Over at ThroughBall, Josh notes that ESPN announced their broadcast team for the upcoming USMNT matches and Dave O’Brien is NOT part of it. But wait. Bruce Arena is. Given The Bruce’s obnoxious tendencies when talking about soccer to the press, this is an improvement how? Well, look who else is on the team:

Former U.S. Men’s National Team manager Bruce Arena will call the team’s first two matches since he last coached the American side in their first round appearance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, it was announced today by Tim Scanlan, ESPN senior coordinating producer. Arena will join Rob Stone (host/play-by-play) and analyst Eric Wynalda in the booth for ESPN2’s coverage of the U.S. vs. Denmark match

The disapproval of Dave O’Brien as a soccer announcer is widespread – Please Show Dave O’Brien A Red Card was one of this site’s most popular posts. I’m glad to see him stick with baseball. But replacing him with Bruce Arena – someone who defines the word obnoxious? Well, by himself it would be a nightmare, but he’s paired with Eric Wynalda, who strongly called for Bruce’s firing during and after the World Cup. Somebody at ESPN has a sense of humor or thinks tension in the broadcast booth will make for entertainment.

This is going to be fun. Here’s hoping the ESPN producers let them jab each other a little.