Do you remember when Denis Hamlett allegedly punched Octavio Zambrano in the face? Let us set the stage.

The year is 2000. The MetroStars are playing the Chicago Fire at Giants Stadium. Zambrano is coaching Metro. Hamlett is Bob Bradley's top assistant. Metro easily wins, 4:1. Steve Jolley and Clint Mathis score their first Metro goals. The game is what one would call "chippy", and tempers start escalating late. The Fire's Josh Wolff fouls Mike Petke (damn you, Ali Curtis!) from behind.

Petke gets up and is obviously not happy. He throws some words at Wollf, but does not retaliate physically. Instead, he is the one being shoved, by Hristo Stoichkov.

Jolley decides to defend Petke and slams his bald head into Wolff. Benches clear. Even the coaches get into it. Hamlett punches Zambrano in the face.

Well, that's Zambrano's side of the story. "I saw Bradley and the whole coaching staff was part of it," Zambrano told the Chicago Tribune. "I'm sure they were trying to get people out. I felt I should get involved and get people out and I embraced Bob and tried to get him out. He turned to me and said some things that aren't printable. Then Denis Hamlett hit me in the face."

Hamlett did not see it that way. "That's funny," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Obviously, we were trying to break it up. Octavio was in Bob's face, itching to get something started."

Whatever the case may be, Zambrano was the one who got red carded (together with the Fire's Ante Razov). After the game, Metro GM Nick Sakiewicz (ever the gentleman) promised to pay any team fines incurred against the Fire out of his pocket. "Nick told us he wanted us to go in hard and not worry about yellow cards," Petter Villegas told CNN/SI. Sakiewicz immediately denied the claim.

So, now we have Hamlett. Oh, and Jesse Marsch played for the Fire in that game. There is that.