Inter- and over- and hyper- active

Some interesting things to share (Note: On emails to me, I've decided to use initials unless the correspondent specifically requests anonymity or says it is okay to use his or her name.) ...

BACKSTORY ON REIS V. ESKANDARIAN Reader JD sends in some interesting context from the Boston Globe and New York Times on the Reis v. Eskandarian discussion. From the Globe on 9/13/05:

Reis returned to confront a controversy involving D.C. United forward Alecko Eskandarian, who has been out with a concussion since colliding with Reis June 18. Eskandarian criticized Reis for his part in the play, which occurred in the penalty area at RFK Stadium with United on the way to a 2-0 victory.

"I feel sorry for him," Reis said.

"He is frustrated. I have had concussions in the past. He lashed out and said some things. I don't feel I did anything wrong it was a 50-50 ball."

It may have been a 50-50 ball, but Reis made no effort to play the ball, he went straight after Alecko. The DCenters finds the defense lacking. Reis's "I feel sorry for him" comment is patronizing and pathetic when not accompanied by at least a "I, as in me, Matt Reis, am sorry for clocking him". As for The Times, a quote from Eski on 8/30/05 when Matt got a suspension:

...Reis had been physical, but it was the first time he had been sanctioned. On June 18, Reis hit D.C. United's Alecko Eskandarian in the head when they collided on the edge of the penalty area. Eskandarian sustained the third concussion of his M.L.S. career and has not played since. Reis was involved in another collision July 9, this time with the Chicago rookie Chris Rolfe. Both times, Reis appeared to ignore the ball and play the man. He did not receive a yellow card in either game.

In an e-mail message, Eskandarian said Reis's punishment was long overdue. ''I am glad he finally got penalized for being so reckless, but at the same time, he is out for one game while I have been out for over 10 weeks, so by no means do I feel as though justice has been done,'' he said. ''I feel very strongly about this. I know soccer is a physical game and things happen on the field.''

So to confirm to all the people that come to this page by typing into Google "Is Matt Reis a Thug?" then answer is yes.

STILL UPSET ABOUT MISSING BRAZIL Reader CC alerts me to this interview with DCU alum and current staffer John Harkes over at Goal.Com. John's primarily discussing the US National Team and the state of soccer in the USA. No discussion of John's potential as an MLS head coach or the potential wrestling career that will culminate with a steel cage match against Steve "3-6-1" Sampson.

RIGHT WING-BACK CONSPIRACY BIGGER THAN PREVIOUSLY ESTIMATED After noting The DCenters strange designation in Kinja web cards, MattWDC noticed that he was labeled as both "liberal" and "Conservative". Nice to see it wasn't just this place that got some strange associations. However, since then we see that the web card has been updated, and The DCenters is now labeled only as "Sports" (good) and "New York" (sigh...)