I love winnin'. It's, like, better than losin'!

Sorry for the extended clip up there, but it's the only clip I could find that has my favorite Nuke LaLoosh quote.

Just came back from Dynamo's 1-0 win over RBNY tonight. (Highlights not up on YouTube yet, so if you want to see them, check them out here.) That was about as sure a 1-0 win as I have seen recently, which may sound Pollyannaish (What? Me? Who are you looking at Playtherapy?), but there it is. The Orange seemed to dominate the run of play for long stretches, and to my recollection, the caffeine freaks had only 2-3 solid shots on goal. Not bad for a Dynamo team missing De Rosario, Onstad, Robinson and Captain Wademerica.


Chingy of course is a deserving man of the match, getting his head opened up in the first half, coming back 2 minutes later with a tough guy head bandage, then getting several great chances, giving the defense headaches worse than his own all night and finally scoring a nice goal. Mister3d pointed out that with Barrett out, the player wearing the captain's armband has scored two games in a row, first DDR on Wednesday and now the Flyin' Hawaiian tonight.

And while I know that RBNY were playing without the flu-ridden Juan Pablo Angel, baby-expecting Dave van der Bergh or injured (again. I swear, if it wasn't for Denilson, this would be the worst DP signing ever. Even including Denilson, it contends for the honor.) Claudio Reyna, Dynamo were hardly out there with a full deck themselves. So don't give me that as an excuse RBNY apologists.

Dynamo are now 3-1-1 in their last five games, and though that includes the embarrassing loss to the Temblors and a winnable tie in Dallas, I'll take it.

Also, playing well tonight right in front of us was uber-rookie Geoff Cameron, whose cool slot job into the box sprung Chingy for the goal. Man, how does Kinnear scout these guys? Cameron was a deep third round draft pick after playing for Rhode Island, for goodness' sake, hardly a noted soccer powerhouse. I guess all those orange balls on frozen fields toughened the dude up. In any event, he gave Kevin Goldthwaite all he wanted and more on the right wing all night. Very nice job, young man. Mister3d and I tried to help in the first half when Goldthwaite was right in front of us. We were all over him and then he had a clear kick for a clearance that he missed badly, slipping onto the ground flat on his ass for good measure. Not to break our arms patting ourselves on the back or anything, but we're going to take credit for that one!

Also saw solid play from Mulrooney and Ianni, who kept Altidore well out of the danger zone almost all night, except for one early chance that the frequently maligned Tony Caig stopped while diving to his left. Nice block you goofy Scot. Playing well was also Bobby Boswell, again proving that we got the better of the deal with DC. It's so much fun watching Zach Wells cough up a two-goal lead while Bozzie looks better and better with each passing game.

Though the roses tonight were not without their thorns. Still way too much waiting for the perfect shot and not pulling the trigger when the scoring opportunity is right there in front of you. Brian Mullan and Stuart Holden were the main transgressors in this regard tonight. And what else is new there? Both have been way too hesitant to pull the trigger. Mullan has something of a history that Playtherapy has well-documented of putting together great run, beating one, two and sometimes three defenders and then... nada. Check out Mully's almost wide-open look in the first half in the highlight reel. Being slow to finish allowed Jeff Parke to get in position for a sliding block that snuffed a solid chance. Holden has got to get over this or he may not get his ticket punched to Beijing later this summer (though it may be unpatriotic to suggest that I wouldn't be all too unhappy about that. Club...country...club...country...club...country).

All in all though, a very nice W that put Dynamo into a virtual tie atop the Western table for now at 3-3-5, good for 15 points. The candystriper thugs, minus top thug Andre Rocha, travel to Denver and Dick's Sporting Goods Park (kinda rolls off the tongue doesn't it?) Sunday. Personally, I'm hoping for an ugly tie.

Absent highlights, I'm just going to post this one again. Mon the Dynamo!