Category: Story

All the 2008 men’s all-conference teams and individual conference awards have been released. The Men’s College Cup will feature ACC Defensive Player of the Year Ike Opara (Wake Forest), Big East Defensive Player of the Year Joel Gustafsson (St. John’s) and Big East Midfielder of the Year Nelson Becerra (St. John’s). For all the conference awards (ACC to MAAC) …

AWARDS: 2008 Men’s Conferences (Mid-American to WCC)

The rest of the the 2008 men’s all-conference teams and individual conference awards from the Mid-American to WCC …

Reggae Boyz vs. Spice Boyz in final

[DIGICEL CARIBBEAN CHAMPIONSHIP] Grenada, the surprise of this year’s Digicel Caribbean Championship, moved into Sunday’s final against host Jamaica when it beat Cuba, 6-5, on penalties after a late goal by Kithson Bain earned it a 2-2 tie. Jamaica clinched the other berth in the final with a 2-0 win over Guadeloupe.

Club championship kicks off in Japan

by Paul KennedyDecember 12, 2008

[CLUB WORLD CUP] The 2008 Club World Cup began Thursday in Japan, where Adelaide United of Australia defeated Waitakere United of New Zealand, 2-1. Play continues Saturday with quarterfinal action between Mexico’s Pachuca (featuring young American international Francisco Torres) and Egyptian power Al Ahly (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, live, Saturday, 2:30 am ET, Friday, 11:30 pm ET).

Expansion players counting their chips

by Ridge MahoneyDecember 12, 2008

[MLS] Other leagues are trimming staff and cutting expenses as they buckle down for a bleak winter amid dire economic climes, but at MLS headquarters, the leaders are ready for another game of Expansion Poker. Commissioner Don Garber uttered mostly positive comments about the prospects in Portland, which is seeking a good chunk of public money to launch an expansion team in 2011 at a renovated PG&E Park. He made those comments while visiting the Rose City earlier this week, and so the statements should be liberally salted before being consumed. He also had effusive praise upon visiting Vancouver during his trip to the Northwest.

Red Devils take step toward title

[MEXICO] Toluca, the Diablos Rojos, beat host Cruz Azul, 2-0, on Thursday in the first leg of the Apertura 2008 final with first-half goals by Paulo Da Silva and Sergio Amaury Ponce.

Blanco’s caps go missing

[MEXICO] Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who plays for MLS’s Chicago Fire, retired from his national team on Sept. 7 after making a cameo against Canada and celebrating his 100th cap – but now FIFA says he falls short of the century mark.

Fined, but Lyon players laugh last

[REF WATCH] Two players from French club Lyon, knowing their club was assured passage into the knockout stage of the Champions League with one group game left, intentionally got yellow cards in Lyon’s penultimate group game so they’d serve their accumulated yellow-card suspension in a meaningless game and enter the round of 16 with clean slates. The scheme, despite yielding fines, achieved what they wanted.

MLS youngsters fall on London trip

by Ridge MahoneyDecember 12, 2008

[MLS] American representation on both sides of the field came into play Thursday when the MLS Select/Generation adidas team finished its three-game visit to London against the reserves of West Ham United.

Ex-England Keeper ‘Linked To MLS’

Former England goalkeeper Ian Walker, 37, has canceled his contract with Premier League club Bolton Wanderers by mutual consent. Walker, capped four times by England, has "been linked with a move to Major League Soccer." A league that so desperately needs has-been Europeans. Do we hear Toronto calling?

’11+’ The Best Warm-up Program, FIFA Says

"Although specifically developed for football [soccer], the '11+' study has already attracted the attention of other sports. In his editorial in the British Medical Journal, John Brooks, an injury expert for the Rugby Football Union, states that this warm-up program should be adopted at all levels in all sports." Soccer's world governing body FIFA reports […]

Sigi And Crew’s Reasons For Divorce Still Unclear

Michael Arace ponders Sigi Schmid's departure form the Columbus Crew and, after listening to both Schmid and Crew GM Mark McCullers, is still not clear on "how the first major professional team title in Columbus history was followed, in short order, by uncomely divorce." "I wish it hadn't come to this, but it was unavoidable," […]

Time To Scrap The Champions League Group Phase

The Champions League group stage "has become such a tiresome, irrelevant farce that it is threatening to bring this once-great competition to its knees," writes Scott Murray. He compares the lack of surprises in this year's group stage with the 1979 European Cup, when it was a straight knockout competition featuring only actual league champions, […]

Take the Gameboy, Leave The World Cup

Burglars broke into a U.K. residence in the small English town of Chineham, Hampshire, earlier this month and took a television, a games console, a cash box, a handbag and a wallet. But they left behind the World Cup. Satyam Computer Services Marketing Director Sandeep Thawani was looking after one of a handful of gold-plated […]

Houston’s Must-Do List

Following Wednesday's draw for the quarterfinal stage of the Concacaf Champions League starting late February, Houston has a shorter than usual offseason in which to plan for its home-and-away game against Atalante of Mexico. Bernardo Fallas lists several things the club must get done over the winter. Re-signing defenders Wade Barrett and Bobby Boswell and […]

Adelaide Kicks Off Club World Cup With A Win

Pay attention, folks, the Club World Cup in Tokyo has kicked off. Australia's Adelaide United won a preliminary round clash against New Zealand's Waitakere United 2-1 on Thursday, and will now face Japan's Gamba Osaka in the quarterfinal. Travis Dodd scored the gamewinner in the 82nd minute as Adelaide dominated, but found the New Zealand […]

Will Portland Take The Plunge?

"We can do what we do with these issues: study the hell out of them, consult the neighborhoods, worry about parking and park space, and make sure the stadiums and offices are green and no birds or worms will be harmed in the name of athletic progress. And when we're done, we still won't know […]

‘Repulsive’ Dad Apologizes After Assaulting Ref

"I wish to make a public apology … for my repulsive behavior at the soccer game December 6. There is no excuse or explanation that could justify my heinous display of crudeness. I'm terribly, terribly sorry that this happened. Please forgive and forget." Soccer pop Jim Gulley says sorry for assaulting a referee after his […]

Tea And Biscuits At The Bernabeu

"That would be a nice party wouldn't it? I look forward to tea and biscuits with Ramon Calderon." Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson anticipates a possible meeting with Real Madrid and its president in the Champions League knockout phase. The two clubs are not on the best of terms after Real's dogged pursuit of Cristiano […]

MLS: Wake Forest stars headed to adidas combine

Five seniors on defending national champion Wake Forest — Lyle Adams, Evan Brown, Sam Cronin, Michael Lahoud and Marcus Tracy — head the initial list of 65 college seniors from 45 Division I schools who have been invited to participate in the 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine. The annual player combine will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 9-13, 2009. The 2009 MLS SuperDraft will take place Jan. 15 at the NSCAA Convention in St. Louis.

REGIONAL TEAMS: NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I Men

Top-ranked Wake Forest led all teams with five players named first-team all-regional selections. California, Loyola (Md.), Monmouth, Oakland, Tulsa and Winthrop all had three first-team picks. For all the NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I men’s regional teams …

MEN’S COLLEGE CUP: Transfer Central

by Paul KennedyDecember 11, 2008

Transfers play an increasingly important role at major college programs, in particular as they seek to fill gaps left by the early departure of stars to the pro ranks. St. John’s, Maryland and North Carolina, which aim to dethrone Wake Forest at this weekend’s Men’s College Cup at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, all have transfers in prominent roles.

MAKING A LIST: ACC rules at the final four

For the first time, three teams from the same conference are playing in the Men’s College Cup. Defending national champion Wake Forest is joined by ACC champion Maryland and North Carolina — tied for seventh place in the regular season — at this year’s final four in Frisco, Texas. At least two ACC teams have been in the final four since 2004, and you have to go back to 2000 when there was no ACC team in the final four.

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Cerritos sweeps CCCAA championships

Cerritos College, best known as Marcelo Balboa‘s alma mater, became the first team in more than a decade to sweep the California Community College Athletic Association men’s and women’s soccer championships with wins at the final fours held in Santa Clarita.