Loud Mouth Lawyerly News

Word is spreading that near-legendary USA defender Eddie Pope has decided that he will retire from the game at the end of this season with Real Salt Lake. What a great defender. The all-time best from this country.

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So far in 2007 the USA has played 8 games. They have given up 3 goals. And they have scored 19. Good job boys. The only negative is that every game has been played on US soil.


Gold Cup 3rd & final Group Stage match:
USA 4-0 El Salvador - USA goals by Beasley (2), Donovan (PK) & Twellman.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report by Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.
Match report by Mike Biglin of the MetroWest Daily News.
Match report from the Boston Herald.
Match report by Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald.
Match report by Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer.
Match report by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Match report from the LA Times.
Match report from Yanks Abroad.
Match report from RevsNet.
Match report from Top Drawer Soccer.
Match report & player ratings from the New York Times. (Much more realistic ratings this time.)
Post-game analysis by Greg Lalas of Sports Illustrated.
Post-game notes by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
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The next USA game, the Quarterfinals, will be Sat Jun 16 v Guadeloupe or Group C 3rd place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough at 3pm central on Univision.
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du Nord Three (Four) Stars Of The Game
3. Jonathan's Spector & Bornstein - the outside backs were great from start to finish. Defense to offense to defense again. All around quality.
2. Clint Dempsey - What a player. His foot skills are even better than last year, and with a little luck his 2 brilliant shots would have found net. He completely unnerved the El Sal back line.
1. DaMarcus Beasley - 2 goals and a new deal at Rangers. Quite a day for Run DMB. His first goal was an amazing thread the needle number too, and he did it with his RIGHT foot!
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Game photos from US Soccer.
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Read the USA team blog.
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US Soccer's Studio 90 has an interview & trivia quiz with Jay DeMerit. (Click on June 12, 2007)
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My game notes:
-Tim Howard did not have to make a single save in this game!
-Our boys are the only team to finish the group stage with the full 9 points. They scored 7 goals in doing so, and surrendered 0.
-The average age of the 14 US players on the field last night was 24.
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John Powers at the Boston Globe compares last nights Team USA to the one that played a year ago yesterday in Germany v the Czechs.
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Marc Connolly of the US Soccer Players Assoc checks in on the progress being made at Team USA by New England defender Michael Parkhurt. Parkhurst got his second cap and second start last night.
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Michael Lewis at Big Apple Soccer reports that the El Sal coach, Carlos de los Cobos, was ejected from the match by the referee after arguing the Donovan penalty re-take at the end of the first half.
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Yanks Abroad talks to Landon Donovan & DaMarcus Bealsey about coach Bob Bradley's "captain by committee" approach to the team's leadership.
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All Gold Cup Matches & Scores:
(all times central)
-Wed Jun 6 scores-
Costa Rica 1-2 Canada
Guadaloupe 1-1 Haiti
-Thur Jun 7 scores-
USA 1-0 Guatemala
El Salvador 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago
-Fri Jun 8 scores-
Panama 3-2 Honduras
Mexico 2-1 Cuba
-Sat Jun 9 scores-
Guatemala 1-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2 USA
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe
Haiti 1-1 Costa Rica
-Sun Jun 10 scores-
Hondura 2-1 Mexico
Panama 2-2 Cuba
-Mon Jun 11 scores-
Costa Rica 1-0 Guadeloupe
Haiti 0-2 Canada
-Tue Jun 12 matches-
USA 4-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 1-1 Guatemala
-Wed Jun 13 matches-
Cuba v Honduras - 7pm on Telefutura
Mexico v Panama - 9pm on Univision
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Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune wants to know if we have ever heard of Carlos Menjivar? No? Me neither, but maybe we should have. He grew up in the Bay Area and went to school at San Diego State. Had a great year of soccer there too. But no one in the USA paid much attention so he headed to his family's native El Salvador and now plays on their national team. He was injured and did not play last night however. Good story.
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Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle previews Mexico v Panama tonight.
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Fallas also takes in the passion surrounding the Mexican team.
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Here are the standings after 2+ rounds.
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Here are the Gold Cup group stage tiebreakers:
1 Head-to-head
2 Goal differential
3 Goals for
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Further round schedules:
Quarterfinals-
S1 - Canada v Guatemala - Sat Jun 16 at 12noon central from Boston on TeleFutura
S2 - USA v A3 or C3 - Sat Jun 16 at 3pm central from Boston on FSC & Univision
S3 - C1 v A3 or B3 - Sun Jun 17 at 2pm central from Houston on Univision
S4 - C2 v Costa Rica - Sun Jun 17 at 5pm central from Houston on TeleFutura
Semifinals-
F1 - S1 v S2 - Thu Jun 21 at 6pm central from Chicago on TeleFutura
F2 - S3 v S4 - Thu Jun 21 at 6pm central from Chicago on TeleFutura
Finals-
Sun Jun 24 at 2pm central from Chicago on Univision & FSC
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MLS Thursday night game:
-Salt Lake v Dallas - 8pm central on ESPN2
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MLS player swap happening today - LA getting rid of older struggling defender & now leg breaker Tyrone Marshall to acquire extraordinarily underachieving forward Edson Buddle from Toronto. Story by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
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Buzz Carrick at 3rd Degree takes in a FC Dallas practice session and gives us feedback on how the team looks this week. Always very good reading material.
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DC United forward Jaime Moreno has been called in to the Bolivia squad for the Copa America.
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US Soccer Players Assoc has a Q & A with DCU midfielder Brian Carroll.
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James Edwards of the Deseret Morning News looks at RSL coach Jason Kreis's next task - his teams offense.
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Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch says the Crew are trying different approaches to solve their non-winning.
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George Tanner of the Rocky Mountain News with lots of Colorado Rapids tidbits at the FC Rocky blog.
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Ryan Hunt at Sports Illustrated with his weekly MLS round up - Free Kicks.
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Adam Spangler of This Is American Soccer does an interview with another of America's top soccer reporters, Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald & Soccernet etc. Ives is a huge inspiration to this here blog. And when they drop my name they really get props! Thanks Adam & Ives.
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US Open Cup first round games tonight:
Harrisburg City Islanders 4-0 Aegean Hawks
Ocean City Barons 1-0 Crystal Palace Baltimore
Rochester Raging Rhinos 1-0 Long Island Rough Riders
Danbury United 2-3 Western Mass Pioneers
Richmond Kickers 4-2 Michigan Bucks
Cleveland City Stars 4-0 Kansas City Brass
Carolina RailHawks 4-1 RWB Adria
Bavarian SC 1-0 Cincinnati Kings
Atlanta Silverbacks 10-0 Azzurri
Charlotte Eagles v Lynch's Irish Pub - postponed until tonight
Charleston Battery 3-0 Central Florida Kraze
El Paso Patriots 2-2 Miami FC - El Paso Patriots adv on penalties 4-3
Minnesota Thunder 3-2 El Paso Indio USA
BYU Cougars 1-2 California Victory
Seattle Sounder 4-1 Banat Arsenal
Bakersfield Brigade 0-2 Portland Timbers
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Luis Bueno on his Sideline Views blog has some more juicy details from the September 9 Mexico v USA match at Azteca.
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Jack Bell of the New York Times on the joke that Trinidad & Tobago soccer has become, just one year after their greatest success. Guess who is in the middle of this mess - I don't have to mention his name, you know who.
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Copa Libertadores - Finals:
Wed Jun 13 - first leg
Boca Juniors v Gremio
Wed Jun 20 - second leg
Gremio v Boca Juniors
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Marcela Mora y Araujo of the Guardian looks at Boca Juniors before tonight's first leg of the Copa Libertadores.
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Inter Milan have signed Honduran forward David Suazo from Cagliari. Injury has kept him out of the Gold Cup.
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Blackburn are the latest English team to be connected to possible American buyers. No other details available.
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Lothar Matthaeus has been fired as coach of Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg. He was co-coaching the team with Italian Giovanni Trapattoni. Trap will stay in place. The reason for the booting was given as the old "differences in philosophy."
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Rob Hughes of the International Herald Trinbue looks at La Liga where it's the custom for one team to pay another team extra incentive money to knock off a key opponent and assist in the title or relegation race. It's not illegal either. And other tales of footballing money oddities - good and bad.
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Lastly, Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun HATES divers. I am right there with ya pal.