Monday, May 19, 2008

Many Many Many Hours News

Inter Milan won the Serie A title for the 3rd year in a row!

~and~

Lyon won Ligue Un for the 7th year in a row!

~and~

#1 seeded Guadalajara Chivas were knocked out of the Mexican Clausura playoffs in the Quarterfinals by Monterrey on an 8-5 aggregate!

~and~

Portsmouth won the English FA Cup.


MLS Scoreboard

Week 8
Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 15
Colorado 2-0 Salt Lake - Colo goals by Omar Cummings & Christian Gomez(PK).
Attendance: 11,414
-Sat May 17
Toronto 0-0 Columbus
Attendance: 20,358
Match report by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
Match report from Sports Net Canada.
Match report by Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch.
Post game notes by Mitchell of the Dispatch.
More post game notes by Mitchell on his blog Covering The Crew.
Chicago 1-2 Houston - Chic goal by Calen Carr. Houston goals by Dwayne De Rosario & Bobby Boswell.
Attendance: 17,183
Match report by Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune.
Match report by Len Ziehm of the Chicago Sun Times.
Match report by Nick Firchau of Chicago's Southtown Star.
Match report by Orrin Schwarz of Chicago's Daily Herald.
Match report from the Houston Chronicle.
Post game notes on Houston coach Dominic Kinnear and Cuauhtemoc Blanco by Arroyave on his blog The Red Card.
Post game notes and Dynamo player ratings by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle on his blog Soccer y Futbol.
New England 2-0 San Jose - NE goals by Kheli Dube & James Riley(OG).
Attendance: 13,004
Match report by Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.
Match report by John Connolly of the Boston Herald.
Match report from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Match report by Kyle McCarthy for the San Jose Mercury News.
Match report by Jay Hipps of Center Line Soccer.
Post game notes by Dell'apa.
Post game analysis by Kyle McCarthy of the Herald.
New York 1-1 Kansas City - NY goal by Danleigh Borman. KC goal by Jimmy Conrad.
Attendance: 15,755
Match report by Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer.
Match report by Stefan Bondy of the Herald News.
Match report by Frank Giase of the Newark Star Ledger.
Match report by Brian Lewis of the NY Post.
Match report by Dylan Butler for the Kansas City Star.
Post game notes & NY player ratings by Jack Bell of the New York Times on their soccer blog Goal.
Post game video interviews with NY coach & players from New York's official team blog Red Bulls Reader.
Post game analysis by Ives Galarcep of Soccer by Ives.
Chivas USA 3-1 DC - CUSA goals by Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan & Jorge Flores. DC goal by Marcello Gallardo.
Attendance: 13,113
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
Match report by Phil Collin of the LA Daily News.
Match report by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Post game notes, quotes and DC player ratings by Goff on his blog Soccer Insider.
Post game analysis by Nick Green of the Daily Breeze on his blog 100 Percent Soccer.
Post game notes by Green on his blog.
Post game quotes from DC coach Tom Soehn and forward Jaime Moreno from the team blog Behind the Badge.
Post game notes by Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner on his blog The Pitch.
-Sun May 18
Dallas 1-5 Los Angeles - Dal goal by Dominic Oduro. LA goals by Edson Buddle(3), Chris Klein & Duilio Davino(OG).
Attendance: 22,331
Match report by Steve Davis at Soccernet.
Match report by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Match report by Diego Aparicio of the Dallas Morning News.
Post game notes by Nick Green of the Daily Breeze on his blog 100 Percent Soccer.
Post game analysis from the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Served Suspensions:
Tom McManus - Colorado - 1 Game - Red Card while he was on the bench
Roger Espinoza - Kansas City - 1 Game - Red Card
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New Red Cards:
Dave Van Den Bergh - New York - Red Card for throwing an elbow.
Adrian Serioux - Dallas - Red Card for tackle from behind.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Standings

Eastern Conference
19 Columbus (8)
16 Chicago (8)
16 New England (9)
12 New York (7)
11 Kansas City (8)
11 Toronto (7)
6 DC (8)
Western Conference
12 Colorado (8)
11 Los Angeles (8)
10 Houston (8)
9 Dallas (8)
8 Chivas (8)
8 Salt Lake (8)
4 San Jose (7) [FIXED]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

du Nord MLS Player Of The Week

Jorge Flores - Midfielder - Chivas USA
One of the best stories in all of MLS had some very cheesy beginnings. Before the 2007 season Chivas USA teamed up with Univision's Sunday morning sports show Republica Deportivo to bring us a "reality" show in which young men competed for a place on the Chivas USA roster. Most of us thought it was a pretty heinous idea. A lot of players showed up to try out and after several weeks of eliminations one man, Jorge Flores, was named the winner. His reward was to be a contract with the team etc etc. No one expected anything to come of it. But hold the presses, this kid could play. He impressed the coaches and his teammates everyday in training, and in the end they gave him a real full time contract. But that's not all. The USA coaches were impressed with the 19 year old too, and gave him a shot on the American youth level national teams. He blew them away as well and has now made several appearances including a trip to England 2 weeks ago with the U20's to take on three Premiership reserve teams. Flores came out of those games looking like one of the teams best players. He capped an amazing week off by coming into to Saturday nights game against DC as a late sub and helping his team crank up the energy and get a big win. He finished it all off by scoring the final goal in the 3-1 win. Unbelievable story. I could not be happier for Jorge Flores!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune with an article on forward Chad Barrett NOT being called in for the latest USA U23 matches.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CD CHIVAS USA

The win on Saturday was the teams first ever over DC United. Oh how the mighty have fallen. - AND - It was also the first-ever come from behind win in team history (3+ years isn’t much history).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The official Chivas USA blog Dentro del Rebano reports that USA & Heerenveen midfielder Michael Bradley has been training with the team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FC DALLAS

Buzz Carrick at 3rd Degree ponders the theory that Dallas has been so Jekyll & Hyde over the past few seasons because there is big gap between the players and the teams front office & management.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DC UNITED

Rookie Ryan Cordeiro made his debut on the left side of midfield. No one expected to see him in the starting line up covering for the injured Fred(2).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS

Mike who does the great KC fan blog Down The Byline is either a genius or seriously demented. He and his wife just had a new baby boy and they named him Conrad. Yes that’s right Conrad. Giant Congrats to them! Read more.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Left fullback Chris Klein just made the 93rd straight start. That ties the MLS record held by goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, set back in 2005 when he too was a member of the LA Galaxy. Must be the weather.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe with an article on new forward Kheli Dube. He got his first start and first goal on Saturday. That is nice when Taylor Twellman is out injured.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

RED BULL NEW YORK

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer fills us in on Dave Van Den Bergh's Red Card, and coach Juan Carlos Osorio being sent to the stands.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lewis also talks to former Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena who was fired after last season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TORONTO FC

The Star with an article on coach John Carver who is mad at the referees and disgusted by the diving of Columbus's Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nigel Reed of the CBC on his blog Extra Time with his thoughts on Carvers outrage.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Sun on Carver's run-ins with the referees.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Star says TFC's academy teams have been accused of poaching youth players already signed with other clubs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GENERAL

Steven Goff of the Washington Post on his blog Soccer Insider with his weekly wrap up The Good, The Bad & The Coyote Ugly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Rumor City - Don't Tease Me Bro!

The Norwich Evening Standard heats up the Darren Huckerby to MLS rumors. (thanks to MR for this)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steven Goff of the Washington Post on his blog Soccer Insider says River Plate and former Argentina midfielder Ariel Ortega could be taking a look at MLS this summer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Expansion News

MLS top doggie Donald F Garber was in Montreal on Saturday night for the grand unveiling of Stade de Impact. Interesting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Fri May 16
Miami 0-1 Vancouver - Van goal by Eduardo Sebrango.
Puerto Rico 2-2 Portland - PR goals by Sandi Gbandi & John Krause. Port goals by Lawrence Olum & Chris Brown.
Atlanta 2-1 Minnesota - Atl goals by Anthony McManus & Jason McLaughlin. Minn goal by Melvin Tarley.
-Sat May 17
Rochester 0-1 Charleston - Char goal by Randi Patterson.
-Sun May 18
Miami 0-0 Portland
Carolina 0-0 Minnesota
Seattle 4-2 Atlanta - Sea goal by Sebastien Le Toux, Josh Gardner(2) & Leighton O'Brien(PK). Atl goals by Jason McLaughlin & Ansu Toure.
-Mon May 19
Montreal v Vancouver
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division Standings

Points - Team - (games played)
14 Charleston (7)
13 Portland (7)
10 Minnesota (6)
9 Vancouver (4)
9 Carolina (5)
9 Seattle (6)
8 Atlanta (6)
6 Montreal (6)
5 Miami (8)
4 Puerto Rico (5)
2 Rochester (6)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Team USA

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to former USA coach Bruce Arena about the current state of the team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jozy Altidore writing for the New York Times blog Goal, tells us about being included in the USA player pool for the upcoming games.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is Spain's roster for Euro 2008. This is the team the USA will face on Jun 4, just 3 days before the tournament kicks off:
G:
Iker Casillas - Real Madrid
Andres Palop - Sevilla
Pepe Reina - Liverpool
D:
Raul Albiol - Valencia
Alvaro Arbeloa - Liverpool
Joan Capdevila - Villarreal
Juanito - Real Betis
Carlos Marchena - Valencia
Fernando Navarro - Mallorca
Carles Puyol - Barcelona
Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid
M:
Xabi Alonso - Liverpool
Santi Cazorla - Villarreal
Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal
Xavi Hernandez - Barcelona
Andres Iniesta - Barcelona
Ruben de la Red - Getafe
Marcos Senna - Villarreal
David Silva - Valencia
F:
Sergio Garcia - Zaragoza
Daniel Guiza - Mallorca
Fernando Torres - Liverpool
David Villa - Valencia
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mexico & FMF News

Atletico Madrid has extended the contract of coach Javier Aguirre, taking him out of the running for the Mexico job.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Quarterfinals 2nd leg Matches & Scores (1st leg scores included):
-Sat May 17
Cruz Azul 2-1 Chiapas - series tied 2-2 Cruz Azul, so adv on higher seed tie breaker rule.
Guadalajara 4-4 Monterrey - Monterrey adv 8-5 on aggregate.
-Sun May 18
Santos Laguna 1-1 Necaxa - Santos Laguna adv 3-2 on agg.
San Luis 0-0 Toluca (1-1) - series tied 0-0, so San Luis adv on higher seed tie breaker rule.

Semifinals 1st leg Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 21
Monterrey v Santos Laguna
-Thu May 22
San Luis v Cruz Azul
Semifinals 2nd leg Matches & Scores (1st leg scores included):
-Sat May 24
Santos Laguna v Monterrey (-)
-Sun May 25
Cruz Azul v San Luis (-)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores

Quarterfinal 2nd Leg Matches & Scores (1st leg scores included):
-Wed May 21
Fluminense v Sao Paulo (0-1)
Atlas v Boca Juniors (2-2)
-Thu May 22
Santos v America (0-2)
LDU Quito v San Lorenzo (1-1)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The knockout rounds bracket.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England News

Do you need season tickets for Fulham next season? BQ sent me this link to a site where you can "view" your seat. Actually you can see the view from the seat you pick. Fantastic stuff. (thanks Brian)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccernet with an article on Chelsea coach Avram Grant, who is uncertain to have a job for next season, but is fully supported by midfielder Michael Ballack.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

European News

ITALY

Fiorentina won, keeping AC Milan out of next years Champions League!!! Yes!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now this is a banner! What do other Italian fans think of Juventus. Excellent! (thanks to Joe for this)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

OTHERS

Slavia Prague won the Czech league championship.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shakhtar Donetsk won the Ukraine league championship.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twente beat Ajax 2-1 on aggregate to claim the 2nd Eredivisie Champions League spot for next season. This is huge for them, and disaster for Ajax.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Champions League

Final Match & Score
-Wed May 22 in Moscow
Chelsea v Manchester United - live at 1:30pm central on ESPN2
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Big Euro Club Matches This Weekend

Serie A Championship - Inter are the winners of the 2008 Scudetto! This is their 3rd straight, but first without league penalties being sanctioned against their opponents.
Matches & Scores:
85 Parma 0-2 Inter
82 Catania 1-1 Roma
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ligue 1 Championship - Lyon are the title winners for the 7th season in a row!
Matches & Scores:
79 Auxerre 1-3 Lyon
74 Lens 2-2 Bordeaux
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Relegation In Spain

Here are the final Standings, Matches & Scores:
44 Recreativo Huelva 1-1 Valladolid
43 Recreativo Huelva 1-1 Valladolid
43 Racing Santander 1-0 Osasuna
- - - - - - -
42 Mallorca 3-2 Real Zaragoza
30 Real Murcia
26 Levante
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Relegation In Italy

Here are the final Standings, Matches & Scores:
37 Catania 1-1 Roma
- - - - - - -
36 Empoli 2-1 Livorno
34 Parma 0-2 Inter
30 Livorno
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Relegation In Germany

Here are the final Standings, Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 17
34 Stuttgart 2-2- Arminia Bielefeld
- - - - - - -
31 Nurnberg 0-2 Schalke
30 Hansa Rostock
29 Duisburg
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euro League Cup Competitions

-English FA Cup - Final
Match & Score:
-Sat May 17
Cardiff City 0-1 Portsmouth - Port goal by Nwankwo Kanu.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chuck Cullpepper of the LA Times throws off his journalistic shackles and declares his love for Portsmouth!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

-Taca de Portugal- Final
-Sun May 18
Sporting 2-0 Porto - Spor goals both by Rodrigo Tiui.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

-Beker van Belgie- Final
-Sun May 18
Gent 2-3 Anderlecht - Gent goals by Dominic Foley & Adekamni Olufade. And goals by Jan Polak, Nadat Mbark Boussoufa & Guillaume Gillet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

World News

George Vecsey on the New York Times blog Goal raves about one of my all time fave players, Roberto Baggio. Contains a video clip with some of the best runs, goals and free kicks you will ever see. He even scored taking a corner kick! He had terrible hair, with a long rat tail, and they nicknamed him The Divine Ponytail. He will always be best remembers for missing a PK after extra time in the 94 World Cup final and losing to Brazil.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Endgadget with an article on the 2008 US RoboCup Open. Nanosoccer is the new category, and I am all for it. I already have been working on my fantasy league team! (thanks to Brian for this one)

2 Comments:

Blogger dj (David Jones) said...

While I agree that Flores is an absolutely fantastic story, I can't agree with naming him the player of the week. He did have a very good spell when he was on the pitch, but to name him the best player in MLS for the week is a bit steep.

I am excited for him. He did well in England from what I've read, and I hope that he turns out to be a good player. (We need a good number of them on the left)

Great blog, as always Bruce.

3:45 PM  
Blogger brucio said...

dj
thanks man
but remember, i have my own rules on how you earn player of the week
you dont have to be the BEST player that week
just the one that made the biggest impression on ME

8:56 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Newer Posts Older Posts