Thursday, April 17, 2008

What A Machine She Ha(s/d) News

Discussions on building a new stadium between the city of Houston and the Dynamo soccer team took a wicked turn yesterday when the cities Mayor told the public about a letter he had seen from MLS honcho Donald B Garber to the team encouraging them to put more pressure on the city to try and get a financial deal done. Garber even says that the league would move the team again. Could this thing get really ugly now? Probably! See more in the Stadium Talk section below

~and~

The Red Card blog has a guest blogger today - Jimmy Conrad!


MLS Scoreboard

Week 4 Matches & Scores:
-Thu Apr 17
DC v Columbus - 7pm central on ESPN2
-Sat Apr 19
Toronto v Salt Lake - 11:30am central on Direct Kick
New York v New England - 6:30pm central on HDNet
Colorado v San Jose - 8:30pm central on FSC
Los Angeles v Houston - 9:30pm central on Direct Kick
-Sun Apr 20
Chicago v Kansas City - 2pm central on TeleFutura
Chivas USA v Dallas - 7pm central on Direct Kick
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Steven Goff of the Washington Post previews DC United.
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John Haydon of the Washington Times previews DC.
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Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner previews DC for tonight.
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Frank Dell'apa at Soccernet on the face off tonight between Argentine giants Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbia) & Marcello Gallardo (DC). It's a mini Boca Juniors v River Plate derby.
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Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet previews Thursday nights game.
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MLS News

CD CHIVAS USA

Luis Bueno on his Sideline Views blog says all these players are injured and may not be ready for action this weekend: Alecko Eskandarian, Maykel Galindo, Ante Razov, Claudio Suarez, Lawson Vaughn & Raphael Wicky. That's kinda ridiculous. Plus, these two, Sacha Kljestan & Francisco Mendoza, are suspended due to Red Cards.
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COLORADO RAPIDS

George Tanner at the FC Rocky blog says Bouna Coundoul could be gone for a month (late May to late June) for Senegal World Cup qualifiers.
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Brian Forbes at the Denver Post does a Q & A with Coundoul.
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COLUMBUS CREW

Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch takes a look at Crew player salaries.
-Mitchell with more good salary stuff & other Crew notes on his Covering The Crew blog.
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FC DALLAS

Diego Aparicio of the Dallas Morning News with an article on FCD's new Brazilian midfielder Andre Rocha.
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FC Dallas Updates has video of coach Morrow and goalkeeper Dario Sala talking about the upcoming game at Chivas USA on Sunday night.
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DC UNITED

Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner on his blog The Pitch chats with former Uniteder John Harkes who is now an ESPN commentary guy, in DC for tonight's game.
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Andrew Dixon at the US National Soccer Players Assoc gives his thoughts on the team he calls the class of MLS - DC United.
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HOUSTON DYNAMO

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle on his Soccer y Futbol blog has some new notes about the Dynamo player health, and then lots of words on the new stadium developments. See much more below in the Stadium Talk section.
-A second update from later in the day - more on players getting try outs and health issues.
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KANSAS CITY WIZARDS

Dos Mundos in KC has an article on Zards rookie Roger Espinoza.
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LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Andrea Canales at Soccer 365 talks to the Cuban defectors who are getting a tryout with the Galaxy.
-Here are some more quotes that were not used in the full article - from her blog Sideline Views.
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NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Not good news at all! Two Rev's players went to the Red Sox v Yankees game in Boston a few days ago, sporting Yankees gear, reportedly quite drunk, and made fools of themselves to the point that security escorted them out of the stadium. There were rumors of "public urination" being involved but that appears to be untrue. The first player identified was midfielder Gary Flood, and now the second player is thought to be Joe Franchino. I am saddened to hear this about Franchino because there have been whispers of his alcohol problems & trips to rehabilitation centers in the past. Not good for these two.
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Jeff Bradley at MLSnet with his First XI - this week on the New England v New York rivalry.
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RED BULL NEW YORK

Soccer By Ives reports that Juan Pablo Angel will most likely be ready to play on Saturday against New England.
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Galarcep also talks to NYRB youth team prospect Matt Kassel who has just turned down a developmental contract with the senior team. Really good stuff.
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Jozy Altidore checks in on the New York Times Goal blog about his busy schedule, last weeks clunker of a game, and the upcoming game against New England.
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SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Center Line Soccer says SJE is chasing after Mexican attacking midfielder Zinha!
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Jay Hipps at CSL also gives us the latest from Equakes owner Lew Wolff and the teams stadium designs.
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TORONTO FC

Larry Millson of the Globe & Mail gives us a little inside look into the coaching tools & techniques favored by TFC boss John Carver.
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GENERAL

After the success of the Mexico v China game last night in Seattle (see Mexico section below for details), Seattle Sounders FC are going to stage another big international game this time featuring Brazil v Canada. No exact date has been set yet.
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MLS Rumor City - Don't Tease Me Bro!

Will Porto be headed to North America to play a couple of friendlies after their current season ends?
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MLS Stadium Talk

The Houston Chronicle is all over the new story in the ongoing negotiations to build a new stadium for the Dynamo. Its getting wild.
-The Houston Mayor tells the public about a letter he has seen that could have bad repercussions in Houston if a stadium deal is not struck very soon.
-The paper got a hold of the 2 page letter. Here it is for your perusal - Page 1 - and - Page 2.
-Bernardo Fallas at the Chron says fans of the team and the people of Houston will not take kindly to Garber's words of possible relocation.
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The team released a statement on their website saying that this letter was never intended for the public.
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And while all that madness is going on the Houston Business Journal reports that the team is narrowing down their choices of designers for that stadium.
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USA U20 News

In Beja, Portugal for the Campos Verdes International Tournament this week.
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The team balanced things out on Wednesday night with a big win over Northern Ireland. That's more like it.
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Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 15
USA 1-3 Cape Verde Islands - USA goal by Brek Shea.
Match report from US Soccer.
-Wed Apr 16
USA 3-0 Northern Ireland - USA goals by Vincenzo Bernardo, Peri Marosevic & Ellis McLoughlin.
Match report from US Soccer.
-Fri Apr 18
USA v Portugal
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Soccer In America

Adam Spangler of This Is American Soccer has a great interview with Fox Soccer Report anchor Mitch Peacock.
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Americans In Europe

Ravi Ubha at Soccernet talks to an American in England that I rarely acknowledge (much to reader Bart's chagrin) - he is forward Jemal Johnson of League Two team MK Dons. He has been scoring quite a few goals, they just one a tournament of lower division teams, and they are very close to promotion to League One [FIXED]. Cool.
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Wednesday games to watch for:
-Freddy Adu - Benfica - did not make the bench and the team lost 5-3 in the Taca de Portugal (League Cup) Semifinal derby match against Lisbon rivals Sporting.
-Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played all 90 minutes in a nice 1-3 road win at Borussia Dortmund.
-Joshua Grenier - Koblenz - did not play in his teams 3-2 home win over Freiburg.
-Sal Zizzo - Hannover - did not suit up for a 1-3 win at Borussia Dortmund.
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Thursday games to watch for:
-Gregg Berhalter - 1860 Munich - at home against Wehen
-Colin Burns - Ljungskile - at home v Elfsborg
-Tim Howard - Everton - at home to Chelsea
-Etchu Tabe - Ljungskile - at home v Elfsborg
-Josh Wolff - 1860 Munich - at home against Wehen
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Mexico & FMF News

-Wed Apr 16 in Seattle
Mexico 1-0 China - goal by Cesar Villaluz.
Match report from the Seattle Times.
Match report from the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
Post game notes from the Times.
Post game notes from the PI.
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Copa Libertadores

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 15
Danubio 1-2 Lanus - Dan goal by Cristian Bardaro. Lan goals by Sebastian Blanco & Jose Sand.
Estudiantes 2-0 Deportivo Cuenca - Estu goals by Leandro Lazzaro & Polo Wila(OG).
-Wed Apr 16
Bamin Real Potosi 5-1 Cruzeiro - BRP goals by Miguel Loaiza, Alvaro Pintos(2), Isidro Candia & Luis Gatty Ribeiro. Cruz goal by Marcelo Martins.
San Lorenzo 3-0 Caracas - SL goals by Gonzalo Bergessio, Vicente Rosales(OG) & Andres Silvera.
San Jose 0-3 Guadalajara Chivas - Guad goals by Sergio Avila(2) & Gonzalo Pineda.
Santos 2-1 Cucuta Deportivo - Sant goals by Kleber Pereira & Mariano Tripodi. Cuc goal by Lin Carlos Henry.
Libertad 1-2 Arsenal - Lib goal by Nelson Cuevas. Ars goals by Juan Bottaro & Javier Yacuzzi.
-Thu Apr 17
Universidad Catolica v America
River Plate v Univ San Martin
Fluminense v LDU Quito
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Santos & San Lorenzo join Estudiantes, Lanus, Cucuta Deportivo, Atlas, Cruzeiro, Fluminense & LDU Quito in securing 9 of the 16 spots in the knock out rounds.
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Group Stage Standings
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England News

Sky Sports has the latest on Liverpool's ownership-management wars from one of the owners Tom Hicks. It was ugly, and it just keeps getting worse. Includes video. Good (but sad) stuff here.
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The Times has the reply from Liverpeople team Prez Rick Parry.
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European News

Ajax won 1-2 at Groningen last night meaning that they are still just 3 points behind Dutch Eredivisie leaders PSV and that the season will go down to the last game again this year. Last year the league was a 3 way tie and the title was given to PSV on goal differential! Here are the two big final games of the 07/08 season to watch:
-Sun Apr 20
Vitesse Arnhem v PSV Eindhoven
Ajax Amsterdam v Heracles Almelo
-PSV have a goal differential of +40, but Ajax's is +45.
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Euro League Cup Competitions

Valencia win the Copa del Rey!
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-Copa del Rey- Final
Match & Score:
-Wed Apr 16
Getafe 1-3 Valencia
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-Coppa Italia- Semifinals
1st leg Matches & Scores:
-Wed Apr 16
Inter 0-0 Lazio
Roma 1-0 Catania
2nd leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Wed May 7
Lazio v Inter (0-0)
Catania v Roma (0-1)
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-Coupe de France- Quarterfinals
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 15
Amiens 1-0 Dijon
Lyon 1-0 Metz
-Wed Apr 16
Bordeaux 0-0 Sedan Ardennes - Sedan win 4-3 on Penalty Kicks.
Carquefou 0-1 Paris St Germain
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-Taca de Portugal- Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 15
Vitoria Setubal 0-3 Porto
-Wed Apr 16
Sporting 5-3 Benfica
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-Beker van Belgie- Semifinals
1st Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 18
Standard de Liege 2-2 Gent
-Wed Mar 19
Anderlecht 1-0 Germinal Beerschot
2nd Leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Tue Apr 15
Gent 4-0 Standard de Liege - Gent advance 6-2 on aggregate.
-Wed Apr 16
Germinal Beerschot 1-1 Anderlecht - Adn adv 2-1 on agg.
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DFB Pokal Final
-Sat Apr 19
Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munchen
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Big Euro Club Matches This Week

The Old Firm derby last night:
Celtic 2-1 Rangers
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Celtic's big win brings them within 1 point of Rangers at the top of the league.
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FIFA Scandal News

Ben Knight of the Toronto Globe & Mail's On Soccer blog with comments on Sepp Blatter's plan to impose nationality quota's on leagues around the world.
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World News

Jonah Freedman at Sports Illustrated with his brand new World Club Soccer Power Rankings!
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UEFA has a published a dictionary of all football terminology. Check it out. (Thanks to Brian for this)

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm happy for Kassel, anyone who accepts being put into poverty is insane, instead he'll be getting a free ride to Maryland. I think that scholarship might be worth more then then the contract...... GOOD FOR YOU!

7:02 PM  
Blogger Mister Zero said...

Every stadium deal gets real ugly, but since when is Houston scared of building and when are they short of money? Oil is at an all-time high and that city is flush right now. I would bet Drayton McLane of the Astros and Les Alexander of the Rockets are using their influence right now...

7:06 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

That is the rumor down here in Houston. Especially since the proposed stadium site is within a few blocks of Minute Maid Park. Hopefully they get it done though because this city has taken to the Dynamo really quickly.

8:31 PM  
Blogger digchros said...

Agreed. I don't understand the problem here. Why is MLS seen as being the unfair bully in this situation?

It's the truth. San Jose moved to Houston because of te exact same situation, and Houston is losing money and will continue to lose more until they have a stadium.

Just please don't put it in the suburbs!

8:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good stuff as usual. Just a slight correction in respect to the fact that the MK Dons play in League Two (not League One) though are pretty much guaranteed promotion to League One next season (not the Championship).

9:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you want to check out nice fotos from the Old Firm match, check this bbc link:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/scotland/7351458.stm

-Andrew

10:49 AM  
Blogger brucio said...

thanks for the MK Dons correction

see what happens when i dont look it up

just like my grammar,its wrong

but this i actually care about

2:01 PM  
Blogger kj said...

MK Dons are the former Wimbledon FC. I was hoping they'd keep slipping right on out of the league, and that AFC Wimbledon would pass them on the way up. Oh, well, I'm hoping that AFC will be promoted to the Conference South this year so that the collision course remains somewhat on track.

12:39 AM  

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