A smattering of Galaxy related reads for your perusal:

*Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney looks at Landon Donovan's MLS MVP chances. (On track for a career-best season, Donovan is doing his best to impress so he can jump ship to Bayern Munich, Europe in general or really anywhere as long as he flees the increasingly erratic Galaxy).

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Soccer America points out today that Columbus is the first team to qualify for this seasons MLS playoffs! See more in Columbus Crew section.

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Which big money MLS player has been a bigger disappointment this season: Dulio Davino, Marcelo Gallardo or Claudio Lopez?

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A TV pundit in Germany has referred to Juergen Klinsmann as "the white Barak Obama". Click to continue reading...

Welcome to the first of some occasional notes from the chaotic world of college soccer. We say "chaotic" because there are at least four polls we can recognize (see below), and we're seeing more parity with new challengers in the women's game and traditional men's powers rebuilding each year after players turn pro.

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And you thought the whole issue of concerts sullying soccer pitches happened only in America ...

Eintracht Frankfurt and Karlruhe will not be playing today because the pitch couldn't recover from Tuesday's Madonna concert at the Commerzbank-Arena.

Hat tip to Soccer America's daily newsletter

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FC Dallas defender Drew Moor has signed a new four year contract with the club according to Soccer America and later confirmed by one of my sources. Moor is one of club's most consistent and reliable players, something not to many people have been able to do on that backline over the last few years. I [. Click to continue reading...

First reported by Soccer America and now confirmed by 3rd Degree, Drew Moor has signed a new four year contract. Click to continue reading...

Contract negotiations are starting to heat up in Texas, according to Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney, as FC Dallas has been successful in getting American defender Drew Moor to re-sign with the club. At the same time, however, talks have soured with star striker Kenny Cooper, leading to a suspension of negotiations between the two parties until the season is over. Click to continue reading...

It was not pretty. It was not entertaining. It was a little nerve wracking. But it was one goal and a win for the USA in Cuba. 6 points from 2 games on the road is a good thing. But please, let's get the motor running. OK? Is that too much to ask?

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Adam Spangler of This is American Soccer delivers Part 1 of a 5 part indepth story/interview with Clint Dempsey. Click to continue reading...

Most blogs have some sort of catch-all title for posts - often used on Mondays - that don't have any specific focus: 'Monday musings,' 'Quick hits,' 'Morning roundup,' 'Morning kickaround' etc. We don't have one of a title of that nature and I'm not sure I'm creative enough to come up with something different in this saturated market.

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What was going on in Dallas last night that the Pizza Hut Park looked next to empty. From the TV view there were only a couple hundred people in the stands. Add in the side you can't see and you had maybe a couple thousand. What is going on down there? It was the big Thursday night game fer cryin out loud! Click to continue reading...

Chris Schuler of the Creighton men's soccer team has been named a second-team preseason All-American by Soccer America, as announced by the publication Tuesday. The junior defender has started 39 of his first 40 matches at Creighton and helped anchor the backline since his arrival.

Schuler, a first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference pick and second-team NSCAA All-Midwest Region selection last year, started all 20 matches a year ago.

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Things I would've blogged over the past three weeks had I not been racing all over China:

- Cleveland rules USL's Second Division.

- The USL teams are outperforming MLS teams so far in the CONCACAF Champions League, about which I'll have more later. The biggest shocker: Puerto Rico taking a road draw at Costa Rican power Alajuelense.

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Great piece by Mr. Gardner of Soccer America today, talking about Bruce Arena's first move with the LA Galaxy. I hadn't even realized how he did the same thing in New York.

As for the comments about what Arena wanted to do in DC, I just want to profusely thank Gulati, Doug Logan, and whoever else realized that was insanity. Click to continue reading...

BE WARNED: If baseball on ESPN2 runs long tonight, the USA game will start on ESPN Classic.

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Coach Fernando Clavijo is done in Colorado. He went to his native Uruguay last week to attend to personal matters, and has now "resigned". He has never been a great week to week coach, but I think the guy has a great eye for talent, and should be given some credit with setting up the New England team that Steve Nicol make great. Click to continue reading...

Do you realize it's less than 2 weeks until the USA playing their next World Cup Qualifier in Guatemala City - Wed Aug 20! Where will you be watching. Me? At the Sweetwater of course.

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From the Oregonian: "The funeral procession marking the end of the Portland Timbers-Seattle Sounders rivalry started early Thursday evening. Click to continue reading...

League action in Europe is still another couple of weeks away, but closer to home, we have the start of Mexico's Apertura and USL playoffs. MLS teams get back to work Sunday.

The W-League, still the top league for women until WPS kicks off next year, the defending champion Washington Freedom opened with a wild 6-5 win in extra time over Charlotte.

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To read Part I, please click here.


The soccer blogosphere was alive this week with the sound of hooligans. Not literally, of course. It's not like I was sitting in front of my computer listening to "up to our knees in [fill in the blank] blood" or anything like that. Just that there was lots and lots (and lots) of talk about hooliganism, fan violence, security violence, etc. Click to continue reading...

The transfer window is open and running right now. A couple MLS clubs are already cashing in as some transfers/signings are now official (that list will come in a bit). Another signing that is looking to be a little closer to being finalized is one up in Toronto. According to Soccer America and another source, Toronto [. Click to continue reading...

First, Moreno joined the league halfway through the 1996 season. Second, most reports stated that DC United wasn't willing to give Gomez the number of guaranteed years he was asking for. Third, thank you for not mentioning the other failed Argentines that have passed through RFK - Donnet, Filomeno, and Niell.

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The third-round tally: MLS 5, USL 3. Until Seattle did its usual Open Cup business against Chivas USA and Houston lost all composure on penalty kicks, we were facing the prospect of quarterfinals without any USL First Division sides. That last happened ... hmmm ...

The upsets aren't much of a surprise at this stage.

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I'm not one to leap to the defense of ESPN on too many occasions, but Jack Bell's excoriation of the network, occasioned by its use of British announcers during its Euro '08 telecasts, seems a little off-base too me, if I may use a baseball metaphor. This position strikes me as a logical outgrowth of Bell's larger objections to Anglophilia in the American game—the veneration of British coaches, teams and playing styles at the expense of other (specifically, Latin) influences. Click to continue reading...

SoccerAmerica has a look at some overseas players who are apparently interested in a return to MLS, and one name that caught my eye a bit was that of Cory Gibbs. Now, I've seen Gibbs play great with the U.S. national team and think he's a talented player, if rather prone to injury. However, I also got the impression that he didn't put the same effort into his tenure at Dallas. Click to continue reading...

Quick roundup of scores to know:

The U.S. Under-20 women's team qualified for the World Cup with a 4-0 win over Costa Rica in the CONCACAF semifinals. If you missed seeing Tony DiCicco in world championships, you'll get your chance again. The Olympic and World Cup-winning coach is in charge of this team before taking his new duties with the Boston Breakers next year.

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In case you hadn't heard, ABC is showing the Euro final on Sunday. But right before that they are showing the DC v LA showdown live from RFK! Awesome!


US Open Cup

Lots of 2nd Round games coming on Tuesday night!
Matches & Scores:
Carolina Railhawks v Real Maryland Monarchs
Richmond Kickers v Western Mass Pioneers
Minnesota Thunder v Cleveland City Stars
Pittsburgh Riverhounds v Rochester Rhinos
Atlanta Silverbacks v Miami FC Blues
Charlotte Eagles v Charleston Battery
Crystal Palace Baltimore v Harrisburg City Islanders
Seattle Sounders v Hollywood United
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Brian Quarstad at Blue Sky Soccer has audio of interviews with both coaches from tonight's Open Cup match:
-Amos Magee of the Thunder
-Martin Rennie of the Cleveland City Stars
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MLS News

CHICAGO FIRE

Vote today for the Chicago Fire All-Decade team. Click to continue reading...

More reaction on the return of the Rowdies: New-Look Rowdies Returning in 2010 [Tampa Tribune] - includes the names of everybody in the ownership group and more on the stadium plans. Tampa Greets Rowdies IV [Soccer America] - a ludicrous premise because the first three were all the same club, just playing in different leagues. Click to continue reading...

Now this is a scoreline even a hardass cynic like me can be satisfied with: USA 8-0 Barbados. Before the game kicked off, I loudly pronounced at the Sweetwater that our boys must win by at least 8-0 or I would be upset with them. Mission accomplished. Now they go to the island for leg 2 knowing only a 9-0 loss (or some equivalent there of) will knock them out. Click to continue reading...

My newest musical gift to you - du Nord Muxtape #5: The Colour Green Is Gorgeous - is now online for your listening pleasure.


Team USA

-Sun Jun 15
USA v Barbados
Home Depot Center in Carson California
4pm central time on ESPN2 & Galavision from Home Depot Center in Carson California. Click to continue reading...

Soccer America's Paul Gardner worked closely with Jim McKay when they commentated on the NASL for ABC. He wrote a kind remembrance this weekend. But that's not the word — serious — with which to end this short memory of Jim. He had a great sense of humor, quiet, non-flashy, like the man himself. In one [. Click to continue reading...

What would you do if you had 15 minutes with Gerard Houllier and you had the opportunity to ask the world-class manager any questions you'd like? If you're a reporter for Soccer America, you won't believe what they asked and how out of touch they are with the world of soccer. Let me explain. On Friday evening, [. Click to continue reading...