What Are They Thinking?

"And now I know there are no secret tricks, no correct politics
Just liars and lunatics"
--Homesick, Soul Asylum

Okay, so I know soccer isn't the most popular sport in America, but there are still supposedly a number of folks here in the states who are well-qualified to run franchises in MLS--or so I thought.
Sigi Schmid was fired this week as head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy. This struck a personal chord with me because he was formerly the head man at UCLA, coaching all my friends while I was there (many of whom I had the privilege of seeing over the weekend at my old roommate Kevin's wedding). This also resonated because of the incredible level of stupidity shown by the Galaxy front office in making this move.
According to MLSNet.com, this is only the third time in North American major professional sports history (yes, soccer is considered major) that the head coach of a first-place team has been fired mid-season. L.A. currently occupies the top spot in the entire league, which makes the decision particularly puzzling, but what's even more confusing is the success Schmid has enjoyed in years past. Neither of the two previous members of the first-place-fired list had won anything substantial in their careers to that point. Schmid's Galaxy won the MLS Cup two years ago and has appeared in the title game in three of his four seasons at the helm. They've also won the CONCACAF Champion's Cup and the U.S. Open Cup at various points since Schmid took over in 1999. Last year's shock first-round loss to San Jose was an aberration, but even if General Manager Doug Hamilton felt like the team was under-performing, he should have made a move after the playoff loss rather than in the middle of another first-place season.
Recent NBA fires that didn't make sense like Rick Carlisle (after two 50-win seasons in Detroit) and Byron Scott (after two straight trips to the NBA Finals) had different twists attached to them (Larry Brown's availability and Jason Kidd's inability to get along with his coach, respectively). Things ended up fine for Detroit, obviously, and it looks like New Jersey is headed down a different, cost-cutting road now anyway.
So yeah, the move makes sense if you've got a guy like Larry Brown waiting in the wings. Who did the Galaxy find to fill this void? How about this resume: He led the United States to its worst-ever showing at the World Cup, alienating his veteran players in the process. He then headed to Costa Rica, where he coached the national team there to no success whatsoever. Steve Sampson is his name. Bad coaching is his game. Good call, guys.
So yeah, I'm a little bitter about the decision, if only because it probably means less playing time for Sigi's golden boy--my old roommate Sasha. But it will honestly be hard to root for a team coached by that moron Sampson. Scott Bright might do a better job.
A team I won't stop rooting for, no matter the peril, is those San Diego Padres, who keeping scrapping their way to contention for that NL Wild Card. They sit just a half-game behind the Giants (with three fewer games played) heading into tonight's series finale with the Braves down at Petco. They absolutely pounded former Pad Jaret Wright last night (homers from Giles and Nevin helping give Jake Peavy win number nine) and will hopefully be providing some more offense this evening.
Too much soccer for one evening, probably. Sorry to those who are offended by such things. To those who aren't, one more note: Brian Ching's 89th-minute equalizer earned the U.S. a 1-1 draw at Jamaica tonight, a nice point on the road in World Cup qualifying. We'll take it.
A few more things to take care of before taking off from work tonight. Peace.