By Chris Wright

Middle Eastern airports are a great place for loud slapstick comedy as goalhound Gonzalo Higuain demonstrated on his arrival in Kuwait with the rest of the Real Madrid squad ahead of their friendly against the national side later tonight...

Ace spot from Pies fan Neanderthal

We got this quote from Kelley O'Hara back when we did a feature on her switching from flank midfielder/forward to outside back. It didn't really work for the piece, but we liked the quote -- we thought it summed up the historic 2011 FIFA World Cup experience of a reserve very well -- so we thought we'd share it:
"Everyone always asks what the World Cup was like.

This just in: The U.S. WNT spends lots of time in airports. Here the squad waits for its flight to Canada.
Easy travel day for the U.S. WNT today. Relatively short flight from LA (not sure how long, but it's whatever is the length of Moneyball+ a short nap. Also, the WNT Blog maintains that Brad Pitt is underrated as an actor), into the same time zone and they players had time to get a weight workout in the morning and get into Vancouver in time for dinner in the evening.

The sooner we invent teleportation the better.

Not because I hate flying itself, although I really, really do. And not because airports are the most soulless, tedious places on earth, although they really, really are. It's mostly because every time you fly there's somebody with the plague sitting close enough to give you all their germs and leave you smothering.

Have to say she's a very lucky woman after just delegated a huge problem of immigration security and queueing at airports. If the minutes of her meeting with Brodie Clark could prove he'd told her about the relaxation of finger print checks she'd be out wouldn't she? I mean all the other home secretaries were told, would she not have been?

Behind the Axe looks at various Timbers news from GM Gavin Wilkinson's love of airports, Owner Merritt Paulson appearing on local sports radio, and an epic mustache growing competition amongst two of the Timbers center backs. We also talk a bit about the MLS playoff picture and the results of the matches up to this weekend's conference finals.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

Hurricane Irene closed airports, flooded roads and rails, and generally made it impossible to get aroun on the east coast.

Despite this disrupting natural disaster, it will be hard for MLS's Eastern Conference teams to argue that the storm was the reason they didn't show up on Saturday night.

Their Words We don't have stadiums, we don't have airports, we don't have a national transportation system in place and we are one month away from the preliminary draw. FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke on Brazil 2014. Other Sources U.S.-Mexico Gold Cup final will be a close-fought affair despite form - from SI.

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Delays in getting Brazil ready to host the 2014 football World Cup could end up with the South American nation being "red-faced" when the time comes, retired soccer legend Pele said Friday. "We are really worried," he told a media conference in Sao Paulo, speaking for the Brazilian Football Confederation and [.