365:  Let’s start off with the current state of the team as you see it.
Jimmy Conrad:  I think there is obviously room for improvement.  Stats don’t lie; we haven’t scored a lot of goals this year.  We do lead the league in shutouts so there is some stuff to hang our hats on.  I still think we have to get comfortable in Community America Ballpark and the dimensions of the field and how we can use that to our advantage.  We’ve been on the road a lot this year, we don’t like to use that as an excuse but it’s just hard to find a rhythm at home.  But those are some of the pitfalls that a lot of the teams face during the season and this is just one of ours.

365:  In American football if the defense is great and the offense struggles, there is always tension.  Now of course they are two different units and you guys are always on the field together, but is there any problem when the guys up front are not scoring and you’re doing a great job in the back?  Heck, you have three goals yourself.
JC:  We’re definitely not the Baltimore Ravens of a few years ago.  Like you said, I have three of the goals so I have some kind of influence on the attack and so do our outside backs.  We play a 4-4-2 so those guys become a vital part of our attack in getting services in the box for our forwards.  There are a lot of components that go into having a good offense.  We have been creating chances though and that is encouraging to me.  We played Dallas last week and we should have won that game going away and we didn’t. That’s been the bane of our existence this season.  If we could have scored some timely goals up to this point we’d be right up there in the standings.  But right now we have a lot of ‘woe is me’ and ‘the sky is falling’.  The way the league is set up there is a lot of parity.  I think we’re in 13th right now but if we win our next two games we’ll be in third overall.  Everything is so close, I think there is real thin line between success and failure in this league and I think confidence is that line.

365:  How much of an impact can you expect from Josh Wolff coming in?
JC:  He’ll definitely have an impact.  He’s a good player.  He’s got a good brain.  He makes people around him better so that alone will make us a better team.  He’s a vocal guy.  If he’s unhappy he’ll let people know.  We may have too many nice guys on our team, and I’m not saying he is not nice, but Josh is going to help make sure people are held accountable and that’s just one more sheriff we have in town that’s going to hold people up to a higher standard.

365:  Let’s talk about you personally.  Do you think you are still in the mix for the National Team?
JC:  Yeah, I’m still in the mix.  I haven’t spoken to Bob (Bradley) in quite some time, but these games leading up to these first two qualifiers were very European based.  The England, Spain, and Argentina games were basically for the European guys to get their legs ready and get them ready for the first two qualifiers.  I’ve been through the process before.  My first cap was here in Seattle at the age of 28.  It was one year before the World Cup and I made the team.  There are a lot of things that can happen from here and Bob knows he can count on me.

365:  Anyone who’s had the success that you have had in the MLS would normally be thinking about the possibility of playing professionally in Europe.  At this stage is that still a possibility for you?
JC:  I had some opportunities to go overseas.  A lot of those situations, it’s timing and the situation you’re going into.  I’m not necessarily looking to be a starter but is there a chance to be a starter?  Or are they just trying to bring you in to be filler.  My wife was in law school one time and I’d be foolish to think that I could play forever.  My wife’s law degree lasts a lot longer than my legs do.  I have a shirt for her that says 401k.  I’m not stupid.  If the situation came up where I had to go because it was once in a lifetime then my wife would have been like “let’s do it”.  At the same time, the opportunities that came up or just the timing of it just didn’t seem to make sense.  You always want to go over there and ply your trade but I’ve had the opportunity to play in the World Cup and in some big friendlies.  I’ve gotten a taste of what that’s all about.  To have a taste of that on a daily basis, it means the big clubs.  I’d love it but they are not calling too many Americans to play for the big clubs unfortunately, in due time, but just not right now.

365:  You may not realize it, but this is a momentous occasion for you.  This is your third Soccer365 Q&A with me.  You’re now tied for the lead with Alecko Eskandarian!  Your emotions at this point?
JC:  Nice.  I appreciate that!  The funny thing about Alecko is that my wife loves his name.  We had a little girl so we couldn’t do it, but she wanted to name our baby Alecko Eskandarian Conrad.

365:  No.  No way.
JC:  That’s true.  It’s a true story!  So he’ll always be tied in our lives in some capacity.  Alecko is a great guy.  He can’t shake the injury bug right now but I’ll do an interview about him anytime.

365:  Thanks a lot.
JC:  Alright, thanks Lars.