Even though the men's and women's Olympic soccer tournamanets are already under way, the games proper begin Friday.

Before we get to some suggested Web sites to maximize your Olympic soccer experience, here's a trivia question for you: what percentage of the 18-player U.S. Men's Olympic roster has ties to Southern California?

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As any competitive athlete would likely be, Briana Scurry wasn't happy about being left off the Olympic roster. She said as much to certain media.

Another coach might have taken offense to being second-guessed, might have avoided working with Scurry or deemed her presence a negative distraction to the players who were picked over her. Click to continue reading...

Obviously, Stephanie Lopez is still a player of Hispanic descent even if she's gotten married and changed her name to Cox. However, it's simply harder for people to make the connection to her Latina roots without a recognizable name to clue one in.
That's partly why blondie Amy Rodriguez is a welcome sight on the U. Click to continue reading...

Some FC Dallas news for you all this afternoon, probably something you may have heard by now as it was emailed to me earlier in the day by US Soccer. FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty has been added to the Olympic roster for next month's Olympics in China. He replaces injured Real Salt Lake midfielder Nathan [. Click to continue reading...

Peter Nowak named his sqaud for the Beijing Olympics. The team includes several current and former MLS players. Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC and Houston Dynamo are all losing 2 players to Nowak's Olympic roster while the Columbus Crew, Chivas USA and the New England Revolution will be missing a single player to Nowak during the Olympics.

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I mentioned as a far-fetched idea a few months ago that Brian McBride may be a good choice for the Olympic roster for younger forwards like Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore to learn from, and on Thursday this idea became a reality. Click to continue reading...

There are classic feel-good stories that are designed to give people an inspirational uplift that might even last more than a day. There are tales that warm the heart.
Sacha Kljestan's Karate Kid celebration, done in honor of his father, Slavko, definitely takes on greater meaning when viewed in the context of their close relationship and Slavko's soccer past. Click to continue reading...

I didn't write the headline to my article about the Olympic roster.

Not that I object to it per se, but I do find it a bit of a paradox, because one of my main points in the article was that the U.S. didn't send the strongest team they could have to the Olympics. Obviously, World Cup qualifying was an issue that conflicted, as did the demands of club teams, especially when it came to one Landon Donovan. Click to continue reading...

No shocker at all, but Coach Nowak announced his Olympic roster, including the likes of Jozy Altidore, Brian McBride, Freddy Adu, Brad Guzan and Michael Parkhurst. The Offside took part in the press conference this afternoon, with your humble blogger as your representative.

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We've all been waiting for it, the Olympic Roster has officially been released.  There are a few suprises (Benny Feilhaber) and a more than a few shoe ins.  I'll let you guys get to discussing this though, the roster is after the jump. 2008 U.S. MEN'S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), [. Click to continue reading...

Michael Parkhurst was selected for the U.S. Men's Olympic Soccer team to compete in China.

"We realize from the last couple of years what his qualities are," said Coach Peter Nowak. "We watched him in the Gold Cup and I think he was very valuable in the process. We didn't look so much at his number of international appearances because we know what he's capable of.

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Sacha Klejstan likely played his second-to-last game with Chivas USA for a while. Later today, he will probably be a part of the United States' Olympic roster.

If that's the case, he's going out with a bang.

Sacha served up a perfect ball to Ante Razov, who did what he does best and buried the ball in the back of the net for the only goal in Wednesday's 1-0 win over Santos Laguna. Click to continue reading...

Later on today we should get the final US Olympic roster, which will more than likely mean a few All-Star slots for the MLS side will open up. Michael Parkhurst, Robbie Rogers and Maurice Edu will all probably get the call to the Olympics and will create those three open slots. Who's going to get to [. Click to continue reading...

YS is in Rhode Island and will officially be shutting down on Thursday and Friday Morning.  The Cause, another blackout similar to the one at RFK last Saturday.  There will be one lone post of the US Olympic Roster, but besides that, we should be down.  There might be a few other writers putting stories up [. Click to continue reading...

Lindsey Dolich (of ESPNsoccernet) has posted her analysis of the USWNT 18-woman Olympic Roster. I love the "battle cry" that she cites, as Pia continues her transformation of this team. Embrace change. Be brave. A profile of Pia went up on the NBC Olympic Site yesterday and I was interested to note that she debuted for [. Click to continue reading...

The Phillies and Chase Utley pulled out of their slump last night with a 4-0 win over the Oakland A's. Kyle Kendrick pitched 8 strong innings and Utley went 4 for 5 after a long drought. Let's hope the Phillies continue their winning ways now. In the soccer world, US Soccer has posted an [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

Here's just a quick piece from The Huffington Post, highlighting a Robin Roberts interview with Elizabeth Edwards about her commitment to work with the Obama team - especially focusing on health care issues. Meanwhile Charlie Black's disturbing statement quoted in Fortune Magazine has raised lots of eyebrows. Click to continue reading...

Waiting for the USWNT roster to go up?  Well, while you wait, here's some video to check out.  Looks like it's the USWNT-vs Canada, as well as part of the Italy game.  First up - the second half of the USWNT vs. Canada ... Sphere: Related ContentSHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "While You're Waiting for the USWNT Olympic Roster . Click to continue reading...

Yup, that's six in a row - and 8 out of their last 10. They lost to the Athletics last night 5-2. Anyone who grew up in Philly - or has spent any amount of time there - probably knows the feelings of panic and depression that are beginning to rear their ugly [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Oh No, Say it Ain't So! Click to continue reading...