The Codge

FIFA U-20 U.S. vs. Brazil Upgraded to ESPN

2007-07-06T14:12:00.000-04:00

It looks like I can watch the FIFA U-20 U.S. Brazil game in the comfort of my own home. According to their TV listings, the match has shifted from ESPNU to ESPN proper.

The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was the victim of this scheduling bump. However, have no fear as the contest will be shown again this Sunday at 1:00am on ESPN2.

The festivities start at 7:30pm Est.

Dynamo Over Red Bulls: 4-0

2007-07-06T12:52:00.000-04:00

Momma said there’d be games like this.

Last night was a good reminder as to why the Dynamo are the current league champions. I'd say one of the more entertaining face-offs was Ching vs. the Red Bulls goal post.

You usually don’t realize it, but these are the times that deepen your ties to a team.

U.S. Works Poland at FIFA U-20: 6-1

2007-07-03T23:18:00.000-04:00

My unaided eyesight isn't terrific. While watching a bar TV I can generally figure out who most of the players are, but deciphering the score is usually impossible. By the time I arrived at the set with ESPNU, I definitely thought my eyes were failing me.

At that point in the night, the score sat at 4-1, with an eventual 6-1 U.S. finish over Poland. Given Poland's unexpected win against Brazil, I was uncertain how this game would play out. The team didn't seem to share my concerns.

It was a good night for the U.S. U-20, and here's a little evidence: an Adu hat trick, two goals by Szetela, Red Bull Altidore scores, and not to mention a pair of assists for both Zizzo and Rogers.

Here's a deeper breakdown of the match plus some video highlights (ESPN and FIFA) and photos.

The U.S. U20 MNT currently leads Group D as they prepare to face Brazil this Friday at 7:45 Est. for the final game of stage 1 play.

UPDATE: U.S. Brazil match will air on ESPN, not ESPNU.

Columbus Crew Cuts Down the Red Bulls: 1-0

2007-07-01T22:39:00.000-04:00

It has been a rough stretch for the Red Bulls. The past few games have seen some difficult second halves, and the second half came early last night.

Angel didn't get to tie the MLS goal streak record, although he made nice work of an early Crew corner, with a deflected header over the RB net. Mendes also had a key stop against Herron. Speaking of Herron, I'm afraid to think of what the final score would have looked like if he started yesterday.

Once again, Wolyniec wins the spirit ribbon. I wonder if we'll see an earlier start from him next week? There was a point in the game when the Red Bulls started making a couple of runs, but unfortunately that was around the 90th minute.

The Bulls have two matches this week, so hopefully the extra field time can help gel up the rotating lineup.

FIFA U-20 World Cup Live Video Options

2007-06-30T20:35:00.000-04:00

If you happen to reside in one of these 45 countries, you can watch streaming video of the FIFA U-20 World Cup matches on the official site. Unfortunately, the States are not included in that list.

A second option is CBC Sports, although access seems to be restricted to Canadian locations.

Looks like my options are ESPN360 or ESPNU. The bar down the street has a TV devoted to ESPNU, but since I'm not a frequent viewer of college lacrosse, I never gave it much attention.

That all changed today.

USA Defends CONCACAF Gold Cup Against Mexico: 2-1

2007-06-24T19:46:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been watching my teams crumble in the second half. With that in mind, I was pretty concerned to see a goal in the 44th minute from Andres Guardado. How would the MNT respond in the second?

Decisively. Ching draws a penalty about 15 minutes in, and Donovan makes it look easy, sending the PK to the right corner. Donovan and Wynalda are now tied at 34 U.S. career goals.

I can't remember all the details, but I believe there were some decent runs by Mexico once the game was tied. Then came a corner brought in by Donovan, which made its way to Feilhaber for a proper rocketing to goal. There continued to be solid attempts as the lead came close to extension on many occasions. In the end, two was enough to win the cup.

The second half got me off the couch a bunch of times, which is no simple feat.

The win also secured the U.S. a spot in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, next stop Copa America.

MLS Bicycle Kicks Video

2007-06-23T21:44:00.000-04:00

I'm having some trouble remembering the first time I saw a bicycle kick in professional play. I'm about 70% certain that it was from Marcelo Balboa, and about 10% certain that the ball went in.

My backyard hosted a number of embarrassing attempts at these kicks, good thing YouTube didn't exist then. However, it exists now, so check out a history of MLS bicycle kicks below.

MLS Team Salaries by Performance - June 23rd

2007-06-23T17:43:00.002-04:00

I stumbled upon the MLS Players Union homepage, which included data for 2007 team salaries. I thought it would be helpful to visualize team salary in relation to team performance. Due to differences in the number of games played, performance is defined as a team's average points per game.

There are 4 quadrants, which are determined by average performance and median salary. Specifically, the horizontal dashed line represents the average points per game across teams, and the vertical dashed line represents the median salary across teams. Alternatively, one could produce a best fitting diagonal line and examine distances from those predications, but let's face it, the association here is at the 'just having fun talking about' level. There are also a few color-coded labels thrown in to aid with interpretation.

These numbers are pretty skewed by Beckham's salary, and there's a strong case to remove that portion given he hasn't played yet. However, we'll just leave it in to illustrate the salary disparity and I'll continue to track performance as the season progresses.

FIFA U-20 World Cup + Montreal

2007-06-23T10:31:00.000-04:00

I'm a simple man, all I need are a few concerts, a few soccer matches, and a place to write about them. It's not often that such seemingly tangential interests converge, but soon enough they will. How's this possible you may ask? Combine a city with a stellar music scene, Montreal, and the majority of USA FIFA U-20 stage 1 matches, and I finally get to label a post with both "Music" and "Soccer." Check out the U.S. round 1 schedule below:

Date	Venue	Match
June 30	MONTREAL	Korea Republic vs. USA
July 03	MONTREAL	Poland vs. USA
July 6	OTTAWA	Brazil vs. USA

USA Group D Stage 1 Schedule

OK, the Brazil vs. U.S. game is in Ottawa, and I have no experience with that city, but you can always grab a beaver tail or some Tim Horton's coffee.

If you happen to be in town, catch a show at Casa Del Popolo, La Sala Rossa, Campus Cafe, or one of these fine establishments. You can buy match tickets here, but if you can't make a live game, I hear that Mclean's Pub is a neutral place to view, or just hop in to a bar.

All that action is going to make you hungry, how about getting some breakfast at St-Viateur, smoked meat at Schwartz's, and some fancy french fries at Au Pied de Cochon?

Travel guide time is over and time begins for Bradley and our boy Jozy to make things happen.

Round 2 for Red Bulls and Kansas City Ends in Draw (3 - 3)

2007-06-16T22:50:00.000-04:00

I was gearing up for a Red Bulls/Kansas City rematch, but without Johnson, it just didn't seem legit. Although I don't think the Wizards shared my concerns, as they were doing just fine without their multi-hatrician.

The Red Bulls came raging out of the gate with a van den Bergh assisted goal skillfully headed by Angel within the first 6 minutes. Within the first 15, Mathis increased the lead with a power slide goal off of Richard's cross. All seemed well, Waterreus had a few saves, the RBs had a few more attempts, and then during the twilight of the first half Kansas City deflates the two goal comfort zone. Marinelli back passed the ball to Zavagnin who authoritatively transformed the landscape to within one. Break for half.

It's starting to feel like the first and second halves are played by different teams. Fissures in the Red Bull's back line become increasingly pronounced as the game progresses. The RB goal post had a key save against Marinelli, but KC answered with Movsisiyan scoring twice and grabbing the lead. A penalty kick was called during the final minute of regulation as Wolyniec and Burciaga went down in the box. Angel brought this game to a tie and it was time to call it a day.

U.S. Men's National Team Sweeps Group B

2007-06-13T14:17:00.000-04:00

During the descent to Newark Airport last week, the Meadowlands' lights reminded me I was missing my chance to catch the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Since I was away, I think I blocked the event from consciousness to maintain a state of well being. I was also confused because the stadium looked way too packed for a soccer game.

I finally was able to catch a full showdown, witnessing the US shut out El Salvador 4-0. Donovan and Dempsey were solid, and oh yeah, Beasley scored two goals. I've heard various chatter concerning the teams tournament performance to date, but regardless, they have swept their group and increased their opening round Gold Cup record to 21-0-1.

It's a common experience for me to mention seeing a Red Bulls game and then have people respond with, "Is that a sports team?". However, most people initially guess I'm talking about soccer when I say the U.S. Men's National Team won the other day (as long as the Olympics aren't on). It's a safe bet that I'm probably not talking about the gymnastics team, but I'd still like to believe that the fan base is growing.

Red Bulls, Against the United We Fall: 4-2

2007-06-10T20:06:00.000-04:00

This game seemed familiar. I think the second half was actually just a replay of the Kansas City game. There was even a hat trick, Kovalenko scoring, and a 10 sided team (although not the losing side this time).

It was pretty clear that the boys were tired. It looked liked they didn't feel like playing catch and someone kept throwing them the ball short.

Re-orgs are always tough, and the consistent injuries of Dunivant and Freeman has the roster fielding some stretch responsibilities. Will Leitch or Sanneh join the ranks to beef out the back line? Maybe.

On the bright side, Angel has scored 6 goals in 5 games. Although, as Yogi Berra's less eloquent cousin might have said, "How can you expect to move forward if you keep moving back?"

U.S. Over China 4:1 - Quick Stat Breakdown

2007-06-03T17:05:00.000-04:00

U.S. bested China 4-1 in Americas last friendly before the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Feel free to go here for the details.

I was curious about the goal differential, so I decided to devote 3 minutes to compiling some historical data about these teams previous match ups. The following site had 4 face offs from 1980 to present. Here are the results, with the U.S. scores listed first:


Date	Score	Location
Jan 27 01	2 - 1	Oakland, CA, USA
Feb 01 97	1 - 1	Guangzhou, China
Jan 29 97	1 - 2	Kunming, China
Apr 04 92	5 - 0	Palo Alto, CA, USA

Here's what's clear, U.S. wins when they play at home against China. If we averaged goals scored across games played in the states, we'd have U.S. avg. of 3.5 (5+2) and China avg. of .5 (0+1). Round those puppies up, and we're left with the current score of 4-1, not rocket science.

Further, according to FIFA, the average ranking is 17.8 for the U.S. and 62.0 for China. For arguments sakes, let's say that this means that the U.S. is 3.5 (62.0/17.8) times as good as China. Implying that, on average, the U.S. should score 4 times as many goals.

Does this means that an 8th ranked team should loose to a 2nd ranked team 4-1 also? OK, number time is over...

Kansas City Wizards Cast a Tough Loss on the Red Bulls: 3 - 2

2007-06-02T22:39:00.001-04:00

I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas (City) anymore. The Wizards owned this game, and I'd assume it was as humbling to play as to watch.

The 8th minute did see a beauty of a goal, with the Reyna-Wolyniec-Angel combination looking like it came straight out of a FIFA highlights DVD.

The real show began during the 36th minute, when "Tough Actin" Zavagnin drew the red card on Mathis. The Red Bulls were able to hold their 1 goal lead up until the half, providing some hope for a win. Then came the second half.

Playing a man down, the Red Bull's defense took another blow as Parke had to leave the field, suffering from continued hamstring problems. Long story short, Kansas City dominated this 45, breaking away whenever they saw fit, culminating with Eddie Johnson scoring his second straight hat trick.

Kovalenko had a surprising goal during the final minutes, but by this point the Wizards goalie (Hartman) was probably thinking more about a victory dinner at the Sizzler, than the actual game.

Johnson did have a record performance, becoming the first MLS player to score back to back hat tricks. Video below of hat trick number one against New England.

England vs. Brazil Friendly - June 1st

2007-06-01T07:10:00.000-04:00

It's time for group hugs and trust falls as England and Brazil are gearing up for their friendly today at Wembley. History favors Brazil, as they've won 86% of these pairings, and are currently the second ranked team in the world.

All signs point to Kaka and Ronaldinho starting, and Beckham is back after what's shaping up to be an on-again, off-again relationship with the national team. Longterm it will be interesting to see how this affects the Galaxy.

Although, the real story is apparently the stadium.

Catch (or DVR) the action on the Fox Soccer Channel at 3PM Est.

Juan Pablo Angel - MLS May Player of the Month

2007-05-31T21:31:00.000-04:00

I guess I was wrong. I said that Juan Pablo was on track for a repeat performance as MLS player of the week, turns out he's been voted MLS player of the month. My bad.

The folks at the Austrian headquarters must be happy about this, probably celebrating with some Schnapps and Red Bull.

Angel is definitely a designated playa, and this a well deserved nod.

Bradley Names U.S. Soccer Team Roster vs. China

2007-05-29T21:21:00.000-04:00

Game is this Saturday June 2nd at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN2.

(Team sorted by Country of Play, because I felt like it)

Name

Pos.

Club

Country

Onyewu, Oguchi

Standard de Liege

Belgium

Howard, Tim

Everton FC

England

Bocanegra, Carlos

Fulham FC

England

Dempsey, Clint

Fulham FC

England

Simek, Frank

Sheffield Wednesday

England

DeMerit, Jay

Watford FC

England

Spector, Jonathan

West Ham United

England

Keller, Kasey

Bor. M'gladbach

Germany

Feilhaber, Benny

Hamburger SV

Germany

Hill, Kamani

Vfl Wolfsburg

Germany

Beasley, DaMarcus

PSV Eindhoven

Holland

Nguyen, Lee

PSV Eindhoven

Holland

Bradley, Michael

SC Heerenveen

Holland

Bornstein, Jonathan

Chivas USA

MLS

Guzan, Brad

Chivas USA

MLS

Kljestan, Sacha

Chivas USA

MLS

Marsch, Jesse

Chivas USA

MLS

Razov, Ante

Chivas USA

MLS

Davies, Charlie

Hammarby IF

Sweden

Some U.S. Soccer Team action vs. Mexico

Industrial Waste of Time for Red Bulls' Park

2007-05-28T17:35:00.000-04:00

In an effort to maintain New Jersey stereotypes, the opening of Red Bull Stadium was moved to September 2008, due to delays in industrial waste cleanup and foundation issues. What this really means is the Red Bulls will probably play the full 2008 season at Giant's Stadium.

The new stadium is a pretty massive undertaking down in Harrison, which will be part of the 3 million square foot MetroCentre. The center will include 3,500 residential units, tons of office and retail space, and of course, a 25,000 - 30,000 seat stadium.

Don't forget to keep up to date on construction progress at their webcam - would be nice if one were able to embed the video.

Hats on to Red Bulls

2007-05-26T20:25:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of missions. I've dragged my wife on a bunch of these: trying to find the cheapest dumplings, the best slice of pizza, last minute tickets to sold out shows, Japanese woodblock print dealers open on Sundays, you get the idea. Her semi-infinite patience has served us well on these outings and we've always received a decent aerobic workout.

Even though she's a good sport, there's a limit, and that limit generally involves the forecast. However, once we can forgo the winter jackets, it's open season.

I've known for a while I needed (wanted) a Red Bull's cap, and I figured it was time to start on the hunt. After visiting no less than 15 stores, which included Lids, Adidas, Champs, Foot Locker, and more, I came up empty handed. Although if I was in the market for blinged out NYC caps I would have had my hands full.

Whenever I mentioned this situation, I was generally offered the insightful "did you try looking online" advice. Hmm. After a few weeks and sheer days away from admitting defeat, I happened upon an unexpected street fair, which drove me to an unexpected store, which led to an unexpected stack of Red Bull away colored caps.

The current tally now stands at:
Universe 854,234,642, Codge 1

Red Bulls Bring the Heat to the Fire: 3 - 0

2007-05-24T22:12:00.001-04:00

This game seemed to end before it began. The Red Bulls played the Citizen Kane card and tied the league record for fastest two goals scored at the start of a game. Wolyniec continued to do his job with a soft touch to Altidore for goal one, while Angel displayed impressive control for the quick settle translating to goal two.

Angel just served as MLS player of the week and is already poised to retain the title, scoring goal three of the game in the 68th minute. Now is the time to start investing in Angel merchandise.

I was also glad to see some new sod laid down at the Meadowlands. It was pretty distracting, and embarrassing, watching the Bulls run up and down the yard lines.

Even with Reyna, Freeman, and Waterreus, on the injured list, the Red Bulls continue to play dominant soccer and are now tied for first in the East. Maybe one day soon the stadium will fill up more than 13% of the seats.

Check out the video, hopefully one day we'll be able to embed.

UPDATE - Video embedded!

Red Bulls: Bullying the Crew 4- 0

2007-05-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

As a MetroStar/Red Bull, third time's the charm for Wolyniec. A combination of injured starters (Freeman & Reyna) and a high school prom (Altidore) helped pave the way for Wolyniec's first start of the season.

Wolyniec certainly got things started, scoring the Red Bull's first of four goals for the night. After a modest showing last week, Angel lived up to expectations, with a pair of smooth assists in addition to his own interception direct to goal.

Even though it was prom night, it felt more like a debutante ball (sorry) as Ikangu and Caccavale both saw their first action of the season. In case there was any doubt, Caccavale scored the final Red Bull goal in the last seconds of stoppage time.

I couldn't be more pleased with the team's performance to date and I'm trying to temper expectations, but I can't remember ever seeing a more solid New York MLS team on the field.