Monday, March 19, 2007

Light My Cigarette News

New England's star midfielder Shalrie Joseph wants to be paid or traded, and will not be the teams captain this season: "It's an honor and a privilege to be named captain of any team, especially the Revolution, but I wouldn't be able to lead these guys. I have been patient and I have been the good boy they wanted me to be, but I can't wait any more."


US Soccer prepares for friendly's v Ecuador & Guatemala.
-The team has suffered their first 2 player losses as Ricardo Clark & Chris Rolfe are out due to knee injuries. They will be replaced on the team by Brian Mullan & Wade Barrett, both from Houston. By my calculation, this leaves the team without any experienced defensive midfielders. And during coach Bob Bradley's first two games in charge he played 2 d-mids at all times. What is up? I guess youngsters Michael Bradley and Benny Feilhaber will see plenty of the field.
-Jay DeMerit arrived in Florida after sitting out his teams weekend match due to a groin muscle strain. Word has it that he should be ok after a couple days treatment and rest.
-DeMerit does an interview with US Soccer that you can download or listen to via podcast. It's anything I didn't know about Jay, but it's his story, told in his words, and coming from his voice. Great!
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Oh my, oh my, oh my. Trouble is brewing in New England. The cheapskate Kraft family is not going to sell their best player Shalrie Joseph for anything less than full value (which is fine), but they are not going to give the in-demand player a pay raise either. And if that's the case then Shalrie wants O.U.T. Now! From Frank Dell'apa at the Boston Globe on Sunday.
-Steve Goff of the Wash Post with more on this, from Shalrie's agent (who would never stir shit up, nooooooooooooo).
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Two other New Eng Rev's stories from Dell'apa at the Globe. One on the depth of the roster, and the other on defender Michael Parkhurst's injury.
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The story of Ricardo Clark's injury from the Houston Chronicle.
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Glenn Davis from the Chronicle writes about the latest excellent chapter in the Houston Dynamo book - beating Pachuca. They need to do it again to be a chapter in my book.
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Steven Goff at the Soccer Insider talks about Fred2 and nothing but Fred2. What else is there to talk about in DC anyway? Olsen's beard? Done to death. Bobby Boswell's website and party? See Agent Zero.
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The Toronto Globe & Mail says TFC has hit that awful period in spring training when it seems like nearly every player has an injury of some sort. Better now than in September I say.
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MLS CBW (Chief Brain Wizard - title stolen from the Common Man) Don Garber was in Miami last week for a Sports Television conference. The Miami Herald got to ask him if the league will ever return to their messed up market.
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Steve Davis at Soccernet insists that Cuauhtemoc Blanco will "bring nothing but trouble" to any MLS team that signs him. I cannot completely disagree, but he also will bring skill that no one else in the league has, and we could use a good villain - Pablo Mastroeni, Carlos Ruiz and Dema Kovalenko just aren't getting it done well enough.
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Davis then writes an article to counterweight the Ives Galarcep article about the horrible financial status of Red Bull New York. Davis says the rest of the league is doing quite well in the balance sheet. Also from Soccernet.
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Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer asked to interview Red Bulls managing director Marc de Grandpre about the teams finances, but was only given this email propaganda message from the teams top man. After that story in the North Jersey Herald about how much money they are losing and how bad corporate sponsorship of the team is going I can see why MdG doesn't want to talk, but he really should. Cuz until he does, all the fans will assume Ives is right.
-And the man who originally blew the $14 million dollar whistle Ives Galarcep, fires back at de Grandpre's remarks.
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Adam Spangler (a New Yorker) of This American Soccer chimes in with his thoughts on Red Bull, Harrison NJ, money money money, and a MLS team in New York proper.
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Cobi Jones has announced that at the end of the 2007 season he is hanging it up.
-Andrea Canales with a picture of Cobi and his parents. Very cool.
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The town of Santa Clarita California claims that they "invented" the Soccer Mom. Oh please, Democrats did. Hahahahahahaha. The LA Galaxy packed 'em into the stands v Columbus on Sunday in Santa Clarita! From the LA Daily News.
-To make things fair, the game ended 1-1 as a former Galaxy players (Ned Grabavoy) scored for Columbus, and the man he was traded for (Kyle Martino) scored for LA. Touche! The fans chanted Sigi's name too.
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LA Soccer News has a Q & A with Todd Dunivant, another ex-LA'er, now with the Red Bulls.
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The Associated Press is reporting that Goldman Sachs is out as an investor in the Real Salt Lake stadium drama. The team says there is a new financial backer, but won't say who it is, "We're not trying to hide anything. We're just working on it." In other words, they don't actually have a new backer, but are desperately trying to secure one. Did RSL owner Dave Checketts have anything locked down when he got into this deal, or has it been "Talk Big, Push Forward As Fast As We Can, And Hope No One Asks Too Many Questions Before We Have A Definite Answer" from day 1?
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In actual soccer news from Salt Lake City, something we seem to get little of these days, Dave Checketts took his team out to dinner and told them one thing - make the playoffs. From the Salt Lake Tribune.
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Jeff Bradley's latest column at MLSnet - First XL: Numbers To Watch
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And Tino Palace's Clean Sheet: Nothing Better. For this weeks edition Tino was paid in Cuban cigars smuggled into the country by UCLA students returning from Spring Break. They got him 5. I guess that was enough.
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Brian Straus at the US Players Assoc can't believe that MLS has only used the designated player rule twice so far.
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Here it is folks - everything that is wrong with youth soccer in America today: "The coaches in California make a living by how well they do in state competitions, national competitions, and tournament competitions, so if their best players are continuously recruited away by MLS, their chances of winning reduce, their income reduces. They won't be happy." - Gary Sparks chairman of Coast Soccer League in California. Great article from Soccer America on the youth set up, and how MLS will seek their own version against big odds.
-Andrea Canales of LA Soccer News follows that up with two stories. The first on the Galaxy side of that very story - AND - the second on the new Galaxy youth team's (Galaxy Rios) first signing.
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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 - came on in the 84th minute of a very big 0-2 road win over Middlesbrough. They needed that win badly.
-Gregg Berhalter - 1860 Munich - serving the 2nd of a 3 game suspension.
-Carlos Bocanegra - Fulham - went the 90 in central defense of a 0-0 draw at Wigan.
-Michael Bradley - Heerenveen - dressed but did not play in his teams 4-2 home win over Breda.
-Danny Califf - Aalborg - sat out due to red card suspension. His team won 4-0 over Horsens.
-Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - started and went 90 at right back in a 0-0 home draw v Hamburg.
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - was injured and did not dress for his teams 3-1 loss at Tottenham.
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - watched the 0-0 draw at Wigan from the bench.
-Brad Friedel - Blackburn - went the distance in goal but lost 1-2 to desperate West Ham.
-Marcus Hahnemann - Reading - started as usual and got yet another clean sheet, but did not win as his team drew 0-0 at home to Portsmouth.
-Kamani Hill - Wolfsburg - played the last minutes of his teams 3-1 win over Bochum.
-Tim Howard - Everton - started in goal as usual and shut out Arsenal 1-0.
-Kasey Keller - Monchengladbach - started in goal as always but lost 1-0 at Leverkusen. The team sits dead last in the Bundesliga, 5 points from safety with 8 games to play.
-Eddie Lewis - Leeds - started at the left midfield spot but was subbed off in the 64th minute of a 1-1 draw with Southend. The team still sits in last place and are 5 points from safety.
-Brian McBride - Fulham - started and went 67 minutes of a 0-0 draw at Wigan.
-Oguchi Onyewu - Newcastle - played the entire match in the center of defense during a 2-0 loss at Charlton.
-Heath Pearce - Nordsjaelland - started and went the distance at right back in a 1-1 draw at Copenhagen.
-Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - he got the start in the defense but was red carded in the 81st minute for a bad tackle in a 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton.
-Jonathan Spector - West Ham - was on the bench but did not play in his teams controversial 1-2 win at Blackburn.
-Josh Wolff - 1860 Munich - still out due to his thigh muscle injury.
-(Please tell me if I should be covering anyone else.)
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Luis Bueno with his Mexican Primera division Jornada 11 Roundup.
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Copa Libertadores - here are the week's matches:
Mar 20
Cerro Porteno - Cucuta Deportivo
Real Potosi - Maracaibo
Caracas - Colo Colo
Mar 21
Flamengo - Parana
Banfield - America
Necaxa - Sao Paulo
Mar 22
Libertad - El Nacional
Boca Juniors - Toluca
Gimnasia - Santos
Emelec - Nacional
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UEFA Cup - quarterfinals to take place April 5 & 12:
-AZ Alkmaar v Werder Bremen
-Bayer Leverkusen v Osasuna
-Sevilla v Tottenham Hotspur
-Espanyol v Benfica
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Replays of the tied 6th Round English FA Cup matches are today (Monday March 19):
-Manchester United v Middlesbrough
-Tottenham v Chelsea
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The full Q & A with Barca striker Sameul Eto'o by The New York Times' Jack Bell.
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I see nothing has changed at Millwall - Carlisle United have filed a complaint saying Millwall fans made monkey chants at American striker Johann Smith. From the Times & Star.
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The BBC with an article on the opening of the new Wembley stadium in London. Reader Scott sent us the article, and asked the question, "Why is there a guy in the photo wearing a New York Giants cap?" Hahahahahaa.
-The Guardian sends their team of reporters to report on the new stadium.
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I watched only 3 games this weekend, and they were all the big big teams - Barca rolled over Recreativo in Huelva 3-0, Chelsea stomped Sheffield United 4-0, and Manchester United blew away Bolton (who looked like they just don't care at all) 4-1. Cristiano Ronald & Samuel Eto'o were both out of this world.
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Did you see Tottenham keeper Paul Robinson score a goal v Watford this past weekend? Unbelievable. He took a free kick from 80 yards down the field, it bounced once in the opposition goal box and went right over the Watford keepers head and into the net! Via You Tube.
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This weeks EPL Talk podcast is with former West Ham & Man City great Ian Bishop. He also spent a season in Miami with the Fusion, but then they folded and he was jobless. Not to mention unhappy. He lives in Florida now, my old town Boca Raton, and is friends with a bunch of burnt out old metal dudes who love their football! Excellent interview. This dude really seems like he is into life, and man is he outspoken! He needs to be doing TV commentary.
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Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune tries to figure out at what age do world class football players peak.
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Ajax smoked PSV 5-1 to close PSV's Eredivisie lead to 5 points with 5 games to play. AZ Alkmaar are 7 points out in 3rd.
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Inter won again this weekend leaving their Serie A record sitting at 24 wins, 4 draws and 0 losses on the season. They have 10 games to go. Can they go unbeaten? Their league lead is 12 points over Roma and 27 points over 3rd place Lazio. Seriously.
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The top three teams in Spain all won, leaving the table like this - Barca 53, Sevilla 53, Real Madrid 48.
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In Germany its Schalke 53 (beat Stuttgart), Werder 50 (beat Mainz), Stuttgart 46 (lost to Schalke), Bayern 44 (lost to Frankfurt).
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America beat Chivas 1-0 in Mexico City on a goal by German Villa. Cruz Azul (20 points) still leads the Clausura with 6 games to go. Chivas are tied with Atlas & Pachuca for 2nd place (18 points). America are next in the table, tied with Tigres for 5th place (17 points).
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With 6 of 19 rounds completed in Argentina the top 5 teams are: San Lorenzo 16, River Plate 15, Boca Juniors 13, and Arsenal de Sarandi & Argentinos Juniors 12.
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Former Arsenal and France great Robert Pires finally made his debut for Villareal this weekend. He had been out since last summer with a knee injury.
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Ireland will play Bolivia on May 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Mass.

11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

What about the forgotten yank in europe, Brian West?

7:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I normally don't sympathize with athletes whining for more money. But Shalrie Joseph in my opinion is an exception. Because he is an exception who is playing in the MLS. He should be making at least what the overprice Adu is making or at least close to as valuable as Landon Donovan. In my opinion, pay him or get your give him to Europe to make his mark.

8:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Re: Origins of soccer moms. You might want to check this out: http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/02/12/the-soccer-mom-a-uniquely-american-archetype/

8:44 PM  
Blogger Jamesey said...

I'm with Sharlie Joseph on this one. MLS could have sold him to Celtic a while back and they declined. He could have been making much more money in Scotland and had a taste of European action.

9:36 PM  
Blogger brucio said...

just so people know, mls did not turn down celtic, the new england revolution did

and if i owned new england there is no way i sell that amazing player for a measly 1 million
he is worth way more than that, and if they sell him cheap then how do they ask for a fair value on the next player

that said, they need to get down on their knees and apologize to the guy for not giving him the salary he deserves immediately

10:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brucio,

Why did you list Pablo Mastroeni in the same sentence as super-villains Carlos Ruiz and Dema K ?
Carlos & Dema are obviously dirty players, but Pablo is just tough.

Pablo is the bomb !

1:12 AM  
Blogger brucio said...

pablo - not a villain?
hahahahahahahaha
yer kidding right
tell that to the dallas and salt lake fans
he is awesomely villainous!
and all three of those guys are tough as nails, they just all have their own special way of showing it
and i love em for it

8:27 AM  
Blogger brucio said...

i forgot to add brian carroll to the list of defensive midfielders in the usa camp
but he doesn't have any real experience either

8:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, unless there is another Common man out there I never thought I'd see a reference to Kfan on du nord.

9:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Boca Raton? Geez Bruce, where haven't you lived? For a guy from small town Minnesota you sure have gotten around and back again - and lived to talk about it!

11:47 AM  
Blogger brucio said...

the Common Man is one of America's great hero's

i just never get to hear him anymore cuz i actually work (well, kinda)

the good part about common is that on the rare occasion i do here him, the show is exactly as it was 10 years ago when i was a de-vo-ty

so when i decided to call don garber the chief brain wizard, i knew i had to give credit where credit is due

3:03 PM  

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