Happy New Year!

du Nord Music Mix - Best of 2015

These are 30 of the best songs taken from this past years weekly du Nord Music Mixes. Not every song here was released in 2015, but I became aware of it this year and it fits my time line of enjoyment. The regular du Nord Music Mixes will resume next week. I hope 2015 was good to you, and here's to 2016.

Merry futbol and happy listening,
Bruce

(download and extract)

dN

Pt1
Erykah Badu - Hotline Bling
Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best
BEAK - The Meader
Mountain Singers - Five Eyes
Dub War & Infra - If It's Not The Police
Sun Kil Moon - I Watched The Film The Song Remains The Same
Peaches - Light In Places
OBN IIIs- 4KD
Thurston Moore - Grace Lake
David Bowie - Blackstar

dN

Pt2
Container - Glaze
Iceage - Against The Moon
Warren Michael Defever - Sunship (Side B)
Car Seat Headrest - America (Never Been)
Pinkish Black - Everything Must Go
Lizzo & Caroline Smith - Let 'Em Say
Die Goldenen Zitronen - If I Were A Sneaker
Blanck Mass - The Great Confuso (Pt I)
Faith No More - Superhero
Santigold - Can't Get Enough Of Myself

dN

Pt3
D'Angelo - 1000 Deaths
Myriam Gendron - Solace
Swans - Screen Shot
Wand - M.E.
Diane Coffee - Soon To Be, Won't To Be
Frank Ocean, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon & Diplo - Hero
Richard Dawson - The Vile Stuff
Obnox - Carmen, I Love You
Xetas - The Knife
Thee Oh Sees - Turned Out Light



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 29, 2015

RIP Lemmy.
-Ian Kilmister of Motorhead dead at 70.
-Motorhead - Killed By Death!

dN

One of the musical greats from the last 50 years, who I have only really discovered in the last 5, was Nina Simone. She wrote in a diary and no one knew about it. This is a taste from inside the mind of a struggling genius. From The Believer, August 2010.

dN

75% of a Scandinavian park ranger's job is rescuing black metal bands that get lost in the woods shooting album covers.

— Ceej (@ceejoyner) December 21, 2015

dN

A discussion with new Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic. By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.

dN

The Vasectomy, Chad Barrett, has signed with San Jose Earthquakes.

dN

The ABMOD himself, Richie Williams, has been hired as an assistant coach by Real Salt Lake.

dN

Maybe now after all the years of talk its starting to line up for MLS in San Diego. By Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune.
-The same people are trying to buy English club Everton.

dN

Sepp Blatter says FIFA has abandon him and he is on his own now. That is one way to put it, another is to say that FIFA threw you out of a moving car and the trailing car full of media ran you over. From Reuters.

dN

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated curates his Top 10 soccer stories of 2015.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 28, 2015

Just booked my flight to Portland for the Simple Invitational preseason tournament to watch Minnesota United's 3 games, Feb 21-27! See you there.

dN

US Soccer Awards:
Carli Lloyd 2015 US Soccer Female Player Of The Year
Michael Bradley 2015 US Soccer Male Player Of The Year
Mallory Pugh 2015 US Soccer Young Female Player Of The Year
Matt Miazga 2015 US Soccer Young Male Player Of The Year

dN

Liga MX has swooped in to nab 4 MLS players in the past two weeks:
-The biggest name being centerback Omar Gonzalez from the LA Galaxy, going to Pachuca.
-LA also lost central midfielder Juninho to Tijuana.
-Luis Gil of RSL signed with Queretaro.
-Jorge Villafana departed Portland just days after winning MLS cup to sign with Santos Laguna.

dN

Pachua introduced their newest signing - Darth Vader - errrrr, I mean Omar Gonzalez!

La segunda parte de la presentación de @Omar4Gonzalez pic.twitter.com/pkdME93wNg

— Club Pachuca (@Tuzos) December 22, 2015

dN

In what may turn out to be an even bigger switcheroo, young Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez has filed papers with FIFA to leave the Mexican national team set up to join the USA.
-The USA will begin its annual month long winter training camp next Monday. No roster has been released yet.

dN

Frank Yallop has landed a new job after being fired by the Chicago Fire. He has been hired by USL team Arizona United as both team president and head coach.

dN

A review of the 2015 USA men. By Avi Creditor of Sports Illustrated.

dN

What is 2016 looking like for MLS? By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

dN

A good news story: Former DC United and New England Revolution player Clyde Simms has gotten a new kidney after illness destroyed his. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

dN

Its the early days of the Bob Bradley Era in France at Le Havre - and he deserves the spotlight. by Graham Ruthven of the Guardian.

dN

It has been a December to forget for DeAndrea Yedlin at Sunderland. He started the month fine, but was benched early in a game mid-month and has not appeared since. There is one game left in December to get his season back on track. The team is floundering as well, sitting in 19th place and 8 points from safety.
Jan 2 v Aston Villa
Dec 30 v Liverpool
Dec 26 a 4-1 Loss at Man City - not in 18
Dec 19 a 3-1 Loss at Chelsea - on the bench
Dec 12 a 0-1 Loss v Watford - started, subbed out in the 19th min
Dec 5 a 3-1 Loss at Arsenal - went 90, got a yellow card in 80th
Nov 28 a 2-0 Win v Stoke - went 90

dN

Great article on how Germany want to catch up with the Premier League on the world marketing stage. They know a U.S. fanbase and American players could really help them pull it off. By Terrance Ross of the Guardian.

dN

The world's most popular current club coach Pepper Guardiola has announced that he is leaving Bayern Munich at the end of this season. The rumor is that he will be hired to run the show at Manchester City.
-He will be replaced at Bayern by Carlo Ancelotti.

dN

And in a true holiday gift to everyone, both Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were given 8 year bans from soccer. They will both appeal. Lets hope they lose those appeals.

dN

A review of the first half of the Bundesliga season - Bayern, Bayern and Bayern, with a little dab of Dortmund and Gladbach. From Deutsche Welle.

dN

What is attracting all the American's to invest in English Premier League clubs? By David Conn of the Guardian.
-The easy answer is NBC telecasts.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 18, 2015

Toronto making more moves to solidify defense, today signing Will Johnson from Portland to go with yesterday's signings of Drew Moor and Steven Beitashor. Not brilliant, but solid moves.
-But let's be honest, it won't take much to improve upon the worst defense in MLS, for 9 consecutive years.

dN

Preseason News: Minnesota United will play friendlies against Portland Timbers, Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps at the 2016 Simple Invitational in Portland from Feb 21 to 27. Nice.

dN

The latest on DC United's stadium project and future business for the club. An interview with co-owner Jason Levien. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

dN

New head of soccer for LAFC, John Thorrington, gives us his blue print. By Scott French for MLSsoccer.com.

dN

Michael Bradley has been named the 2015 Futbol De Primera Player Of The Year.
-The other winners from the 25 year history of the award: Tim Howard (2014), Jozy Altidore (2013), Clint Dempsey (2012, 2011 and 2006), Landon Donovan (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003 and 2002), , Kasey Keller (2005, 1999), Earnie Stewart (2001), Claudio Reyna (2000), Cobi Jones (1998), Eddie Pope (1997), Eric Wynalda (1996, 1992), Alexi Lalas (1995), Marcelo Balboa (1994), Thomas Dooley (1993) and Hugo Perez (1991).

dN

After comments by Abby Wambach and Mix Diskerud this week, the topic of USA foreign born players (especially German born) has become a hot button. Jack Kerr of the Guardian explores.

dN

What should college/national team player Jordan Morris do next in his career? Finish college? Or turn pro? From ESPNFC.

dN

Remember the people who were going to bring NASL to Hartford any day now? That city government is accusing them of stealing $1.5 Million and the FBI is on the case. By Jenna Carlesso and Matthew Kauffman of the Hartford Currant.

dN

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend. From the Guardian.

dN

So why was a big name coach like Jose Mourinho a failure this season at Chelsea, cuz it seems hard to imagine the answer. By Jonathan Wilson of Sports Illustrated.
-What is next for the Special One? No, the USA is not mentioned. By Paul Doyle of the Guardian.

dN

Franz Beckenbauer and Germany are being tied to Jack Warner for votes in favor of Germany hosting the 2006 World Cup. Original story from Der Speigel. Deutshe Welle with a version of the story in English.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 17, 2015

Abby Wambach left in a cloud of NOISE. She played her last game as a professional player on Wednesday, for the USA, a 0-1 home loss to China.
-A couple things to note:
1) She had 255 international caps.
2) Scoring 184 goals!
3) 77 of them header goals!
4) It was the first USA loss in the USA in 11 years. 11 years.
5) Wambach did a lot of interviews in the run up to the game (a round-up from SI), and in every one she pointed out 2 things: The USA women deserve to paid the same as the men. And the men need a new coach cuz the one they have has failed. (Just search around, the interviews/articles are all over the place.)
6) Exit stage right. (I doubt that is the last we will hear from her.)

Mix Diskerud replies to Wambach's call for "foreign" players to be removed the USA team:

Wow Abby, I guess there are pros and cons in limiting the base for selection. You have just singled out a few of us. But why? Why are we your single oddballs? Think about who you try to disenfranchise. Because if you see us as the group to disenfranchise, then at least let it be known who we are. Stats and history will show - "our group" has more than others produced volunteer and defending soldiers for what, by us, is willingly chosen and gathered to be worth protecting: Your nation. Wish you would accept it as ours too. I know we're not quite equal. From "your group of people" the country's Commander in Chief need to be selected. However, other than that - you and I share something not unique, but constitutionally earned, a birthright to defend this nation as an American. Wherever we go. Led by whoever has earned, by democratic process, his/her right to lead, on or off the field, in peace, in war, in practice, or in any other kind of pursuit of your happiness. Enjoy your retirement. But stay active. We all need you. Oddballs or not. Mix

A photo posted by Mix Diskerud (@mixdiskerud) on Dec 17, 2015 at 11:15am PST

High praise for Wambach from the highest office:

Congrats on a great career, Abby Wambach. For the goals you’ve scored & the kids you’ve inspired, you’re the GOAT! pic.twitter.com/Kud56ChsBO

— President Obama (@POTUS) December 16, 2015

dN

No surprise that Carli Lloyd was named the US Soccer Female Player Of The Year.

dN

Minnesota United roster news: The team has released Kalif Alhassan (who then promptly signed with Tampa Bay), Geison Moura and Alejandro Vela.
-Also, the team did not pick up the option to buy Yago who had been on loan from Vasco da Gama.
-Tiago Calvano, Brent Kallman and Juliano Vicentini are all returning for 2016 according to Wes Burdine at Northern Pitch.

dN

Our main man Burdine was on the Howler podcast Dummy this week talking about Batman Miguel Ibarra.
-Here is the profile of Ibarra written by Wes for Howler.

dN

Drew Beckie is the latest player to bail out from Ottawa - signing with Carolina. The 5th player to leave the team this week.
-New Ottawa head coach Paul Dalglish told local media that on his 1st day in charge 3 players asked to leave the team. They are all gone already. Along with several others now. It'll almost be like starting over.

dN

San Antonio Scorpions is now owned by Spurs Sports + Entertainment, an organization that owns the NBA San Antonio Spurs, and also owns a NBA D-League team, a WNBA team and an American Hockey League team.
-The question becomes, what happens to the NASL version team? The rumor says Spurs will move their new team to USL.

dN

Gabriel Brener who had owned 25% of the Houston Dynamo has bought the 50% stake that AEG held and now controls the team. He has partners that own part of his percentage, and Oscar De La Hoya remains a 25% owner as well.

dN

Toronto is now (finally) attempting to form an actual MLS defense: signing fullback Steven Beitashour (from Vancouver) and centerback Drew Moor (from Colorado.)

dN

The Final of the Copa America Centenario will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford NJ. The game is scheduled for Sun Jun 26.
-16 teams will participate in the tournament.
-USA (Group A) , Brazil (Group B), Mexico (Group C) and Argentina (Group D) are the four top seeded teams for the group stage.
-USA Group Stage games:
Fri Jun 3 at Santa Clara - Levi's Stadium
Tue Jun 7 at Chicago - Soldier Field
Sat Jun 11 at Philadelphia - Lincoln Financial Field
-No word on when  the actual group stage draw will take place.

Joining the 10 South American teams from CONMEBOL will be 6 CONCACAF teams: Mexico, USA, Jamaica, Costa Rica and the winners of Panama v Haiti and Trinidad + Tobago v Honduras (both games to be played on Jan 8 in Panama City.)

dN

I really didn't think Chelsea would fire Jose Mourinho this season no matter how bad things got. I was wrong. He is gone.
-Here is the team statement.

dN

A website called Football Leaks is posting stolen documents that show the ugly and sometimes illegal business dealings of international soccer clubs. Dutch team Twente has been exposed and now sanctioned by UEFA. By Sam Borden of the New York Times.

dN

The Swiss justice agency has frozen bank accounts containing tens of millions of dollars related to FIFA and FIFA officials at the request of the USA department of justice. Andrew Warshaw of Inside World Football reports.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 15, 2015

Talkin' with Chicharito. By Liviu Bird of Sports Illustrated.

dN

Lance Laing to Minnesota United becomes official. By Andy Greder of the St Paul Pioneer Press.
-6 of last seasons NASL Best 11 now in a MU uniform:
Lance Laing
Stefano Pinho
Justin Davis
Kevin Venegas
Ibson
Christian Ramirez

dN

Since coach Marc Dos Santos left Ottawa the players are bailing likes rats on a sinking ship: 4 starters Tom Heimeman, Ryan Richter, Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Richie Ryan have all signed with other NASL teams this week.

dN

An interview with the owner of the new NASL club Miami FC in which he says he loves the league, but then talks mostly about everything in soccer OTHER than NASL. From the Telegraph.

dN

An essay on the brilliant music of Outkast - Da Art Of Storytellin’. By Kiese Laymon, from the Winter edition of the Oxford American.

dN

A whole different kind of electronic music - steeped in subversive surveillance, crooked fuckers, paranoia and illusion.
Mountain Singers new album "Listening Devices"
The liner notes alone are worth it.
Find it, hear it and then buy it at Bandcamp.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 14, 2015

Today Justin Mapp became the first-ever 100% Free Agent signing in MLS history. No player had ever changed teams within the league with no strings attached until today. He has signed with Sporting Kansas City.

dN

Liga MX Liguilla Apertura Finals
-Huge congrats to Tigres UANL on their championship.
-Complete and utter madness in the end. Tigres had a chance to finish this thing in the 1st Leg in which they dominated winning 3-0, but it could have been 4, 5 or 6 and they didn't do it.
-I had a feeling Pumas was still alive when the 2nd Leg started, and sure enough, Pumas got the 3 goals back and then both teams scored in Added Extra Time to force a Penalty Kick Shootout.
-The American they call Gringo, Jose Torres, plays for Tigres and came on as a 61st min sub. He didn't have a very smooth game though, giving away possession cheaply and finding himself in the middle of mistakes that lead to the Pumas comeback. He tightened it up some in the extra periods and helped relieve pressure from the back line. Its his 1st Mexican championship.
-How often does a team win a game 4-1 and still lose. Wow.
-You can read all the details of the match right here. By Tom Marshall of ESPNFC.
2nd Leg

Pumas 4-1 Tigres (0-3) - series ends tied 4-4 and Tigres win 4-2 in Penalty Kick Shootout.

dN

The Top 10 moments of 2015 for American soccer. Number1 is an easy call. by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

dN

Jermaine Jones got a 6 game suspension to start next season (if he is in MLS) for flipping out, screaming at and pushing a referee in the New England playoff loss to DC United?
-If he stays in MLS he will be suspended from US Soccer matches during that period too.

dN

Young American college star Jordan Morris lead his Stanford team to the NCAA title on Sunday with 2 goals, an assist and a drawn penalty. A 4-0 win over Clemson.

dN

Bobby Wood scored 2 more goals for Union as they beat Fortuna 0-3.
-Wood has 7 goals in 18 games this season.

dN

Speaking of Germany - Jon Brooks and Hertha are somehow in 3rd place in the Bundesliga! However they are 14 points behind leaders Bayern Munich. But still....

dN

Fabian Johnson sat out this weekend with a toe injury. Deutsche Welle interviewed him last week (video) after Monchengladbach's big win over Bayern.

dN

American goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and his club Molde finished first in their group in Europa League and await the announcement of their knockout round opponent.

dN

On a bad note, 8 Americans played in the top two divisions in England this weekend and not a single one of them got a victory. Oof.

dN

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (trailer) - Coming Jan 1 on PBS.

dN

My favorite Instagram account.
-Operated by Emmanuel Lubezki, cinematographer
-Here is a sampling of his great film work:
The Revenant - dir by Alejandro Inarritu
Knight of Cups - dir by Terrence Malick
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) - dir by Alejandro Inarritu
Gravity - dir by Alfonso Cuaron
The Tree of Life - dir by Terrence Malick
Burn After Reading - dir by The Coen Brothers
Children of Men - dir by Alfonso Cuaron
The New World - dir by Terrence Malick
Ali - dir by Michael Mann
Y Tu Mama Tambien - dir by Alfonso Cuaron

dN

Players are finally taking a real stand against playing on bullshit artificial surfaces, and with leverage on their side its the USA Women leading the charge. By Juliet Macur of the New York Times.

dN

2015 US Soccer Male Player Of The Year Nominees:
Michael Bradley
Clint Dempsey
Brad Guzan
Fabian Johnson
DeAndre Yedlin

dN

2015 US Soccer Young Male Player Of The Year Nominees:
Cameron Carter-Vickers
Emerson Hyndman
Matt Miazga
Christian Pulisic
Gedion Zelalem

dN

A conversation with the guy who is in charge of all soccer on ESPN. Hows it going for MLS? By Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com.

dN

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matchups:
Atletico Madrid v PSV Eindhoven
Barcelona v Arsenal
Bayern Munich v Juventus
Chelsea v Paris St Germain
Manchester City v Dynamo Kiev
Real Madrid v Roma
Wolfsburg v Gent
Zenit St Petersburg v Benfinca
-Games begin Tue Feb 16.

dN

And the Groups for the Euro 2016 Championship were also draw. Here they are.

dN

Headline in English news paper: "Where Did It All Go Wrong for Man Utd?"
-Um, when the greatest sports manager of all time retired!?!? Pretty simple really. They are just like every other team in the Premier League now, struggling for leadership.

dN

Tim Kennedy had the best reaction I saw on Twitter to Conor McGregor knocking out champion Jose Aldo on Saturday night for the UFC featherweight belt in a record time of 13 seconds. Kennedy is a long time contender in the middleweight division of the UFC.

Dana just shit himself and came at the same time. #UFC194

— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) December 13, 2015

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 11, 2015

Liga MX Liguilla Apertura Finals
1st Leg
-A dominating performance from Tigres in the 1st Leg. But you have to wonder if they wasted too many chances to really put this thing out of reach. They should have had 4, 5 or 6 goals. Pumas is close to dead, but its NOT over.
Thu Dec 10
UANL Tigres 3-0 UNAM Pumas - Tig goals by Gignac(PK), Aquino + Sobis.
2nd Leg
Sun Dec 13
Pumas v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision Deportes
-In the Final series away goals DO NOT break ties.

dN

US Soccer Female Player Of The Year Nominees:
-Lauren Holiday
-Carli Lloyd
-Megan Rapinoe
-Becky Sauerbrunn
-Hope Solo

dN

Do you like blistering Rock N Roll? This is legit! The Hellacopters - Payin The Dues, from 1997.

dN

A new tool that MLS teams can use to acquire players is called Targeted Allocation Money (TAM.) What exactly is it and how is it used? By Kyle McCarthy of Fox Sports.

dN

USMNT updates on Johnson, Green, Horvath, Carter-Vickers, Boyd, Villafana, Brooks, Garza and Saief (who?). By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.

dN

The Bundesliga is starting to show off Fabian Johnson as one of its star players!
-Thanks to Brian Sciaretta for the link.

dN

NASL rumors continue to abound: 2 West Coast teams coming - San Francisco and Orange County.

dN

Minnesota United landed another of the very top attacking players in NASL - this time its Lance Laing from Edmonton. Wes Burdine of Northern Pitch with the story.

dN

Absolutely horrendous news about Honduran Arnold Peralta - dead after being shot 18 times. It is being investigated as a gang hit. He has been playing for Olimpia. From AFP.
-Thanks to Joe J for the link.

dN

The Euro 2016 draw takes place on Sat Dec 12 at 11am CT on ESPN2.

dN

He's at it again! Insane video! Danny MacAskill is the most marvelous dude on 2 self powered wheels.
-How much do you think a bike like that costs?



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 10, 2015

A review of the best and worst of the 2015 MLS season. By the staff at ESPNFC.

dN

With the MLS season now over players are already on the move - track em all right here.

dN

Liga MX Liguilla Apertura Finals
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 10
UANL Tigres v UNAM Pumas - 9pm CT on Univision + Univ Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 13
Pumas v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univ Deportes
-In the Final series away goals DO NOT break ties.

dN

Miguel Ibarra is going through a period of adjustment at Leon in Liga MX. I am sure its been very frustrating at times, but I bet he gets his shot and will succeed. By Hugo Chavez Barroso of MLSsoccer.com.

dN

The return of Serial - Season 2: the story of Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl.

dN

Enjoy listening to the punk rock? Then enjoy reading Terminal Boredom to find more.

dN

Fabian Johnson had another strong team helped his team Monchengladbach get out to a 2-1 lead over Manchester City in their last Champions league game, but they gave up 3 late goals and were eliminated from the tournament, and Europa League too.

Julian Green started on the right side of the front three for Bayern Munich in their final Champions League group stage game. He went 62 minutes in a 0-2 win a Dynamo Zagreb.

Here are the final standings for the UEFA Champions League group stage.
-1st and 2nd place teams go to knock out stage.
-3rd place teams go to Europa League.
-4th place teams go home crying.
-How did your team do?

dN

Many Minnesota United fans grew an affinity for Swansea City FC and their manager Garry Monk after the teams visit to Minnesota in 2014, so news will hit some of them hard that Monk has been fired.
-The team is in 15th place after 15 games with just 14 points, only 1 point above the relegation zone.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 9, 2015

A German spy on Homeland has the same ringtone as me. Found this out when her phone rang on the show and I jumped up to answer my phone - no one there. Or does Dal Adal have my phone tapped? Or is it the BND? Shit!

dN

After a revelatory season at left fullback Jorge Villafana has left Portland Timbers and signed with Santos Laguna in Liga MX. I bet the money is way better, but he is starting over yet again. I hope its not a set back for a player who is not young any more (26.) You gotta wish him all the best though.

dN

The city of Portland celebrated the Timbers MLS Cup championship in style. By Molly Blue of the Oregonian.

dN

Orlando City demoted general manager Paul McDonough last month, and today announced that he is leaving the team. Never fun to be demoted, which I am sure left him feeling unappreciated. Next. Article by Paul Tenorio of the Sentinel.

dN

MLS today announced that they are increasing player spending over the next two years by $37 million. The details are a weird mess of rules, which is a joke, but it is more spending, which is great.

dN

A personal review of the 2015 MLS season. By Graham Parker of the Guardian. (Warning, this recap starts out strong and then fizzles badly.)

dN

Leapin' Larry!

#SportingKC has reached an agreement to bring back Lawrence Olum.

— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) December 9, 2015

dN

Liga MX Liguilla Apertura Finals
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 10
UANL Tigres v UNAM Pumas - 9pm CT on Univision + Univ Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 13
UNAM Pumas v UANL Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univ Deportes
-In the Final series away goals DO NOT break ties.

dN

Wow. Julian Green got the start today for Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Maybe the kid has a future after all. (Not that I had written him off or anything, just, well, you know.....)

dN

Today is the final day of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
-There are still 5 knock out stage places for teams to claim today, and 10 teams are in the running to grab them.
-Zenit, Bayern, Barca, Man City, Juve, Benfica, Atleti, PSV, Wolfsburg, PSG and Real Madrid have already moved on to the knock out rounds.

dN

Ronda Rousey says she's down but not out. By Ramona Shelburne of ESPNw.

dN

This Saturday night we get 2 UFC title fights on 1 card: UFC 194, only on PPV. Jose Aldo Jr v Conor McGregor and Chris Weidman v Luke Rockhold. YES!

dN

Solution: du Nord Music Mix Vol 65 (download + extract)



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 8, 2015

The most important news in American soccer right now is that USA Women, the World Cup Champions, refused to play a game on Saturday in Hawaii because the field they were being asked to perform on was a joke, and US Soccer never sent anyone to check it out before they booked the game. Pathetic.
-The team wrote this article explaining their actions, for the Players Tribune.
-This is the notice US Soccer published about the cancellation.
-To make matters worse Megan Rapinoe blew out her knee on a poor training field the day before the game.
-The fact that top level women's soccer is played on fake turf at all pisses me off more than these words can show. And women are forced to play on this garbage all the time.
-The best that can be said of this particular situation is that US Soccer did not fight the team when it came to actually canceling the game. They agreed. Good job.
-Next match on the Victory Tour: Thu Dec 10 USA v Trinidad + Tobago - Alamodome, San Antonio TX - 8pm CT on ESPN2.

dN

I had a GREAT trip to Columbus for MLS Cup Final!
-Saw some old old friends and made the most of the few hours I was there. Beyond that, the American soccer world is alive and full of colorful characters. It was fun to see so many of them.
-Best observation of the weekend came from the great Dan Loney: Frankie Hejduk is the Tommy Chong of MLS.
-Speaking of Dan Loney - He sat next to me at MLS Cup and beautifully summed up the whole wonderful experience for Big Soccer. Did I say he was great? He is.
-Thanks to my friends, Damian + BNM, MLS, the soccer writers and all the fans for making it a lot of fun.

dN

Kei Kamara told the press today that if the Crew had won the Cup he was going to retire.

dN

For the first time in league history 26 veteran MLS players have full free agency and can sign with any MLS team they want. This is a direct result of the collective bargaining agreement signed by the players union and league last Spring.
-Another 60 players have been released from their contracts, and will have more limited means to change teams within the league.

dN

I think that there are currently 6 possible destinations for Jason Kreis to end up as head coach. Where will be go?
-Colorado
-DC
-Houston
-Philly
-Salt Lake
-Toronto
-I posted a survey on Twitter (leaving off DC, Houston and RSL) and the overwhelming favorite from my followers was Toronto.

3 most likely destinations for Jason Kreis?

— Ser Brvcio McGvire (@dunord) December 4, 2015

dN

LAFC has made their first hire and its long time American professional player John Thorrington. Named Executive VP of Soccer Operations. Whatever that means.
-If yer not sure who he is its worth your time to look him up.

dN

Is there a lack in diversity at the MLS coaching level? Paul Tenorio of the Orlando Sentinel examines the question.

dN

Liga MX Liguilla Apertura:
Semifinals
-A favorite and an underdog move on to the Final!
Pumas(1) v America(6) Pum advances 4-3 on aggregate.
Toluca(2) v Tigres(5) Tig advances 2-0 on aggregate.

Finals
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 10
UANL Tigres v UNAM Pumas - 9pm CT
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 13
Pumas v Tigres - 8:30pm CT
-In Final away goals DO NOT break ties, and the game can go to Extra Added Time and a Penalty Kick Shootout.

dN

Fabian Johnson and Jon Brooks both scored game winning goals in the Bundesliga last weekend. Fab lead Gladbach to a huge win over Bayern! And Brooks lead Hertha over Leverkusen.

dN

Learn about the St Paul math teacher that started modern pro soccer in Minnesota - Buzz Lagos. By John Shipley of the Pioneer Press.

dN

Two Minnesota United players, goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt and fullback Tyler Polak, were released by the team and have signed with new USL team FC Cinicinnati, coached by John Harkes. Heads up.

dN

It looks like Jose Mourinho and his Chelsea team are on their last legs for this season. Who saw this coming? Michael Cox of the Guardian looks for the source of the failure.

dN

Its the final matchday in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
-9 of the 16 teams have qualified for the knock out stage which begins in February. The other 7 will be added on Tuesday and Wednesday.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 4, 2015

MLS Cup Playoffs
Final
Sun Dec 6
Columbus Crew v Portland Timbers - 3pm CT on ESPN
-Current weather forecast for Sunday kickoff: High 50F. 0% chance of precip. Intervals of clouds and sunshine. Winds light and variable.
-See you there!

Who will win? Analysis by Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.
-Just don't watch the video from the top of the page where 4 people who really don't care much about the game give their "thoughts."

A match preview. By Graham Parker of the Guardian.

Ah, an article on my nemesis from the Portland Timbers GM Gavin Wilkinson. (Photo suggests his mom still cuts his hair in the basement.) By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

How did Columbus build this strong team? By Liviu Bird of Sports Illustrated.

dN

Game of Thrones anyone? Trailer for Season 6.

dN

Liga MX Liguilla Apertura:
Big big big win for Pumas on the road, and a pretty decent result for Toluca too.

Classic stuff! Pumas scores, America has a melt down - red card, Pumas scores again & again! Its now 0-3 in the 80th.

— Ser Brvcio McGvire (@dunord) December 4, 2015

Semifinals
-Thu Dec 3
America(6) 0-3 Pumas(1)
Tigres(5) 0-0 Toluca(2)
-Sun Dec 6 Pumas(1) v America(6)
Toluca(2) v Tigres(5)
-F: Dec 10 + 13
-All rounds are 2 Legs.
-In all proceeding rounds the highest seed left plays the lowest etc.
-In Quarter +Semifinals away goals break ties, no extra time is played, and if still tied they higher seed advances.
-In Final away goals DO NOT break ties, and the game can go to Extra Added Time and a Penalty Kick Shootout if tied.

dN

Real Madrid has been kicked out of the Copa Del Rey after fielding an ineligible player in their game on Wednesday. From Marca.

dN

The Argentina Football Association (AFA) held its presidential election on Thursday, its first election in 36 years. So the 75 federation members stepped up to cast their vote. But something odd happened. The vote ended in a tie 38-38. 1 extra vote. Ah Argentina! Story from Reuters.

dN

Here is a list of the 16 new defendants in the US Department Of Justice FIFA investigation, and a list of the 8 who recently plead guilty to previous charges. From World Football Insider.
-USDOJ has traced corruption through at least 40 countries so far.

dN

One guy with a twitter account can do a lot of damage to politicians and an organization like the NRA in one evening. From the Observer.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 3, 2015

As the FIFA Executive Committee adjourned today in Zurich Switzerland to talk about reform the US Justice Department again descended on FIFA House with arrest warrants in hand and snatched up more high ranking officials!
-In an early morning raid two of the latest arrested are Alfredo Hawit of Honduras + CONCACAF President and Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay + CONMEBOL President.
-This brings the total number of people arrested to 30. And others have turned themselves over to law enforcement prior to arrests orders being handed down.
-United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch called the corruption, "Truly outrageous." She also said, "The scale of corruption alleged is unconscionable. And the message of this announcement should be clear to every culpable individual who remains in the shadows, hoping to evade this ongoing investigation. You will not wait us out and you will not escape our focus."
-It was announced today that former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb is one of several who has plead guilty to previous charges leveled against him.
-The story of today's arrests in Zurich. by Sam Borden and others of the New York Times.

Burn It Down And Start Over Pt 1: CONCACAF's last 3 Presidents: Jack Warner - arrested! Jeffrey Webb - arrested! And today Alfredo Hawit - arrested!

Burn It Down And Start Over Pt 2: CONMEBOL's last 3 Presidents: Nicolas Leoz - arrested!, Eugenio Figueredo - arrested!, Juan Ángel Napout - arrested!

And somehow the Copa America Centenario still goes on next summer.

dN

Its official: Minnesota United announces Manny Lagos as Sporting Director, Carl Craig as Head Coach.

dN

MLS Cup Playoffs
Final
Sun Dec 6
Columbus Crew v Portland Timbers - 3pm CT on ESPN
-Current weather forecast for Sunday kickoff: High 51F. 0% chance of precip. Intervals of clouds and sunshine. Winds light and variable.

dN

Paraphrasing MLS commissioner Don Garber in a press conference today: MLS is spending more money on academy teams today then they spent on its entire league player budget 5 years ago.

dN

The powerful Timbers Army and their great tifo machine! By Caitlin Murray of the Guardian.

dN

One of Dallas' young homegrown stars Kellyn Acosta has signed a new deal with the club.

dN

Fabian Johnson is really starting to hit his stride at Monchengladbach becoming a key player in the attack in the left midfield role of a 4-4-2. Interview by Kyle McCarthy of Fox Sports.
-In the last month he has scored goals in UEFA Champions League, CONCACAF World Cup qualifying and Bundesliga. Not bad.

dN

Former Brazil + Arsenal captain/leader Gilberto Silva wonders why the players don't demand a lot more from their home FA and FIFA. He thinks they (and we) sure deserve much better. By Amy Lawrence of the Guardian.

dN

Jamie Vardy of Leicester City is the current goal scoring sensation of the English Premier League, and he is chasing a major record set in 1932 by Irish striker Jimmy Dunne from Sheffield United, who just happened to be an IRA member. By Conor Neville of Irish website Balls.
-Thanks to Sasha Ryskus for the link.

dN

Its looking more and more like sometime in the future the World Cup will increase to 40 teams.
-Not a surprise as more teams means more money.

dN

Liga MX Liguilla Apertura:
Semifinals
-Thu Dec 3
America(6) v Pumas(1)
Tigres(5) v Toluca(2)
-Sun Dec 6 Pumas(1) v America(6)
Toluca(2) v Tigres(5)
-F: Dec 10 + 13
-All rounds are 2 Legs.
-In all proceedng rounds the highest seed left plays the lowest etc.
-In Quarter +Semifinals away goals break ties, no extra time is played, and if still tied they higher seed advances.
-In Final away goals DO NOT break ties, and the game can go to Extra Added Time and a Penalty Kick Shootout if tied.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 2, 2015

Lets start with some big Minnesota United news:
-Current head coach Manny Lagos has been named full time technical director.
-And current assistant coach Carl Craig has been named new head coach.
The story from Wes Burdine of Northern Pitch.

dN

To no one's surprise Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto FC was named the 2015 MLS Most Valuable Player today.

dN

MLS Cup Playoffs
Final
Sun Dec 6
Columbus Crew v Portland Timbers - 3pm CT on ESPN
-Current weather forecast for Sunday kickoff: High 52F. 0% chance of precipitation. Sunshine and clouds mixed. Winds light and variable.
-Columbus will wear yellow.
-Portland will wear green.

dN

An interview with MLS commissioner Don Garber. Topics include: player development, player budgets, women's teams, CONCACAF, USMNT, FIFA. By Graht Wahl of Sports Illustrated.

dN

A remarkable 20 years for MLS concludes on Sunday. By Steve Davis who has covered the league since the start, for World Soccer Talk.

dN

Lots of MLS players getting notice of contract extensions not being picked up or players be released.
-Blas Perez of Dallas is one of the bigger names to exit.

dN

Bob Bradley got his first win with HAC in France, a 3-2 home victory over Evian Thonon Gaillard Football Club.

dN

This is my ballot for the 2015 Futbol De Primera USA Mens Player Of The Year
1st Place: Clint Dempsey
2nd Place: Bobby Wood
3rd Place: Michael Bradley

dN

Minnesota United has teased that a new player signing announcement is imminent.

______ is a Loon. Big player announcement coming soon. #MNUFC #NorthLoonsRising pic.twitter.com/7WLN6Xcj1s

— Minnesota United FC (@MNUnitedFC) December 1, 2015

dN

Two big name NASL players (both Best 11) confirmed to be leaving their teams:
-Lance Laing leaving Edmonton.
-Stefano Pinho leaving Fort Lauderdale.

dN

We also get new NASL coaching announcements:
-Tim Hankinson takes over Indy Eleven
-Caio Zanardi moves over from GM to head coach for Fort Lauderdale Strikers - Zanardi forced out the very successful Gunther Kronsteiner so he could have the job.

dN

We need to take mental illness a lot more serious than we do. A former college football player ends up homeless and dead. From the New York Times.

dN

Three Decades of Dinosaur Jr. A brilliant rock band. By Matthew Trammell of the New Yorker.
-Enjoy the blazing rock of Freak Scene
-And laugh at the hilarious video for Feel The Pain.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Tue Dec 1

MLS Cup Playoffs
Final
Sun Dec 6
Columbus Crew v Portland Timbers - 3pm CT on ESPN
-Current weather forecast for Sunday kickoff: High 51F. Sunshine and clouds mixed Winds light and variable.
-See you there!

dN

The rise of Darlington Nagbe. Is he the future of American soccer? By Brian Sciaretta of the New York Times.

dN

The Philadelphia Union's stadium is now called Talen Energy Stadium.

dN

Charlie Davies life has been tough at times, and that was before the horrible car accident. By Nate Scott of USA Today.
-Here is video of Davies glorious goal at the Azteca. (Yes, I was one of those fans you see in the stands losing their minds!)

dN

Philly Union has acquired forward Chris Pontius from DCU in exchange for $.
-And it looks like Lamar Neagle is heading from Seattle to DC. Reported by Steve Goff of the Wash Post.

dN

The Sports Illustrated staff reviews their 2015 MLS preseason predictions. Fun reflection.

dN

An interview with English shoegazer band Lush. A wonderful group of musicians that I had the pleasure of working with in the early 90s. From the Quietus.

dN

The players from the Venezuela national team have stated that they will not play anymore World Cup qualifiers until the entire management and coaching staff of their federation have been replaced. Via NDTV as reported by various news services.

dN

10 talking points from the weekend’s English Premier League action. From the Guardian.

dN

Adidas, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Visa and Budweiser have sent a joint letter to FIFA telling them to get their act together. By Rob Harris of AP.



The Bird Is The Word