Monday Rewind: Homeward Bound

The Core is back!

And so are the Earthquakes, fresh off the plane from their 2nd consecutive pre-season trip to sister club Tottenham Hotspur. There was a lot going over the 10 days that the Quakes spent at Spurs Lodge, and here's some of the juicy bits that may have slipped through the cracks:

Bobby Burling and Jason Hernandez got to spend some time with former teammates Brad Guzan and Sacha Kljestan who are both playing for European based teams. Burling even brought home a couple gifts from his old friends. Kjestan had nothing but love for his ex-Chivas comrades. Burling also contributed to one of four Quakes blog posts over at the San Jose Mercury News website, talking about the team's three exhibition matches.

Rookie Anthony Ampaipitakwong, while enjoying his California king size bed, is just happy to have ESPN back in his life.

Burling wasn't the only Quake to get a chance to catch up with an old teammate. Stuart Holden, now a member of Bolton Wanderers, managed to find some time to catch up with the 2010 Golden Boot winner over coffee.

Looking at it from the other side of the pond, the Spurs website has a write up of "the Californians" trip to London.

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Over at ESPN, Scott French has a story on the unbelievable circumstances that led to Rafael Baca's trial with San Jose. Baca met Quakes assistant Ian Russell at the funeral of one of his former Loyola Marymount teammates, who died unexpectedly.

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Ives Galarcep tips Ike Opara to have a solid sophomore campaign, calling his effort last year "the makings of a Rookie of the Year season." Looking at the US Gold Cup roster, Galarcep says Bobby Convey can't be ignored as a left back option, and Chris Wondolowski should merit another look.

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Over at FanHouse, Brian Straus has a wonderful Q&A with MLS Commissioner Don Garber. Garber opens up about a variety of topics, including the new playoff format, David Beckham, and his role as commissioner.

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Last but not least, here's some video of one of the newest players to wear the black and blue, as Steven Lenhart scores an impressive diving header off a Ramiro Corrales cross against Birmingham City: