It's Over - For Now

Thankfully, it appears the the two warring sides in the ongoing U.S. soccer labor dispute have settled their differences, for the time being. The US Soccer Federation and the Players Association have reached a tentative agreement that will run through the rest of the year. Most importantly, it eliminates the threat of a strike or walkout during the final round of World Cup Qualifying, which means Bruce Arena can send the scrubs home and call in the real national team to face Trinidad & Tobago on February 9. This does not end the long-running labor dispute, however. And if the two sides can't work a deal this year, we fact the unhappy prospect of doing this all again in 2006, playing chicken with our birth in World Cup 2006 in Germany.