There were some real gems in this one Grant.... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/grant_wahl/news/2002/12/20/soccer_mailbag/ ... but by far my favorite was this: "Stopped for a couple days in Bradenton, Fla., last week, long enough to conclude there's an outstanding Dawson's Creek-like reality series to be done on the U.S. under-17 national team (in residency at the IMG Academies) and their female tennis phenom groupies." I'm thinking they might need to relocate the tennis camp to a different town. Were you using the term "groupies" in the heavy metal band sense of the word?
Interestingly enough.... The "bird" LD is rumored to be currently seeing has this to her list of credits: "Dawson's Creek" (1998) TV Series .... Natasha Kelly (2002) http://us.imdb.com/Name?Kajlich, Bianca
Couldn't find the thread on him on the U20 board, but I'm sure there was one at one point, maybe on Yanks Abroad. I believe he was given an official invitation to stay on with the ManU youth team. If you don't read the U20 board I highly reccomend it since there are increasingly more talented young players coming up. Spector's recognition by ManU is just one story. I think the other interesting prospect is Danny Karbassiyoon at Arsenal. Try this link for more info: http://www.arsenalamerica.com/more/page.php?item=370 Also, Yanks Abroad has a broader discussion of the subject at the moment: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=25811 While there is a lot of hype and focus on Adu, Grant mentions two other young players that are by reports almost as impressive, namely Guillermo Gonzalez and Eddie Gaven.
Spector is an U17 centerback with Beckenbauer like qualities. Someone is indeed German in his family and he qualifies for an EU passport and thus, a UK work permit. MLS has evidently upped the ante recently, causing Spector to take a little while longer in making his decision. Supposedly though he's strongly leaning towards signing with ManUre. The U18 kid Karbassiyoon will be signing with Arsenal and leaving for England after he finishes high school this spring. His mother is Italian, and he too qualifies for an EU passport and therefore, a UK work permit. Read that article on those links---Arsenal's chief scout is extremely high on this kid's long term potential.