DID WORLD CUP LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES? WE''LL SEE

 We’re baaaaack. Like anyone noticed or cared, we’ve been AWOL for a month dealing with assorted illnesses usually associated with old people … like moi.

While still to be dealt with is some clean up of both eyes, 

making typos more likely (if you can believe that), herewith 

an attempt to catchup a little bit.

Like the FIFA World Cup of soccer comes to these shores 

for the first time in more than 40 years, starting Friday ...

… and here’s hoping futbol’s intelligensia learned from their 

arrogance when the Cup was held here in 1994 … and 

actually welcome media interest rather than discourage it.

I got to Detroit for the Americans’ first-round match looking 

forward to the experience. Didn’t take long to change my 

mind. First, I was told my media-rate reservation at the hotel 

(made and accepted long before deadline) was not available 

… but they probably could find something else for me, at a 

higher rate, of course.

Then, having arrived late for the U.S., team’s short, day-

before-game, workout, I was told the only way to catch up 

with some of the players for a piece the next day was to 

“stand in the lobby of their hotel and grab them as they 

walked by.” Wonderful.

I’ve often wondered what other unsuspecting writers would 

have done had they not already known USA coach Bruce 

Arena and several players also from UVA.

Still, the worse was yet to come. After the game, won by the 

Americans, those of us apparently not considered a 

necessary part of the soccer press, were told we could not go 

to the locker room for interviews … but some coaches and 

athletes could be heard being interviewed on closed TV.

When the sound didn’t work, and we couldn’t hear a word 

anyone said, I did something I rarely did in 50 years of 

sportswriting … I grabbed the sheet provided with quotes, 

few if any worthwhile, and used a couple for a game story 

that I wished had not carried my byline.

Needless to say, we did not follow the US team for game 2. 

One and done. (And somehow they managed to survive.)

FROM THE Dept. of Some Things Never Change … Alexi 

Lalas, former fullback for USA, remains the go-to mouth for 

soccer in this country. Like him or not.

Always full of … opinions … and never bashful about 

expressing them, Lalas said, “Yeah, we’re going to win the 

World Cup” on “Fox and Friends.”

He can hope, anyway.

Fox has a look back at the 1994 team. I haven’t seen it yet 

but willing to bet Arena is barely mentned if at all. 

“It was important for us to do well, and we had a blast,”Lalas 

recalled. “It seems like yesterday … but evidently it was 

along time ago.”

Evidently.

Until next time ...