Nash break

I have long developed an extraordinary capacity to completely switch off from Arsenal during international breaks. I practically went into hibernation the moment the final whistle blew against West Brom and it's only now that I'm kicking my cocoon open so I can peer out.

Should the Impact place their maiden MLS voyage in the hands of the elderly? One Montreal writer dares to brave the icy, Italian-flavored waters of the DP dilema and what it could mean for the 2012 expansion side if they dare to splash the cash on a slew of Azzurri players old enough to get birthday shout-outs from Willard Scott.

By Chris Wright

Just as the Aztec god of humongous nasal passages Phil Thompson prophesied on Norwegian television many moons ago, Liverpool have this very afternoon announced that they have agreed a fee with Newcastle for left-back Jose Enrique the cheeky buggers won't tell us what that fee it is, though we've heard it's somewhere up around the £6 million mark.

A running joke among soccer league officers and volunteers is 'Offseason? What offseason?' Here in NC, we've already held tryouts (two weeks surrounding Memorial Day), formed teams, and are currently registering players and submitting Intent To Play forms for the Fall.

But beyond that, summer is a chance to improve things and try to make things better for the Fall.

Pressure cooker ready to burst, or bowl of overboiled noodles?
Difficult to anticipate the spirits in which the players will face Lens today. A week after the draw against Nice (2-2), much has been leaked, distorted, or exaggerated, about the atmosphere within the squad. Yes, Hugo Lloris exploded after the match, on his way back to the locker rooms.

A superhero enjoys a special kind of stature, beloved by all, yet isolated. Trapped in a cocoon, devoid of sharing things in common with anyone else. We find them unobtainable and alien, icons thrust so high on a pedestal, they are divorced from our reality.