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David Beckham's loan move to AC Milan earlier this year meant he retained his place in the England national team, but it has kept him out of another, albeit hypothetical, lineup.

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On Sunday, the NFL played a regular season game in front of a sellout crowd at London's Wembley Stadium for the third straight year. In recent months, the English Premier League has openly discussed returning the favor to the United States by adding a 39th game to its schedule and holding it at various sites around the world, including in the States. This begs the question: If the Brits are so accepting of American football, would Americans be interested in English football?

If it's done right, there's no reason to think why playing one EPL game per season in the United States wouldn't be a rousing success. It might upset English football traditionalists, but it could help expand the league's global footprint and make EPL soccer something more than a novelty in these parts.

In order to do so, however, the games themselves must still feel like a novelty. (It's quite an anomaly, I know: In order to not be a novelty, the games themselves must stay a novelty.) Like it or not, the only way that soccer has proven its ability to be a mass success in the United States is when there are big-time events. World Cups (men's or women's), David Beckham debuts and exhibitions between European clubs and/or MLS teams can sell thousands of tickets at the biggest venues in the country.

This country has a huge "big event" complex. On the whole, the masses won't get excited about something unless it feels important. This is why gymnastics, figure skating and swimming are only big every four years. For this reason, MLS will never catch on with a huge audience. People don't think there's anything at stake. These aren't the best players or the best league, people rationalize, so why should I care?

The EPL won't have a problem establishing legitimacy over here. Even the greenest of sports fans understand that the EPL is the big-time. 

In order to sell a lot of tickets and make this venture worthwhile, though, the EPL would have to be careful which games it selects for the United States. A soccer equivalent of the New Orleans Saints-Miami Dolphins game (which was played in London last year) won't fly. People won't be filling Giants Stadium to see Stoke City vs. Portsmouth. It will take a Manchester United or Chelsea or Arsenal -- teams with American name recognition -- to generate interest.

The EPL also wouldn't have the luxury of picking one location and sticking with it (as the NFL has done with Wembley). The game will need to rotate on a yearly basis amongst cities with big soccer followings (Los Angeles, New York, Washington/Baltimore) and places with enthusiastic hosts (as Fenway Park apparently is) to ensure freshness in new markets.

Handled correctly, these games would have the potential to generate more casual interest in the EPL and, perhaps, could even give the afternoon games on Fox Soccer Channel (which recently re-upped its American contract) a big-event feel in the United States.

For 30 years people have asked "can soccer succeed in America?" Maybe the reason it hasn't is because people have been selling the wrong product. The EPL could be the right one.

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Diego Maradona's decision to use his "Hand of God" in a rather undignified manner could rule him out of coaching at the World Cup.

The Argentina boss grabbed his genitals with both hands during a foul-mouthed rant following his side's qualification for the World Cup on Wednesday and now faces a disciplinary hearing.

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It took just a glance around the lower bowl of RFK Stadium, turned temporarily into a sea of white placards bearing the number "9," to see how much U.S. Soccer misses Charlie Davies.

Davies, the national team striker who was severely injured in a car crash early Tuesday morning, received a series of touching get-well messages from teammates and the Washington, D.C., crowd Wednesday night.

Captain Carlos Bocanegra dedicated the team's dramatic last-ditch 2-2 draw against Costa Rica to Davies, who is almost certain to miss the World Cup after being ruled out for between six to 12 months.

But as thoughts turn to South Africa next summer following an intriguing and tumultuous qualifying campaign, how much will Davies' presence be missed on the field?

While it is hard to read too much into what was effectively a meaningless game for the U.S. on Wednesday, with qualification having already been wrapped up four days earlier, the performance gave some kind of a glimpse into life without the young Sochaux front-man.

Davies is the only player in the squad who possesses a genuinely electrifying pace and that is a major reason why he has become such an important cog in coach Bob Bradley's machine.

Without him, the tempo of the U.S. attack becomes more languid - and more aerial - with the taller and slower Jozy Altidore stepping in against Costa Rica.

Davies brought an extra option and the kind of blistering speed capable of troubling any defense.

With his effervescent personality, Davies swiftly became a favorite of both fans and teammates alike. He is sorely missed already, but he could be missed even more in South Africa next summer.

Share your thoughts and comments below.

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Associated Press

The United States hasn't even qualified for next year's World Cup, but it is good enough to win the tournament.

OK, once you've recovered from an understandable fit of uncontrollable laughter – and before you send a swathe of derisive feedback questioning my sanity – understand that the above statement is the opinion of U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati.

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Bob Bradley is one of those international head coaches whose decisions always seem to be second-guessed no matter what he does.

So it will surely be the case again on Saturday when Bradley makes the final lineup choice for the United States' critical penultimate World Cup qualifier at Honduras.

Bradley will be most under the microscope regarding his selection on the right side of midfield, after Clint Dempsey was ruled out with a sprained shoulder that he sustained while playing for Fulham.

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