Some News for Tue Dec 1, 2009

STARTERS

Here is video of the interview that ESPN's Jeremy Schaap did with Charlie Davies. Thanks to Sundust17 for posting this, and Graham for sending us the link.

dN

AND THEN TONIGHT - Brian Ching & Stuart Holden talk with Charlie Davies on The Orange Slice at 8-9pm Central on 1560thegame.com, followed by another hour of the regular weekly show starring Brian Balboa.

dN

Just 3 days to go until the World Cup draw, and FIFA is supposed to tell us on Wednesday how the teams will be seeded.

BALLON D'OR






Lionel Messi of Argentina & Barcelona has been awarded the 2009 Ballon d'Or, given annually by France Football, and recognized as the true player of the year award.




















MLS CHAMPIONS REAL SALT LAKE

My last piece of coverage for the champs is video that I shot of Real Salt Lake fans about 3 hours BEFORE the game even started. The RSL fans were out in force, and took over Pioneer square. The energy was electric. Big shout out to Real Barra!



MLS

Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune looks at how RSL goes about keeping their team intact for next season. They are going to have to negotiate new deals with some of these guys.
-On his blog Lewis also reports that 3 RSL players, Morales, Olave & Espindola, are all having knee surgery during the offseason.

dN

Kyle McCarthy of the Boston Herald told us yesterday that New England fullback Jay Heaps was going to retire, and today he verifies that story. The official announcement will come on Wednesday.

MLS RUMORS

Greg Seltzer of Soccer 365 gives us a little more on the possible move of young American Vincenzo Bernardo to MLS.

dN

Polish Soca with a rumor that Ebi Smolarek may be coming to play in MLS. Chicago?

dN

Is former DC head coach Tom Soehn headed to Vancouver in a managerial role?

MLS COACHES MERRY-GO-ROUND

Is Martin Vasquez going to get that Chivas USA job? Or are they really going to hire that stiff Steve Sampson.

dN

Is RSL assistant Robin Frazer a candidate for the top spot in DC?

dN

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer on some whispers and speculations for the next New York Red Bulls head man.

USL-1/NASL MESS

Jeff Diveronica of The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle with the full story on the Rhino's defection from USL-1 to NASL.

dN

Do you smell pending legal action on all of this or what?

dN

The Edmonton Sun reports that their city will have a NASL team when Vancouver moves to MLS in 2011.

USL FIRST DIVISION

As of today the league only has 4 teams for the 2010 season: Austin, Cleveland, Portland & Puerto Rico.
-And Cleveland is very suspect.

NCAA MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

Inside Minnesota Soccer has an interview with #1 seed and undefeated Akron's leading goal scorer Teal Bunbury. The sophomore has 17 goals this season. Download or listen here.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Hector Tobar of the Los Angeles Times writes about the joy he has found in the AYSO leagues of Southern California. Great article, showing yet another side of the beautiful game in our country and how it can make changes for the better. (Thanks to Joe for the link)

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Coming Up:

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
-Wed Dec 2
Dominic Cervi - Celtic - v Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Tim Howard - Everton - at AEK Athens
-Thu Dec 3
Bryan Arguez - Hertha Berlin - at Ventspils
Clint Dempsey Fulham - v CSKA Sofia
Eddie Johnson Fulham - v CSKA Sofia

ITALY

The National of the UAE looks at the pressure piling up on those who run Juventus as their game against Inter approaches on Saturday.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 5 will be played on Wed Dec 2 & Thu Dec 3. Here are those games.

WORLD CUP 2010 - SOUTH AFRICA

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer arrived in South Africa today and gives us the first of hopefully many reports leading up to and including the World Cup draw.

dN

Tim Vickery of the BBC wonders if a European team can finally win a World Cup not played on European soil. It's never happened before.

dN

Al Jazeera looks at the host nations team. Could they be the worst host team ever?

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Even tech magazine Wired thinks its time for international soccer to embrace technology to assist the referees. (thanks to JJ for this link)

ENDERS

Got these 2 very interesting facts from EA Sports about their FIFA Soccer 10 video game:
-North America is the No. 2 market for the EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer franchise, second only to the U.K. and surpassing other football-crazed countries such as Spain and Germany.
-FIFA Soccer 10 sold more than 4.5 million units in its first 5 weeks at retail, making it the biggest sports videogame launch in history.

And those of you that know me personally know I am not a video game guy, so I am not out pimping here, I just thought those numbers were quite interesting.

I Got It, World Cup Fever

Air Miami - World Cup Fever (Guy Fixsen remix) Hear it now!


I remember when my friends Mark Robinson & Bridget Cross released this song back in 1998, I was very fired up about it and hoped it would sweep the land! It did not, but it still sounds fresh and exciting today, so let's make it our anthem now!

You can buy it here at Teenbeat Records with multiple remixes.

Some News for Mon Nov 30, 2009

SEE YOU THERE

One of the most anticipated events of the past 3 years happens this Friday as FIFA hold the draw for the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
Where will your favorite end up?
Who will they have to play in the Group Stage?
And who will land in the Group of Death?

Come join me for lunch and watch the spectacle unfold:
Fri Dec 4
11am Central
The Sweetwater
At the Kelly Inn Best Western
Marion & I94
St Paul

And it's not every day we get to see Slappy Jack on live television.

STARTERS

Jeremy Schaap of ESPN on Twitter last night: "Interviewed Charlie Davies today. Brief clip on SportsCenter at 11 ET. Lede: He expects to be playing in SA next June. Recovering quickly"
-The US National Sccoer Players Association has a recap of that interview.
-If anyone can find video I would love to share it.

MLS CHAMPIONS REAL SALT LAKE

After struggling all season with a huge lack of consistency, the team had an 18 day break from games in early October, and after that they tore it up going 6-0-1 on the way to their first championship.

dN

Dan Rassmussen of the Deseret News with a feature story showing the teams month by month rise from mediocrity to top o' the heap.

dN

Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune puts the title into Utah prospective.

dN

Luke Garrot, a regular du Nord reader and Salt Lake City council member writes an editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune about his beloved team, their championship, and his & the cities loss when the team moved to the suburbs!

dN

Gordon Monson also of the Tribune tries to put RSL's title into local sporting lore.

dN

And finally Michael C Lewis of the Tribune sums up a weird and wonderful season of Real Salt Lake soccer.

dN

James Edward of the Deseret News on RSL's huge victory culmination in Seattle.

dN

Michael Black of the Deseret with a look at 4 of RSL's hero's of the season.
-Nick Rimando
-Kyle Beckerman
-Nat Borchers
-Robbie Findley

MLS

Jimmy Conrad, centerback for the Kansas City Wizards, writing for ESPN Soccernet (not ghost written!!) gives us "A vision for the future of Major League Soccer".

dN

Chicago has picked up with contract options on forward Brian McBride and centerback CJ Brown. There had been speculation that both may retire. End of story.

dN

Tripp Mickle of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal reports that the MLS board of governors want to sign commissioner Don Garber to a long term deal, but will wait until after the new collective bargaining agreement with the players union is settled to begin negotiating.

dN

Brian Lewis of the NY Post reports that Erik Soler is telling people that he has been "hired as sporting director of Red Bull New York."
-I am going to guess and say that the reason he has not been formally announced is that he needs to get an official work permit first.

dN

The Toronto Globe & Mail reports that TFC want to add more seats to BMO Field.
-Unfortunately there is still talk of the local Canadian Football League team sharing the stadium.

Gerry Dobson of Sports Net says that there is no room for the CFL at BMO Field.

dN

Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch reports that Alejandro Moreno was never told by the Crew that he was not being put on their protected player list, and he was sent to Philadelphia in the expansion draft.
-More on Moreno, with additional quotes, including him saying he did not want to go.

dN

Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune on the deal that sent RSL's coveted back up keeper Chris Seitz to Philly.
-RSL later picked up forward Abe Thompson on a free move from Houston.

dN

Former Colorado Rapids winger Terry Cooke is now playing for the North Queensland Fury in Australia's A-League.

dN

Mark Young at MLSnet gives us a look at the latest news on former MLS players around the world.

dN

MLS has sent a team of young players who are on special Generation Adidas contracts to South Africa for 3 friendlies. The first was played today.
-3 players on the original roster did not go to South Africa due to various reasons - Tristan Bowen (Los Angeles) - personal matters, Ciaran O'Brien (Colorado) - Injury, and Brek Shea (Dallas) - Hair related.
Match & Score:
-Mon Nov 30
Orlando Pirates reserves v MLS GA - MGA goals by Chris Pontius & Patrick Nyarko.

MLS RUMORS

Any rumor of Mexican centerback Rafa Marquez signing with a MLS team ended today when he signed a contract extension at Barcelona through 2012.

dN

The Washington Post is reporting that LA has opened contract negotiation with Landon Donovan to lock him in for the long run.

dN

Kyle McCarthy reported on his Twitter feed today: "Hearing word that Revolution defender Jay Heaps is planning to retire this week"

dN

Vincenzo Bernardo on his Twitter feed: "Leaving Napoli for good this time. Going to Rome then flying to the states. i finally made my decision" - looks like he is going to a team in MLS!

dN

Sam Stejskal of Chicago Now ponders the idea of the Fire hiring a European as their next head coach.

MLS EXPANSION

Ives Galarcep at ESPN Soccernet writes that Philadelphia Union has a goal of matching Seattle's first season.

dN

The Detroit Free Press with the latest on the purchase of the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, and soccer prospects there, among other things.

USL-1/NASL MESS

Rochester Rhinos are the latest defectors from USL-1 to the new NASL.
-The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle with the story.

dN

As things stand right now, the NASL would be a 10 team league.

NCAA MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

In 3rd Round action unranked Maryland knocked out #10 seed Harvard, and unheralded Drake continues their amazing run now into the 4th round. All the other big teams are through.

dN

The tournament continues with the Quarterfinals this weekend.

Quarterfinal Matches & Scores:
-Fri Dec 4
North Carolina v Drake
Virgina v Maryland
-Sat Dec 5
Akron v Tulsa
Wake Forest v Duke

dN

Here is the full official bracket for the tournament.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

The Wall Street Journal on the Hispanic market and sports in America, including MLS.
-With a video report as well.

USA WORLD CUP 2018/22 BID

Jack Bell of the New York Times with the story of Robert Hermann and his trip with a USA contingent to talk World Cup with FIFA back in the 1960's.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Soccer 365 with the latest rumors on Benny Feilhaber, Devan Yao & Stuart Holden.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

DENMARK - Superliga
Benny Feilhaber - AGF Aarhus - went the full 90 as they won 1-0 at home over Brondby.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - played the whole match but they lost 0-1 at home to Silkeborg.
Marcus Tracy - AaB - started and went 74 minutes as they drew at Esbjerg 1-1.
Jeremiah White - AGF Aarhus - came on as a 83rd minute sub in a 1-0 home win over Brondby.

ENGLAND - Premiership
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - started and went 73 minutes as they drew 1-1 at Manchester City.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - played all 90 minutes of a home 1-1 draw against Bolton.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - in goal as usual but only drew at home 1-1 against Tottenham.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - got a game for a change, but lost 0-1 at home to Birmingham.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the full 90 and lost 0-2 to Liverpool.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - played the entire game as they beat Burnley 5-3 at home.

ENGLAND - Championship
Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - went the distance, but probably would have rather been home in bed as they got clobbered at home 0-4 by West Bromich.

ENGLAND - League One
Mike Grella - Leeds - started and played 71 minutes as they drew 1-1 at Kettering Town.

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - played all 90, got a Yellow Card and also got a 1-1 road draw at Lyon. Not bad.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach - played the whole match as they beat Schalke 1-0 at home.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
David Yelldell - Koblenz - went the distance in a losing effort, 2-1 at Karlsruhe.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - played the full game gettin' a Yellow Card in the dying seconds and won 2-1 at home over Den Bosch.

PORTUGAL
Freddy Adu - Belenenses - came on as a sub in the 80th minute but they drew at home 2-2 against Maritimo.

MEXICO

Primera Division Liguilla

America was knocked out by Monterrey in the only upset of the Quarters.

All playoff rounds are 2 Legs.

Quarterfinal Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (with 1st leg scores included)
-Sat Nov 28
America (4) 1-1 Monterrey (5) - Mon advance 2-1 on aggregate - Ame goal by Salvador Cabanas(PK). Mon goal by Humberto Suazo.
Cruz Azul (2) 3-2 Puebla (7) - CA advance 7-6 on aggregate - CA goals by Cezar Villaluz, Julio Juarez & Fausto Pinto. Pue goals both by Andres Olivera.
-Sun Nov 29
Toluca (1) 1-0 San Luis (8) - Series ends tied 1-1, so Tol advance as the higher seed - Tol goal by Hector Mancilla.
Morelia (3) 3-0 Santos Laguna (6) - Mor advance 4-2 on aggregate - Mor goals by Wilson Mathias, Miguel Sabah & Mauricio Romero.

dN

Semifinal Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Wed Dec 2
Morelia(3) v Cruz Azul(2)
-Thu Dec 3
Monterrey(5) v Toluca(1)
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 5
Cruz Azul(2) v Morelia(3)
-Sun Dec 6
Toluca(1) v Monterrey(5)

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES THIS WEEKEND

Matches, Scores & Thoughts:
-Sat Nov 28
Sporting 0-0 Benfica - the battle of Lisbon ends scoreless, but Benfica remains at #1
-Sun Nov 29
Everton 0-2 Liverpool - the Red side of the city wins the Liverpool derby, leaving the Blue side in an ever worsening position this season.
Arsenal 0-3 Chelsea - a huge win for the visitors in a lesser London derby, putting a wider gap, now 11 points, between the two.
Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid - Barca dominated their home leg of El Clasico even at the end when they played with only 10.
Inter 1-0 Fiorentina - the champs controlled most of the game but could not finish, needing a late PK to get the deserved win.
Olympiakos v Panathinaikos - "The Derby of the Eternal Enemies" sees Oly win and leap their rivals into 1st place! Great drama.

ENGLAND

The Observer with an article on Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin, who they call the antithesis of an Arsenal signing.

dN

The Guardian gives us Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.

dN

Patrick Barclay of the Times says that the English national team has been well re-built by Fabio Capello, but it would not end if the Italian left today.

SCOTLAND

Graham Spiers of the Times looks at Rangers and sees ugliness more than just on the field, its in many places surrounding the club.

SPAIN

Barcelona won El Clasico 1-0 over Real Madrid, and jump back in front of them at the top of the table too.

dN

Phil Ball of ESPN Soccernet on super-sub Zalatan for Barcelona and a Liga roundup.

dN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian looks at Cristiano Ronaldo's uninspiring return to the Real Madrid lineup, the quality of Zalatan Ibrahimovic at Barca, and the rest of La Liga over the weekend.

dN

Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports feels Real Madrid were quite poor in their big match with Barcelona.

dN

Matt Dickinson of the Times on the massive ego and massive quality that is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian looks at the new Uli Hoeness era at Bayern Munich, and the rest of the Bundesliga from the weekend.

ITALY

An Inter win and a Juventus loss opens the gap at the top to 6 points again, but this time it's AC Milan in the second spot and Juve dropping to third. 8 points back now.
-And next Saturday Juve host Inter!

dN

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian with an article on the rise of AC Milan & striker Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar, and the rest of Serie from the weekend.

EUROPE

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune writes about the rare player who is paid a fortune, and is still searching for success.

BRAZIL

The Big Finish - With 1 round left to play in the Campeanato Brasileiro we are down to the last 4 teams who have a legit chance for the title. Unfortunately we don't have any head to head matchups to look forward to.

Standings - after 37 of 38 games played:
64 Flamengo (GD: 13) - Last: W 0-2 at Corinthians - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Gremio
62 Internacional (GD: 18) - Last: W 1-2 at Sport - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Santo Andre
62 Palmeiras (GD: 14) - Last: W 3-1 v Atletico MG - Finale: Sun Dec 6 at Botafogo
62 Sao Paulo (GD: 11) - Last: L 4-2 at Goias - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Sport

Atletico MG & Cruzeiro are out of the chase.

AFRICA

FIFA.com does a Q & A with Cote d'Ivoire & Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure.

WORLD CUP 2010 - SOUTH AFRICA

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times with a look at the history of big sporting events in South Africa.

PODCASTS

Some good audio and video from EPL Talk that you need to check out:
-Audio: an interview with Robbie Earle, top English TV commentator who lead Wimbeldon during their best years, and played for the Reggae Boyz in the 98 World Cup.
-Video: A really high quality video on the FA Cup featuring a Visit to Millwall.

ENDERS

I don't know if any of you know who Mike Penner is, but he's a long time writer for the Los Angeles Times who has struggled greatly with gender identity. And he passed away last Friday. Scott French who has written about soccer for a long time, and was an acquaintance of Penner wrote this remembrance at Real Clear Sports. RIP Mike.

Some News for Fri Nov 27, 2009

SEE YOU THERE

One of the truly great games of any season happens this Sunday as Barcelona and Real Madrid face off. They are currently at #2 and #1 in the Spain's Liga and will most likely give us a very entertaining two hours of soccer.
Come join me to watch the spectacle:
Sun Nov 29
12 Noon Central
The Sweetwater
At the Kelly Inn Best Western
Marion & I94
St Paul

STARTERS

Sometime in the past few weeks Rubin Kazan clinched the Russian Premier League championship, and I didn't notice it happen, so a huge congrats goes out to them
- Rubin Kazan Repeat Russian Champs!

MEXICO PRIMERA DIVISION LIGUILLA

The Appretura playoff rounds are all 2 Legs.

Quarterfinal Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (with 1st leg scores included)
-Sat Nov 28
America (4) v Monterrey (5) - (0-1)
Cruz Azul (2) v Puebla (7) - (4-4)
-Sun Nov 29
Toluca (1) v San Luis (8) - (0-1)
Morelia (3) v Santos Laguna (6) - (1-2)

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES THIS WEEKEND

-Sat Nov 28
Sporting v Benfica - the battle of Lisbon
-Sun Nov 29
Everton v Liverpool - the Liverpool derby, with both teams are struggling badly
Arsenal v Chelsea - not only is it a London derby, but these two both are dreaming of the championship
Barcelona v Real Madrid - El Clasico
Inter v Fiorentina - the champs & league leaders would like to make an example of the chaser, and the chaser wants to make it a real chase.
Olympiakos v Panathinaikos - "The Derby of the Eternal Enemies"!

BRAZIL

With 2 rounds left to play in the Campeanato Brasileiro we are down to 6 teams who technically have a chance for the title.

Standings - after 36 of 38 games played:
62 Sao Paulo - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Goias - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Sport
61 Flamengo - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Corinthians - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Gremio
59 Palmeiras - Next: Sun Nov 29 v Atletico MG - Finale: Sun Dec 6 at Botafogo
59 Internacional - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Sport - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Santo Andre
56 Atletico MG - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Palmeiras - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Corinthians
56 Cruzeiro - Next: Sun Nov 29 v Coritiba FBC - Finale: Sun Dec 6 at Santos

Closed for Thanksgiving

No du Nord on Thursday.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.

And a happy day off from du Nord to all the rest of you.

Some News for Wed Nov 25, 2009

SEE YOU THERE

One of the truly great games of any season happens this Sunday as Barcelona and Real Madrid face off. They are currently at #2 and #1 in the Spain's Liga and will most likely give us a very entertaining two hours of soccer.

Come join me to watch the spectacle:

Barcelona v Real Madrid

Sun Nov 29
12 Noon Central
The Sweetwater
At the Kelly Inn Best Western
Marion & I94
St Paul

STARTERS

Coming Soon: The DaMarcus Colletion

dN

Clint Dempsey scored 2 goals by Fulham today as they clobbered Blackburn 3-0 in the Premiership.

dN

Vancouver 24 Hrs is reporting that the Whitecaps have hired the executive director of English club Tottenham Hotspur to become their new chief executive. Big move.

MLS

Steve Davis at ESPN Soccernet with a good recap of the entire 2009 season.

dN

Brain Strauss of Fanhouse calls the city of Seattle the star of the MLS Cup.

dN

Brent Latham of Yanks Abroad in considering the building of the new Philadelphia team looks at the rest of MLS and sees abundant quality.

MLS EXPANSION DRAFT

Here are the 5 teams that did not lose any players to Philadelphia in the expansion draft:
-FC Dallas
-Houston Dynamo
-Kansas City Wizards
-Real Salt Lake
-Toronto FC

USL FIRST DIVISION

So as of today, what is left of USL-1? Here are the 6 teams still signed on:
-Portland Timbers - for just once season until they join MLS in 2011.
-New York FC - a brand new team with no players, and from what we hear no resources either.
-Puerto Rico Islanders - a well run and successful team.
-Rochester Rhino - a long time staple that appears to be rebounded from financial hardship a couple years ago.
-Cleveland City Stars - searching for an owner and possibly joining Charleston in dropping back down a league to USL-2.
-Austin Aztex - beginning their 2nd season.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Yanks Abroad has an interview with Eric Wynalda in 2 segments: Part 1 - and - Part 2.

dN

Peter Wilt at Pitch Invasion looks at the end of an era for an old friend, and a re-newed era for himself.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

ENGLAND - Premiership
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - started and went 75 minutes as they hung on to beat Everton 3-2 at home.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full 90 scoring 2 goal as they wiped out Blackburn 3-0 at home!
Tim Howard - Everton - played the entire match as usual but lost 3-2 at Hull City.

GERMANY

The BBC reports that Hannover will wear the #1 front and center on their uniforms for the rest of the season in memory of goalkeeper Robert Enke who recently took his own life. The idea for the shirts was that of the teams co-captain Steve Cherundolo. (Thanks to Jason for the link.)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Bordeaux, Manchester United, Chelsea, Porto, Fiorentina, Lyon, Sevilla & Arsenal have advanced to the knock out stages.

dN

Matchday 5
-Tue Nov 24
Debreceni 0-1 Liverpool - Liv goal by David Ngog.
Fiorentina 1-0 Lyon - Fio goal by Juan Vargas(PK).
Rubin Kazan 0-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Barcelona 2-0 Inter - Bar goals by Gerard Pique & Pedro.
Rangers 0-2 Stuttgart - Stu goals by Sebastian Rudy & Zdravko Kuzmanovic.
Unirea Urziceni 1-0 Sevilla - UU goal by Ivica Dragutinovic(OG).
AZ Alkmaar 0-0 Olympiacos
Arsenal 2-0 Standard Liege - Ars goals by Samir Nasri & Denilson.
-Wed Nov 25
Bordeaux 2-0 Juventus - Bor goals by Fernando Menegazzo & Marouane Chamakh.
Bayern Munchen 1-0 Maccabi Haifa - BM goal by Ivica Olic.
CSKA Moskva 2-1 Wolfsburg - CM goals by Tomas Necid & Milos Krasic. Wol goal by Edin Dzeko.
Manchester United 0-1 Besiktas - Bes goal by Rodrigo Tello.
Real Madrid 1-0 Zurich - RM goal by Gonzalo Higuain.
Milan 1-1 Marseille - Mil goal by Marco Borriello. Mar goal by Lucho Gonzalez.
Porto 0-1 Chelsea - Che goal by Nicolas Anelka.
APOEL 1-1 Atletico Madrid - APO goal by Nenad Mirosavljevic. AM goal by Simao.

dN

Group Stage Standings:
Group A (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+13 Bordeaux
8 Juventus
7 Bayern Munich
0 Maccabi Haifa
Group B (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+10 Manchester United
7 Wolfsburg
7 CSKA
4 Besiktas
Group C (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
10 Real Madrid
8 AC Milan
7 Marseille
3 Zurich
Group D (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+13 Chelsea
+9 Porto
3 Atletico Madrid
2 APOEL
Group E (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+12 Fiorentina
+10 Lyon
7 Liverpool
0 Debrecen
Group F (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
8 Barcelona
6 Inter Milan
6 Rubin Kazan
5 Dynamo Kyiv
Group G (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+10 Sevilla
8 Unirea Urziceni
6 Stuttgart
2 Rangers
Group H (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+13 Arsenal
7 Olympiacos
4 Standard Liege
3 AZ Alkmaar
+Has secured their spot in the knock out rounds.

dN

The top 2 teams from each group will advance. While the 3rd place teams move down to the Europa League.

dN

Matchday 6 will be played on Tue Dec 8 & Wed Dec 9.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 5 will be played on Wed Dec 2 & Thu Dec 3.

MIDDLE EAST

The New York Times with a story on the Iraqi national team which has been suspended from international competition by FIFA after the government interfered in the running of the team.

Philadelphia Union Expansion Draft

MLS EXPANSION DRAFT

The Philadelphia Union selected their first 10 players today, picking from the rosters of the other 15 MLS teams. Each team could protect 11 players, leaving the rest up for grabs. Each team could only lose 1 player at most.

Here is who they will initially stock their roster with:
-Jordan Harvey - Colorado Rapids
-Andrew Jacobson - DC United
-Brad Knighton - New England Revolution
-Sebastian LeToux - Seattle Sounders
-Stefani Miglioranzi - Los Angeles Galaxy
-Alejandro Moreno - Columbus Crew
-David Myrie - Chicago Fire
-Shea Salinas - San Jose Earthquakes
-Shavar Thomas - Chivas USA
-Nick Zimmerman - New York Red Bulls

A rumor from the Washington Post also says that they have bought Salt Lake goalkeeper Chris Seitz.

Some News for Tue Nov 24, 2009

STARTERS

Huge congrats to Real Salt Lake and all their fans on a fantastic end to the season. MLS Cup Champions for 2009! Wow!

dN

Word from Chicago this evening is that Denis Hamlet has been relieved of his duties as Fire head coach.

dN

Huge thanks go out to Graham Fox for 2 fantastic days of coverage at du Nord while I was off frolicing at MLS Cup weekend! I have another incredible weekend. Thank again Graham!

dN

One of many rumors floating around MLS Cup weekend was that the USA will play at the Netherlands a friendly on Wed Mar 3 next year.

dN

Philadelphia Union will begin stocking their roster on Wednesday as the MLS Expansion draft takes place. See special section below for details.
-Contrary to all the info we have seen so far, Columbus has Robbie Rogers on their "protected" list. I am very surprised.

HONORS

For the third year running du Nord has been honored by you the fans, and included as a finalist for US Soccer's Best of 2009 - Best Soccer Blog. I am very humbled by this. Thank you so so much.

MLS CHAMPIONS REAL SALT LAKE

The team rolled into town (with snow on the ground) in a whole fleet of SUV's to a rock star welcome!

dN

I am hearing that the celebration at Rio Tinto Stadium tonight was a monster.

dN

You can go to both of that cities daily newspapers for all the best coverage - Deseret News - and - Salt Lake Tribune.

dN

Behind the Shield - the official blog of Real Salt Lake.

MLS CUP WEEKEND NEWS

The postseason drew an average of 23,559 per game. The best ever!

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Greg Lalas at Sports Illustrated describes the great weekend in Seattle.

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Simon Evans of Reuters Soccer Blog gives a great overview of Cup weekend, the season past, and the seasons ahead.
-Big tip of the hat to Simon who we met in Seattle, and was a great guy!

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Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal has a good wrap up on the entire weekend.

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Our friends Prairie and Mike made the scene all weekend long representing New England fans everywhere, and tell there story here!

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From my perspective the city of Seattle blew the doors off anywhere that has ever hosted the Cup final before. They were up for it, and showed us a great time. Everywhere you went it was MLS Cup mania. So so cool to be a soccer fan in a town that loves you! Wow!

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And our Designated Players party on Friday night was a full on blow out! It started at a good pace early, then proceed into full sprint mode until we closed the place down and they threw us out into the streets at 2am. The list of Soccer Celeb's who made the scene just knocked me out. And every one was so cool. I am sorry if I didn't get nearly enough time to sit and talk to everyone I would have loved to talk with. It was just that out of control. Huge thanks to everyone who was in attendance, and I sure hope we get to do it again!

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My Thoughts on the game:
-A lasting memory of the final game will right after Landon Donovan skied his Penalty Kick attempt, and as my jaw hit the ground I did a 360 degree turn looking at everyone around me and they all had the same look on their faces. Unreal!
-Yes, Donovan missing that PK was the 2nd most dramatic moment of the game, with Robbie Russell of Salt Lake converting the final PK to take the top honor. Other turning points in the game:
-Javier Morales of Salt Lake leaving the field in tears after injuring his knee in the first half.
-Clint Mathis came on for Morales and didn't miss a beat.
-Then Ned Grabavoy replaced a sick Will Johnson at half time and also filled the role completely.
-Personally I would have left Yura Movsysian in the game longer to see if he could hit one of his bombs.
-His replacement Fabian Espindola was the only negative move Salt Lake made all game.
-Donovan's pin point pass to Mike Magee for LA's goal. A thing of typical beauty for LD.
-But where did Donovan disappear to after that? I was amazed at home little he did down the stretch. Amazed!
-And as the game wore on RSL centerback Nat Borchers looked very hobbled yet LA left the completely worn out Mike Magee and the useless Edson Buddle to battle him, instead of putting LD up there to go at the slow defender. Just plain weird.
-LA keeper Donovan Ricketts injuring his hand right at the beginning of the 2nd half, causing a long delay.
-His replacement Josh Saunders did a very good job for having played very few top flight minutes, much less no playoff minutes ever.
-LA's Chris Klein looked completely gassed after just 15 minutes on the field. What happened to him?
-Beckman did little or nothing all game long. Yes he had a few good passes, and helped his team control the ball at times. But he needed to be a larger than life presence and he was merely mortal.
-And worst of all it was Beckman standing there ball watching as Robbie Findley stormed the back post and scored the game tying and changing goal for RSL.
-Gregg Berhalter had as good a game as any Galaxy player. He made several huge plays.
-In the end all the credit goes to RSL, as they were simply the better team!

USL-1/NASL NEWS

If you ask me, both of these leagues are in serious trouble, and if the ball stopped moving today they would both be dead in the water. What a bunch of idiots these people are. Get it together, sit down, and sort it out!

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Inside Minnesota Soccer with all the latest details, rumors, scenarios and border-line insanity.

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And here are the latest articles from IMS (listed in counter-chronilogical order):
-TOA and USL, is Everything Exploding or Imploding?
-TOA Confirms, New Proposed League Name Will be North American Soccer League
-Team Owners Association/USL Update – 11/21/09
-USL Statement Regarding Tampa & Baltimore Moving to the TOA League
-Team Owners Association Adds Two More Teams – 9 Total
-Executive Director of the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission Explains New Pro Soccer Team Proposed for Minnesota
-Minnesota Becomes Hub of TOA/USL Debate

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Jeff DiVeronica of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, who has also done a good job of trying to keep up with this flaming snowball of a story, gives us some updates and thoughts today.

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The craziest news in all these latest twists and turns is that the Charleston Battery have announced that they too are leaving USL-1, but not for the NSAL, rather USL-2! Here is the official press release.

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The Triangle Business Journal on the new NASL name.

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The St Petersburg Times on the plans for the Tampa Bay Rowdies to play in the NASL.

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And check this out, this new league doesn't have the rights to NASL.com. (thanks to BQ for the heads up on this one)

MLS

The Observer (England) with an article on the mysterious billionaire Philip Anschutz who has almost single handedly kept soccer in America alive over the past decade, and is also involved in many businesses all over the world.

MLS EXPANSION DRAFT

On Wednesday a very MLS event will take place, and that is the Expansion draft. Some of you may wonder what in the name of Sam Hell that might be. Well, next season the Philadelphia Union will join MLS, and in another of the ways the league seeks parity is by letting the new teams select players from the rosters of current teams. Every club gets to "protect" a certain number of players from being chosen, but leaving all the others fair game. It's a pretty bizarre concept I know, but that is what makes MLS so "special".

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Each team can only lose 1 player maximum, as the new team, Philadelphia, selects 10 total, meaning some clubs will not lose anyone in this draft.

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Here are each of the teams lists of the 11 players they are protecting.

MLS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated reports that FIFA says it will not get involved in the MLS league and players new collective bargaining agreement negotiations, even if things get ugly.

MLS COACHES HOT SEAT

Chicago's Denis Hamlett is the fourth coach since the season ended to be shown the door.
-Remember a few months ago when I called this one and people told me I was nuts. At least I got something right.

NCAA MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

The tournament continues with the 3rd (of 6) Round on Sun Nov 29.

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#4 seed Ohio was the highest rated team beaten in the 2nd Round. UC Irvine, Butler, St John's, Michigan St, San Diego, Penn St and North Carolina St were also upset in the 2nd Round.

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Here is the full official bracket for the tournament.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Jamie Jackson of the Observer (England) looks at the state of soccer in America.

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Both the Toronto Star and the Toronto Globe & Mail have articles on the business developer who bought the Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Detroit and what the plans are for the property. Soccer has been mentioned in every article written on the topic so far.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

PRIMERA Division Liguilla
Michael Orozco - San Luis - came on in the dying seconds of the 1st Leg playoff game as they stunned the champions Toluca 1-0 at home.

MEXICO

Primera Division Liguilla
The Appretura playoff rounds are all 2 Legs.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Sat Nov 21
Monterrey (5) 1-0 America (4)
Puebla (7) 4-4 Cruz Azul (2)
-Sun Nov 22
San Luis (8) 1-0 Toluca (1)
Santos Laguna (6) 2-1 Morelia (3)
2nd Leg (wiht 1st leg scores included)
-Sat Nov 28
America (4) v Monterrey (5) - (0-1)
Cruz Azul (2) v Puebla (7) - (4-4)
-Sun Nov 29
Toluca (1) v San Luis (8) - (0-1)
Morelia (3) v Santos Laguna (6) - (1-2)

ENGLAND

The Times on London reports that after Wigan went to Tottenham and lost by an astonishing 9-1 score, their players have offered to reimburse all traveling fans expenses. A nice gesture for a pathetic performance.

EUROPE

The Big Swap - in the summer Barcelona sent Samuel Eto'o to Inter Milan in exchange for Zalatan Ibrahimovic. How has that worked out for both teams so far?
-Eto'o - 12 games - 6 goals
-Ibra - 13 games - 8 goals
But for Inter the move also opened up a starting spot to sign Diego Milito who has played in 16 games and scored 11 goals.
-That kinda gives the overall net advantage to Inter. But then again, I am biased.

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Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune gives us the first look at a possibly huge new gambling and match fixing scandal.
-So far the investigation is looking at games in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia and Austria. WOW!

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

-Fri Nov 20
Marseille 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain - this round of the grudge match goes to Marseille.
-Sat Nov 21
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City - the draw leaves them both flopping around in limbo, aka 7th & 6th place respectively.
Besiktas 3-0 Fenerbahce - Fener chokes on a chance to open up a big lead at the top of the league.
-Sun Nov 22
Bayern Munich 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen - Leverkusen stays at #1 while Bayern burn at #7. If they get knocked out of the Champions League this week you could see their coach take the fall.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

8 teams (of 16) are guaranteed advancement at this time: Bordeaux, Manchester United, Chelsea, Porto, Lyon, Fiorentina, Sevilla & Arsenal.

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Matchday 5
-Tue Nov 24
Debreceni 0-1 Liverpool - Liv goal by David Ngog.
Fiorentina 1-0 Lyon - Fio goal by Juan Vargas(PK).
Rubin Kazan 0-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Barcelona 2-0 Inter - Bar goals by Gerard Pique & Pedro.
Rangers 0-2 Stuttgart - Stu goals by Sebastian Rudy & Zdravko Kuzmanovic.
Unirea Urziceni 1-0 Sevilla - UU goal by Ivica Dragutinovic(OG).
AZ Alkmaar 0-0 Olympiacos
Arsenal 2-0 Standard Liege - Ars goals by Samir Nasri & Denilson.
-Wed Nov 25
Bordeaux v Juventus
Bayern Munchen v Maccabi Haifa
CSKA Moskva v Wolfsburg
Manchester United v Besiktas
Real Madrid v Zurich
Milan v Marseille
Porto v Chelsea
APOEL v Atletico Madrid

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Group Stage Standings:
Group A (after 4 of 6 rounds played)
+10 Bordeaux
8 Juventus
4 Bayern Munich
0 Maccabi Haifa
Group B (after 4 of 6 rounds played)
+10 Manchester United
7 Wolfsburg
4 CSKA
1 Besiktas
Group C (after 4 of 6 rounds played)
7 AC Milan
7 Real Madrid
6 Marseille
3 Zurich
Group D (after 4 of 6 rounds played)
+10 Chelsea
+9 Porto
2 Atletico Madrid
1 APOEL
Group E (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+12 Fiorentina
+10 Lyon
7 Liverpool
0 Debrecen
Group F (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
8 Barcelona
6 Inter Milan
6 Rubin Kazan
5 Dynamo Kyiv
Group G (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+10 Sevilla
8 Unirea Urziceni
6 Stuttgart
2 Rangers
Group H (after 5 of 6 rounds played)
+13 Arsenal
7 Olympiacos
4 Standard Liege
3 AZ Alkmaar
+Has secured their spot in the knock out rounds.

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The top 2 teams from each group will advance. While the 3rd place teams move down to the Europa League.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 5 will be played on Thu Nov 26.

BRAZIL

With 2 rounds left to play in the Campeanato Brasileiro we are down to 6 teams who technically have a chance for the title.

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Standings - after 36 of 38 games played:
62 Sao Paulo - Last: L 3-2 at Botafogo - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Goias - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Sport
61 Flamengo - Last: D 0-0 v Goias - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Corinthians - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Gremio
59 Palmeiras - Last: L 2-0 at Gremio - Next: Sun Nov 29 v Atletico MG - Finale: Sun Dec 6 at Botafogo
59 Internacional - Last: W 0-1 at Atletico MG - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Sport - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Santo Andre
56 Atletico MG - Last: L 0-1 v Internacional - Next: Sun Nov 29 at Palmeiras - Finale: Sun Dec 6 v Corinthians
56 Cruzeiro - Last: D 1-1 at Atletico Paranaense - Next: Sun Nov 29 v Coritiba FBC - Finale: Sun Dec 6 at Santos

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Avai was officially eliminated from the championship.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Our pal Jack Warner - President of CONCACAF & Vice President of FIFA: "The United States can count on the full support of CONCACAF (in their bid for the World Cup in 2018/22), including Chuck Blazer, Rafael Salgueiro and myself."
-I guess that means that the checks have cleared the bank!?!? Hahahahahahahahaha. I keeeeed, I keeeeeeeeeeed. Don't kill me Jack. I will promise to buy all my tickets from you in the future!

RSL Wins! Some News for Monday the 23rd

The Galaxy were supposed to be the favorites.

With two designated players and stingy defense, the best in the west was supposed to run away with the game. Beckham and Donovan would celebrate together. Once enemies, now friends, the light bulbs would pop, the champagne would flow, and a happy ending for the whole MLS and Beckham marketing team would be in place.

It was not to be. In fact, the Galaxy were a long way off from being the best team on the field for all of the second half, overtime, as well as section of the first half. The crowd was firmly behind Real Salt Lake, and for the first time in quite a few games, I heard audible boos when Beckham was on the ball.

When penalty kicks inevitably rolled around the man who never misses a penalty shot high, and Real Salt Lake were crowned kings. Let no one say they don’t deserve it. Kries brought the best out of RSL, and at the perfect time. When other team faded down the stretch, Real Salt Lake beat two heavy favorites, Columbus and Chicago, handily about the head, legs, and other tender areas.

Forget the below .500 nonsense people are naturally gravitating and complaining about, Kries timed the run perfectly. They found their away form when it counted; it counted big time; and Real Salt Lake walk away deserved winners.

Memorable Moments


After this game has disappeared into the depth of my mind I know there are three moments that will not fade. The exact details of every play and failed attack are now slipping away but I won’t forget:

1. After a hard challenge by Beckham, Javier Morales was forced to come off the field. As he trudged off, he fought a losing battle to keep the tears back. After a full season, the playmaker was leaving the game and it was more than he could handle. As he sat on the bench, shirt pulled over his head, the camera panned up to find Jason Kries wiping a tear away from his eye.

It was a touching moment and it showed just how much the game meant.

2. With pain visible on his face, Beckham stepped up to the penalty spot. As he waited to take the penalty he looked years older, pain etched across his face. He of course stroked the ball into the lower left corner.

3. Nick Rimando has to be crowned as the savior of Real Salt Lake. The master penalty shot stopper again stepped up the plate and knocked away two penalties. For the second week in a row he carried Real Salt Lake to a win. The image of Rimando leaping through the air to stop a penalty will forever be connected with the 2009 MLS Cup.

MLS CUP REVIEW
LA Galaxy 1-1 Real Salt Lake - tied after added extra time - RSL win 4-5 in Penalty Kick Shoot Out.
Venue: Qwest Field – Seattle WA
Attendance: 46,011

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Andy Williams the day after on Twitter - "Wooooow can't believe I don't have a hangover."

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Box scores from the Seattle Times.

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Steve Kelly of the Seattle Times says it was a great end to the first season of MLS soccer in Seattle.

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Believe it! says the Salt Lake Tribune.

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They did it! yells the Deseret News.

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RSL was saved by the subs claim the Tribune.

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Graham Jones of the LA Times breaks down the game.

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Ive’s, writing for ESPN, focuses on the low end to the season for Donovan.

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Steve Davies focuses on Rimando’s part in setting up the RSL win.

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The title win is the first pro-sport titles for Salt Lake since ’84

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Cheering fans greeted RSL when they touched down in Salt Lake.

ENDERS


What a season. And already the drama is building up for the next season. The coaching carousal is in full swing. Sampson might be returning to the Home Depot Center, the NASL is returning, the collective bargaining agreement has to be signed, young stars are exiting MLS only to be replaced with new hope, new stadiums are being built and opened, and new teams will be announced. I’m looking forward to it all.

Till next time.

Graham Fox (grahamfox@gmail.com)

This is it! Some news for Friday the 20th

So this is what it comes down to after: hundreds of games, tears, fears, and anger. Boredom, crappy internet feeds, reading thousands of blog posts, pictures, drama in the stands, cheering, cursing, giving the one finger salutes, yelling at homer announcers, and listening to podcasts; you’re head is full of MLS, and that’s just fine because Sunday we’ve got the final, and then you can relax for a bit.

So without further ado, let’s get rolling. Whether you are in Seattle or your lazy ass is in your chair, there is plenty to take in.

The Schedule of Events (All Time Central Cause I Live in Kansas)
Friday
-RSL Press Conference
4.30pm, Live from MLSNet.com

-Party with the DP bloggers (including Bruce!)
9pm, 5 dollar cover charge
1916 Post Alley
Seattle, WA
near Pike Place Market
206-728-1916

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Saturday
-Supporters’ Summit
12:00pm, Streaming from MLSnet.com
Live at Qwest Field West Club Lounge
Itinerary

There is a ton going on here, check out the official site above to get involved and find out about all the different pubs hosting events.

-Grant Wahl reads from the Beckham Experiment
12.45pm
George & Dragon soccer pub
Seattle, WA

-History of the MLS Cup
5pm, ESPN Classic

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Sunday
-FIFA 2010 Tournament
1pm to 3pm, 10 dollar entry fee
Fado Pub, 801 1st Ave

-Third Eye Blind
6.15pm, Free and Live
Outside Qwest Field

-MLSNet.Com Pregame
6.00pm, live on MLSNet.com

-MLS Cup
7.30pm, ESPN
Los Angeles Galaxy v Real Salt Lake -
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Referee: Kevin Stott

-MLSNet.Com Postgame
10.00pm, live on MLSNet.Com

Got other events you want to see on this page? Leave the info in the comments and I will add it.

MLS CUP NEWS


I have to say it’s going to be a great match. Aside from playing on turf, this Cup should be a lot of fun. Although Beckham has shed much of his villain persona from very early in the season, he will still be douching it up all over the field with a haircut that looks like he tried to bring German disco to the backwoods folk of Arkansas

On one side we have a team with a couple of stars that even non-soccer people might recognize, and on the other, well, they might know that one of them has dreads.

One side has a legendary and winning coach while the other has a young upstart full of piss and vinegar (gross I know).

I’m looking forward to seeing it all play out.

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MLSNet.com’s MLS Cup Headquarters.

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Seattle Times official online MLS Cup Headquarters.

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Download the official MLS match guide (pdf).

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The only preview you really need to read comes from Steve Davies over at Soccernet.com.

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How’s the weather going to be this weekend? Well there is a slight possibility of some light showers.

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The Cup Arrives in Seattle


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On Thursday, the Galaxy pulled into town on a private jet. The official Galaxy blog has video and pictures.

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Mr. Beckham is going to play this one injured and all hopped up on goofballs.

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The Salt Lake Tribune has a great article on Nick Rimando in which they claim size doesn’t matter.

ENDERS


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See you on Monday for a full game analysis and a breakdown of what to look forward to in the offseason.

-Graham Fox (grahamfox@gmail.com)