Dear Mother Nature,

I forgive you. We can still be friends.

Sincerely,

Erin

Dear Grandma,

Thank you so much for the ping pong balls. They are my new favorite bath toy! I always have to have one in my mouth and one in each hand. If it's possible, I'm even more excited for bath time now! :)

Love,

Noah

STARTING 11 AND FULL 23 MAN ROSTER

Dear Bob,

Now that the World Cup is less that 100 days away, and in light of the last couple of games, a few changes need to be made to the starting 11. I'll also update you periodically on who should be included in the 23 man roster. Except for the host of injured players, every other player basically had a half to a full game to stake their claim. It's amazing how much you can get out of such a short audition.

Forwards:

Jozy Altidore: Definitely improving, needs a more experienced striker with him up front.

Clint Dempsey: Only goal scorer in last WC. Probably the only USA player who is truly not intimidated by the upper echelons of Europe. Will score goals.

(Sorry Charlie, when you get back on the pitch you'll be right back at the top)

Midfielders:

Landon Donovan (left): Where was he against the Dutch?

Michael Bradley (central): Definitely maturing in Germany. Good game in the Netherlands.

Maurice Edu (central): Lacks the creativity of Torres, offers intimidation factor and athleticism.

Stuart Holden (right): Latest to go out with injury: broken fibula, out 6 weeks. If Charlie isn't back and Dempsey is up front, a match fit Holden will be critical to USA's chances.

Defense:

Carlos Bocanegra (left): Bornstein is out, Demerit is tougher in the central defense, Carlos is too valuable of a team leader to not be on the field. Bocanegra has a lot of left back experience.

Jay Demerit (central): Strong and fearless. No big mistakes yet. Needs to keep healthy.

Oguchi Onyewu (central): Needs to start training with Milan. He is apparently recovering well.

Jonathan Spector (right): The weakest link in this line-up. Does have experience against the English players. Got beat a couple of times against the Dutch.

Goalie:

Tim Howard: New USA goalkeeper uniform is sweet.

Rest of the 23:

Forwards: Davies, Ching

(Ching blows but he really is all we've got right now)

Midfield: Feilhaber, Torres, Beasley, Clark, Bedoya

(Maybe Adu instead of Bedoya, though Bedoya seemed to have some good play against Holland)

Defense: Pearce, Cherundolo, Goodson

(I've learned my mistake in favoring Bornstien because of his good looks, have you Bob?)

Goalies: Guzan, Hahnemann

Bob, I'll keep you updated as players come off of injury and I evaluate their form over the next few months.

Love, Mike

P.S. - If your reading this and you know any of these names, comment with your starting 11.