If you aren't watching KSPR-33 news (ABC) locally, then flip over to their Sports coverage tonight. Their Athlete of the Week tonight is a local prep soccer player.

Mike Scott was also out to interview Steve Wilczewski and Marco Cherisma after last nights game against Missouri Southern (pictured).

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If you aren't watching KSPR-33 news (ABC) locally, then flip over to their Sports coverage tonight. Their Athlete of the Week tonight is a local prep soccer player.

Mike Scott was also out to interview Steve Wilczewski and Marco Cherisma after last nights game against Missouri Southern (pictured).

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For two years, RailHawks' fans have enjoyed excellent coverage of our favorite soccer team by Cary News sportswriter Tim Candon.
But TSF has learned that Tim has left the Cary News to become the editor of HighSchoolOT.com, a new local high school sports website produced in concert with WRAL and 99 The Fan sports radio. Click to continue reading...

It will be an all MLS SuperLiga final with the New England Revolution, 2-0 winners over bad losers Atlante tonight, playing the Houston Dynamo Tuesday in Boston.

I only watched the last 10 minutes of the game (work intervened), but that was enough to see some ugly scenes at game's end for the second consecutive SuperLiga semifinal.

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Lori Chalupny, St. Louis, Missouri, was named to the US Olympic roster Monday by Coach Pia Sundhage. Chalupny played her prep soccer for JB Marine before moving on to North Carolina.

From the US Soccer website:

Nine players on the roster were members of the U.S. team that won the gold medal four years ago in Athens, Greece, including team co-captains Christie Rampone and Kate Markgraf, who will both be participating in their third Olympic Games.

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Chivas USA lost Thursday to the Red Bulls.

Said Chivas USA Coach Preki:

"We had six, seven, great chances in the second half that we don't connect on and the final pass isn't good enough or the shot goes straight to the goalkeeper. We didn't manage to break them down. They had one play in the second half and that's it.

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The region lost a pair of assistant coaches with the end of the season last week. There are a lot of hard-working folks involved in this community but an area of particular significance is when recent college graduates give back by working with local high schools. Especially when they didn't play their prep soccer here.

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Late blogging today, since the day job got in the way - apologies.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram has named its high school Dream Team.

And the PDL Ventura County Fusion, which plays Friday night against the Fresno Fuego at home, has released UCLA striker Jason Leopoldo.

Back Friday morning with a full preview of the weekend's games.

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*The U.S. Under-23 National Team plays the Ivory Coast at 9 a.m. today on Fox Soccer Channel from France.

*Fontana's Maurice Edu of Toronto FC has been called into the senior national team for next week's game against England, presumably as a replacement for the injured Benny Feilhaber.

*The Galaxy's Ante Jazic has only just returned from injury, but the defender has been recalled by Canada's National Team for its May 31 game against Brazil in Seattle.

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I get paid to worry.

As in today's column, which takes a look at the dominance of David Beckham and Landon Donovan and the implications for the Galaxy's season.

For those who haven't seen it yet, here are the highlights of Becks and Donovan dismantling Chivas USA.

Not surprisingly after that performance, Galaxy forward Landon Donovan was named the MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters, for the second consecutive week.

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The Daily Breeze today named Banning's Guillermo Beltran as its Boys Player of the Year and Banning Coach Frank Sandoval as its Boys Coach of the Year.

Mira Costa's Julia Barrow was named Girls Player of the Year on Tuesday along with Girls Coach of the Year, South Torrance's Brad Gomez.

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CONCACAF Olympic qualifying begins tonight with two games including the U.S. against Cuba and I offered a primer in today's column.

CONCACAF has released the rosters for the teams in Group A.

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan and his role on the U-23 team is profiled here, although Fontana's Maurice Edu was on Monday named team captain for the tournament.

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Chivas USA lost 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo in San Antonio on Friday, the Galaxy play the next game of their Asia tour at 11 tonight live on Fox Soccer Channel from Hong Kong where ticket sales have reportedly been poor, the U.S. Women triumphed again in Portugal while the high school soccer season is over.

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Chivas USA plays the Houston Dynamo tonight in San Antonio (although due to the state of the field there it's reportedly the reserve squads that will play) and the Galaxy plays the third and final game of its Asian tour live on Fox Soccer Channel at 11 p.m. Saturday (that's a time that screams TiVo).

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Chivas USA plays the Houston Dynamo tonight in San Antonio (although due to the state of the field there it's reportedly the reserve squads that will play) and the Galaxy plays the third and final game of its Asian tour live on Fox Soccer Channel at 11 p.m. Saturday (that's a time that screams TiVo).

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Here we go again.

Reports out of England suggest David Beckham's landmark 100th England appearance could come against France March 26, just three days before the Galaxy's first MLS game of the season in Colorado. More here.

Mexico's Under-23 team, which will play its Olympic qualifiers in Carson, turns out for its final warmup game against Finland tonight in Dallas and hasn't looked good.

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Among South Bay and Harbor Area schools Saturday, Peninsula beat West Torrance to claim the CIF Division II title, while Banning won its first soccer title since 1995.

In Downey Saturday, Wilson and San Clemente shared a championship as did Mayfair High and La Mirada, but Downey High lost.

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If you watched the 11:30 p.m. Galaxy-FC Seoul game on Fox Soccer Channel last night you know LA salvaged a rather uninspiring 1-1 tie in regulation time to kick off their Asian Tour.

Yet if you read this story you know the Galaxy actually lost on penalty kicks, something neither alluded to or shown on FSC.

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The Galaxy plays live at 11:30 tonight on Fox Soccer Channel against FC Seoul in the first game of their Asia tour.

The Daily Telegraph in England has more on the David Beckham buzz in South Korea.

Galaxy PR folks reminded me that the team has four players (and one coach) who particpated in the 2002 World Cup in Korea: Becks, Landon Donovan (who is back here in the U.

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With Fidel Castro stepping down, it seemed like a good time to check in on Chivas USA's Cuban defector Maykel Galindo who resumes scrimmaging with the team today after off-season sugery.

The column is here.

Galindo had a league-leading five games in which he scored multiple goals last season including these typical strikes against the Galaxy.

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Galaxy-Sydney The Galaxy plays the final game of the Pan-Pacific Championship in Hawaii tonight in a game ESPN Classic airs at 8 o'clock (the Houston Dynamo-Gamba Osaka championship game follows immediately after).

The island newspapers are avoiding much mention of the event and even the increasingly secretive Galaxy seem uninterested; no press releases or updates to the club blog.

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The USC women play Mexico tonight at the Coliseum, while up the coast in San Luis Obispo the Earthquakes play the Columbus Crew in the MLS Central Coast Showcase.

Mexico also plays Cal State Long Beach Sunday.

Swiss international Raphaël Wicky has started training with Chivas USA after off-season ankle surgery, while they're down to the last 60 players for Sueño MLS: The Dream Continues.

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Coach Pia Sundhage has begun the youth movement needed to rebuild the U.S. Women's National Team, dumping veteran goalkeeper Brianna Scurry for next month's Algarve Cup in Portugal and bringing in Nicole Barnhart (four caps).

Although 15 of the 20-player roster were on last year's World Cup squad, including Torrance's Shannon Boxx, Sundhage has also brought in the likes of UCLA's Lauren Cheney and USC striker Amy Rodriguez.

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It's only a preseason tournament with a grand name, but both games of the Pan-Pacific Championship are live on ESPN Classic tonight (the Galaxy game against Japanese team Gamba Osaka airs at 8 o'clock) and it's the first chance to see what a Ruud Gullit Galaxy team looks like.

Landon Donovan is out with an (achilles?

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Quickly: Chivas USA lost 4-0 to the Japanese Under-23 team Saturday at Home Depot Center and supposedly had 13 players missing because of injury. Sounds like a great way to start the season.

Chivas USA line-ups: (first half; 4-4-2): Brad Guzan, Omar Becerra, Alex Zotinca, Jorge Flores, Jim Curtin, Keith Savage, John Cunliffe, Jesse Marsch, Sasha Kljestan, Arnolfo Salazar, Atiba Harris.

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English fans are predictably upset by the EPL proposal to stage regular season games overseas, but Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas is (equally predictably) happy about the idea.

And here's the Galaxy blog on why teams and the media don't pay a huge amount of attention to trialists in camp.

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CFL fan?

Game (as usual) a blowout?

More excited about the opening Monday of the Chivas USA and Galaxy training camps?

Then try these new blogs, Web sites and grab bag of other non-pointyball stuff.

Following up from Saturday's post about Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, a few more details from the presser are here.

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U.S. international Brad Guzan is a world-class goalkeeper, but British bureaucrats pulled the plug today on his imminent $4 million move to Aston Villa.

From the (edited) Chivas USA press release:

Club Deportivo Chivas USA of Major League Soccer today announced that 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and Chivas USA Original Brad Guzan will return to the club for the 2008 season.

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Here's my take on the renamed and enlarged, but still overwhelmingly underwhelming CONCACAF Champions League.

Prep news from the Daily Breeze is here and here.

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USC striker Amy Rodriguez scored twice in the 4-0 U.S. win overnight in China against Canada to stake her claim for a spot replacing the pregnant Kristine Lilly on the forward line alongside Abby Wambach. The story is here.

"I coached Kristine Lilly with the Boston Breakers and I've seen her play many times," Coach Pia Sundhage said after her first game in charge of the team.

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Christie Rampone was named to succeed the pregnant Kristine Lilly as captain of the U.S. Women's National Team today.

Meanwhile, the Under-23 women's team has opened its camp at Home Depot Center. UCLA and USC both have players on the roster.

Didn't know there was a women's U-23 team?

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The InterLiga finals scheduled for Saturday at Home Depot Center are set.

The U.S. Soccer Men's National Team blog has posted a podcast interview with Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, variously rumored to be heading to Celtic, Arsenal or several other European teams. Listen here.

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LA is a college football town. Here's proof.

Bruin Lauren Cheney, on the penultimate day of camp Monday, is the top picture here. A-Rod is seen in the two lower photos.

Two WNT coaching notes from U.

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Mia Hamm appears today at Cal South's Soccer Nation Expo in part to promote her upcoming Jan. 26 charity game at Home Depot Center.

More on Mia and motherhood is here.

Prep action from the Daily Breeze is here.

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An estimated 30,000 fans are expected to shrug off the predicted rain and attend Cal South's Soccer Nation Expo Saturday and Sunday at the LA Convention Center.

More than 125 exhibitors, appearances by the likes of retired U.S. star Mia Hamm and coaching demonstrations by Chivas USA Coach Preki, members of the coaching staff of Club America and others are among the highlights.

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