Month: February 2013

olympic sports

Wrestling’s biggest fight: Getting back in the Games

Posted on by Beau Dure

Modern pentathlon seemed to be the likeliest sport to be eliminated from the Olympic program. Then perhaps taekwondo. Maybe an outside chance of one of the Asian-dominated net sports, badminton and table tennis.

Wrestling? If you saw that coming, consider taking your psychic talents to Wall Street or Vegas.

“A surprise decision,” says the AP. “A shocking move,” says Yahoo’s Maggie Hendricks.

But is it a final decision? Maybe not.

AP puts it like this:

Wrestling will now join seven other sports in applying for inclusion in 2020. The others are a combined bid from baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. They will be vying for a single opening in 2020.

The IOC executive board will meet in May in St. Petersburg, Russia, to decide which sport or sports to propose for 2020 inclusion. The final vote will be made at the IOC session, or general assembly, in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It is extremely unlikely that wrestling would be voted back in so soon after being removed by the executive board.

If the federation facing the axe was the tiny modern pentathlon federation or the dysfunctional taekwondo federation, then yes, getting back in the Games would be nearly impossible.

But wrestling’s federation, FILA? Don’t be too sure. To mangle John Paul Jones’ famous quote, FILA has not yet begun to lobby.

And the international outcry is sure to be monstrous. Have you ever wanted to see the USA and Iran join forces? Get ready, ’cause here it comes.

The facts are on wrestling’s side. The last time the IOC went through this process, they released their report on each sport. A few numbers for consideration (from 2009, but it’s hard to imagine too much has changed since then):

  • Wrestling has 167 active national federations. Other sports: Archery 139, equestrian 133, field hockey 122, triathlon 116, modern pentathlon 104. (Taekwondo, surprisingly, has a healthy 186.)
  • The “average minute of TV coverage” of wrestling in the 2008 Olympics was watched by 29.5 million people globally. Field hockey: 11.8 million. Fencing: 24.3 million. Badminton: 21.2 million. Team handball: 23.3 million. Sailing: 24.5 million. Triathlon: 19.4 million. Modern pentathlon: 23.1 million. Even tennis was lower: 26.1 million. (Swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting (?!) and track and field are the big draws, as you’d expect — 40 million to 65 million. Table tennis was also over 40 million, so the people complaining about “ping pong” might want to adjust their arguments.)

Now wrestling is battling for a spot against the combined baseball/softball bid, karate, squash, roller sports (speed skating), sport climbing, wakeboarding (a modified version that will confuse the heck out of U.S. viewers) and wushu. That’s a battle wrestlers should be able to win.

Then the other sports can get back in line and hope the IOC comes to its senses next time and reverses its ludicrous decision to add golf, where the costs far outweigh the benefits. Perhaps other federations can merge, as baseball and softball are doing, to try to sneak another sport into the Games.

So take heart, wrestlers. There’s a lot of time left on the clock.

 

2
olympic sports, rugby, soccer

Monday Myriad, Feb. 11: Ligety, Ligety

Posted on by Beau Dure

Headlines of the weekend:

– The USA’s Ted Ligety won his second gold medal at the Alpine skiing world championships, adding the supercombined to the super-G. Super.

– Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen won the sprint and held on to win the pursuit by a few millimeters over France’s Martin Fourcade at the biathlon World Championships. You just might see a highlight clip farther down in this post. The best U.S. finish so far: Lowell Bailey moved up from 32nd to take 13th in the men’s pursuit.

– England took their second win in two matches in rugby’s Six Nations Championship. So what if it was the lowest-scoring game in Six Nations history?

– The U.S. women’s tennis team fell out of the Fed Cup. Missing Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens might have been a bit of a factor. A bit.

– Julia Clukey took second in women’s singles and the U.S. team took second in the team relay as the luge World Cup ran on U.S. ice at Lake Placid.

– Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the ice dance at figure skating’s Four Continents Championship, which drew a strong field in some events despite the upcoming World Championships being higher priority.

The TeamUSA.org wrapup has the rest of the weekend in Olympic sports. A few more things to peruse, Storify permitting:

http://storify.com/duresport/monday-myriad-feb-11-storify-version

0
olympic sports

Save modern pentathlon

Posted on by Beau Dure

The Winter Olympics are taking on an X Games feel. Even the older sports are modernizing — biathlon has caught on with TV-friendly pursuit and mass start competition, and luge has added a cool relay event.

The Summer Games don’t have as much room to grow, and IOC President Jacques Rogge has been in more of a trimming mode. If we’re adding a sport, Rogge and company believe, we must cut one.

And that’s reasonable. The Summer Games have outgrown most cities’ capability to host them.

Not that the IOC’s decisions on cutting and adding sports have been reasonable. Rio won’t have softball, but it’s scrambling to build a golf course. Then organizers will have to deal with security for the whole area.

Baseball and softball have joined forces in an effort to get back in the Games, competing against karate, squash, wushu, sport climbing, wakeboarding and roller sports. But before one sport is added, one must be eliminated.

One wrinkle to consider: The IOC groups its sports according to the governing federation. That means all the aquatic sports (swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming) are one sport, just as the two wrestling disciplines (freestyle, Greco-Roman) are a single sport. (That’s also why baseball and softball can go in together as long as they’re under the same umbrella.)

So if you’re thinking synchronized swimming should get the axe, think again. Unless the IOC decides to overhaul its bureaucracy on the fly, an entire sports federation will be taken out of the games.

The only realistic cuts are taekwondo, controversially added to the Olympics ahead of karate, and modern pentathlon.

On the surface, modern pentathlon would be no great loss. It’s an esoteric and expensive sport requiring access to a pool, a shooting range (now modernized to lasers), fencing equipment, and horses. Britain has managed to boost participation to five figures, but it’s hard to imagine that sort of interest elsewhere. In the USA, it’s not exactly a popular youth sports option.

The argument for saving it is that it preserves the legacy of modern Olympic founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who introduced the sport to the Games. Perhaps that’ll sway some sentimental people within the IOC,

Another argument: Modern pentathlon uses existing facilities (no extra stadiums, baseball fields or golf courses) and adds less than 100 athletes to the Olympic Village.

I’ll add another: Modern pentathlon is a uniquely Olympic sport. Not like golf or rugby, the two recent additions that have lives outside the Games. Not like soccer or tennis, though they’ve carved out solid niches for themselves in the Games.

If the Olympics won’t be the pinnacle of achievement in a given sport, I don’t see the point in adding that sport to the program. If a sport is historically linked to the Olympics, I don’t see the point in removing it.

Modern pentathlon has adapted to modern times. All five events now take place in one day. The running and shooting have been combined, biathlon-style. In London, that meant half the competition (or three-fifths, if you count running and shooting separately) took place in Greenwich Park. In Rio, the idea is to run all five events in one stadium.

The numbers don’t favor modern pentathlon. A 2009 report on the existing Olympic sports found pentathlon lagging behind taekwondo and other sports in most categories — number of participating countries, media interest, etc. Europe likes it, but other continents are really interested. (That said, some of the sports bidding for inclusion are pretty weak as well.)

So the sentimental argument is all we have. But you’d think, given the low cost of keeping such a unique Olympic tradition alive, that would be enough.

Here’s a radical solution for solving the problem: Merge the pentathlon federation with the equestrian federation. Or the triathlon federation.

Silly, you say? Is it any sillier than having swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming under the same federation because they all take place in water?

Perhaps such a move would violate the spirit of Rogge’s mandate to shrink the Games. But so does building a bloody golf course in Rio. And the point isn’t supposed to be the number of sports — it’s supposed to be the number of athletes and the number of events. With modern pentathlon, we’re talking about two events and less than 100 athletes. Tighten up the qualification criteria in swimming or track, and you’ll have the same net effect.

So you may say the Olympics don’t have much to gain by keeping modern pentathlon. Perhaps not. But they have less to gain by cutting it. Why dash the dreams of competitors to satisfy a bureaucratic statistic counting the number of federations who have a seat at the table?

4
mma

The Ultimate Fighter 17, Episode 3: Second-biggest KO in TUF history

Posted on by Beau Dure

Given all the hype about the knockout we know will take place at the end of the episode, it’ll be a challenge to keep us interested for the first 45 minutes.

Frank Mir somehow thinks Sonnen blundered by picking Team Jones’s Adam Cella to take on wonderstud Uriah Hall.

Team Sonnen is still ticked that Bubba McDaniel tried to call out Kevin “The King” Casey. Looks like Casey has some sort of cut, so they think it’s weak to try to get the injured guy to fight right away.

But a little later in the episode, in an uncomfortable van ride, Kevin admits to the rest of Team Sonnen that he doesn’t want to fight Bubba right away. Jimmy Quinlan thinks that’s a little wimpy. Casey, as he did in arguing with Bubba, keeps smiling but firmly refutes that notion.

Then we have the most innocuous trigger of a feud in TUF history. Even Uriah Hall, the only person actively feuding, seems to realize it’s silly.

Hall mentioned that someone was a “professional cooker.” Josh Samman said, “You mean chef?” Hall somehow ties it back to being bullied after moving to the USA with a thick Jamaican accent. This is a dude who’s going to have to lose a few chips on his shoulder before he gets married.

Over to Sonnen, who says Hall’s the best. Most talented, hardest worker, etc. But he could always beat himself up. He wants to win every competition in training. When Kevin Casey gets him in an armbar, he wants to roll with Casey again, right away.

Back to Cella, who refreshingly gives the opposite of the “I have to win to feed my family and avoid jail” speech, saying he can always go back to work for his parents’ heating and cooling company. Later, Hall indirectly answers him, saying he also has nothing to lose.

Jones warns Cella that Hall has broken an arm with kicks before, so if Hall starts throwing kicks, get him down and throw elbows. Jones say he has thrown so many elbows that he knows the human skull in vivid detail. He also knows not to throw 12-to-6 elbows, which led to a DQ and his only “loss” so far.

Back to Sonnen’s training: It’s offense, offense, offense.

Then comes one of the remarkable coaching conversations ever seen on TUF. Hall tells Sonnen he has some confidence issues in the past. Sonnen smugly says he could anticipate everything Hall was about to say, then opens up about his past problems, including his uncanny ability to lose by submission in the second round. He treated it “like an alcoholic” by confessing that he had a problem and seeking help from a sports psychologist and from Randy Couture. What he learned is that you can never get rid of that doubt, but you have to plow through it. “I can’t kill this off. I’ve gotta compete with it.”

Sonnen pontificates further: “Failure is always there, and it’s OK to recognize that.” If Sonnen hadn’t pleaded guilty to money laundering and stretched the truth about so many things in his fighting career, he’d be the best source of advice in the UFC.

Jon Jones and his dog stop by the house to visit with the team. They chat about what it would mean to make it in the UFC. Adam wants to prove something to those who thought fighting was a silly thing for him to do. Bubba wants to set an example for his kids. Dylan, the New Zealander, wants to do it for his brothers, a talented rugby player and talented musician who sank their careers with drugs. The last story gets to Jones, whose brothers have been remarkably successful.

On to the fight. We’ve been promised a stunning knockout, and it’s clear it would be a colossal upset if Cella did it.

For all the talk of Team Sonnen pushing the attack, Cella is the one initiating the early action, getting inside and setting up an active guard. Hall looks strong but whiffs with a wild spinning kick, and he doesn’t respond when Sonnen implores him to jab. Someone yells “Your second knockdown” when Cella falls from a Hall kick, but it’s really just a loss of balance. Hall looks strong and dangerous, but Cella is pushing the fight forward and more than holding his …

Ulp.

You’ve probably seen it by now. With less than 10 seconds in the round, Hall spins and lands his foot cleanly on Cella’s head. Hall celebrates for a second or two at most before realizing the whole gym is quiet. He looks down at the glassy-eyed, loud-breathing Cella with a look of shock and concern. “I’m sorry, Adam,” he says while the medical crew attends to Cella. Sonnen calls him over to the side. Dana White, whose reaction and bleeps were captured right away, has already paced partway around the cage and looks frightened.

After the ad break, Cella sits up. Applause. He answers a couple of questions. Applause. He stands. Applause. He recognizes Uriah but says he doesn’t remember anything.

Is it indeed the most brutal, shocking knockout in UFC history, let alone TUF history?

Instant one-kick knockouts aren’t that rare. Anderson Silva did it to Vitor Belfort. Gabriel Gonzaga did it to Mirko Cro Cop. Going back a ways, Shonie Carter’s spinning back fist took out Matt Serra. Brodie Farber fell harder from Rory Markham’s kick.

The TUF gym and cameras can capture more of the impact of a knockout. There’s no crowd to cover up the conversations between fighter and doctors. The other fighters in the gym go quiet when they realize someone is actually hurt.

So we can’t have this conversation without remembering Matt Riddle’s KO of Dan Simmler on the TUF 7 prelims. Simmler made an eerie moaning noise for a while. When he went back to the dressing room, he had no idea what happened, where he was or pretty much anything about his current circumstances. He was surprised to see coach Rampage Jackson. And he had a broken jaw.

By comparison, Cella recovered quickly and seemed to know everything except the circumstances of the knockout, which isn’t unusual.

Given that, we’d have to say Riddle’s knockout is still the most devastating in TUF history. But I don’t think anyone’s rooting for anything worse. Hall’s knockout is about as close as we’d want to see.

Fight announcement time, and Jones is absent, at the hospital with Cella. Sonnen picks … Kevin Casey! And he’s fighting … Collin Hart? Who?

Sonnen says Bubba was considered, and that he thinks that fight will happen, just not yet. Given that the only way that could happen would be for Bubba and Kevin to win their fights (or be wild cards), let the record show that Sonnen has predicted a win for Team Jones.

0
soccer

NWSL supplemental draft: Who arrrre these people?

Posted on by Beau Dure

In case you followed along on Twitter but didn’t place some of the names (it helped that the W-League and other organizations congratulated their alumni as they were drafted, and it also helps that Wikipedia was in a frenzy today) …

And still, these player histories are not comprehensive. If you know something not mentioned here, please say so in the comments.

The year by their college name is their senior season, not their graduation date.

Quick note on WPS drafts: 2008 had a general draft for players who were not allocated. That was one of two drafts before the league started play. The 2009 draft still included non-college players — Briana Scurry and Brandi Chastain were among the selections.

Players in italic are players whose 2013 participation is in doubt. Teams retain their rights through the 2013 season.

FIRST ROUND

1. Washington: Stephanie Ochs, F, San Diego 2011. WPS draft: 2012, first round (third overall). Given the update on Camille Levin (overseas) from my last post, that accounts for everyone in the 2012 first round. 2012 team: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

2. Seattle: Nikki Krzysik, D, Virginia 2008. WPS draft: 2009, second round. Started with Chicago in WPS, moved to Philadelphia and became a defensive cornerstone. 2011 WPS Best XI. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

3. Boston: Joanna Lohman, M, Penn State 2003. WPS draft: 2008 general, fourth round. Played for Washington and Philadelphia in WPS; also did some time overseas. Reuniting the JoLi Academy crew with Lianne Sanderson already a Breaker. 2012 team: D.C. United Women (W-League).

4. Chicago: Lindsay Tarpley, F, North Carolina 2005. WPS original allocation. Former national team player with some injury concerns in the past. The only Chicago draft pick who didn’t play for Red Stars last season, but she started her WPS career there before moving to St. Louis, Boston and magicJack. 2012 team: Missed season (pregnancy).

5. Sky Blue: Katy Frierson, M, Auburn 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. Also played with Atlanta Silverbacks at some point. 2012 team: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

6. Kansas City: Courtney Jones, F, North Carolina 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Estelle Johnson, D, Kansas 2009. WPS draft: 2010, third round. Two seasons with Philadelphia (WPS). Currently an assistant coach with Avila University in Colorado. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite)

8. Portland: Tina Ellertson, D, Washington 2004. WPS original allocation. Played for Saint Louis, Atlanta and magicJack. Longtime friend and teammate of Hope Solo. Former national team player and outstanding marking back. Just one problem: She says she’s not playing this year. Pro Soccer Talk’s Richard Farley says Portland is optimistic about getting Ellertson and fourth-round pick Marian Dalmy. 2012 team: FC Salmon Creek Nemesis 99. OK, she was the coach.

(Still on the board: Goalkeepers, Tasha Kai, Casey Nogueira … unless they’ve all signed elsewhere already.)

SECOND ROUND

1. Washington: Tori Huster, M, Florida State 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. Also the first pick in that second round. 2012 teams: Western New York (WPSL Elite) / Newcastle (Australia).

2. Seattle: Lauren Barnes, D, UCLA 2010. WPS draft: 2011, third round. Played for Philadelphia. Assistant coach at UC Riverside in 2012. 2012 team: Beach FC (WPSL)

3. Boston: Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State 2009. WPS draft: 2010, third round. Played a few games for Sky Blue, then moved to Boston in 2011 and will play for the Breakers in a third league. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Lauren Fowlkes, D, Notre Dame 2010. WPS draft: 2011, first round (fifth overall). Also formerly Pali Blues. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: Brittany Cameron, GK, San Diego 2008. WPS draft: 2009, eighth round. Played in WPS with Los Angeles, Gold Pride and Western New York. 2012 team: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

6. Kansas City: Bianca Henninger, GK, Santa Clara 2011. WPS draft: 2012, third round. Given the hype around her for years, it’s stunning to see her taken this low. Could be a steal, especially if Nicole Barnhart needs to miss some time. Third-round pick in 2012 WPS draft. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Angela Salem, D, Francis Marion 2009. WPS draft: not selected. Worked her way from small school to WPS, playing a little bit with Sky Blue in 2010 and a little bit more with Atlanta the next year. 2012 teams:  Western New York (WPSL Elite) / Newcastle (Australia).

8. Portland: Angie Kerr, M, Portland 2007. Formerly Angie Woznuk. WPS draft: 2008 general, third round. Has some U.S. national team experience. 2012 team: unknown

THIRD ROUND

1. Washington: Jordan Angeli, M/D, Santa Clara 2009. WPS draft: 2010, second round. Played for Boston in WPS. Has had a few injury problems but has tweeted that she’s excited to be joining the Spirit and working toward a return. 2012 team: None

2. Seattle: Laura Heyboer, F, Michigan 2011. WPS draft: 2012, fourth round. 2012 club: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

3. Boston: Bianca D’Agostino, M, Wake Forest 2010. WPS draft: 2011, third round. Also played for Penn State. Played for Atlanta in her WPS season. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Michelle Wenino, D, Colorado 2008. Whirlwind three years with Chicago, Freiburg (Germany), Pali Blues and Sky Blue. Also does sales and finance for GQ Formalwear. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: CoCo Goodson, D, UC Irvine 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. 2012 team: FC Twente (Netherlands).

6. Kansas City: Merritt Mathias, F, Texas A&M 2011. Started college at North Carolina. Not picked in WPS draft. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Kim Yokers, M, Cal-Berkeley 2003. Played with FC Gold Pride in WPS, 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

8. Portland: Michele Weissenhofer, F, Notre Dame 2009. WPS draft: 2010, fourth round. Played in Germany with Essen-Schonebeck. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

FOURTH ROUND

1. Washington: Tasha Kai, F, Hawaii 2005. PWow! Longtime national team player gets picked this late? Are they taking a chance that she’s interested in playing? Played for Sky Blue and Philadelphia. 2012 team: As far as I can find, none.

2. Seattle: Liz Bogus, F, Arizona State 2005. WPS draft: 2008 general, third round. Played a lot of places, including Pali Blues, before stints with Los Angeles and Boston in WPS. 2012 team: Pali Blues (W-League).

3. Boston: Jasmyne Spencer, F, Maryland 2011. WPS draft: 2012, fourth round. Short but speedy and effective scorer. 2012 teams: New York (WPSL Elite)/Brondby (Denmark).

4. Chicago: Jackie Santacaterina, D, Illinois 2009. WPS draft: 2010, seventh round. Went to Chicago in the WPSL instead, and she’s still there. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: Meghan Lenczyk, F, Virginia 2010. WPS draft: 2011, third round. Played for Atlanta. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

6. Kansas City: Casey (Nogueira) Loyd, M, North Carolina 2009. WPS draft: 2010, first round (eighth overall). Played for Chicago and Sky Blue. Longtime U.S. youth international star seems to have dropped off the map, and there’s some concern that she might not play. Married FC Dallas’ Zach Loyd — maybe Sporting KC can trade for him so she’ll play? 2012 team: FC Dallas (WPSL).

7. Western New York: Val Henderson, GK, UCLA (NCAA). WPS draft: 2009, fifth round. Played for Los Angeles and Philadelphia in WPS and had signed with Atlanta for 2012. Also played in Sweden. Assistant coach at San Jose State and traveled to Singapore for coaching exchange. If she’s planning to play, it’s incredible that she was still on the board this late. 2012 team: Bay Area Breeze (WPSL).

8. Portland: Marian Dalmy, D, Santa Clara 2006. WPS draft: 2008 general, third round. Played for Chicago and magicJack. Another former national team player. Clearly, teams are now drafting in the hopes that some of these players will be persuaded to play now or later. Got married in early 2012. 2012 team: Can’t find one listed.

FIFTH ROUND

1. Washington: Megan Mischler, F, West Virginia 2010. Tweeted her excitement about being picked by the Spirit. Former PR assistant with Boston and fellow Our Game contributor. Also works on gameday PR for Pittsburgh Steelers. 2012 team: Hammarby (Sweden).

2. Seattle: Michelle Betos, GK, Georgia 2009. Also appears on past rosters for Atlanta Silverbacks, Boston Aztec, Apollon (Cyprus) and, most improbably, River Plate (Argentina). 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

3. Boston: Lauren Alkek, D, Oklahoma 2010. WPS draft: 2011, fourth round. Played for Bay Area Breeze in 2011. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Alyssa Mautz, M, Texas A&M 2010.  WPS draft: 2011, third round. Played for Sky Blue. Has been tweeting her excitement about the new league. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: Kandace Wilson, D, Cal State Fullerton 2005. WPS draft: 2008 general, second round. Played for Ajax America and Pali Blues before WPS, then played for Gold Pride and Western New York (WPS).  Assistant coach at alma mater. 2012 team: Not found

6. Kansas City: Tina DiMartino, M, UCLA 2008. WPS draft: 2009, first round (third overall, between Megan Rapinoe and Yael Averbuch). Another former national team player, also played for Gold Pride, St. Louis and Philadelphia in WPS. How is she still available this late? Equalizer’s Dan Lauletta says she “has no intention of playing in NWSL.” 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Ashley Grove, F, Maryland 2011. Trained with Paul Riley SuperGroup. 2012 team: Rochester (W-League).

8. Portland: Jessica Shufelt, F, Connecticut 2011. 2012 team: Ottawa Fury (W-League).

SIXTH ROUND

1. Washington: Heather Cooke, D, Loyola (Md) 2009. Appeared on The Real World: Las Vegas. Then she worked in the nuclear and fitness industries. And she played for the Philippines. 2012 team: FC Jax Destroyers (W-League).

2. Seattle: Kaley Fountain, D, Wake Forest 2009. WPS draft: 2010, second round. Played for Gold Pride, Atlanta and Western New York. Also did some reporting for CSN Bay Area. Tweeted that she will not be playing. 2012 team: Romney.

3. Boston: Jessica Luscinski, M, Boston University 2011. WPS draft: 2012, fourth round. Played college soccer in Boston, drafted by Boston, played WPSL Elite in Boston, playing NWSL … in Boston. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Pass

5. Sky Blue: Allison Falk, D, Stanford 2008. WPS draft: 2009, second round. Scored first goal in WPS history for Los Angeles, then first goal in Philadelphia Independence history. WPS Defender of the Year finalist in 2010. Continued with Philly in 2011. Now an account executive at Eventbrite in the Bay Area. 2012 team: California Storm (WPSL), though no stats listed.

6. Kansas City: Casey Berrier, D, Loyola (Ill.) 2009. Retweeted the NWSL tweet of her selection. 2012 team: PK-35 (Finland).

7. Western New York: Pass

8. Portland: Pass

3
soccer

NWSL ready to take its supplements

Posted on by Beau Dure

We still have a couple of vacancies in each club’s allotment of free agent signings — presumably signings that the team and league know about but have not yet officially approved, stamped, notarized, sealed with the blood of a pirate or whatever they need to do to make such things “official.” And yet we’re moving ahead with the Supplemental Draft at noon ET.

Who else is available? Let’s take a look, bearing in mind that most of us have no idea whether these players are actually planning to play this year:

– WPS Best XI 2011: Harris, Sinclair and Wambach were allocated. McNeill and Buczkowski signed as free agents. Engen is in England. Riley is in Sweden. Marta, Seger and Boquete are with Sweden’s Tyreso (along with Christen Press and Meghan Klingenberg — dang, that’s some team). Sweden plays a summer schedule, so unless someone moves midseason, those players would seem to be off the table. Engen could conceivably come back earlier.

That leaves Nikki Krzysik.

Jeff Kassouf also drew up a Best XI. Huffman has signed, Ellertson has declared she won’t play. That leaves Tasha Kai, who was last seen coaching in Las Vegas. She’s not on the USA Rugby player pool at the moment, though she played a bit with the sevens squad not too long ago.

– WPS 2012 draft: Leroux and Noyola were allocated. Henderson is an unconfirmed Kansas City signing. Hagen plays for Bayern Munich. Taylor and Deines (Taylor Dayne?) signed with Seattle. Wells signed with Washington.

That leaves first-rounders Stephanie Ochs and Camille Levin, along with most of the next three rounds.

– W-League All-League 2012: Averbuch is overseas. Cox is pregnant. Huffman’s already accounted for. Perez was allocated to WNY. Others may be anyone’s guess.

– Goalkeepers: Where are Val Henderson and Bianca Henninger?

– Others to consider: Joanna Lohman, Casey Nogueira.

Everyone ready? Check back for updates …

1
soccer

NWSL free agent update: Feb. 9

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated after the Supplemental Draft. No, we didn’t know all the free agent signings by then. A couple were announced shortly thereafter.

Here’s what we know or think we know so far:

BOSTON
1. Cat Whitehill, D
2. Lianne Sanderson, F
3. Kia McNeill, D
4. Kyah Simon, F (announced after draft)

CHICAGO
1. Leslie Osborne, M
2. Lori Chalupny, M
3. Ella Masar, F
4. Taryn Hemmings, D
5. Jessica McDonald, F (replacement for Amy LePeilbet; announced after draft)

KANSAS CITY
1. Jen Buczkowski, M
2. Sinead Farrelly, M (not confirmed)
3. Melissa Henderson, M (confirmed on draft day)
4. Leigh Ann Robinson, D (confirmed on draft day)

PORTLAND
1. Allie Long, M
2. Nikki Washington, D
3. Becky Edwards, M
4. Nikki Marshall, D/F

SEATTLE
1. Jess Fishlock, M
2. Kate Deines, D
3. Tiffany Cameron, F
4. Lindsay Taylor, F
5. Elli Reed, D (replacement for Amy Rodriguez; announced day after draft)

SKY BLUE
1. Brittany Bock, D/M
2. Manya Makoski, M/F
3. Danesha Adams, F
4. Lisa De Vanna, F

WASHINGTON
1. Candace Chapman, D (confirmed day after draft)
2. Chantel Jones, GK
3. Ingrid Wells, M
4. ???
5. ??? (compensation for late-arriving allocated player(s))

WESTERN NEW YORK
1. McCall Zerboni, M
2. Adriana, F
3. Samantha Kerr, M
4. Sarah Huffman, D
5. Brittany Taylor, D (compensation for receiving only two allocations)

4
mind games, olympic sports

What is a sport? Chess? Figure skating? Modern dance?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Via Susan Polgar’s blog and featuring her Webster University chess team:

Based on a dictionary definition, the filmmakers boil it down to three aspects:

1. Athleticism

2. Skill

3. Competition

Chess fits the last two with ease. The “athleticism” argument is weaker. They argue that it’s draining — elite players lose weight in world championship competition.

But is that essential?

Other Olympic sports have all three elements. Figure skating is perhaps the most questionable, with the “competition” aspect only coming into the mix through judging that is still partially subjective.

Modern dance, like figure skating, requires athleticism and skill. Just watch Pilobolus sometime. But it’s not competitive, and no one’s seriously lobbying for it to be in the Olympics.

So we could say the Olympics require all three. The media, on the other hand, do not. ESPN televises poker and spelling bees. SI used to cover chess, along with many European sports departments. At USA TODAY, we used to cover the Westminster Dog Show through sports.

The media, though, don’t need to be exclusive. ESPN has a lot of hours to fill, and most Myriad readers would likely vote for chess, poker, dogs and quiz bowls instead of Skip Bayless yelling at people.

Does the “chess as a sport” movement go beyond that? There’s a practical reason we won’t see chess in the Olympics. Chess players can argue for months about their playing conditions. They’re not likely to hang out with the hard-partying swimmers in the Athletes Village.

And the Olympics don’t want to get bigger right now, even if the facility needs are cheap. Hosting is already far too expensive.

So is it a sport? Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter.

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cycling, mma, olympic sports, rugby, soccer, tennis, winter sports

Monday Myriad: Feb. 4

Posted on by Beau Dure

Yes, this will be more of an evening thing from now on.

The week’s headlines:

– Jose Aldo defended his UFC featherweight title as Frankie Edgar suffered yet another close decision loss. The rest of the UFC 156 card scrambled the title chases in ways I’m still working out. Rashad Evans was supposed to fight for the middleweight title, but he lost a dreary light heavyweight fight to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In the heavyweight division, Alistair Overeem was supposed to fight for the title, but Antonio Silva knocked him out. And now lightweight contender Anthony Pettis says he wants to drop down to featherweight and fight Aldo.

– Steve Holcomb’s four-man sled set a track record in the fourth and final heat to take bronze in the World Championships.

– Noelle Pikus-Pace took silver in the skeleton World Championships.

– Erin Hamlin and Chris Mazdzer each placed sixth in their events at the luge World Championships. They, along with doubles team Matthew Mortensen/Preston Griffall, placed fifth in the team event.

– The U.S. men struggled past Brazil in the Davis Cup. Turned out to be a great first round for North America, with Canada upsetting Spain.

– Katie Compton was second in the elite women’s race at the cyclocross World Championships.

– Helen Maroulis was the Outstanding Wrestler at the Dave Schultz Invitational.

– U.S. sailors at the World Cup stop in Miami: Five golds, three silvers, three bronzes.

– Upcoming: Biathlon and Alpine skiing world championships, some of which will be televised. Also the U.S. men vs. Honduras as World Cup qualifying’s Hexagonal starts.

http://storify.com/duresport/monday-myriad-feb-4-features

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soccer

Adjusting the U.S. men’s soccer depth chart

Posted on by Beau Dure

Strongly recommended from a couple of weeks ago: Soccer America’s exhaustive look at the U.S. depth chart. That sort of analysis always tricky once you get beyond “goalkeeper” because positions are so fluid. Their rankings separated “striker” from “forward,” and still. some players were listed where you wouldn’t expect (Eddie Johnson at left mid, Brad Davis at attacking mid, etc.).

But the analysis at each position is worth reading, even if some guy decided to comment several times that the USA needs to play more like Barcelona. Really, that has never occurred to anyone else in the United States. Thank you so much for sharing!

After reading that, today’s U.S. roster announcement has only a few surprises. The 24-man roster includes all the no-brainers (listed with SA’s rank):

  1. Tim Howard, #1 goalkeeper
  2. Brad Guzan, #2 goalkeeper
  3. Geoff Cameron, #1 center back
  4. Carlos Bocanegra, #2 center back (the only position on the SA chart from which two players will be in the lineup)
  5. Fabian Johnson, #1 left back
  6. Danny Williams, #1 holding mid
  7. Michael Bradley, #1 attacking mid
  8. Clint Dempsey, #1 forward

One core player has, in the words of Crocodile Dundee, gone walkabout and is not on the roster:

  1. Landon Donovan, #1 right mid

Another core player is out injured, and he’s singled out in the roster announcement:

  1. Steve Cherundolo, #1 right back

His backup’s commitment to the USA has been questioned, but odds are good that he takes the field in Honduras and ends the questions once and for all.

  1. Timmy Chandler, #2 right back

The attacking options are less settled. Jurgen Klinsmann has been challenging a lot of players, even Dempsey, to be more consistent internationally even if they’re tearing up their domestic leagues. For now, these guys are ahead of the rest:

  1. Jozy Altidore, #1 striker
  2. Eddie Johnson, #1 left mid, though we know him mostly as a forward

The next players down the depth chart who were selected and seem likely to be in the mix unless they lose form or health:

  1. Omar Gonzalez, #3 center back
  2. Edgar Castillo, #2 left back
  3. Jermaine Jones, #3 attacking mid (“attacking” may be an ironic word here)
  4. Graham Zusi, #2 right mid

The rest of the roster for Honduras would be the players you’d call “bubble” players:

  1. Sean Johnson, #6 goalkeeper
  2. Matt Besler, #5 center back
  3. Michael Parkhurst, #3 left back (also mentioned at right)
  4. Brad Evans, #5 left mid but listed on USSF release as a defender
  5. Maurice Edu, #4 holding mid
  6. Brad Davis, #4 attacking mid (more likely on wing?)
  7. Sacha Kljestan, #3 right mid
  8. Jose Torres, #2-tie left mid
  9. Herculez Gomez, #3 striker

Evans puzzles me. Is he on the roster because he can cover left back? That’s traditionally a weak spot for the USA (and most teams, really), but couldn’t F. Johnson, Castillo, Parkhurst and even Bocanegra keep that position covered?

That covers the 24-man roster. Add the injured Cherundolo and the itinerant Donovan for a total of 26.

Who else could we see in the Hexagonal? The Twitter reaction I’m seeing is mostly about younger guys who might need more international seasoning before they’re thrown in the fire in Central America.

  1. Sean Franklin, #3 right back
  2. Eric Lichaj, #5 left back
  3. Mikkel Diskerud, #2 attacking mid
  4. Josh Gatt, #4 right mid
  5. Joe Corona, #2 left mid
  6. Terrence Boyd, #2 striker

They’ll have great chances to play their way onto the roster, and that takes us to 32 players in the pool.

Then we have players at unsettled positions:

  1. Nick Rimando, #3 goalkeeper. Johnson leap-frogged Rimando, Tally Hall and Bill Hamid to get the call this time. In the long run, Rimando offers more experience. 
  2. Juan Agudelo, #3 forward
  3. Chris Wondolowski, #2 forward

And a few more players who must have been close calls this time:

  1. Clarence Goodson, #4 center back
  2. Kyle Beckerman, #2 holding mid
  3. Ricardo Clark, #3 holding mid. Really, Edu is ahead of both Beckerman and Clark when he’s in form.

That’s 38 players who could be named to a qualifying roster without surprising anyone.

And still we have the younger wild cards:

  1. Bill Hamid, #5 goalkeeper. A good run at D.C. United could make things interesting. Still a young keeper.
  2. Alfredo Morales, not listed on defense. Youngster is new to the team.
  3. Chris Pontius, #4 left mid. Hard to imagine where he’ll be if he stays healthy.
  4. Brek Shea, #5 (tie) left mid. All over Sky Sports News for his EPL transfer. If he breaks into the lineup and plays well in England, Klinsmann will have a hard time overlooking him.

And the more experienced guys who’ll also be hard to overlook if they’re in form:

  1. Jonathan Spector, #5 right back. Experienced. Just needs to get in the swing of things in England.
  2. Oguchi Onyewu, #7 center back. Not too long ago, he and Jay DeMerit (and Spector and an out-of-position Bocanegra) shut down Spain.
  3. Benny Feilhaber, #5 attacking mid. Might have had his last audition for now. (Update: Or not — Klinsmann says he’s very much in the discussion.)
  4. DaMarcus Beasley, “also considered” left mid. If Eddie Johnson can have a renaissance this late in his career, surely Beasley can manage it as well.

That’s 46 players. That still omits a few players from the recent friendly against Canada (with good reason). It doesn’t include all of the 49 players who took the field for the USA in 2012. It doesn’t include Heath Pearce, who started 11 games in the 2010 qualifying cycle. It doesn’t include Freddy Adu, who played nine games in the 2010 qualifying cycle and is still quite young but last played for the USA in 2011.

Does that seem like too many? Consider the numbers from the last qualifying cycle, including the games before the Hexagonal: 48 players.

This is a long, long process.

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