An Assortment from the Soccer Buffet

Starter Fun

• Special 1 TV: Act of God 

MLS

• Dave Clark: Terrific Look at Sounders' Roster Battle
• Buzz Carrick: Looks at FCD's Roster
• Shin Guardian: All Is Not Peachy in the Southeast… 
• Expansion: Detroit and the Silverdome - I posted about this months ago when I first saw the plan to rip the roof off of the Silverdome. It was such an 'out of the box' idea that I was fascinated, even though I have no clue if it could be done.
• J.R. Eskilson: MLS Academies Distance Themselves From The Pack

Video

• The Straight Red Card: Play Like FC Barcelona? with Tony Sanneh
• The Straight Red Card: Why US Soccer Shouldn't Bother Trying to Become FC Barcelona
• Peter Wilt Interview - Part 1

The Business of Soccer

• Guardian: Football League Clubs Heading for Precipice, says Chairman Greg Clarke
• ESPNSoccernet: Euro Woe Affects Celtic's Finances 
• Rob Hughes: Money Buys a Lot, but Not Everything, in Soccer 
• Unprofessional Foul: The FIFA/UEFA Money Train Hits A Crack In The Track 
• J Hutcherson: Big Games Cost 

Interesting Reads

• David Hills: Said and Done
• Fake Sigi: NASL's Sort of Sanctioning 
• Bill Archer: NASL's Provisional Sanctioning 
• Run of Play: Television and the Form of the Soccer Match 
• Jason Davis: Portland Challenges The Sounders' Way 
• Soccer By The Numbers: The Goal Value of Corners: Zero   

Tournaments

• CONCACAF: Champions League
• Copa Libertadores: Cerro smash five past Colo Colo
• UEFA: Champions League
• UEFA: Europa League
• US Open Cup Structure and Schedule

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News and Views

MLS

• Week 21 attendance report and more
• A review of DP performances
• Seattle Buys a Team in Tanzania 
• A demonstration of class and honor in Toronto 
• Jason Davis: Puts in words what I've been thinking about FC Dallas 
• J Hutcherson: League or Champions League, where to focus
• Vancouver Takes 1st Pick In SuperDraft

Just hanging around this weekend, I created this table breaking MLS into 4 geographical divisions and the intra-divisional team records.

	W	D	L	Pts
I-95
NE Revs	3	1	0	10
RBNY	2	1	1	7
DC United	1	1	4	4
Philadelphia	1	1	2	4
Central
Columbus	3	0	1	9
KC Wizards	2	2	1	8
Toronto	1	1	2	4
Chicago	0	1	2	1
MidWest
Dallas	2	2	0	8
Houston	1	2	2	5
RSL	1	0	2	3
Colorado	0	2	0	2
Pacific
LA Galaxy	3	1	1	10
SJ Quakes	2	1	2	7
Chivas USA	1	1	1	4
Seattle	1	1	3	4

Around the World

• USSF D2: Weekend Review

Interesting Reads

• Sports Writing Blues
• Exploiting Hope: Rags to Rags with the Promise of Riches

Player Moves

• Goal.com's Transfer page

 

News and Views from Tues Aug 10

MLS

Robbie Rogers will have surgery that will sideline him for up to 4 weeks. This comes at a bad time for the Crew as they begin a stretch of 7 matches in 22 days.

• Timbers: John Spencer to coach MLS team in 2011
• Union: Danny Cepero loaned to Philadelphia 
• Chivas USA: Galindo loaned to Tampa for fitness rehab 
• Tactics: Getting the most out of that shiny new DP  

US Pyramid

• The USMNT were outclassed by a young Brasilian team in a friendly in New Jersey.
• Brian Quarstad continues his reporting on the 2nd division in the US pyramid.

The USSF-D2 has 12 teams. Three of them will be in MLS within the next two years. Of the remaining 9, 2 are brand new teams. Of the remaining 7, one was promoted from D3 and 4 of those 7 are suffering lower attendances than last year. Not a pretty picture. As of now the teams that will be in D2 next year are:
Montreal(headed to MLS in 2012) and
Austin, Carolina, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Edmonton, Miami, Minnesota, Puerto Rico, Rochester, St. Louis and Tampa Bay, with reports that Crystal Palace and St. Louis are in financial trouble.

Around the World

• Player Move: Chelsea agree to sell Ricardo Carvalho to Real Madrid

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News and Views from Fri Jul 9

Starter

• Special 1 TV: Episode 6, Final World Cup Episode

MLS

• MLS Weekend Preview: Week 15
• After being released by ChivasUSA, Maicon Santos has signed with Toronto.
• Where soccer beats baseball: Portland.
• Lots of good stories at MLS website.

World Cup On Field News and Updates
And then there were two. Netherlands v Spain on Sunday for the trophy.

• FIFA
• ESPNSoccernet
• Goal.com
• The Guardian
• SI
• Georgina Turner: Final Preview. 
• Kevin McCarra: Final Preview. 
• Rob Hughes: Netherlands and Spain Go for World Cup First. 
• Jesse Pennington: The Spanish Game of Keepaway.
• Spain Reap Benefits Of Dutch Legacy At Barca.

Non Game Specific Football World Cup Stories

• World Cup 2010 statistics: every match and every player in data. 
• World Cup 2010 Speed and Distance Stats.
• World Cup Statistics: Fastest, Farthest and Foulest.
• What have been the tactical lessons of World Cup 2010
• World Cup handover puts spotlight on Africa-Brazil ties.
• Video: As World Cup Nears Completion, Jobs Remain Elusive in South Africa. 
• Octopus vs Parakeet.
• National Identity In the World Cup.
• Tom Dunmore: Nigeria and Match-Fixing at the World Cup: The Vulnerability Remains. 
• Guardian Podcast: The World Cup, a festival of football ... and capitalism.  
• Opinion: Jemele Hill Misses the Target. 
• South Africa, mega-events and progress.
• South Africa and soccer, a personal story. 
• Video: South Africans speak about the World Cup. 
• Vuvuzela fatwa: United Arab Emirates bans the loud plastic horns.
• Soccer’s World Cup Will Stay Italian, No Matter Who Wins Final. 
• The Human Perspective at the World Cup. 

US News and Views

• The World Cup Bump, and What Is Next?
• Jason Kuenle: A Ricardo Clark What If Story OR What Bob Bradley Brought to the USMNT. 
• Jeff Carlisle: Is the tide turning for U.S. soccer? 
• US U-20 head coach Thomas Rongen discusses US player development.

Player Moves and other News

• A detailed look at Thai Port's income stream.
• Bochum seal deal for North Korea star Jong.
• Hong Kong Police Smash Vast Soccer Gambling Racket. 
• How to help: Football For Good.  
• Is Soccer Innovative?
• Video: Why Indonesia has failed on the world football stage.   

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News and Views from Wed Jun 9

MLS

• RSL downs Galaxy on iffy no call offside goal.
• Rapids steal point on road with Casey extra time header vs Fire.
• Wizards academy update.
• Houston President Oliver Luck leaving to become WVU AD.

Interesting Reads

• Social turmoil surrounds World Cup in Cape Town.
• Soccer that almost was in the USA.
• Goal.com: England's influence on US Soccer.

Player Moves

• Everton signs Portuguese striker.

World Cup

• Journalists robbed, one held at gunpoint.
• Individual achievements.
• Pre cup friendlies: Chile 2 New Zealand 0 -
• Golden Boot winners.
• African players receive WC amnesty.
• Terrific WC pictorial.
• England v USA: The beauty of anticipation.

Around the World

• Triobet Baltic League update.

The Business of Soccer

• Corporate set staying away from South Africa.
• The collapse of football: how the toxic weed of Strategic Default took over our game.
• AT&T will carry ESPN's 3D World Cup broadcasts.
• Timbers gain first founding partner sponsor.
• USA's World Cup bonus pot, largest in history(potentially).
• MLS pre cup business bits from Footiebusiness.

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After the Weekend Apr 17-18

MLS

• My weekly attendance report.
• In praise of a good presentation... Arlo White.
• The Portland Timbers announced the hiring of Mike Golub as the Chief Operating Officer.
• LA remains undefeated behind Buddle's 7 goals in 4 games.

Interesting Reads

• Andrea Canales: Knowledgeable fans are overlooked in coverage dedicated to newbies.
• Jamie Clary: The US Open vs MLS, not a new thing.

Around the World

• NASL update.
• Survival in the A-League.
• Benfica closing in on Portuguese title.
• FC Twente, one point up with one to play in the Eredivie.
• Urawa Reds go top in J-League.
• Turkish League update.
• Iceland volcano and the Europa League semi-finals.
• UEFA Champions League semi-finals a go despite volcanic fallout.
• Puerto Rico in CFU Club Championship semi-final.
• All about Santos.

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Title and Champions League Races in Europe

	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
EPL
Chelsea	35	24	5	6	54	77
Manchester Utd	35	24	4	7	51	76
Arsenal	35	22	5	8	39	71
Tottenham	34	19	7	8	28	64
Manchester City	34	17	11	6	27	62
Aston Villa	34	15	3	6	13	58
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich	31	18	9	4	37	63
Schalke 04	31	18	7	6	23	61
Werder Bremen	31	15	9	7	28	54
Bayer Leverkusen	31	14	12	5	24	54
Dortmund	31	15	8	8	13	53
Stuttgart	31	14	8	9	8	50
Ligue 1
Marseille	33	20	8	5	29	68
Auxerre	33	18	9	6	10	63
Lyon	33	16	11	6	19	59
Montpellier	33	17	8	8	7	59
Lille	33	17	7	9	27	58
Bordeaux	32	17	6	9	19	57
Serie A
AS Roma	34	21	8	5	24	71
Internazionale	34	20	10	4	35	70
AC Milan	34	18	10	6	20	64
Sampdoria	34	16	9	9	4	57
Palermo	34	15	10	9	8	55
Napoli	34	13	13	8	5	52
La Liga
Barcelona	33	26	6	1	61	84
Real Madrid	33	27	2	4	58	83
Valencia	33	17	8	8	15	59
Sevilla FC	33	16	6	11	11	54
Mallorca	32	15	7	10	13	52
Villareal	33	14	7	12	3	49

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News and Views from Monday Mar 8

MLS Preseason

• Quakes defeat West Ham, no, not the first teamers.
• Fire beat FC Dallas, will play Notre Dame.
• WV Hooligan's look at the Seattle Sounders.
• Galaxy set to face Costa Rican side Puntarenas FC.

MLS

• CBA: What the mediator needs to bring to the table.
• New England academy update.

 Player Moves

• Toronto releases veteran Carl Robinson.
• Kevin Hartman, released by the Wizards, has signed with FC Dallas.

Interesting Reads

• Grant Wahl with an excellent piece on Landon Donovan as his Everton loan ends.
• Tom Dunmore castigates the IFAB and FIFA for their decision to eschew technology.
• Andrew Guest on African Soccerscapes.

The Business of Soccer

• The MLS-bound Portland Timbers have entered into a jersey sponsorship deal with SolarWorld.
• Pitch Invasion begins a series looking at Supporter ownership of football clubs.

After the Weekend Feb 27-28

 Action during Saturday's ChivasUSA/Crew scrimmage

MLS Preseason

• Hillcrest Road with a video recap and chat with Coach Vermes after the Wizards/Galaxy scrimmage on Friday.
• Sounder at Heart with some roster math.
• Dynamo down Dallas in Orlando 3rd place game.
• Down the Byline with roster math.
• San Jose wins vs Fresno Fuego.

MLS

• The long running saga of a stadium in Houston continues.
• Just curious what you think of the premise that Luis Gil's development will be stunted by MLS.
• Jeff Carlisle reports that with Blanco gone, the Fire have a new Pappa.
• Jack Bell on Houston's Generaton Adidas midfielder Danny Cruz.

Player Moves

• The Portland Timbers have signed three players.

Interesting Reads

• Look who else is dealing with free agency.
• For the laughs.
• The second half of this SoccerLens podcast has an explanation of some of the differences between Argentine and Brasilian football by Tom Vickery.

The Business of Soccer

• Simon says: "The only business of football is football."

Title and Champions League Races in Europe

	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
EPL
Chelsea	28	19	4	5	39	61
Manchester Utd	28	19	3	6	42	60
Arsenal	28	18	4	6	35	58
Tottenham	28	14	7	7	23	49
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich	24	15	7	2	30	52
Bayer Leverkusen	24	13	11	0	30	50
Schalke 04	24	14	6	4	18	48
Hamburg	24	10	10	4	17	40
Ligue 1
Bordeaux	24	16	3	5	22	51
Montpellier	26	16	3	7	9	51
Lyon	26	14	7	5	17	49
Marseille	25	14	6	5	19	48
Serie A
Internazionale	26	17	7	2	30	58
AC Milan	26	16	6	4	20	54
AS Roma	26	15	6	5	16	51
Palermo	26	12	7	7	6	43
La Liga
Barcelona	24	19	4	1	45	61
Real Madrid	24	19	2	3	46	59
Valencia	24	13	7	4	16	46
Sevilla FC	24	13	4	7	11	43

News and Views from Tuesday Feb 23

Rapids academy players at the Development Academy Winter Showcase

MLS Preseason

• FC Dallas defeats Revs 2-0.
• DC United news and notes from Goff.

MLS

• Fire Academy joins parent club on preseason travels.
• CONCACAF keeping close eye on MLS CBA situation. If Columbus is forced to forfeit its champions league place, a spot in the Hall of Shame awaits the league.

Interesting Reads

• Learn about the Development Academy in the US.
• Mexico national team coach Javier Aguirre announced he will seek a job in Europe after the World Cup.

Club Tournaments

• Bordeaux win, Barca draw at UEFA Champions League.
• I don't know the poster, but here is a fun and entertaining read on the Asian Champions League.
• Vélez Sárfield go top in group at Copa Libertadores.

Player Moves

• The Kansas City Wizards and Argentine Claudio Lopez have parted ways. Too bad, I had read a while back how he was enjoying life in KC. I've been there a few times and found the folks very friendly. Hope he latches on somewhere else in MLS.
• Luis Gil to RSL after refusing to deal with Kansas City.
• The Portland Timbers have signed former Aalesund FK(Norway) keeper Adin Brown.

The Business of Soccer

• EPL owes 56% of Europe's football debt.
• Portsmouth on brink of administration.

News and Views from Thursday Feb 18

MLS Preseason

• FCD trying Harris at forward.
• New additions looking to impress at RSL.
• Rosenborg 3 Sounders 0 - match report.
• WV Hooligan looks at the New England Revolution.
• The Revs Florida schedule.
• RSL opens camp in Arizona.
  
• Young Galaxy players prepare to contribute in 2010.

MLS

• Garth Lagerway of MLS Cup winner Real Salt Lake on MLS and youth academies.
• Have questions about the structure of MLS? So does Richard Whittall of A More Splendid Life.
• Fake Sigi takes a look at the CBA with the NBA in mind.

Interesting Reads

• A Danish star in the making?
• A Big (welcome) change coming to FIFA?
  

Club Tournaments

• Argentine champion cruise in Copa Libertadores.
• Tom Vickery podcast with an in depth look at the Copa Libertadores.
• Europa League.

The Business of Soccer

• The Portsmouth saga continues.
• Pay cuts at West Ham?

Player Moves

• Steve Goff reports on DC United player moves.
• The Portland Timbers have signed defender Ian Joy.

News and Views From Monday

Player Moves
Sky Sports is reporting that Houston Dynamo player Stuart Holden's loan to Bolton has been finalized.

Interesting Reads
Portland Timbers community bloggers on MLS in Portland.
Early feedback on Philadelphia ticket sales.
A post on why MLS's SuperDraft should be scrapped.
A USA match reaction from the Fullback Files. I don't always agree with their posts, but I usually find them fun to read.
Update on the Red Bulls, currently in Spain playing in the La Manga tourney, in which they drew UEFA Champions League team CSKA Moscow.