ProSoccerTalk daily soccer re-set

What we’re thinking, what we’re watching, what’s coming on the blog today and the RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day). Setting up your day in soccer …

Birthday of note: It’s hard to believe he’s already 32, but Steven Gerrard is getting up there. At least, he’s getting up there as far as soccer stars are concerned. Having debuted in red on Nov. 29, 1998, the Liverpool captain has spent near-14 years as a regular at Anfield. Handed the England captaincy by new Three Lions’ manager Roy Hodgson, Gerrard will be asked to get England out of Group D at the upcoming European championships.

Big, huge, important news of the day: Expect more fall-out from MLS’s horrible U.S. Open Cup Tuesday. Is it really big, important news? The results: No. That it keeps happening: Perhaps.

Ahead on the blog today*: Speaking of European championships, we’ll have our Group C capsules: previews of Croatia, Ireland, Italy and Spain. We’ll ask have more U.S. Open thoughts as well as a peak at our MLS Panic Quotient®.

What we’ll be watching: Spain and the Netherlands both host friendlies against respectable sides, hosting Korea and Slovakia respectively. While we didn’t put too much stock into Saturday’s results, time’s running out for the favorites to settle on their starting XIs.

RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day): Jeff Agoos

PST background noise while blogging: Jill Scott. Sometimes, we can use a long walk.

We’ll leave you with this: How do we get MLS franchises to buy into the importance of U.S. Open Cup? Or, is the competition’s importance more wish than reality?

* – time permiting, of course