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 - Mar 6-7

 Arizona Sahuaros/Kansas City Wizards action

MLS Preseason
Dallas/Chicago will scrimmage in Magnolia state.
ChivasUSA to scrimmage with Fresno.
RSL preseason scrimmage.
The Fullback Files looks at DC United's roster.
Houston and Austin scrimmage to a draw.
Sounders and Whitecaps in scoreless draw.
Wizards end Arizona stay with win.

MLS
One of my favorite writers, Bill Archer, lays into both sides of the CBA. One shot for the players, one for the owners.

Player Moves
Philadelphia signs Colombian Roger Torres.
Toronto release Carl Robinson, who is on trial now with RBNY.

Interesting Reads
International Football Association Board (IFAB) say no to technology in football.
Thanks to Richard Whittall for this own goal.
A brief intro to the 2010 J-League.

The Business of Soccer
Painting an un-pretty picture of EPL club finances.
FC Moscow go out of business.
A proverbial guide for new football owners.
Footiebusiness: What it means to mediate.

Club Tournaments
An Idiot's Guide to the Asian Champions League.

Around the World
Melbourne will play in the A-League's Grand Final for 3rd time in 4 years.

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Title and Champions League Races in Europe

	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
EPL
Manchester Utd	29	20	3	6	43	63
Chelsea	28	19	4	5	39	61
Arsenal	29	19	4	6	37	61
Tottenham	28	14	7	7	23	49
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich	25	15	8	2	30	53
Schalke 04	25	15	6	4	21	51
Bayer Leverkusen	25	13	11	1	29	50
Hamburg	25	11	10	4	18	43
Ligue 1
Bordeaux	25	16	4	5	22	52
Montpellier	27	16	4	7	9	52
Lyon	27	14	8	5	17	50
Marseille	26	14	7	5	19	49
Serie A
Internazionale	27	17	8	2	30	59
AC Milan	27	16	7	4	20	55
AS Roma	27	15	7	5	16	52
Palermo	27	13	7	7	7	46
La Liga
Real Madrid	25	20	2	3	47	62
Barcelona	25	19	5	1	45	62
Valencia	24	13	7	4	16	46
Sevilla FC	25	13	4	8	10	43

News and Views from Friday Mar 5

Pablo Escobar, Sergio Herrera and Jason Garey in preseason action

MLS Preseason

• The Quakes are across the pond.

MLS

• Efficient use of money in MLS??
• Man City in MLS??
• Wizards and AC St. Louis to play home and home series.
• Jason Davis' thoughts on MLS in Baltimore.
• WV Hooligan's look at the San Jose Earthquakes.
• I'm sure you've read it by now, MLS labor negotiations will continue with the addition of a federal mediator.

Player Moves

• Red Bulls make Lindpere signing official.

Interesting Reads

• International FA Board (IFAB) considering red card rule change.
• Overweighted British influence over the laws of football?
• An entertaining read by Jason Davis, yes him again, on the English blog FourFourTwo.

The Business of Soccer

• New owners of Birmingham City miffed at loss of 20.5M pounds.

News and Views from Thursday Mar 4

 Crew/Wizards action in Phoenix

A relatively slow day, especially since I'm not linking to the plethora of post international friendly stories.

MLS Preseason

• San Jose update.
• Wizards/Crew draw in Phoenix.

MLS

• LA Galaxy open tryouts this weekend.

Player Moves

• The Seattle Sounders have signed Swiss International forward Blaise Nkufo.He will join the club after the World Cup.

Interesting Reads

• Orlando will have a professional soccer team in 2011. The new team has aligned itself with the USL.

The Business of Soccer

• A peek at Liverpool's revenue streams. Making the quarterfinals of the '08-09 UEFA Champions League earned the club 23.2 million Euros. More in the article.

News and Views from Wednesday Mar 3

If you are looking for commentary or links on the US/Netherlands match, sorry, but the soccersphere is crawling with blog posts and articles. Shouldn't be too hard to find. Instead, I offer you the usual potpourri of MLS news and other interesting reads on the beautiful game.

MLS Preseason

• DC United to play Santos Laguna in Mexico.
• FC Atlas 2 Chicago Fire 0.
• FC Dallas to host Columbus in the 2nd Pioneer Cup.

MLS

• DCU News from Goff.
• Garber looking for English investment in MLS.
• U-17 teammates talk about their leap to MLS.

Interesting Reads

• Offside Rule - Going the way of the buggy whip??
• About tactics.
• Paraguayan shooting victim leaves hospital. Soccer future still in doubt.
• Fans, Clubs and Colors.
• The future of soccer in Haiti remains uncertain.
• Dutch influence on US Soccer.

Club Tournaments

• MLS Play-in brackets for the US Open have been drawn.

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US Women win Algarve Cup.

News and Views from Tuesday Mar 2

MLS Preseason

• Quakes beat Cal in preseason match.
• WV Hooligan's look at RSL. 
• Philly wins in Mexico.

MLS

• MLS and the CONCACAF Champions League by yours truly.
• Seven Sounder Questions.
• Starting 11 not yet set in Philadelphia.
• A dissection of TFC's defense.

Player Moves

• Winger Ryan Smith has signed with Kansas City.
• DCU roster moves. 
• RSL trims roster.

The Business of Soccer

• Portsmouth still on edge.
• The BBC chimes in on player wages.

Interesting Reads

• Peruvian club soccer belies national team's poor performance.

News and Views from Monday Mar 1

One on one during a ChivasUSA/Columbus scrimmage

MLS Preseason

• FC Dallas schedules two preseason matches in Tampa.
• Philadelphia draws with Chivas de Guadalajara.

MLS

• Philadelphia Union form partnership with USL-2 Harrisburg.
• You probably know this already, roster compliance day has been delayed.
• Richard Farley with a good overview of the CBA in regards to its effect on Landon Donovan and Everton.

Player Moves

• The San Jose Earthquakes have signed Argentine midfielder Javier Robles.
• Kansas City waives Watson, releases other invitees.

The Business of Soccer

• Or in this case, broadcasting soccer, as Fox Soccer Plus launches.
• West Ham's financial plight. 
• The Money List of club soccer.
• Serie A's top clubs look for ways to recover their lost financial prominence.

Interesting Reads

• A Latino perspective on the MLS conflict.
• Andrew Guest on Sports Psychology.

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US Women advance to Algarve Cup final.