Did the U.S. make the wrong call in keeping Mia Hamm on the bench against North Korea?
It’s odd that April Heinrichs says the decision was made when the U.S. had a comfortable lead. Why would it matter that the score was 3-0? The U.S. could’ve lost by two goals and still won the group; they could’ve lost by a bushel and still advanced. No matter. She played brilliantly on Thursday and won’t lose her touch on Wednesday, despite Heinrichs’ concerns about “turning off the faucet.” Actually, the U.S. may have been worried about the wrong faucet — defender Joy Fawcett, the team’s elder stateswoman, is the only field player to go the distance in all three games. Why did FIFA allow two groups in the Women’s World Cup to play final games at different times? A quick history lesson: In the 1982 World Cup (men), Austria and West Germany took the field knowing that a 1-0 West German win would allow both teams to advance at Algeria’s expense. Guess what happened? If the U.S. and North Korea had been buddies, they easily could have arranged it so both teams advanced. Just let North Ko
