January 31, 2010
January 30, 2010
January 29, 2010
Beach soccer LINKS
First an awesome, epic picture.
Then the link:
- Kid stabs dad over video-game dispute. [TOW]
- Rio banned four games for punch. [BBC]
- United also faces an FA probe for the coin toss. [ESPN]
- Another drug test failure for Mutu. [FourFourTwo]
- The L.A. Sol (the WPS team) is folding. [LA Times]
Iniesta's goal was a baby maker
Which goal, you ask? A pretty big one that happened nine months ago.
The one that secured Barcelona's place in the Champions League final.
Well, apparently that goal (coupled with a 6-2 win over Real Madrid that week) set off a night of passion in Catalonia. And nine months later, there's a shortage of hospital beds in the area for expecting mothers.
A survey by COMRadio showed that births this week and those expected next week are 45 percent higher than the average.Wow. That's a heckuva honor.
“When we notice some sort of surge we look for the reason and it’s evident that the cause of the increase this week is the euphoria of Barca fans thanks to the huge win and Iniesta’s goal,” El Mundo newspaper quoted Mercedes Rodriguez of the city’s Quiron Clinic as saying.
The babies are popularly known in Barcelona as “the Iniesta generation”.
I wonder how many babies will be named Andres.
American soccer notes
Good news for Major League Soccer as both the league and the players union agreed to extend the CBA negotiating deadline for a week and a half.The previous CBA expires Jan. 31, and while a strike or lockout could've been in the works, both sides have agreed to talk it out until Feb. 12.
Hopefully things come to a quick and fair resolution. Cross your fingers.
Briefly, here's a good interview with Taylor Twellman. Word is some European teams are interested in Michael Bradley and Kenny Cooper looks to be on his way to the English League Championship.
VIDEO: Brazilian has a heart attack on the pitch
Certainly something you never want to see.
Word is his heart stopped seven times over the course of a couple hours, yeesh.
Portsmouth is not having a good year
Not only is the team so very in debt.
And so very in last place of the Premiership table.
The Portsmouth club website was shut down since the broke team hasn't been able to pay their web guys. Oh and their chief executive and coach might be quitting, perhaps this weekend.
Like I said, not a good year.
VIDEO: Headbutting the ref
If there was any doubt that Algeria lost the plot in Thursday's African Cup of Nations semifinal against Egypt, know that this offense by goalkeeper Chaouchi Faouzi might not have been in the team's top five...
Cup of Nations final set
It's gonna be Ghana v. Egypt on Sunday for the African Cup of Nations tournament championship.
The two, however, couldn't have advanced past the semifinals more differently. Ghana got a 21st minute goal from Asamoah Gyan and let it hold up in a 1-0 win over Nigeria.
Defending-champion Egypt (above) throttled rival Algeria 4-0 in a game that saw three from the losing side ejected.
Should be a good final, I'll take Ghana 2-1.
January 28, 2010
Transfer roundup
It's that time again:- Tottenham leading West Ham to get Gudjohnsen?
- Maligned Reds deny Benayoun is leaving.
- Giovani Dos Santos is officially off to Galatasaray.
- City bid for Gago likely to fail.
- Huntelaar is staying at Milan, club says.
- Red Bulls to get a Bundesliga GK.
- Raul leaving Real Madrid next season?
World Cup update
WV Hooligan found the TV schedule for the big show. Looks like the games will generally be on at 4 a.m., 6:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Pacific time (eek!).
Both ESPN and ABC have a huge blowout planned for the broadcast. They've already signed Martin Tyler and hinted to 3-D coverage. Games will all be covered live and on site -- unlike last time, where some games were broadcast from the studio.
Also, there are still a lot of tickets remaining. In case you were wondering.
Get your popcorn ready!
Sky is going to broadcast the world's first live 3-D sports event: Manchester United v. Arsenal this Sunday.
Soccer fans will wear special glasses at nine pubs across Britain and Ireland, providing the public’s first taste of live 3-D soccer ahead of Sky’s dedicated channel launching in April.Previous use of 3-D had been closed circuit stuff. This time it's the real deal, Avatar-style.
Should be good, and I'm sure more is on the way.
Arsenal held, Chelsea back on top (EPL roundup)
The Blues haven't done it like I thought (I predicted they'd lead the Premiership wire-to-wire), but it's been pretty darn close -- especially when you consider having games in hand.
Behind a Frank Lampard brace, Chelsea put in a workmanlike 3-0 victory against Birmingham.
Arsenal drew 0-0 with Aston Villa as the coaches exchanged barbs afterward. As seen with the Landon Donovan goal, Everton beat Sunderland 2-0. Lastly, Blackburn beat Wigan 2-1 at home.
Here are the results with attendances, keep in mind the Sounders FC will cap (!) is season tickets at 32K.
Wednesday's results
Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal (A: 39,601)
Chelsea 3-0 Birmingham (A: 41,293)
Blackburn 2-1 Wigan (A: 22,190)
Everton 2-0 Sunderland (A: 32,163)
VIDEO: Landon Donovan's first EPL goal
Professional stuff by Everton's new American.
Word is our boy could've had a second after rounding the 'keeper, but his shot was miraculously cleared off the line by a defender.
Goff found a roundup of the English media's reaction to Landon Donovan.
Rooney the hero for United (Carling Cup roundup)
What an entertaining two-leg semifinal, eh?
Manchester United and Manchester City played about as fun a home-and-home series you'll see at the end of a tournament.
Carlos Tevez had the two-goal display and exchanged taunts with Gary Neville in the first game.
Then on Wednesday, Craig Bellamy gets hit by a coin thrown from the crowd and Tevez had a late goal that equalized the aggregate score. In the end, United got a 90th-minute winner from Wayne Rooney to advance to the Carling Cup final.The Red Devils take on Aston Villa for the trophy on Feb. 28.
Congrats to you Manchester boys. That was as good as it gets.
Here are the highlights, following by the missile incident:
January 27, 2010
New Zealand will have private W.C. security
Not exactly a vote of confidence a couple months before the tournament, eh?
A private security firm has been hired to protect the players this summer.
Hard to argue against being extra prepared.
Paying for spots on the national team?
Not cool dude.But apparently it has been happening in China, according to a newspaper report. Players there have allegedly paid bribes to get spots in training camp. The fees increased, the bigger the match.
The allegations this week in Shanghai’s Oriental Morning Post are the latest to rock the scandal-plagued Chinese Football Association, whose top official was replaced this month after he and two others were questioned by police about match fixing.Ridiculous stuff.
According to the Post, a single trip to the national youth squad’s camp cost 80,000 yuan ($12,000), while a place at the adult team’s camp was priced at 100,000 yuan ($15,000), the Oriental Morning Post said in a report this week.
A call-up to an actual official match required a bribe of 200,000 yuan ($30,000), the paper said.
Root against China in the World Cup. Wait, they couldn't even pay their way into that one.
Praying for Cabanas
A crowd of roughly 10,000 gathered in Asunción, Paraguay, to honor Salvador Cabanas, who was shot in the head days ago.Fans wore national team colors in their group support of their talented young forward. Cabanas is in stable condition with the bullet still lodged in his head.
The crowd sang songs, held hands and prayed for the recovery of the 29-year-old forward, who played for top Mexican club America.Word is the cops have ID'd a suspect in the shooting. We'll see how things go in that pursuit.
"This is the most important match of his life and we must help him kick this penalty," fan Jose Escobar told a redio station while the crowd chanted "Salvador, Salvador" in the 35,000 capacity stadium.
The Paraguay squad also attended a mass for Cabanas in the capital.
Even the stars face consequences
The list of punishments for the weekend's actions are starting to come out.Rio Ferdinand faces a violent-conduct charge from the FA after smacking a Hull City dude. Ronaldo will be banned for the nose-breaking strike (deemed a "dangerous play that caused harm") that spoiled his brace-netting night.
Lastly, Inter's Wesley Sneijder got sent off for verbally abusing a ref and some sarcastic applause.
Poor guy. Didn't even get to smack anyone for his fine/suspension.
VIDEO: This goal was not allowed
I see a good trend forming on the blogosphere: calling attention to goal decisions that would benefit from instant replay.
Keep 'em coming, I say.
Gooch close to his return to the pitch
Ives really has the beat on rehabbing USMNT stars. Recently he caught up with Oguchi Onyewu, and had some good news to report.
Onyewu expects to return to Italy in the next three weeks, and is hoping to resume training with AC Milan by the end of February. That would be mean a less than five month recovery.Thank goodness. Can't wait to see him back in action.
Be sure to check out the whole story. It's good stuff.
Definitely just a Big Three (EPL roundup)
Liverpool is 11-7-5 this season. While just three points back of fourth place, it's pretty clear that it's a Big Three in 2010 English Premier League season.The Reds were held to a scoreless draw against Marcus Hahnemann and Wolves on Tuesday. Even with Stevie G. and newly-signed Maxi Rodriguez, they had just eight shots.
Bah.
Tottenham holds onto fourth in the league after a 2-0 win against Fulham. Owen Coyle's Bolton beat his old side Burnley 1-0. Portsmouth played to a 1-1 draw against West Ham.
Tuesday's results
Wolves 0-0 Liverpool (A: 28,763)
Tottenham 2-0 Fulham (A: 35,467)
Bolton 1-0 Burnley (A: 23,986)
Portsmouth 1-1 West Ham (A: 18,322)
January 26, 2010
Who's next?
For the World Cup?
It's looking like Europe is being tagged as the location. Which could be another sign indicating the clubhouse leader of England is in line for the tournament.
For MLS?
Montreal expansion group is talking about potentially being ready to come into the league in 2011, if not 2012.
Stars are out for charity
Nice to see the collection of old and new talent for a good cause. The Zidane-led all-stars tied Benfica's current and former players 3-3 in the game.
The proceeds from the game will be used to benefit the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti.
Other all-stars included Kaka, Figo, Henry, Nedved and Edgar Davids.
Here are the highlights:
And then there were four
The African Cup of Nations semifinal field is set.Egypt was the first team of the day to clinch, beating Cameroon 3-1. Though it should've been 2-1, as another ghost goal was allowed to stand.
Nigeria finalized the round with a shootout win against Zambia after a scoreless bout of regulation and overtime.
Here are the semifinal matchups: Ghana/Nigeria and Egypt/Algeria (the latter of which should be a testy one, considering the rivalry and the recent history).
VIDEO: Inter full of characters
After Inter's big win over the weekend, Marco Materazzi donned a Berlusconi mask in the celebration.
Coach Jose Mourinho had the best quote of the day, however: "We would have won this game even with seven men. Maybe with six we would have struggled, but we would have won with seven."
Paraguayan shot in the head
Horrible story out of Mexico that I'm sure most of you have seen.Salvador Cabanas, who was the leading scorer in Paraguay's World Cup qualifying campaign, was shot in the head during a dispute in the bathroom of a Mexico City bar.
Fortunately the 29-year-old Club America forward is in stable condition, but doctor's weren't able to remove the bullet.
Sad, sad stuff.
The guy has scored over 100 goals professionally and was even being linked to a possible move to the Premiership this year. Certainly his production at the national team level will be missed.
“Club America is deeply sorry for what happened to our beloved Salvador Cabanas and shows its total support for his family and loved ones,” the Mexican team said in a statement.
Paraguayan Football Association president Juan Angel Napout said a doctor would travel to Mexico to assist Cabanas.
“We are praying for him,” Napout said.
January 25, 2010
Robinho to leave City (transfer roundup)
I haven't done one of these in a while, and a couple stories caught my eye:- Sounds like Robinho (right) wants out of Manchester City in preference of a Brazilian return.
- Everton has signed Philippe Senderos on loan from Arsenal.
- Ruud van Nistlerooy is headed to Hamburg, to temporarily end his saga.
- Manchester United might be giving Rooney a new deal.
- Yossi Benayoun might be going to Russia.
Bruce Arena is a Hall of Famer
Ex-USMNT coach and current boss of the L.A. Galaxy Bruce Arena was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame on Saturday."It's certainly a great individual accomplishment, yet you never forget why you're able to achieve things as a coach," he said. "During my career, there's been hundreds of people responsible for my being successful -- players, coaches, management, administration, all of that. You can't forget that."He took an American side to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, and they could've gone farther if a certain handball had been called.
He's pretty much been successful at every level and wherever he's gone.
It's a deserved honor, even though I've given him some flack over the years.
VIDEO: Ronaldo bags two goals, broken nose
The quick boxscore for Real Madrid's 2-0 win against Malaga was an intriguing one.
35' -- Cristiano Ronaldo goal
39' -- Cristiano Ronaldo goal
70' -- Cristiano Ronaldo red card
I caught some of the action on ESPN yesterday, but it was hard to pry away from the NFL playoffs.
Check out the clip if you missed it too.
Is the snowball now rolling for video replay?
Check out the most-recent comments from FIFA prez Sepp Blatter, who has previously been a staunch opponent of implementing replay:"I'm not absolutely against it," Blatter told Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick. "If the technology is ready to adopt, then I am in agreement.It's perhaps the first step in what I think is an inevitability.
Grievous errors in how the game is played and officiated need to be corrected if the technology is available.
It's no coincidence that football, basketball, baseball, tennis, hockey, etc., etc., etc., all use replay of some sort.
Is it?
VIDEO: Glory followed by hilariousness
Arjen Robben had a heckuva free-kick goal here over the weekend.
Coach Louis van Gaal was head-over-heels for the effort, as you'll see in the clip.
Ghana, Algeria to Cup of Nations semis
So much for Algeria being a walkover in the World Cup, right?
That was surely the opponent USMNT fans were most optimistic about in the W.C. draw aftermath. Now considering a 3-2 defeat of tournament-favorite Cote d'Ivoire in the quarterfinals, that confidence is waddling (widdling? wavering? something like that).
On the other side of the bracket, Ghana got by Angola with a workmanlike 1-0 decision.
Down to six...
VIDEO: Rooney goes for four against Hull
Any chance he's got some American in him...?
Because he's not a guy I'm looking forward to seeing carve up an injury-riddled USMNT backline in the World Cup...
USMNT KO'd by Honduras 3-1
Fortunately, I was in the office while this 3-1 debacle played out in L.A., or Carson, wherever.
I say fortunately because we don't get the FOX Soccer Channel in the office, thus I couldn't watch our 'C' team get blasted at home by a marginal side.
Certainly there are some qualifications to the result (e.g. not many players of W.C. consequence were involved), but I think the standards for any USMNT game should be higher than that.
Just think, a couple more unseen injuries could add some of those names to the group of 23 going to South Africa.
Yeesh.
January 24, 2010
January 23, 2010
January 22, 2010
Cuauhtemoc Blanco getting a TV show
Via the Associated Press:
MEXICO CITY (AP)—Cuauhtemoc Blanco, perhaps the key player on Mexico’s team for the World Cup, will begin his own television program in the next few days.Who's watching? Not me.
Blanco’s program will be called “La Hora de Cuauhtemoc (Cuauhtemoc’s Hour)” and will be shown beginning Feb. 1 on Fox Sports. The one-hour Spanish-language program will be available throughout Latin America and the United States.
Fox TV on Thursday said the programming would consist of famous people— actors, singers, comedians and other sports figures—talking and debating football.
“We feel very honored to welcome to our screen one of the greatest players in the history of Mexican football,” said Fausto Ceballos, vice president of programming for Fox Sports.
Blanco left the Chicago Fire of the MLS after last season and is playing this season with Veracruz in Mexico’s second division.
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