When It All Has Potential News

Do you realize it's less than 2 weeks until the USA playing their next World Cup Qualifier in Guatemala City - Wed Aug 20! Where will you be watching. Me? At the Sweetwater of course.

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From the Oregonian: "The funeral procession marking the end of the Portland Timbers-Seattle Sounders rivalry started early Thursday evening. Beginning next year, Seattle will have a Major League Soccer team. So almost a half-hour before kickoff, a coffin painted in Timbers green and white wound its way down the center of the Timbers Army fan group in the north end of PGE Park. When the coffin reached the bottom row, the lid opened. To the delight of fans, out popped a stuffed orca whale in blue and white Sounders colors."


USA Men's Olympic Team

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Thu Aug 7
Japan 0-1 USA - USA goal by Stuart Holden.
Attendance: 37,177
Venue: Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
-Sun Aug 10
Netherlands v USA - 6:45am central on USA Network
Attendance:
Venue: Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Match preview by Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet.
Pre-game analysis by Ives Galarcep at Soccernet.
-Wed Aug 13
Nigeria v USA - 4am central on USA Network
Attendance:
Venue: Workers Stadium, Beijing
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2 key players for Holland will not be in the lineup on Sunday: Midfielder Evander Sno got a Red Card in the first match against Nigeria, while forward Roy Makaay suffered a severly bruised ankle in the same match.
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Paul Kennedy of Soccer America with his thoughts on Maurice Edu playing as a centerback.
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Ridge Mahoney along with Kennedy at Soccer America give a recap of the USA win over Japan and ratings for the USA players.
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US Soccer has the audio from the USA v Japan post-game press conference.
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US Soccer with another episode of Studio 90 video show with a preview of the Netherlands match.
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The Mens team will take part in the opening ceremony on Friday night.
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Official team blog
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NBC Olympic soccer website
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Group Standings
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MLS Scoreboard
Only 4 games this weekend.
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Week 20
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Aug 9
Colorado v Toronto - 3pm central on FSC & FSE
Attendance:
Venue: Dicks Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City CO
New England v Chicago - 6:30pm central on HDNet
Attendance:
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough MA
Kansas City v Chivas USA - 7pm central on Direct Kick
Attendance:
Venue: Community America Ballpark, Kansas City KS
-Sun Aug 10
New York v DC - 4pm central on Direct Kick
Attendance:
Venue: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ
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Los Angeles, Houston, Salt Lake, Columbus, San Jose & Dallas have the weekend off. Why is that?
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League Standings
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MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

Patrick Nyarko may miss this game due to concussion symptoms.
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Luis Arroyave of the Tribune is on vacation right now so he has been having guests on his blog The Red Card. Here are the past few days:
-Leslie Osbourne - USA women's team, out with knee injury
-Jon Busch - Chicago Fire goalkeeper, robbed of All-Star game spot
-Sarah Kustok - Sideline reporter at Fire games for CSN.
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CD CHIVAS USA

Midfielder Francisco Mendoza is set to become the first CUSA player to reach 100 games for the team!
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Ante Razov may miss the game due to a knee sprain and Claudio Suarez will probably miss the game due to concussion symptoms.
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Paulo Nagamura is suspended due to Yellow Card accumulation, and coach Preki is serving the second game of his 2 game suspension for verbally abusing the referees.
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COLORADO RAPIDS

Brian Forbes of the Post looks ahead to the game against Toronto and feels that the Rapids need to attack attack attack.
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FC DALLAS

Forward Jeff Cunningham will give it a try for his 5th MLS team - Dallas has acquired the striker from Toronto for a 3rd round draft pick next year.
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Kyle McCarthy at Goal.com tells us why he thinks FCD signed the talented but troubled Cunningham. Just remember, it was only 2 weeks ago that Toronto coach John Carver wondered out loud how Cunningham had managed to scored 99 goals in the league.
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The Sports Network talks to the father/advisor for forward Kenny Cooper, about his future, and contract demands for MLS to keep his son.
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DC UNITED

Francis Doe will miss this weekends game due to a foot infection.
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Steven Goff of the Post says DCU makes it official in signing goalkeeper Louis Crayton of Liberia.
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John Haydon of the Times with an article on recently signed midfielder Joe Vide.
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New signing Ivan Guerrero is on the Honduras roster for their Aug 20 World Cup qualifier against Mexico at Azteca.
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KANSAS CITY WIZARDS

The US National Soccer Players Association has a Q & A with defender & captain Jimmy Conrad.
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NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

John Connolly of the Herald says the Revs are finally building a cup winning tradition.
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TORONTO FC

TFC has sent forward Jeff Cunningham to Dallas for a 3rd round draft pick next year.
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Midfielder Amado Guevara has received a 2 game suspension for smacking Dallas' Pablo Richetti in the face last weekend.
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Danny Dichio will probably miss another game with concussion symptoms and Laurent Robert may miss the game with a hamstring strain.
-The Toronto Sun with the latest on his condition.
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Guevara is also on the Honduras roster for their Aug 20 World Cup qualifier against Mexico at Azteca.
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MLS Rumor City - Don't Tease Me Bro!

The rumor wire says Freddie Ljungberg has offered his services (and injuries) to MLS teams, but the price is said to be way too high. So high in fact that Roma also turned down his price tag.
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SuperLiga

Shaka Hislop of the Guardian writes about the SuperLiga Final in his weekly column. And some other MLS news thrown in to boot.
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Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America talks to several people from MLS teams who feel SuperLiga is good and should have a future.
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US Open Cup

Something is very wrong that these two games are not on national television!
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Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 12
DC United v New England Revolution
Attendance:
Venue: RFK Stadium, Washington DC
Match preview via video interviews with DC coach & players from DC United blog Behind The Badge.
Charleston Battery v Seattle Sounders
Attendance:
Venue: Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston SC
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Steve Davis at MLSnet feels the Open Cup final will be fun with a First Division team guaranteed to make it.
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Here are the 4 possible scenarios for the Final:
-Wed Sep 3 - Seattle v DC - Qwest Field, Seattle WA - 10pm central
-Wed Sep 3 - DC v Charleston - RFK Stadium, Washington DC - 6:30pm central
-Mon Sep 15 - Seattle v New England - Qwest Field, Seattle WA - 9pm central
-Mon Sep 22 - Charleston v New England - Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston SC - 6pm central
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USL First Division News

Goal.com with an article on the end of the Northwest rivalry. For now.
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Minnesota Thunder

I'm tellin you man, it was not pretty at all, but our Thunder finally got a little luck and 3 points to boot. In the 2 previous games they went up 2-0 only to see them lose one 2-3 and draw the other 2-2. Last night they went up 1-0 when they played magnificently, moving the ball from side to side with great pace that tore the Charleston defense to shreds leaving Ricardo Sanchez wide open at the back post to hammer a shot home. The two teams played even for the next 30 minutes, until once again our team went into a hunker/bunker mode. But there were still 5 minutes to play in the FIRST half! From the opening whistle in the 2nd half Charleston charged toward the Thunder goal. Former Minnesota forward Darren Spicer twice hit the post and they finally got the equalizer. But our boys never gave up and charged back to gain a Penalty on a handball, which Alen Marcina finished in the 82nd minute to win the game. Charleston also proved very adept and throwing cheap shots behind the referees back. Nice. At least we got a little relief now. A home win over Seattle on Sunday is almost necessary to get us into serious play off contention. And if the playoffs started today the Thunder would claim that last spot. Let's hope.
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USL First Division Scoreboard

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Aug 7
Minnesota 2-1 Charleston Battery
Portland 0-1 Seattle
-Fri Aug 8
Carolina v Montreal
Atlanta v Miami
Puerto Rico v Rochester
-Sat Aug 9
Portland v Charleston
-Sun Aug 10
Rochester v Puerto Rico
Minnesota v Seattle
Vancouver v Atlanta
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USL First Division Standings

Standings (games played) (goal difference):
34 Charleston (21) (GD +9)
34 Vancouver (20) (GD +1)
33 Puerto Rico (19)
32 Seattle (22)
30 Atlanta (19)
28 Rochester (20)
24 Minnesota (21) (GD -4)
24 Portland (22) (GD -5)
23 Miami (21)
21 Carolina (21)
19 Montreal (18)
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The top 7 teams advance to the playoffs.
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USL PDL Championship

Final
Match & Score:
-Sat Aug 9
Laredo Heat v Thunder Bay Chill - 8pm central on Fox Soccer Channel
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The battle of these two nicknames makes it seem like 3rd graders are taking the field. But it is funny that it's Heat & Chill.
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Laredo are the defending champs.
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USA U20 News

Will play 2 friendlies next week against Guatemala in Sunrise FL - Tue Aug 12 & Thu Aug 14.
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Here is the team roster:
G:
Sean Duble - Miami FC
Brian Perk - UCLA
D:
Gale Agbossoumonde - IMG Academy
Anthony Arena - Crossfire Premier
Ike Opara - Wake Forest
Zarek Valentin - PA Classics
Anthony Wallace - FC Dallas
Sheanon Williams - North Carolina
M:
Daniel Cruz - UNLV
Gerson Mayen - Chivas USA
Alex Nimo - Real Salt Lake
Amobi Okugo - San Juan Lightning
F:
Carlos Alvarez - LAFC
Steven Cabas - Florida International
Felix Garcia - Laredo Heat
Abdus Ibrahim - Toronto FC
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Soccer In America

I have heard lots of reasons why Barcelona did not draw massive crowds in its two games in the USA this past week. All reasons given are wrong. There is only one reason whey they did not draw huge crowds - no more Ronaldinho. He was the team for most fans in this country, regardless of their racial heritage. And that is precisely why MLS should have dropped the big bucks and gotten him in here. Now let's see if they are at least smart enough to book Milan for next summer.
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I usually loathe the opinions of Gabriel Marcotti, who is Italian the same way Giuseppe Rossi is, and Irish the same way I am, but this article in The Times about the New England v Atlante brawl in SuperLiga is quite good. So thanks Gabriel, maybe you can turn me around after all.
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Americans In Europe

Goal.com has a Q & A with Watford defender Jay DeMerit.
-By the way, after having a falling out with his coach last season, DeMerit has been named Watford captain again.
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Greg Seltzer at Soccer 365 talks to Gregg Berhalter about the new season at 1860, Munich's other team.
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It looks like Jozy Altidore may be going on loan from Villarreal right away after all, as another Spanish team Valladolid told local press that they would not be taking him on loan because their roster is already settled. But that does strongly give the impression that Villa are shopping him around.
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OPENING WEEKEND:

English Championship
-Bobby Convey - Reading - Sun Aug 10 at Nottingham Forest
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - Sat Aug 9 at Crystal Palace
-Benny Feilhaber - Derby County - Sat Aug 9 v Doncaster - away at the Olympics
-Marcus Hahnemann - Reading - Sun Aug 10 at Nottingham Forest
-Eddie Lewis - Derby County - Sat Aug 9 v Doncaster
-Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - Sat Aug 9 v Burnley - out injured
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English League One
-Jemal Johnson - MK Dons - Sat Aug 9 at Leicester
-Zak Whitbread - Millwall - Sat Aug 9 at Oldham
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Scottish Premiership
-DaMarcus Beasley - Rangers - Sat Aug 9 at Falkirk - out injured
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French Ligue 1
-Freddy Adu - Monaco - Sat Aug 9 v Paris St Germain - away at the Olympics
-Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - Sat Aug 9 v Olympique Marseille
-Andrew Jacobsen - Lorient - Sat Aug 9 at Le Mans
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Dutch Erstedivisie
-Charles Kazlauskas - TOP Oss - Fri Aug 8 at Haarlem
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Olympic Soccer News

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune on the club v country tug of war over players and the Olympics.
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FIFA's Olympic News Site
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Olympic Soccer Scoreboard

Men's Olympic Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Thu Aug 7
Australia 1-1 Serbia
Argentina 2-1 Cote d'Ivoire
Japan 0-1 USA
Netherlands 0-0 Nigeria
Belgium 1-0 Brazil
China 1-1 New Zealand
Honduras 3-0 Italy
Cameroon 1-1 South Korea
-Sun Aug 10
Argentina v Australia
Cote d'Ivoire v Serbia
Japan v Nigeria
Netherlands v USA - 6:45am central on USA Network
Brazil v New Zealand
Belgium v China
Cameroon v Honduras
Italy v South Korea
-Wed Aug 13
Argentina v Serbia
Australia v Cote d'Ivoire
Nigeria v USA - 4am central on USA Network
Japan v Netherlands
Brazil v China
Belgium v New Zealand
Honduras v South Korea
Cameroon v Italy
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Men's Group Standings
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Women's Olympic Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 6
Argentina v Canada
China 2-1 Sweden
Germany 0-0 Brazil
N Korea 1-0 Nigeria
Japan 2-2 New Zealand
Norway 2-0 USA
-Sat Aug 9
Sweden v Argentina
Canada v China
Nigeria v Germany
Brazil v N Korea
USA v Japan
New Zealand v Norway
-Tue Aug 12
China v Argentina
Sweden v Canada
N Korea v Germany
Nigeria v Brazil
Norway v Japan
USA v New Zealand
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Women's Group Standings
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England News

The Premiership gets ready for their season by staging the Charity Shield this Sunday:
Match & Score
-Sun Aug 10
Manchester United v Portsmouth
Venue: Wembley Stadium
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The Guardian has their Premiership team-by-team season previews:
-Arsenal
-Aston Villa
-Blackburn
-Bolton
-Chelsea
-Everton
-Fulham
-Hull City
NEW-Liverpool
NEW-Manchester City
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The Guardian with their season preview of the Championship Division.
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The Independent with an article on the weird money behind Queens Park Rangers - Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone are the weirdos.
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European News

GERMANY

The German League Cup or DFB Pokal kicked off Thursday, with the top 64 teams in country playing this Round 1 games through Sunday. Here are all the matches.
-Koln won the only match last night and are the first to advance to round 2.
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ITALY

Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko has signed a contract extension with the team through the 2012/13 season.
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Milan have other huge injury woes beyond Kaka's knee - it's Alessandro Nesta's back. The scene is not good for him as he may need surgery too.
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SCOTLAND

I was reading a zillion websites today as I do every day and I noticed a link on one (I will never remember where) that said something like: "Celtic Are Big Favorites To Win SPL This Season." I just started laughing because that story never ever has to be written. Celtic are big favorites every year, even when Rangers are strong, and everyone on the planet knows that. Give me a break.
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SPAIN

We have heard for several years now that Jose Antonio Reyes is a talented player, but there must be something wrong because he is headed to his 4th team in 4 years as Atletico Madrid have loaned him out to Benfica. That would make it Arsenal, Real Madrid, Atletico and now Benfica in 4 seasons. Not the way it works for the great ones.
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UEFA Champions League

Third Qualifying Round - 1st leg matches Aug 12/13. 2nd leg matches Aug 26/27. Here are the matches.
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UEFA Cup

Second Qualifying Round 1st leg matches Aug 14. 2nd leg matches on Aug 28. Here are the matches.
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This Is The End

A picture of the Burger King without his mascot costume on. (stolen from the Cobrasnake)