One-time U.S. youth international Preston Zimmerman doesn't have a single cap for the senior U.S. national team, and while it wasn't likely that he'd be receiving his first call-up sometime soon anyway based on his current level of play and club standing, he didn't do himself any favors by using social media to voice his opinion about the current U.

Often our entry into the weekly OFF-topic post is flavor, but after a week in which I compared Kurt Schmid to an Aes Sedai I thought it may be a good time to talk about some of my favorite books. Clearly I'm a huge fan of "Ender's Game" (and the two streams of sequels). No one who reads this site on a regular basis can miss a reference to these books.

Sure, it's midday Saturday, but that doesn't mean the week should go without an OFF-topic post.

The theme this week is the starter/appetizer/amuse bouche/small plate/tapas, by now I think you have the point. Some day, after winning the lottery or finding some rich patron, I would love to do a soccer & beer bar that only serves starters.

Losing Conor Casey was a major blow for the Rapids in 2011. (Getty Images)

A little programming note to kick things off today. Sorry for the radio silence yesterday (except for Geoff's Champion's League previews), I was hardly even able to look at soccer stuff until late in the evening when the two MLS playoff games were on.