Soccer Blogs Posts Tagged Olympics

What to Blog About, Lil’s Return, Ruby’s Morning, etc.

2008-12-03T12:50:58+00:00

In a moment or two, I'll be taking our Westie Ruby to the vets to have the plaque and tartar scraped off of her teeth. She's had a miserable and confusing morning, as she wasn't allowed to go "do her business" on her own but went out on a leash instead. Then, when she came [...]

Whitehill to miss Olympics

2008-11-11T16:05:12+00:00

US defender Cat Whitehill will miss the Beijing Olympics after suffering an ACL injury during a training session in Seoul, Korea, where the US Women's Team is currently competing in the Peace Queen Cup.

Pia names Olympic Squad

2008-11-11T16:05:11+00:00

Since her appointment as coach last November, Pia Sundhage appears to have taken the US national team from strength to strength. The Olympics will be the first major championship of her tenure, and it will be interesting to see how far this team can go. The 18-woman squad includes nine of the players who won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

US victory in Scandinavia

2008-11-11T16:05:10+00:00

The ladies of the US national team are on a hot streak in the final run-up to the Olympics, defeating Norway 4-0 and Sweden 1-0 over the weekend in two of their final four warm-up matches for Beijing. Lindsay Tarpley opened the scoring against Norway after only four minutes, but the US had to wait until the second half to put the seal on their victory.

US again defeat Brazil - but at a high cost

2008-11-11T16:05:10+00:00

The US defeated Brazil for the second time this week, this time at San Diego's Torero Stadium, in their final match before heading off to Beijing. Once again they managed to secure a 1-0 victory - this time via an 84th minute taken by Carli Lloyd and headed in by Natasha Kai. Before the match, most of the hype centred on Abby Wambach, who seemed destined to be one of the stars of the Beijing Olympics.

Thank you Deadspin, thank you so very much

2008-11-06T17:50:58+00:00

Take it away: You didn't think that China spent $500 million of our hard-earned mortgage debt on the Bird's Nest just so some namby pamby athletes could run around inside it for two weeks and then let it sit empty, did you? There are plenty of other athletic contests that can be held there. Like the [.

Salute : Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Peter Norman

2008-10-17T16:43:00+00:00

Thought this was worth highlighting :

Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Peter Norman

When Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave a gloved Black Power salute on the Olympic podium in October 1968 it sent a shockwave through sport. But what happened to the other man on the platform?

John Cleese & the Art of Football

2008-09-30T20:59:46+00:00

GOLTV will air this (apparently) updated comedy "documentary" stariing former Python John Cleese at 5 p.m. Wednesday that's a couple of years old, but now includes references to Euro 2008.

From the GOLTV press release:

The documentary begins with a look at the frenzy behind the 2008 UEFA Euro in Austria and Switzerland, offering an unconventional, amusing take on the game of soccer, which attracts more viewers than the Olympics and more money than Hollywood.

Rafinha Fined $1,000,000 by Schalke

2008-09-25T20:30:32+00:00

Shalke have fined their right back Rafinha $1,000,000. His crime? Going AWOL from club duty to represent Brazil at the Olympics. Rafinha is basically a victim of the CAS ruling that clubs didn't have to release under-23 players for Olympic duty. But still, one million dollars? That's a hefty sum even for a top flight footballer.

Nigeria Can Rule The World, We’re Already On Track - Kanu

2008-09-23T16:54:20+00:00

The following interview with Nigerian legend and captain of the national team Nwanko Kanu was conducted by African football magazine New African Soccer and reprinted here with their permission. The magazine is free to download. Nigeria went into the Beijing Olympics football tournament confident that they will do well.

Olympian Muna Lee to Sign Autographs Saturday

2008-09-18T21:54:00+00:00

Muna Lee

United States Olympic sprinter Muna Lee will be on hand at the match Saturday to sign autographs for fans inside CommunityAmerica Ballpark in the same place Brandi Chastain did back in June. Lee will join Claudio Lopez, Josh Wolff, Peter Vermes and Curt Onalfo as Olympians in the building.

Super Kun Takes Eindhoven

2008-09-17T03:30:39+00:00

As good as he's been, this could finally be Kun Aguero's "breakout" year. Freshly 20, he was the third leading scorer in La Liga last year. Won the Gold Medal at the Olympics with Argentina this summer as well, scoring two against eternal rivals Brazil in the process. Now he's got 3 Champions League goals [.

Kristine Lilly takes on new starring role: Mom

2008-09-13T23:30:33+00:00

September 13, 2008 - When the U.S. women's soccer team won Olympic gold last month, former captain Kristine Lilly watched from her couch. A mainstay on the national team since 1987, the 37-year-old Lilly missed the Summer Games for the first time since soccer became an Olympic sport in 1996. She had a good excuse though [.

Trade: Hunter Freeman To Toronto

2008-09-12T23:17:00+00:00

In what has to be considered one of the more-complicated MLS trades in recent memory, Toronto FC has acquired defender Hunter Freeman from the New York Red Bulls until the end of the next season in exchange for third- and fourth-round draft picks in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft, a move club officials announced on Friday.

Golden Tarp

2008-09-11T18:53:00+00:00

That's Lindsay, of course, who along with Heather O'Reilly is part of the U.S. women's national team 'tweeners - not a veteran perhaps contemplating retirement in the near future - but not exactly a fresh face. After all, both won gold medals in 2004 already, so they've got a set going now.

Anyway, I had a recent interview with Tarp, who is one of the nicest and most articulate players around, even if she does at times pull off the politician's trick of dodging some questions by giving thoughtful answers to ones that weren't asked.

Babel: De Haan didn't use the players right

2008-09-09T21:39:47+00:00

The Olympics were a disappointment for the Dutch team. They survived a the groupstage with some difficulty and were defeated in the quarter finals by Argentina. Ryan Babel is still annoyed by that result. "Our group wasn't tough. We had a clear way to the finals, but we ended up

Aussie Minister Kate Ellis pays up on her Olympic bet.

2008-09-09T12:45:00+00:00

For us Brits there's nothing quite like getting on over on the Aussies when it comes to sport. They are just too good at it all so when the occasion comes round that we do end up looking down on them it's good to milk it for all it's worth. The 2005 Ashes may have been eclipsed by the debacle in Australia that followed but that doesn't change the fact that for those fleeting 12 months we had the one up on them.

Flipping out

2008-09-07T16:02:00+00:00

So Fabian Espindola hurt himself on a backflip celebrating what he thought was a goal. Then Bryan Jordan scored a minute later - and guess what he did?

If you thought backflip, you'd be wrong. He did a front flip. Check out both on the video.

Since I've been watching gymnastics in the Olympics recently, I'm going to carp on Espindola's landing.

Paralympic 5-a-side: Argentina 2 - 0 Spain

2008-09-07T15:36:31+00:00

With the Paralympic Games in Beijing now underway, the Argentine futsal side which won the Blind World Cup in Buenos Aires in 2006 are setting out to emulate the pros who took Olympic gold a couple of weeks ago, and began their campaign by beating European champions Spain 2-0. Silvio Velo, known since the World [.

Chelsea Defender Gets 12 Month Ban For Spitting

2008-09-05T07:57:18+00:00

Don't worry Chelsea fans, it's not John Terry. But it is a defender with the potential to partner Terry in seasons to come: young Serbian centre back Slobodan Rajković. In 2005 Chelsea valued the then 16 year old Rajković highly enough to pay OFK Beograd €5.2m for his services. A record for a player aged under [.

Thou Shall Not Spit

2008-09-05T04:46:08+00:00

This is what happens when you disperse some flem.

Chelsea starlet Slobodan Rajkovic has been banned by FIFA for 12 months after hawking a loogie at a referee during the Olympics. The Serbian defender, currently on loan at FC Twente, chunked on Abdullah Al Hilali after being sent off against Argentina in Beijing.

Tiago locked Juve president in the bathroom?

2008-09-03T15:26:00+00:00

Man I love Italian soccer. It always gives us the best content.

This story takes us to Turin -- or Torino if it's the Olympics -- where the moody Tiago was so upset that Juventus was trying to ship him out that he trapped President Giovanni Cobolli in the bathroom.

Cobolli was in there for an hour before released.

What Happens When The Premiership Meets The Olympics…

2008-09-01T12:35:16+00:00

Apologies this is a bit late now, but this is the Footy Blog impression of what would happen if the Premiership was to meet the Olympics... Feel free to make your own suggestions of potential football-athletes by leaving a comment at the bottom of the post. Weightlifting The Premiership weightlifter has to be Mr.

Aston Villa 0 - 0 LFC yawn

2008-09-01T06:47:11+00:00

Some would agree that this was an absolute borefest while others would not. Martin O'Neil and Rafa didn't get into a scrap and Barry didn't cry so it was definitely not the grudge match we were hoping for. For me, the game pretty much ended when Torres came out with a pulled hamstring because at that point the attack threat was gone.

The Olympics, weren't they just great?

2008-08-31T14:54:00+00:00

The Olympics were such a great experience. I hope all of you had the chance to watch a lot of it. I was watching sports that I've never watched before, just because it was the Olympics. I'd never usually watch badminton or team handball, but I did over the last few weeks.

Wasn't Michael Phelps just amazing?

Bernie Ecclestone on QPR - Not Got The Football Bug!

2008-08-31T10:58:00+00:00

-
BBC Interview: Ecclestone - on the Olympics, F1 and QPR
"Bernie Ecclestone tells Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek he believes London has a very hard act to follow in staging the Olympic Games after the success of Beijing." Audio [Complete audio 11 minutes]
Most of the interview consists Ecclestone talking about the 2012 London Olympics (and the China Olympics) and Formula One racing and Max Mosley.

Alisher Usmanov And The Takeover Of Arsenal #

2008-08-31T09:44:00+00:00

Howard Zinn: "In a society held together by falsehood, knowledge is an especially important form of power".

It is a general rule that the establishment don't feel that they are able to trust us, and we don't feel that we are able to trust them.
The establishment goes for surveillance.

Jozy Altidore Wasn’t Injured at the Olympics and He won’t be Moving on Loan

2008-08-30T12:22:47+00:00

Jozy Altidore has revealed quite a bit recently about the last few months and the start of the season on sunday. We all wanted to see more of Jozy, but we were told he was injured, not the case as it turns out. Jozy revealed the following to the New York Times: And the Olympics. Man, it [...]

Altidore to stay with Villarreal, speaks out on lack of Olympic playing time

2008-08-30T11:46:22+00:00

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Jozy Altidore will be staying with Villarreal for at least the first half of the upcoming La Liga season.

The U.S. national team striker and former Red Bulls standout revealed that he will not be going to another Spanish club on loan, which had long been expected, and will stay with Villarreal as the club deals with a rash of injuries at th forward position.

Jozy Altidore Squashes Rumors (for the moment)

2008-08-29T22:44:28+00:00

An exciting sliver of internetness has emerged despite an otherwise slow Friday: Jozy Altidore has posted a new blog on this NY Times blog! Let's take a peek at some of the most interesting parts. First off, Altidore addresses the Olympics: And the Olympics. Man, it seems like that was ages ago, but it was only [.