Rafa The Red Bulls’ Rock, Well…

Red Bulls’ fans looked on in horror as Marquez returned to the midfield

Sideline readers of a certain vintage may recall Kennedy William Gordy, the son of Motown record label founder Berry Gordy who wanted to become a recording artist in his own right. At 20, the young whippersnapper assumed the misleading moniker “Rockwell” and blazed a trail up the charts with “Somebody’s Watching Me” despite the girly, shrieking guest vocals of Michael Jackson. Gordy’s career tanked shortly afterward, suggesting that relying on nepotism might have been a better bet.

The Sideline hadn’t heard the name “Rockwell” in years until he scanned the referee’s assistants for Wednesday’s Eastern Conference clash between New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City. Corey Rockwell? Something of a career change? Maybe not, but it brings us neatly to the topic of Rafael Marquez’ latest MLS comeback. As sure as a feckless crooner can churn out a once-in-a-lifetime tune that made a juvenile Sideline pull 360s and leg kicks at many a school disco, the malignant Mexican can produce one decent game in 30 to allegedly justify his exorbitant $4.6 million-a-year salary.

Rafa’s rotter in the Red Bulls’ disastrous 2-0 loss should put a stop to the deluge of fluff pieces flooding The Sideline’s RSS feed about the former Barcelona man’s teammates valuing what he brings to the team. Come on, folks. Since when did any top flight soccer player publicly air anything negative about his colleagues?

Oh…