Die with our boots on.

The US Men's National Team clinched a World Cup berth this past weekend with a 3-2 win in Honduras. I, like most Americans, was not able to watch the game due to some asinine broadcasting rules/decisions. Regardless this is great news for a US team on the rise.

The US team turned heads this year by beating Spain in the Confederations Cup Semifinals. This marked the most important victory by the US team in many years. They did it with solid defense and quality shots from their scorers when they needed it.

Unfortunately it didn't mark the turnaround for the team from mediocre to world elite. They still have problems almost every game putting together a sustained attack and stopping world class offense. They look lost at times and really caught a few lucky breaks along the way to South Africa.

All that being said I am very happy and proud of this team. They have a lot of work and really need to settle in on doing their jobs every time in order to advance out of pool play. I believe in them and will be rooting the whole way.

The USMNT have come a long way. It used to be that no matter what we did we wouldn't be able to hang with the world's best. Now if we play our best game we can beat teams that aren't. There are still teams we could never beat on their best day, but forcing everyone else to bring their "A" game is a step in the right direction.

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The Chicago Fire are close to wrapping up their season as well. Cass and I had a blast as season ticket holders this year and are considering our options for next year. There are a few things we'd do different like not sit in the supporters section and skip the Beckham game (if he comes back) but overall we enjoyed getting to go to as many games as we did.

The team is in trouble for the playoffs though. They are very thin on the back line due to injuries to some critical members, primarily Tim Ward who is the new favorite player of Cass and I due to his quality hustle and overall play this past year, as well as the loss of Bakary Soumare to France due to him not wanting to be here. Up front our attack has looked weak as well since the loss of Thorrington and Blanco is playing hurt. Getting McBride back is a big boost but hopefully we can get a few of these guys back in form for the postseason run. Otherwise it could be an early exit.

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Arsenal is sitting at fifth in the standings but they have played one fewer game than everyone ahead of them. Most impressively they have scored more goals than any one else in the league. The closest team is Liverpool who is two goals behind with an extra game played.

Arsenal is scoring 3.4 goals per game right now and don't look to be slowing down. They aren't scared to just pour everything at teams and have found the back of the net like no other. Their defensive line is weak but unless teams have goal scorers they aren't going to be able to compete. It's fine to concede two goals if you go out and score six.

Between Fabregas, Vermaelen, Van P, Arshavin teams will have trouble finding stoppers for all of Arsenal's weapons, and that's to say nothing of when the team is healthy and they have Walcott, Bendtner, Gallas, and Rosicky too.

The one thing that sucks is the team's only real enforcer is Nasri and he's been hurt. Regardless if you have spots behind the net at an Arsenal game this year be ready to stand up and cheer.