Some Soccer News for Wed May 9, 2012

STARTERS

Jonthan Spector was subbed out in the 44th min by Birmingham today due to a thigh injury and they promptly gave up goals in the 45th and 48th min to be eliminated from the English Championship division promotion playoffs.

dN

Despite his 3 game suspension being over, Rafa Marquez will not be in the New York game day 18 tonight due to an ankle injury.

dN

Sky Sports tells us why American Bill Miller pulled his bid to buy Glasgow Rangers this week - one reason beyond the insane amount of money it was going to take was that apparently hundreds of so called Rangers fans were sending him hate mail and telling him they did not want a foreign owner. Geniuses obviously. I am not gonna say he was the right owner because I don't know the case, but I do know there is a little thing called civility.
-Just in case Bill Miller reads this, I want him to know that we have a great team here in the Twin Cities that needs an owner and the supporters are really cool people. Plus there is almost no debt to assume! Nowhere to go with this team but UP UP UP!

dN

Atletico Madrid won the Europa League championship today beating fellow Spanish team Athletic Bilbao 3-0.

MINNESOTA STARS FC

Match & Score:
-Sat May 12
Minnesota Stars FC v Carolina RailHawks - 7:30PM CT
Venue: NSC Stadium

The AZ Kicks It podcast has an interview with Stars great left fullback Justin Davis, who is an Arizona native. Download or listen here.

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

du Nord at the Controls - Tue May 8, 2012 - new music mix at Spotify.

STORY OF THE DAY

After all that hype from Fox Soccer we now learn that 3 of those "Survival Sunday" games from the final weekend of the English Premier League season are NOT being shown on TV - they will be on internet streaming only. So 7 of 10 will be shown. Still pretty cool, but not nearly as cool as all 10. Not even close.
-Here is that sched for Sun May 13 (click to enlarge):

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

If you are wondering why there are no details yet for viewing the USA World Cup qualifier next month from Guatemala its because the The TV rights are owned by the same lovely folks that brought us the Closed-Circuit Pay-Per-View game from Honduras in 2009. MediaPro. Oh great.

dN

Jonathan Spector suffered a thigh injury today in a Birmingham game, which could see his named crossed off the upcoming roster list if its bad enough.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 26
USA v Scotland - Friendly - 7:00pm CT on NBC Sports Network
Venue: EverBank Field, Jacksonville FL
-Wed May 30
4 USA v Brazil - Friendly - 7:00pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: FedEx Field, Landover MD
-Sun Jun 3
Canada v USA - Friendly - 6:00pm CT on NBC Sports Network
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
-Fri Jun 8
USA v Antigua & Barbuda - World Cup Qualifying - 6:00pm CT v Antigua & Barbuda on ESPN
Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa FL
-Tue Jun 12
Guatemala v USA - World Cup Qualifying - all other details TBA
Venue: TBA

BUMMER OF THE DAY

Philadelphia allowed goalkeeper Zac MacMath to stay in the game last weekend after getting kneed in the head, and is now out for an indefinite period of time due to the concussion he suffered. Was he misdiagnosed initially?

DO YOU REALIZE

Montreal has won 2 games in a row, the second on the road at first place Kansas City, and face a struggling LA Galaxy team on that questionable field at their temporary home Olympic Park Stadium. Three wins in a row is not out of the question.
-And in case you did not notice the Impact is sitting in that 5th and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Huge for an expansion team!

What are the odds of ALL 10 Americans playing in the Norway NM Cupen this week having their games on the road? Weird.

OOF

The AP reports that a new wave of match-fixing allegations is sweeping the Italy's second division - Serie B. A very bad scene.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

The Offside Rules shows us the route to a short documentary on New York and USA forward Juan Agudelo, made by Kellogg, the cereal company.

Supposedly Frosted Flakes is a good healthy breakfast.

MLS MATCHES & SCORES

WEEK 10

-Wed May 9
New York Red Bulls v Houston Dynamo - 6:00PM CT
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Chicago Fire SC v Real Salt Lake - 7:30PM CT
Venue: Toyota Park
FC Dallas v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:30PM CT
Venue: FC Dallas Stadium
-Sat May 12
Montreal Impact v LA Galaxy - 3:00PM CT
Venue: Olympic Stadium
Houston Dynamo v DC United - 3:30PM CT on NBCSN
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium
New England Revolution v Vancouver Whitecaps FC - 6:30PM CT
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Columbus Crew v FC Dallas - 6:30PM CT
Venue: Crew Stadium
Chicago Fire SC v Sporting Kansas City - 7:30PM CT
Venue: Toyota Park
Seattle Sounders FC v Real Salt Lake - 9:00PM CT
Venue: CenturyLink Field
-Sun May 13
Philadelphia Union v New York Red Bulls - 11:30AM CT on ESPN2
Venue: PPL Park
San Jose Earthquakes v CD Chivas USA - 6:00PM CT on Galavision
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium

Bye: Toronto FC and Portland Timbers

MLS STANDINGS

EAST
21 Sporting Kansas City (+7)
18 DC United (+5)
16 New York Red Bulls (+5)
11 Chicago Fire SC (0)
11 Montreal Impact (-4)
-----
9 New England Revolution (-4)
8 Houston Dynamo (-1)
8 Columbus Crew (-4)
7 Philadelphia Union (-4)
0 Toronto FC (-12)
WEST
22 San Jose Earthquakes (+10)
22 Real Salt Lake (+6)
19 Seattle Sounders FC (+8)
17 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (+2)
15 Colorado Rapids (+3)
-----
12 FC Dallas (-5)
10 LA Galaxy (-3)
9 CD Chivas USA (-6)
8 Portland Timbers (-4)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

Punishment

In a first in this new era of retroactive punishment, the red card given out to new England's Fernando Cardenas has been rescinded after it was judged to have been incorrectly given in the first place.
-Was it really? Just cuz he didn't take the guys leg off doesn't mean it wasn't a reckless red card worthy foul.
-Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com describes the Cardenas situation, and the official process for appeal that New England used to get the card changed.

Seattle fullback Leo Gonzalez got a retroactive 1 game suspension for a stomp on the ankle of Philly's Sheanon Williams. It looked deliberate too, so in a way Gonzalez should consider himself lucky that it wasn't more games than that. Frankly it should have been. Bad fouls are one thing, but deliberate are on another level.

Player Transactions

Columbus has signed defensive midfielder Chris Birchall who was a free agent after spending the last 3 seasons with the LA Galaxy.

CHICAGO FIRE

Jack McCarthy of the Tribune previews tonight's home game against Salt Lake.

Seth Gruen of the Sun Times previews too.

COLORADO RAPIDS

Two injuries to report this week:
-Marvell Wynne has a hamstring strain and will be out four weeks.
-Omar Cummings has a sprained left ankle and will also be out four weeks.

COLUMBUS CREW

Chad Marshall is sadly going to be out again with a concussion. This time he got hit in the head with a ball during practice.
-Adam Jardy of the Dispatch with more on Marshall's history with this injury.

Jardy also writes about the signing of Birchall.

FC DALLAS

Ugo Ihemelu is out due to a concussion.

Todd Date of 3rd Degree previews the game against Seattle.
-Q & A with head coach Schellas Hyndman on this game.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Colin Clark returns tonight after his long suspension after his ugly homophobic slur. Welcome back.

Jose Ortiz of the Chronicle writes that the team is focused on tonight's game in New York, not Saturday's stadium opener.

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America points out that while having this new home stadium will be great, the Dynamo has back loaded their schedule to avoid a long road trip to open the season, and will therefore play more frequently then everyone else for the rest of the season. Is this a benefit?

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Kristian Dyer of Big Apple Soccer previews the Bulls starting 11 - several returning from injury and suspension.

Dyer also looks at the growing contributions of Dax McCarty.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Tonight - Friendly Match & Score:
-Wed May 9
Philadelphia Union v Schalke 04(Germany)

REAL SALT LAKE

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando is out this week with a shoulder strain.
-Michael C Lewis of the Tribune reports that backup keeper Kyle Renish is ready to step in.

James Edward of the Deseret says the team is ready for the road.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Joshua Mayers of the Times with a game preview for tonight in Dallas.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Tue May 8
LA Galaxy 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes - LAG goal by Marcelo Sarvas(PK). SJE goal by Sercan Guvenisik(PK).

Standings

MLS SUMMER FRIENDLIES

Here is the complete schedule of all the big club matches going on this summer pitting MLS teams against European teams.

MLS STADIUMS

With the new stadium for the Houston Dynamo about to open on Saturday there is a ton of coverage from the Houston Chronicle to check out:
-New Dynamo stadium opener among hottest ticket in recent Houston sports
-Luck instrumental in Dynamo's stadium project
-If you build it, they will come … and come back
-Photos: Dynamo practice at new stadium
-Timeline of events leading to opening of new stadium
-New or refurbished stadiums help league send message that sport is on rise in U.S.
-Here's the pitch on the new venue
-Cameron rips old stadium, lauds the Dynamo’s hot new home
-The long road home makes stadium opening all the sweeter for Ching, Davis
-Dynamo, fans get a feel for new stadium
-Dynamo's seat selections will have fans sitting pretty

The only thing that really bothers me about this new stadium is that the roof does not cover ALL of the seats. That is disappointing.

dN

The upgrade to the stadium in Montreal is getting a roof over all the seating areas.
-You can see the work being done on Saputo Stadium right now, via the webcam.

USA U17 TEAM

Travis Clark of Top Drawer looks at the summer ahead for the U17s.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Brian Straus of Sporting News talks to Sacha Kljestan about his championship season in Belgium.
-The website of Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht has video of the post game championship celebrations!

dN

Missouri Sports Magazine does an interview with St Louis native Tim Ream.

dN

Game Action:

ENGLAND - Championship Division - Promotion Playoffs - Semifinals - 2nd Leg
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Wed May 9 - started and went 55 min as they tied 2-2 v Blackpool - eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.

FINLAND - Suomen Cup - Quarterfinals
Etchu Tabe - KuPS - Wed May 9 - won 3-0 v Mariehamn.
Aaron Wheeler - KooTeePee - Wed May 9 - lost 3-0 at HJK.

dN

Coming Up:

NORWAY - NM Cupen - Round of 64
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - Wed May 9 at Fana
Rhett Bernstein - Mjondalen - Thu May 10 at KFUM
Colin Burns - Sandefjord - Wed May 9 at Pors Grenland
Ricardo Clark - Stabaek - Wed May 9 at Fana
Steve Clark - Honefoss - Wed May 9 at Nybergsund
Sean Cunningham - Stabaek - Wed May 9 at Fana
Josh Gatt - Molde - Wed May 9 at Verdal
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - Thu May 10 at KFUM
Kenneth Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - Wed May 9 at Nybergsund
Sebastian Troupe - Baerum - Wed May 9 at Asker

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Coming Up:


La Liguilla - Semifinals
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - 1st Leg - Thu May 10 at Tigres

MEXICO

Clausura - La Liguilla

Matches & Scores:
Semifinals

1st Leg
-Wed May 9
America v Monterrey
-Thu May 10
Tigres v Santos Laguna
2nd Leg
-Sat May 12
Monterrey v America
-Sun May 13
Santos Laguna v Tigres

If the teams are tied after the two legs, then the higher seed advances.

CANADA

Canadian Championship - Semifinals

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed May 9
Toronto FC v Montreal Impact (0-0)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v FC Edmonton (2-0)

Finals
1st Leg
-Wed May 16
2nd Leg
-Wed May 23

ENGLAND

Championship Division - Promotion Playoffs - Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (1st Leg score included)
-Wed May 9
Birmingham 2-2 Blackpool - Bla advances 3-2 on aggregate.

Final
-Sat May 19
West Ham v Blackpool
GERMANY

Bundesliga/2.Bundesliga - Promotion/Relegation Playoff
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu May 10
Hertha Berlin v Fortuna Dusseldorf
2nd Leg
-Tue May 15
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Hertha Berlin

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Final

Atletico are the champs!

Match & Score:
-Wed May 9
Athletic Bilbao 0-3 Atletico Madrid - AM goals by Radamel Falcao(2) & Diego.
Venue: National Arena - Bucharest, Romania

COPA LIBERTADORES

The Knockout Stage

Libertad (win) and Velez (tie) got the results they needed to advance and eliminate Cruz Azul and Atletico Nacional. Next stop, Quarterfinals.

dN

Round of 16

Matches & Scores:

2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Tue May 8
Libertad 2-0 Cruz Azul - Lib advances 3-1 on aggregate - Lib goals by Ariel Nunez & Victor Caceres.
Velez Sarsfield 1-1 Atletico Nacional - VS advances 2-1 on aggregate - VS goal by Augusto Fernandez. AN goal by Luis Mosquera.
-Wed May 9
Union Espanola v Boca Juniors (1-2)
Corintians v Emelec (0-0)
Lanus v Vasco Da Gama (1-2)
-Thu May 10
Fluminense v Internacional (0-0)
Universidad Chile v Deportivo Quito (1-4)
Santos v Bolivar (1-2)

BRACKET

Fluminense v Internacional
Union Espanola v Boca Juniors

Universidad Chile v Deportivo Quito
Libertad 3-1 Cruz Azul
-----
Corintians v Emelec
Lanus v Vasco Da Gama

Santos v Bolivar
Velez Sarsfield 2-1 Atletico Nacional