Through the first half the US was clearly the better team, led by Tim Howard who put in one of the best performances of his career. At the halftime whistle the Americans were ahead 2-0 and holding the Brazilian offense in check. In the 2nd half the US did all they could, Howard in particular, to keep the Brazilians off the board. Slowly but surely, however, you could see the Brazilians beginning to wear down the Americans, beginning to find a groove offensively. Brazil would fire in 3 goals in the later portion of the 2nd half, the final dagger coming in the 84th minute, to steal victory from the US with a 3-2 comeback win.

Continue reading "US Soccer Team come out winners even in defeat"

All things considered, yesterday was a fantastic moment for the U.S. National Team as they pulled off one of international football's most stunning upsets. Spain is loaded with talented players who play for some of the best teams, in the best leagues in European football. Iker Casillas is perhaps the best goalie in the world right now, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, and Sergio Ramos comprise one of the best defenses in the world, and Fernando Torres and David Villa might be the most deadly 1-2 combination up front. The U.S. on the other hand is a very young, very green team with little depth and few veteran leaders. The majority of the U.S. players play at home in the less impressive MLS, and those who play abroad play in some of Europe's lesser leagues or see little playing time.

Continue reading "Momental victory for US National team but what does it really mean"

Working against the American squad was a red card issued to Ricardo Clark in the 33rd minute for a late tackle on Italy's Gennaro Gattuso. Up to that point the game had seen nothing more than toothless offensive forays from both teams, but after Clark's departure the U.S. seemed re-energized despite playing 10 v 11. The increased U.S. effort was rewarded in the 41st minute as Jozy Altidore raced into the Italian 18yd box only to be hauled down by Giorgio Chiellini. Landon Donovan converted the PK for his 40th international goal and sent the U.S. into halftime up 1-0.

Continue reading "US flops in Confederations Cup opener"

The importance of this game, of this season, is monumental to Chivas USA. In the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, Chivas have often had to play 2nd fiddle to the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy, with international stars like Landon Donovan and David Beckham, have for so long been the favorites of LA's soccer crowd. In the past Chivas were even treated like guests or renters at the Home Depot Center, but all that is changing. The Galaxy, for all their star power, are floundering while Chivas are beginning to rise under the steady leadership of their head coach Preki Radosavljevic. Chivas USA are building off successful seasons in the past few years and now find themselves atop the MLS with a chance to stretch their lead to a very comfortable margin.

Continue reading "Monumental opportunity at hand for Chivas USA"

Two years ago, in an effort to inflate the relevancy of Major League Soccer, the Galaxy signed international superstar David Beckham to an outlandish five year, incentive-laden contract worth as much as $250 million.  The sports world was abuzz about Beckham and his Spice Girl wife, Victoria, moving to L.A. to bring the world’s sport stateside, and to give TomKat another option for playdates.

From the beginning, Beckham delivered the hype, but not the results.  In his two years with the Galaxy, the team hasn’t made the playoffs.  His short career in L.A. has been marred by injury, and eventually disinterest.  At the time of his signing, former Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas said Beckham is a sound investment and will help bring the MLS to the next level.  Lalas is no longer with the team. 

Continue reading "Shhhhh Just Go David Beckham"

East Final: Columbus Crew vs. Chicago Fire

           I picked the Crew pulling away in a hard fought match

The Crew continues to roll, all hail the Crew.  In what looked to me like a matchup between the top two first round survivors the Ohio boys came out on top.  Sigi’s side has been the best of the league all season, with no glaring weaknesses.  They handled a very dangerous Fire squad with a solid, but not heroic, performance from their MVP finalist.  They even reaffirmed their mental toughness by coming from behind after McBride put his new team ahead of his old.

West Final: Real Salt Lake vs. New York Goal Posts

Continue reading "MLS 2008 Conference Finals Recap and MLS Cup Prediction"

Columbus Crew vs. Kansas City Wizards

           I picked Columbus with some difficulty

Well, as I expected with this matchup the Wizards put up a good fight and managed to keep things all even in Missouri.  However, also as I expected the Crew’s quality came through in the Buckeye state and the Supporter’s Shield holders still look good to me for the league double.

Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution

           I picked Chicago in a close shoot-out series

In defense of my pick, Twellman was still expected to play when I called for the high scoring.  I still think with at least one of their offensive tools available the Rev’s could have put up some goals in this series.  Especially with all the injuries it looked like a mismatch coming in and it looks like one heading out as well.  Despite the two shutouts I still believe the Fire will either live by McBride, Blanco, Rolfe and the rest of the offense or die by the guys lined up directly in front of standout Jon Busch.

Continue reading "MLS 2008 Playoffs First Round Recap and Conference Finals Predictions"

MLS Cup 2008

I like the Crew to take it all.  Basically this team reminds me a lot of other teams that have had recent MLS success.  Specifically, they are similar to Houston and New England in the middle of their best stretches in that they are solid at every position.  This no superstar/no glaring weakness approach really seems to work in MLS as opposed to the approach of a few superstars combined with some otherwise inferior players (I’m looking at you Galaxy).  I think the big question for the Crew is can someone step it up and be the hero if need be.  Somewhat similar to how New England has been able to rely on Twellman and Houston on DeRo and Ching.  Schelotto is the obvious choice to fill that role and he certainly has experience in such a role from his time in Argentina.  The big question is can he do it in MLS too or are such glory days behind him.  I personally go with his past experiences’ indication and say he will get the job done and Columbus will raise MLS Cup 2008.

Continue reading "Major League Soccer 2008 Playoff Predictions"

Definite Cons:

The Galaxy will most likely be a very different team next season (working from the assumption that they actually want to win).  There is talk that this loan deal could have Beckham skipping the MLS preseason to play in Italy.  This would be bad for the team and therefore more likely to lead to them struggling at best in the league and is therefore bad for the league’s image.  The self proclaimed jewel of the league should at least be competitive and Beckham not being around for preseason makes that less likely to happen, how less likely no one knows, but definitely some.

Continue reading "David Beckham Loan to AC Milan"

You're more than welcome to blog on any sports subject you choose, however blogging on a subject that we have website for will give you much more exposure.  We have a site for nearly every sport / team: every MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL team, as well as a golf, tennis, NASCAR, NHRA Drag Racing, MLS Soccer, horse racing, boxing, mixed martial arts, WNBA, college football, college basketball, and high school football.  So if you blog on a subject covered by one of our sites your blog entry will get maximum exposure because we'll be linking from the appropriate site's home page directly to your blog.

Continue reading "What tips can you give me on blogging"