Of Course They Did News

Fans unfurled Tibetan & Taiwan flags at the RSL v China game last night in Salt Lake and were tossed out of the stadium for it! What is going on here? Don't we have freedom of speech anymore?

~and~

The World Cup in Germany started exactly one year ago today. The next one starts in approximately 3 years.


Gold Cup Action:
(all times central)
Thu Jun 7 scores-
-USA 1-0 Guatemala - USA goal by Clint Dempsey.
Match report from USA Soccer.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
Match report by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Match report & player ratings by Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet.
Match report by Luis Bueno of LA Soccer News.
Match report by Phil Collin of the LA Daily News.
Match report & player ratings from the New York Times. (These ratings are ridiculous high though - you would think the USA won 5-0.)
Match report from the Orange County Register.
Match report by Andrea Canales for Top Drawer Soccer.
Match report by Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune.
Match report from Yanks Abroad.
Post-games notes, player ratings & video of the goal from Steven Goff of the Washington Post on his Soccer Insider blog.
Post-game analysis in the most beautifully biased way from Dan Loney on his Dan Loney Says It All blog.
Post-game analysis by Andrea Canales at Soccernet.
Post-game quotes from Canales on her Sideline Views blog.
Post-game notes from Luis Bueno on that same blog.
Post-game analysis by Jen Chang of Soccernet.
Post-game notes by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Post-game analysis by Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated.
Commentary from the LA Daily News.
Post-game notes from the LA Daily News.
Post-game analysis by J Hutcherson of the US Soccer Players Assoc.
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du Nord Three Stars Of The Game:
3. Landon Donovan - showed the cool and calm poise badly missing from the Team since Claudio Reyna left. He held the ball well, and fed his teammates time and time again. And he did all of this while being stuck out on the right wing. Why he was playing out there I will never understand. Put him in the middle of the field and let him do his damage. Every from the hinterlands he had a very good game.
2. Carlos Ruiz - the Guate & Dallas forward was, as usual, a major irritant for the full 90 minutes. He drew tons of fouls with his floppy and flailing antics. He badgered and scrapped his way to his teams few chances of scoring, which weren't very serious. But imagine where they would be with out the little fish. No where. He is the whole team. Don't you just HATE this guy. He loves it. So do I. But in the end I wish he would turn on the skills instead of the ills.
1. Cint Dempsey - the battler was back. He played like Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns. He took the punches and kept getting up, as the opponent literally tried to kick the crap out of him. Then with one quick powerful thrust the opponent was flat on his back in the middle of the ring. Ball in net. Game over. Deuce is victorious again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Bueno on his Sideline Views blog got some great quotes from the Guatemalan coach Hernan Dario Gomez.
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US Soccer brings us audio of post-game press conference from USA coach Bob Bradley and goal scorer Clint Dempsey. Download or listen here.
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Official game photos.
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Read the official USA team blog.
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My notes from the game:
-That USA goal was a thing of pure beauty. I went back and watched it. 4 quick touches, a couple short sprints and a well timed run - Boom. Game over. Bornstein gets the ball at midfield. Passes to Beasley on the sideline about 25 yards up field. DMB heads into space for Twellman to run on to. Taylor then beats his man to the end line, and crosses on the ground to the middle of the box where Deuce Dempsey is crashing. Dempsey slams it home! Quality.
-What was Onyewu thinking after he got that first yellow card. I don't care if it was an iffy call. He still got booked. Then he mows a guy down. A guy who's is not within 5 yards of a ball that is being covered already by another defender. What was going on with him. Probably sheer frustration over all the floppy crap Guatemala was laying on him. But that is what they do. Ruiz is the master. Gooch got schooled.
-I thought Benny Feilhaber, Frankie Hejduk, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Bornstein & Eddie Johnson had sub-par games for the USA, and could have contributed more than they did.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other Gold Cup Matches & Scores:
-El Salvador 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago - ES goals by Ramon Sanchez & Dennis Alas. T&T goal by Silvio Spann.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Wed Jun 6 scores-
-Costa Rica 1-2 Canada - CR goal by Walter Centeno. Can goals both by Julian de Guzman.
-Guadaloupe 1-1 Haiti - Guad goal by Cedrick Fiston. Hai goal by Mones Cherry (PK).
Fri Jun 8 matches-
-Panama v Honduras - 6pm on Galavision
-Mexico v Cuba - 8pm on Univision
-Sat Jun 9 matches-
Guatemala v El Salvador - 2pm on Telefutura
Trinidad & Tobago v USA - 4pm on FSC
Canada v Guadeloupe - 6pm on Galavision
Haiti v Costa Rica - 8pm on Galavision
-Sun Jun 10 matches-
Hondura v Mexico - 3pm on Univision
Panama v Cuba - 5pm on Galavision
-Mon Jun 11 matches-
Costa Rica v Guadeloupe - 6pm on Galavision
Haiti v Canada - 8pm on Galavision
-Tue Jun 12 matches-
USA v El Salvador - 6pm on FSC
Trinidad & Tobago v Guatemala - 8pm on Telefutura
-Wed Jun 13 matches-
Cuba v Honduras - 7pm on Telefutura
Mexico v Panama - 9pm on Univision
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer America previews the last four Gold Cup participants:
-Mexico
-Cuba
-Honduras
-Panama
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Ives Galarcep at Soccernet says Mexico & Canada(!?!?) will give the USA a run for the Gold Cup.
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Luis Bueno at Sports Illustrated previews the Mexican efforts for this Gold Cup.
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MLS games & scores this week(end):
(all times central)
Wed Jun 6
-Toronto 1-2 New York
Thu Jun 7
-Houston 2-1 Colorado - Hou goals by Joseph Ngwenya & Stuart Holden. Colo goal by Jose Cancela (PK).
Match report by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
Match report from the Rocky Mountain News.
Post-game notes by Fallas.
More notes from Fallas on his Soccer y Futbol blog, about Stuart Holden & other fun topics.
Great post-game notes from George Tanner of the Rocky Mountain News on the FC Rocky blog (which is 1 year old today - happy birthday Rock.)
Sat Jun 9
-Chicago v Chivas - 7:30 on FSC & FSE
-Dallas v Los Angeles - 7:30 on HDNet & Direct Kick
Sun Jun 10
-DC v New York - 12 Noon on TeleFutura
-Columbus v Houston - 4:00 on Direct Kick
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stuart Holden was on the field all of 33 seconds when blasted that fantastic shot to the back post to win it for Houston. Wow.
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Nick Firchau of Chicago's Daily Southtown says the Fire team is still trying to figure out how to make Toyota Park "Their Home".
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Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe with an article on New England's first year Irishman Bryan Byrne.
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Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune on his Red Card blog says the Fire hope to have an answer from Marcelo Salas by Sunday.
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Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch says Crew boss Big Sig put the kibosh on forward Andy Herron joining Team Costa Rica for the Gold Cup. Herron is cool with that too.
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Brian Forbes of the Denver Post with the story of hometown boy Conor Casey and his return with the Colorado Rapids.
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Deseret Morning News with the story of Real Salt Lake's friendly 1-0 win over China last night. Alecko Eskandarian with the RSL goal. Yes, RSL beat China! Does this lessen the USA win over China? Yes. Does it bode well for RSL? Yes it does. Is this an extremely brutal loss for China? Oh yes it is. And it was Jason Kreis's first win as the coach of RSL. Now they gotta get a league win.
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Ian Plenderleith of the US Soccer Players Assoc with a look at the small but growing Brazilian influence on MLS.
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USL First Division games this week(end):
Tue June 5
-Montreal 1-1 Minnesota
Thur June 7
-Charleston 1-2 Seattle
-Miami 2-2 Puerto Rico
-California 1-0 Vancouver
Fri June 8
-Carolina v Rochester
-Montreal v Portland - live at 7pm central on FSC.
Sat June 9
-Rochester v Portland
-Atlanta v Seattle
-Miami v Puerto Rico
-California v Minnesota
Sun June 10
-Vancouver v Minnesota
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USL 1D Standings:
18 Vancouver
16 Rochester
16 Montreal
15 Seattle
13 Carolina
13 Miami
12 Charleston
11 Portland
11 Atlanta
11 Puerto Rico
6 Minnesota
5 California
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated goes on a massive personal tour of Mexican soccer. Fantastic story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Semifinals second leg Scores & matches (with first leg scores included):
Wed June 6-
Santos 3-1 Gremio - the series ends tied 3-3 on aggregate, but the away goal sends Gremio to the finals.
-Match report from Sports Illustrated.
Thur June 7-
Boca Juniors 3-0 Cucuta - Boca Juniors win 4-3 on aggregate.
-Match report from Sports Illustrated.
-Finals schedule:
Wed Jun 13 - first leg
Boca Juniors v Gremio
Wed Jun 20 - second leg
Gremio v Boca Juniors
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

-Spanish La Liga- The only Euro league race left to settle.
(2 left to play)
-Matches:
Real Madrid - Jun 9 at Zaragoza, Jun 17 v Mallorca
Barcelona - Jun 9 v Espanyol, Jun 17 at Gimnastic
Sevilla - Jun 9 at Mallorca, Jun 17 v Villareal
-Standings:
72 Real Madrid - leads on head to head record v Barca
72 Barcelona
70 Sevilla
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

-Argentine Clausura- Going down to the wire?
(2 games to play)
-Matches:
San Lorenzo - Jun 10 v Arsenal de Sarandi (4th place), Jun 17 at Quilmes (20th place)
Boca Juniors - Jun 10 v Belgrano de Cordoba (19th place), Jun 17 at Lanus (6th place)
Estudiantes - Jun 10 v Argentinos Juniors (7th place), Jun 17 at Arsenal de Sarandi (4th place)
-Standings:
39 San Lorenzo
35 Boca Juniors
33 Estudiantes
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Former star French defender Laurent Blanc is the new coach of Bordeaux.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times looks at the effects the World Cup had on Germany, on the 1 year anniversary.
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Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune says both Italy & France turned to some younger players for recent Euro qualifier success.
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Sweden have been handed a 0-3 forfeit victory over Denmark from last Saturday's match that ended prematurely, tied at 1-1. The referee had abandoned the game after a fan ran on the field and attacked the ref late in the match. 2 more people got on the field right after that leading to the referee's decision.
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Lastly, Real Madrid has signed a marketing deal with SCP Worldwide, to increase their visibility in the United States. SCP just happens to be run by Dave Checketts who also owns Real Salt Lake. The plan is to "create Real academies, secure broadcasting rights to the club's television content, and the team's participation in friendly's". Interesting.

Eew, That's Icky News

Team USA will come out tonight in White shirts, Blue shorts & White socks. Plus shoe color of each individuals choice.


Gold Cup Action (all times central):
Wed Jun 6 scores-
-Two big upsets launched this years Gold Cup off right the bat. With Canada beating Costa Rica & Guadeloupe drawing with Haiti.
-Costa Rica 1-2 Canada - CR goal by Walter Centeno. Can goals both by Julian de Guzman.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report by Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald.
-Guadaloupe 1-1 Haiti - Guad goal by Cedrick Fiston. Hai goal by Mones Cherry (PK).
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report from the AP.
Thu Jun 7 matches-
-USA v Guatemala - 8pm on FSC
-El Salvador v Trinidad & Tobago - 10pm on TeleFutura
Fri Jun 8 matches-
-Panama v Honduras - 6pm on Galavision
-Mexico v Cuba - 8pm on Univision
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A ton of little notes from US Soccer before game 1.
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Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle on his Soccer y Futbol blog has a Q & A with former USA star and current TV broadcaster Eric Wynalda. They talk USA, Gold Cup & MLS. Good stuff.
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Marc Connolly of the US Soccer Players Assoc with his Team USA preview. Another good one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The New York Times with a Team USA preview. The author, Austin Kelley, says Bob Bradley has faced "some criticism that he picked too many has-beens for the Gold Cup side." Huh? First of all, who criticized? I read every damn thing that is out there and I have seen nothing of the sort. And beyond that, if there was such criticism, who are these "has-beens" on the roster? Did this idiot just make this up to have something to write about? I challenge this writer to produce one piece of criticism of the roster! They also spelled DaMarcus Beasley's first name wrong: "DeMarcus". Who is in charge of the sports section of this esteemed newspaper?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star with that old Jay DeMerit rags to riches story for the 1000th time.
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Bob Holtzman of the LA Daily News with an article on the start of the Bob Bradley Era for US Soccer.
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Grahame Jones of the LA Times on the possible USA v Mexico showdown in the Gold Cup final.
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Two new videos from US Soccer. The naming of Mooch Myernick field at the Home Depot Center, and a Gold Cup training preview.
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Read the official USA team blog.
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Soccer America previews three more Gold Cup participants:
-Guatemala
-El Salvador
-Trinidad & Tobago
(You can expect the last 4 team previews tomorrow from SA.)
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The Trinidad & Tobago Express with a preview of Team T&T.
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Frank Dell'apa at the Boston Globe reports on New England defender Avery John who was one of the many top players suspended from the T&T squad for demanding his bonus pay promised by the federation after the World Cup. Why doesn't FIFA step in? Hahahaha.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This morning I asked myself, "How screwed up is Jamaican football that they couldn't even qualify for this tournament?"
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MLS games & scores this week(end):
(all times central)
Wed Jun 6
-Toronto 1-2 New York - TO goal by Jeff Cunningham. NY goals by Juan Pablo Angel (both).
Match report by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
Match report by Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star.
Match report from the Toronto Sun.
Match report by Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald.
Match report by Dylan Butler of Big Apple Soccer.
Thu Jun 7
-Houston v Colorado - 8:00 on ESPN2 - Warning: game will be starting about 15 minutes late due to the beginning of the NBA finals.
Sat Jun 9
-Chicago v Chivas - 7:30 on FSC & FSE
-Dallas v Los Angeles - 7:30 on HDNet & Direct Kick
Sun Jun 10
-DC v New York - 12 Noon on TeleFutura
-Columbus v Houston - 4:00 on Direct Kick
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet with a preview of the Houston v Colorado match.
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Beau Dure at USA Today with an article on the reigning champs from Houston.
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Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle previews tonight's match from a Dynamo perspective.
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Bob Luder of the KC Star with an article on Kansas City's great start to the season.
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Buzz Carrick at 3rd Degree with a report on FC Dallas forward Roberto Mina's knee problems, and a possible replacement player from Brazil. Plus Carrick has a full report from yesterdays FCD training session.
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The Deseret Morning News with a story on Salt Lake's friendly game v China tonight.
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Today's MLS foreign player rumor is back to Luis Figo. LA is said to be in the mix, but Figo told the Italian press that he was backing out of his move to Saudi Arabia so he could re-sign with Inter Milan, or retire.
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Ian Plenderleith of the US Soccer Players Assoc has a Q & A with former USA star defender Marcelo Balboa. Let me just say that he was one hell of a player, but one boring ass TV commentator, dull dull dull.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

U20 friendly in Kingston Ontario last night:
-Canada 4-0 USA - Can goals from Tousaint Ricketts (3!) & Jonathon Beaulieu-Bourgault
-Some sweet Canadian revenge for last weeks 4-1 USA win in Ottawa.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report from Canada Soccer Assoc.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USA & Charlton defender Cory Gibbs has been out of action for over a year now with a knee injury. He is currently living in Boston and training with the New England Revolution to get himself in shape for Charlton's preseason.
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USL First Division games this week(end):
Tue June 5
-Montreal 1-1 Minnesota
Thur June 7
-Charleston v Seattle
-Miami v Peurto Rico
-California v Vancouver
Fri June 8
-Carolina v Rochester
-Montreal v Portland - live at 7pm central on FSC.
Sat June 9
-Rochester v Portland
-Atlanta v Seattle
-Miami v Puerto Rico
-California v Minnesota
Sun June 10
-Vancouver v Minnesota
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One month ago Minnesota defender Alfredo Esteves blew out his knee, and last week had the surgery to repair the damage. He has a blog tracking his progress. Hello Alfredo, get back soon.
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Jesse Erdmann of Blue Sky Soccer with the USL First Division Week 9 Power Rankings.
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USL 1D Standings:
18 Vancouver
16 Rochester
16 Montreal
13 Carolina
12 Miami
12 Charleston
12 Seattle
11 Portland
11 Atlanta
10 Puerto Rico
6 Minnesota
2 California
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Semifinals second leg Scores & matches (with first leg scores included):
Wed June 6
Santos 3-1 Gremio - the series ends tied 3-3 on aggregate, but the away goal sends Gremio to the finals.
-Match report from Sports Illustrated.
Thur June 7
Boca Juniors v Cucuta (1-3)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

International Friendly scores from last night:
Thailand 1-3 Netherlands
Ecuador 2-0 Peru in Barcelona
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Euro 08 qualifier scores from last night:
Faroe Islands 0-2 Scotland
Andorra 0-2 Israel
Kazakhstan 1-1 Azerbaijan
Norway 4-0 Hungary
Bulgaria 2-1 Belarus
Finland 2-0 Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 Malta
Sweden 5-0 Iceland
Luxembourg 0-3 Albania
Armenia 1-0 Poland
Germany 2-1 Slovakia
Croatia 0-0 Russia
Liechtenstein 0-2 Spain
France 1-0 Georgia
Romania 2-0 Slovenia
Greece 2-1 Moldova
Estonia 0-3 England
Latvia 0-2 Denmark
Lithuania 0-2 Italy
-We have now passed the midway point for most teams in Euro 2008 qualifying, and here are the group standings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bayern Munich has signed France World Cup hero midfielder Franck Ribery from Olympique Marseille.
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Lastly, they had a very special guest at last nights Finland v Belgium game. It delayed the proceedings for a few minutes. Not as exciting as the Arsenal squirrels last year, but quite possibly cooler. (thanks to the Keeper for sending me this)

USA Line Up V Guatemala

This is who I think will be in the starting 11 for Team USA today:

Howard

Hejduk - Bocanegra - Onyewu - Bornstein

Dempsey - Clark - Donovan - Beasley

Johnson - Ching

(corrected - thanks to Jeffrey for pointing out my boneheaded error)

Who do you think will start the game?

Together With The Weather News

The excellent Steven Wells at the Guardian with a great article on the Philadelphia supporters known as Sons of Ben, as in Franklin, and all the other organic supporters sections that have sprouted up over the last decade across the American soccer landscape! Top notch story.

~and~

Andrea Canales on her Sideline Views blog with a quote from Kasey Keller pertaining to his chances of signing to play for Real Salt Lake: "We’re on a different place on the financial situation. I wasn’t talking crazy money from the money that’s out there right now, but they seem to have an idea of what they’re going to pay goalkeepers in this league and it’s different than what I was turning down in Europe."


Gold Cup action:
(all times central)
Wed Jun 6
-Costa Rica v Canada - 6pm on Galavision
-Guadaloupe v Haiti - 8pm on Galavision
Thu Jun 7
-USA v Guatemala - 8pm on FSC
-El Salvador v Trinidad & Tobago - 10pm on TeleFutura
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Steven Goff at the Washington Post with a story on USA coach Bob Bradley.
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The Oregonian with an article on their old college boy, USA goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
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Pete Gratoff of the Kansas City star with an article on red hot KC striker Eddie Johnson who hopes to ignite Team USA in the Gold Cup.
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Steve Davis at Soccernet with an article on the return to glory for USA & KC striker Eddie Johnson.
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Luis Bueno at LS Soccer News says the USA has to win the Gold Cup. Nothing less.
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Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet previews USA v Guatemala.
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Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram with a good Gold Cup preview.
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Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe calls the Gold Cup a "glittering event", in his preview. I wouldn't go that far Frank.
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Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune with a Gold Cup preview and his predictions.
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Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated with a look at the meaning of the Gold & America Cup's this summer for Team USA.
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The New York Times actually has a Gold Cup preview. I am surprised.
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Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America previews Team USA for the Gold Cup.
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Soccer America also previews some of the other teams in the Gold Cup:
-Canada
-Haiti
-Costa Rica
-Guadeloupe
(I would assume SA will have previews of the other 8 teams over the next 2 days)
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The Trinidad & Tobago Express with a story on the drawn out trip the T&T team had to take to get into the USA. Visa trouble! What a mess this team is.
-Two more stories on the mess that is T&T football. One - and - Two.
-It must be asked, where is powerful FIFA executive Jack Warner of Trinidad in all this mess?
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The Cuban newspaper Granma's with a preview of the Cuban team.
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Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald with a story on the Haitian team.
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Jeff Rusnack of the South Florida Sun Sentinel previews the teams that will start the Gold Cup in Miami - Guadeloupe, Haiti, Canada & Costa Rica.
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Rusnack also previews Guadaloupe in more depth.
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The LA Times with a look at the Haitian peoples love of football, as well.
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The Toronto Globe & Mail with a preview of the Canadian team.
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Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune with a Gold Cup preview. Mostly about the tournament, not so much the teams.
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Read the official USA team blog.
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du Nord MLS Player Of The Week - Ricardo Clark - Midfielder - Houston Dynamo
Of course it would have been very easy and completely understandable to name Eddie Johnson of KC the winner 2 weeks in a row. After all, the striker did just record a MLS first, 2 games in a row scoring 3 goals! What an amazing feat by Mr Johnson. And his timing is perfect, right as the Gold Cup starts! But his team was cruising and every one of them was playing well. On the other hand, the most unlucky team in the whole league has been Houston. And they needed someone on their team to step up big and take the team on his back. Sunday afternoon midfielder Ricardo Clark did just that. It wasn't all wine & roses for Rico. He made a terrible mistake in first half to give away a ball that led directly to a goal and put his team behind 0-1 yet again. But after halftime he came out composed with the attitude to win this game, even if he had to do it himself. Sometimes guys do this and get carried away trying to do it all. But he is smarter than most and played his role. He was also freed from his normal role of playing behind attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. Rico had Richard Mulrooney watching his back this game, so he went for broke. And not long into the second half he powered his way into the box and scored a truly great goal to the upper 90. Then a short time later he took a pass from hard charging teammate Cory Fl-Ashe, then linked to flying striker Joseph Ngwenya who beat the offside trap and scored the winner. It was Ricardo Clark's game and he took his team to needed victory.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS games this week(end) - all times central:
Wed Jun 6
-Toronto v New York - 6:00 on Direct Kick
Thu Jun 7
-Houston v Colorado - 8:00 on ESPN2
Sat Jun 9
-Chicago v Chivas - 7:30 on HDNet & Direct Kick
-Dallas v Los Angeles - 7:30 on FSC & FSE
Sun Jun 10
-DC v New York - 12 Noon on TeleFutura
-Columbus v Houston - 4:00 on Direct Kick
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Toronto Sun with a preview of tonight's TFC v NYRB game.
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The Toronto Star with a look at the paltry wages of some TFC players.
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The Star also previews tonight's game v New York.
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The Toronto Globe & Mail with a preview of tonight's game.
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Metro News Canada was a story on Toronto rookie defender Andrew Boyens, who scored his first pro goal last weekend. It was the game winner too.
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Jack Bell of the New York Times talks to Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel. And other notes from around the soccer world.
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Dylan Butler at Big Apple Soccer with an article on Marvell Wynne, now of Toronto, and his first game against his former team New York.
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Butler also has an article on how the Red Bulls get past last weekends stumble in KC.
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Frank Giase of the Newark Star Ledger talks to Red Bulls new forward Juan Pablo Angel about his transition from the EPL to MLS.
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The Seattle Times has an article on Chivas USA's Cuban forward Maykel Galindo, a former Seattle Sounders players.
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Ian Plenderleith, writing for the Guardian, on the stinking start for the LA Galaxy this season. (thanks to Mike for this one)
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DJ Walker's latest road memoir - Stream of Consciousness: FC Dallas at Houston Dynamo
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Rumor central - 3rd Degree is reporting that 19 year old Brazilian striker Ricardinho from Atletico Paraneaense will be coming to play in Dallas on loan.
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You rarely see a soccer story from the Hartford Courant anymore (basically, since the excellent Jerry Trecker retired a couple years back). But today there's one on the struggles of the New England Revolution over the past couple of weeks.
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The Houston Chronicle with a story on the loud & proud orange clad Dynamo fans of El Batallon & the Texian Army. Truly great fans.
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Jeff Bradley at MLSnet with his newest First XI: Melting Pot
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Pete Gratoff of the KC Star looks at the referee situation with MLS games in Canada. US Soccer is not assigning them like they do for all the other MLS games, Canada's soccer federation has their own guys. Is this a problem?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mike Biglin of the Metro West Daily News in a special feature, asks always humble New England midfielder Steve Ralston about his best high school sports memory.
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Hey the Minnesota Thunder went to Montreal last night and stole a point. Yes they did. A 90th minute goal from midfielder Jeremiah Bass tied the game at 1's. Thank you. But all 6 of the teams measly points have come on the road, with 0 from 3 home games. Two more road games ahead this weekend.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Good story from the Independent Weekly on the Carolina RailHawks. The brand new USL First Division team are off to a good start, and representing a good area of the country for soccer.
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Yesterday in suburban LA at the Home Depot Center, Drew Carey helped raise money for the Mooch Myernick fund. Read the story here from US Soccer.
-Lots of pictures & little anecdotes from the event by Andrea Canales on her Sideline Views blog.
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USA U20 friendly v Canada - Wed June 6 in Kingston Ontario.
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A rumor from England connects American defender Oguchi Onyewu with EPL team Middlesbrough.
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Copa Libertadores - Semifinals second leg matches (with first leg scores included):
Wed June 6
-Santos v Gremio (0-2)
Thur June 7
-Boca Juniors v Cucuta (1-3)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euro 08 qualifiers on Wed Jun 6:
Faroe Islands v Scotland
Andorra v Israel
Kazakhstan v Azerbaijan
Norway v Hungary
Bulgaria v Belarus
Finland v Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Malta
Sweden v Iceland
Luxembourg v Albania
Armenia v Poland
Germany v Slovakia
Croatia v Russia
Liechtenstein v Spain
France v Georgia
Romania v Slovenia
Greece v Moldova
Estonia v England
Latvia v Denmark
Lithuania v Italy
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

International Friendly scores from last night & a couple more matches today:
Mexico 0-1 Paraguay
Brazil 0-0 Turkey in Dortmund
Jamaica 0-1 Chile
Algeria 3-4 Argentina in Barcelona
Kuwait 1-1 Portugal
Wed-
Thailand v Netherlands
Ecuador v Peru in Barcelona
Jordan v Iraq
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wow! Wow! Wow! Mexico lost at Azteca to Paraguay!!!! 0-1! Can you believe that! Wow! If memory serves me right, that is only the second time they have been beaten on that sacred turf since the early 80's! Oscar Cardoza scored for Para in the 89th minute on a counter attack. After the game Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco got into a shoving match with a Paraguay players. Shocking news, hahahahahaha! Mexico has a melt down after they lose? Who ever heard of such a thing happening? This was also coach Hugo Sanchez's first game in charge at Azteca. If they don't win the Gold Cup is he done?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Did you know that Bora Milutinovic's real first name is Velibor?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Jamaica Gleaner with a match report from Jamaica's loss to Chile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And how about those mighty Portuguese led by Big Phil himself, going to the Gulf and only managing a draw against (cough) Kuwait. Who even knew Kuwait had a team?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brazilian demi-legend Roberto Carlos will be leaving Real Madrid at seasons end and has signed with Fenerbahce in Istanbul Turkey! I wonder if the guys at the Fenerbahce Mart in St Paul have heard the news. Someone tell 'em, they will be stoked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Holy smokes, Hernan Crespo cut ALL his hair off - crew cut! You can see him in the background of this picture. This is how he has looked for many years. Drastic change.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Both Frederic Kanoute, the leading goal scorer in La Liga, and Daniel Alves, possibly the player of the year in La Liga, will miss the last two games of the season for their club Sevilla to go play for their national teams, Mali & Brazil. Sevilla sit in 3rd place in Spain, but only 2 points in back of league co-leaders Real Madrid & Barcelona. This is a real shame that those 2 are leaving, and kind of a joke for the league.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grahame Jones of the LA Times answers your soccer questions.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Guardian with the Top 10 Moments of the 06-07 Premiership Season. Mostly off the field. All quality. My fave of this batch is easily - "Joey Barton, literary critic".

Honest Goodness News

Gold Cup action, finally:
USA v Guatemala - Thur Jun 7 at 8pm central on FSC.
-Preceeded by:
Wed Jun 6
-Costa Rica v Canada - 6pm central on Galavision
-Guadaloupe v Haiti - 8pm central on Galavision
-Proceeded by:
Thu Jun 7
-El Salvador v Trinidad & Tobago - 10pm central on TeleFutura
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Official USA team blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Photo's from yesterday's training session. And as you can see, Feilhaber is no longer sporting the facial hair.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ives Galarcep at Soccernet with team by team previews of the Gold Cup tournament participants.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Then Galarcep looks at the USA roster.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And Jeff Carlisle also for Soccernet gives his 2 cents on Team USA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yanks Abroad talks to USA & (I guess) Standard defender Oguchi Onyewu about his new USA teammates.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Dell'Stachio of the Boston Globe looks at USA success at Foxborough over the Gold Cup's history. And other nuggets.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When you go to USA training camp, this is what its all about.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am not sure if I missed this one or not, and I am too lazy to check, so here goes. Andrea Canales at Soccernet talks to Lee Nguyen about PSV & USA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We had heard that Chicago midfielder Justin Mapp had a bum shoulder, but he has reported to Team USA camp. Will he be ready to go? And if not, will he be replaced on the roster? By whom?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad has been added to the Canadian roster for the Gold Cup. The back up keeper to Greg Sutton was injured in training.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The LA Daily News with the latest word on the debacle that has become Trinidad & Tobago's soccer federation. The dark cloud following karma-deprived Jack Warner looms ever nearer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS games this week(end):
(all times central)
Wed Jun 6
-Toronto v New York - 6:00 on Direct Kick
Thu Jun 7
-Houston v Colorado - 8:00 on ESPN2
Sat Jun 9
-Chicagov Chivas - 7:30 on HDNet & Direct Kick
-Dallas v Los Angeles - 7:30 on FSC & FSE
Sun Jun 10
-DC v New York - 12 Noon on TeleFutura
-Columbus v Houston - 4:00 on Direct Kick
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

du Nord MLS Coaching Hot Seat - Who might get fired next:
1. Sigi Schmid - Columbus
2. Frank Yallop - LA
3. Dave Sarachan - Chicago
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

du Nord MLS Rookie Of The Year watch:
(alphabetical)
Corey Ashe - Hou
Andrew Boyens - Tor
Adam Cristman - NE
Maurice Edu - Tor
Robbie Findley - LA
Ty Harden - LA
Michael Harrington - KC
Aaron Hohlbein - KC
Guy-Roland Kpene - DC
Dane Richards - NY
Wells Thompson - NE
-Am I missing anyone, or including someone who is not worthy?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS official Golden Boot Chase:
9 Eddie Johnson
7 Taylor Twellman
5 Maykel Galindo
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now here is someone from Britain that we can listen too when asked about David Beckham coming to play in MLS. Someone with respect and first hand knowledge. Walter Smith, manager of Rangers talks to the League Managers Assoc site. Thank you Walter.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What is going on in Salt Lake? The team is racking up fines from the league for inane reasons at a very fast rate. What a shambles. From the excellent Eric Salsbery at Are You Loyal? (thanks to Lukacs for the link)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An article in the Salt Lake Tribune packed full of terribly lame puns about all the tie games RSL has played so far.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tony Sanneh is in New York to work on his fitness after surgery and hopefully find a place on Bruce Arena's squad, who are suddenly desperate for defenders. Sanneh will not be any immediate help though.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ives Galarcep at the North Jersey Herald with a look at a possible USA v Mexico showdown, and some Red Bulls loose ends.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Giase of the Newark Star Ledger talks to former Red Bull defender Marvell Wynne about being traded to Toronto this spring.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Toronto Globe & Mail talks to TFC midfielder Carl Robinson about his recent trip home to suit up for Wales, and Ryan Giggs last international.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marc Connolly & Ian Plenderleith of the US Soccer Players Assoc go 'round & 'round discussing the latest news from across MLS. Then they answer mail from goofballs like you and me (not literally "me", but most likely you).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My precious Minnesota Thunder are in Montreal tonight attempting to steal points from one of the leauge's best. The Thunder are not nearly as untalented as their record shows, and sooner or later they will make it work. Let's hope its sooner, cuz I am not sure that I can take later.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two stories from Mike Woitalla at Soccer America on new youth development plans from US Soccer. The first story is on the overall plans, with 4 links to details, and the second story is the reasoning behind all of this new path.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USA U20 friendly v Canada - Wed June 6 in Kingston Ontario.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Semifinals second leg matches (with first leg scores included):
Wed June 6
Santos v Gremio (0-2)
Thur June 7
Boca Juniors v Cucuta (1-3)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

International friendly's on Tuesday:
Mexico v Paraguay
Brazil v Turkey in Dortmund
Jamaica v Chile
Algeria v Argentina in Barcelona
Kuwait v Portugal
Thailand v Netherlands
Ecuador v Peru in Barcelona
Indonesia v Ukbekistan
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euro 08 qualifiers on Wednesday:
Faroe Islands v Scotland
Andorra v Israel
Kazakhstan v Azerbaijan
Norway v Hungary
Bulgaria v Belarus
Finland v Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Malta
Sweden v Iceland
Luxembourg v Albania
Armenia v Poland
Germany v Slovakia
Croatia v Russia
Liechtenstein v Spain
France v Georgia
Romania v Slovenia
Greece v Moldova
Estonia v England
Latvia v Denmark
Lithuania v Italy
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Newcastle management has continued to confirm their reputations as buffoons by signing master criminal Joey Barton from Manchester City & county lock-up!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Financial Times with a look at the national pride tied to the national team of Estonia.

Gold Cup Group Stage Schedule

Wed Jun 6
-Costa Rica v Canada
-Guadaloupe v Haiti
Thu Jun 7
-USA v Guatemala
-El Salvador v Trinidad & Tobago
Fri Jun 8
-Panama v Honduras
-Mexico v Cuba
Sat Jun 9
-Canada v Guadeloupe
-Haiti v Costa Rica
-Guatemala v El Salvador
-Trinidad & Tobago v USA
Sun Jun 10
-Honduras v Mexico
-Panama v Cuba
Mon Jun 11
-Costa Rica v Guadeloupe
-Haiti v Canada
Tue Jun 12
-USA v El Salvador
-Trinidad & Tobago v Guatemala
Wed Jun 13
-Cuba v Honduras
-Mexico v Panama

Included here is the US TV schedule for all the games.

Time To Get Organizized News

Why don't we let Jimmy Conrad lead us off today! The Kansas City defender joins up with the USA Gold Cup team and gives us the newest Conrad's Corner: Interrogating The Wizards


USA 4-1 China - USA goals by DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber, Clint Dempsey & Oguchi Onyewu. China goal by Zhang Yaokun.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report by Dan Giesin of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Match report by Dylan Hernandez of the San Jose Mercury News.
Match report by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Match report from the AP.
Match report from Yanks Abroad.
Match Report focusing on Bocanegra & Dempsey from Fulham's website. (thanks to BQ for this)
Post-game quote sheet from US Soccer.
Post-game analysis by Ann Killion of the San Jose Mercury News.
Player reviews by Bill Schmidt of American Soccer News.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Player ratings and post game analysis by Robert Wagman of the Soccer Times.
Post-game notes from Jen Chang of Soccernet.
Post-game notes from George Tanner from the Rocky Mountain News at the FC Rocky blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Audio & Video from US Soccer:
-Post-game audio press conference with USA coach Bob Bradley. Download or listen here.
-Post-game audio press conference with USA player Benny Feilhaber. Download or listen here.
-Three news video clips of training in San Jose, the game highlights, and behind the scenes of the game. Excellent stuff.
-And a little late, but Feilhaber & Kljestan had pre-game audio comments. Download or listen here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Photos from US Soccer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Official USA team blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The LA Soccer News has a Q & A with USA & Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tomorrow Drew Carey will make a big push to raise money for the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund. Carey has put up $100,000 of his own money and will take on USA players in a FIFA07 X-Box tournament. More here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My notes on the USA game:
-How about that Berlin Leather Bar facial hair look that Benny Feilhaber is sporting?!?! He needs to tighten it up a bit to reach perfection.
-After Feilhaber scored, was that a "Dead heads in Golden Gate Park" dance that he and Sacha Kljestan were doing?
-When you look at this picture, you realize that the USA has a tall team these days.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS scores from this past weekend:
Toronto 2-1 Colorado - TO goals by Danny Dichio & Andrew Boyens. Colo goal by Herculez Gomez.
Match report by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
Match report by Dean McNulty of the Toronto Sun.
Match report by Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star.
Post-game notes from George Tanner from the Rocky Mountain News at the FC Rocky blog.
New England 0-0 Salt Lake
Match report by Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.
Match report from the Boston Herald.
Match report from the Salt Lake Tribune.
Kansas City 3-2 New York - KC goals by Eddie Johnson (3). NY goals by Juan Pablo Angel & Dema Kovalenko.
Match report from the Kansas City Star.
Match report by Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald.
Post-game notes from the KC Star.
Los Angeles 0-0 DC
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
Match report by Luis Bueno of the Press Enterprise.
Match report by Phil Collin of the LA Daily News.
Match report by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Post-game notes and player ratings from Goff at his Soccer Insider blog.
Houston 2-1 Dallas - Hou goals by Ricardo Clark & Joseph Ngwenya. Dallas goal by Abe Thompson.
Match report by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
Match report by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Match report from the Dallas Morning News.
Post-game notes from Fallas.
Chicago 3-2 Columbus - Chic goals by Jeff Curtain, William Oliveira & Chad Barrett. Colu goals by Duncan Oughton & Chad Marshall.
Match report by Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune.
Match report by Lacy Banks of the Chicago Sun Times.
Match report by Nick Firchau of Chicago's Daily Southtown.
Post-game notes from Arroyave on his Red Card blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The list of Warthogs, Wonks, Wally's & Wankers is growing long who are slagging MLS to bits, and saying David Beckham is too good for the league. I will not even get into listing who they are or linking to their comments anymore. Leave it to reason though, that they are not followers of the league. (I am not saying it is the greatest, but be a regular watcher, then criticize.) Never mind that they said nothing when he signed with LA back in January. Only now are the geniuses crawling out of the mud ponds to spout off on their again-fave-son DB. Kiss my white ass.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steve Davis at Soccernet with his weekend MLS match roundup.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccernet's MLS Power Rankings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Adam Spangler of This Is American Soccer has an interview with friend of du Nord, Jack Bell of the New York Times.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe with a story on New England midfielder Andy Dorman. (Story ran before Saturday's game.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle with a story on Dynamo midfielder Richard Mulrooney. (Story ran before Sunday's game.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob Luder of the Kansas City star with a story on new KC coach Curt Onalfo, who battled his old boss & mentor Bruce Arena, now coach of the New York Red Bulls. (Story ran before Saturday's game.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mike Wise of the Washington Post with a story on DC United coach Tom Soehn. (Story ran before Saturday's game.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So, who is rumored to be coming to MLS today?
-Claude Makalele - Hah! A guy who makes Eleventy Billion for Chelsea coming to MLS? Git outta here.
-Colin Hendry - the long time Scotland defender is looking for managerial positions. Better than playing ones. This could happen. At least at some level in the USA. Start with AYSO.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USA U20's play 2 friendly's v Canada:
-Sun June 3 in Ottawa
Canada 1-4 USA - Canada goal by Nana Attakora-Gyan. USA goals by Andre Akpan, Preston Zimmerman, Sal Zizzo & Johann Smith.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report from the Ottawa Citizen.
Match report from Top Drawer Soccer.
-Next up - the same two teams play again on Wed June 6 in Kingston Ontario.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division scores from this past weekend:
Montreal 0-0 Vancouver
Miami 0-1 Rochester
Atlanta 1-2 Miami
Minnesota 1-2 Charleston
Puerto Rico 1-1 Rochester
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Three home games, and three losses by a 1-2 scoreline for my Minnesota Thunder. It's been dreadful. This past weekend v Charleston was the worst of the bunch. And I am still trying to figure out why they are playing this ugly defensive style line up when they are at home. Do we really need 2 defensive midfielders on that little pitch? Really?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL 1D Standings:
18 Vancouver
16 Rochester
15 Montreal
13 Carolina
12 Miami
12 Charleston
12 Seattle
11 Portland
11 Atlanta
10 Puerto Rico
5 Minnesota
2 California
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Semifinals second leg matches (with first leg scores included):
-Wed June 6
Santos v Gremio (0-2)
-Thur June 7
Boca Juniors v Cucuta (1-3)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

International Friendly's:
-Tuesday
Mexico v Paraguay
Brazil v Turkey in Dortmund
Jamaica v Chile
Algeria v Argentina in Barcelona
Kuwait v Portugal
Thailand v Netherlands
Ecuador v Peru in Barcelona
Indonesia v Ukbekistan
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FIFA.com has a Q & A with Milan & Netherlands midfielder Clarence Seedorf after winning the Champions League!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In a surprising move Claudio Ranieri has been named new manager at Juventus.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The big news from this weekend's international matches - friendly's, Euro & Africa qualifiers:
-An awful scene went down in Zambia on Saturday after the home side beat Congo 3-0 in an African Nations Cup qualifier. For some reason hundreds of fans tried to get IN to the stadium AFTER the match ended which led to a stampede that killed 12 people and injured 46 more. What the fuck? An investigation is under way. A local newspaper called the Zambia Post who claims to be "The Paper That Digs Deeper" only has a small article on the event, and its basically a comment from the coach saying how sad he is. That's it? The Times Of Zambia with a few gruesome details. The worst details says there was only one gate open in the whole place.
-Sweden took an amazing 0-3 half time lead at Denmark, in a Euro qualifiers. But the Danes roared back to tie it at 3's in the 75th minute. Then all hell broke loose 13 minutes later as the referee called a red card and penalty for Sweden when a Dane punched a Swede in the penalty box. Yes punched. Search YouTube, its there. After that a fan got on the field and tried to punch the referee. The match was then abandon as two more goons ran on the pitch, and will be investigated by UEFA. Sweden could be given a forfeit victory. Danish players did a great job of keeping the fan from hitting the referee and then wrestling the idiot away. One Danish newspaper called the guy, "a fool without self control." That is putting it mildly. Reuters has quotes from "the most hated man in Denmark." The dude says he drank at least 15 beers.
-Gabriel Badilla & Bryan Ruiz scored for Costa Rica as they beat Chile 2-0 in San Jose CR in a Gold Cup warm up match.
-Mexico destroyed Iran 4-0 in their first of two Gold Cup previews. Jared Borgetti, Jaime Lozano, Francisco Fonseca & Gerardo Torrado all scored.
-Pippo Inzaghi stayed smokin hot and scored 2 more, this time for Italy as they squeaked past the Faroe Islands 1-2 on the road.
-David Beckham returns for England and sets up a goal, but Brazil equalizes in stoppage time.
-Dwayne De Rosario scored for Canada in a 2-2 tie down in Venezuela.
-New coach Carlos Alberto Parreira led South Africa to a 4-0 African Nations Cup qualifier over Chad. Maybe they can rebuild this team to be respectable for the World Cup.
-The little known German striker with the Hispanic name, Mario Gomez, scored 2 for his country as they pummeled San Marino 6-0. The score was only 1-0 at half time.
-Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw v Switzerland. Carlos Tevez scored for the Argies.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Argentine Clausura season - going down to the wire?
-Just 2 games to play, and San Lorenzo has a 4 point lead.
-The Standings:
39 San Lorenzo
35 Boca Juniors
33 Estudiantes
-The Schedule:
San Lorenzo - Jun 10 v Arsenal de Sarandi (4th place), Jun 17 at Quilmes (20th place)
Boca Juniors - Jun 10 v Belgrano de Cordoba (19th place), Jun 17 at Lanus (6th place)
Estudiantes - Jun 10 v Argentinos Juniors (7th place), Jun 17 at Arsenal de Sarandi (4th place)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Xan Rice of the Observer checks in with the South African football authorities to report on the progress for 2010. Very good indepth look from a countryman.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This weeks EPL Talk podcast is an interview with Andrew Jennings. He is the journalist who uncovered the bribes between English soccer clubs and agents of players, and before the Olympic Committee bribes. He is currently chasing after FIFA and especially vice president Jack Warner for underhanded dealings. Let's hope Jennings wins.

Tons Of International Scores From The Past Weekend

Euro 08 qualifiers:
-Saturday
Wales 0-0 Czech Republic
Iceland 1-1 Liechtenstein
Kazakhstan 1-2 Armenia
Russia 4-0 Andorra
Germany 6-0 San Marino
Finland 0-2 Serbia
Macedonia 1-2 Israel
Faroe Islands 1-2 Italy
Denmark 3-3 Sweden - game abandon after fan violence on referee
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-2 Turkey
Norway 4-0 Malta
Albania 2-0 Luxembourg
Slovenia 1-2 Romania
Belgium 1-2 Portugal
Azerbaijan 1-3 Poland
Lithuania 1-0 Georgia
France 2-0 Ukraine
Belarus 0-2 Bulgaria
Latvia 0-2 Spain
Greece 2-0 Hungary
Estonia 0-1 Croatia

International friendly's:
-Friday
England 1-1 Brazil
Venezuela 2-2 Canada
Indonesia 3-0 Hong Kong
-Saturday
Mexico 4-0 Iran
Costa Rico 2-0 Chile
Honduras 3-1 Trinidad & Tobago
Australia 1-2 Uruguay
Austria 0-0 Paraguay
S Korea 0-2 Netherlands
Switzerland 1-0 Argentina
-Sunday
Eduador 1-2 Peru in Madrid

African Nations Cup qualifiers:
-Friday
Ethiopia 1-0 Dem Rep of Congo
-Saturday
Uganda 2-1 Nigeria
Tunisia 4-0 Seychelles
Sudan 3-0 Mauritius
Rwanda 2-0 Equatorical Guinea
Eritrea 1-1 Angola
Tanzania 1-1 Senegal
Cape Verde Islands 2-2 Algeria
Namibia 1-0 Libya
Zambia 3-0 Congo
South Africa 4-0 Chad
Morocco 2-0 Zimbabwe
-Sunday
Ivory Coast 5-0 Madagascar
Mauritania 1-1 Egypt
Burundi 1-0 Botswana
Niger 2-0 Lesotho
Liberia 1-2 Cameroon
Swaziland 0-0 Kenya
Mozambique 3-1 Burkina Faso
Rep of Guinea 2-2 Gambia
Seirra Leone 0-1 Togo
Benin 0-0 Mali

Moo Shoo Flip Flops News

USA v China - Sat Jun 2 - 7pm central time from Spartan Stadium in San Jose California on ESPN2 & Galavision.


Right now, if you want all the geeky insider stuff on the USA team training in California the only place to visit everyday is Sideline Views. Its the blog done by Andrea Canales & Luis Bueno. They have so many little tidbits and photos and stuff to chew on its amazing. For example, where else you gonna find out that Everton manager David Moyes stopped by the USA training the other day. Now that is cool. Thank you AC & LB, I love your blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Soccer has an audio interview with USA & PSV midfielder Lee Nguyen. Download or listen here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

More training camp photos from US Soccer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The AP talks to USA defender Oguchi Onyewu about his search for a new club.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marc Connolly of the US Soccer Players Assoc talks to USA & Watford defender Jay DeMerit about his club and this summer's national team action.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrea Canales at Top Drawer Soccer talks to young American Charlie Davies who will be on the squad for the China match for the first time. He plays for Hammarby in Sweden.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Canales spends time talking to DeMerit as well. From Soccer 365.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan is the only one of 19 players current in camp not suiting up for the China game. He will play in an exhibition with Chivas USA up in Seattle instead.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The San Jose Mercury News finally decided to start covering the game today, with a look at the state of the sport in China and a preview of the team representing them tomorrow. They have some coaching turmoil going on.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dan Giesen of the San Francisco Chronicle previews Team USA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS games this weekend:
Sat June 2
-Toronto v Colorado - 2:30 on CBC & Direct Kick
-New England v Salt Lake - 6:30 on HDNet & Direct Kick
-Kansas City v New York - 7:00 on Direct Kick
-Los Angeles v DC - 9:30 on FSC & FSE
Sun June 3
-Houston v Dallas - 4:00 on TeleFutura
-Chicago v Columbus - 6:00 on Direct Kick
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune has several good chunks of info concerning Marcelo Salas, on his Red Card blog. I can't say it looks promising, but you never know.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Arroyave also reports on two Chicago Fire injury problems: Justin Mapp has suffered some sort of shoulder injury and he may miss the Gold Cup. And Thiago has a groin muscle strain that could keep him out a month.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lacy Banks of the Chicago Sun Times with a more positive view of the Salas possibilities.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Juan Pablo Angel of the New York Red Bulls was named MLS Player Of The Month for May.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dylan Butler at Big Apple Soccer with with a story on midfielder Dave Van Den Bergh's off season move from Kansas City to NYRB. DVDB says he is very happy, but no hard feelings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Butler also has an article on defender Chris Leitch who is trying to catch on with the Red Bulls. He has been out since last season due to injury.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Boston Herald checks in on the injury recovery process of New England's Pat Noonan. He is playing, but how fit is he really.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail with an article on TFC captain Jim Brennan who turned down a chance to play for Canada in the Gold Cup so he could concentrate on his club. No one is slagging him for the decision, but everyone slags Landon Donovan when he makes the same type of statements.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Salt Lake Tribune says that RSL forward Atiba Harris is going to play an important role on Jason Kries's team. Really? Him? I hope he is learning fast how to play the game, cuz he has been raw in everything he has done so far.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Oregonian talks to a potential owner who is looking at possible locations for a stadium should MLS come to Portland. He is looking in the suburbs. Why don't they just look at the success of Toronto and realize that urban is better. Get out of the lame ass suburbs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

China will play 2 MLS teams in friendly's next week:
-Real Salt Lake on Thu June 7
-Colorado Rapids on Sun June 10
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The USA U20's play a friendly v Canada on Sun June 3 in Ottawa.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Next Tuesday, US Soccer will rename the main training field at the Home Depot Center in tribute to recently deceased USA assistant coach Glenn Mooch Myernick.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division games & scores this week(end):
Wed May 30
-California 1-1 Charleston
Fri Jun 1
-Montreal v Vancouver - live at 7pm on FSC.
-Miami v Rochester
Sat
-Atlanta v Miami
-Minnesota v Charleston
Sun
-Puerto Rico v Rochester
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL 1D Standings:
17 Vancouver
14 Montreal
13 Carolina
12 Rochester
12 Seattle
11 Portland
11 Atlanta
9 Miami
9 Puerto Rico
9 Charleston
5 Minnesota
2 California
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Semifinals scores and matches:
Thur May 31
Cucuta 3-1 Boca Juniors - Cucu goals by Blas Perez (2) & Ruben Dario Bustos. Boca goal by Pablo Ledesma.
-Match report via Sports Illustrated.
Wed June 6
Santos v Gremio (0-2)
Thur June 7
Boca Juniors v Cucuta (1-3)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euro 08 qualifiers on Sat Jun 2:
Wales v Czech Republic
Iceland v Liechtenstein
Kazakhstan v Armenia
Russia v Andorra
Germany v San Marino
Finland v Serbia
Macedonia v Israel
Faroe Islands v Italy
Denmark v Sweden
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Turkey
Norway v Malta
Albania v Luxembourg
Slovenia v Romania
Belgium v Portugal
Azerbaijan v Poland
Lithuania v Georgia
France v Ukraine
Belarus v Bulgaria
Latvia v Spain
Greece v Hungary
Estonia v Croatia
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Deportivo San Martin has won the Peru Championship, with 2 weeks still left to play.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eric Weil of World Soccer looks at the crumbling state of the Argentine leagues. Via Sports Illustrated.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England v Brazil today at Wembley. See it on FSC.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England also announced that they will play a friendly v Germany at Wembley on August 22.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some other friendly's going on around the world this weekend & early next week:
-Fri
Venezuela v Canada
Indonesia v Hong Kong
-Sat
Australia v Uruguay
Bolivia v El Salvador in Washington DC
Austria v Paraguay
Costa Rico v Chile
Mexico v Iran
Honduras v Trinidad & Tobago
S Korea v Netherlands
Switzerland v Argentina
-Sun
Eduador v Peru in Madrid
Malawi v Gabon
-Tue
Brazil v Turkey in Dortmund
Jamaica v Chile
Algeria v Argentina in Barcelona
Mexico v Paraguay
Kuwait v Portugal
Thailand v Netherlands
Ecuador v Peru in Barcelona
Indonesia v Ukbekistan
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Lots of African Nations Cup qualifiers this weekend too:
-Sat
Uganda v Nigeria
Tunisia v Seychelles
Rwanda v Equatorical Guinea
Eritrea v Angola
Tanzania v Senegal
Cape Verde Islands v Algeria
Seirra Leone v Togo
Benin v Mali
Namibia v Libya
Ethiopia v Dem Rep of Congo
Zambia v Congo
South Africa v Chad
Morocco v Zimbabwe
-Sun
Ivory Coast v Madagascar
Mauritania v Egypt
Burundi v Botswana
Niger v Lesotho
Sudan v Mauritius
Liberia v Cameroon
Swaziland v Kenya
Mozambique v Burkina Faso
Rep of Guinea v Gambia
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Former Norwich manager Nigel Worthington has been hired as the new top man for Northern Ireland.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FIFA.com with an article on young Mexican Carlos Vela who will lead his country at the U20 World Cup this summer. He won the U17 World Cup two years ago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FIFA also talks to Lionel Messi. This is about the 5th interview I have seen with him this week. Must be a new publicist.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chelsea have signed forward Claudio Pizarro from Bayern Munich on a free transfer. He's not gonna help, although he will be better than Salomon Kalou.
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Simon Kuper of the Financial Times on the England team, their place in their countries culture, and how the image of the players wives and girlfriends is perceived by the public.