point, I don’t even care about the commentary. Just post more links to mp3s. Good enough for me. Everyone has a handful of bands that are their guilty pleasures. For me, one of them is Cut Copy. I actually went out of my way to go see them play at Coachella and I’ve been listening to their new album, In Ghost Colours, nonstop this week. And to anyone who doesn’t know who they are, imagine New Order reborn as a bunch of skinny white Australian hipsters in tight pants. Here’s their somewhat ridiculous video for Hearts On Fire and the song totally channels Peter Hook on bass alongside SAXAMAPHONE!

As for the mp3 part, here’s the Cut Copy remix of Midnight Juggernauts’ 45 and Rising. Disco. Enjoy.

How should I prepare for this game? Red meat! It’s almost Memorial Day so if you don’t already anticipate spending some portion of your weekend at a bbq, then, uh, just take a shelf from your stove, some coals, and a few cider blocks outside and make a damn barbecue.

So I think that’s it. Be sure to have a great Memorial Day weekend. If you don’t already have fantastic plans, the San Francisco Carnival is taking place this weekend in the Mission District and during the festivities, Yuri Morales will be putting on a Soccer Carnival featuring an appearance from one of the Quakes. Go ahead and take a wild guess which Quake you think will show up. I’m crossing my fingers for Eric Denton. Then, if I go, I can ask him for a “That Guy” autograph. Perfect. And let me leave you with this one last thought: if you are a vegan and you eat vegan butter, should you perhaps reevaluate your desire to remain a vegan?