God, Country, Soccer

Herculez Gomez has found great success playing for Puebla in Mexico's Primera Division. So much so that over the weekend he found himself in contention for the scoring title. That was until the referee remembered that Herculez, although being Latino of Mexican descent, is also an internationally capped American. Now, most people when they hear the words conspiracy curl their nose and stop reading. But conspiracy, corruption and collusion are all in play in Mexico, especially when it comes to soccer. Here's where the conspiracy theory comes in. In the second to last game of the season, Herculez scored his second goal of the game against Cruz Azul in the 37th minute bringing him into a tie for the "Golden Boot" with Chivas de Guadalajara's Javier "El Chicharito" Hernandez. Chicharito as you remember was sold a couple of weeks ago to Manchester United and left immediately, leaving his goal scoring lead at 10. When Herculez scored his tenth on the season...

I'm so excited, I cannot even tell you. USA vs. Mexico. 5pm on ESPN2. As far as predictions go, here's mine. It will start slow, the weather is going to be crappy, so it'll take a while for the guys to warm up. Look for Beasley to work the left flank and use his speed to set up Donovan. I see a first have strike from Dempsey, cleaning up a rebound from Landon Donovan. Second half, Mexico comes on strong, putting pressure on Tim Howard. But the defense will hold, Gooch will get a yellow, just becuase he's so big, the refs pick on him. Look for the nail in the coffin to come from second half sub Jose Francisco Torres. For the final score, USA 2, Mexico 0. What's your prediction? Feel free to post yours on the comments section. Also, where you will be watching? Here's a funny video for you that I first saw on The Offside Rules :

It's a snow day here at GCS headquarters, but I'll be watching the second semi final of the Mexican league playoffs tonight at 8pm between Santos and Toluca. Last nights game was great, an entertaining 3-1 victory for Cruz Azul over Atlante. A weak penalty call in the 7th minute really set the tone for a back and forth game. Atlante will have to score 2 goals at home in Cancun on Saturday.

The MLS season is over, but there still is good soccer going on. Tonight is the first leg of the semifinals in Mexico's First Division. With some good match ups, these games should be fun to watch. First you have is Atlante making the trip to Mexico City to take on Cruz Azul at 8pm. The "Cementeros" of Cruz Azul made it to the finals last season and are looking to make another run this year. Meanwhile Atlante won the whole thing two seasons ago and are looking to rebound from disappointing 15th place in last years table. The second of the two semifinals defending champions Santos Laguna hosting Toluca in Torreon tomorrow 6pm. Santos are coming off a less than stellar regular season, but posted an impressive series upset over the Superlideres San Luis. They face another tough round against Toluca, who tallied the second most points in league play this year. Don't forget, Chicago Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco is on loan at Santos and will be playing in this game. W...