Pick A Puppy Out Of A Sack News

Question: Where is Grant Wahl? The Sports Illustrated superstar has been done covering March Madness since, well, April, and we have not heard a whisper from our A#1 Favorite American Soccer Writer.

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American defender Dan Califf and his club Aalborg won the Danish championship last night with a 2-0 win over Brondby! Huge congrats to him. How is he going to celebrate: "I'm drinking my face off." Next season he moves on to play for Midtjylland. See the Americans in Europe section below for game details.

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How about this for a coincidence! The English & Spanish leagues and their champions line up perfectly symmetrical this decade:
00-01: Man U - Real Madrid
01-02: Arsenal - Valencia
02-03: Man U - Real Madrid
03-04: Arsenal - Valencia
04-05: Chelsea - Barcelona
05-06: Chelsea - Barcelona
06-07: Man U - Real Madrid
07-08: Man U - Real Madrid


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
Match report by Brian Forbes of the Denver Post.
Match report by Pat Rooney of the Rocky Mountain News.
Match report by James Edward of the Deseret News.
Match report by Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Post game notes by George Tanner of the Rocky Mountain News blog FC Rocky.
Post game notes by Edward.
Player ratings for RSL by Edward on the DN Real Salt Lake blog.
-Sat May 17
Toronto v Columbus - 3:00pm central on Direct Kick
New York v Kansas City - 6:30pm central on Direct Kick
New England v San Jose - 6:30pm central on HDNet
Chicago v Houston - 7:30pm central on Direct Kick
Chivas USA v DC 9:30pm central on FSC
-Sun May 18
Dallas v Los Angeles - 2pm central on TeleFutura
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Serving Suspension:
Tom McManus - Colorado - 1 Game - Red Card while he was on the bench
Roger Espinoza - Kansas City - 1 Game - Red Card
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Colorado takes the early lead in this years race for the Rocky Mountain Cup.
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Ives Galarcep at Soccernet previews all the weekends games - scroll down past initial article for previews.
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Pat Walsh of Goal.com previews the weekend games.
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MLS Standings

Eastern Conference
18 Columbus (7)
16 Chicago (7)
13 New England (8)
11 New York (6)
10 Toronto (6)
10 Kansas City (7)
6 DC (7)
Western Conference
12 Colorado (8)
9 Dallas (7)
8 Los Angeles (7)
8 Salt Lake (8)
7 Houston (7)
5 Chivas USA (7)
4 San Jose (6)
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MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

Guess what? John Thorrington is out of action with muscle spasms. Just when we thought he had turned a corner. What a tease.
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Ives Galarcep at Soccernet with an article on the high quality being exuded by the Chicago defense.
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COLORADO RAPIDS

The Denver Post with the story of midfielder Colin Clark and his father.
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Goal.com has a Q & A with forward Tom McManus.
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COLUMBUS CREW

Chris DeVille of Columbus Alive with an article on Runnin' Robbie Rogers.
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DC UNITED

Beau Dure of USA Today writes about last place DC United. Sure it's not going well, but its too early to freakout and make drastic changes.
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Steven Goff of the Washington Post says forward Luciano Emilio will most likely not start this weekend at Chivas. But he is not hurt.
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Midfielder Fred is not traveling with the team due to injury.
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LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Defender Ante Jazic looks ready to play. Finally recovered from the ankle injury. How bad has this guy been missed?
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NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Don't expect Taylor Twellman and his tweaked ankle to play this week. Then again, in the immortal words of Debora Iyall, never say never.
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Jim Dow at RevsNet looks at all the young players getting their shot on the team this season, and a Q & A with defender Chase Hilgenbrinck.
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John Connolly of the Boston Herald on the massive importance of Steve Ralston and Twellman to the team.
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Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe looks at the move the team made when Ralston was pushed into the central midfield spot from his traditional home on the left wing.
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RED BULL NEW YORK

Hey Claudio! Heard you are still out with the calf injury. Get well soon. I won't complain this time, cuz it's gotten too eazy.
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Michael Lewis at Big Apple Soccer with an article on rookie midfielder Luke Sassano, who due to the teams constant midfielder injuries is seeing a decent amount of playing time.
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SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Jeff Carlisle of Center Line Soccer talks to defender James Riley about returning to take on his former team New England.
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TORONTO FC

Larry Millson of the Globe & Mail looks at TFC's ongoing search for a serious striker.
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In another article Millson says TFC players are beyond ready after 2+ weeks off.
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Millson also writes that the team is focused on their weekend opponent Columbus, who are tops in the league.
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Midfielder Carl Robinson has been called in to the Wales team for friendlies against Wales 'A' squad for the friendly matches against Iceland on May 28 & Netherlands on Jun 1.
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GENERAL

Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports on the Garber v Wilbon war of words.
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MLS Rumor City - Don't Tease Me Bro!

Is that the return of the "McBride to Chicago" rumor birdie I hear fluttering past my window again?
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Aston Villa has not forgotten the name of Brad Guzan.
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MLS Expansion News

MLS Commish Donald E Garber makes an official statement saying Vancouver is in the mix.
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USL First Division News

Minnesota Thunder

See my team play live on Fox Soccer Channel tonight:
-Fri May 16
Atlanta v Minnesota - 7pm central time of FSC
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USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Fri May 16
Miami v Vancouver
Puerto Rico v Portland
Atlanta v Minnesota
-Sat May 17
Rochester v Charleston
-Sun May 18
Miami v Portland
Carolina v Minnesota
Seattle v Atlanta
-Mon May 19
Montreal v Vancouver
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USL First Division Standings

Points - Team - (games played)
11 Portland (5)
11 Charleston (6)
9 Minnesota (4)
8 Carolina (4)
6 Vancouver (3)
6 Montreal (5)
6 Seattle (5)
5 Atlanta (4)
4 Miami (6)
3 Puerto Rico (4)
2 Rochester (5)
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Team USA

A note on the USA players pool announced on Thursday: The 33 players named to the USA roster will NOT all be in training at the same time. They are a core group from which coach Bradley will pull players in and out for these next 3 friendlies. I would assume he will chose a more refined version of this list for the 2 qualifiers that follow.
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Ives Galarcep of Soccer by Ives breaks down the USA player roster for all the upcoming games.
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There is a short list of guys that I was surprised not to see on this list:
-Arturo Alvarez
-Jimmy Conrad
-Bobby Convey
-Charlie Davies
-Cory Gibbs
-Chad Marshall
-Clint Mathis
-Michael Parkhurst
-Eddie Robinson
-Chris Rolfe
-Jeremiah White
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USA Olympic Team

Steven Goff of the Washington Post on his blog Soccer Insider talks to DC United midfielder Josh Gros who is sitting out this season (and most likely forever) due to lingering effects of multiple concussions has been brought in as an assistant coach for the U23 team. The head man is Peter Nowak, Gros's former coach in DC. Very cool.
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Soccer In America

Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald again catches us up with the Cuban players who defected to the USA back in March. It's very interesting to follow this.
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On July 5th a very special soccer event called Free Kick Masters comes to Houston TX. What is it? A competition between some of best free kick takers & goal keepers in the world. With $500,000 on the line. This is big time stuff. Check out some of the names:
Alessandro Del Piero
Deco
Ronaldinho
Harry Kewell
Anatoly Tymoshchuk
Jared Borgetti
Robert Pires
Francesco Toldo
Oliver Kahn
Brad Friedel
Kasey Keller
(many more to be announced)
-For a little local flavor Brad Davis & Dwayne De Rosario will be included.
-Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle tells us more.
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Americans In Europe

American Soccer Daily with the story on Dan Califf and Aalborg winning the Danish title!!!
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Luis Bueno of the Press Enterprise with an article on Fulhamerica.
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The Green River Star (Wyoming) with an article on their native son Brandon Ludtke who has signed with Messina in Italy. They will play in Serie B next season. He is a goalkeeper.
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Americans in Mexico

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America looks at the Americans playing for clubs in Mexico. Why there instead of MLS? Via Sports Illustrated.
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Mexico & FMF News

Mexico has definitely offered their national team head coaches job to Sven Goren Erickson. Whether he accepts or not is a totally different world.
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Quarterfinals 1st leg Matches & Scores
-Thu May 15
Necaxa 1-2 Santos Laguna - Nec goal by Hugo Rodallega. SL goals by Daniel Luduena & Walter Jimenez.
Toluca 1-1 San Luis - Tol goal by Santiago Fernandez. SL goal by Alfredo Moreno.
Quarterfinals 2nd leg Matches & Scores (1st leg scores included):
-Sat May 17
Cruz Azul v Chiapas (0-1)
Guadalajara v Monterrey (1-4)
-Sun May 18
Santos Laguna v Necaxa (2-1)
San Luis v Toluca (1-1)
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Copa Libertadores

Quarterfinal 1st Leg Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 15
America 2-0 Santos - Amer both goals by Salvador Cabanas.
San Lorenzo 1-1 LDU Quito - SL goal by Adrian Gonzalez. LDU goal by Claudio Bieler.
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)
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The knockout rounds bracket.
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England News

The Telegraph calls Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack "ruthless". Does that mean he has no ruth in him? Anyway, I call the guy the ultimate winner.
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Soccernet with their list of the worst signings this past season in the Premiership. Not nearly as outrageous as some seasons recently.
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Manchester City has been granted a spot in next seasons UEFA Cup under a provision called The Fair Play Rules. Something about very few Red & Yellow Card etc etc.
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English Championship Division Promotion Playoffs

Playoff Final Match & Score:
-Sat May 24
Bristol City v Hull at Wembley
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European News

SPAIN

People say Michael Laudrup did a great job coaching Getafe this season, and many bigger teams are going to come chasing after him. So he did the easy thing and quit the team. Bring on the offers.
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ITALY

Jeffrey Marcus from the New York Times blog Goal does a Q & A with a professor, John Foot, who is an authority on scandal in Italian football. Very cool.
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Brazilian right fullback Cafu is done at Milan. Where will he suit up next?
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GERMANY

Philipp Lahm has signed a contract extension at Bayern Munich. There had been a lot of talk about him leaving. Not any more.
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OTHERS

The Times with an article that says Rangers have the worst hooligan problem in Great Britian.
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FIFA.com does a Q & A with Greece & Bayer Leverkusen forward Theofanis Gekas.
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Long time Benfica & Portugal star Rui Costa has retired from play and been named as Benfica's new Sporting Director.
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UEFA Champions League

Martin Johnson at the Telegraph has a series that I just stumbled upon - He is heading to Moscow for the final and only taking the very cheapest of routes, food and accommodations possible. What a story. Multiple parts.
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Big Euro Club Matches This Weekend

Serie A Championship
-Inter & Roma at the top with 1 game now left to play.
(Head to Head is the first tie breaker which Inter hold 5-2)
Matches & Scores:
-Sun May 18
82 Parma v Inter - Parma are in the last relegation spot and must win.
81 Catania v Roma - Catania are in the spot above relegation and must win.
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Ligue 1 Championship
-Lyon & Bordeaux at the top with 1 game now left to play.
(Goal Difference is the first tie breaker)
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 17
76 Lens v Bordeaux (+35)
73 Auxerre v Lyon (+27)
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Relegation In Spain

2 teams have already been dropped, and a 1 more team will join them on this final weekend of the season.
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Here are the standings and Matches & Scores:
-Sun May 18
44 Valladolid at Recreativo Huelva
43 Recreativo Huelva v Valladolid
43 Osasuna at Racing Santander
42 Real Zaragoza at Mallorca
- - - - - - -
30 Real Murcia
26 Levante
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Relegation In Italy

1 team has already been dropped, and 2 more will join them on this final weekend of the season.
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Here are the standings and Matches & Scores:
-Sun May 18
36 Catania v Roma
34 Parma v Inter
33 Empoli v Livorno
- - - - - - -
30 Livorno
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Relegation In Germany

2 teams have already been dropped, and a 1 more team will join them on this final weekend of the season.
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Here are the standings and Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 17
33 Arminia Bielefeld at Stuttgart
31 Nurberg v Schalke
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29 Duisburg
27 Hansa Rostock
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Euro League Cup Competitions

English FA Cup Final (Wembley Stadium - London)
Match & Score:
-Sat May 17
Cardiff City v Portsmouth
Match preview from the Guardian.
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-Taca de Portugal- Finals
-Sun May 18
Sporting v Porto
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-Beker van Belgie- Final
-Sun May 18
Gent v Anderlecht
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Top Goal Scorers In Some Of Europe’s Big Leagues

-La Liga-
26 Daniel Guiza - Mallorca
24 Luis Fabiano - Sevilla
18 Raul Gonzalez - Real Madrid
18 Kahveci Nihat
18 Kun Aguero
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-Bundesliga-
21 Luca Toni - Bayern Munich
18 Mario Gomez - Stuttgart
15 Kevin Kuranyi - Schalke
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-Serie A-
19 Marco Borriello - Genoa
19 Alessandro Del Piero - Juventus
19 David Trezeguet - Juventus
17 Adrian Mutu - Fiorentina
17 Antonio Di Natale - Udinese
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-Eredivisie-
34 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - Ajax
21 Blaise N'Kufo - Twente
19 Luis Suarez - Ajax
18 Robin Nelisse - Utrecht
17 Marcus Berg - Gronigen
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-Premiership-
31 Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United
24 Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal
24 Fernando Torres - Liverpool
19 Roque Santa Cruz - Blackburn
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-Ligue Un-
20 Karim Benzema - Lyon
17 Mamadou Niang - Marseille
14 Fernando Cavenaghi - Bordeaux
14 Djibril Cisse - Marseille
14 Bafetimbi Gomis - St Etienne
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World News

I missed this a week or so ago - Pitch Invasion with another of their excellent derby stories: Great Derby of the Royal Capital City of Krakow - Wisla Krakow v MKS Cracovia. All I can say about this is a Shep Messingesque, "Wow"!