LOST

I loved the "Lost" series finale. And by "loved", I mean "LOVED" (with 72-font bold, italic and underlined font). It wrapped up the series perfectly: you got the closure, but there was still lots of questions. Jacob's lair, anybody? Why didn't Desmond become the smoke monster after going into the cavern? What wast the meaning of that stupid cork in the cavern? A cork? Really?

Despite those questions, you felt better knowing that, for the most part, the larger mystery was explained.

**SPOILER ALERT**

They're all dead.

I was OK with this. It gave the interpersonal relationships between the host of characters more gravitas. It gave the Jack Shepherd-John Locke friendship incredible meaning. It moved me, as I'm sure it did many other viewers. Conversely, Jack and Sawyer didn't always see eye-to-eye. That's alright. They weren't meant to. I know that sounds obtuse, but it worked. For me, at least. But, I still have questions...

I have questions about this current Revolution squad, as well. It was great that Shalrie showed up in time to make Saturday's TFC match respectable (for the Revs, of course), despite the loss. I cannot overstate how much he means to the club. Alot of people talk about how much difference one player can make. Often, they're back by volumes of statistics, coaches' quotes, players' quotes, and yada yada yada. We get it. Player X means the world to Team Y.

Thankfully, you don't need statistics, quotes, or elaborate analyis to understand Shalrie's importance to the club. Just watch. Watch how the middle isn't absolutely overtaken at will. See how the attack has meaning. The passes have purpose. Guys know where they're supposed to go.

That's how a team that wants to win plays soccer. They're not disheveled. It isn't five guys making inexplicable runs or sending ambitious passes back to the other team. Shalrie Joseph brings with him organization. He brings cohesion. A plan. The ball's going here, you meet it there.

The Revs have gone 1-5-2 this season without Shalrie. It's not just the losses that stick out. It's the way the Revs simply allowed themselves to fail in these efforts. Yellow cards, red cards, red fish, blue fish. It was as if they were trying to discover new forms of losing. Four-nil to a mediocre Chivas USA was not their proudest moment. I suspect that Shalrie would not have allowed this on his watch.

Make no mistake. There are still questions. Who's going to score the goals when Zack Schilawski's on the bench? Will Marko Perovic's passes finally find more teammates than opponents? How long will Nicol employ the five-man midfield now that Shalrie's back?

These are all questions that have to be answered. Of course, they will be. Meanwhile, we already found the answer to one question: the Revolution are lost without their skipper.