While Paul Gardner uses his column in the New York Sun to bash England’s FA Cup as being meaningless to England’s top clubs, the New York Times’ Jack Bell lauds England’s domestic tournaments for their unique ability to pit near part-time teams against the giants of English soccer. Case in point: Wednesday’s League Cup meeting between Chelsea and host Wycombe Wanderers, which ended in a 1-1 tie. While no one sincerely believed that the latter stood any chance against Jose Mourinho’s men, the fact that upsets do occur every year in both the FA and Carling Cup is what makes each match so (potentially) exciting. The difference between the two is that any club can sign up for the FA Cup (674 did last year) whereas the Carling Cup is limited to teams from England’s top four leagues. In each competition, Premier League clubs enter the draw in the third round. Smaller pro clubs started the qualification process earlier. It’s a minor miracle that Wycombe has even made it to the Carling Cup semifinals, where the club will earn a significant $1 million from the television rights alone. The team known as the “Chairboys” (because it was founded by a furniture maker) opened the first of a two-leg semifinal at home in Adams Park (capacity: 10,000).