Motorola Droid Review

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So I just got the Verizon Motorola Droid.  Kinda got it late at around 8pm but still got it on launch day.

The Droid is the first and currently only phone to have the brand new Android 2.0 software (Even the Eris which launched today only has 1.6).

I love the phone.  The mere concept of having all my Google stuff working with my phone is awesome.

The voice search is both awesome, and even better quite simply works.  No more of this “Did you mean [insert something nothing like you said]?”.  Unless you are talking with someone and record that, then try to say the command it is going to get it 95% of the time – Unlike other voice recognition systems that seem to be happy with a 70% success rate.

You say “Call Tom” it calls Tom.

You say “Directions to Greece Ridge Mall” it launches Google Maps Naviagation and prepares you to go to the mall – Because it already knows your in the greater Rochester area.

You say “locate Pizza Hut” it finds all the Pizza Huts in the area

You say “Twitter” it does a Google search for Twitter

I’m not a huge fan of the soft keys (I would prefer hard keys).

I love the idea of having a QWERTY hardware keyboard, but it is a bit lackluster – But it’s a hardware keyboard which is a huge upgrade from my Omnia which did not have one.

The on screen keyboard is significantly better then my Omnia’s, and close to as nice as the iPhone (which is obviously the best hands down).

I have not had a chance to really play around with the Apps, but my understanding is while there are 90% then on the iPhone there is about the same number of *quality* ones.

I like the phones “patch” unlock screen.  A password of sorts.  Of course if you don’t like that you can use one very similar to the iPhone’s.

If you use a Google service it easily syncs up which is nice.

There is nothing propitiatory about this phone.  The charging cable is either micro or mini USB – I’m not quite sure, but the difference I’m sure is mainly trivial (or simply prefer which ever your last phone used).  It also has a standard headphone jack.

The phone is not heavy.  I mean it’s a smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard – With that in mind I repeat – It is not heavy.

The battery is replaceable – I repeat.  The battery is replaceable!

It isn’t plastic.  This phone in all the places that counts is metal.

The gold accents are a bit strange, but after having the phone I’m 99% sure I won’t even notice them in a week.  I wish there was a mouse on the D-Pad, but the touch interface is SOOOOOO much better then Windows Mobile.

The accelerometer seems to work much better then my Omnia’s, and while it has been a while since I used my iTouch it works better then that too – By quite a lot.

The sound quality both from the earpiece and from the speaker phone is quite a improvement – From any phone.

The screen is both larger then the iPhone and has a higher resolution.  And if you put them side by side it’s beyond obvious.

My Omnia’s 5 MP camera takes better pictures.  The Droid’s 5 MP camera easily crushes the iPhone’s pathetic 3 MP though (The iPhone’s camera might as well be 2 MP).  The camera application loads up VERY quickly.  At least for a smartphone.  This has always driven me nuts about most phones.  Their cameras sometimes take 15 seconds to load (not the iPhone’s).  This is ABSURD.  Frankly the Droid doesn’t load as fast as I would like, but it’s very close to what I would consider acceptable.  I have not taken movies yet with it.  The LED flash…  Um…  I thought my Omnia’s was bright.  This ups the ante with 2 LEDs.  You can easily tell the difference – Although probably only once because after that you might be blind if your not careful.

I don’t know but right now this phone seems just easier to multi task on then Windows Mobile.  Maybe it’s just because of the excitement though.  I just wish I could find the task manager I saw in the store though.

I bought this phone outright – So when I get bored of it I can just do whatever I want since I won’t be locked into a contract.

And it says “Google” on the back of it!  I love Google.  There is very few things they can do wrong in my eyes.  This phone (partially because of all of their other integrated services) may right now be as far back on my list of things I dislike about Google as possible.

Right now this phone is worth every penny of the retail price I paid for it and then some.  Honestly I didn’t expect this.  Is it overpriced?  I’m sure.  But things this great don’t come around that often.  In fact at least as far as cell phones go the last thing that even begins to compare to this was the iPhone and that came out more then 2 years ago, and that’s a eternity in this market.

When I bought my Omnia because I couldn’t buy the iPhone I was pleased, but not thrilled.  Right now I’m thrilled with the Droid.  I’ll have to use it day to day for the next week or so, but this may *truly* finally be the iPhone killer – Or at least the phone Verizon offers to make sure people without a contract choose Verizon instead of AT&T.

Touch Typing

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Touch typing is a bit over rated.  But only a bit.

Now I can’t speak for everyone.  If fact I doubt I can speak for much more then a small percentage but…

I know how to touch type.  But in a very modified way.  First off if you tell me to touch type and hit a function key….  Well I can hit the F1 key without looking and that’s about it.

Also I have this strange thing with the letter “B”.  I’m supposed to hit it with my left index finger.  However from the time when I was proficient to this very day I have always hit the letter “B” with my right index finger.  Why?  I don’t really know.  I have tried to “fix” this issue, but it has always become pretty clear that any attempt to fix it are a waste of time.  Frankly unless you measure from the first day of me touch typing to this very day the amount of lost time is insignificant – Frankly I’m sure even if you measure that long period of time it still is insignificant.

Much like the function keys I have a hard time hitting the symbols on the number row.  I just have not got it down.  To a lesser extent (less used ones) I have the same problem with most of the other symbols on the keyboard.  Tilda need not apply though.

I kind of have the same problem with the number keys in the number row too, but I can look down and see the numbers location and hit it with out any measurable lost time.  Anything that would create a measurable amount of lost time (long strings of numbers) I simply use the number pad.

Now your supposed to use 3 fingers on the number pad.  Why?  I’m not quite sure.  I only use my index finger.  But it is touch typing, and I can enter numbers just as fast with one finger as if I used 3 I’m sure.

I also have a problem with keys like “prt screen” “page up” “page down” and “delete” etc etc.  However I blame this on the keys being in a hundred different places depending on the keyboard you are using – Which ticks me off.  Doesn’t it stop being a QWERTY keyboard even when all but those keys are in the same place?  I think so.

BTW where is the space bar?

Word of the day – Eccentricity

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So I decided today I was going to start (randomly) doing words of the day.  Just words that I like for one reason or another.  Sometimes I’ll post why I like it.  Sometimes I won’t.

I’ve actually had this idea for a while – A long while, but now I’m going to make it reality.

I might start doing a quote of the day thing too.  But I’ll play that by ear (I used to always think it was “play by year” which never made sense to me – Now it still makes no sense to me, but at least now there isn’t a time frame in it that is typically 364 days longer then the decision it refers to).

Eccentricity – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eccentricity_%28behavior%29

The Eagles

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Okay.  I don’t typically talk about a team I know nothing about.  Especially with a audience the size of the internet….  That said…

What in gods name is wrong with the Eagles?  The team has not one.  Not two.  But THREEEEEEE pro bowl QBs!!!!!!

So what is the game plan?  They have no idea.  McNabb gets injured and they decide to tap Kevin Kolb (Kevin Kolb who?)??  Perhaps they forgot they signed Michael Vick.  Or perhaps they forgot he is no longer suspended.

Then they decide to sign Jeff Garcia.  Okay.  This isn’t exactly a stupid move.  I mean if you can afford to have 3 pro bowl QBs, and at the same time manage to get 3 pro bowl QBs who am I to argue it?  But WHY?!?!?  I mean it makes sense for about the first 30 seconds you think about it, and then you go “wait” – “there is something really fishy about this”.

So um what is so fishy?  I’m not quite sure to be honest but I have some ideas.

1. They forgot they have Vick
2. They didn’t realize he can legally play
3. They have issues with Vick being a starting QB – Despite this they signed him
4. The team’s players does not want him to start – In this case tell them to STFU and deal with it
5. Vick isn’t ready to start (physically) – In this case you might want to cut him now
6. Vick isn’t ready to start (mentally) – In this case you might want to cut him now

The Eagles have a group of QBs that on their own could scare most teams.  Together they scare any team that is paying attention.

And I don’t know if this would be a legal formation but…  Could you imagine if Garcia lined up in center and then had McNabb directly to his right and Vick directly to his left?  All of a sudden the other team couldn’t possibly know what is going to happen.  Does Garcia keep the ball?  Does he pass to one of his sides?  If he happens to pass it to another QB does that QB keep the ball or does he send it back (ya we are starting to waste time at this point but whatever)?

What about lining up two QBs.  One slightly to the left and one farther back but dead center?  Who gets snapped the ball?  The closer QB and the farther back QB?

Wildcat this wildcat that.  This team doesn’t need to run the wildcat to cause some serious havoc!  The mere idea of the snap could be a huge problem for defenses!  I don’t get it.  I really don’t.

Maybe this team needs to hire a offensive coordinator that has a imagination.

Chevy Malibu

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The Chevy Malibu is such a awesome car.

First some background.  I used to have a car.  It was a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.  It was a pretty crappy car, but it was my crappy car, and what can you expect for $1k anyways?  But it finally got to the point where where I literally could not afford to fix it anymore.  Funny how a bank will give you $12k for a used car, but not $1k to fix a broken one huh (No I didn’t actually try to get a loan to fix it)?  The last straw though was when the back end got melted as a result of the house fire.  No the melting wasn’t a big deal, but it was symbolic.

So I went looking for cars.  Not seriously, but looking none the less.  At one point I looked at a Malibu.  I liked it and it stuck in the back of my head.

So when I went looking for cars again.  This time seriously I decided that I had to look at a Malibu again.  I knew a snow flake in hell stood a better chance of dethrowning the Grand Prix I was stuck in, but I looked out of principle.

That’s when I saw it.  A 2005 Malibu Maxx LT fully loaded.  For $12k.  Okay here is the thing.  I was looking at Grand Prixs with the basic same mileage.  The difference was the Malibu was loaded.  The same could not be said for any of the Grand Prixs.

So I bought it.  Other then some minor problems when I first got the car (the dealer happily fixed them for free), and problems with the tires (my fault) the car was very good to me.  Right up to and beyond the point where some idiot high off his ass decided to hit me.

Now I had already seen the new 2008 Malibu.  Frankly I had passed it off.  I still don’t know if I was simply loony that day, or if I actually didn’t like it.  But the bottom line is I didn’t like it.

But now I love the car to death.

First of all the outside.  This is for sure not a 6th generation Malibu!  Everything about the design is sleek and rounded.  Good luck finding a sharp edge.  As far as the front end.  It’s like the Malibu asked Pontiac for some sporty idea and then went to the Camaro to get those idea refined.  My only real complaint as far as the outside goes is the tail lights and that’s not really a complaint.  It wouldn’t be shocking to find out they got the idea from the Cobalt, and 7th generation Impala.

As far as the inside.  This is where I both fall in love with the car, and also have some complaints.  First the car didn’t get any radical changes.  This is good.  If you look at a 5th and 6th generation Malibu you will know it’s the same model car from the inside.  New but familiar would be the best way to describe it I think.

This is both good and bad.  Good because it’s a pretty good design from the start.  Bad because while they added things I don’t feel like they fixed anything.  Everything new as far as I can tell is nice….  Well except for one thing.  The center console.  This got this funky sliding thing that completely looks out of place.  Not only does it feel like it’s going to break the moment you drive it off the lot.  It also looks like it belongs in a car $10k less.  Maybe it’s okay in the $20k model.  Not so much in the $30k model.

My other renewed problems are…

1. The heated seats – The switch in in the worse place possible.  Beyond the heat, or looking down you can’t tell if it’s on setting 1, 2 or off.  The light is nice, but you can’t see it while your driving…  And if you can you might want to get a solid insurance policy because your eyes are not going to be on the road.  That’s the worse of the problems though.
2. The locks – This is more just preference.  Get rid of the plungers, and put the locks in the door handles.  Not only does it make it harder on a thief looking for unlocked cars – But it makes it much much more simple to unlock the doors manually (not pressing the unlock button).  I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s much quicker for me to unlock the door by hand, then move my hand to the button then move it back to the door handle.  That or just make the front doors unlock when you try to open the door like on most cars

And that’s all my complaints.

Some things I would change/add.

1. Tail lights.  I may very well be in the minority but I like yellow turn signals in the tail lights.  It’s not because I think they look better.  It’s because I think their safer.  What are you going to notice better at night?  The turn signal that is solid red for the break lights but fades to a lighter brightness for the turn signal, or a break light that has a independent yellow turn signal?
2. Move the 3rd brake light as high on the car as possible.  The 3rd brake light is supposed to be independent of the tail light brake lights.  The Malibu doesn’t seem to get this.  If the 3rd brake light was any closer to the tail lights…  It would be the tail lights…  That aside again they should be high up.  I don’t know about anyone else but I don’t trust the driver behind me to be looking where he should be.  So should his eyes wander to the sky a 3rd brake light high up is my last line of defense to preventing him from hitting me.  Hatchbacks (including the Malibu) seem to have this figured out.
3. Turn signals on the side mirrors.  Again safety.  This I will admit is novelty though.  Although a practical novelty.  If someone is coming up on you on the side there is a point where they can’t see your front turn signal or your tail light turn signal.  If you have turn signals on your mirrors though they will know what your trying to do.  No they can’t see the other side of your car if your trying to turn the opposite direction of them, but it wouldn’t matter since you wouldn’t be in their way on that side.
4. Finally – Lower the price.  Everyone should own a car that gets 5 stars in crash tests!

A open letter to the WWE – Bring Shawn Michaels Back!

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A open letter to the WWE

Bring Shawn Michaels Back!

The WWE needs to bring back Shawn Michaels and now.  Why?  Because of wrestling fans like me.  Okay granted.  I’m not exactly what the WWE would consider a huge fan.  At least not these days, but none the less I do consider myself a fan of wrestling.  Although I will be the first to admit I have become very picky.

A little background.  I started watching wrestling at the tail end of Hulk Hogan in the WWE, but back then I just watched it when I was at my friends house.  My earliest explicit memory of wrestling was a match between Shawn Michaels, and Jeff Jarrett, back when the Road Dogg accompanied him down to the ring.  From that point I would only become a bigger and bigger fan of wrestling.

However Shawn Michaels was, to this day is the primary reason I watch wrestling.  However back then (right up until WrestleMania 12) I would turn on the TV just to watch wrestling.  But at about the time of WrestleMania 12 I started watching with the sole desire to see HBK wrestle.  Back then if the WWE cared about just one fan I wouldn’t be a concern because Shawn was the center of the WWE universe.  Even after he lost the title to Austin at WM 14 I kept watching partially because Shawn created DX, partially because the Road Dogg was my second favorite wrestler, and partially because the WWE was simply doing things right.  Perhaps even the best of any point in wrestling history.

But eventually the problems started.  I would fast forward threw the show.  Only stopping for DX, and when HBK popped up on screen.  Frankly I got bored with the product.  Part of it I’m sure can be blamed on the fact very few people can talk on a mic, wrestle in a high flying type of way, and draw fans.  Sure you had guys like Austin, the Rock, and Mick Foley, but none of them got my blood flowing like Shawn could.

Even in current years I would simply fast forward though anything that didn’t involve Shawn.  I tried to get myself excited in the product, but I just couldn’t.  I tried watching Rey Mysterio, I tried watching Shelton Benjamin (But they made him a heel…  And I hate heels except for the British Bulldog and Shawn).  I even tried to watch CM Punk, but something I can’t quite put my finger on makes me cringe when I watch him.

So no Shawn Michaels?  Well that means I don’t watch wrestling.  I mean Shawn has been off TV before, but this just feels different.  So I have not watched wrestling since a couple weeks after WM 25 when it was clear he wasn’t coming back anytime soon.  Flat out.  No wrestling for me.

So…  This is the open letter part.  Vince.  When you bring back Shawn for what I assume will be the very last stint as a full fledged wrestler look to the future.  Take a wrestler.  A young one.  One Shawn truly believes can carry the torch into the far future.  And put them into a big program together.  Maybe as partners, but I was more or less thinking as a opponent.  The thing is they must both be babyface.

The guy of course must be able to wrestle very well on his own merits, but Shawn could make him look like even better like very few people can do with their opponents.  They must at all times during the program be within reach of the other.  Of course both can suffer setbacks, but going into their final match both must have solid footing.

The bottom line?  Shawn Michaels needs to establish the future before he retires from wrestling.  The WWE needs to get these fans that have primarily only been interested in HBK for the last 20 years and carry those fans into the next 2 decades.

Is it okay to lose a fan that hasn’t watched wrestling in months?  Maybe.  But is it okay to lose a fan that has been watching for 15 years?  I don’t think so.  Would this be catering to a small group of fans?  Maybe.  But I hope this group of fans is worth 2-4 months of programming.  At least if you can get them to watch for another 20 years.

Bill Clinton Saves The Day

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So some journalists from Current TV are taken hostage.  North Korea would like you to believe they were prisoners.  I think even the White House would like you to think that.  But I don’t care what anyone says.  They were taken hostage.

The White House is unable to get them back despite all their power.  Was this because they didn’t do what needed to be done?  Short of sending in a Delta team I’m not sure there really was anything they could do (Which as much as I hate to say it would be beyond unacceptable).

Then President Clinton comes along.  At the moment President Clinton seems to be Superman.  He comes in to save the day when the police (the White House) can’t seem to achieve a goal.

Now here is my question.  What exactly was his role?  Some people say he was a pawn used by the White House and/or North Korea.  Apparently North Korea didn’t want the White House coming away with the win.  If this is true it’s just absurd.  News flash.  Clinton’s name isn’t Mr Bill Clinton.  It is President Bill Clinton.  If it be a current or former President a President is a President.  More so President Clinton is a Democrat.  Never mind there are not party lines in this type of thing…  But Democrats help Democrats.  Does Kim Jong II really think he would be saving face by dealing with President Clinton instead of the White House?  I won’t even get into the fact that the Sectary of State is Hillary Clinton!

Another point of view is that President Clinton did this all on his own – Or at least through his own people.  While I respect him for this if this is the case it none the less would be absurd.  A former President should not be able to do things better then the White House.  Okay.  Fund raising and such aside.  That’s fine if he can do that better.  But to deal with international politics better then the White House?  It’s just plain crazy.  Then going with this line of thought is that he may have gone behind the White Houses’ back.  Frankly this is what I believe, because the White House seems none to pleased that President Clinton went over to North Korea.  Plus you throw in the fact that these hostages worked for President Clinton’s Vice President – Al Gore.

You know what though?  At the end of the day it doesn’t matter.  Not if you President Clinton.  Not if you are the White House.  Not even if your Kim Jong II.  Because at least today they all look good.  Because lets face it.  If the White House flat out didn’t want President Clinton in North Korea he wouldn’t have got there.

Oh.  There is also the thought that Switzerland was a middle man (country?) in all of this because of the strained relationships.

All I know is that hostages are free today.  And that’s a good thing no matter how it happened.

Kim Jong II – For better or worse you are a genius.  Why do I say this?  Because I don’t think for one second he planned on these girls serving 12 years of hard labor.  I really don’t.  Do I think he got everything he wanted?  No.  But I think it got to the point where he had won some things and he had reached the last line.  Either piss off the US to the boiling point, or shake hands and live (quite literally) to fight another day.

Abby Wambach – 100 Goal Milestone

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It isn’t very often in life that you get to experience history.  It’s even less often that a person appreciates that history.  I got to do both on Sunday when the US Women’s National Team played the Canadian National Team.

Now a few things should be established from the get go.  This was a exhibition game, so the only thing being played for was personal pride.

Abby Wambach came into this game with 99 goals looking for the magical 100 number.  This game was even more special because it was in Rochester where Abby was born.  Now it isn’t very often (if ever) that a person gets to hit a milestone in a sport in their own town.

So what does it take for a player to get to this point?  Apparently not scoring in bunch of games – A task that isn’t easy when you hit the back of the net on average every 97 minutes.  Then breaking your leg.  Then not scoring in your first game back despite blowing the other team out 4-0 as a team.

Although I don’t think a single person including Abby and her coach had any desire for her to hit 100 with her hometown game only 1 game away.

But the goal.  Just wow!  I mean look at it…  Video of goal

You really don’t get much more open then then.  What 30 yards of open space when she got the pass?  Then she dribbles it up field and shoots.  At this point I don’t care who you are.  What goalie can reliably stop a goal from 15 yards away?  First you have to guess where the player is going to put the ball, and then you have to hope you can get to it in time.

And the crowd.  They just loved it.  From the moment that ball hit her feet I think everyone in Rochester knew history was only a few seconds away.  Although I admit I was a bit worried the ball was going to go far right, but it didn’t.

What’s more?  She did it faster then any other player in the world.  Only taking a mere 129 games.  The great Mia Hamm needed a lot more.  And that’s another thing that I want to touch on briefly.  Abby Wambach is a better player then Mia Hamm.  No insult intended, but if you put Abby in the years Mia played, and Mia in the years Abby has played there would be no question.  Mia just had the benefit of the major hype in America at the time.  Don’t believe me?  Look at the stats.  Perhaps the most impressive one being how that when Abby scores the team wins.  I think the exception is like 2 games.  With 100 goals that isn’t a bad stat to have.

Again.  Mia Hamm is a great player.  I got to watch her hit her 100th and 101st goals at Frontier Field in 1998, but Abby simply deserves to at least be put on the same pedestal.  Don’t get me wrong.  Abby gets a LOT of credit from the media.  I just get sick of hearing Mia is better – Or even worse when people (honestly) think Mia has better stats over the same length of time.

Google Voice

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Google Voice

So I just got my invite to Google Voice.  For anyone that doesn’t know what it is – It is pretty much a web accessible voice mail system…  That makes screening calls a piece of cake.

One of the nice things about Google Voice.  If you get a phone call from a number you never want to talk to again you just set it up in Google Voice, and that number will never reach your phone again.  Honestly I have not looked into what the caller ends up with but that’s something I’ll have to test more today.

So what exactly happens?  Well you can set it up to just be a voice mail box, but that’s so…  Typical…

The more fun way to set it up is to receive prompts when you get a call.

1. Pick up the call

2. Send it to voice mail

And then this is where it gets fun.

3. Send it to voice mail – And listen in

With 3 you don’t ever have to acknowledge the caller, but if you want to you can press * and start talking to them.

But what else you say?  Well this brings us to the internet part.  You can listen to any voice mail on the website.  At which point you can delete, archive, listen or download to your computer the call.  For some reason you can’t label the call though for future reference.

It also has the ability to transcribe the call.  This leaves a bit to be desired, but since I don’t even think corporate systems like this transcribe it still is a move in the right direction.

You can also send and receive text messages through the service.

If you want you can type in a phone number, have the service call your phone, and immediately connect you to that number.  I would say this is more gimmicky then anything, but I guess if you want to be positive you dial the right number it is easier just to copy and paste the number then dial it.

You can also set up different groups to have different voice mail greetings.  The problem I have with this is you I can’t figure out how to import most of my contacts from my GMail contacts.  My brother’s contact info appeared, but nothing else.  More so when I called from my aunts phone and saved it…  It figured out I already had a contact when I typed the name.  I don’t know.  It’s strange.

Google Voice has been in a very private beta since Google bought the company.  I’m not sure when I signed up for the invite, but it was months ago and I just got it today.  Google all of a sudden started handing out 10s of thousands of invites a couple of days ago.

I’m exicted about the potential of the service, and really even what it brings to the table at this very moment.

For more information check out the Wikipedia page – matthews@democratandchronicle.com

Rochester Rhinos – Open Cup

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Rochester soccer.  It has a certain level of prestige to it.

Now I don’t know much about the Rochester Lancers because they were way before my time but even they had a couple of championships to call their own.

Move onto the Rochester Rhinos and they got off to a hot start giving any team they played a hard time, and it didn’t matter if they were playing a team in their own league, or a league higher.  The last few years have been lacking in the championship department, but they have always maintained their competitive edge.

Then you have the US Women’s team.  Remember Mia Hamm?  She scored her 100th goal in Rochester.  Then you have Abby Wambach.  She is a product of Rochester.  And you know what?  She could also end up scoring her 100th goal in Rochester.  In her hometown.

So why am I bringing this up?  Well lets recap.  In 1996 MLS teams started competing in the Open Cup.  In 1999 Rochester became the first and only team to win the Open Cup while having to deal with MLS clubs.

So Rochester has struggled in the early rounds of the Open Cup almost losing to the last place USL-2 club (lower division).  Then they almost lost to the last place USL-1 team (same division).  Apparently they didn’t remember that though.

When they faced the Columbus Crew on Tuesday they scored first.  The Crew were able to tie it up, but couldn’t end the game.  The game went into mandatory over time.  Well that didn’t solve the problem so they went into a second mandatory over time.  Well the Crew still wasn’t able to end the game, so the game went to penalty kicks.  Rochester was able to end the game with a penalty score of 5-3.

Now things (theoretically) become easier.  Why?  Because a USL-2 team defeated their MLS opponent and will now face Rochester.  In fact another MLS team was knocked out by a USL team.

Now Rochester will attempt to do something they did a decade earlier.  Win the Open Cup.

Soccer in Rochester in July and early September could be very interesting.  League play.  Open Cup play.  The US Women’s National team visits on the 20th.  Could be very interesting indeed.

Now if only the US Men’s National team would realize they should play exhibition games here.

Oh.  And Rochester has tried to move up to MLS before, but there is something about being the under dog.  Something about drawing a gold medal Olympic team to Rochester – And drawing the most fans despite being the smallest US city on their tours.

It’s fun.