Friday, May 02, 2008

Wyldetyme News

Ben Olsen of DC United talks to Steven Goff about his ankle problems after talking to doctors: "the percentages of you playing again are not good". See details in DC United section below.

~and~

I have to admit that even I am starting to run out of patience with Claudio Reyna. He came out of yet another game due to injury. His team is wasting cap space and game subs for this guy, and he seriously has yet to prove, in well over 20 games, that he can add anything to the team or league. It might even be embarrassing now.

~and~

Words of wisdom from the Deseret Morning News (Utah) TV critic: " Watching the game on a wide-screen, high definition set with a great HD signal made it tough to go back and watch games on a non-HD channel like FSC. Watching soccer on HDNet is an experience like the first time you attend a game at a soccer-specific stadium like the Home Depot Center. A light pops on and you suddenly get what all the fuss is about."

~and~

The Glasgow Herald beautifully describes the setting of Rangers dramatic UEFA Cup semifinal win last night at Fiorentina.


MLS Scoreboard

Week 6
Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 1
Toronto 1-1 New York - Tor goal by Marco Velez. NY goal by Dave Van Den Bergh.
Match report Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star.
Match report Dean McNulty of the Toronto Sun.
Match report from the Toronto Globe & Mail.
Match report by John Molinaro of the CBC.
Post game quotes by players & coaches from Red Bull Reader (NYRB official blog).
Player ratings for NY by Jack Bell at the New York Times blog Goal.
Full review of attending a game at BMO Field by Ives Galarcep at Soccer by Ives.
-Sat May 3
New England v Chicago - 6:30pm central on Direct Kick
Columbus v Kansas City - 6:30pm central on FSC
Houston v Chivas USA - 7:30pm central on HDNet
Salt Lake v Los Angeles - 8pm central on Direct Kick
San Jose v Dallas 9pm central on Direct Kick
-Sun May 4
Colorado v DC - 2pm central on TeleFutura
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Out suspended this week:
-Eddie Robinson - Houston - 3rd of 3 games
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS News

COLORADO RAPIDS

Class VI has a Q & A with forward Hercules Gomez.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pat Rooney of the Rocky Mountain News talks with Colorado's star player Christian Gomez who has had a few months now to settle in Denver. Very good stuff.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brian Forbes at the Denver Post with some Rapids news and notes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

COLUMBUS CREW

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch reports on Crew General Manager Mark McCullers who has been promoted to team President. Good, now maybe they can get more soccer guys in the front office to help Brian Bliss and Sigi Schmid out. Let McCullers deal with business etc.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mitchell give us the scoop on the teams new young Nigerian midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And Mitchell also has some team news and injury updates on his Covering The Crew blog. Includes news on the injuries to the 2 Jesus Brothers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chris DeVille at Columbus Alive with an article on forward Alejandro Moreno who has been leading the charge up top for the team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Beau Dure of USA Today on the first place Crew.
-Dure has a few other bits left over from the Crew article, and some other MLS notes on this blog The Netminder.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FC DALLAS

Midfielder Dax McCarthy has a hernia and will be going to Germany for the special athletes surgery that seems to heal several weeks quicker than similar procedures.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Diego Aparicio of the Dallas Morning News draws comparisons between FCD & NBA Dallas Mavericks - both have first round playoff crumbling disease.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DC UNITED

Steven Goff of the Washington Post on the first start for rookie Dan Stratford that didn't go so well.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Goff on his Soccer Insider blog talks to midfielder Ben Olsen about his ankle problems. It is not looking good.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner looks ahead to DC's clash with their old teammate Christian Gomez. I bet he wants to tear DC to shreds.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Business Journal is reporting that DC will soon announced Volkswagen as their new first of shirt sponsor. Word is that they will about $3.5 million per year from ze Kraut Automaker.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Bernardo Fallas of the Chronicle says that even though Houston is still winless this season, any team with Brian Ching & Dwayne DeRosario is not going to stay that way for too long.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Shaka Hislop at the Guardian tells us why Landon Donovan is playing so great right now.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Injured defender Ante Jazic has gotten his Green Card and will no longer be considered a foreign player.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

David Beckham filmed a segment for Sesame Street.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe with an article on the teams young defender Amaechi Igwe, and the good job he has done this early-season covering for departed & injured starters.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Connolly of the Boston Herald on how the Rev's are getting past all the injuries.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

RED BULL NEW YORK

Martin Rogers at Yahoo Sports pimps for Jozy Altidore.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dane Richards made an early return from knee surgery last night and added a touch of life to the attack in Toronto.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

REAL SALT LAKE

Steve Pastorino former RSL general manager writes for the US National Soccer Players Assoc about a reunion of sorts he just had with a couple other former RSL staffers, and one current one. He also tracks down several former players. This really comes off as sour grapes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

James Edward of the Deseret Morning News credits the teams roster depth for their big Open Cup win. And how about that Chris Seitz, is this kid the next great American goalkeeper or what.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Jay Hipps of Center Line Soccer gives us the lowdown on the opening of Buck Shaw stadium this weekend - the San Jose Earthquakes new home. With links to all the local press on the subject.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jeff Carlisle also of Center Line tells us about the severity of the injuries suffered by SJE centerbacks Ryan Cochrane & Jay Ayers when they bashed heads in the Open Cup on Wednesday night in Salt Lake. It's bad.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TORONTO FC

Ben Knight of the Globe & Mail's On Soccer blog writes about fan fave Danny Dichio who did not look very productive at all last night. I have to agree, but if he was 6 inches closer he would have had an open header from close range, and if he scores that then this article does not get written.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Sun with an article on young Canadian striker Andrea Lombardo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Midfielder Carl Robinson pens his latest article for his native County Times newspaper.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GENERAL

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America gives us his Best 11 of MLS so far this season. Via Sports Illustrated.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS has named Landon Donovan as the leagues Player of the Month for April. Natch.
-The Galaxy team blog has lots of his stats from the month. It's impressive.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Hush on the Soccernet blog looks at the first month of MLS 08.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Rumor City - Don't Tease Me Bro!

Those denied rumors last week that the LA Galaxy would play Iran in a match may actually be true.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Stadium Talk

Mike of the Wizards fan blog Down The Byline gives us a little update and speculation on public stadium funding in Kansas City.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Expansion News

The Seattle Post Intelligencer says the Sounders will make it official that forward Sebastian Le Toux has signed with MLS already and is on loan back to the Sounders in the First Division this season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division News

I expect to see every one of you who lives within driving distance of the Twin Cities to make an appearance at the Minnesota Thunder home opener this Sunday. 5pm at James Griffin Stadium (I94 & Lexington) v Rochester. Tailgating, of course, starts several hours earlier. See ya there.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle on the Rhinos season opener tonight in Charleston. The team then heads to my city for Sundays game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Miami has signed former New England leftback Avery John. Good pick up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Fri May 2
Charleston v Rochester
Puerto Rico v Montreal
Atlanta v Seattle
-Sun May 4
Minnesota v Rochester
Miami v Carolina
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer In America

Tom Dunmore of Pitch Invasion with an article on the good and bad of youth player development in America today.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Has Eric Wynalda really signed to play for the Bakersfield Brigade in the PDL?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is interesting to see that the Kansas City Star is actually paying writers for original soccer content beyond the Wizards, and not just running wire reports. Excellent. We need more of this.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Americans In Europe

Our American boys have a MUST WIN game on Saturday when they take on fellow bottom feeders Birmingham. Fulham desperately need the 3 points if they want to stay in the Premiership next season.
Fulham v Birmingham - kicks off at 9am central time on Setanta.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer by Ives reports that Matt Pickens at Queens Park Rangers has suffered a separated shoulder.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mexico & FMF News

Liguilla:
Top 2 from each of the 3 groups go through, then the next 4 best records regardless of group will playoff in the first round for 2 spots in the final 8. All games are home & away throughout the championship run.
-Right now the 3 leaders are: Toluca, Santos Laguna & Guadalajara.
-2nd places belong to : Chiapas, Monterrey & Cruz Azul.
-And the next 4 are: San Luis, Necaxa, Pachuca & Puebla.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One game left to go for everyone.
Matches & Scores:
-Fri May 2
UAdG Tecos v Verzcruz
-Sat May 3
Chiapas Jaguares v Guadalajara Chivas
Monarches Morelia v Toluca
UANL Tigres v Necaxa
Atlas v Cruz Azul
-Sun May 4
UNAM Pumas v Pachuca
Puebla v Atlante
America v Monterrey
Santos Laguna v San Luis
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores

Round of 16, 1st Leg Matches & Scores:
-Tue Apr 29
LDU Quito 2-0 Estudiantes - LDU goals by Joffre Guerron & Damian Manso.
Lanus 0-1 Atlas - Atl goal by Bruno Marioni.
-Wed Apr 30
Atletico Nacional 1-2 Fluminense - AN goal by Francisco Arrue. Flum goals by Thiago Neves(PK) & Dario Conca.
Nacional 0-0 Sao Paulo
Boca Juniors 2-1 Cruzeiro - Boca goals by Juan Roman Riquelme & Jesus Datolo. Cruz goal by Fabricio.
America 2-4 Flamengo - Amer goals by Diego Cervantes & Enrique Esqueda. Flam goals by Marcinho(2), Diego Tardelli & Leo Moura.
San Lorenzo 2-1 River Plate - SL goals by Andres Silvera & Adrian Gonzalez. RP goal by Radamel Falcao Garcia.
-Thu May 1
Santos 2-0 Cucuta Deportivo - Sant goals by Lima & Mauricio Molina.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Second leg matches will be played next week.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England News

Someone else just named Cristiano Ronaldo as the English Player of the Year. I am sure there will be many more.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune says it won't be easy for Chelsea & Manchester United fans to travel to Moscow for the Champions League final.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

European News

Paul Doyle of the Guardian wonders if new Irish national team coach Giovanni Trapattoni will impart his charisma on his new team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

La Gazzetta has a Q & A with Inter & France midfielder Patrick Viera.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports begs Jose Mourinho to get back on the bench.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Cup

Semifinal 2nd Leg Matches & Scores (with first leg scores included):
-Thu May 1
Zenit 4-0 Bayern Munchen - Zenit advance 5-1 on aggregate. Zen goals by Pavel Pogrebnyak(2), Konstantin Zyrianov & Victor Fayzulin.
Fiorentina 0-0 Rangers - Rangers advance 4-2 on Penalty Kicks after 2 scoreless legs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Final in Manchester at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Match & Score:
-Wed May 14
Zenit v Rangers
-It's St Petersburg v Glasgow, two very overlooked cities.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Big Euro Club Matches This Week

Matches & Scores:
-Sun May 4
Milan v Inter - the Milano derby aka Derby della Madonnina, and Inter can claim the scudetto with a win!
Boca Juniors v River Plate - one of the biggest derby's in the world, and definitely in South America! A must watch match!
Sivasspor v Galatasaray - #3 v #1 in Turkey with only 3 points between them and 2 games left to play.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pitch Invasion calls Boca-River the "biggest game in the world".
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eredivisie Champions League Spot Playoffs

Semifinal 1st Leg Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 1
Heerenveen 1-2 Ajax
Twente 3-0 NAC Breda
CL Qualifier Semifinal 2nd Leg Matches & Scores (1st round scores included):
-Sat May 3
NAC Breda v Twente (0-3)
Ajax v Heerenveen (2-1)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Teams Still In The Chase For Titles In Europe's Biggest Leagues

Standings and games this weekend:
Premiership
*36 of 38 games played
81 Manchester United v West Ham on Saturday
81 Chelsea at Newcastle on Monday
77 Arsenal v Everton on Sunday

La Liga
*34 of 38 games played
75 Real Madrid at Osasuna on Sunday
65 Villareal v Getafe on Sunday

Serie A
*35 of 38 games played
81 Inter Milan v Milan on Sunday
75 Roma at Sampdoria on Sunday
70 Juventus at Siena on Sunday

Bundesliga
*30 of 34 games played
66 Bayern Munich at Wolfsburg on Sunday
54 Werder Bremen v Energie Cottbus on Saturday
54 Schalke v Hannover on Saturday

Ligue Un
*35 of 38 games played
72 Lyon at Nice on Saturday
68 Bordeaux at Marseille on Sunday
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2008 UEFA European Championship

FIFA.com does a Q & A with Turkey midfielder Halil Altintop about how his team will fare this summer. He says "We can beat anyone." I agree with him, but they also seem to lose really stupid games too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Cup

The Guardian on Dick Advocaat who used to coach Rangers and now coaches Zenit, as the 2 teams will meet in the UEFA Cup finals on May 14.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This Is The End

Buzz Bissinger is an angry, petty & completely out of touch buffoon. Look him up.

6 Comments:

Blogger Super Rookie said...

I think Buzz Bissinger just lost a ton of fans.

Seriously, who is going to read this assholes books now?

5:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I will allow that if anyone can do it, Juve can (cheat much?), but they would need 12 points out of 3 matches to win the Scudetto, so...

6:34 PM  
Blogger aw said...

So where is the tailgate?? I have been to see the Thunder once and James Griffin.. Let me know, if it isnt raining I'm coming out with the family.

2:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brucio wrote; "He also tracks down several former players. This really comes off as sour grapes."
----------

I still don't see why you thought it was "sour grapes."

2:20 AM  
Blogger pecochran said...

Thunder tailgate is on the South Side of the stadium. There's a parking lot that the thunder control right next to the high school, and then there's one to the West of that, a little further down the street. The tailgate takes place in the second parking lot. Hope to see you there. -Pat

1:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

THROBBING GRISTLE! YEAH! You're showing your age Bruce.

Kevvo

1:56 PM  

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