FanHouse CuauhtemocBlanco

What happens when the punishment someone gets is pretty much what they wanted in the first place? We can ask Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco -- or, as MLS commissioner Don Garber called him, the "Mexican David Beckham" (Stay classy, Don!) -- about that, now that he's been banned from the U.S. Open Cup for a minimum of two years and six matches for punching Clyde Simms in the gut during Chicago's quarterfinal loss to D.C. United. The incident is shown toward the end of that video.

I suspect MLS is pleased as, uh, punch that Blanco has gotten out of Open Cup duty, thus allowing the league to save one of its biggest assets for league matches only. Besides, it's not like MLS wants anyone to watch the Open Cup, right?

(H/T: Unprofessional Foul)

In its first year of existence, Toronto F.C. has already seen its share of wacky fan hijinks, thanks in part to the Red Patch Boys, the club's official largest supporters group. Here they give Mexican star and new Chicago Fire player Cuauhtemoc Blanco a warm welcome to Major League Soccer.

Blanco, of course, deserves that salute. Before he arrived, Chicago was on a 6-game winless streak in MLS and lost a U.S. Open Cup match to the Carolina Railhawks, a USL First Division expansion club. Good luck turning that ship around, Señor Blanco.

(H/T: The Offside)

Previously at FanHouse:
Canadians Can Be Soccer Lunatics, Too