Musket Rounds: Rest in Peace, Kirk Urso

We're a little late to the game, and that's my fault, but I wanted to make sure we at The Bent Musket got a chance to express our deepest condolences to the Columbus Crew and to the family and friends of Kirk Urso, the Crew rookie and former UNC Tar Heel and NCAA champion who passed away early Sunday morning from what are now being called natural causes.

Urso was not in the 18 for the New England Revolution's June 16th clash with Columbus, as he was still recovering from the adductor injury that derailed what was looking like a promising rookie year. I never really got to see the kid play, but by all accounts he had a bright future ahead of him in professional soccer, and more than that, he was just an all-around good guy.

Stuff like this isn't supposed to happen when you're 22. At that age, you feel invincible. Hell, I'm 25 and I feel invincible most of the time. It really makes you stop and consider the fragility of life when a nice young kid in supreme physical shape is taken from us so suddenly and inexplicably. May he rest in peace.

The Musket Rounds will continue after the jump, but I encourage all of you to take a moment to pray/think/reflect on Kirk, and give a moment's thought and sympathy to his family. I can only imagine what they're going through.

Revolution Links

Growing Up Diego | New England Revolution
This was a matchday program piece on Diego Fagundez. It features a nice quote from Shalrie, too. Diego's got a bright future ahead of him, he's just gotta keep working hard.

Joseph eager to start fresh at Chivas after impasse in NE | MLSsoccer.com
Luis Bueno spoke to Shalrie at Chivas training. He made some comments about a deteriorating relationship with Jay Heaps...I'd be curious to see exactly how deep that goes, since they were longtime teammates and friends.

Weekly Update: August 6 | New England Revolution
Literally the ONLY reason why I'm linking the weekly update is because Sunday is MATT REIS BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT!

Home turf doesn't help Revs - Boston New England Revolution Blog - ESPN Boston
I'm glad Benny owns up at the end here and says that the turf can't be an excuse. They play on this stuff EVERY HOME GAME. Tierney's been playing on it for like four years. It's not an excuse anymore.

Buyer’s Remorse - New England Soccer Today
The Jose Moreno Saga came to its expected conclusion when the club waived him on Monday. This is Brian O'Connell saying what we're all thinking: "DID YOU REALLY NOT SEE THIS COMING, REVS?!"

Other Soccer Links

Let's kick this week off properly. - No Short Corners
There are sources, and there are SOURCES. And apparently, Greg Seltzer has the latter. The dude knows literally everything that goes on abroad, it's ridiculous. Looks like Mix Diskerud, Mo Edu, and Alejandro Bedoya should be on the move soon.

Beckham: "…an AYSO ref is better than that today" | ProSoccerTalk
STONE. COLD. PENALTY. Penso missed the opportunity to properly punish Bryan Gaul later in that match, too, for kicking Michael Gspurning with his studs about 3 or 4 full seconds after the whistle had gone. Penso's first match last year was a good one, and I had high hopes for him, but...the guy's just been bad lately. Like, REALLY bad.

Kevin Garnett Does Not Own Part of Roma Because the NBA Blocked the Deal | KCKRS
I didn't know KG tried to get a piece of Roma. I hope he can get this deal done once he retires from the NBA.

22 For Azteca - US Soccer Daily
Matt from USSD takes a look at a possible 22-man roster for the Yanks' upcoming friendly against Mexico at the Azteca. I feel like he's including some guys that probably don't deserve it, and leaving off some that do, but overall this looks a likely list.

USWNT defeat Canada in thriller, will face Japan in Olympic final - Soccer By Ives
I feel lucky that I managed to at least catch all of the Extra Time in this match. If you didn't watch any of it, trust me, the highlights do NOT do this match justice.