I'LL ADMIT IT: I THINK SOCCER SUCKS. But even I can't help but be touched by this story. I know large parts of Iraq are in a large way a total shit-show right now, but it's worth remembering a) that large swathes of the country are in fact returning to normalcy, and b) just how fucked up a country Iraq was only nine months ago.

Memo to MLS: after signing Freddy Adu, the best thing you can do to increase your sport's popularity is to send an all-star team over to Iraq to play against these guys. Hype it up bigtime, broadcast it on network TV in primetime (maybe made difficult because of the time difference), have Paul Bremer and the Iraqi Governing Council put in an appearance at the game. Nothing deadly serious or anything - no 1980 "miracle on ice" overtones - but just some friendly competition between us and the Iraqis. And since the Iraqis would probably win, it'd probably help ease the humiliation of how badly we handed them their asses last spring. This is a potentially huge PR coup, for the Provisional Authority in Iraq and for MLS in the United States.

(link via Instapundit)