USMNT gets big welcome as World Cup base camp opens in Southern California

IRVINE, Calif. — The U.S. team's countdown to the World Cup began two weeks ago on a Manhattan pier and moved to a new national training center carved into Georgia pines. It passed through Charlotte and Chicago for the last tuneup matches before pulling into a former military air base that's been transformed into a sprawling municipal sports complex.With their Monday arrival at Great Park — and a spirited greeting from some 5,500 sun-drenched fans who won a lottery to attend a workou