Category: Story

[TELEVISION WATCH] How big is the Mexico-USA showdown in Azteca being treated? For the first time in the 30-year history of ESPN, it will offer a live pre-match show for a soccer event it is not televising.

[WORLD CUP 2018/2022] Philip Anschutz, a founding investor of Major League Soccer who had at one time owned six of the 10 MLS teams through his sports and entertainment company AEG, has join the board of directors for the USA Bid Committee, which is striving to bring the World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022.

[U.S. WOMEN] Two-time gold-medalist Lindsay Tarpley is sidelined after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during training with WPS’s Chicago Red Stars last week. She joins a group of nine current U.S. pool players who have suffered ACL injuries. Surgeries generally require 8-10 months for a full recovery.

[OFF THE POST] Swiss club Basel fined its goalkeeper Franco Costanzo for grabbing a teammate by the hair on the field but allowed Argentine to keep the captain’s band.

[USL-1] The latest Brazilian star acquired by Miami FC is 39-year-old defender Junior Baiano, a starter on Brazil’s 1998 World Cup runner-up team.

[MEXICO-USA] The USA has faced Mexico eight times at Azteca Stadium. Only three Americans – not counting an own goal – have scored at Azteca.

[MEXICO-USA] The 105,000-seat Azteca Stadium sold out two weeks ago for the World Cup qualifying game Wednesday. Proceso reports that lower-section tickets with a face value of 600 pesos ($46) are on the market for 5,000 pesos ($380). General admission tickets that originally sold for 120 pesos ($9.20) are reselling at up to 1,200 pesos ($93), according to Medio Tiempo.

[MEXICO-USA] Only three of the Americans who played in the Gold Cup final are in the traveling squad for the Hexagonal match Wednesday at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (TV: 4 pm ET, mun2/Telemundo), and though two of them played for Houston on Sunday they profess they’ll be ready if called upon.

[REAL MADRID TOUR] Real Madrid put its new Galacticos on display for the first time in North America, but the Spanish club’s old hands did the bulk of the scoring in wins over Toronto (5-1) and D.C. United (3-0).

[UNDER-17 WORLD CUP] Despite a reign of terror brought on last month by the extremist Muslim sect known as Boko Haram, the 2009 Under-17 World Cup will go on in Kano, where the USA will face Spain on Oct. 26 and Malawi on Oct. 29 before moving to Ijebu-Ode to close out the first round against UAE on Nov. 1.

[USL-1] Portland and Carolina moved into a tie for first place in the USL First Division, one point ahead of Charleston. In the week’s big match, the Timbers beat visiting Charleston, 3-1, before  9,477 fans. Guinean Mandjou Keita scored one goal and set up Alex Nimo and Ryan Pore for the others.

[WPS] The Washington Freedom clinched a playoff berth on the final weekend of the Women’s Professional Soccer regular season when it beat Sky Blue FC, 3-1, Saturday at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Sky Blue earned a playoff spot the next day when the Boston Breakers, needing a win, fell to the Los Angeles Sol, 2-1. The results set up a Freedom-Sky Blue rematch Saturday in the first round of the WPS playoffs.