Special Game B in Your Ticket Packet

I have to admit I think Saturday's game vs the Donovan Quarantas is more important than tonight's USOC game vs the Demarenas, though I also must admit that my animus against that west coast team of diving pussies and choking wankers colors my opinion.

I also happen to think that Saturday's game - especially if it follows a good performance tonight by United - is an immensely critical game. Yes, the Cobiskankjones would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today, but the Diving Vagenas won the double last year and are one of the league's premier franchises. United desperately needs a convincing league win, a crisp, dominant, thorough win, and a win against one of the league's signature teams. The rest of the league needs reminding of who the best team in the league is. United needs reminding more than the rest of the league.

Winning tonight would both build on last Saturday's second half and build towards Saturday, but if I'm Peter Nowak, with four substitutions in hand (I had forgotten that USOC games allow four until last Germantown) and a huge league game Saturday (before what's traditionally one of the largest and buzzingest crowds of the year) I'm working on giving minutes tonight to Mediate and Dyachenko and Simms and Walker and giving minutes off to Carroll and Olsen and Gros and Moreno. (The Post's pre-game side panel says Gomez will probably be giving the night off to rest the knee he tweaked this past Saturday. It also says Dema will miss game for a red card he got last year for United.) United should be able, if they just play focused and hard, to beat freaking New York AND give some legs an early evening.