All posts by Micah Hixon

A die hard Sooner fan through and through. Micah transferred his allegiance to the Oklahoma City Thunder the year the Mavs won the title (go figure). He believes the Thunder and Sooners have many titles to come in the not too distant future. Most of his comments are not backed up by any sort of fact based reasoning, but you can trust him.

Weekly Staff Pick ’em – Round 2

Welcome back to round two of the new weekly staff pick 'em where the Crimson Slate staff along with a guest picker examine the top games of the week across the NBA, NCAA, and NFL. This is the second round out of ten projected rounds. This week's special guest picker is our good friend Shawn Clynch. Let's check in with the results from last week:

Micah: 8-2
Blake: 5-5
David: 6-4

We'll keep a running tally each week of the previous week's results as well as the overall numbers. Without further ado, here are the picks for round two:

Continue reading Weekly Staff Pick ’em – Round 2

NBA

Houston Rockets (4-0) at Miami Heat (3-0)
Micah's Pick: Heat 102 – 100
Both teams are off to a great start. While the Heat suddenly find themselves in a world without King James, they seem to be adjusting rather well thus far with Bosh taking over as the #1 option.

Blake's Pick: Heat 101 – 96
So far, the Heat haven’t missed a beat in the “Post-James Era”. Adding a Luol Deng is a pretty high consolation prize. The Rockets are lethal offensively and hard to stop once they get going with Harden, Howard and co. I’ll take the home team in a toss up.

Shawn's Pick: Rockets 102  94
How about this for a an early indication of what the NBA Finals may be? This will not be the match up we will see in June, but it's an excellent early season showdown. The Beard for the Rockets will never forget Miami. It was the Heat who shut him down in the Finals a few seasons ago as a member of The Thunder. Harden will redeem himself.

 

Los Angeles Clippers (3-1) at Golden State Warriors (3-0)
Micah's Pick: Clippers 121 114
Two high powered offenses in the western conference. Curry and Thompson have been very impressive thus far for Golden State, but I see the Clippers edging them out here.

Blake's Pick: Warriors 107 – 100
The Warriors are set up to win for a long time with the “Splash Brothers”. As long as CP3 and Blake are healthy, the Clips match up well with anyone. Again, I see this being a toss up and I’ll go home team.

Shawn's Pick: Clippers 106  102
Intriguing matchup in the west. I'm feeling Blake and Chris Paul to slow down their Nor Cal rivals. Stephen Curry will drain his share as expected and reach his average of 25.3 ppt, but the Clippers will win.

 

NCAA

Baylor Bears (7-1) at Oklahoma Sooners (6-2)
Micah's Pick: Sooners 38 – 31
Oklahoma is 21-2 all time vs Baylor. However, those two losses have come in the last three years. Both Baylor wins have come in Waco though and the Bears have never beaten the Sooners in Norman. Look for the Sooners to continue the streak on Saturday.

Blake's Pick: Sooners 42 – 37
OU played their best at Iowa State. Knight looked unstoppable. Baylor IS unstoppable. Petty and company will score theirs, but I think OU gets the home win and keep their high bowl hopes alive.

Shawn's Pick: Sooners 37  28
The Sooners won 21-straight vs the Bears, but have lost 2 of the past 3 against Baylor. The home field advantage will play a major role in this one. No way, Bryce Petty and the Bears leave Norman with a win. OU appears to have repaired whatever was ailing them.

 

Oregon Ducks (8-1) at Utah Utes (6-2)
Micah's Pick: Ducks 42 – 24
Oregon is in the drivers seat for a playoff berth. All signs point to another Ducks victory.

Blake's Pick: Ducks 44 – 31
Oregon should win this one convincingly. Utah has been really good this year, and will have a rowdy crowd ready to welcome the Ducks, but too much Mariota.

Shawn's Pick: Utes 34 – 31
Salt Lake City is not exactly known as an intimidating college football venue, but it is underrated. I'm placing the Ducks on an upset alert.

 

Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) at LSU Tigers (6-2)
Micah's Pick: Crimson Tide 13 – 10
While the selection committee would probably be just fine showcasing these two SEC West teams in a playoff match-up, it will have to do for a regular season showdown. Whoever gets into the endzone twice wins.

Blake's Pick: Tigers 21 – 17
Doesn’t get much better than a showdown of the Titans in Death Valley. A 7 PM game time bodes well for LSU as Les and his crew are nearly unbeatable under the lights in Baton Rouge.. Here’s my “upset” of the week.

Shawn's Pick: Crimson Tide 24 – 20
"Calling Baton Rouge".. Garth Brooks was calling Baton Rouge for a lady friend in that song, but Nick Saban will be calling for bodyguards. The Tiger nation remembers him leaving LSU like it was yesterday. I'm not sure Saban's boys will be treated with southern hospitality, but I do believe the Crimson Tide will play well enough to escape with a win on the bayou.

 

Kansas State Wildcats (7-1) at TCU Horned Frogs (7-1)
Micah's Pick: Horned Frogs 42 – 28
This match-up has not only heavy conference title implications, but also national playoff implications. Whichever team wins will be primed to win the conference and potentially earn a shot to compete vs the SEC in the playoffs. Big game, lots riding on the line for both programs.

Blake's Pick: Horned Frogs 38 – 34
Here’s your Big 12 Championship game, nearly. Whoever wins this one will have the driver’s seat, so long as OU beats Baylor. Kansas St is really sound, but TCU just finds a way. (Got screwed at Baylor). At home, I think TCU comes out ahead in the end, barely.

Shawn's Pick: Horned Frogs 30 – 24
I'm torn on this one. We'll see if the Horny Frogs are legit or not against a true defense. The winner has the inside track to the Big 12 Championship with a few weeks remaining to play. Ole Cowtown doesn't exactly instill fear, but I do believe Gary Patterson shocks the world by scoring some points.

 

Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) at Michigan State Spartans (7-1)
Micah's Pick: Spartans 24 – 14
While the Big 10 is clearly down this year, Michigan State is a legit program and should take down the Buckeyes with relative ease.

Blake's Pick: Spartans 30 – 21
I, for one, think Michigan State is the far superior team in this matchup. Ohio St lost at home to VT and should have gotten beat in Happy Valley at State College 2 weeks ago. Michigan State boasts a tremendous defense that I think will keep OSU in check.

Shawn's Pick: Spartans 27 – 21
Yawwwnnnn!! Big 10 football does absolutely nothing for me, but the Spartans do impress me. 

 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1) at Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1)
Micah's Pick: Fighting Irish 27 – 24
Notre Dame should likely be 8-0 heading into this contest, but suffered a tough defeat in Tallahassee a couple of weeks ago. Look for another close game here with the Irish squeaking one out and clamoring for a playoff spot.

Blake's Pick: Sun Devils 37 – 24
Todd Graham is a heck of an offensive mind. Brian Kelly is a heck of a preparer. This may be a great game. If so, ND wins a close one, if it’s lopsided, Arizona State is clicking. I’ll go with the home team.

Shawn's Pick: Fighting Irish 24 – 17
The Fighting Irish never shy away from a  challenging schedule. WOW!! On the road again for a national game in Tempe. Todd Graham has a solid Sun Devils team, but Notre Dame gets the win.

 

NFL

Miami Dolphins (5-3) at Detroit Lions (6-2)
Micah's Pick: Lions 28 – 17
While Dolphins have been on a terror of late, the Lions are finally getting healthy with the return of Megatron and Bush. Will the Dolphins defense be able to contain Megatron in his return? I'm not betting on it.

Blake's Pick: Lions 24 – 20
My beloved Miami Dolphins are playing meaningful football in November. This is a huge game for both teams. Detroit boasts the best overall defense in the NFL, but Miami has laid the wood in previous weeks. I hate to do it, but I think a healthy Megatron and the Detroit passing game is the difference.

Shawn's Pick: Lions 27 – 24
Miami is favored by  a field goal in this matchup of unpredictable quarterbacks. Stafford can light it up and he and his Lions are at home. Hmmm… I'm torn though, but Motown takes it.

 

Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) at Buffalo Bills (5-3)
Micah's Pick: Bills 21 – 14
When in doubt, roll with the home team. Kyle Orton to Sammy Watkins for the win.

Blake's Pick: Chiefs 23 – 21
The Bills, under the leadership of Kyle Orton have played good football. The Chiefs started slow, but are coming around as expected. A healthy Jamaal Charles is key, here. I expect a close one, with a tight finish.

Shawn's Pick: Chiefs 24 – 20
Stingy defenses go at it, but this in Buffalo where weather may be a factor. However, KC has Jamaal Charles. He is probable. But, my decisive factor is Kyle Orton at qb for Buffalo. I don't mean that in a positive way.

Weekly Staff Pick ’em

We're going to try out a new weekly staff pick 'em game where Blake and I make 10 predictions across the NFL, NBA, and NCAA. We'll grab two of the top NBA games of the week, then 4 NFL and NCAA football match-ups. The plan is to run the weekly segment for 10 weeks and then see who is the almighty sports master. We hope to add in guest picks from week to week to spice things up. David is this week's special guest and occasional Crimson Slate contributor. Let's get right down to it.

Continue reading Weekly Staff Pick ’em

NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Clippers
Micah's Pick: Clippers 116 – 97
The Thunder are just too depleted to start the season. I don't see this one even being real close. Westbrook kept the Thunder in the game vs the Blazers for three quarters, but the Clippers are much better than the Blazers.

Blake's Pick: Clippers 110 – 90
The Thunder are in bad shape. With only 9 players, I can't see this being too competitive. The Clippers are good enough to win the West this year.

David's Pick: Clippers 107 – 95
Obviously the Thunder are going to struggle early. At LA just adds to the margin.
 

New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers
Micah's Pick: Cavs 95 – 82
King James comes home to a high profile, yet easily winnable game vs the Knicks.

Blake's Pick: Cavs 103 – 94
Ahh, the highly anticipated return of King James to his hometown. Add in Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, budding scorer Dion Waiters, and big man Anderson Varajeo, and you have yourself quite the ensemble. Melo will get his, too, though. Cavs win.

David's Pick: Cavs 101 – 88
Are the Knicks going to be any good at all? We know the Cavs should win this one easily at home.
 

NCAA

Oklahoma Sooners at Iowa State Cyclones
Micah's Pick: Sooners 55 – 14
The Sooners may have blown any chance they had at a slot in the 4 team playoff, but their pride is still on the line. I see the Sooners coming out and running up the score on a patchy Iowa St defense.

Blake's Pick: Sooners 42 – 23
OU needs a win. They need it NOW. Any more losses, and OU is staring the Liberty Bowl in the face. I think OU is too big on both sides of the trenches and too fast outside.

David's Pick: Sooners 48 – 24
You do know that OU has only lost 5x in 78 games against ISU right?
 

TCU Horned Frogs at West Virginia Mountaineers
Micah's Pick: Horned Frogs 52 – 41
TCU has made one of the more memorable turnarounds in recent memory. Going 4-8 last year to starting 6-1 this year has been nothing short of amazing. Boykin has truly raised his game from a year ago and this is now one of the top offenses in the nation.

Blake's Pick: Horned Frogs 47 – 37
This will be an epic shootout. TCU hung 82 on Texas Tech. The Frogs may not score that many in any basketball game this year. West Virginia has a sudden swagger to their defense after naming a new DC mid season. I expect a lot of fireworks, with the better “team” winning. TCU’s defense gets a stop or two.

David's Pick: Mountaineers 41 – 38
Yes this is my one upset special of the week. If TCU clears this hurdle they will win the Big 12.
 

Auburn Tigers at Ole Miss Rebels 
Micah's Pick: Tigers 38 – 20
Ole Miss has been playing a bit above their heads all year. Auburn states their case for a spot in the SEC college football playoffs.

Blake's Pick: Tigers 35 – 31
It may be just me, but I’m not quite sure Auburn is as good as they were in 2013. They’re still really good, but not quite that team they were last year. Bo Marshall is capable of being a Heisman-type quarterback. He also can be really bad. See last week vs LSU. Auburn has enough in the end.

David's Pick: Rebels 24 – 21
I see a bounce back for Ole Miss playing at home.
 

Florida State Seminoles at Louisville Cardinals
Micah's Pick: Seminoles 31 – 17
Florida State's last hurdle until they skate into the playoffs. While I don't think they are near as good as last year's championship bunch, they're good enough to roll through the ACC.

Blake's Pick: Cardinals 27 – 24
This game is on Thursday night. National TV will be there. Bobby Petrino would want nothing more than to beat FSU in front of the entire nation. Florida State has won 23 games in a row, easily the longest winning streak in the county. Louisville will be ready. They rolled “The U” earlier at home and are always tough at home. UPSET ALERT!

David's Pick: Seminoles 27 – 21
I know this could be the other big upset but I just don’t see it.
 

NFL

Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
Micah's Pick: Cardinals 34 – 24
With Romo banged up and the Cardinals coming to town, I can easily see another Cowboys slip up here.

Blake's Pick: Cowboys 21 – 20
This game hinges on Tony Romo’s availability. He claims he will play if he can manage the pain. Arizona is quietly 6-1 and has the best record in the NFL. Dallas is coming off a heart breaking loss to Washington. I think Arizona is really disciplined and that will show. Dallas needs to get to the bye week on a win… I’ll go with the home team.

David's Pick: Cardinals 23 – 20
A lot of this game depends on whether Romo is 100% healthy or not. Dallas defense is also missing a key player and their two losses have both come at home at the unfriendly confines of JerryWorld.
 

Denver Broncos at New England Patriots
Micah's Pick: Broncos 45 – 42
Denver hangs on in the highly anticipated Manning vs Brady shootout.

Blake's Pick: Broncos 33 – 27
Manning vs. Brady. Doesn’t get much better than this. Manning is playing his best ball nearing 40 years old. Brady is playing out of his mind, too. This may be the best game of the year. In the end, I think Denver has too many weapons on both sides of the ball.

David's Pick: Broncos 35 – 24
It seems like Denver is on a mission this year and New England is too up and down.
 

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburg Steelers
Micah's Pick: Steelers 28 – 21
The Steelers are riding high from their big win over the Colts last week. Look for the home team to hold court.

Blake's Pick: Steelers 27 – 20
This game is always fun. They do NOT like each other. Pittsburgh is coming off quite the performance. Big Ben throws 6 TD and the offense hangs half a hundred. That’s hard to do in the NFL. Baltimore is steady, yet again. I think Pitt has the advantage of Heinz field and a guy named Antonio Brown.

David's Pick: Steelers 20 – 17
This is truly a toss-up game and I’m going with the home team and Big Ben.
 

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Micah's Pick: Saints 35 – 17
Can the Saints win on the road? I may regret this one.

Blake's Pick: Panthers 24 – 21
Major division implications on this game. Carolina is tough at home. New Orleans seems to be clicking after their big win over Green Bay. Jimmy Graham is getting healthy and Brees is…well…Brees. I think Cam Newton has a chip on his shoulder at all times. I’ll take defense over offense (note: Seattle/Denver Super Bowl – Jan 2014)

David's Pick: Saints 38 – 28
New Orleans has to win on the road at some point right? And Carolina’s defense has been nowhere near as good as last year.

The Ongoing Debate of Bob Stoops

It happens every time. The college football season gets underway and…Oklahoma loses a football game? You better believe there's someone out there calling for Bob Stoops' head. Every. Single. Time. No loss goes unaccounted for. If Stoops loses a game, heads must roll, right? Let's dig in.

Continue reading The Ongoing Debate of Bob Stoops

So, just to get it out of the way up front, I am not amongst those who repeatedly call for Bob's head every time the Sooners fail to go undefeated. But I hear the noise and this won't be there first time I've gone to bat for Big Game Bob and likely won't be the last.

In fact, I penned an article a couple of years ago about this very same topic asking if Stoops had spoiled Sooner fans. The crux of the argument was that Stoops had put together one of the most successful runs of all programs in college football since taking over in Norman in 1999. Better than Alabama, better than Florida, better than LSU. Yet, it seemed, no one was ever calling for the heads of Saban, Myer, or Miles. Why was that? Had this fan base become so spoiled that anything less than perfection was simply unacceptable?

Now is the part where you begin to piece together the criteria for which you place the value on head coaches. Is it simply wins vs losses? Defeating your rivals? Conference titles? Bowl wins? National championships? The simple fact is that everyone has their own criteria to judge from. Everyone has their own biases and thoughts on "the way it should be."

If you came here looking for pure stats, take a quick look at my previous article. It is a couple years old, but most of the stats hold up relatively the same. Whatever criteria you base your opinions on, Bob has succeeded in nearly every one of them. 10-win seasons? Automatic check. Dominating rivals? Check check. Conference titles? Check. Bowl wins? National championships? This is where people start to get fickle.

Stoops is the only coach that won every single BCS bowl game during the BCS era. The only one. Did he lose his fair share? Sure, but he had the Sooners playing in a big time bowl game or national championship more years than not. That's what people fail to appreciate. Bob has always kept the Sooners relevant and right in the thick of the national title picture. They are almost always playing in a big time bowl, if not the biggest. Getting hung up on wins and losses in those bowl games is short sided. Would you rather be playing in the biggest possible bowl against the best possible opponent or would you rather play in the toilet bowl against a guaranteed victory opponent? Give me the big time game. Win or lose, I want to be playing on the biggest stage against the best in the country.

Has it really been that long that people have already forgotten the improbable beatdown the Sooners put on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last year? Let me remind you, Oklahoma was a FIFTEEN POINT underdog heading into that game. One. Five. As in more than a two touchdown dog. That is no small margin in football and next to no one (ahem) gave the Sooners a prayer. The Sooners flipped the script and won handily, 45-31. Sooner nation was electric. This was the Sooner Magic we had been missing. This was Big Game Bob's return to the limelight to slay the mighty SEC powerhouse.

And then the 2014 season rolled around and the Sooner hype train was in full throttle. A #4 preseason ranking had Sooner nation salivating over the potential of entering the first ever college football playoffs. Two mid-season losses later and that is but a fairly tale. Just like clockwork, out come the Stoops haters. "Bob's lost his fire," "Stoops has become complacent," "What has Bob done outside of the Sugar Bowl?" they say. Money in the bank, out they come.

Let me paint you a picture. Outside of winning the national championship last year, would you agree that defeating the mighty Crimson Tide against all odds in a BCS bowl game was the next best thing? How is it then that a silver medal does not earn Bob enough goodwill for even half of the next season?

"They've lost TWO games already! The season is over! It's a complete failure!" they shout. Those two losses have come by a combined five points. If one of the best field goal kickers in the nation converts on any of of the three missed kicks, are we even having this discussion right now? Want to know just how improbable it was for Michael Hunnicutt to not convert on what amounted to two separate attempts at extra point range? Let's just say that it's been proven that extra points are converted at a rate higher than 98% of the time. That's pretty high odds on converting both kicks inside the 20 yard range. But to fail on converting either of them in the same game? I'm not very good at math, but I know enough to know that those odds are astronomical. Add on the fact that Hunnicutt is one of the most accurate kickers in all of college football? Go ahead and pile some extra percentile points on to whatever insane odds it already was.

My point in all of this is, let's open our eyes and be realistic. Every loss is not Bob's fault and it's simply unfair to dig into that same box every time the Sooners don't live up to the unrealistic expectations. Does that make me a bad fan for refusing to lose my mind every time Oklahoma comes up short? Well, that's for you to decide. I want the Sooners to win just as much as anyone, but I also realize that it's unrealistic to expect perfection every single year and if you do then you're only setting yourself up for disappointment.

Bob Stoops is not the problem, quite the opposite. Bob Stoops is the best coach in all of the land and has my complete and full trust. Yeah, I said it. Not another coach I'd rather have. Boomer Sooner.

High Expectations in Norman

When the AP preseason poll was released and the Sooners landed in the #4 spot, it was inevitable that there would be high expectations in Norman. I suppose we should have seen this coming following the Sugar Bowl victory over the vaunted Crimson Tide, but are the expectations warranted?

Continue reading High Expectations in Norman

Don’t forget that the Sooners were fairly substantial underdogs in their final two games of the 2013 season. No one expected them to defeat OSU in the final game of the regular season and if you tried to argue that the Sooners would hang with Alabama in the Sugar Bowl then you were ridiculed as being a delusional homer.

The Sooners prevailed and ended the season in dramatic fashion defeating Alabama handily. The expectations in Norman went from zero to sixty in no time flat. Remember the last time the Sooners were highly touted in the preseason polls? Let me jog your memory back to 2011 that began with a #1 overall preseason ranking and ended with a trip to the Insight Bowl.

No question that the emergence of Trevor Knight in the Sugar Bowl has garnered the Sooners the majority of their hype. He torched the Crimson Tide through land and air creating an excitement in Sooner nation for the 2014 season. Questions of Knight’s ability to sustain this type of production were on the minds of every Sooner fan.

So what are we to make of these renewed expectations in Norman? Are they justified or are we looking at another year of disappointment? Through two games against lower-tier opposition, it’s hard to tell.

The defense has looked superb, but we expected that against Louisiana Tech and Tulsa. The offense was generic and Knight wasn’t asked to do much, but they were still able to put up gaudy numbers.

The emergence of a new backfield trio featuring Ross, Ford, and Perine was a definite bright spot. After the preseason incident that got highly touted recruit Joe Mixon suspended for the year, many fans were curious how the Sooner backfield would shake out. Turns out they are in very capable hands.

With the addition of the new four-team college playoff system being implemented this year, the Sooners are being pegged by nearly every analyst in the land to end up among those final four. Will they finally realize these expectations and run the table through a very winnable Big 12? The first step begins this Saturday against SEC foe Tennessee.

The Saga of Jurgen Klinsmann, Landon Donovan, and the USMNT

It has been a long road for the United States Men's National Soccer Team. For years struggling to find their place in international soccer play amongst the juggernauts across the globe. Only recently has "futbol" began to catch on in the US and make strides in popularity. This year's squad is even featured in a compelling six-part 30 for 30 series on ESPN leading up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Casual fan interest US soccer is at an all-time high and the upcoming World Cup was set to capture the attention of the nation.

Then head coach Jürgen Klinsmann announced his final 23-man roster on Thursday afternoon, notably leaving off the most decorated US player in the history of the program, Landon Donovan.

Continue reading The Saga of Jurgen Klinsmann, Landon Donovan, and the USMNT

Donovan is a 32 year old veteran of the club with three previous World Cup appearances, 156 international appearances, 57 international goals, and five World Cup goals. Those stats may not mean much to you without a little context.

Consider this, Donovan's five World Cup goals are as many as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Robin van Persie have scored combined. His 156 World Cup appearances would have been the most of any active player in the upcoming World Cup. He would have been third in international goals scored (57) among active players in the upcoming World Cup.

We are not talking about a mid-tier American who has toiled away on the international stage for years and is simply past his prime. We are talking about one of the most accomplished international players in the world. We are talking about a man who is only 32 years old. While slightly older than the preferred age of an elite player, it is far from ancient. Team captain Clint Dempsey is a mere one year younger at 31. Goalie Tim Howard is 34. Midfielder Kyle Beckerman is making his US World Cup debut at…32. Don't tell me that Donovan is too old to contribute to this team, it simply isn't true.

So if not his age, then what? Klinsmann commented: "I just think that the others guys right now are a little bit ahead of him." A little bit ahead of him? That is your reasoning for leaving behind one of the greatest US international players of all time? Because a few of the other guys are a little bit ahead of him?

Klinsmann is obviously not being very transparent about his decision making. This move is quite obviously based on two clear factors.

The first factor is that Klinsmann has held a grudge against Donovan ever since Landon decided to take a brief hiatus from soccer in 2013 after being burned out and briefly contemplated retirement. Klinsmann expressed his displeasure and even singled out Donovan when stating that every player would have to earn their spot on the team and no free passes would be given based on prior performances. Donovan paid the price when he ultimately decided to return four months later and make a final push at one more World Cup run.

Klinsmann left Donovan off the World Cup qualifying roster last June and instead relegated Donovan to the Gold Cup tournament squad. After dominating the Gold Cup, it was assumed that Donovan's spot back on the international team was secure and that his veteran leadership would be relied on heavily for the 2014 World Cup.

While most took Klinsmann's comments as simply trying to motivate Donovan and he wasn't seriously considering leaving Donovan off the final roster, Klinsmann opted instead to string Donovan along for the next year. Klinsmann went so far as to bring him along in the final group of 30 before informing Donovan at the last minute that he was not good enough to make the final cut to 23. There were never had any intentions of bringing Donovan to Brazil. Despite clearly making up his mind a year ago, Klinsmann forced Donovan to apologize and work his tail off to try and prove himself. Donovan took it all in stride, worked hard and performed when called upon. Klinsmann got the last laugh when announcing the final roster and even Jurgen's son, Jonathan, had a good laugh on Twitter at the news of his father cutting Donovan.

The second obvious motivation for Klinsmann is that he recognizes his chances in the Group of Death are slim and with his recent contract extension guaranteeing he will be around for the next World Cup, Klinsmann simply decided to forgo any real attempt at winning now and plan for the future.

While Donovan is left off the roster, 18 year old German-American Julian Green gets a roster spot after a single international appearance with the US team in which he looked more overwhelmed than the next break-out star. Klinsmann had been recruiting Green for months and when Green recently agreed to join the US team, Klinsmann joyfully made room for the youngster on the squad while squeezing out one of the best players this country has ever seen.

Julian Green may eventually blossom into one of the best soccer players in the world, but there is no arguing who would've had a greater influence for the USMNT at the 2014 World Cup when comparing Green and Donovan. Klinsmann is simply looking to get Green some experience in hopes of having a better chance in 2018. This is a shame and should not sit well with the American fan-base. Klinsmann was brought in to win now, not in four years. Granting him a contract extension before the World Cup ever began sealed Donovan's fate and allowed Klinsmann's personal grudges to get in the way of the betterment of the team as a whole.

There is no reasonable argument that can be made to defend Klinsmann's action pertaining to this year's World Cup games. Donovan would have been one of the top two or three best players on the team, yet he's been relegated to his couch because of the ego of a coach who has had his fair share of controversy bouncing around the German circuit before landing on US soil.

It is a shame that Landon Donovan will be kept out of a US record breaking fourth World Cup appearance. His accomplishments are not lost on those who have followed his career and truly know what he means to the USMNT. Here's to Donovan, an international career cut too short, but one that will live on and never be forgotten. There will be no stoppage-time World Cup saving goals from Donovan in 2014, but there will be a missing link in the group's core. I can only hope the rest of the squad is able to continue focusing on the task at hand despite this epic PR distraction their coach has caused a month before kickoff.

I hope Klinsmann knows what he's doing, but I fear he's caught up in his own head.