Besides No. 1 Wake Forest, Akron was the only other team in last week’s Top 10 to go unscathed. The Zips climbed five spots to No. 3. Creighton also jumped five places to No. 2. For this week’s complete Soccer America Men’s Top 25 …
Monthly Archives: October 2008
MORNING BRIEFING: Wake juggernaut rolls on
Top-ranked Wake Forest extended its winning streak to 15 games with an 8-2 victory over visiting Virginia Tech before 3,246 fans on Friday. ALSO: Michael Brooks put on one of the season’s great individual performances in Clemson’s 5-3 win over Maryland. Virginia’s streak continued with another ACC win.
MLS Results
For all the weekend results, standings, leading goalscorers and schedules. …
Dynamo books playoff spot
[MLS NAMES & NUMBERS] Two-time defending champ Houston became the second team after the Columbus Crew to clinch a playoff by downing Colorado. For the weekend’s MLS high- and low-lights. …
USA eliminated
[FUTSAL WORLD CUP] The USA fell, 5-3, to Thailand for its third straight loss at the championship in Brazil and has been eliminated from second-round contention.
Taylor hits hat trick in Germany
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Matt Taylor, a former UCLA star who scored six goals in four MLS seasons (2004-2007), scored a hat trick for German Second Division TuS Koblenz in a 5-0 win over Kaiserslautern on Sunday. In England, Clint Dempsey got his first EPL start of the season on a weekend in which few Americans saw action but Carlos Bocanegra helped Rennes to an impressive win in France.
Bradley calls in ‘Mosquito’ Torres
[WORLD CUP 2010] U.S. coach Bob Bradley has included 20-year-old Texan Jose Francisco Torres, who has also been courted by the Mexican national team, into his 23-man roster for the Oct. 11 qualifier against Cuba in Washington, D.C. Other young players called in by Bradley who weren’t part of the last squad are Freddy Adu, Danny Szetela and Jozy Altidore
What They’re Saying
“In the Olympic Games, it was a hard decision. I was born in the U.S., and I have lived in Mexico for five years now. My career, I made it in Mexico, but I talked it over with my family, and they told me whatever decision I make, they have my back.”
— Jose Francisco Torres, a 20-year-old Texas native whose father is a Mexican immigrant, on accepting a call-up from the U.S. national team after declining an invitation from the U.S. U-23 team while being courted by Mexico, where he plays for Pachuca. (Dallas Morning News)
USL-1 Results
Puerto Rico and Vancouver advanced to the USL First Division championship game with comeback wins in their semifinal series. The Islanders beat Rochester, the last U.S. entrant alive in the USL-1 playoffs, 3-2 on aggregate, winning thanks to Cristian Arrieta’s overtime goal in the second leg. Vancouver erased Montreal’s 1-0 advantage with two first-half goals in the second leg and held on for a 2-1 win. Vancouver will host the final at Swangard Stadium on Thanksgiving Sunday, Oct. 12.
Death of Pioneer in Sports Law
Edward Grayson, a lawyer who died in London last week, was a problem person for the sport of soccer. He specialized in sports law — indeed, was the pioneer in the field. His book “Sport and the Law” has marched on through four editions, and is the definitive work on the subject.
Big results for small teams (VIDEO)
[ITALY] Juventus and Roma continued the trend in Serie A this season of big teams losing to lesser names, with Palermo and Siena the beneficiaries. Lazio and AC Milan were also unable to beat lower-placed teams.
Bayern invites Bochum to take a point
[GERMANY] Another high-scoring weekend in the Bundesliga, as Bayern Munich failed to win for its third successive game, and Hamburg became the latest leader in a league no team wants to dominate.
Reds share lead with Blues
[ENGLAND] Liverpool is threatening to do something it hasn’t done in two decades — look like a title-winner. The Reds came from 2-0 down at Manchester City to take all three points and stay level with Chelsea at the top.
Barcelona looking better and better
[SPAIN] Barcelona looked majestic again, dismantling Atletico Madrid, 6-1, at the Camp Nou. There were big wins too for Sevilla and Malaga, while Real Madrid was held at home by Espanyol.
Soccer on TV
The MLS playoff race heats up with a full slate of matches this weekend.
On Immortality And Relegation
There’s a famous Kurt Vonnegut short story where nobody dies any more thanks to a medicine that’s been invented to ensure immortality. Needless to say, without the threat of death, life turns out to be something of an existential washout.” Pretentious hack muses on a soccer future without relegation.
Burpo Holding On To Number One
As far as the competition for No. 1, that’s kind of irrelevant at this point. . . . I think Gary [Smith] made a decision that he’s going to go with me, and up to this point the ball has bounced a little our way since I’ve been in.” Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Preston Burpo talks […]
Kinnear Vents At Reporter
“It’s going to my ****ing lawyers.” Audio of Newcastle United interim manager Joe Kinnear’s full and frank exchange with a Daily Mirror reporter. Warning: contains enough foul language to make Ray Hudson blush.
Portsmouth To Report Spurs For Campbell Chants
Meanwhile, Portsmouth is to report Tottenham Hotspur to the FA for the racist and homophobic chants its fans aimed at Sol Campbell (now of Portsmouth, formerly of Tottenham) during last Saturday’s EPL game between the two sides.
FIFA Must get Tough On Racism
“Fines don’t hurt people. It has to be suspension. FIFA can deduct [qualifying] points and ban them from games.” Former Chelsea defender Paul Elliott is putting pressure on the English Football Association to lobby FIFA for more stringent punishments for racist crowd chants.
FIFA To Invite Journalists On South Africa Tour
World soccer governing body FIFA is inviting the world’s journalists to South Africa to show them how safe the country will be when it hosts the World Cup in 2010. FIFA spokesperson Hans Klaus told reporters in Cape Town it will take the hacks on “FIFA-sponsored tours” of the 10 host from next month. “Europe […]
Impact In Winter Wonder Land
The unexpected success of the United Soccer Leagues’ Montreal Impact in Concacaf Champions League group play has raised a logistical issue the team hadn’t previously worried about. If the team continues its good form and qualifies for the competition’s home-and-away quarterfinal, where would it play the home game in the middle of winter? “We’ve started […]
San Jose ‘Robbed’ By Late PK
“There was a time the Earthquakes would have been happy to score a point on the road,” writes Tobias Xavier Lopez. “But not after a 1-1 draw Thursday against FC Dallas.” He tells of the “anger and frustration” in the post-game San Jose locker room after a controversial penalty kick allowed Dallas to tie the […]
Mo Must Go’
The honeymoon is finally over for Toronto FC’s general manager and former coach Mo Johnston, reports Gareth Wheeler. “TFC has only two wins since the end of May and Johnston’s resources to bring in new players seemingly start and end with one man,” he writes. Fan banners have started to appear proclaiming that ‘Mo Must […]
Noorzai Agent: Crew Will Not Move To Vegas
Columnist Michael Arace is tentatively assured to find that the potential new part-owners of the Columbus Crew are apparently not interested in moving the franchise to Las Vegas. Arace and Dispatch beat reporter Shawn Mitchell talked to agent Dave Whinham, representative of Mark Noorzai, who is the man with plans to build a $500 million […]
