Category: Story

Profitable by 2007? Increased revenues spark hope as attendance, TV ratings decline Attendance is down and TV ratings have plummeted, but the numbers that matter – sponsorship dollars and expenses – are going the WUSA's way, league officials say, and they believe that bodes well for the second-year outfit's future. Rumors to the contrary are […]

Profitable by 2007? Increased revenues spark hope as attendance, TV ratings decline Attendance is down and TV ratings have plummeted, but the numbers that matter – sponsorship dollars and expenses – are going the WUSA's way, league officials say, and they believe that bodes well for the second-year outfit's future. Rumors to the contrary are […]

Italian soccer is in crisis. Italian clubs have been shut out of the knock-out phase of the Champions League the past two seasons. The Azzurri, one of the favorites to win the 2002 World Cup, won only one of four games and was upset by South Korea in the second round. Trouble on the field […]

Italian soccer is in crisis. Italian clubs have been shut out of the knock-out phase of the Champions League the past two seasons. The Azzurri, one of the favorites to win the 2002 World Cup, won only one of four games and was upset by South Korea in the second round. Trouble on the field […]

Italian soccer is in crisis. Italian clubs have been shut out of the knock-out phase of the Champions League the past two seasons. The Azzurri, one of the favorites to win the 2002 World Cup, won only one of four games and was upset by South Korea in the second round. Trouble on the field […]

Italian soccer is in crisis. Italian clubs have been shut out of the knock-out phase of the Champions League the past two seasons. The Azzurri, one of the favorites to win the 2002 World Cup, won only one of four games and was upset by South Korea in the second round. Trouble on the field […]

By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor FINALLY! Chicago's victory — which broke a four-game losing streak — not only clinched a playoff spot, it moved Coach Bob Bradley into a tie with Dave Dir atop the all-time coaching list with 82 wins. It also enabled Bradley to tie Dir's record of making the playoffs five times […]

Aly Wagner's skill and vision are unsurpassed in the college game and rivaled only rarely internationally. They're the product of years of toil and a singular approach to the game. Jerry Smith first came across Aly Wagner when she was 9 years old. She was the same as she is now,'' the Santa Clara coach […]

Aly Wagner's skill and vision are unsurpassed in the college game and rivaled only rarely internationally. They're the product of years of toil and a singular approach to the game. Jerry Smith first came across Aly Wagner when she was 9 years old. She was the same as she is now,'' the Santa Clara coach […]

North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance says defending champion Santa Clara is king until someone knocks the Broncos off. That someone will be the Tar Heels, who have the makings of champions, as they have every year. No, no,'' Anson Dorrance cries. ''You can't do that.'' He's just been informed his University of NORTH CAROLINA squad, […]

Italian soccer is in crisis. Italian clubs have been shut out of the knock-out phase of the Champions League the past two seasons. The Azzurri, one of the favorites to win the 2002 World Cup, won only one of four games and was upset by South Korea in the second round. Trouble on the field […]

What happened last season atop the Spanish First Division standings occurred only one other time in the last 50 years: neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona finished in the top two. Valencia took the La Liga crown, and Deportivo Coruna finished runner-up. Deportivo gave further notice that the two giants' stranglehold on Spanish soccer has loosened […]

After months of uncertainty, U.S. World Cup veterans Eddie Lewis and Gregg Berhalter finally debuted for their respective new clubs. Lewis helped Preston North End move past feisty Scunthorpe in England's League Cup while Berhalter started as a marking back for Energie Cottbus of the German Bundesliga in a 3-1 victory against Hannover 96 and […]

By Nathaniel Gould The first-round of the A-League playoffs produced four survivors who will take on the top four seeds, which received first-round byes. The quarterfinals — the conference semifinals — will also consist of two-leg series determined by aggregate score. EASTERN CONFERENCE, First Round Richmond edges Atlanta Defenders James Wall (Atlanta) and Peter Luzak […]

After months of uncertainty, U.S. World Cup veterans Eddie Lewis and Gregg Berhalter finally debuted for their respective new clubs. Lewis helped Preston North End move past feisty Scunthorpe in England's League Cup while Berhalter started as a marking back for Energie Cottbus of the German Bundesliga in a 3-1 victory against Hannover 96 and […]

9/16 Ranking … Team (Record) … 9/9 Ranking 1 Stanford (7-0-0) 1 9/21 — Richmond (6-0); 9/22 — at Dartmouth (2-0). 2 UCLA (4-1-0) 3 9/22 — Loyola Marymount (0-2). 3 St. John's (5-1-1) 4 9/18 — at Villanova (2-0); 9/21 — Wake Forest (1-1). 4 Connecticut (4-2-0) 5 9/17 — at Boston University (0-1); […]

9/16 Ranking … Team (Record) … 9/9 Ranking 1 Stanford (7-0-0) 1 9/21 — Richmond (6-0); 9/22 — at Dartmouth (2-0). 2 UCLA (4-1-0) 3 9/22 — Loyola Marymount (0-2). 3 St. John's (5-1-1) 4 9/18 — at Villanova (2-0); 9/21 — Wake Forest (1-1). 4 Connecticut (4-2-0) 5 9/17 — at Boston University (0-1); […]

In recent years, powerhouses have dominated during the regular season only to fall, often quickly, in the NCAA Tournament. Indiana's strategy of scheduling tough road games has gotten the Hoosiers ready for the postseason. They will make their sixth consecutive trip to the College Cup and take the title. When INDIANA, VIRGINIA, STANFORD and the […]

By Nathaniel Gould The first-round of the A-League playoffs produced four survivors who will take on the top four seeds, which received first-round byes. The quarterfinals — the conference semifinals — will also consist of two-leg series determined by aggregate score. EASTERN CONFERENCE, First Round Richmond edges Atlanta Defenders James Wall (Atlanta) and Peter Luzak […]

ENGLAND * Claudio Reyna (Sunderland, PL) at Middlesbrough, 0-3. Started: 90 minutes. Sunderland could not follow up its past two results (a win against Leeds and a tie against Manchester United) with another positive performance. Their rivals controlled the match as the Black Cats missed the injured Kevin Phillips. Slovakian Szilard Nemeth scored two goals, […]

The biggest crisis of young Junichi Inamoto's career was convincing his parents to allow him to quit high school and turn pro with his hometown Gamba Osaka. Inamoto hardly looked like pro material when he entered the J-League club's youth system at 12. But his meteoric rise is symbolic of the rapid growth of Japanese […]

BY RIDGE MAHONEY The bizarre format be damned: this year's MLS playoffs figure to be every bit as compelling and competitive as was the regular season. Flaws abound in the first-to-five system but even the most strident critics can't dispute that it does tend to reward the team playing better soccer. Any one game can […]

It's the magnitude and variety of her gifts, and how she weaves them into a cohesive whole, that has all drooling over Danielle Slaton. She's as can't-miss as they come, a beguiling blend of grace and fury, athleticism and intellect, strength, skill, fearlessness and leadership qualities that have had her pegged since her mid-teens as […]

BY RIDGE MAHONEY The bizarre format be damned: this year's MLS playoffs figure to be every bit as compelling and competitive as was the regular season. Flaws abound in the first-to-five system but even the most strident critics can't dispute that it does tend to reward the team playing better soccer. Any one game can […]

REJUVENATED BY TRADES: Mamadou Diallo celebrated his trade to the MetroStars from New England by netting the equalizer in his new team's 1-1 tie with Kansas City. Diallo scored on a short-range left-footed shot set up by a combination from Tab Ramos and Andy Williams, who arrived from New England in the same trade. Diego […]