FanNation

Red Bulls miss the boat

Yet again, the New York Red Bulls couldn't have timed it worse. Claudio Reyna is going to retire -- not surprising and long expected, considering how injury-plagued the former U.S. national-team captain's 1½ seasons in MLS were.

First, the good news: Reyna's retirement frees up the Red Bulls' Designated Player slot, which had been effectively wasting away as Captain America just couldn't stay healthy (Juan Pablo Ángel occupies the team's second slot, which it traded for last season). That gives New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio an enormous toy to use as he continues to rebuild the biggest underachievers in the history of MLS (13 seasons, zero titles).

Quakes win! Quakes win! (Sorta)

File this under the "for what it's worth" category. I'm sitting in the press box at McAfee Coliseum, watching the Oakland A's take on the Los Angeles Angels [of Anaheim]. Between the second and third innings, the JumboTron featured a "Choose Your Highlight" gimmick for the fans on hand here. The choices of clips:

* The Chicago White Sox' 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers, the team 2 1/2 games back of the second-place A's in the AL West.

McBride is coming home

Brian McBride is coming home to Major League Soccer. To be completely honest, this makes me happier than hearing David Beckham or Cuauhtemoc Blanco were joining the league -- even more so than when ex-U.S. captain Claudio Reyna came home.

Simply put, McBride is pure class. He's without ego, a tireless hard worker, ageless and a proven goal-scorer. In short, he is perhaps the best export MLS has ever sent out into the big leagues of Europe. Having him come home is a surefire sign that we've come full circle and that the league has garnered enough international success that one of its children thinks it's worth his time to finish his career here.

No more feel-good stories

When the Baltimore Ravens returned to Cleveland in 1999 to face the new Browns for the first time since moving away, they were booed mercilessly and subject to more one-finger salutes than Hillary Clinton.

It was one of the best subplots of the NFL season: a relocated team returning to the city and fans it left behind, but with a new name, different uniforms and representing all the evils of the greedy owner who jilted the loyal fans to begin with.

Auf wiedersehen, Lehmann

LONDON -- I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s been a forgettable season for Arsenal. After all, the Gunners were on fire for the first six months of the season, played some beautiful soccer along the way and knocked AC Milan out of the Champions League. But when it all fell apart, it fell apart spectacularly, and it’s another trophyless season.

From that perspective, there wasn’t much to cheer about at Emirates Stadium on Sunday in Arsenal’s home finale, a somewhat drab 1-0 win over Everton. But it surprised even me when the fans gave Jens Lehmann a huge ovation when the German keeper came on as a sub late in the game.