Olympic athletes often don't get paid to do anything other than look good. In that vein, Attractive Olympians handicaps which athletes may rake in endorsement deals after the Olympics.
Natasha Kai -- known as "Tasha" or "TK" to her teammates -- is the most immediately noticeable player on the U.S. Women's National Team; her ever-growing canvas of tattoos (she's presently up to 19, according to D.C. Sports Bog's brief but splendidly detailed profile) and full sleeve make sure of that.
In addition to the ink, Kai's flashy on-field style and flat-out skill garner her even more looks. After three consecutive WAC Player of the Year awards at Hawaii, she became the fourth American woman to score in her first two international appearances. Through seven caps she had scored four goals. Now at 35 caps, she's a fixture on the national team and looking to improve upon her last trip to China, where the Americans finished a disappointing third in the Women's World Cup.
But enough about her athletic capabilities; let's tackle what really matters to the underworld inhabited by sports bloggers: is Natasha Kai a hottie? After the jump, examine more visual evidence (including video of her dancing) and rock the vote in our Internet poll.
It doesn't take much to be famous in the 21st century. All you have to do is take off most of your clothes, tie on an American flag and run into the middle of a soccer game that most sports fans wouldn't care about otherwise.
At least, that was the plan for Tiffany May, who went pitch invading during the USA v. Honduras Olympic qualifying match and became an Internet sensation. Now after taking off most of her clothes for the game, she's cashing in on her 15 minutes of fame by taking off all her clothes -- for Playboy.
You can see the full NSFW teaser trailer here at The Offside Rules, which notes ironically that Tiffany "may make more money doing that than a few US soccer players will make this year." Plus, in the video, Tiffany herself offers a solution for getting more people to become soccer fans:
"Maybe if there were more girls like me streaking at soccer games, we'd have a lot more fans."
Well, isn't that why NFL teams have cheerleaders? Perhaps MLS clubs should look into that. Mexico is way ahead of the curve there.
If the U.S. men's U-23 soccer team wants to get through the group stage of the 2008 Olympic soccer tournament, it will have to earn it.
The U.S. team has been drawn into Group B with the Netherlands, Nigeria and Japan, which could prove to be a stiff challenge -- much stiffer than the competition facing heavyweights Brazil, Argentina and Italy in their groups. The Netherlands have a reputation for developing strong young players, and their team might be the odds-on favorite to win Group B. Nigeria, however, won the FIFA U-17 World Cup last year and is expected to field a strong side as well.
The women's soccer draw is a bit more favorable for the U.S. women's team, who were placed in Group C with Norway, Japan and New Zealand. The U.S. women defeated Norway 4-1 in the Bronze Medal game of the 2007 Women's World Cup, while Japan and New Zealand never made it out of the group stage in that competition. Plus, there are only three groups of four in the women's competition, and eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals. New U.S. coach Pia Sundhage couldn't have it much easier in the group stage.
Goalkeeper Jose Manual Miranda, midfielder Yordany Alvarez and defender Yenier Bermundez made the trip from Florida to California to train with the L.A. Galaxy last week. They are not signed to any contracts yet -- there are likely immigration and asylum issues to settle first -- but the three amigos are expected to stay with the club through most of this week as the Galaxy prepare to face the Houston Dynamo.
Miranda in particular played brilliantly for Cuba against the U.S. U-23 team before he and four other players fled their hotel in Tampa. I'm a little surprised MLS hasn't tried to expedite his naturalization papers. The Galaxy need all the help they can get.
Generally, the Olympic soccer tournament is a U-23 event, but the International Olympic Committee grants each team three roster exemptions for over-age players. McBride, who has never participated in the Olympics, will be 36 in August when the Games begin. Plus, several players on the U.S. senior team will be busy with World Cup qualifying in August, meaning McBride could easily be one of the U.S. Olympic team's three over-age players.
The timing of these games, however, makes this curious. After all, the English soccer season begins in August, and no club likes the idea of one of their starters missing the entire preseason because of national team duties.
However, McBride plays for a club that looks certain to get relegated from the Premier League by the end of April, and it's unclear whether the American forward figures into Fulham's future plans. Could McBride's interest in the Olympics be a sign that he doesn't want to end his career in a Coca-Cola Championship? Would he choose to cap his career with the kids in Beijing and ride off into the sunset?
Either way, a forward line featuring McBride and Jozy Altidore seems fairly formidable, no?
So now we know where the USA U-23 team's offense has been hiding -- in the set plays.
Freddy Adu scored twice off free kicks, both set up by Canadian fouls on Jozy Altidore, to lead the USA to a convincing 3-0 victory over Canada in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament in Nashville. The win earned the USA a trip to Beijing to compete in the 2008 Olympics.
The USA dominated possession early and didn't gave Canada a chance to organize an attack until late in the first half. Canada, who only managed two shots on goal in the second half, responded by playing a physical game, aided by a referee who let a lot of contact go uncalled.
Altidore, though, did manage to draw several fouls near the box, and Adu bent the ball into goal twice -- first in the 27th minute, then in the 48th -- to put the USA ahead. Sacha Kljestan, who performed far better in this game than he did in the group stage, added a third goal to put the game away.
The USA still has one more game to play on Sunday against Honduras, who defeated Guatemala on penalty kicks after a 0-0 snoozer to earn the other CONCACAF bid, but these U-23s achieved their primary objective. Now we'll wait and see which three senior players will join this team in Beijing. Given the timing of these Olympics, don't expect any Premier League players.
Here's the thing, though -- the U.S. has allowed only one goal in 270 minutes. It has scored just as many goals in the run of play during those three matches. The other two goals were penalties. Meanwhile, the Canadians didn't really start scoring until Guatemala practically pointed them at goal to get back at Mexico.
And USA coach Peter Nowak bolstering his defense? Really?
If anything, what Nowak needs to do is recognize that Jozy Altidore doesn't play well as a lone striker. When the 18-year-old prodigy is the only scoring threat up front, defenses can key on him and make it much harder for him to get the ball. Yet Nowak kept giving us that dreadful 4-2-3-1 for two matches, and Jozy spent most of his time looking frustrated.
Then Nowak busted out the Christmas tree (4-3-2-1) for the finale against Honduras. As a Carolina Railhawks supporter, I can tell you this: that tree does not light up.
Two years ago during the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, Guatemala needed Mexico to draw against Trinidad & Tobago to have a shot at finishing fourth and making the play-in game against Bahrain. However, Mexico had already earned its World Cup spot and fielded a weak reserve side against T&T, who won 2-1 and eliminated Guatemala from contention.
End result? Mexico could no longer just win their final match to get through. They had to beat Haiti by six, count 'em, six goals in order to advance to the semifinals. Oh, and they had to do this against a Haiti team who could advance with a win.
That, my friends, is hate. Mucho, mucho odio. Yet Mexico nearly overcame it.
Usually, when a fan gets drunk and wanders out onto the field, TV cameras turn away so as to discourage such behavior. In the case of last night's USA v. Honduras U-23 match in Tampa, however, Fox Soccer Channel will gladly make an exception:
So, to recap, streaking is discouraged, unless the streaker is A.) female and B.) hot. I smell a Maxim photo shoot in that girl's future.
As for the game, the USA U-23s managed to get the better of those Honduran drama queens -- stop rolling around and crying, you big babies! -- but with the likes of Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu and Chris Seitz on the bench, Peter Nowak's team needed a penalty in stoppage time to put the winning goal on the board and give the USA first place in Group A. The winner of tonight's Mexico v. Haiti match will face the USA in the semifinals.
Let's hope Nowak leaves Chad Barrett, Robbie Findley and Sacha Kljestan on the bench for that semifinal. Those guys couldn't score in a brothel, let alone this competition.
If you thought the USA U-23s were struggling in the CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament, just remember that it could be worse -- they could be Mexico.
Indeed, Mexico's shocking 2-1 loss to Guatemala last night has sent shockwaves through Group B and has left the Tricolores with only one point after two matches. Mexico must now win its Sunday night match against Haiti, which has three points after its win against Canada, to advance to the semifinals. A draw won't be enough.
As for the USA U-23s, they can clinch a semifinal spot from Group A with either a win or a draw over Honduras tonight or a Panama win or draw over defection-depleted Cuba. If the USA beats Honduras tonight, they will win Group A and will likely face the winner of the Mexico-Haiti match -- presuming Canada doesn't pull off a huge upset of Guatemala tonight.
The USA would do well to win tonight and avoid Guatemala in the semifinal. This Mexican team is clearly down, and this would be a good time for Freddy and the Wonders to exact some revenge on the Tricolores for denying the USA a spot in the 2004 Olympics -- presuming Haiti doesn't deny them the opportunity, of course.
Olympic athletes often don't get paid to do anything other than look good. In that vein, Attractive Olympians handicaps which athletes may rake in endorsement deals after the Olympics.
It doesn't take much to be famous in the 21st century. All you have to do is take off most of your clothes, tie on an American flag and run into the middle of a soccer game that most sports fans wouldn't care about otherwise.
If the U.S. men's U-23 soccer team wants to get through the group stage of the 2008 Olympic soccer tournament, it will have to earn it.
Remember those kids from the Cuban U-23 squad that 
Brian McBride retired from the 
So now we know where the USA U-23 team's offense has been hiding -- in the set plays.
The irrepressible Ives Galarcep is reporting that 
You thought Jose Mourinho 
If you thought the USA U-23s were struggling in the 
