I see that the Revs' Steve Nicol is complaining about rough play. Specifically, he believes that his player, Sainey Nyassi, is being fouled way too much, and that referees are not punishing the offenders.

Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich was not the Champions League final that we thought we were going to get. Certainly not the one that many -- including me -- would have preferred. But there you are -- that's what we've got, and there's little to argue with in the semifinal results.

I can't say I think much of the uniforms that the Philadelphia Union sported at its game against the Red Bulls. Dreary, frankly, when they surely ought to be cheerful. From what I know of salesmanship, which may not be a great deal, I'd have thought the idea was to radiate brightness and optimism wherever it can be put on display. And where better than the uniforms?

I don't really need a technical study, published in the South African Medical Journal, to tell me that those stupid vuvuzelas are a curse. But that's what we've got, and we now know, thanks to Dr. De Wet Swanepoel of the University of Pretoria's department of communication pathology, that vuvuzelas can damage your health -- your hearing, specifically.

It could be that, as far as the soccer world is concerned, 2010 will be remembered as the Year of the Volcano. The year that a volcanic eruption in Iceland greatly disturbed air travel, and meant that Barcelona had to travel by road -- in luxury buses -- to Milan for their UEFA Champions League Game against Inter.

The Red Bulls find themselves in unfamiliar territory, sitting on top the world. The world of the MLS Eastern Conference, I mean. Not that big a world, true, but the Red Bulls top-dog position is pretty impressive. As impressive as their new stadium. What has not been so impressive is the playing form of the team.

Impressive is the word for the panoply of World Cup stuff that ESPN put on show -- briefly -- during a New York press conference earlier this week. We got clips of the promos, peeks at various documentaries, plus all sorts of news about just how seriously ESPN is taking this event. Certainly far more seriously, and far more expensively, than it has ever been taken before in this country.

I'll confess to amazement when referee Terry Vaughn allowed Jaime Moreno's goal against Philadelphia last Saturday. Not that I saw anything wildly wrong with what Moreno did, anything that smacked of a foul, like crude body contact. Nothing like that at all. But we've become accustomed to the fact that goalkeepers are granted considerable privileges and seem at times to be almost untouchable.

Is Barcelona simply too good? Too good to the point where our expectations of what it can achieve know no limits?

It is difficult to think of anyone involved in American soccer who is more fitted to a role in the game's organization than Claudio Reyna. The top player of his generation, American born and trained, with full experience of the youth club, high school and college scenes, followed by a sparkling pro career in Germany, Scotland and England.

Let's see now, I think a few well-chosen words on the Barcelona vs. Arsenal game would be in order. Something like this:

The April 2010 edition of FIFA World magazine features a significant document in which president Sepp Blatter makes the official FIFA "argument against technology."

I can now answer a question that has been keeping you awake at night: Which country produces the best referees?

Delicately poised -- there's a nice soccer cliche for you, but one that certainly applies to the four Champions League quarterfinals. The return games next week are intriguing for a variety of reasons. Will Inter's thin 1-0 lead stand up on the plastic field in wintry Moscow? Can Manchester United, without the injured Wayne Rooney, get the goals it needs to oust the now surely confident Bayern Munich? Barcelona looks to be in a relatively strong position against Arsenal, after banking two away goals in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates, but this one may have some surprises.