Even with a crappy offensive line Willis McGahee can take the ball make three defenders

Even with a crappy offensive line, Willis McGahee can take the ball, make three defenders miss, and break a big run. Chris Paul can bring the ball up the court and create his own shot. Beckham can't.    The claim about American sports being more conducive to future wealth is also bogus. It is true that the average NFL or NBA contract is for more than the average soccer contract. With that being said, however, there are many more opportunities to play professional soccer than there are professional football or basketball. Even for a player of (relatively) average ability, there are job opportunities abound.    There's the MLS.

The Australian A-League, a league of similar age and skill level to MLS, is starting to take off in the land down under. The J-League in Japan attracts the finest players Japan and much of Asia has to offer. The Russian Premier League offers outstanding pay and facilities for those who don't mind the ferocious winters. The Mexican Primera Division gives decent opportunities to those players who might want to stay a little bit closer to home. The Coca-Cola Championship in England, the second division,    And of course, the English Premiership, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and Spanish Liga Primera are available for those players who have the ability to play with the world's best, and want to be compensated for it. In fact, the increased presence of Americans in these leagues has been a huge boon to the development of the national team.    So to those who say that American soccer is impeded by a lack of top-level athletes, I say: Don't confuse athleticism with skill.

The United States might not be the most skilled soccer nation (yet!). But we do have the athleticism and the resources needed to compete with the best in the world. In time, we can hope that results such as our recent draw with Argentina (#1 in the world) will become accepted as commonplace, rather than heroic. .  BREAKING NEWS: The Lakers will NOT lose in the NBA Finals next year I personally guarantee it. How do I know?Because the Lakers will not be in the 2009 NBA Finals.Look for New Orleans and Utah as strong probabilities and Portland, Sacramento and even Phoenix as possibilities.New Orleans and Utah were strong this year and with a little tweaking look for them to be even stronger next year.Portland gave the Lakers all they could handle this year and were undefeated against the Lakers at home. Adding a healthy Greg Oden certainly won’t weaken them. If anything, Oden makes them a genuine contender for the Western Conference title.Success in Sacramento and Phoenix depends on free agent signings, draft possibilities and trades.