Some News for Fri Feb 12, 2010

STARTERS

Greg Seltzer of No Short Corners tells us that Jermaine Jones may have been spotted running?!?!?! Now that would be cause for a small preliminary Hooray Beer.
-Plus other Team USA injury updates.

dN

Quiz Time: Without looking it up, what does the AC stand for in AC Milan? No cheating.

BIG CLUB MATCHES THIS WEEKEND

-Sat Feb 13
Benfica v Belenenses - the smaller Lisbon derby
-Sun Feb 14
America v Cruz Azul - a lesser DF derby

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Jose Romero of the Seattle Times bids us all a fond farewell. He is moving on to a new job, but he leaves us with a great final column. Best of dude.

WHY?

Mark E Smith reads the scores. Those of you in the know may have already seen this, but I still laugh out loud every time. For those not in the know, Smith is the curmudgeonly singer of English rock band The Fall. And yes he sings with that same voice. (Thanks to TVV for the reminder)

MLS NEWS

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America looks at New England's search for a goal scorer.

dN

Keith Kerith Gabriel of Philly News and Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer both look ahead to the first time the Union lines up to play a game - Saturday v UNC. [Thanks to Dave for the name correction]

dN

Philly Soccer News talks to Union keeper Brad Knighton about his apprenticeship at New England.

dN

CSN Philly with an article on the Union's two Brazilians. Fred is one, can you name the other? He is a league veteran.

dN

Noah Davis of Goal.com does a lighthearted Q & A with KC centerback and league wit Jimmy Conrad.
-And Jimmy is not the only one who likes The Life Aquatic. It's my favorite Wes Anderson film too.

dN

The Kansas City Star on the Wizards new white haired keeper Jimmy Nielsen.
-"Hartman no longer figures in the team’s plans." wow!

dN

The Salt Lake Tribune on RSL's start to another preseason with training in Park City.

dN

New York has cut loose goalkeeper Danny Cepero - he of one of the most improbable goals in MLS history, and lead his team to a shocking place in the MLS Cup final in 2008.

dN

Keith Costigan of Fox Soccer does a Q & A with DC coach Curt Onalfo.

MLS PRESEASON STUFF

Seattle is off to Spain for the La Manga tournament. Many MLS teams have taken part in this over the years, testing themselves against other teams that play a summer schedule due to a real winter.

MLS/SUM BUSINESS

Brian Strauss of Fanhouse warns people who think MLS should take all the reins off and let their teams spend for the stars - be careful what you wish for. I could not agree more.

MLS RUMORS

Soccer 365 on Raul, Henry, Ze Roberto, Reinaldo Navia, Josh Tudela & many others.

MLS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

The current deal expired on Jan 31, 2010, but the two sides agreed to originally extend it until Feb 12, and now a further 13 days to Feb 25. Negotiations are said to be going well.

MLS STADIUM BUILDING

Lots of new pictures of PPL Park in Chester PA (taken before the giant snow obviously). Very exciting!
-Here's an example:














NSC MINNESOTA STARS

The Stars introduced their first player today, and it is none other than former Thunder great Johnny Menyonger. JM had left Minnesota a few years back for a bigger payday with Rochester Rhinos. Last year he was having one of his best seasons until a knee injury ended that run. Now the big question is, has he healed yet? Here is the official press release.
-Why does the picture look like they are holding up one his old Thunder jerseys?

TEAM USA

Official Team Blog

dN

The blog has a Q & A with Brian Ching.

dN

Zach Thornton goes down to illness, so out of work Kevin Hartman comes in to fill out the training roster.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Ives Galarcep at Fox Soccer on Landon Donovan's English excursion.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach - went the full 90 and beat Nurnberg 2-1 at home.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Luis Bueno of Sports Illustrated talks to Herculez Gomez about his new life at Puebla in Mexico.

dN

PRIMERA DIVISION
Edgar Castillo - UANL Tigres - Next: Sun Feb 14 at Monterrey
Herculez Gomez - Pueblo - Next: Sun Feb 14 v Pachuca
Sammy Ochoa - Estudiantes Tecos - Next: Sun Feb 14 at UNAM Pumas
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca - Next: Sun Feb 14 at Puebla
Marco Vidal - Indios Juarez - Next: Sat Feb 13 at San Luis

AMERICANS IN SOUTH AMERICA

Yanks Abroad with an article on a young Californian who burst on the scene in Argentina this fall - Michael Hoyos.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The competition resumes with the 1st Leg of the knock out rounds!

A variation to the format this year sees the legs spread out over 4 days instead of 2, giving more TV space for the teams.

Matches & Scores - Round of 16 - 1st Leg:
-Tue Feb 16
Olympique Lyonnais v Real Madrid Club de Futbol
Associazione Calcio Milan v Manchester United Football Club
-Wed Feb 17
Futebol Clube do Porto v Arsenal Football Club
Fussball-Club Bayern Munchen v Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola
-Tue Feb 23
Verein fur Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V v Futbol Club Barcelona
Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus v Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux
-Wed Feb 24
Football Club Internazionale Milano Societa per Azioni v Chelsea Football Club
Central Sports Army Club Moscow v Sevilla Futbol Club Sociedad Anonima Deportiva

ENGLAND

Matt Scott of the Guardian talks to Sven Gali Erickson who says he was conned by potential money men behind Notts County, and now the dream (of easy money?) is over.
-Do you think Sveny Sveny Sven Sven has ever taken responsibility for anything in his life, or is it always someone else?
-And get this, he thought he and owners were going to work with the North Korea World Cup team. Who does this kinda stuff and thinks its real?

dN

Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs will be out of action for four weeks after fracturing his right arm

dN

FA CUP - Round of 16
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Feb 13
Chelsea v Cardiff City
Southampton v Portsmouth
Derby County v Birmingham City
Reading v West Bromwich Albion
Manchester City v Stoke City
-Sun Feb 14
Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
Fulham v Notts County
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa

SPAIN

Top La Liga Team Standings (21 games played)
55 Barcelona - Next: Sun Feb 14 at Atletico Madrid
50 Real Madrid - Next: Sat Feb 13 at Xerez
42 Valencia - Next: Sat Feb 13 at Sporting Gijon
37 Mallorca - Next: Mon Feb 15 at Tenerife
- - - - -
36 Sevilla - Next: Sun Feb 14 v Osasuna
35 Deportivo La Coruna - Next: Sun Feb 14 at Espanyol

FRANCE

Top Ligue 1 Team Standings (23 games played)
48 Bordeaux - Next: Sun Feb 14 v St Etienne
45 Montpellier - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Grenoble
41 Lille - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Bolougne
- - - - -
40 Lyon - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Lens
- - - - -
39 Marseille (22 games played) - Next: Sat Feb 13 at Monaca
39 Monaco - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Marseille
39 Auxerre - Next: Sun Feb 14 v Rennes

GERMANY

Top Bundesliga Team Standings (20 games played)
45 Bayer Leverkusen - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Wolfsburg
45 Bayern Munich - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Dortmund
42 Schalke - Next: Sun Feb 14 v Koln
- - - - -
36 Hamburg - Next: Sat Feb 13 at Stuttgart
36 Dortmund - Next: Sat Feb 13 at Bayern Munich

ITALY

Top Serie A Team Standings (23 games played)
53 Inter - Next: Sun Feb 14 at Napoli
45 Milan - Next: Fri Feb 12 w 3-2 Udinese
44 Roma - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Palermo
38 Napoli - Next: Sun Feb 14 v Inter
- - - - -
37 Palermo - Next: Sat Feb 13 at Roma
36 Sampdoria - Next: Sat Feb 13 v Fiorentina

BRAZIL

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune writes about the pleasant return to Brazil for Robinho and Roberto Carlos.

COPA LIBERTADORES

We are in the Group Stage, which runs through to Apr 22.

dN

GROUP STAGE - February Matches & Scores:
-Tue Feb 9
Nacional 0-2 Once Caldas OC goals by Jaime Castrillon & Danny Santoya.
Lanus 0-2 Libertad - Lib goals by Rodolfo Gamarra & Pablo Velazquez.
Cerro 2-0 Quito - Cer goals by Claudio Dadomo & Rodrigo Mora.
-Wed Feb 10
Sao Paulo 2-0 Monterrey - SP goals both by Washington.
Bolivar 1-3 Alianza - Bol goal by Alex Da Rosa(PK). Ali goals by Jose Fernandez(2) & Johnnier Montano.
Banfield 2-1 Morelia - Ban goals by James Rodriguez & Roberto Battion. Mor goal by Luis Rey.
Velez Sarsfield 2-0 Cruzeiro - VS goals by Santiago Silva & Juan Manuel Martinez.
-Thu Feb 11
Estudiantes 5-1 Juan Aurich - Est goals by Mauro Boselli(3 - 1 via PK), German Re & Leandro Gonzalez. JA goal by Luis Tejada.
Cerro Porteno 1-1 Independiente - CP goal by Cesar Ramirez Caejes. Ind goal by Felipe Pardo.
Blooming 1-2 Universitario - Blo goal by Alejandro Gomez. Uni goals by Carlos Augusto Orejuela & Rodolfo Espinoza.
Nacional 3-2 Cuenca - Nac goals by Mario Requeiro Pintos(2) & Angel Morales(PK). Cue goals by Jose Granda Vicuna & Luis Escalada.
-Tue Feb 16
Libertad v Blooming
Colo Colo v Italia
-Wed Feb 17
Universitario v Lanus
Cuenca v Banfield
-Thu Feb 18
Alianza v Estudiantes
Universidad v Caracas
-Tue Feb 23
Morelia v Nacional
Internacional v Emelec
Italia v Velez Sarsfield
-Wed Feb 24
Corinthians v Racing Club
Monterrey v Nacional
Juan Aurich v Bolivar
Cruzeiro v Colo Colo
Flamengo v Universidad Catolica
-Thu Feb 25
Once Caldas v Sao Paulo
Blooming v Lanus
Universitario v Libertad

dN

Standings:

Grupo 1
1 Cerro Porteno (Paraguay)
1 Independiente Medellin (Colombia)
Corinthians (Brazil)
Racing Club (Uruguay)

Grupo 2
3 Once Caldas (Colombia)
3 Sao Paulo (Brazil)
0 Nacional (Paraguay)
0 Monterrey (Mexico)

Grupo 3
3 Alianza Lima (Peru)
3 Estudiantes de la Plata (Argentina)
0 Bolivar (Bolivia)
0 Juan Aurich (Peru)

Grupo 4
3 Libertad (Paraguay)
3 Universitario (Peru)
0 Lanus (Argentina)
0 Blooming (Bolivia)

Grupo 5
3 Cerro (Uruguay)
0 Deportivo Quito (Ecudador)
Internacional (Brazil)
Emelec (Ecuador)

Grupo 6
3 Banfield (Argentina)
3 Club Nacional (Uruguay)
0 Morelia (Mexico)
0 Deportivo Cuenca (Ecudador)

Grupo 7
3 Velez Sarsfield (Argentina)
0 Cruzeiro (Brazil)
Colo Colo (Chile)
Deportivo Italia (Venezuela)

Grupo 8
Universidad de Chile (Chile)
Caracas FC (Venezuela)
Flamengo (Brazil)
Universidad Catolica (Chile)

PODCASTS/VIDEOCASTS

You love him and you hate him - EPL Talk does an audio interview with Tommy Smyth, that's "Tommy Smith with a Y". Download or listen here.

ENDERS

You need to go check out Chris Toy's football comic strip Studs Up.