Major League Soccer has announced its schedule for the 2010 season. Some of the best news is that there is finally some equality in the scheduling. All teams will play each other twice: once home and once away. The way the league should be. Well done MLS for getting this far!
Browse the full schedule here.
Bob Bradley has announced a 23 man roster for the upcoming national team training camp in preparation for the February 24 friendly against El Salvador.
The roster most includes the same names we saw with the US team in their friendly against Honduras last month, but there are a few exceptions. Brian Ching has found his way back from injury and back into the national team picture, as well as new Philadelphia Union defender Michael Orozco.
What this means for the US team? Unfortunately, more of the same that we saw against Honduras, I’m afraid. A group of players who are quite good domestically but show very little promise for future national team call-ups. Alejandro Bedoya is back to Sweden with his club team as well as Clarence Goodson. Players that will be back however are Kyle Beckerman and Troy Perkins. Sarcastic Yay!
Here’s the full roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)
DEFENDERS: Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Orozco (Philadelphia Union), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS: Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
Can we go a full 24 hours without something violent happening in the world of soccer? Seriously! First, Salvador Cabanas, then Juan Carlos Silva, and now news out of Scotland, that DaMarcus Beasley’s BMW has been destroyed by a gas bomb.
No one was injured in the blast, but reports say that Beasley ran to his window when he heard the explosion and saw his car on fire. A Rangers FC official said, “This is a disturbing and deplorable incident. The club will do everything we can to assist the police.”
Disturbing and deplorable is right! This one hits quite close to home as Beasley has been a stalwart on the US National Team for the past decade. I am totally shocked by this, especially because it falls in a string of high profile attacks on professional soccer players around the world. One might consider writing off the two Club America shootings as an issue of environment in a city rife with instability and crime such as Mexico City, but for this to happen in a place like Glasgow, Scotland, it just goes to show that these horrific displays of violence can happen anywhere.
It almost makes me long for the days when the hooligans ran the streets and the worst that would happen is a black eye and a bloody lip.
The 2009 UEFA Champions League final drew 109 million viewers.
How about the 2009 Superbowl? 106 million. The UEFA Champions League final is now considered to be the highest rated televised annual sporting event.
Juan Carlos Silva has been shot in a robbery attempt in Mexico City. The shooting comes just a week after teammate Salvador Cabanas was shot in the head at a Mexico City bar.
Officials have said Silva’s injuries are not life-threatening and he is listed in good condition. The bullet struck him in the buttocks.
The shooting occurred during a failed attempt to by robbers to steal Silva’s vehicle.
Can things get any worse for Club America? It is already outrageous that one team member was shot, but now adding this to the fire is horrifying. Mexico City needs to clean up its act. There is no shortage of news about rampant crime in Mexico. Mexico City in particular is notorious for the kidnappings that plague the people.
The only good news is that Silva will be fine and that Cabanas seems to be on the road to recovery. Let’s hope Mexico City officials get their act together and start to clamp down on what is becoming epidemic of terror and crime.
Tottenham Hotspur captain and forward Robbie Keane has been loaned to Celtic on the final day of the transfer window.
Keane has recently lost his starting spot to the likes of Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe. Spurs coach Harry Redknapp said about the move, “It’s a good move. Robbie needs to play. He’s too good a player not to be starting here regularly. He wants to play all the time.”
Other big moves on the final transfer day include South African forward Benny McCarthy from Blackburn to West Ham and French forward Diomansy Kamara loaned from Fulham to Celtic where he will be joining Robbie Keane in efforts to lead the Old Firm club to another Scottish Premier League title.
For all the transfers and loans check out the full list, found here.
photo credit: CanadaPenguin
I, personally, have never watched a soccer game on TV in 3D. I’ve never watched any sporting event in 3D yet. But with ESPN announcing broadcasts in 3D and with more and more movies going the route of the 3rd dimension, it is only a matter of time before I will get my chance to partake.
Fans in England, however, got their chance to witness a televised match in 3D as Sky Sports sent a 3D signal to nine various pubs around the country viewing the Manchester United vs. Arsenal game.
The reviews are in, and well, they are mixed. The Guardian and Daily Mail both ran stories about the new technology.
Get the details after the jump…
photo credit: World Economic Forum
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has backtracked from his earlier remarks that the 2018 World Cup would go to Europe.
“I said it’s a possibility only if other associations do not bid,” Blatter said addressing reporters before the Africa Cup of Nations final.
He went to also say, “but the movement to go to Europe exists.” Clearly restating his personal desire to see the 2018 World Cup in Europe.
Paraguay and Club America forward Salvador Cabanas is awake and able to speak to family members and police after being shot in the head at a Mexico City bar.
Cabanas’s doctor, Ernesto Martinez, said, “He’s conscious and he recognizes family members, but he doesn’t know what day it is, nor where he is,” Martinez said. “He knows it’s a hospital, but not which one nor why.”
This is some good news, in what is sure to be a very long road to recovery.
photo credit: Shine 2010 – 2010 World Cup good news
FIFA has announced that one-third of the World Cup tickets remain available.
There are still two more ticket draws remaining before the start of the World Cup. Tickets are awarded via lottery. Ticket applications have been sent in from over 190 countries. Ticket demand is highest within the host nation as an estimated 960,000 ticket applications have been received from South Africa.
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