Archive: June 3, 2007 - June 9, 2007
USA-T&T Aftermath
A match that was never really in doubt against a very weak, undermanned T&T squad. 2-0 final. Faulty finishing kept it scoreless until Mapp combined with Ching for an awkward finish. Flank play out of the back and in midfield was very good for the Americans. Nonetheless, the Soca Warriors...
By Steve Goff | June 9, 2007; 7:01 PM ET | Comments (0)
Gameday: USA-T&T
Will the Americans fail to adapt to the rhythm of the match, like they did against Guatemala on Thursday? Or will they bury a Soca Warriors squad missing its Euro-based stars because of a financial squabble with the federation? Pregame, in-game and postgame thoughts are welcome here. I will be...
By Steve Goff | June 9, 2007; 3:29 PM ET | Comments (0)
Beisbol and Futbol
Two hours before gametime Friday night at Camden Yards, Rodrigo Lopez of the Colorado Rockies was in the dugout answering questions about his return to Baltimore and the opportunity to pitch Saturday against the team for which he had played five seasons before being traded this past winter. When he...
By Steve Goff | June 9, 2007; 2:35 PM ET | Comments (0)
United News and Notes
I am off to Baltimore today to cover the big Orioles-Rockies showdown, so I'll make this quick: -- Kpene (groin) remains out and will not play Sunday. Simms (ankle) jogged on the side and appears doubtful for Sunday. Wilson (foot) continues to rehab on the side. -- United lead investors...
By Steve Goff | June 8, 2007; 12:34 PM ET | Comments (0)
USA-GUA Aftermath
Some observations from the 1-0 USA victory..... -- Very nice play by the Americans the final 25 minutes or so of the first half. Not a good effort, not a good performance after the break. They'll be happy to claim the three points, while the Guatemalans will not be disappointed...
By Steve Goff | June 7, 2007; 11:03 PM ET | Comments (69)
New Salary Numbers
In case you were wondering about recent signings..... Portuguese defender Abel Xavier, who will be eligible to play next week for the L.A. Galaxy, will earn $156,000. No surprise there. Real Salt Lake defender Ritchie Kotschau, who signed last week and got a red card 45 seconds into his debut,...
By Steve Goff | June 7, 2007; 5:26 PM ET | Comments (12)
Matchday USA
USA vs. Guatemala, Gold Cup opener, Home Depot Center, 9 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel and TeleFutura. No, I am not there. And neither are most of you. But that doesn't mean we can't analyze, overanalyze, predict and assess the match, right? USA is a clear favorite, but this match could...
By Steve Goff | June 7, 2007; 4:45 PM ET | Comments (42)
DCU Reserves Win
Goals by guest player Domenic Mediate (in the 22nd) and Nicholas Addlery (75th) led DCU over New England, 2-0, in Foxborough, Mass. United reserves are now 2-1-2, Revs are 3-2-0. Addlery's cross (yes, United players apparently know how to cross) set up Mediate's goal, and an Addlery combination with Marc...
By Steve Goff | June 7, 2007; 3:16 PM ET | Comments (21)
Golazo! (By a Canadian?)
Thanks to his beauty by Julian De Guzman, Canada is in first place in Group A at the Gold Cup. (You'll want to turn up the volume -- "De Guzman.....De-Guz-MAN.....DE-GUZ-MAN!")...
By Steve Goff | June 7, 2007; 9:50 AM ET | Comments (23)
Angel at RFK
Remember those scoring opportunities that Nate Jaqua botched the other night for Los Angeles against D.C. United? Juan Pablo Angel will not miss them. A stray ball in the box? A free kick from 22 yards? They're going into the net. Understand, DCU fans? On Thursday night, the Colombian forward...
By Steve Goff | June 7, 2007; 12:48 AM ET | Comments (50)
Parking Issues in the Swamp
Mexico's national team draws monster crowds everywhere it goes in the United States, but for Sunday's Gold Cup match against Honduras at Giants Stadium, El Tri might not have as much support as it probably expects. The reason: parking spaces -- or more accurately, the lack of them. Apparently, construction...
By Steve Goff | June 6, 2007; 6:25 PM ET | Comments (14)
15 Minutes of Blame
If you are expecting to see the Colorado-Houston match on ESPN2 Thursday night at precisely 9 p.m., you'll have to wait. ABC/ESPN has decided to show the first portion of the NBA Finals opener on ALL of its outlets (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN360, ESPN.com...
By Steve Goff | June 6, 2007; 4:52 PM ET | Comments (26)
United News and Notes
Updates from Estadio RFK..... -- Rookie forward Guy-Roland Kpene has a groin injury and will NOT be available for Sunday's match against the Red Bulls, the club confirmed. -- Midfielder Clyde Simms sat out after aggravating an ankle injury Saturday night and is day to day (aren't we all). --...
By Steve Goff | June 6, 2007; 2:08 PM ET | Comments (18)
Yesterday's Friendlies
Messi and Argentina, prepping for Copa, survive a scare from Algeria (Algeria??), 4-3, at the mini stadium in Barcelona, while Mexico, days from its Gold Cup opener, falls late at Azteca to Paraguay, 1-0. All the Argentina goals (gotta love the fake Maradona at the start of the clip): The...
By Steve Goff | June 6, 2007; 9:15 AM ET | Comments (21)
10,000 and Counting
Congrats to Insider loyalist "RK" for his Vegas comment on the previous thread. It was No. 10,000 in our blog's very short, barely illustrious history! To acknowledge this grand achievement, I am rewarding each and every one of you with a free, one-year subscription to the Insider. Really, no charge....
By Steve Goff | June 5, 2007; 5:03 PM ET | Comments (24)
Women's Team, Open Cup and MLS
-- Greg Ryan, coach of the U.S. women's national team, has narrowed his player pool for the Women's World Cup to 24 players. Barring injuries, he will choose his final 21-player roster from this group prior to the tournament in September in China. In upcoming friendlies, the women will face...
By Steve Goff | June 5, 2007; 10:51 AM ET | Comments (30)
MLS Player Rumblings
-- The Insider told you a week or two ago that the Galaxy has been pursuing a Brazilian forward to upgrade its struggling attack. The name I have been able to come up with is......Joaozinho. Age: 27. Has played in Europe and is currently back in Brazil. I believe Cruzeiro...
By Steve Goff | June 4, 2007; 3:48 PM ET | Comments (22)
MVP and Other Stuff
Some thoughts about the MLS matches over weekend..... -- With nine goals in nine games, including consecutive hat tricks, K.C.'s Eddie Johnson is your front-runner for MLS most valuable player, but over the next few weeks, we will find out just how valuable he is to the first-place Wizards. Like...
By Steve Goff | June 4, 2007; 12:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
When Stuck at LAX.....
.....what better way to pass the time than with three Euro video clips? The Demark-Sweden match, tied 3-3, came to a stunning end when a fan attacked the referee. Read the story and watch the film. In case you missed the goal that Beckham set up Friday vs. Brazil..... And...
By Steve Goff | June 3, 2007; 12:21 PM ET | Comments (7)
The Aftermath
I've got an early flight home so I am going to make this snappy. Ugh. How fortunate was United to not be down 2-0 (at least) at the half? If not for Nate Jaqua's feet of stone, this could have been over early. United showed signs of life in the...
By Steve Goff | June 3, 2007; 1:11 AM ET | Comments (23)
