The World's Beautiful Game

AEG to acquire ownership shares in Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions

Ric — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:12:26 +0000

from Business Wire news release,

“AEG, considered one of the world’s leading live sports and entertainment presenters, has entered into an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions, to acquire ownership shares of the L.A.-based organization.”

Oscar De La Hoya is an investor - an equity partner - in the Houston Dynamo, co-owned by Golden Boy Promotions, and controlled by AEG. — (AEG also owns the LA Galaxy)

Read more here

Match Recap and Videos — RAPIDS @ DYNAMO

Ric — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:20:40 +0000

from MLSNet,

“Dwayne De Rosario and Brian Ching scored their first goals of the season, and the Houston Dynamo are finally in the win column after a 2-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids…”

MLSNet.com Match Recap

VIDEOS -

Although Houston got their first win of the season, they did so just barely - and in the waning minutes - courtesy of Dwayne De Rosario.

A primary adversary who kept the match a tight 1-1 much of the way was the Rapids’ Christian Gomez, who tallied an assist.

His Quick Kicks ‘One Touch’ highlights v Dynamo in this match, WATCH HERE

Official Fox Soccer Channel match highlights (3:55 min.)

FULHAMerica captures win in the clutch, 1-0 to guarantee place in Premiership for 2008-09

Ric — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:05:55 +0000

The saga has a happy ending…after all !

Fulham FC completed their remarkable end of season run with a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth to guarantee Premier League football at Craven Cottage next season.

Roy Hodgson’s side made it four wins in five games on Sunday - a truly remarkable achievement. Danny Murphy scored the Cottagers’ goal in the 75th minute…

While waiting for this “Day of Destiny”, the team was busy shoring up the contract to keep Clint Dempsey, should disaster strike today. Through the season, Dempsey scored six goals in league play - more than any other Cottager. His new deal, finalized just a few days ago, will keep him in place through 2010. The fates of the other four Americans - Brian McBride, Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra, and Eddie Johnson - are less certain, however.

Read Who Ate All the Pies’ “Top 10 Great Relegation Escapes”

VIDEO - “Day of Destiny” team produced to inspire for today’s match…with related news.

Read the article on Clint Dempsey’s new Fulham deal

Dempsey recorded a podcast earlier this week, LISTEN HERE

Read Brian McBride’s interview for New York Times’ GOAL Blog

Match Recap and Videos — RBNY @ GALAXY

Ric — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:36:03 +0000

from MLSnet,

“(New York’s) Danleigh Borman scored his first professional goal in the 21st minute to give the Red Bulls the lead at the half. But Alan Gordon pulled the Galaxy level in the 77th minute, before (Juan Pablo) Angel latched onto a Dane Richards pass and rounded L.A. goalkeeper Steve Cronin before firing the ball high into the goal for the game-winner.”

MLSNet.com Match Recap

VIDEOS -

“If you’re the Galaxy, that’s a nightmare” says the announcer at the end of this clip, and he was exactly right, as the Red Bulls’ Juan Pablo Angel scored the goal that took them up 2-1 and was the eventual game winner Saturday night at the Home Depot Center.

This was Angel’s first RBNY goal in this season where he’s been fighting injury, WATCH HERE

Official match highlights from MSG, WATCH HERE

Video — Today is FULHAMerica’s “Day of Destiny”

Ric — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:20:35 +0000

Fulham FC of England’s Premier League is rightly nicknamed “FULHAMerica” because they have five U.S. players - more than any other team in the Premiership.

However, Brian McBride, Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Johnson, and Clint Dempsey - along with the rest of the Cottagers - must today pull off a win in their final match of the season (versus Portsmouth) to avoid relegation.

As the season began winding down, and Fulham knew of their daunting task to stay up in the table, they began releasing music videos to inspire fans to rise up - and to not give up.

The latest - produced for today’s match specifically - is called “Day of Destiny”.

Official team site, FULHAMFC.com

Match Recap and Video — CREW @ EARTHQUAKES

Ric — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:01:34 +0000

from MLSnet,

“For nearly 75 minutes, it seemed the Columbus Crew would see their winning streak and stint atop the Eastern Conference come to an end.”

“But then in a span of 11 minutes, the Crew exposed the San Jose Earthquakes with three defense-splitting goals before holding on for a 3-2 come-from-behind victory Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium.”

MLSNet.com match Recap

VIDEO - Official highlights, WATCH HERE

Right Coast v Left Coast

Ric — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:24:58 +0000

The last time the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls faced off, they battled to a 5-4 contest at Giants Stadium in what was arguably one of the best games in MLS history. In that game, David Beckham picked up two assists, while Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore each scored a pair for New York en route to a dramatic victory. This match saw over 68,000 enjoy a pinball-like goalfest, and it got even more than the usual media attention due to that crowd size, and because Beckham’s assists were his first in MLS.

Fast forward to 2008 - tonight, May 10, @ 7:30 pm PDT to be exact,

What some are saying in preparation for this big match on FOX SPORTS NET, MSG Sports (regional), and HDNet…

MLS round 7 Preview — RAPIDS @ DYNAMO

Ric — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:08:06 +0000

This is the featured match today on the FOX SPORTS networks. Fox Soccer Channel offers “MLS Saturday” live from 8-11 pm EDT, including pregame and postgame programming. The match is also live on FOX’s FSE in Spanish. Kickoff is at 7:30 pm Central (8:30 EDT), from Houston’s Robertson Stadium.

from MLSnet,

“Still looking for their first win on the campaign, the defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo remain at home for a second consecutive week, playing host to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night. The Dynamo have lost just twice in their six games on the season, coming off a scoreless draw with Chivas USA last weekend. The Rapids shook off back-to-back losses last Sunday with a home win against D.C. United, moving back into a tie atop the Western Conference in the process.

MLSNet.com Match Preview

The uneven playing field — NY Times Magazine

Ric — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:58:41 +0000

I would like to share this article from the most recent New York Times Magazine with you. It concerns an aspect of Title IX’s impact on competition in women’s sports…sports injury.

excerpt,

“Playing through pain, rushing back from injury — a warrior-girl ethos — was ingrained in Janelle, just as it is in many young women. The more she was hurt, the more routine the injuries felt. Her first A.C.L. operation, she told me, was “monumental. It felt scary. You know, it’s surgery.” Then she added: “The second one was like, O.K., I know what I need to do, let’s just do it. Let’s have the surgery and rehab and get back out there.”

“By Janelle’s and her mother’s count, her club team, with 18 players, had suffered eight A.C.L. tears — eight — during her high-school years: Janelle’s two, another player’s two and four other girls with one each. A high-school teammate one class above Janelle endured chronic ankle problems and, according to a Miami Herald article, six ankle operations — three in each leg — over the course of her four years on the varsity soccer team.”

“This casualty rate was not due to some random spike in South Florida. It is part of a national trend in the wake of Title IX and the explosion of sports participation among girls and young women. From travel teams up through some of the signature programs in women’s college sports, women are suffering injuries that take them off the field for weeks or seasons at a time, or sometimes forever.”

Read the full article here

MLS round 6 Video — All the Goals

Ric — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:45:14 +0000

As we get ready for the big weekend, take a look back at this fan compilation of all the goals scored in round 6. Of special note here in this musical video covering the past week - is the MLS Player of the Week David Beckham and his two goals versus Real Salt Lake, both Goal of the Week nominees, marking his first 2-goal tally in an MLS league match. (courtesy Climbing the Ladder)

Music: Armin van Buuren - “Going Wrong”

Goals: (in order shown)

David Beckham
Chris Rolfe
Dave van den Bergh
Jacob Peterson
Fabian Espindola
John Thorrington
David Beckham
Marco Velez
Adam Moffat
Stephen King
Claudio Lopez
Facundo Erpen
Robbie Rogers
Kenny Deuchar

WATCH HERE