Walking And Biking News

Fran Totti has missed 6 PK's for Roma this season! SIX! Who is letting this guy take them? After he missed his latest, Totti had a perfectly legitimate excuse: “We’ve known each other a long time (Totti and Reggina keeper Campagnolo). He said to me, ‘I know where you shoot. You’ll send it to my right and I will save it.’ It was a challenge. I thought I’d con him, as he was basically pushing me to send it to the left and I would stick to the right, but he ended up conning me instead. I got angry and swore at him.”


Let's begin with a couple of quick soccer notes from last nights Oscars:
1. During his acceptance speech, Ennio Morricone talked about how excited he was that Ronaldo was back playing in Milan. His translator, Clint Eastwood, was confused by this part and did not relay it to the television audience. But those of us who speak Italian heard it loud and clear. And those of us who are Ronaldo fans had a nice smile on our face.
2. The guy who wrote the music for Babel thanked Ivan Campo of Bolton.
3. What was Pablo Mastroeni doing backstage?
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ADDITION: ESPN is reporting that the USA will play China on June 2 in San Jose California. I am gonna assume that they know what they are talking about seeing as they are the broadcaster for all USA games. More details to follow of course.
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The myth is over - David Beckham's LA Galaxy salary is $5.5 million a year. Thanks to the news services who dug this up. Of course you won't see this in many papers, so just assume everyone you talk to will still spew $50 million a year. Take minute to set em all straight on the subject. Thanks to the Houston Chronicle for the link.
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Houston forward Brian Ching comments on the teams trip to Costa Rica last week, and explains why he did not play in the first leg against Punteranes. Good to know. But why didn't any of the media report this? From his blog.
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Bad news for fans of Chivas USA and their Rookie of the Year star Jonathan Bornstein. He was injured Friday and the word is that he has partially torn ligaments in his left knee. He is expected to miss 6 weeks, which would mean the team would start the season without him. This also means he will miss the two USA games in late March.
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FC Dallas head to Brazil this week to train at the facilities of Paranaense.
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Andrea Canales at the LA Soccer News talks to Los Angeles veteran Cobi Jones about 2007.
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Luis Bueno also of LASN talks to Chivas USA vet Jesse Marsch about his teams new coach, Preki, and the seasons prospects.
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The Salt Lake Tribune with the story of RSL keeper Scott Garlick's quick departure and the "return" of Nick Rimando.
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Colorado assistant coach John Murphy checks in from the team's preseason camp in Pachuca Mexico.
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Ives Galarcep with a story at Soccernet on why Zidane WON'T be playing in MLS.
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Ives also writes for the North Jersey Herald and reports on why the New York Red Bulls deal for Ecuadorian striker Agustin Delgado fell through.
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The LA Galaxy beat Bermuda 4-0 on Friday night on the island. From The Royal Gazette.
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Alex Zotinca has departed Kansas City and joined up with his former teammate Preki who now coaches Chivas USA.
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During a friendly with Fresno over the weekend Chivas USA keeper Brad Guzan got kicked in the face making a save and had to go get his chin stitched up. Do the guys in Fresno not know about pre-season?
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It looks like Conor Casey is very close to having a done deal with Toronto, but now he has a little tweaky thigh muscle injury to deal with. From TO Globe & Mail.
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The TO Globe & Mail also talks to TFC winger Ronnie O'Brien, who says he is happy with his new home.
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Bill Urban at the US Players Assoc looks to see if the big changes in ownership and team management in Kansas City really makes them a Brand New team.
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Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald with yet another story on Cuban forward Maykel Galindo who recently signed with Chivas USA. The city of Miami loves their "escaped" Cuban stories.
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I was interviewed again. This time conducted by Ben from Even Is On. We had a great time talking and I think the interview came out quite well. My head is swelling nicely.
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And in a turnabout, SF at The Offside Rules does an interview with Ben of Even Is On concerning Ben's clothing line, Bumpy Pitch. Ben is partners in the company with recent former MLSer Brian Dunseth.
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The names of the next batch of former greats to be inducted into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame will be announced tomorrow morning. Expect several ladies to be on that list!
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Let's check in with our favorite Americans in Europe and see how their weekend matches went:
-DaMarcus Beasley - Manchester City - the team had the weekend off, and have not played a league match since Feb 10.
-Gregg Berhalter - 1860 Munich - played the full 90 of a 3-1 loss at Carl Zeiss Jena
-Carlos Bocanegra - Fulham - went the full 90 but lost at home 1-2 to Man United. A very tough loss.
-Michael Bradley - Heerenveen - played the final 32 minutes of a 1-0 loss at Roda.
-Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - started as always and helped his team to a 4-2 win over Dortmund. They are in 7th place.
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - played the whole match but his last place team were wiped out by Everton 3-0. Combine this with 17th place Wigans victory and Watford now sit 11 points from safety with 10 games to play.
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - came on as a 70th minute sub in his team's 1-2 loss to Man United.
-Brad Friedel - Blackburn - Friedel and his men put a beatdown on stumbling Portsmouth 3-0.
-Marcus Hahnemann - Reading - not a pretty day on the road for Marcus & Co. They lost 2-1 at Middlesbrough.
-Tim Howard - Everton - another clean sheet for Tim-May as they beat last place Watford 3-0.
-Kasey Keller - Monchengladbach - was in the nets for a 2-2 draw at home v Bremen. They are still in last place of the Bundesliga and seemed destined to relegation.
-Eddie Lewis - Leeds - played the whole match, but his team lost again, 1-0 to Wolverhampton. Leeds sit in last place in the Championship Division and seemed destined for relegation. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
-Brian McBride - Fulham - started as always and got the first goal v Man United, but they let the league leaders off the hook with a 1-2 loss. BMcB was subbed out in the 80th minute.
-Oguchi Onyewu - Newcastle - went the full 90 but they lost 1-0 at Wigan.
-Jonathan Spector - West Ham - was suspended for the match due to too many yellow cards, so he had to watch his teams devastating 4-0 loss to fellow relegation battlers Charlton. Not looking good for West Ham.
-Josh Wolff - 1860 Munich - played the first 76 minutes of a 3-1 loss at Carl Zeiss Jena
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Soccernet's secret reporter, The Insider, took in Fulham v Manchester United. These are always really good reports. Check it out.
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Mexico takes on Venezuela Wednesday night in San Diego. Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune with a story on Mexi coach Hugo Sanchez.
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CONCACAF Champions Cup - The 2nd leg matches are this week. With first leg scores included:
Wed Feb 28
-Marquense v Pachuca (0-2)
-Guadalajara v W Connection (1-2)
Thur Mar 1
-Houston v Punterenas (0-1)
-DC v Olimpia (4-1)
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Costa Rica's & Mexico's U20 teams advanced out of CONCACAF Group B to qualify for next summers U-20 World Cup in Canada. They join USA, Panama and Canada from the region.
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Copa Libertadores - here are this weeks matches:
-Tue Feb 27
Toluca - Bolivar
Banfield - El Nacional
Gremio - Cucuta Deportivo
-Wed Feb 28
Necaxa - Audax Italiano
Sao Paulo - Alianza Lima
Internacional - Emelec
Velez Sarsfield - Nacional
-Thur Mar 01
America - Libertad
Boca Juniors - Cienciano
Santos - Defensor Sporting
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UEFA Cup - Here are the round of 16 match ups. Those games will be played March 8 & 15:
Newcastle v AZ Alkmaar
Maccabi Haifa v Espanyol
Rangers v Osasuna
Braga v Tottenham
Sevilla v Shakhtar Donetsk
Lens v Bayer Leverkusen
Paris St Germain v Benfica
Celta de Vigo v Werder Bremen
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English League Cup final: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea - sounds like it was one hell of a game. Sorry I missed it. 3 goals, 3 red cards, and an unconscious John Terry. I hope he is alright.
-The Times was a match report and links to 5 other stories from the match.
-The Guardian on the fight that broke out late in the game and aftermath.
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FA Cup replay's this week:
-Tuesday
West Brom v Middlesbrough
Reading v Man United
-Wednesday
Blackburn v Arsenal
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Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune with a weekend match roundup: The mixed gifts of 4 Africans and 1 Brazilian
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Phil Ball uses most of his Soccernet column on what sounded like a terrific Madrid derby. Although we wouldn't know, cuz it wasn't on TV here.
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Lang Whitaker of Sports Illustrated went all the way to Barcelona to discover the "New York Yankees".
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Patrick Barlcay of the Sunday Telegraph on fiscal matters at Chelsea.
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Trinidad & Tobago named Dwight Yorke as their Player Of The Year.
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Inter stormed to their 17th straight Serie A victory - 2-5 over Catania. Inter have not lost in the league this season and have 21 wins and 3 draws on the books so far.
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Striker Martin Palermo of Boca Juniors scored from the midfield stripe v Independiente this weekend. It was a brilliant goal. Here is a You Tube link. And here are some replays and the post goal celebration! Thanks for the link Joe.
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Goal.com interviews new Boca #10 Juan Roman Riquelme.
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The last 3 times I have seen Tottenham play, their new striker Dimitar Berbatov has been nothing short of amazing!
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Not only did Samuel Eto'o return to the starting lineup for Barcelona on Sunday, but he scored and led his team to a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
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FIFA.com interviews Real Madrid's young Argentine sensation Gago.
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Simon Kuper of the Financial Times goes to Johannesburg South Africa to check in on the progress of World Cup 2010 preparations. Great story.