As found on the Insider, the USSF released the names today for the preliminary Gold Cup roster.

And of course its just the same old names. Why would we expect anything more? It seems that Bradley automatically gives preference to anybody on a team in Europe, regardless of how good that player is, how good that team is, or if that player receives any playing time with that team. And the MLSers who do get called up to the national team are the same ones who always get called up to the national team, even if they've done nothing in MLS this season. The Gold Cup is a legitimate opportunity to get some new faces into the mix. There are plenty of fine young Americans who are having fantastic years by MLS standards, but they aren't even given a chance to compete.

I just don't understand how you could choose Eddie Gaven (2 goals, 0 assists) and Robbie Rogers (0 goals, 1 assist) ahead of Chris Pontius (4 goals, 2 assists), Arturo Alvarez (4 goals, 1 assist), Brad Davis (2 goals, 7 assists), and Colin Clark (2 goals, 5 assists).

The funniest one for me is Clarence Goodson. Playing for Dallas for 4 years, he was an above average defender, but not of high enough profile to receive any national team call ups. But the same month that he announces that he will not be returning to MLS and signs a contract in Norway, all of a sudden he gets his first call up! On the defensive side, I'm thinking Bryan Namoff, Aaron Hohlbein, Omar Gonzales, and Jeremy Hall are just as worthy.

Who else would you like to see get an opportunity?