Kevin Baxter

LOS ANGELES - Clay Stanley's 80-mph jump serve is one of the most potent weapons in international volleyball. And as a right-side hitter, he may be the best in the world.

But when U.S. national team Coach Alan Knipe is asked what Stanley brings to the court, the first thing he mentions is "the stare."

So this is what Juergen Klinsmann meant when he talked about developing a U.S. style of soccer.

"Maybe we don't want to hurt people but that's what you've got to do," Klinsmann, coach of the U.S. national team, said last week after his team was routed, 4-1, by Brazil in an international friendly. "We've got to step on their toes more and get them more frustrated."

Why should the country that brought the world the Ultimate Fighting Championships, tackle football and talk radio be satisfied with gentlemanly soccer?

You never forget the first time, Sydney Leroux says.

In her case it came when she was just 13, after a bet with her mother over how many goals she would score in a national soccer tournament.

SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif. -- The mean streets of South El Monte aren't so mean any more as they are tired and sometimes desperate.

LOS ANGELES -- It was like Michael Jordan missing a game-winning free throw or LeBron James bouncing a dunk off the rim. It was Justin Verlander losing a World Series game on a wild pitch or Eli Manning blowing the Super Bowl with an interception in the end zone.

LOS ANGELES -- Hope Solo is sitting in a conference room 22 floors above Wilshire Boulevard, weeping.

Which is surprising for two reasons.