Though Columbus is the team that Hunt Sports Group is reportedly willing to sell, neither the defending champion Crew nor FC Dallas, the other HSG-property, is off to a great start at the gate.
Monthly Archives: March 2009
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Owen OK With England Absence?
"His career is going down the pan and it's upsetting me. I'm Michael Owen's biggest fan but, at the moment, I'm his biggest critic. I'm waiting to see Michael on TV, or read about him in the press, saying how tough it is not being involved in the England team. But this interview doesn't seem […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Sven Still Can’t Win With Mexico Call-Ups
"I think that if they have quality and a Mexican passport, they have to be in the Mexican national team. Nobody told me this was prohibited. It's a little bit difficult for me to understand all this. If I don't select (Argentine-born Matias) Vuoso or (Brazilian-born Anthony) Naelson, they criticize me; if I pick Lucas […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
No New Name Awaits Whitecaps
"If we were to scrap the name, the most devastated guy would be yours truly. [General manager Denny Veitch] was driving into Vancouver over the Lions Gate Bridge and looked at the snow-capped mountains and the sea below and thought, 'whitecaps,' [Owner] Herb [Capozzi] said they got the name from the caps on his teeth. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
A Long Way From Istanbul, Turkey’s Sivasspor Succeeds
Solid defense, scoring and solitude: these are apparently the three keys to success for Turkish team Sivasspor, which is the surprise leader of the Super League, ahead of perennial powers Galatasaray and Fenerbache, which each hold the record of 17 titles. "Located in Anatolia's bleak central heartland" and "a tortuous 12-hour drive from the temptations […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Chile, Uruguay Fighting For Fourth, Final Spot
Assuming that South American powers Argentina and Brazil, as well as CONMEBOL standings leader Paraguay, are all but assured of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, SI.com's Tim Vickery predicts that the race for the fourth and final (full) berth from the region will come down to Chile and Uruguay, which face off in a […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Central Michigan to Pay $450K to Settle Claims
According to an AP report, Central Michigan University has agreed to pay just over $450,000 to settle an “inappropriate sexual activity” suit brought by two varsity soccer players against former coach Tony DiTucci, who resigned back in October 2008. The deal, which was signed on Monday, earmarks $150,000 for each player with the final third […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Wizards Wait For Soccer-Specific Stadium
Determined to do their part in making good on late owner Lamar Hunt‘s vision to build soccer into the “No. 2 sport in the United States,” executives at the Kansas City Wizards ownership group, OnGoal LLC, continue to search for the perfect site for their own soccer-specific stadium. According to the KC Star’s Alan Goforth, […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
U.S. Looks to ‘Restore Order’ Against T&T
"All it took was one shaky performance" in a 2-2 tie at El Salvador for the U.S. men's national team to go from an "unstoppable force that should cruise to a place in the 2010 World Cup" to a "flawed power with some problems that need correcting" heading into Wednesday's home match with Trinidad & […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
World Cup 2018/2022 Bid Report
Long before American soccer had celebrity fans like Drew Carey, Spike Lee or Kobe Bryant, there was Dr. Henry Kissinger. Long before it was fashionable to follow soccer, Kissinger was America’s most famous soccer fan. His appointment to the USA Bid Committee marks the third time in the last quarter century he has been involved in a U.S. effort.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“This was the prefect scenario. Two home games, two soldout crowds and we have two shutout wins. You can’t ask for anything better. That’s what the Sounders were hoping for and that’s what they’ve gotten so far.”
— Seattle Sounders FC defender Tyrone Marshall after his team beat Real Salt Lake, 2-0, last weekend after opening with a 3-0 win over the the New York Red Bulls. (seattlepi.com)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Polish keeper blunders bad [VIDEO]
[OFF THE POST] Goalkeeper Artur Boruc was kicked off the Polish national team after a nightmare performance in a 3-2 World Cup qualifying loss to Northern Ireland in which he was blamed for all three goals and looked particularly bad on the third goal. He whiffed on a harmless back pass from Michal Zewlakow.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Beckham is world’s best paid player
[MLS] David Beckham, the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder who is playing on loan with Italy’s AC Milan until July, is the world’s best paid soccer player according to a list published by France Football that estimates players’ income from salary and endorsements. …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Dynamo set to add English forward
[MLS] Two days after the normally stingy Houston defense surrendered three goals in a 3-2 loss at San Jose came official word of a signing to bolster the team’s attack. Ade Akinbiyi, 34, who has played for numerous clubs in several divisions of English soccer, visited Houston last weekend to take a physical and finalize contractual details. He was introduced to local media at a press conference Monday, then flew back to England to formally sever his ties to Burnley of the League Championship (second division) with a buyout.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Jonathan Spector awaits chance to help U.S. defense
[HEXAGONAL] Nobody, including the player himself nor Coach Bob Bradley, is sure when and at which position Jonathan Spector will return to the national team. Yet he’s one of those players based overseas that the coach is tracking closely. Summoned to his first U.S. camp since last summer in advance of qualifiers against El Salvador (Saturday’s 2-2 tie) and Trinidad & Tobago (Wednesday, ESPN2, Galavision, 7:30 pm ET), Spector has edged his way into the scene at West Ham United, making six appearances since late December following a six-month injury absence.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
UEFA Champions League headed to Fox Soccer Channel
[TELEVISION] The UEFA Champions League, a staple of midweek viewing in ESPN2 since 1994, is headed to Fox Soccer Channel, starting next season, according to an AP report.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
African soccer stadium tragedies (2000-09)
[MAKING A LIST] Sunday’s tragedy in Abidjan marked the ninth time this decade that fans were killed at a major soccer match in Africa — and the fifth time at a World Cup qualifier.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Fingers pointed in Ivory Coast’s ‘national drama’
[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] While Ivory Coast began three days of morning following the death of 19 fans in a stampede before Sunday’s World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi at Abidjan’s Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, an investigation into the tragedy continued. Star Didier Drogba called it “a national drama,” adding that he and his Ivorian teammates did not learn about what happened until after the game, which ended in a 5-0 victory.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Dale Mitchell fired as national team coach
[CANADA] Less than two years after he was hired, Dale Mitchell has been fired as Canada’s national team coach. Mitchell, whose contract was to run through 2010, was ousted following another humiliating World Cup qualifying campaign. Canada failed to win any of its six games and finished last in its semifinal qualifying group, behind Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica. His ouster is only the latest in a series of setbacks for the Canadian Soccer Association.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Kissinger joins third bid effort
[WORLD CUP 2018/2022 BID]. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the most famous American soccer fan of his generation, has joined the USA Bid Committee seeking the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Hejduk’s Heart, ‘Cult of Personality’ Keep Him in U.S. Plans
With injured right back Steve Cherundolo unavailable for U.S. duty, a familiar face (and ratty mane) has stepped in to fill the void for the U.S. defense: one Frankie Hejduk, who even at 34 has outperformed other replacement options like Frank Simek, Jonathan Spector, John Thorrington and Marvell Wynne to earn starts in both U.S. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Red Bulls Arena to Fulfill Overdue Promise
"Building for their future on a brown field of dreams in this downtrodden industrial city," the N.Y. Red Bulls and their new arena will finally have fulfilled "the long-delayed promise of a soccer palace on the Passaic River" after being in discussion for almost a decade, writes Jack Bell of the New York Times. Expected […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Kissinger Joins U.S. World Cup Bid
The U.S. World Cup bids for 2018 and 2022 got a big boost of political power today as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger joined the organizing committee's board, hopefully bringing with him the same "Kissinger Bump" that he did as committee chairman in 1988 to help the U.S. earn the right to host the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Love Him or Hate Him, Fans Know Landon Donovan
In spite of, or perhaps because, his many accomplishments in a still fairly young career, across the last few years it's become abundantly clear that while Landon Donovan is "the most celebrated active player in American soccer," the 27-year-old U.S. Soccer poster boy who led MLS in scoring last season "is also the most scorned," […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Scurry Not Happy to Concede First WPS (Own) Goal
"I got slammed. I got bumped. I actually had the ball in my hands, then she hit me and that's when the ball went in. I got the wind knocked out of me a little bit." Washington Freedom goalkeeper Briana Scurry, lamenting a tough "no call" by referee Kari Seitz in which Sol defender Allison […]