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. Click to continue reading...

First the soccer news, which includes Angela Hucles' 100th cap (in a career year for her) and another win (over South Korea) for the USWNT.  With two more games left in their post-Olympic Tour, it woulds like the team is pleasing Pia! The NESCAC  Soccer Tournament is over for another year.  (Oh yeah, that's the New [. Click to continue reading...

It's day two of what continues to feel like a new era.  Obama faces a plethora of daunting tasks, and we are on notice that for hope to burn bright, we need to roll up our sleeves and help.  That's the difference.  Obama's no white-haired GOP fake Father-Knows-Best, but a competent and inspiring leader who's [. Click to continue reading...

Having been asleep at the switch on the soccer front for awhile, I was pleased to receive a Google Alert about the USWNT's most recent win.  This one coming in Richmond, VA, where South Korea fell to the USWNT.  Vic Dorr, Jr. describes the game in the Times Dispatch.  Sounds like Angela Hucles continues her [. Click to continue reading...

I'm very excited to be heading over to HollyCornblog's house today for a weekend visit. We'll be doing some chores at the lake like bringing in the dock, bringing in HollyCornblog's sailboat, etc. I'll also be inspecting the amazing and gargantuan work that she and CharlieHopbrew did on the new woodshed up there. Click to continue reading...

This morning's post will likely be quick, as I've gotta make 2 dozen sandwiches for some soccer-game tailgating by 7:30 AM.  But enough about me! On Truthdig I came upon this Palin Perspective from John Dean (yes, that John Dean).  Basically he argues, rather damningly, that were a sitting President in the position of having to [. Click to continue reading...

This clip of Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin pretty much says it all.  McCain may be channeling Bush, but Sarah is pretty much the real thing ... never EVER letting her ignorance stand in the way of her swagger and bellicosity. Here's a bit more from the interview ... Pressed about what insights into recent [. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

The USWNT, along with other US Gold Medalists, will be on Oprah today ... whenever Oprah is on in your world.  I do not know whether coaches are included or not ... but am guessing that, if invited, Pia would not turn down this one! It sounds like Abby is getting out and about more.  [...] Click to continue reading...

Wow - I read today in the Swedish press that Pia has turned down an invitation from Dubya to visit the White House and be graced by his presence. I didn't actually think I could like him less today than I did on July 28 (just to select a random date).  But after watching his smirking [...] Click to continue reading...

Here we go!  As the USWNT soccer news slowly dwindles, the news on the political front picks up.  Here's a link to Michelle Obama's speech from last night (text and video), and here's a link to video and an article with Obama's daughters interacting with (and interrupting) him last night.  And below, a new Obama [. Click to continue reading...

Check out the video here on Main St. USA - including Sunil getting on his knees ... and Christie giving Pia her own Gold Medal!  (There's also video of the post-match party in my previous post, along with Beulah's post-match report!) Sphere: Related ContentSHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "More GREAT USWNT/Pia Video! Click to continue reading...

The Phillies won (Mets and Marlins lost) and Beulah has posted her match report! (Sounds like she had a tough time getting it onto her site .. but it's up and a very good read as always!) In other commentary, here's Mark Zeigler on the game ... The rest of the women's soccer world, though, [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

I opened up MSNBC this morning and saw the news that Obama has picked Biden. Probably a smart move ... experience and gravitas and whiteness and all. I was kinda hoping for something more interesting - but would rather win. So Biden seems good. Biden I can live with. (But wouldn't [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

According to BigSoccer (thanks Dandal and the Swedish press) Pia will be with the USWNT through the 2012 Olympics. That is wonderful news!  Here's a thread about Pia's performance ... note how the comments "evolve" as the USWNT moves deeper and deeper into the tourney! Also on BigSoccer, an interesting thread about Carli Lloyd. Click to continue reading...

Call it change. Call it luck. Call it redemption. Call it bravery. Call it what you will - it's gold and it's real and it stays! The USWNT defeated Brazil 1-0 yesterday in extra time after putting on a gritty performance on the pitch on a wet, humid, Beijing night. [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Congratulations to the Golden USWNT . Click to continue reading...

This makes the second time I've picked Brazil to win a major tourney. I did it during the World Cup of 2007. We know how well that turned out.

Honestly, I'm not picking against the U.S. because Abby Wambach isn't there. I'm picking Brazil because I think they're that good and they've finally ready to own that and win the big one. Click to continue reading...

The news wires are now full of player profiles, match reports, you name it, as the US women's soccer team gears up for its gold medal match versus Brazil on Thursday morning. This team is living up to the Nike Women's World Cup hype of several months ago ... the greatest team you've never [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

The USWNT and Brazil both won in convincing fashion and will face off on Thursday morning (9AM ET) in the gold medal match. Germany and Japan (maybe it's me ... but doesn't that sound awfully World War Twoish?) will square off in the Bronze medal match-up (6AM ET). Kudos to Japan for making [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

6 a.m. on MSNBC.

Notable:
*Japan's run in the Olympics is its best ever in a world championship and the first time it has made the semifinal of a FIFA tournament.
*The U.S. and Japan will play for the second time in 10 days after the USA's 1-0 victory on Aug. 9 in Qinhuangdao.

Click to continue reading...

Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz' gold medal record last night -an amazing feat, indeed. I don't know about you, but I find such milestones diminished by the hype ... the marketing ... the hoopla ... the commentary. The events and the raw footage about the events is enough. The look on Michael [.. Click to continue reading...

First (from The Writer's Almanac), a wonderful poem by Marge Piercy to start your day with something introspective - before diving into the usual sports-centric deluge! This poem runs along the thought-path I was pursuing last night just before sleep. Guess it may be time to get reacquainted with myself . Click to continue reading...

Three out of three for Italian teams in Europe. After Fiorentina (2-0 vs. Slavia Prague - insert link) and Juventus (4-0 vs. Artmedia Bratislava - insert link), Napoli also put their next round UEFA Cup qualification on ice, as they travelled to Albania and defeated Vllaznia with a score of 3-0. Main man of the [. Click to continue reading...

It sounds like Lindsey Dolich likes the USWNT's chances - but is NOT taking Canada lightly (nor are we). There were major doubts that Swede Pia Sundhage would pull the strings for a team left reeling after the loss of superlative striker Abby Wambach. But, somehow, Sundhage delicately guided a vulnerable U. Click to continue reading...

Andrea Canales has put up her previews and predictions on ESPNsoccernet. And here's Marta talking about the Brazil-Norway match-up tomorrow. European women's soccer is showcased in the Sweden-Germany quarterfinal, and here's a nice piece about Pia from the FIFA site. Finally, here's a link to the bracket for the second stage of the women' [. Click to continue reading...

Wow, wow, wow. Even the Phillies' loss has not dampened my amazement and feeling of great good fortune. The USWNT is through to the quarterfinals (not too surprising) and has won their group (pretty darn surprising) and is starting to score some goals (excellent news). To date, five different people have scored, [. Click to continue reading...

After Carli Lloyd's goal in the first half, the score held and the USWNT defeated a good Japan squad 1-0 to gain three points and move into second place in their group. Next up, New Zealand on Tuesday at 7:45 AM ET. Here are some comments from Pia et al (from the USSF [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "USWNT Notches a Win", url: "http://www. Click to continue reading...

The USWNT kicks off against Japan tomorrow morning at 5AM ET and will (hopefully) field a team with its heads screwed on more securely than on Wednesday! I like to think that Wednesday's game was a collective test, to see whether "Boom Ball" really doesn't work. Lesson learned, guys? Gayle Bryan has written about [. Click to continue reading...

HollyCornblog has sent me a couple of photos of her growing hops (remember that huge hop trellis?). They're looking nice and healthy, don't you think? (It's also very important that I get HollyCornblog's name in here more frequently - because with the Olympics underway, Pia is appearing all the time - and that pisses HollyCornblog off! Click to continue reading...

Norway 2, USWNT 0. The laments and wailing, the recriminations, the rending of clothes and gnashing of teeth have all begun and will continue until the USWNT plays like they can. Norway did it to us again ... or perhaps more accurately, we did it to ourselves. According to many on-line pundits, the [. Click to continue reading...

Grant Wahl has another excellent article on SI.com - this one focusing on Heather Mitts. Who knew that she ran with the bulls at Pamplona? ... and from the St. Petersburg Times, another take on this evolving USWNT - this by John Romano. He offers a nice summary of the challenges faced by [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

I'm back from my quick road trip ... which was very successful and included a drive through the Delaware Water Gap region - an area I haven't visited in years. It was quite beautiful - more so than I remembered (from driving through in my childhood). Much of it has been reclaimed as [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

On the USWNT front, Lindsey Dolich has posted a nice preview on ESPNsoccernet about this post-Abby team. Abby's injury "forces the issue" as far as the USWNT's transformation goes. And I have my suspicions that the "liberating" aspects of the change may be quite strong for this team that has played laborious and [. Click to continue reading...

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...

First, it's pronounced Soond-HAGH-eh. (You still have 'til 8/6 to practice and get it right! Let's all give it our best shot, okay?) And for hardcore Pia fans, here are her career tournament stats (from the FIFA site). Second - don't forget to vote in the USWNT poll over there in the right-hand [. Click to continue reading...