Friday Myriad: Europa, but no pirate twins?

The big soccer news for U.S. fans and anyone who appreciates the underdog: Fulham reached the Europa League final, rallying from 1-0 down to win 2-1 Thursday against Hamburg. That’s not exactly Butler reaching the NCAA hoops final — Fulham plays in the Premier League, and Hamburg would’ve been the team playing at home in the final. It’s more like Northwestern, in a major conference but not a major player, reaching the NCAA hoops final. The U.S. interest is, of course, Clint Dempsey, who was on the field for the big comeback.

The weekend ahead includes another eight-game Saturday in MLS (all times ET) …

EUROPEAN SOCCER

Full listings at Soccer America. Games Saturday unless specified.

England (2 games left; Chelsea lead Man U by 1)

Fourth place/Champions League berth: Tottenham Hotspur (64 pts., +26 goal diff) lead Aston Villa (64, +16), Manchester City (63, +27) and Liverpool (62, +28).

• Manchester City-Aston Villa, 10 a.m., FSC: Well, that’s convenient, given the standings.
• Tottenham Hotspur-Bolton, 10 a.m., Fox Soccer Plus
• Liverpool-Chelsea, 8:30 a.m., Fox Soccer Plus
• Sunderland-Manchester United, 11 a.m., FSC

Italy (3 games left; Inter lead Roma by 2)

• Parma-Roma, noon, Fox Soccer Plus
• Lazio-Inter, 2:45 p.m. Sun., FSC

Spain (4 games left; Barca lead Real Madrid by 1)

• Villarreal-Barcelona, 4 p.m., GolTV
• Real Madrid-Osasuna, 1 p.m. Sun.

Germany (2 games left; Bayern and Schalke tied)

• Hannover-Borussia Moenchengladbach, 9:30 a.m.: Hannover (Steve Cherundolo) is 17th, one behind automatic safety (15th) and one behind a playoff spot (16th). Gladbach (Michael Bradley) will finish 11th, 12th or 13th.
• Bayern Munich-Bochum, 9:30 a.m., GolTV
• Schalke-Werder Bremen, 9:30 a.m.

MLS (points in parentheses)

• D.C. United (0) -New York (12), 4 p.m., TeleFutura: Worst vs. first in the East.
• New England (6)-Dallas (3), 7:30 p.m., DK/MLSS
• Chicago (7)-Chivas USA (6), 8:30 p.m., DK/MLSS
• Houston (7)-Kansas City (7), 8:30 p.m., FSC
• Salt Lake (4)-Toronto (6), 9 p.m., DK/MLSS: If Real don’t win this one, THEN it’s time to worry.
• San Jose (6)-Colorado (10), 10 p.m., DK/MLSS
• Los Angeles (13)-Philadelphia (3), 10:30 p.m., DK/MLSS
• Seattle (8)-Columbus (7), 10:30 p.m., DK/MLSS

WPS

• Sky Blue (6)-Gold Pride (6), 6 p.m., FSC/iPhone/Webcast: Better known as Bay Area-New Jersey and the battle for first place. Carli Lloyd is on 30-day injured reserve with a broken ankle.
• Washington (3)-St. Louis (5), 6 p.m.
• Philadelphia (5)-Atlanta (1), 6 p.m.
• Boston (5)-Chicago (1), 6 p.m.

MEXICAN SOCCER

Quarterfinals, first leg

• #8 Pachuca-#1 Monterrey, 6 p.m. Sat., Univision: Pachuca (Jose Francisco Torres) won the CONCACAF title this week.
• #7 Morelia-#2 Chivas, 8 p.m. Sat.
• #5 Santos-#4 Pumas, 5 p.m. Sun., TeleFutura
• #6 Club America-#3 Toluca, 10 p.m. Sun., Univision

OLYMPIC/COLLEGE SPORTS

• Cycling, Tour de Romandie
• Gymnastics, Pacific Rim Championships, Melbourne, Australia.
• Canoe/kayak: U.S. slalom team trials Friday.
• Beach volleyball: AVP Santa Barbara, men’s championship, 5:30 p.m., Sun., ESPN2
• Wrestling: Pan American Championships.
• Diving, FINA Grand Prix, Canada.
• NCAA winter championships special, 1 p.m. Sat., CBS

TENNIS

• ATP, Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome: semifinals 7:30/10 Sat.; 10 Sun. final; Tennis Channel
• WTA, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany: semifinals 2/4 Sat. (delay); 2 Sun. (delay) final ; Tennis Channel: Watch Justine Henin and Dinara Safina
• WTA, Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Fez, Morocco.

ELSEWHERE

• Boxing: Mayweather-Mosley, 9 p.m. Sat., pay-per-view
• Cricket: World Twenty20 starts Friday with one surprise team among the 12-team field — Afghanistan.
• Horse racing: Kentucky Derby, 4 p.m. Sat., NBC
• Chess: The World Championship continues as long as they can keep the lights on.

(Confused by the headline? Here’s the reference.)