...for luck, and a change. Ya see, I wore that awesome limited edition, shiny-red "don't tread" jersey for the debacle vs. the Czechs. Italy saw my white Dempsey jersey, so will Ghana.

Wearing the jersey and posting this column are my two efforts at providing good karma vs. Ghana tomorrow. Since I wrote earlier of the potential for drama of a second round meeting with Brazil and I don't want to jinx it by looking past Ghana, I decided a quick preview note was in order.

I haven't had enough time to index all of the articles I've read yet, but those I have you can find here: (One Earned, Three Left to Claim) . Thankfully, Ghana's Michael Essien and Ratomir Dujkovic have also done their part at trying to jinx themselves: (Ghana Coach Eager To End Usa's Tourney) .

Both ESPN and SI have done a pretty good job of previewing the game, so take your pick of the following:

• Jimmy Conrad profile by Allen Hopkins: (Jimmy Being Jimmy)
• Another Ghana profile: (Ghanaian Pride)
• At first I agreed with Grant Wahl's 3-5-2 lineup prediction: (Big Game? Yeah, Maybe) , but then he and others also noted that Bruce is concerned about Ghana's speed, and I'm pretty sure Bocanegra is pulling a piano or something behind him, so maybe we see Cherundolo-Bocanegra-Conrad-Onyewu across the back, Dempsey-Reyna-Donovan-Convey in the middle and McBride and Johnson up top. Who knows, we'll see soon enough.
• SI finally allowed someone to post Wahl's earlier print interview with Bruce Arena: (Bruce Almighty)
• And Curt Onalfo gives the US scouting report on Ghana: (Scouting Ghana)

So yes, I still think we can and should win vs. Ghana, but no, I don't believe it's a certainty at all. Ghana is a good team, have good momentum and a lot of motivation. All of the talk about their lack of depth could spark someone unexpected to rise to the front. The question is going to be both how the US defense gets reorganized without Pope (possibly for the better), and if our offense can finally get on the board. I don't really expect McBride to score many from distance, but anybody else should be able and ready to pop one from anywhere inside 30 yards if they get a good look at goal.

My one fear was from a statement Claudio Reyna made about it being the U.S.'s "turn" to win a game, since everybody else has already (Reyna says group still up for grabs) (another variation has it that they've played so well, they're due a letup since they're inexperienced). Either one of those may turn out to be sort of true (as much as such things can be "proven"), but the point is that if we are counting on some sort of "we deserve it" attitude to win, then I fear another flat start. We have to not expect nor think that we "deserve" anything more than we can possibly take. If we come out as aggressively and passionately as we did against Italy, we should be fine. We could very well then find ourselves in the middle of a real old-fashioned dog fight, but I'd still like our chances in such an encounter. So long as we at least shoot the damn ball.

That'll end my motivational speech, and now is only to hope for sleep until I can wake up and watch it all happen.