an reckoned the penalties were both clearly there.I dont think anyones disputing the 50s were there, McLachlan told 3AW.Syd

Jurgen Klinsmanns hiring five years ago was supposed to make America a great soccer nation.Didnt happen.Worse, its not going to change anytime soon.Klinsmann talked a great game. He promised skilled, ambitious, attack-minded teams instead of relying on the tried-and-true formula of athleticism, luck and overworked goalkeepers that marked the nations modest climb in the world rankings up to that point. And he smartly looked back to his native Germany for a plan to make soccer sexy in his adopted homeland.He vowed the U.S. teams youth programs would leave no gem undiscovered or community overlooked in its search for talent. He urged fans to hold him and his players accountable. He made clear that anyone with a valid U.S. passport would be welcomed on-board to develop a uniquely American style of playing the worlds game.What Klinsmann left behind, though, is a team with no discernible style that is even less American -- measured by home-grown-or-developed players -- and hardly more competitive than the one he inherited. Dont expect that to change under Bruce Arena, who is even more of a pragmatist than he was during his first stint (1998-2006) in charge.U.S. soccers best hope, at least for the foreseeable future, remains the Immigration and Naturalization Service.Theres no reason to blame either Klinsmann or Arena for that. The problem with soccer in America is much bigger than either man. For all the initiatives and money thats been poured into the game over the last three decades, from kids recreational programs to colleges to Major League Soccer, we still havent produced even one field player good enough to crack the starting lineup for traditional powers like Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Argentina and Brazil.Nothing will change until that does.America still hasnt developed a real soccer culture. It was supposed to happen after the 1994 World Cup was played here, or after the launch of the MLS, or after the U.S. team under Arena reached the quarterfinals in 2002, even after millions began tuning in each season to watch the matches in the Premier League and Bundesliga, and turning out in droves for World Cup viewing parties every four years.But having dedicated fans doesnt necessarily translate into developing great players. Predictions of a soccer boom has done more to hamstring the real development of the game here than all those well-organized, well-meaning parents who became youth coaches with no more than a vague idea of how its played. If you want to know how great a deficit that puts youngsters growing up here, think of it this way.If you gathered a handful of 10-year-olds from the remote corners of Brazil and dropped a ball at their feet in a 10-by-10-foot room, theyd position themselves quickly enough to pass the ball three times before rolling it through the doorway without a hitch. Hand a basketball to a similarly selected group of American kids and make the hoop the target and youd see much the same organization.Whether soccer will ever be on an equal footing with the big American sports is anyones guess. The best athletes in this nation of 300-million plus are still headed to the NBA or NFL first. Soccer is finally competing with the NHL, Major League Baseball and a few other sports for talented youngsters.But the most promising prospects -- like Christian Pulisic, only 18 and arguably already the most skilled player in the U.S. program, and a regular for Borussia Dortmund in Germanys Bundesliga -- only develop by going outside the U.S. national teams grasp.Both Klinsmann and Arena understood that long ago. Ever the optimist, Klinsmann believed he could meld all those different individual talents and playing styles in the short time the team was called in for national team duty, the way the other world powers have always done. He even doubled down on the idea by importing as many German-Americans as he could find, ruffling plenty of feathers in both the squad and the U.S. federation.Arena wont repeat that mistake. Instead of a grand plan to make America great, hell quickly cobble together a team that is long on veterans and will cut down on mistakes. Hell pack the defense, count on good-to-great goalkeeping every time out and take his chances in a sudden counterattack.It wont make anyones heart race, but it may be enough to turn around Klinsmanns disastrous 0-2 start in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and produce the occasional upset, much as the 2002 team did.Toward the end of his re-introduction to the U.S. media on a conference call Tuesday, Arena was asked whether there was an American style of playing.You style is dictated by the qualities of your players, he replied. We are who we are.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke .Antonio Blakeney Jersey . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Robin Lopez Bulls Jersey . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/kids-kris-dunn-bulls-jersey/ .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Toni Kukoc Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Robin Lopez Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason.A member of the AFLs laws of the game committee believes umpires made a bad error in awarding a costly 50m penalty against Sydney that gifted Hawthorn a goal in their five-point win.Swans captain Kieren Jack was controversially penalised for entering the protected zone of Hawk Jonathan ORourke right on three-quarter time at the SCG on Thursday night, allowing the visitors to slot a crucial major.Former Collingwood premiership player Michael Christian, who is on the AFLs laws committee, said it was a mistake to penalise Jack because he had already been in the protected zone when ORourke marked.You have to get out of the area immediately but you dont have to run sideways nor on an angle, Christian told radio station RSN on Friday morning.The rule is designed if youre outside the protected zone and you run into the protected zone, 50 straight away.But when youre already in there youve got to give time to the player to run out.I think it was a mistake by the umpire because he was already in there.He ran out immediately. He didnt sprint, but he was going quickly enough to get out of the area, realised he was in there and the whistle blew.Bad error, I reckon.It was one of two late 50m penalties against the Swans and preceded another given against Ben McGlynn, who was deemed to have entered the protected zone in a dramatic final quarter, leading Jonathon Ceglar to score.ddddddddddddThe Twitter hashtag #FreeKickHawthorn went viral as Swans fans vented their frustrations, but AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan reckoned the penalties were both clearly there.I dont think anyones disputing the 50s were there, McLachlan told 3AW.Sydney coach John Longmire wasnt sure whether the interpretation of the 50m rule had changed, but didnt intend to seek clarification from the AFLs umpiring department.I dont know, ask the umpires, I really dont know to be honest, Longmire said.A miffed Longmire did question the games uneven free-kick count, which finished at 15-9 to the Hawks but had been more lopsided earlier.Obviously we were undisciplined because the free-kick count was 3-13 at three-quarter time, Longmire said.I dont think Ive seen a differential like that for quite a while.Well have to get better at our discipline, clearly, because thats a big differential.Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson found the umpiring to be pretty strong but observed the obvious challenge with the 50m rule lay in the consistency of its interpretation. 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