Some News for Fri Aug 28, 2009

STARTERS

Soccer By Ives Twitters: "Michael Bradley is suspended for today's Moenchengladbach's match after his reaction to being pulled at halftime last week."
-Is Michael Bradley a total psycho just waiting to explode or what? He seems to be getting worse.

USL SECOND DIVISION

FINAL
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Aug 29
Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Eagles - 10pm Central on FSC

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

-Sat Aug 29
Manchester United v Arsenal - 11:15am Central on FSC
Milan v Inter - 1:30pm Central on FSC
-Sun Aug 30
Roma v Juventus - 11am Central on FSC

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site, and video highlights from all the games.

dN

Group Stage - Matchday 2
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 25
Pachuca 5-0 Isidro Metapan
Saprissa 3-1 Puerto Rico Islanders
-Wed Aug 26
DC United 1-3 Toluca - DCU goal by Chris Pontius. Tol goals by Vladimir Marin & Hector Mancilla(2).
Cruz Azul 5-0 Columbus Crew - CA goals by Jaime Lozano(2), Ramon Nunez and Chad Marshall(2 OGs).
Arabe Unido 1-1 Houston Dynamo - AU goal by Orlando Rodriguez. HD goal by Kei Kamara.
Marathon 3-1 San Juan Jabloteh - Mar goals by Mario Berrios, Mauricio Sabillon & Walter Martinez. SJJ goal by Noel Williams(PK).
-Thu Aug 27
W Connection 1-2 Communicaciones - WC goal by Clyde Leon. Comm goals by Transito Montepeque & Rolando Fonseca(PK).
Real Espana 1-5 UNAM Pumas - RE goal by Douglas Mattoso. UNAM goals by Dante Lopez(3), Pablo Barrera & Jehu Chiapas.

MLS

Official Web Site

dN

Week 24
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Real Salt Lake 4-0 Chivas USA - RSL goals by Pablo Campos, Fabian Espindola & Robbie Findley(2).
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
Attendance: 14,747
-Sat Aug 29
Seattle Sounders FC v Toronto FC - 3pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
New England Revolution v San Jose Earthquakes - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Chicago Fire v DC United - 7:30pm Central on FSC & FSE
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Kansas City Wizards v Real Salt Lake - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Community America Ballpark - Kansas City KS
Los Angeles Galaxy v Chivas USA - 10pm Central on ESPN2 & ESPN Deportes
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
-Sun Aug 30
Colorado Rapids v Houston Dynamo - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City CO
New York Red Bulls v Columbus Crew - 5pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford NJ

dN

Kartik Krishnaiyer of Major League Soccer Talk has a new podcast this week featuring an interview with Kansas City Wizards Technical Director and interim Head Coach Peter Vermes. Does he answer the question of why coach Curt Onalfo was fired? Download or listen here.

dN

Brian Lewis of the NY Post says Red Bulls coach Richie Williams is demanding accountability from his players. I guess this is a new concept for this team.
-And several other team notes of note.

MLS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

These are the players I think are the top candidates for a very overrated post season award.

Top Rung:
1. Chris Pontius
2. Omar Gonzalez
3. Darrius Barnes
4. AJ DeLaGarza
- - - -
Next Batch:
5. Steve Zakuani
6. Sam Cronin
7. Kevin Alston
8. Rodney Wallace
9. Stefan Frei
- - - -
Outside Chance:
10. Jeremy Hall
11. Pablo Campos

MLS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

These are the players (listed alphabetically) that I think are the top candidates for a pretty decent post season award, as awards go.

Osvaldo Alonso
Gregg Berhalter
Eric Brunner
David Ferreira
Cornell Glen
Andrew Hainault
Santiago Hirsig
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
Dejan Jakovic
Kasey Keller
Eduardo Lillingston
Freddie Ljungberg
Fredy Montero
Emmanuel Osei
Alfredo Pacheco
Mariano Trujillo
Pablo Vitti

MLS EXHIBITIONS

Just announced:

The ChivaClasico
-Wed Sep 23
Chivas USA v Guadalajara Chivas
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium - Pasadena CA

US OPEN CUP

The Final is next Wednesday.

USL FIRST DIVISION

Official Web Site

dN

My Minnesota Thunder got a badly needed win last night 3-0 over toothless Cleveland. (Although slagging Cleveland while being a Minnesota fan is about as classy as making out with your neighbors dog - They have 3 wins on the season, and 2 of them are against us!). This leaves Minnesota 9 points out of the last playoff spot with 6 games to go. Odds are very poor, but it's not over yet.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Aug 27
Minnesota Thunder 3-0 Cleveland City Stars
-Fri Aug 28
Charleston Battery v Portland Timbers
-Sat Aug 29
Puerto Rico Islanders v Minnesota Thunder
Austin Aztex v Miami FC Blues
Vancouver Whitecaps v Rochester Rhinos
-Sun Aug 30
Montreal Impact v Carolina RailHawks

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Twitter from Vincenzo Bernardo: "Probably not going on loan either guys. I'll know the final update by monday."

dN

Fulham, without Clint Dempsey or Eddie Johnson playing, and Tim Howard & Everton advanced to the Group Stage of the Europa League.

While Mikkel Diskerud & Stabaek, Brad Guzan and Brad Friedel (on the bench) & Aston Villa, and Ryan Guy & St Patrick's Athletic were eliminated from the same tournament.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

EUROPA LEAGUE - Playoff Round 2nd Leg
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - played the full 90 but lost 4-1 at Valencia, and was eliminated 7-1 on aggregate.
Ryan Guy - St Patrick's Athletic - went all 90 but lost 1-2 at home against Steaua Bucuresti, and were eliminated 5-1 on aggregate.
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - went the distance in goal winning 2-1 at home over Rapid Vienna, but were eliminated on the away goals tied breaker after the series ended tied 2-2 on aggregate.
Tim Howard - Everton - played the whole match drawing 1-1 at Sigma Olomouc, and advancing on a 5-1 aggregate score.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Official Web Site

UEFA SUPER CUP

The winners of last seasons UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup face off.

Match & Score:
-Fri Aug 28
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk - at Stade Louis II in Monaco