Friday, April 13, 2007

Your Friendly Neighborhood Fire Station Mascot Dog News

Dallas forward Kenny Cooper has a nickname, and it's officially all the rage: FrankenCooper! Hooray neckbolts!


MLS score last night:
Los Angeles 1-2 Dallas - Burn goals by Carlos Ruiz on a PK and Kenny Cooper minutes later, giving them both 2 in 2 games. LA got theirs late from rookie Robbie Findley.
Match reports:
-DJ Walker's Stream Of Consciousness from 3rd Degree.
-Luis Bueno for the Dallas Morning News
-Match report from the Fort Worth Star Telegram
-Grahame Jones for the LA Times
More stuff:
-Buneo also has audio of both coaches - Frank Yallop - and - Steve Morrow. From Sideline Views.
-Andrea Canales at Soccernet on the Dallas Deadly Duo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My notes from the LA-Dallas game:
-Dallas are 11-0-2 when Kenny Cooper bags a goal!
-Just before game time LA signed Canadian midfielder Kevin Harmse. He came on at halftime.
-Dallas midfielder Juan Toja is like Freddie Mercury reincarnated as a bulldozer.
-Nice dive late in the game by El Pescadito. What a fool.
-ESPN seriously needs to shut the fuck up about David Beckham. He will not be here for 3 months and we can't take this constant barrage until then.
-The ESPN2 game production was good. High quality picture delivered to my screen. But the overhead camera is useless during the run of play cuz its just too slow and at such an odd angle. Maybe on PK's it's gonna be cool. And using that overhead for corner kick replays to see the scrum in the box could be excellent. I also could not care any less how fast the ball is traveling. Puh-leeeeeeeease.
-Lead commentator Dave O'Brien still stinks. Period. Wynalda is real good. Stone is fine. Foudy is fine. Allen Hopkins needs to get off that sideline and start being the lead commentator. It's what he is really good at.
-The game itself - quite good, and very exciting as a somewhat neutral fan.
-The crowd was excellent, especially for a Thursday. Let's see how Columbus does next week.
-Looked like Dallas midfielder Marcelo Saragosa landed wrong on his right knee. He was in a lot of pain. No word yet on the injury.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Weekend Schedule (all times central):
Saturday April 14
-Salt Lake v Columbus - live at 5pm on Direct Kick
-New England v Toronto - live at 6:30pm on Direct Kick
-DC United v Kansas City - live at 6:30pm on FSC
-Houston v Chivas USA - live at 7:30pm on HDNet & Direct Kick
Sunday April 15
-New York v Dallas - live at 2pm on Telefutura
-Colorado v Chicago - live at 7pm on Direct Kick
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So which international striker is rumored to be going to the New York Red Bulls today? Ding ding ding! Today's winner is Djibril Cisse. He is under contract with Liverpool, but has been on loan to Marseille.
-Wasn't it gonna be Juan Pablo Angel from Aston Villa? What happened to that deal? Michael Lewis at Big Apple looks into it.
-Let's make this more insipid - add Atlas forward Reinaldo Navia to the pile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune has a very juicy rumor on his Red Card blog - Chicago will be host to a friendly tournament in late July with some very big clubs. Can you say Juventus? How about Olympiacos? Sevilla & Cruz Azul? Huh, huh? Maybe! You gotta like that.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Arroyave says the Fire are also very close to signing Brazil midfielder William Oliveira from W Connection of T&T.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Josh Gros is going to wear Alecko Eskandarian style headgear this weekend when he suits up for DC United after his latest concussion. I am all for it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle says he feels Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark is ready to go Saturday and will start. Let's hope. They really need him. Kelly Gray who was filling in for Clark will probably then slide to right back and Craig Waibel will move in to the center of defense to cover for the suspended Ryan Cochran.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you saw New England play last weekend then you probably noticed that Steve Ralston was now the team captain. Mike Biglin at the Boston Herald looks at what this means to the team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New England have signed Irish midfielder Bryan Byrne. He was co-captain last year of the Santa Barbara team that won the NCAA title.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Don Cuddy at Soccer 365 has a Q & A with New England rookie striker Adam Cristman.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

James Edwards at the Deseret Morning News looks at RSL veteran Jason Kries who has made the move this year from an attacking position to a defensive midfielder position.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And Kreis tells the Salt Lake Tribune that he & his family have come to the conclusion that they have found a permanent home in Utah.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Meyer at the Denver Post talks to Colorado forward Herculez Gomez about the name on the back of his shirt, and an injury update on Pablo Mastroeni.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dean McNulty of the Toronto Sun says TFC could have the services of #1 draft pick midfielder Maurice Edu this weekend. He has missed the whole preseason due to a fractured pelvis.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob Luder of the KC Star with a story on new Kansas City midfielder Carlos Marinelli from Argentina.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marc Connolly at the US Players Assoc looks at some of the most common MLS myths, and then he attempts to break them down.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Adam Spangler at This Is America Soccer tries to make some sense out of Wynalda-gate and the blogosphere we are part of.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Don't forget, we see the MLS qualifiers for the US Open Cup begin next week too. The 4 teams who did not make the playoffs last year get underway first. Here are those two games:
Wednesday April 18
Real Salt Lake v Kansas City Wizards (winner takes on Colorado Rapids)
Tuesday April 24
Columbus Crew v Los Angeles Galaxy (winner takes on New York Red Bulls)
-Next round dates still to be determined.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division kicks off this weekend:
Friday April 13
Puerto Rico v Rochester
Sunday April 15
Miami v Rochester
-My Minnesota Thunder start their season a week later - April 20 in Charleston, and the game will be on FSC, more later.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Portland has scheduled a friendly v Mexican club Necaxa on Wed May 9 at PGE. Excellent.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In some disturbing Portland news there seems to be heavy trouble brewing between the teams most ardent supporters and team management. A regular reader named Brian brought this to my attention via the great Timbers blog done by Bob Kellet. The gist of the story is that the team is banning flag poles from the stadium and coming down hard on mascot Timber Jim for being too "tight" with the fans. The main supporters group The Timbers Army has sent a letter about recent affairs to the local media and the team. Check it out. By the way, not to be all uppity, but I am against cursing from supporters sections. I think it's unoriginal and a little immature.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - here are the week's matches:
Apr 10
Cerro Porteno 1-0 Deportes Tolima
Real Potosi 3-1 Parana
Emelec 1-2 Internacional
Apr 11
Cucuta Deportivo 3-1 Gremio
Libertad 1-2 America
Audax Italiano 2-1 Necaxa
Apr 12
Bolivar 0-2 Toluca
Nacional 2-0 Velez Sarsfield
-Match reports via Sports Illustrated.
-It looks like many of the groups are going to go right down to the last games to decide the top 2 spots for elimination rounds.
-Flamengo, Santos, Colo Colo & Caracas have already qualified for the next round with all teams still having at least one more round of the group stage to play and some others have two.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Cup - second leg quarterfinal matches today (first leg scores included):
Werder Bremen 4-1 AZ Alkmaar - Wernder win it 4-1 on aggregate.
Osasuna 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen - Osasuna win it 4-0 on agg.
Benfica 0-0 Espanyol - Espanyol win it 3-2 on agg.
Tottenham 2-2 Sevilla - Sevilla win it 4-3 on agg.
-So like the Champions League, three of the semifinalist teams are from one country. But instead of England, its Spain. The other team is German.
-Semifinals will be played April 26 & May 3.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The English FA Cup semifinals are this weekend:
Saturday
-Watford v Manchester United at Villa Park - shown at 11:30am central time only via home Pay Per View for $25 or closed circuit at pubs for $20 cover charge
Sunday
-Chelsea v Blackburn at Old Trafford - delayed at 10am central time on FSC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Man U website talks to American & Watford defender Jay DeMerit about the FA Cup semifinal.
-And DeMerit talks to the Belfast Telegraph too.
-DeMerit also talks to Yanks Abroad and promises Watford will give Man U a stronger challenge then Roma did.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new 5 year contract at Manchester United. Will this silence the rumors of the other big clubs trying to poach him away?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA.com with three new interviews:
-Frank Lampard of Chelsea
-Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal
-Michel Platini the French legend and new President of UEFA
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reading striker Leroy Lita has been suspended for 3 games due to an attempted head butt on Charlton's Talal El Karkouri.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lyon have announced that Gerard Houllier will remain their manager again next season. There has been speculation that he is in the running for the job at Team USA, but there was no word on that speculation. This seems to indicate that Houllier is not interested in the USA job. But who really know about this kinda thing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

More American money gossip from England today: Stan Kroenke bought another 1.1% of Arsenal, bringing his total to 11%.
-And two different sets of Americans are battling it out to purchase Man City.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two days after he got out of the hospital, Maradona has been rushed back in. He is suffering from acute toxic hepatitis. He may not last long with something like this. It's usually caused by long term drug and alcohol abuse.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The madness over last summers match fixing scandal in Italy never seems to end, and I keep beating on it. Milan have announced that they will file a lawsuit to have their penalties overturned, and be awarded the 2005 title.
-There are also new charges coming to light against Juventus, and to a new team Messina. Hold on if you dare/care.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some big Euro league races are tight. Here are the matches this weekend that matter at the top:
-La Liga:
56 Barcelona v Mallora
55 Sevilla at Valencia
54 Real Madrid at Racing Santander
50 Zaragoza at Gimnastic
50 Valencia v Sevilla
-Bundesliga:
56 Schalke at Mainz
54 Werder Bremen at Borussia Dortmund
52 Stuttgart v Hannover
50 Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen
-Eredivisie:
68 PSV v Twente Enschede
66 AZ Alkmaar v Vitesse Arnhem
66 Ajax v NAC Breda
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A game not to be missed this weekend is El Superclasico in Argentina - Boca Juniors v River Plate - see it live on Sunday at 2pm central on FSC.

5 Comments:

Blogger Kevin-- said...

"By the way, not to be all uppity, but I am against cursing from supporters sections. I think it's unoriginal and a little immature."

Me too. Heckling a player with a creative/personal taunt is much more interesting-and effective-than a chorus of F bombs.

4:46 PM  
Blogger Kevin-- said...

Also, effective today, flagpoles of up to 3 ft. will still be allowed inside Portland's PGE Park.

4:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brucio, I'm sure that Josh Gros is relieved to hear that you're in favor of him wearing protective headgear for Saturday's game.

2:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe that there is a degree of immaturity and lack of creativity in the use of some vulgarity at soccer matches. But, I think there are certainly some instances where in a traditional song or chant a choice word might be inserted. This is not a lack of creativity or immaturity. Should fans do their best to heckle, sing, chant and yell with a vocabulary above a middle schooler? Yes. But, to say all "vulgar" words have no place in some of the traditions of this game is a bit much.

11:06 AM  
Blogger Rodrigo said...

I'm not sure I can go with you on complementing Wynalda's commentary skills. He seems more intent on criticizing players and telling everyone what they are doing wrong. If US commentators could just call the game. Watching the FCD/NY game yesterday on Telefutura was much more fun, even if I couldn't understand the commentator completely. I sure could tell that he was interested in the actual game and was excited to be watching it.

7:50 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Newer Posts Older Posts