Absolute Apocalypse & Anarchy News

Ray Hudson of GolTV describing Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello in the final moments of his teams championship claiming match: "Don Fabio is braver than a matador in high heels & a pink tutu. Capello is braver than a bullfighter with no knickers on."

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Shep Messing had 2 big rumors to announce at half time of the NY v KC game on Saturday. 1 - Landon Donovan is on the trading block for LA! AND 2 - The New York Mets are looking to buy an MLS team and have them play on land next to their new stadium in Queens! (see more on this story below)

~and~

The Salt Lake Tribune has an exclusive Q & A with MLS Commissioner Don Garber.


All The Gold Cup Action:

USA 2-1 over Panama on Saturday in the Semifinals.
-They will take on Canada in the semi's on Thurs night.
-USA goals by Landon Donovan on a PK in the 60th minute, and Carlos Bocanegra with a header off a DaMarcus Beasley free kick in the 62nd minute.
-Panama should have lost a player on Donovan's penalty. LD was in alone on the keeper and was football tackled from behind in the box. Not only was the player not sent off, he wasn't even given a card. Unbelievable.
-Even earlier Panamaniac captain Baloy should have been sent off for his second yellow on a deliberate hand ball that broke up a USA counter attack. He just reached out and plucked the ball out of the air on purpose. The replay clearly showed it was intentional. But the referee called play on. No card, not even a foul for hand ball. Quite surreal.
-Panama finally lost a player, midfielder Manuel Torres, to a red card in the 76th minute for his second yellow.
-With 10 men Panama got desperate and turned it up a notch. They played better.
-Blas Perez scored in the 85th min for Pan after Steve Ralston picked off teammates Oguchi Onyewu & Frankie Hejduk who had Perez covered quite well. Very poor defense led to a powerful goal by a good striker with a wide open shot at the top of the penalty box.
-The USA had many many great chances to score. Taylor Twellman & Donovan both had 2 in the first 20 minutes. Twellman didn't put either chance on net. Donovan had both of his saved by the keeper. 7 quality USA chances in the first half led to 0 goals. This is unacceptable. Totally.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report by Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.
Match report by Mike Biglin of the MetroWest Daily Herald.
Match report by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Match report from Yanks Abroad.
Match report from the LA Times.
Match report & players ratings from the New York Times.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America.
Post-game analysis by Ives Galarcep for Soccernet.
Post-game notes from Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.
Post-game analysis & player ratings by Robert Wagman of Soccer Times.
Post-game analysis by Greg Lalas for Sports Illustrated.
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du Nord 3 Star Of The Game
3. Carlos Bocanegra - The best of the 4 US defenders and another great header for a goal. He is really good at that these days.
2. Clint Dempsey - Always showing his flair and unpredictability to keep the opposition off balance. Even if he doesn't score for himself he sets up or frees others for their chances.
1. Landon Donovan - I still am against him playing on the outside of midfield, but he is dangerous every time he is on the field. Forced the Panama keeper into 2 great saves early and drew a PK that he converted and finally put the team over the top.
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US Soccer has post-game behind the scenes video.
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US Soccer with game photos.
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Official Team USA blog.
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US Soccer's Studio 90 has a new episode from last Friday featuring "regeneration training" & an interview with Jonathan Spector. (click on June 15)
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Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe attempts to jinx the whole damn thing by looking ahead to a potential USA v Mexico matchup in the final next Sunday.
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John Powers of the Boston Globe looks at the opportunities upcoming at Copa America.
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Mike Biglin on the MetroWest Daily Mail looks to see just who are the leaders of this new USA team.
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And then Biglin looks at what its gonna take for the USA to win the Gold Cup, and succeed at Copa America.
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Kristian Dyer at Soccernet with a story on the father-son team at the USA - Bob Bradley the coach, and Michael Bradley the young midfielder. Some people scream nepotism is the only way Michael is on this team and on the field. Smart people see his skills with their own two eyes and know differently. Sure he is not the best right now, but his potential & skills are obvious.
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Gold Cup Matches & Scores:
(all times central)
-Quarterfinals:
Canada 3-0 Guatemala - Can goals by Dwayne De Rosario, & 2 by Ali Gerba.
USA 2-1 Panama - USA goals by Landon Donovan (PK) & Carlos Bocanegra. Pan goal by Blas Perez.
Honduras v Guadeloupe - Hon goal by Carlos Pavon. Guad goals by Jocelyn Angloma & Richard Edward Socrier.
Mexico 1-0 Costa Rica in extratime - Mex goal by Jared Borgetti. Costa Rica had 3 players see red cards!
-Semifinals:
Thu Jun 21 - Soldier Field in Chicago-
USA v Canada - 6pm on FSC & TeleFutura
Mexico v Guadeloupe - 9pm on TeleFutura
-Final:
Sun Jun 24 - Soldier Field in Chicago-
2pm on FSC & Univision
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Soccer365 talks to Trinidad & Tobago and Dallas goalkeeper Shaka Hislop about his country at last summer's World Cup and this summer's Gold Cup.
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Two view points on the turmoil that is Venezuela, host of Copa America:
-New York Times
-Associated Press
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MLS scores this weekend:
-New England 3-3 Columbus - NE goals by Adam Cristman(2) & Pat Noonan. Colu goals by Robbie Rigers, Guillermo Barros Schelloto & Alejandro Moreno.
Match report from the Boston Globe.
Match report by John Connolly of the Boston Herald.
Post-game notes from Shawn Mitchell at the Columbus Dispatch.
More post-game notes from Mitchell.
-DC 3-1 Chicago - DC goals by Rod Dyachenko & 2 by Luciano Emilio. Chic goal by Jerson Monteiro.
Match report by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Match report by John Haydon of the Washington Times.
Post-game notes & players ratings from Goff at his Soccer Insider blog.
-New York 3-3 Kansas City - NY goals by Juan Pablo Angel (2 - 1 on PK), & Clint Mathis. KC goals by Kerry Zavagnin & 2 from Yura Movsisyan.
Match report by Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald.
Match report from the Newark Star Ledger.
Match report from Big Apple Soccer.
-Chivas 2-0 Colorado - Chiv goals by Maykel Galindo & a Terry Cooke own goal.
Match report from the LA Times.
Match report by Luis Bueno of LA Soccer News.
Match report from the Daily Breeze.
Post-game notes by George Tanner on his FC Rocky blog from the Rocky Mountain News.
-Toronto 4-0 Dallas - Tor goals by Maurice Edu, Danny Dichio, Carl Robinson & Jeff Cunningham.
Match report by Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star.
Match report by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
-Los Angeles 3-2 Salt Lake - LA goals by Nate Jaqua, Edson Buddle & Cobi Jones. RSL goals both by Chris Brown.
Match report from the LA Times.
Match report by Luis Bueno of LA Soccer News.
Match report from the Daily Breeze. (With obligatory Beckham talk too.)
Match report by James Edwards of the Deseret Morning News.
Match report from the Salt Lake Tribune.
Post-game notes from Edwards.
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My MLS post-game notes:
-You wanna know how bad Real Salt Lake are right now? They made a bad LA Galaxy team look pretty good. Oof.
-So what kinda goal keeping do ya call that from NY's Ronald Wattereus? Horrible is what I call it. He was so far off his line that I could have chipped him. He got beat three times by KC cuz he insists on playing 10 yards from the net until the ball is right on top of him. And Shep Messing was talking early in the broadcast about how RW can play that far off his line cuz he is that great. Hahahaha. So much for that theory.
-Carlos Marinelli is a great passer of the ball for KC.
-Columbus may not have much talent but at least they continue to play hard every time I have seen them. Come on Sigi. You can do it.
-But Columbus still have some huge weaknesses. Defensive midfield with Danny O'Rourke is below average. Defender Rusty Pierce is out of his league these days (and subbed off at half time this week), and the goalkeeper situation is terrible.
-Adam Cristman's second goal for New England was a thing of beauty: Matt Ries takes a goal kick. Cristman, on the far side of the center circle flicks it backwards with his head to a streaking Pat Noonan at the top left side of the box. Noonan turns back and squares a pass to the middle for Cristman who had taken off running right after his header. Cristman then pulverizes the ball first time into the top right corner from 15 yards out. Wow!
-TFC forward Danny Dichio may have a fractured bone in his left foot or ankle
-What a looker.
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There is a nice little rumor floating around that Rangers in Glasgow have made an offer of at least $1 million to LA for Nathan Sturgis.
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The other big LA rumor surfacing last week by Steven Goff on his Soccer Insider blog was that Honduran striker Carlos Pavon was going to sign with the Galaxy. The story took on pretty solid ground late Friday when Ives Galarcep on his Soccer by Ives blog said that the deal is done.
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Newspapers in Chile are saying that Marcelo Salas will NOT play for the Chicago Fire.
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The Toronto Sun with a story on young TFC & Canada U20 striker Andrea Lombardo.
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The TO Sun with another story on the growth of the TFC team during their first 11 matches.
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And finally the TO Sun with a story on the quality of the overall growth in Canadian soccer.
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The Toronto Star with an article wondering if TFC can do on the road what they do at home. Their next 6 games are all "away".
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Dylan Butler of Big Apple Soccer with a story on the amazing goal scoring exploits of NY's Juan Pablo Angel! 9 goals now in just 7 games, and scoring in 6 straight matches (one short of the MLS record)!
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Michael Lewis also at Big Apple Soccer with an article on the Merry-Go-Round defensive line ups of the Red Bulls.
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Billy Witz at the Daily Breeze talks to Freddy Adu about David Beckham.
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Steve Davis at Soccernet with a wrap of this past weeks MLS action. And the weekly Power Rankings.
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The Daily Herald, from somewhere in Utah, with an article on the new practice field Real Salt Lake will have. It sounds like it will be one zillion times better than that barbaric hell hole of home field they play on at Rice-Eccles.
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Jack Bell of the New York Times reports on a possible bid by the New York Mets to buy an MLS team.
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This weeks Major League Soccer Talk podcast features an interview with GolTV commentator and host Phil Schoen. Download or listen here.
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Bob Luder of the KC Star with an article on Kansas City midfielder Sasha Victorine. (This story ran before Saturday's match.)
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Steven Goff of the Washington Post with a story on DC United's Josh Gross who has moved from outside midfielder to left back this season. (This story ran before this weekend's match.)
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USL First Division scores this weekend:
-Montreal 0-1 Charleston
-Carolina 0-1 Seattle
-Atlanta 0-0 California
-Minnesota 1-1 Miami
-Rochester 5-2 Charleston
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USL 1D Standings:
23 Rochester
21 Vancouver
19 Seattle
16 Montreal
15 Charleston
14 Portland
14 Miami
14 Puerto Rico
14 Carolina
13 Atlanta
8 Minnesota
7 California
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FIFA.com talks to Argentine long time star Javier Zanetti about Inter and Copa America (he is on the squad).
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Sebastian Perez-Ferreiro at Sports Illustrated talks to another Argentine named Javier, this one Saviola, about leaving Barcelona and playing in the upcoming the Copa America.
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The USA U20 team has begun practice in New Jersey for the upcoming World Cup in Canada.
-Team members Freddy Adu, Gabriel Ferrari & Julian Valentin with quotes via US Soccer.
-Here is the team blog.
-The team plays their last friendly this Sat Jun 23 v Chile at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford NJ.
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Andrea Canales at Soccernet writes about the confidence this USA U20 team has going into the World Cup.
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-Real Madrid are the 2006/07 Campeones of Spain's La Liga-
-Scores:
Real Madrid 3-1 Mallorca
Gimnastic 1-5 Barcelona
Sevilla 0-1 Villareal
-Final Standings:
76 Real Madrid - win tiebreaker on head to head record v Barca
76 Barcelona
71 Sevilla
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Reuters reports on the how the Real Madrid fans and team celebrated after the match. Via Soccernet.
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Sid Lowe at the Guardian with the story of Real's win.
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Ruud van Nistelrooy captured the Pichichi for being the top goal scorer in La Liga with 25.
-The Top 5:
25 Ruud van Nistelrooy
23 Diego Milito
21 Ronaldinho
21 Fredric Kanoute
19 Diego Forlan
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The New York Times with an article on Bolivia's battle against FIFA who have banned all international matches played at high altitude.
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The Guardian with a story on the emerging strength of many different teams in the Russian Premier league.
-CSKA & Zenit are tied for first with 21 points after 13 of 30 matches. FC Moscow & Spartak are tied for 3rd with 20 points. While Dinamo & PFK Samara are tied for 5th with 19 points. Tight race indeed.

Three Hard Ones News

Again Steven Wells of the Guardian nails it! We all get pissed off every time the English cracks jokes at our expense over soccer. Turns out Wells feels the joke is on the English not us. He says that we Yanks who love the game love it as much as any Englishman, and that it's time his countrymen shut up and move on. This joke is over. YES!

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Mike H at My Soccer Blog takes up the torch in the Anti-Jack Warner crusade. The head of CONCACAF and a FIFA exec is a massively crooked weasel whose own native Trinidad & Tobago federation debacle is proof enough that this guy has to go. Come on everyone. Let's get rid of this scum once and for all.

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DaMarcus Beasley posted his own note on the Team USA blog: "I've heard a lot of rumors out there about me leaving the U.S. camp during the Gold Cup to pursue a possible transfer, and I felt like I needed to clear things up. First of all, I want all the fans to know that I am 100 percent focused on helping our team defend the Gold Cup title. We have played well so far, and I think the best is still yet to come for the U.S. team. But to set the record straight, I haven't signed with any team, nor has there been any deal reached with a club. It's true that Rangers are interested, as well as several other teams, but at this point nothing is set in stone. I am still a PSV player, and we will worry about my club situation after the Gold Cup. Right now, it's time to get ready for training." (Personally, I think his agent wrote that note, but hey, thanks for keeping us up to date amigo. Best of luck.)


All The Gold Cup Action:

The Boston Globe with a story on young American midfielder Benny Feilhaber.
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Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America gives us a look at the next USA opponent - Panama. (Commence singing Van Halen song now.)
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Mahoney also wrote an article on the renewed stardom in England, at Everton now, for American keeper Tim Howard. I somehow missed this one a couple weeks ago. Good stuff. (thank to BQ for unearthing it for us)
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Mike Biglin at the MetroWest Daily News writes about Howard as well.
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Andrew Hush at Soccer New England calls USA & New England midfielder Steve Ralston the "Ultimate Professional".
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Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune previews all the weekend Gold Cup matches.
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Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet previews the quarterfinals as well.
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Pre-match notes on the Panama game from US Soccer. (features a link to a video clip from the 2005 USA trip to Panama for World Cup qualifying - excellent stuff - I can't wait for the qualifiers to begin next winter!)
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Read the USA team blog.
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Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune also writes about the Mexican players making a splash in Euro leagues.
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Bernardo Falls fo the Houston Chronicle looks at Mexico's bumpy ride under coach Hugo Sanchez.
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(Stolen from Luis Bueno's Sideline Views blog) Contaco Deportivo asked Costa Rican striker Rolando Fonseca about the current strength of Mexico: "The landscape is changing. The top team in CONCACAF isn't Mexico anymore. For me, the giant is the United States."
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Gold Cup Matches & Scores:
(all times central)
-Quarterfinals:
Sat Jun 16 - Gillett Stadium in Foxborough-
S1 - Canada v Guatemala - 12noon on TeleFutura
S2 - USA v Panama - 3pm on Univision & FSC
Sun Jun 17 - Reliant Stadium in Houston-
S3 - Honduras v Guadeloupe - 2pm on Univision
S4 - Mexico v Costa Rica - 5pm on TeleFutura
-Semifinals:
Thu Jun 21 - Soldier Field in Chicago-
S1 v S2 - 6pm on TeleFutura
S3 v S4 - 9pm on TeleFutura
-Final:
Sun Jun 24 - Soldier Field in Chicago-
2pm on Univision & FSC
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MLS games & scores this weekend:
(all times central)
Thur June 14-
-Salt Lake 0-1 Dallas - Dal goal by Dominic "Birdman" Oduro.
Match report by James Edwards of the Deseret Morning News.
Match report from the Salt Lake Tribune.
Match report from the Dallas Morning News.
Post-game analysis by Brad Rock of the Deseret Morning News.
Sat June 16-
-New England v Columbus - 5:30pm on FSC & FSE
-DC v Chicago - 6:30pm on HDNet
-New York v Kansas City - 6:30pm on Direct Kick
-Chivas v Colorado - 9:30pm on Direct Kick
Sun June 17
-Toronto v Dallas - 12:00pm on Telefutura & CBC
-Los Angeles v Salt Lake - 7pm on Direct Kick
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I wrote a few notes during that RSL v Dallas game, but I am only going to share one of them with you:
-Real Salt Lake stinks!
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The Chicago Sun Times looks at the incredibly shorthanded Chicago Fire team.
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The Denver Post with a profile on the career of Colorado midfielder Jose Cancela.
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Luis Bueno & Andrea Canales at LA Soccer News talk to LA Galaxy midfielder about his team acquiring his former Columbus teammate, forward Edson Buddle, this week.
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Metrofanatic is very pleased with the $1,593,750 spent on Juan Pablo Angel. Very pleased indeed.
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There have been rumors of the LA Galaxy chasing after Honduran striker Carlos Pavon, but Bernado Fallas of the Houston Chronicle asked the forward about it and Pavon says its just rumors.
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Steven Goff of the Washington Post reports on this blog, Soccer Insider, that DCU midfielder, MLS Player Of The Week & Goal Scorer Of The Week, Benny Olsen got a buzz cut.
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du Nord's MLS Coaching Hot Seat:
1. Frank Yallop - LA
2. Sigi Schmid - Columbus
3. Dave Sarachan - Chicago
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du Nord's MLS Rookie Of The Year watch:
(alphabetical)
Andrew Boyens - Tor
Maurice Edu - Tor
Ty Harden - LA
Michael Harrington - KC
Dane Richards - NY
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MLS Golden Boot chase:
9 Eddie Johnson
7 Juan Pablo Angel
7 Taylor Twellman
5 Maykel Galindo
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USL First Division games this weekend:
Fri Jun 15
-Carolina v Seattle - 7pm central on FSC
-Montreal v Charleston
Sat Jun 16
-Atlanta v California
-Minnesota v Miami
Sun Jun 17
-Rochester v Charleston
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Glenn Davis on his blog does a short Q & A with American forward Josh Wolff who is playing in Munich for 1860 these days.
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The roster for the USA U-20 World Cup was announced today:
G:
Chris Seitz – Sale Lake
Brian Perk - UCLA
Steve Sandbo - SMU
D:
Nathan Sturgis – Los Angeles
Tim Ward - Columbus
Amaechi Igwe – New England
Julian Valentin - Wake Forest
Ofori Sarkodie - Indiana
Tony Beltran - UCLA
Anthony Wallace - Dallas
M:
Michael Bradley - Heerenveen
Danny Szetela - Columbus
Dax McCarty - Dallas
Freddy Adu – Salt Lake
Bryan Arguez – DC
Sal Zizzo - UCLA
F:
Jozy Altidore – New York
Robbie Rogers - Columbus
Johann Smith - Bolton
Gabriel Ferrari - Sampdoria
Andre Akpan - Harvard
-US Soccer has an audio interview with coach Thomas Rongen about his roster of players. Download or listen here.
-All the USA games and knockout round game will be shown on ESPNU, which I luckily have!
-The team begins training this Sunday and plays a warm up game on Sat Jun 23 v Chile at Giants Stadium in NJ.
-The group stage games are:
Sat Jun 30 v South Korea - 3:45pm central at Olympic Stadium in Montreal
Tue Jul 3 v Poland - 3:45pm central at Olympic Stadium in Montreal
Fri Jul 6 v Brazil - 6:30pm central at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa
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Brazil has announced their squad as well for the U20 WC. Soccer America says they look very strong.
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The Toronto Star with an article on young TFC striker Andrea Lombardo who hopes to lead the Canada U20's to World Cup glory.
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The New York Times reports on the 13 Haiti U20 players who vanished during at layover at JFK airport on the way to a match in South Korea. The word spread that the players were defecting. But two days later they have all returned to the team. But will they be headed to the World cup in Canada with their teammates?
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-Spanish La Liga- The only Euro league race left this season. And this is the last week.
-Matches:
Real Madrid v Mallorca - 2pm central on GolTV
Barcelona at Gimnastic
Sevilla v Villareal
-Standings:
73 Real Madrid - lead on head to head record v Barca
73 Barcelona
71 Sevilla
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Fulham defender Moritz Volz checks in from a trip to New York, raving about the city, on his excellent blog. He needs to write more, cuz he is good at it. (thanks to BQ for the heads up)
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The Times of London says that a match fixing scandal could be emerging in Portugal.

Great Yarl News

Clive Toye who helped to seriously start this soccer revolution in America by playing a vital role in the creation of the New York Cosmos, has an essay of inspiration for all of us involved in the beautiful game today. From Soccer America.


All Gold Cup All The Time:

Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe with a story on New England defender Michael Parkhurst, who has started the last two USA games, and those are his first ever caps.
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Mike Biglin of the MetroWest Daily News with a story on the return to form for DaMarcus Beasley! Yes! It's great to see him happy and productive.
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Ives Galarcep & Jeff Carlisle at Soccernet give their views on the USA after the group stage.
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Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle has a look at the new & younger Team USA at the Gold Cup.
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Paul Kennedy of Soccer America looks ahead to the USA Quarterfinal match v Panama which he labels "tricky". Very well could be.
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Read the USA team blog.
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More video from US Soccer - click on June 13, 2007
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All Matches & Scores:
(all times central)
Group Stages-
-Wed Jun 6 scores-
Costa Rica 1-2 Canada
Guadaloupe 1-1 Haiti
-Thur Jun 7 scores-
USA 1-0 Guatemala
El Salvador 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago
-Fri Jun 8 scores-
Panama 3-2 Honduras
Mexico 2-1 Cuba
-Sat Jun 9 scores-
Guatemala 1-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2 USA
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe
Haiti 1-1 Costa Rica
-Sun Jun 10 scores-
Hondura 2-1 Mexico
Panama 2-2 Cuba
-Mon Jun 11 scores-
Costa Rica 1-0 Guadeloupe
Haiti 0-2 Canada
-Tue Jun 12 matches-
USA 4-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 1-1 Guatemala
-Wed Jun 13 matches-
Cuba 0-5 Honduras
Match report from the Houston Chronicle
Mexico 1-0 Panama
Match report by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
-Quarterfinals:
Sat Jun 16 - Gillett Stadium in Foxborough-
S1 - Canada v Guatemala - 12noon on TeleFutura
S2 - USA v Panama - 3pm on Univision & FSC
Sun Jun 17 - Reliant Stadium in Houston-
S3 - Honduras v Guadeloupe - 2pm on Univision
S4 - Mexico v Costa Rica - 5pm on TeleFutura
-Semifinals:
Thu Jun 21 - Soldier Field in Chicago-
S1 v S2 - 6pm on TeleFutura
S3 v S4 - 9pm on TeleFutura
-Final:
Sun Jun 24 - Soldier Field in Chicago-
2pm on Univision & FSC
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Luis Bueno at Sports Illustrated looks at the odd-Mexico we are seeing right now.
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Fallas of the Chronicle is reporting that 2 Cuban players on the Gold Cup roster have possibly defected to the USA.
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Fallas also has a couple of notes on Mexico & Honduras.
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And more Glenn Davis with thoughts on Mexico, from his blog.
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MLS games & scores this week(end):
(all times central)
Thur June 14-
-Salt Lake v Dallas - 8pm on ESPN2
Sat June 16-
-New England v Columbus - 5:30pm on FSC & FSE
-DC v Chicago - 6:30pm on HDNet
-New York v Kansas City - 6:30pm on Direct Kick
-Chivas v Colorado - 9:30pm on Direct Kick
Sun June 17-
-Toronto v Dallas - 12:00pm on Telefutura & CBC
-Los Angeles v Salt Lake - 7pm on Direct Kick
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James Edwards of the Deseret Morning News previews the match tonight for winless Salt Lake. Winless! How can you be winless in MLS after 10-12 games?
-The same from the Salt Lake Tribune.
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Beau Dure at USA Today with an article on Dallas, their decent start, their injury list & their packed schedule so far this season.
-Plus a side article on the Colombian Bulldozer, Juan Toja. (and wouldn't you just know it, the amazing Mr. Dure name-checked du Nord too, and gave me credit for naming Toja the Bulldozer!)
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Jeff Carlisle at Soccernet previews tonight's MLS game.
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Gabriel Cabarrouy of the Dallas Morning News with a preview of Dallas for tonights game. This team is really thin at forward.
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Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog with excellent hilarity on DCU's suddenly hot property Ben Olsen.
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Luis Arroyave on his Red Card blog with some good Chicago Fire insider news info. The big one being that Chris Rolfe's ankle injury is much worse than originally thought to be, and he is now in a cast for up to 6 weeks. Wow. Bummer dude.
-Arroyave also has a nice and hilarious list of some MLS players first ever jobs.
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Toronto's newest defender, Tyrone Marshall, will miss the next 3 games with his new team. He was given a red card for a tackle that resulted in a broken leg for Dallas forward Kenny Cooper, which automatically took him out of one game, but the league tagged an additional 2 game suspension on to that for the nastiness.
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Bob Holtzman of LA's Carson Daily Breeze looks at the Galaxy as Abel Xavier arrives and Tyrone Marshall departs.
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Luis Bueno on his Sideline Views blog shows off a great artistic cameraphone snap he took of Abel Xavier at the introductory press conference. The AX looks pretty damn suave with the white suit and white hair. And I still love that the Herbalife logo looks like a portion of a pot plant. I also wanna go on record as nicknaming Xavier "The AX".
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The PA Sports Ticker with quotes from David Beckham about the end of his Madrid days and the new challenge ahead in LA. (thanks to Joe J for this one)
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Real Salt Lake has announced the "Pioneer Soccer Spectacular" in which they will play friendly's v Everton & Boca Juniors! Fantastic!
-Sat Jul 21 v Everton
-Tue Jul 24 v Boca Juniors
-Ticket & match info.
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Jeff Bradley focuses on Gold Cup & MLS history with this weeks First XI: Solid Gold Lineup
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Ian Plenderleith at the US Soccer Players Assoc takes a peek way ahead in the MLS season and likes the pace being set for the playoff races.
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The latest on a potential stadium deal in the Seattle area, from the Puget Sound Business Journal. (thanks to Shawn for sending me this)
-This map gives you an idea of where the place is in relation to Seattle. It's basically right next to Sea-Tac Airport.
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US Open Cup first round score:
Charlotte Eagles 2-0 Lynch's Irish Pub
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Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe see's the Copa America schedule timing causing some stress for USA players (beyond just Landon Donovan who already expressed his feelings but will go anyway).
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John Haydon of the Washington Times says 3 DC United players are likely to be named to the USA Copa America squad - Ben Olsen, Brian Carroll & Bobby Boswell. Plus some other DCU news.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to NYRB striker Jozy Altidore about the chances for success of the USA U20's at the World Cup later this month.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Did I mention this already? Adolfo Bautista has left Guadalajara and signed with Chiapas.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Finals:
Wed Jun 13 - first leg
Boca Juniors 3-0 Gremio - Boca goals by Rodrigo Palacio, Pablo Ledesma & Juan Roman Riquelme.
-Match report from Sports Illustrated.
Wed Jun 20 - second leg
Gremio v Boca Juniors
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jonah Freedman at Sports Illustrated with his early summer World Power Rankings -this is the time of year when the going gets slow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chelsea has signed Bolton's Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim.

Loud Mouth Lawyerly News

Word is spreading that near-legendary USA defender Eddie Pope has decided that he will retire from the game at the end of this season with Real Salt Lake. What a great defender. The all-time best from this country.

~and~

So far in 2007 the USA has played 8 games. They have given up 3 goals. And they have scored 19. Good job boys. The only negative is that every game has been played on US soil.


Gold Cup 3rd & final Group Stage match:
USA 4-0 El Salvador - USA goals by Beasley (2), Donovan (PK) & Twellman.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report by Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.
Match report by Mike Biglin of the MetroWest Daily News.
Match report from the Boston Herald.
Match report by Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald.
Match report by Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer.
Match report by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Match report from the LA Times.
Match report from Yanks Abroad.
Match report from RevsNet.
Match report from Top Drawer Soccer.
Match report & player ratings from the New York Times. (Much more realistic ratings this time.)
Post-game analysis by Greg Lalas of Sports Illustrated.
Post-game notes by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next USA game, the Quarterfinals, will be Sat Jun 16 v Guadeloupe or Group C 3rd place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough at 3pm central on Univision.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

du Nord Three (Four) Stars Of The Game
3. Jonathan's Spector & Bornstein - the outside backs were great from start to finish. Defense to offense to defense again. All around quality.
2. Clint Dempsey - What a player. His foot skills are even better than last year, and with a little luck his 2 brilliant shots would have found net. He completely unnerved the El Sal back line.
1. DaMarcus Beasley - 2 goals and a new deal at Rangers. Quite a day for Run DMB. His first goal was an amazing thread the needle number too, and he did it with his RIGHT foot!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Game photos from US Soccer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Read the USA team blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Soccer's Studio 90 has an interview & trivia quiz with Jay DeMerit. (Click on June 12, 2007)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My game notes:
-Tim Howard did not have to make a single save in this game!
-Our boys are the only team to finish the group stage with the full 9 points. They scored 7 goals in doing so, and surrendered 0.
-The average age of the 14 US players on the field last night was 24.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Powers at the Boston Globe compares last nights Team USA to the one that played a year ago yesterday in Germany v the Czechs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marc Connolly of the US Soccer Players Assoc checks in on the progress being made at Team USA by New England defender Michael Parkhurt. Parkhurst got his second cap and second start last night.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Michael Lewis at Big Apple Soccer reports that the El Sal coach, Carlos de los Cobos, was ejected from the match by the referee after arguing the Donovan penalty re-take at the end of the first half.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yanks Abroad talks to Landon Donovan & DaMarcus Bealsey about coach Bob Bradley's "captain by committee" approach to the team's leadership.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All Gold Cup Matches & Scores:
(all times central)
-Wed Jun 6 scores-
Costa Rica 1-2 Canada
Guadaloupe 1-1 Haiti
-Thur Jun 7 scores-
USA 1-0 Guatemala
El Salvador 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago
-Fri Jun 8 scores-
Panama 3-2 Honduras
Mexico 2-1 Cuba
-Sat Jun 9 scores-
Guatemala 1-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2 USA
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe
Haiti 1-1 Costa Rica
-Sun Jun 10 scores-
Hondura 2-1 Mexico
Panama 2-2 Cuba
-Mon Jun 11 scores-
Costa Rica 1-0 Guadeloupe
Haiti 0-2 Canada
-Tue Jun 12 matches-
USA 4-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 1-1 Guatemala
-Wed Jun 13 matches-
Cuba v Honduras - 7pm on Telefutura
Mexico v Panama - 9pm on Univision
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune wants to know if we have ever heard of Carlos Menjivar? No? Me neither, but maybe we should have. He grew up in the Bay Area and went to school at San Diego State. Had a great year of soccer there too. But no one in the USA paid much attention so he headed to his family's native El Salvador and now plays on their national team. He was injured and did not play last night however. Good story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle previews Mexico v Panama tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fallas also takes in the passion surrounding the Mexican team.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the standings after 2+ rounds.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the Gold Cup group stage tiebreakers:
1 Head-to-head
2 Goal differential
3 Goals for
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Further round schedules:
Quarterfinals-
S1 - Canada v Guatemala - Sat Jun 16 at 12noon central from Boston on TeleFutura
S2 - USA v A3 or C3 - Sat Jun 16 at 3pm central from Boston on FSC & Univision
S3 - C1 v A3 or B3 - Sun Jun 17 at 2pm central from Houston on Univision
S4 - C2 v Costa Rica - Sun Jun 17 at 5pm central from Houston on TeleFutura
Semifinals-
F1 - S1 v S2 - Thu Jun 21 at 6pm central from Chicago on TeleFutura
F2 - S3 v S4 - Thu Jun 21 at 6pm central from Chicago on TeleFutura
Finals-
Sun Jun 24 at 2pm central from Chicago on Univision & FSC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Thursday night game:
-Salt Lake v Dallas - 8pm central on ESPN2
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS player swap happening today - LA getting rid of older struggling defender & now leg breaker Tyrone Marshall to acquire extraordinarily underachieving forward Edson Buddle from Toronto. Story by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Buzz Carrick at 3rd Degree takes in a FC Dallas practice session and gives us feedback on how the team looks this week. Always very good reading material.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DC United forward Jaime Moreno has been called in to the Bolivia squad for the Copa America.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Soccer Players Assoc has a Q & A with DCU midfielder Brian Carroll.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

James Edwards of the Deseret Morning News looks at RSL coach Jason Kreis's next task - his teams offense.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch says the Crew are trying different approaches to solve their non-winning.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

George Tanner of the Rocky Mountain News with lots of Colorado Rapids tidbits at the FC Rocky blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ryan Hunt at Sports Illustrated with his weekly MLS round up - Free Kicks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Adam Spangler of This Is American Soccer does an interview with another of America's top soccer reporters, Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald & Soccernet etc. Ives is a huge inspiration to this here blog. And when they drop my name they really get props! Thanks Adam & Ives.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Open Cup first round games tonight:
Harrisburg City Islanders 4-0 Aegean Hawks
Ocean City Barons 1-0 Crystal Palace Baltimore
Rochester Raging Rhinos 1-0 Long Island Rough Riders
Danbury United 2-3 Western Mass Pioneers
Richmond Kickers 4-2 Michigan Bucks
Cleveland City Stars 4-0 Kansas City Brass
Carolina RailHawks 4-1 RWB Adria
Bavarian SC 1-0 Cincinnati Kings
Atlanta Silverbacks 10-0 Azzurri
Charlotte Eagles v Lynch's Irish Pub - postponed until tonight
Charleston Battery 3-0 Central Florida Kraze
El Paso Patriots 2-2 Miami FC - El Paso Patriots adv on penalties 4-3
Minnesota Thunder 3-2 El Paso Indio USA
BYU Cougars 1-2 California Victory
Seattle Sounder 4-1 Banat Arsenal
Bakersfield Brigade 0-2 Portland Timbers
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Bueno on his Sideline Views blog has some more juicy details from the September 9 Mexico v USA match at Azteca.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jack Bell of the New York Times on the joke that Trinidad & Tobago soccer has become, just one year after their greatest success. Guess who is in the middle of this mess - I don't have to mention his name, you know who.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Finals:
Wed Jun 13 - first leg
Boca Juniors v Gremio
Wed Jun 20 - second leg
Gremio v Boca Juniors
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marcela Mora y Araujo of the Guardian looks at Boca Juniors before tonight's first leg of the Copa Libertadores.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Inter Milan have signed Honduran forward David Suazo from Cagliari. Injury has kept him out of the Gold Cup.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Blackburn are the latest English team to be connected to possible American buyers. No other details available.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lothar Matthaeus has been fired as coach of Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg. He was co-coaching the team with Italian Giovanni Trapattoni. Trap will stay in place. The reason for the booting was given as the old "differences in philosophy."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Trinbue looks at La Liga where it's the custom for one team to pay another team extra incentive money to knock off a key opponent and assist in the title or relegation race. It's not illegal either. And other tales of footballing money oddities - good and bad.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lastly, Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun HATES divers. I am right there with ya pal.

Code Smell News

Landon Donovan on tonight's game, from US Soccer: "We're here to win the game. We're not here to try and get a point to win the group. We're here to win the game, period. I don't want to tie El Salvador. I want to beat El Salvador."

~and~

Scotland's Daily Record is reporting that Rangers have agreed to pay 700,000 Pounds to sign DaMarcus Beasley from PSV. Now they just need to agree on his wages & do a physical exam, and he goes to Glasgow. Let's hope it happens for his sake.


du Nord Three (Five) Stars Of The Game - USA v Trinidad & Tobago
3. Jan Michael Williams - it would have been about 11-0 without his talents in the T & T goal.
2. Frank Simek & Jonathan Spector - provided great pressure and attack from the outside backs all game long.
1. Justin Mapp & Landon Donovan - The spark, the whole spark and nothing but the spark. So help me Bob.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tonight it's USA v El Salvador in the last group stage game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I would expect Pablo Mastroeni in the USA starting lineup for this game. He has now served his 3 game suspension from the red card in last summers World Cup match v Italy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Great new video clip from US Soccer - Clint Dempsey: Back In Boston
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The official USA team blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Soccer with a match preview for tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America with a match preview for tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Dell'apa at Soccernet looks at USA V El Sal, and beyond.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marc Connolly & Ian Plenderleith of the US Soccer Players Assoc preview tonight's game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Powers of the Boston Globe with a story on the return to Boston of Clint Dempsey with Team USA. Includes video interview with Dempsey & Taylor Twellman on a local sports show.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mike Biglin from the MetroWest Daily News with a story on Dempsey too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe talks to LA's Landon Donovan about Gold Cup & Copa America (which he is definitely playing in, despite earlier uncertainty).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nick Green of the LA Daily Breeze has not been impressed by Team USA so far in the Gold Cup. (This same story also ran in the LA Daily News, but the Breeze always has way better headlines.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram takes a look at the re-birth of KC's Eddie Johnson.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated, on his Freedman's Throw-Ins blog, says he can't figure out which USA team will show up tonight. I say, who cares. Just win baby.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The New York Times looks at the USA's new faces.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Providence Journal looks at the 3 current and 1 former member(s) of the New England Revolution playing for Team USA right now - Parkhurst, Ralston, Twellman & Dempsey.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle looks at the mess created every time MLS plays games during national team events.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brian Ching checks in on his blog.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Canada 2-0 Haiti - Houston midfielder Dwayne De Rosario got both goals for Canada last night as finished 1st in Group A. Costa Rica finished in the 2nd spot.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All Gold Cup Matches & Scores:
(all times central)
-Wed Jun 6 scores-
Costa Rica 1-2 Canada
Guadaloupe 1-1 Haiti
-Thur Jun 7 scores-
USA 1-0 Guatemala
El Salvador 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago
-Fri Jun 8 scores-
Panama 3-2 Honduras
Mexico 2-1 Cuba
-Sat Jun 9 scores-
Guatemala 1-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2 USA
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe
Haiti 1-1 Costa Rica
-Sun Jun 10 scores-
Hondura 2-1 Mexico
Panama 2-2 Cuba
-Mon Jun 11 scores-
Costa Rica 1-0 Guadeloupe
Haiti 0-2 Canada
-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
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the standings after 2+ rounds.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the Gold Cup group stage tiebreakers:
1 Head-to-head
2 Goal differential
3 Goals for
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An update on the health of Trinidad & Tobago defender Anthony Noriega who was knocked unconscious during the USA v T&T game Saturday. Noreiga's head collided with his own goal keeper's shoulder. He suffered a brain contusion. From the T&T Express.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They have publicized this terribly (shocking), but I just found out about a CONCACAF You Tube page with all the highlights.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald looks back at the weekends Gold Cup matches from Giants Stadium. He says it was great.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The quarterfinals are next Saturday & Sunday in Foxborough & Houston.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Thursday night game:
-Salt Lake v Dallas - 8pm central on ESPN2
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not surprisingly DC United midfielder Ben Olsen was named MLS Player Of The Week.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From 3rd Degree comes DJ Walker's Stream of Consciousness: LA Galaxy vs FC Dallas - A brush with insanity
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Bueno at the Press Enterprise looks at what could become a season ticket debacle for the LA Galaxy with Beckham being called in for England.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The LA Daily News looks at the imminent arrival of Abel Xavier in LA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Paul Gardner of the New York Sun asks if Beckham can save the Galaxy like he did Real Madrid?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steve Davis at MLSnet takes a look at last weekends MLS matches.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Philadelphia Daily News with an update on American midfielder Bobby Convey, his knee, and his return to Reading.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Open Cup first round games tonight:
Harrisburg City Islanders v Aegean Hawks
Ocean City Barons v Crystal Palace Baltimore
Rochester Raging Rhinos v Long Island Rough Riders
Danbury United v Western Mass Pioneers
Richmond Kickers v Michigan Bucks
Cleveland City Stars v Kansas City Brass
Carolina RailHawks v RWB Adria
Bavarian SC v Cincinnati Kings
Atlanta Silverbacks v Azzurri
Charlotte Eagles v Lynch's Irish Pub
Charleston Battery v Central Florida Kraze
El Paso Patriots v Miami FC
Minnesota Thunder v El Paso Indio USA
BYU Cougars v California Victory
Seattle Sounder v Banat Arsenal
Bakersfield Brigade v Portland Timbers
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesse Erdmann at Blue Sky Soccer with the latest USL First Division Power Rankings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Finals:
Wed Jun 13 - first leg
Boca Juniors v Gremio
Wed Jun 20 - second leg
Gremio v Boca Juniors

Big Rumored Match

Mexico v USA
September 9
Mexico City
Azteca Stadium

it's a rumor
let's hope it's true

Runnin' Through The Lawn Sprinkler With The Devil News

After scoring 3 goals v New York, DCU midfielder Ben Olsen said: "There's an old saying that kinda goes... the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then."


Gold Cup Action:
Sat Jun 9 scores-
-USA 2-0 Trinidad & Tobago - USA goals by Brian Ching & Eddie Johnson.
Match report from US Soccer.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report from the AP.
Match report by Luis Bueno of the Press Enterprise.
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
Match report by Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated.
Match report by Bob Holtzman of LA's Daily Breeze.
Match report & player ratings from the New York Times.
Post-game analysis & player-by-player analysis from Andrea Canales at Soccernet.
Post-game analysis & player ratings from Robert Wagman of the Soccer Times.
Post-game notes & player ratings from Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My notes from the game:
-Unfortunately my DVR did not capture this game, so I still have not seen it. I was out with the family enjoying regular life for once, please forgive me.
-Bob Bradley sent out 10 different starters from the Guate game (it would have been all 11 if not for Pablo Mastroeni serving the last of a 3 game suspension stemming from the Italy game at last summers World Cup.) Benny Feilhaber was the only hold over.
-Defender Michael Parkhurst got his first USA cap. He teamed with Jay DeMerit in the center of defense. The backline also featured Frank Simek at right back, and Jonathan Spector at left back.
-Justin Mapp, Rico Clark & Steve Ralston rounded out the midfield.
-With Brian Ching & Eddie Johnson up top.
-Kasey Keller in goal. This is his 99th cap for Team USA.
-Eddie Johnson left the game with a "mild knee sprain". It is said that he "continues to improve, and remains listed as day-to-day."
-From everything I have read it sounds like another imperfect victory, which can be disheartening. But no goals allowed, and 3 more points is a good thing.
-Ching & Johnson getting the goals is something this team needed from them. More goal scorers means more confidence for the entire squad. And more for other teams to think about too.
-Ching was named the Man of the Match.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Post-game audio from the US Soccer press conference featuring coach Bob Bradley & forward Brian Ching. Listen or Download here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many new official team videos to watch. Plus official game photos. Read the official USA team blog too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And a new episode of the excellent US Soccer-made show Studio 90. Quiz time with the fans at the Guate game, and they don't know many of the answers!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Sideline Views blog by Luis Bueno & Andrea Canales is packed full of USA & Gold Cup tidbits.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the win on Saturday at the Gold Cup, Team USA advances to the next round. The game on Tues v El Sal will determine what place they finish in their group.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Boston Herald with a big story on New England forward Taylor Twellman and his Team USA trials, tribulations & successes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mike Biglin of the MetroWest Daily News with a story on Michael Parkhurst after his debut for Team USA.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yanks Abroad says Benny Feilhaber MAY be looking at new clubs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Disaster for both Mexico and Canada this weekend as they both lost:
-Mexico had Cuauhtemoc Blanco score on a first half PK, then get sent off for throwing an elbow to the guts of Hondu defender Samuel Caballero. Leading up to the red card Caballero was bodying up to Blanco on every set piece and blowing kisses in his ear, literally. The first time Blanco spit on him, and the next time threw the elbow. Caballero went down like he had been shot. Also in the first half of that game Amado Guevara put a PK attempt off the post. The winner came right as regulation ended and the game went into stoppage time. Both Hondu goals were scored by a player with the excellent last name of Costly!
-Canada had a million chances, but it was not their day, and they lost to a team that is not even a recognized country. Ouch. So much for the good first game v Costa Rica.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reporter Ives Galarcep was dissed by Honduras captain and former New York player Amado Guevara after the Mexico v Honduras game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Guevara does talk to Frank Giase of the Newark Star Ledger though. AG rips Chivas & coach Preki. And says he would love to play in New York again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sportsnet Canada reports that Houston keeper Pat Onstad is back on a plane to Miami today and will suit up again for Canada again as starting keeper Greg Sutton is having problems after a concussion recurrence.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All Gold Cup Matches & Scores:
(all times central)
-Wed Jun 6 scores-
Costa Rica 1-2 Canada
Guadaloupe 1-1 Haiti
-Thur Jun 7 scores-
USA 1-0 Guatemala
El Salvador 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago
-Fri Jun 8 scores-
Panama 3-2 Honduras
Mexico 2-1 Cuba
-Sat Jun 9 scores-
Guatemala 1-0 El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2 USA
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe
Haiti 1-1 Costa Rica
-Sun Jun 10 scores-
Hondura 2-1 Mexico
Panama 2-2 Cuba
-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
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the standings after 2 rounds.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the Gold Cup group stage tiebreakers:
1 Head-to-head
2 Goal differential
3 Goals for
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The quarterfinals are next Saturday & Sunday in Foxborough & Houston.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrea Canales with some overall Gold Cup analysis so far. For Soccer 365.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald says the Gold Cup no longer needs "guest" teams to make it legit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS scores from this past weekend:
-Chicago 0-1 Chivas - Chiv goal by Paulo Nagamura.
Match report by Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune.
Match report by Len Ziehm of the Chicago Sun Times.
Match report by Nick Firchau of Chicago's Daily Southtown.
Match report by Kathryn Knapp for LA Soccer News.
-Dallas 3-1 Los Angeles - Dal goals by Juan Toja, Abe Thompson (PK) & Drew Moor. LA goal by Robbie Findley.
Match report by Gabriel Cabarrouy of the Dallas Morning News.
Match report by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
-DC 4-2 New York - DC goals by Ben Olsen (3 of em) & Luciano Emilio. NY goals by Dema Kovalenko & Juan Pablo Angel.
Match report by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Match report by Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald.
Match report from Big Apple Soccer.
Post-game notes & player ratings from Steven Goff on his Soccer Insider blog.
Post-game quotes from Big Apple Soccer by NY players Juan Pablo Angel & Claudio Reyna.
More post-game quotes from Big Apple Soccer by NY coach Bruce Arena, who second guesses some of his own decisions. Wow. Never thought I would see that in print.
-Columbus 1-2 Houston - Colu goal by Alejandro Moreno. Hou goals by Joseph Ngwenya & Chad Marshall (Own Goal).
Match report by Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch.
Match report from the Houston Chronicle.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Red Cards this week:
LA - Tyrone Marshall - straight red
DC - Bobby Boswell - 2 yellows
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kenny Cooper suffered a broken leg on the tackle by Tyrone Marshall. Could we see a multi-game suspension for Tyrone? Cooper is expected to miss as much as 8 weeks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cooper wasn't the only one with a broken bone this weekend. New York captain Claudio Reyna went up for a header and smacked his face on the back of Brian Carroll's head. Reyna suffered a broken nose, but played the rest of the game with cotton stuffed up his nose, and a bad headache to boot. Do you think he will miss the next game because of this? Sadly, those odds are good.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Joseph Ngwenya has scored in 3 straight games for Houston.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While Juan Pablo Angel has scored in 5 straight for New York.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ian Plenderleith of the US Soccer Players Assoc reviews the MLS weekend of games.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Paul Oberjuerge of the LA Daily News says Landon Donovan must skip Copa America if the LA Galaxy has any chance of salvaging this season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Chicago Sun Times with an article raving about Chivas keeper Brad Guzan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the more informed pieces of English journalism concerning MLS that I have ever read. From Nick Harris at The Independent.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Rogers at Soccer 365 talks to the Kansas City Wizards director of youth development, Englishman Paul Rideout.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mark Purdy of San Jose Mercury News with his thoughts on a potential new home for a returning Earthquakes MLS team.
-Barry Witt of the same newspaper with some details on the progress.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Las Vegas Sun talks to MLS exec's about the gambling issues that always arise when leagues talk about putting a team in Atomic City.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Colorado played China on Sunday but lost 1-2 after leading 1-0 at half time. Jovan Kirovski scored for Colo. Dong Fangzhou & Wang Dong for China.
-Match report from the Denver Post.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The potential owners of the next San Jose Earthquakes are bringing another exhibition game to San Jose this month. Guadalajara Chivas v South Korean club Busan I'Park. June 30.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The LA Times with a story on the growth of ESPN Deportes in America. And also the big advances being made by Fox Sports en Espanyol & all of Univision's networks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Deseret Morning News with more on the brouhaha in Salt Lake City over Taiwan & Tibet flags being flown at the RSL v China game. Fans waving the flags were kicked out of the stadium.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

US Open Cup matches galore on Tuesday night! The Minnesota Thunder face off against amateur team El Paso Indios USA. Here is a profile of Los Indios.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division scores from last 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 2-2 Rochester
-Montreal 0-1 Portland
Sat June 9
-Rochester 2-1 Portland
-Atlanta 0-0 Seattle
-Miami 1-4 Puerto Rico
-California 0-0 Minnesota
Sun June 10
-Vancouver 1-0 Minnesota
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL 1D Standings:
21 Vancouver
20 Rochester
16 Montreal
16 Seattle
14 Portland
14 Carolina
14 Puerto Rico
13 Miami
12 Charleston
12 Atlanta
7 Minnesota
6 California
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The US soccer Players Assoc has a lightweight Q & A with Nordsjaelland & USA left back Heath Pearce.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Copa Libertadores - Finals:
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.
(1 left to play)
-Scores & Matches:
Real Madrid - 2-2 at Zaragoza, Jun 17 v Mallorca
Barcelona - 2-2 Espanyol, Jun 17 at Gimnastic
Sevilla - 0-0 at Mallorca, Jun 17 v Villareal
-Standings:
73 Real Madrid - lead on head to head record v Barca
73 Barcelona
71 Sevilla
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

-Argentine Clausura- It's all over! San Lorenzo are the Champs! There is still 1 match left, but it does not matter at the top.
-Scores:
San Lorenzo 4-2 Arsenal de Sarandi
Boca Juniors 1-0 Belgrano de Cordoba
Estudiantes 2-0 Argentinos Juniors
-Standings:
42 San Lorenzo
38 Boca Juniors
36 Estudiantes
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Phil Ball of Soccernet has his heart tested by La Liga: 18 Seconds
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Argentine Leo Messi of Barcelona has been compared a lot to Diego Maradonna and two months ago he perfected a long weaving run and goal to make the comparisons louder. Well this weekend he one upped the imitation by using his hand to punch home another goal replicating the "hand of God" goal from fat little Diego.
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Genoa & Naopli join Juventus in promotion to the Italian Serie A for next season. That is some old school promotion. Lots of league titles between those three, at least historically.
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The USA will kick off their Copa America run with a match against Argentina. Here are 10 players who have already been announced as part of that Argentine team:
Nicolas Burdisso - Inter Milan
Hernan Crespo - Inter Milan
Esteban Cambiasso - Inter Milan
Javier Zanetti - Inter Milan
Gabriel Heinze - Manchester United
Javier Pinola - Nuremberg
Luis Gonzalez - Porto
Javier Mascherano - Liverpool
Carlos Tevez - West Ham
Juan Sebastian Veron - Estudiantes
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The Observer takes a look at Africa's feeder systems for European football. Good or bad?
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Paul Gardner of the New York Sun on the rise of Israeli football, and the bumbling of English football.
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FIFA.com has a Q & A with Iranian legend Al Daei who has decided to retire at age 38.
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The former Thailand Prime Minister who was going to bid to buy for Manchester City has had his finances frozen by the new Thai government in a corruption scandal. Not good City fans.