Balls

Coming off a stirring run to the finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup, the US National Soccer team filled its fans with hope for the upcoming 2010 World Cup. Add to that a favorable draw, and the US is hoping to advance out of the pool play for the first time in history. That is, they were until they let the Mets training staff take over, leading to a rash of injuries to key players Charlie Davies, Oguchi Onyewu, and now Clint Dempsey. I caught up with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard as they ran a complicated training maneuver under the watchful eye of Mets trainer Ray Ramirez. Both men seemed unconcerned with the injuries while juggling razor-sharp swords, poisonous snakes, and what appeared to be a grenade without its pin. When asked to comment, Donovan expressed faith in what he called, "Ray's capable hands."