Last Wednesday Philadelphia Union CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz and President Tom Veit addressed members of various Philadelphia-area Chambers of Commerce at the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce. Apparently (and fittingly) it was quite the international affair because the video above was provided by the Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce.

So I was down in Philly for all of the madness/awesomeness of the Union's debut/beat down of D.C. United on Saturday. I've got a couple of different pieces that I'm working on that I'm trying to get out in the next 24 and while looking through some of the video I caught I found one of the funniest moments of the weekend that I didn't feel like waiting to share.

Another edition of Red Headed Step Thoughts finds me full of news and short of wit...sorry about that, I'll do better tomorrow.
The 2010 UEFA Champions League Final will be broadcast not on FSC, not on FX (as originally scheduled) but on the mother ship itself, the FOX network. This will be the first UCL final to be on US broadcast television and means that every home with cable, satellite or digital rabbit ears in the US will be able to watch the final.

Boy at the back secretly wants to hug the awesomeness that is Paolo Maldini. Che charming!! / via Gettyimages

It's being thrown around a lot, but it just might be true. Gooch (and probably the rest of your soccer-loving friends) already told you about this commercial yesterday, but in case you haven't seen it, watch below. If you've already seen it, it's ok; watch it again.

With the World Cup just ONE DAY AWAY (I was so excited I woke up at 7:00 AM today thinking that today was June 11th...), I have found/created three truly awesome things to show all you footy fans tingling with anticipation.
1.) A wonderful World Cup infographic about World Cup Facts, it's something that you should really check out.

Sometimes in life, all you need is a bro. A Lanbro, that is. Yeah, he's totally getting iced tonight. Still numb from the awesomeness that is Landon Donovan, I find myself hardly in a state of mind to articulate the innumerable emotions running through my sober veins hours after the US took the group from England's grasp.

Epistemic frustration is the curse and the genius of soccer, which, compared to, say, basketball, obscures causes, disguises responsibilities, and makes all forms of knowing and categorizing moot. Not in a radically skeptical way, but just in terms of guys kicking stuff, I sometimes wonder whether it's possible to know anything at all.

Later, spam. Eh.

Later, most spam That's better.

The CO has joined in on the new movement around town by town I mean The Offside and been upgraded with a spanking new commenting system. The update, at least here, is an vain attempt to stop me from purchasing pseudo Jordans, Gucci handbags and other assorted awesomeness on a daily basis.

Steven Gerrard's second goal in a 4-0 rout over Real Madrid in the Round of 16 of the 2008-2009 Champions League campaign is at #83 in the countdown as a fantastic example of a team-goal of epic awesomeness. Up 2-0 in the first half, and 3-0 on aggregate after an against-the-grain 1-0 win in Madrid (from [.

I don't like to reprint press releases here, but this is an exception.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2010 Printable Version

The Hold Steady's ‘Heaven Is Whenever' Set For Release May 4

The Hold Steady, lauded for the scope, depth, truth and heart they bring to chronicling the American rock myth, recently put the finishing touches on ‘Heaven Is Whenever,' their new album set for release May 4 on Vagrant Records.

Nothing could cheer up Joe Cannon
SJ EARTHQUAKES 1 - TORONTO FC 3
Toronto FC's road woes have officially been solved. All road matches will now only be played in California. Maybe it's the sunshine, the easy livin', Arnold Schwarzenegger or the adult film industry.

Today's been a busy day in the land of Barca, and Adriano's got his fair share of the attention. He's been officially presented today! Is it just me, or does he look hotter in the Barca shirt? Seriously, he looks so great in these shots! Again, loving the hair. I hope he grows it out even longer, into a Rafa-esque ponytail maybe.

When you really want something in life, you have to be willing to chase after it.

Or so thought our protagonist, a grown man, as he chased after the 7:55 AM bus, cursing his wretched bicycle, tooth brush dangling from his mouth, all while the 8:00 AM end-semester examination continued to loom closer, as only these things tend to loom.

I'm tired. I'm dehydrated. I'm happy. I'm still in Toronto.
The Cup has come and gone but I've got one more night in the Republic of Canuckistan before returning home. If any Canadians are reading this I appreciate your hospitality and overall awesomeness. You love your footie, your streets are improbably clean and your street hot dogs are the pinnacle of drunken, late-night cuisine.

This started out having some of the greatest potential for an absurd whiteout in recent Europa League times, simply because it didn't start out. The game was delayed 30 minutes so they could plow the field in Bern, which then happened several times Young Boys hired an artist, because there was no rhyme nor reason to the plowing patterns (frankly, it looked like an ode to Swiss artists Lang & Baumann) thereafter.

Earlier today FIFA voted and decided which nations would host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. While maybe some thought that the tournaments would go to England (2018) and the United States of America (2022), it wasn't so, and instead it was Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022) which won the rights to host the tournament.

Saturday's match featured, among others, 4 ponytails, 7 bald /shaved heads and Joey Barton. Add to that we had Jabba the Hutt in the crowd, and its no wonder my mind went off on tangents. While I was seriously contemplating how to tell apart Kyrgiakos and Gutierrez, a friend of mine volunteered that Kyrgiakos' ponytail resembled that employed by most caucasian samurai in Hollywood films, while Gutierrez's did not.