As some of you know, I've been playing in a predictions pool for the English Premier League this year. After a couple of tough weeks, I've decided to see if I could turn my subjective decision factors into an algorithm that would just spit out my picks for me. I was using a little bit of math already, but the other bits of information I was using seemed consistent enough that I could build it all into an actual equation.

So, anyway, I won't reveal the formula itself, but here's what it gave me for this round's matches:

Arsenal 4-0 Burnley
West Ham 3-1 Bolton
Wolves 0-2 Man Utd
Everton 3-0 Hull City
Wigan 0-2 Liverpool
Pompey 1-1 Birmingham
Sunderland 2-1 Bolton

We'll see after Tuesday how this all worked out. If I go 7-for-7, I'm taking it to Vegas.

Quick thoughts on what we learned from the loss in Amsterdam:

• It's really easy to blame Jonathan Bornstein for the stupid penalty in the first half, but if you watch the play develop, you'll notice Landon Donovan flat-out refusing to play defense. This forces Bornstein to push forward, which makes him vulnerable to the give-and-go from the Netherlands, which then leads to his bad decision. Donovan was somewhere else entirely for most of this match.
• I think Jose Torres is out of the picture for the World Cup. He had some flashes, particularly that nice shot in the first half, but was way too inconsistent for this level of competition. Beckerman is probably a better choice is there's still a spot left, and Edu showed in the second half that he's a lock. Great play from Mo.
• The DaMarcus Beasley resurgence is for real. While I'm not at all happy to see Stuart Holden leave due to injury -- he looked good through thirty minutes -- I really liked what we saw from Beasley, particularly when he flipped over to the left side to start the second half.
• Speaking of that switch, some combination of Beasley to the left, Edu replacing Torres, and Bedoya taking over the right side and pushing Donovan up top woke up the American attack in a major way. At this point, I think Donovan or Dempsey has to pair with Altidore.
• Jozy had two absolutely world-class moves in this match -- the backheel on the endline in the first half and the splitting move that freed him up for a shot in the dying moments of the game. That may not seem like a lot, but it was against the Dutch and he's only 20 years old.
• Bornstein was clearly having a rough night, so it might be premature to bury the kid based on this performance. On the other hand, neither outside back looked very good, at least until Heath Pearce entered the match. Pearce is looking like a serious contender at left back, which will make things interesting if Onyewu fully recovers in time for South Africa.
• It will make things interesting because Bocanegra and DeMerit played really well together, and along with Michael Bradley, formed a pretty solid spine for the U.S. defense. If Onyewu comes back, do you go with Bocanegra on the left, or Pearce? My money is still on Bocanegra, but I want DeMerit on the field.
• Gotta love the Chicago Fire connection with Beasley hitting Carlos for the goal.

He's seen a preseason game, and he's ready to go out on a limb:

From impressive rookies to quality international acquisitions, the 2010 Red Bulls have posted an undefeated preseason and are looking like a team that could surprise in MLS this season.

"Could surprise"? Um, Ives may want to meet the guy who wrote the second half of his post, who presumably knows what preseason results are worth, and helpfully points out:

The Red Bulls are still looking for a right back, forward, central defender and left midfielder.

So, they only have half of an attack, and half of a defense. I guess I shouldn't focus on "could" and more on "surprise," because that doesn't really mean they're going to be good. Just spectacularly bad in new and unexpected ways.