Some News for Fri Jun 24, 2011

STARTERS

Happy Birthday Lionel Messi! He turned all of 24 today!

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Seattle Sounders v New York Red Bulls - last night - attendance: 46,065 - amazing. Seattle knows how to do it right.

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Inter Milan has named Gian Piero Gasperini as its new manager.
-He was fired last fall by Genoa.

THE FIFA SCANDAL STORY NEVER ENDS

The Trinidad Guardian reports that Jack Warner's resignation is the only thing that kept him from being found guilty by the FIFA ethics committee.
-“If Warner were to take part in football again, the case will be reopened immediately.”

The FIFA ethics committee investigation of Qatar's Mohamed Bin Hammam continues.

John Duerden of World Football Insider examines the mess developing in the Asian confederation over the replacement for Mohamed Bin Hammam, even though he is still officially in charge (but suspended.)

John Leicester of sees FIFA now going into its lowest of low points, and no end to the lies in sight. Via the Stamford Advocate.

TEAM USA

Gold Cup

The USA faces their #1 nemesis Mexico on Saturday night for the Copa Oro crown.

US Soccer gives us extensive pregame notes.

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The official team blog.

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Semifinal

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jun 25
USA v Mexico - 8pm CT on Fox Soccer

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USA Roster
G:
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton
Tim Howard - Everton
Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint-Etienne
Jonathan Bornstein - UANL Tigres
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Clarence Goodson - Brondby
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente
Tim Ream - New York Red Bulls
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
M:
Freddy Adu - Rizespor
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro
Michael Bradley - Aston Villa
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy
Maurice Edu - Rangers
Jermaine Jones - Blackburn
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht
Robbie Rogers - Columbus Crew
F:
Juan Agudelo - New York Red Bulls
Chris Wondolowski - San Jose Earthquakes

Out injured:
Benny Feilhaber
Jozy Altidore

CONCACAF GOLD CUP

Matches & Scores:
Final
-Sat Jun 25
USA v Mexico - 8pm CT

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All team rosters

2011 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

Start 2 days from now.

The USA is in Group C with Colombia, North Korea and Sweden, and play their first game 4 days from now.

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jun 28
USA v N Korea
-Sat Jul 2
USA v Colombia
-Wed Jul 6
USA v Sweden

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Roger Levesque of Seattle did a fantastic goal celebration last night as he sat on the advertisement boards, plugged his nose, and fell over the wall backwards like he was going scuba diving.
-He is still a punk for kicking Minnesota Thunder goalkeeper Joe Warren in the face all those years ago though.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

"The Russian Football Union was preparing to enact an anti-racism campaign memorandum."

The Associated Press reports on Russia's new plan to fight racism in soccer.

"Last year, Lokomotiv Moscow fans unfurled a banner showing a banana directed at the Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie, who went on to join West Bromwich Albion. Russian officials attempted to claim the banner reflected general discontent at the striker and was not a reference to his skin colour."

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 15

Matches & Scores
-Wed Jun 22
Philadelphia Union 0-0 Sporting Kansas City
Venue: PPL Park
Attendance: 18,127
Chicago Fire SC 0-0 Real Salt Lake
Venue: Toyota Park
Attendance: 14,972
-Thu Jun 23
Seattle Sounders FC 4-2 New York Red Bulls - SS goals by Eric Frieburg, Osvaldo Alonso & Roger Levesque(2). NYRB goals by Dane Richards & Zach Scott(OG).
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Attendance: 46,065
-Sat Jun 25
DC United v Houston Dynamo - 5:00PM CT on Galavision
Venue: RFK Stadium
San Jose Earthquakes v LA Galaxy - 5:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Philadelphia Union v CD Chivas USA - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: PPL Park
FC Dallas v Portland Timbers - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Pizza Hut Park
Sporting Kansas City v Vancouver Whitecaps FC - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Livestrong Sporting Park
Real Salt Lake v Toronto FC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
-Sun Jun 26
Chicago Fire SC v New York Red Bulls - 1:00PM CT on ESPN
Venue: Toyota Park
Seattle Sounders FC v New England Revolution - 3:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Qwest Field
Columbus Crew v Colorado Rapids - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium

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Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
23 New York Red Bulls (+6 GD) (16 GP)
23 Philadelphia Union (+4 GD) (15 GP)
21 Columbus Crew (0 GD) (15 GP)
18 Houston Dynamo (-1 GD) (16 GP)
17 DC United (-6 GD) (14 GP)
16 Chicago Fire SC (-3 GD) (16 GP)
15 New England Revolution (-7 GD) (16 GP)
15 Toronto FC (-11 GD) (17 GP)
14 Sporting Kansas City (-3 GD) (14 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
34 LA Galaxy (+10 GD) (18 GP)
28 FC Dallas (+3 GD) (16 GP)
28 Seattle Sounders FC (+6 GD) (18 GP)
23 Real Salt Lake (+7 GD) (14 GP)
22 Colorado Rapids (+1 GD) (16 GP)
19 San Jose Earthquakes (+3 GD) (14 GP)
18 Portland Timbers (-4 GD) (14 GP)
17 CD Chivas USA (0 GD) (15 GP)
14 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-5 GD) (16 GP)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

DC UNITED

CNN sits down for a video interview with Charlie Davies.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Benny Feilhaber has been moved on to the "probable" injury list meaning there is a good chance he will play this weekend.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sun Jul 3
DC United v Philadelphia Union
-Mon Jul 5
Chicago Fire SC v FC Dallas
LA Galaxy v Seattle Sounders FC
-Tue Jul 6
New York Red Bulls v Toronto FC

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Standings Etc.

MLS POINTS PER GAME STANDINGS

Since teams have played anywhere from 14 to 18 games the points earned standings don't tell the complete story, so one way to see where they truly stand is on a points per game basis.

1.89 LA Galaxy
1.75 FC Dallas
1.64 Real Salt Lake
1.56 Seattle Sounders FC
1.53 Philadelphia Union
1.44 New York Red Bulls
1.40 Columbus Crew
1.38 Colorado Rapids
1.36 San Jose Earthquakes
1.29 Portland Timbers
1.21 DC United
1.13 CD Chivas USA
1.13 Houston Dynamo
1.00 Chicago Fire SC
1.00 Sporting Kansas City
0.94 New England Revolution
0.88 Toronto FC
0.88 Vancouver Whitecaps FC

MLS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

The LA Galaxy has hired Mauricio Cienfuegos as the technical director of their youth academy.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jun 25
Atlanta Silverbacks v Carolina RailHawks
Fort Lauderdale Strikers v Puerto Rico Islanders
-Sun Jun 26
FC Edmonton v Montreal Impact

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Standings (as of Sun Jun 19):
31 Carolina RailHawks (+16 GD) (12 GP) 2.58 PPG
20 FC Edmonton (+2 GD) (12 GP) 1.67 PPG
18 NSC Minnesota Stars (+2 GD) (13 GP) 1.38 PPG
17 Puerto Rico Islanders (-1 GD) (11 GP) 1.55 PPG
15 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (+2 GD) (11 GP) 1.36 PPG
13 FC Tampa Bay (-6 GD) (12 GP) 1.08 PPG
9 Montreal Impact (-1 GD) (11 GP) 0.82 PPG
5 Atlanta Silverbacks (-14 GD) (12 GP) 0.42 PPG

USA U17 TEAM

U17 World Cup

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Match preview for USA v New Zealand on Saturday from US Soccer.

The official team blog.

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Matches & Scores
-Sun Jun 19
USA 3-0 Czech Republic - USA goals by Aljedanro Guido, Esteban Rodriquez & Alfredo Koroma.
-Wed Jun 22
USA 1-2 Uzbekistan - USA goal by Alfred Koroma, Uzb goals by Bobir Davlatov & Abbosbek Makhstaliev(PK).
-Sat Jun 25
USA v New Zealand - 6pm CT

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Standings
GROUP D
3 Czech Republic
3 New Zealand
3 USA
3 Uzbekistan

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USA roster
G:
Wade Hamilton - Arsenal FC
Kendall McIntosh - San Jose Earthquakes Academy
Fernando Pina - Houston Dynamo
D:
Kellyn Acosta - FC Dallas Academy
Joe Amon - South Carolina United
Zach Carroll - Vardar
Mobi Fehr - Tokyo Verdy 1969
Alessandro Mion - Kendall SC
Nathan Smith - Cal Odyssey
M:
Matt Dunn - FC Cologne
Alejandro Guido - Aztecs Premier
Nico Melo - Florida Rush
Marc Pelosi - De Anza Force
Esteban Rodriguez - Cosmos Academy West
Tarik Salkicic - Strictly Soccer
Dillon Serna - Colorado Rapids Academy
Andrew Souders - Crew Soccer Academy
F:
Paul Arriola - Arsenal FC
Alfred Koroma - Solar SC
Jack McBean - LA Galaxy
Mario Rodriguez - Central Aztecs

MEXICO 2011 - USA U17 WORLD CUP

June 18 to July 10.

All 6 groups have now played 2 of their 3 rounds.

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Advanced: Uruguay and Mexico
Eliminated: Jamaica and Rwanda

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Official website

All games are shown on ESPN3.com, and some are shown on TV channel ESPNU.

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Group Stage

Matches & Scores
-Sat Jun 18
Congo 1-0 Netherlands
France 3-0 Argentina
Mexico 3-1 N Korea
Japan 1-0 Jamaica
-Sun Jun 19
Rwanda 0-2 England
Uzbekistan 1-4 New Zealand
Uruguay 3-0 Canada
USA 3-0 Czech Republic
-Mon Jun 20
Germany 6-1 Ecuador
Brazil 3-0 Denmark
Burkina Faso 0-1 Panama
Australia 2-1 Cote d'Ivoire
-Tue Jun 21
N Korea 1-1 Netherlands
Japan 1-1 France
Mexico 2-1 Congo
Jamaica 1-2 Argentina
-Wed Jun 22
Uruguay 1-0 Rwanda
USA 1-2 Uzbekistan
Canada 2-2 England
Czech Republic 1-0 New Zealand
-Thu Jun 23
Burkina Faso 0-3 Germany
Australia 0-1 Brazil
Panama 1-2 Ecuador
Cote d'Ivoire 4-2 Denmark
-Fri Jun 24
Japan v Argentina
Jamaica v France
N Korea v Congo
Mexico v Netherlands
-Sat Jun 25
Uruguay v England
Canada v Rwanda
USA v New Zealand
Czech Republic v Uzbekistan
-Sun Jun 26
Burkina Faso v Ecuador
Panama v Germany
Cote d'Ivoire v Brazil
Australia v Denmark

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Standings
GROUP A
ADV-6 Mexico
3 Congo
1 Netherlands
1 N Korea
GROUP B
4 France
4 Japan
3 Argentina
OUT-0 Jamaica
GROUP C
ADV-6 Uruguay
4 England
1 Canada
OUT-0 Rwanda
GROUP D
3 Czech Republic
3 New Zealand
3 USA
3 Uzbekistan
GROUP E
6 Germany
3 Ecuador
3 Panama
0 Burkina Faso
GROUP F
6 Brazil
3 Australia
3 Cote d'Ivoire
0 Denmark

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Coming Up:

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Joe Bendik - Sogndal - Sun Jun 26 v Fredrikstad
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - Sun Jun 26 at Tromso
Sean Cunningham - Molde - Sun Jun 26 at Odd Grenland
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - Sun Jun 26 at Tromso
Josh Gatt - Molde - Sun Jun 26 at Odd Grenland

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Rhett Bernstein - Mjondalen - Sun Jun 26 at Bodo/Glimt
Colin Burns - Sandefjord - Sun Jun 26 at Ranheim
Steve Clark - Honefoss - Sun Jun 26 v Hodd
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - Sun Jun 26 at Bodo/Glimt
Kenneth Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - Sun Jun 26 v Hodd

RUSSIA - Premier Division
Yevgeni Starikov - Tom' Tomsk - Sun Jun 26 v Volga

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgarden - Sun Jun 26 v Hacken
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - Mon Jun 27 v Helsingborg
Samuel Petrone - Mjallby - Sun Jun 26 v Orebro

SWEDEN - Superettan
Brian Edwards - Degerfors - Sat Jun 25 v Brage
Nick Noble - Ljungskile - Mon Jun 27 v Brommapojkarna
Matt Pyzdrowski - Angelhom - Mon Jun 27 at Hammarby
Michael Thomas - Ljungskile - Mon Jun 27 v Brommapojkarna

CONMEBOL

The countries have been playing warm up friendlies in prep for the Copa America which begins Jul 1.

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Jun 23
Uruguay 3-0 Estonia
Paraguay 0-0 Chile
-Sat Jun 25
Colombia v Senegal
-Tue Jun 28
Peru v Senegal

ARGENTINA

River Plate is in a relegation playoff series.

Matches & Scores
2nd Leg
-Sat Jun 25
River Plate v Belgrano (0-2)

ENDERS

RIP Costa Rica's 25 year old defender Dennis Marshall died along with his wife in a car accident in Costa Rica. He had played for the past two season with Aalborg in Denmark.

Here is a picture of Marshall battling Conor Casey on that memorable October night in 2009 at RFK Stadium: