Category: soccer

soccer

World Cup economics and skepticism

Posted on by Beau Dure

Journalists are supposed to be skeptical. Actually, all of us should be skeptical but not cynical. Big difference. A cynic dismisses ideas and arguments as a reflex. A skeptic checks them out.

So when the USA bids to host the World Cup, a bit of skepticism is healthy. It’s just due diligence. People have a right to ask how much the whole thing is going to cost.

University of Maryland-Baltimore County professor Dennis Coates wants to encourage people to ask these questions. He has produced a study claiming that the economic impact of a World Cup is either negligible or negative. Check the full PDF report or his op-eds. He is similarly skeptical of other sports development such as Baltimore ballpark Camden Yards.

Soccer fans may be naturally defensive upon hearing such things. We’re all prepared to spend some money on tickets if the World Cup doesn’t require a passport, long flight and awkward housing searches. So we should admit up front that we’re hardly disinterested parties. (Frankly, though, the BigSoccer discussion has been fairly reasonable.)

That said, from a purely logical perspective, I found myself with a lot of questions after reading the study. I asked Dr. Coates, and he was kind enough to respond.

I have a few comments in response, so what you’ll see here is my question in bold, his response in italic and my comments in plain text. It’s fair to say I find his argument unsatisfactory, but I shouldn’t have the last word — Dr. Coates is invited to leave comments here. And so are you.

On we go …

Continue reading →

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soccer

WPS seasons change: Freedom advance, Scurry says goodbye, Antonucci out?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated below with Hope Solo comments, expansion news

The Maryland SoccerPlex is a good bit cooler today that it was this summer. Rather than worrying about heatstroke, those of us in short-sleeve shirts wish we had brought jackets.

As the seasons change, the WPS regular season ended as well, with a thrilling finale, a heartfelt farewell and worrisome news off the field.

With the Washington Freedom possibly needing a win to reach the playoffs, depending on the result in the concurrent Sky Blue FC-Boston game, Becky Sauerbrunn and Abby Wambach found their timing in the 88th minute. Sauerbrunn’s ball put Wambach in space behind the Atlanta back line. Hope Solo, who already had a couple of good saves, came out toward the top of the box. Wambach chipped her national teammate for the goal.

“It’s not really my style of goal, but I’ll take it,” Wambach said.

As it turned out, defending champion Sky Blue never got their goal, and the Freedom didn’t technically need that goal. Wambach says the Freedom players only got a couple of updates while focusing on their own game, but the Freedom were very happy to go through on a high note.

From the pressbox and the Twittersphere, the game was played under a cloud. Anonymous sources told The Washington Post‘s Steven Goff, who was unusually present at the game, that WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci would step down. The league office declined comment.

More ominous from Goff’s post: “Current investors, including the Hendricks family, which operates the Washington Freedom, have yet to decide whether to continue funding the league, sources said.”

Players shrugged off the news. Solo was most insistent: “I think you’re going to see a league next season. There are always those rumors. You just go on. I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon.”

Solo and teammate Lori Chalupny started the year in St. Louis before the Athletica folded. Chalupny, icing her shin and saying she’s still awaiting word from the national team that she’s cleared to play for them after a concussion, laughed about all the drama she has endured through the year. She says she isn’t thinking ahead to anything except starting her coaching career with storied St. Louis youth club Scott Gallagher.

Solo said she’s has worse years but this one was up there. “I’ve never been on a losing team. You learn a lot. I don’t regret it. I miss St. Louis, I still have great respect for (former Athletica owner) Jeff Cooper.”

And she insists the Beat will be back stronger. “You can see that we’re going to be contenders next season.”

Meanwhile, Washington prepared a video montage to bid farewell to longtime U.S. national team goalkeeper Briana Scurry. Solo’s thoughts: “I wish her all the best. She’s had an amazing career. Everybody should be applauding.”

The Freedom battled back from a long winless streak this season. One of the changes they made was symbolic: Wambach and Cat Whitehill both wore a captain’s armband, which Whitehill said was designed to make sure everyone kept an eye on the team’s leadership.

Washington had to keep the faith during that drought. Whitehill also talked about keeping faith in WPS while the rumors swirl.

“The confidence comes from the fact that we want it. We believe in each other, we believe in this league, and we’re going to do whatever it takes. We all knew that the first five years were going to be hard. People bought into it, literally and figuratively, and it’s been great.”

Updates: One bit of news in Goff’s post that bears emphasizing is that the league also seems set on expansion to Buffalo/Rochester. Mixed messages, perhaps, or at least a sign of optimism.

Now here’s where it gets curious: A few minutes after Hope Solo told me with a smile that there would be a league next year, she Tweets the following:

Its official, the refs are straight bad. Its clear the league wanted dc in playoffs. I have truly never seen anything like this. Its sad.

A goal taken away with no explanation, one offsides call against dc, many against atlanta. An amazing all ball tackle for a red.

We play with 10, DC with 12. Players punched in the face. Free corners. I am done playing in a league where the game is no longer … In control of the players.

As I Tweeted a few times during the game, the ref had a poor night. But I saw several calls go against the Freedom — two very good shouts for penalties, including one that was as clear as it could be, plus a disallowed goal on what we’re told was an offside call even though a Beat defender joined Solo on the goal line.

Biased? No. But not good. Solo has a right to be frustrated. But is officiating that much better in the Frauenbundesliga? We’ll have to ask Jenna at All White Kit.

Worth noting: The Federation, not leagues, are in charge of refs. Officiating was a particular concern of Antonucci’s.

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soccer

Player ratings: Chicago-Toronto

Posted on by Beau Dure

Chicago 0, Toronto 0
Sept. 8, 2010

Summary: Toronto came out much more aggressive than Chicago, controlling play but not getting a lot of good chances out of it. TFC had a couple of shouts for a penalty on two close ball-to-arm plays, each of them a 50-50 call. Also, Toronto was whistled for 13 fouls before Chicago picked up its first two calls in first-half stoppage time. But Chicago created the only good scoring chance — only shot on goal, in fact — of the first half.

In the second half, Chicago got an even better chance, but Freddie Ljungberg put a shot wide with only the keeper to beat. The game opened up around the 70th minute, with Toronto putting a couple of good shots on frame. But the game petered out to a dull conclusion.

Side note: Toronto’s commentary crew is excellent. They’re well-prepared with facts on players for both teams, and they work them seamlessly into the commentary. They’re generally relevant facts about the players’ form, not weird personality tidbits on players who have no personality. Terrific stuff.

Conditions: Pleasant, mid-60s.

CHICAGO: Mike Banner replaced the suspended Gonzalo Segares. Collins John got a run in place of Brian McBride. Marco Pappa played for Guatemala on Tuesday and was kept out of action.

6 Sean Johnson (GK): Had some confusion with Robinson in the box that resulted in a rushed clearance that hit Brown in the arm. Little else to do in first half. Big save on White in 74th.

6 Steven Kinney (RB): Little trouble on his side.
5 Dasan Robinson (CB): Some unsteadiness but no harm done. Suffered many fouls, which is odd for a central defender.
5 C.J. Brown (CB): Kicked in the head and bled profusely. Lucky not to concede a penalty when ball hit arm in box.
6 Mike Banner (LB): See Steven Kinney.

6 Patrick Nyarko (RM): Terrific through ball for John. Less of a factor in second half.
6 Logan Pause (CM): Positive play getting ball forward.
5 John Thorrington (CM): Subbed out at half.
4 Freddie Ljungberg (AM): Not much of a factor. Scuffed shot wide on 1-on-1 chance against Frei. Subbed out in 76th.
6 Nery Castillo (LM/F): Set up Ljungberg for golden chance and forced Frei to punch a well-taken free kick over the bar.

6 Collins John (F): Dangerous runs. Made way for McBride in 82nd.

Subs:
6 Wilman Conde (DM): Subbed for Thorrington at half.
NR Calen Carr (F): Subbed for Ljungberg.
NR Brian McBride (F): Subbed for John.

TORONTO: Dwayne De Rosario, Julian de Guzman and Nana Attakora returned from international duty, while Jacob Peterson played out of position up front with Mista nursing an injury. Ty Harden was preferred to Nick Garcia.

7 Stefan Frei (GK): Good 15th-minute save on John. Alert on through balls, cut down angle on Ljungberg breakaway.

4 Maksim Usanov (RB): Comical misplay when trying to move forward into attack. Obvious yellow card puts him over the limit — he’ll be suspended for the next game. Preki didn’t wait that long, taking him out in the 79th.
6 Nana Attakora (CB): Steady enough.
6 Adrian Cann (CB): Timely interventions.
6 Ty Harden (LB): Announcers constantly fretted that he was playing out of position, but he didn’t seem out of place.

6 Nick LaBrocca (RM): Active in attack. Good high shot from distance tested Johnson.
5 Julian de Guzman (CM): Steady if not spectacular.
6 Dwayne De Rosario (AM): Frustrating offensive night by his high standard but worked hard defensively.
6 Dan Gargan (LM): Willing to cover a lot of ground to get involved in attack. Long throw-in nearly put in by White.

5 Jacob Peterson (F): Couldn’t get into flow in unfamiliar role. Subbed out in 57th minute.
5 O’Brian White (F): Crashed into defenders for fouls. Subbed out in 84th.

Subs:
6 Maicon Santos (F): Had been a fitness question mark coming into game but made a positive contribution to the attack.
NR Nick Garcia (RB): Replaced Usanov.
NR Joseph Nane (M): Replaced White.

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soccer

Briana Scurry bids farewell

Posted on by Beau Dure

It’s startling to hear Briana Scurry get emotional. Throughout her career, from the 1996/1999/2004 triumphs to the 2007 Women’s World Cup controversy, she has always been the calm one. The quiet one, like George Harrison of The Beatles. She didn’t embrace the spotlight like Julie Foudy or Brandi Chastain, nor was she pushed into it like Mia Hamm.

But in announcing her retirement today, Scurry paused and struggled with a breaking voice. The decision wasn’t surprising, but it was clearly difficult for her.

Scurry’s playing days had been winding down since the 2004 Olympics, which she recalled in today’s conference call as a great moment that no one expected outside the players themselves. She took a year off in 2005 and returned to the national team for three games in 2006. In the World Cup year of 2007, she had four starts and one sub appearance before coach Greg Ryan threw her into the fire, starting her ahead of Hope Solo in the semifinals against Brazil. It was an embarrassing moment for the team — Brazil won 4-0, Solo griped with stunning candor, and Ryan lost his job despite losing once in 55 games (45-1-9).

Thankfully, Scurry’s final appearance on a big stage was a win — the USA won the third-place World Cup game 4-1 over Norway. She also won her last start — again a 4-1 decision, over Finland at the 2008 Four Nations Cup. She made four sub appearances the rest of the year, mostly after the USA won gold in Beijing with Scurry’s name listed as an alternate.

When WPS started stocking rosters for its debut season in 2009, Scurry wasn’t among the allocated players. Few people knew of her plans — again, she was the quiet one — until the Washington Freedom drafted her. She explained in the 2009 preseason that she was taking her time in deciding whether to play.

She started the WPS inaugural game, but playing time was scarce after that. Erin McLeod won the starting job for the Freedom last year. This year, she played just 45 minutes. McLeod is out with a knee injury, but Scurry has been hampered by lingering effects from a concussion — a common problem that has put all too many players on indefinite hiatus.

But she said today the concussion was not the determining factor in her retirement. It’s simply time. Yesterday was her 39th birthday — not ancient for a goalkeeper but certainly enough to make anyone contemplate a new direction.

Scurry had two periods of accomplishment that no goalkeeper has exceeded. In the mid to late ’90s, she was simply the best in the world, often unchallenged behind a dominant U.S. team but ready when needed. She and the U.S. team avenged their 1995 World Cup defeat with Olympic gold in 1996 — and yes, she reiterated today that she did indeed run naked through a deserted street to celebrate. Then came the glory of 1999 — the penalty kick save, the World Cup win.

She struggled to get back to form in 2000 and wound up as Siri Mullinix’s backup when the U.S. women took silver in Sydney. But when the WUSA launched the next year, she was more than ready, twice taking the Atlanta Beat to the title game. She was back in the U.S. net for a third-place finish in the 2003 World Cup.

Then came the final run for the great generation of U.S. players — the 2004 Olympics, when the team won gold away from home soil in Greece. That was a final celebration for Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett. (Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly, who has inhuman energy for her age, would stay in the game long enough to play in WPS.)

Scurry deserves mention along with that generation. She should one day be in the Hall of Fame along with Fawcett, Foudy, Hamm, April Heinrichs, Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, Carin Jennings, Carla Overbeck and Michelle Akers, who paid tribute to Scurry’s shot-stopping prowess on today’s conference call. (Even with the finicky Hall voters who have yet to get Earnie Stewart inducted, I’d guess Chastain and Lilly will get the call as well.)

Those who thrive on irony will note that Hope Solo, now the Atlanta Beat’s goalkeeper, can keep the Freedom out of the playoffs on Saturday and send Scurry out of the game on a bitter note. Solo won’t have any motivation other than her usual desire to win a soccer game. When Solo visited Washington with the now-defunct St. Louis Athletica earlier this season, she and Scurry smiled and hugged.

The arguments are over. What remains are the accomplishments and the quiet dignity with which Briana Scurry went through her career.

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soccer

Immediate questions after the USL bombshell

Posted on by Beau Dure

The USL announced today that its first and second divisions, beset by defections and dwindling numbers over the past 15 years, would merge into USL PRO.

The league addressed a couple of long-standing concerns in its announcement:

1. The pro league would be governed by team owners, a sticking point for several teams that wanted out.

2. The league would have regional play, saving on the travel costs of those Puerto Rico-to-Vancouver flights.

But several questions leap to mind after a quick reading:

1. What happens to the teams who broke away to form the NASL, which was then shotgunned into a one-year marriage with the USL teams in a federation-run second division this year?

2. Is this league truly second division? If so, how many of these owners can meet the new standards of a $750,000 line of credit and an owner worth $20 million?

3. While regional play sounds good, where will all these teams come from? Will any team be farther west than Austin?

4. Would the USL welcome MLS reserve teams?

So we have an interesting press release. But the future announcements should be even more intriguing.

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soccer

Player ratings: D.C. United-Columbus

Posted on by Beau Dure

D.C. United 0, Columbus 1
Sept. 4, 2010

Summary: Undermanned United started brightly, gave up a goal when young keeper Bill Hamid muffed a clearance and promptly ran out of ideas. Final shots on goal: Columbus 2, United 0.

Conditions: For a change, quite pleasant. And still, only 12,075 showed up.

D.C. United: Decimated by injuries and national team call-ups, United dressed only 16 players. Dejan Jakovic (Canada) and Marc Burch (injury) both played Wednesday but were unavailable here, Jordan Graye started ahead of Devon McTavish, and interim coach Ben Olsen moved Clyde Simms from midfield to the back line. Former Crew man Jed Zayner filled one of the defensive spots despite being listed as “out” on the injury report. That left Julius James as the sole returnee at the back from Wednesday night’s game. The midfield was more stable, with Kurt Morsink taking Simms’ spot. The EPL should look at this game before deciding to stick with this new “25-man” rule.

4 Bill Hamid (GK): Terrific save on Gaven, but the one blunder was costly.

5 Jordan Graye (RB): Solid job on Gaven, who was much more threatening Wednesday night. Lapse in 85th gave Crew good opportunity.
6 Clyde Simms (CB): Held his ground very well in unfamiliar role.
5 Julius James (CB): A couple of dodgy moments in possession but solid defensively.
6 Jed Zayner (LB): Not bad at all.

5 Andy Najar (RM): A few more of the dazzling moments United fans have come to expect, but Francis stopped him cold a few times as well.
5 Kurt Morsink (CM): Seems to have cut down on the needless fouls. Subbed out in 87th with trainers taking a look.
6 Stephen King (CM): Solid work at both ends.
6 Santino Quaranta (LM): Several good runs but often frustrated in the end.

4 Danny Allsopp (F): Couldn’t quite get in the flow; subbed out for Moreno in 61st.
5 Pablo Hernandez (F): A menace once again but unable to test Hesmer.

Subs
6 Jaime Moreno (F): Worked hard, ran more than we’ve seen in recent months.
NR Devon McTavish (CB): Replaced Morsink, though he switched positions with Simms.

Columbus: William Hesmer returned to the net. Frankie Hejduk was ruled out due to injury, Adam Moffat didn’t make the 18, and toughman Danny O’Rourke was shuffled to the back line. Those moves opened space in the midfield for Dilly Duka and Kevin Burns, both effective as subs Wednesday night.

6 William Hesmer (GK): Not really pressed into action. Alert on the occasional through ball.

5 Danny O’Rourke (RB): Struggled at times to handle Quaranta. Didn’t instigate any incidents.
6 Andy Iro (CB): Effective at disrupting final ball in United possessions.
6 Chad Marshall (CB): See Andy Iro.
5 Gino Padula (LB): Injured early; subbed out in 30th.

5 Dilly Duka (RM): Good moments here and there. Subbed out for Garey in 77th.
5 Brian Carroll (CM): Not much productivity in the center, but nothing conceded.
5 Kevin Burns (CM): See Brian Carroll.
6 Eddie Gaven (LM): Not as effective as he was Wednesday, though he forced a good save from Hamid (the only save of the game at either end) on a surging run early in the second half.

7 Guillermo Barros Schelotto (F): Picked his spots very well, creating opportunities with deft touches and pouncing on Hamid error for the opening goal.
6 Steven Lenhart (F): Lost his man on a corner kick for best chance of the night; otherwise not involved that much until blazing shot over bar in 79th.

Subs
7 Shaun Francis (LB): Not the MLS Insider blogger. More effective than Padula in dealing with Najar, often getting the better of the United phenom 1-on-1.
NR Jason Garey (RM): Subbed for Duka in 77th.
NR Andres Mendoza: Time-wasting sub in stoppage time. Getting called offside when you’re supposed to be killing the clock probably won’t please Robert Warzycha.

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soccer

Bradley’s back

Posted on by Beau Dure

After much consideration, I hereby proclaim my official analysis of U.S. Soccer’s decision to extend the contract of men’s national team coach Bob Bradley:

Ahem …

Worry about the players, not the coach. There’s too much focus on the coach, and Bradley has proven himself capable of shrugging off that attention and not letting it disrupt the team.

Here ends my official analysis of U.S. Soccer’s decision to extend the contract of men’s national team coach Bob Bradley.

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soccer

Ratings, summary: D.C. United-Columbus Open Cup semi

Posted on by Beau Dure

D.C. United 1, Columbus 2
U.S. Open Cup semifinal
Sept. 1, 2010

The Crew played their usual starters aside from Andy Gruenebaum in goal in place of William Hesmer. Gruenebaum had two early blunders — an adventure outside his area that left a gaping goal, then a poor clearance in his box that led to a United PK. Pablo Hernandez did the honors for a 1-0 lead.

The controversy came in the 59th minute. From several viewings of the replay in an angry United locker room, here’s what happened:

– Crew toughman Danny O’Rourke ran over Hernandez.

– Hernandez’s leg comes up, possibly making contact with O’Rourke. Whether that was intentional or incidental is a judgment call. I’d lean incidental.

– O’Rourke scuttles back over and taunts Hernandez, who’s still down. He pushes a hand down toward the United forward.

– Hernandez raises an arm as if to shoo O’Rourke away.

Referee Chris Penso, unknown to most of us in the pressbox, consulted with the sideline officials (AR and 4th official both in position to see) before producing yellow for O’Rourke, red for Hernandez.

United continued to create chances, but the Crew eventually threw the kitchen sink forward. Defender Andy Iro equalized in traffic in the 89th (they’re crediting it for now as an own goal to Marc Burch, but that’s cruel). United nearly took the lead right back with a great feed to Andy Najar in the center, but the phenom put his shot just wide.

Seven minutes into extra time, Carey Talley was beaten in the box and brought down Steven Lenhart at the corner of the 6-yard box. If Penso had held on to his whistle for two seconds, the Crew would’ve been ahead 2-1 right away, drilling the ball into the net. As it happened, Guillermo Barros Schelotto converted the PK, anyway.

Columbus moves on, though the red card and some extraneous Crew gamesmanship may leave a mildly bitter taste. United fans can only hope their season of woe is salvaged by some miraculous news on the stadium front.

Attendance: 3,411

COLUMBUS

Matchup of straight 4-4-2s, no playmakers. After United dropped to 10 men, the Crew countered with more offense, inserting Jason Garey up front and dropping Guillermo Barros Schelotto into midfield with Dilly Duka alongside him in a sort of 3-3-2-2 or 3-4-1-2. Edgar Renteria (Venezuela national team) wasn’t available.

5 Andy Gruenebaum, GK – Big blunder early, coming out to shepherd ball to end line and not getting it. Bailed out when defense blocked cross toward wide-open net. Second blunder led to PK, as Iro fouled Hernandez after poor clearance and gaping goal. Big saves on Najar.

5 Frankie Hejduk, RB – Maybe not as active as we expect from the hyperactive one, but solid.
7 Chad Marshall, CB – Header across face of goal from Schelotto free kick. Dominant in air.
6 Andy Iro, CB – Gave away PK with foul on Hernandez, but he was in a difficult spot. Played as de facto forward in desperation time and held off defenders to score goal.
6 Gino Padula, LB – Effective. Subbed out in second half.

5 Adam Moffat, RM – Quiet. Subbed out in 77th.
4 Danny O’Rourke, CM – Could’ve been sent off in 59th, either along with or instead of Hernandez. Subbed out soon afterward.
5 Brian Carroll, CM – Crew didn’t do much centrally.
8 Eddie Gaven, LM – Endless supply of crosses as he had his way on the flank.

6 Guillermo Barros Schelotto, F – Forced to play defense on counter after free kick, tripped Quaranta. Converted PK. Set pieces not his usual standard.
5 Steven Lenhart, F – Squandered a couple of chances. Too many clumsy collisions with Hamid. Won PK.

Subs:
6 Dilly Duka, RM – Lively and creative sub.
5 Jason Garey, F – Some impact off bench.
5 Kevin Burns, M – Subbed for Moffat and appeared a couple of times in attack.

D.C. UNITED

Started in 4-4-2 with empty bucket, relying on wings for creativity. After losing Pablo Hernandez, inserted Jordan Graye at back, removing Danny Allsopp and leaving Andy Najar as a front-runner. Branko Boskovic (Montenegro national team) wasn’t available.

6 Bill Hamid, GK – Huge stop 1-on-1 with Gaven was the best of several saves. Not at fault on goals.

5 Devon McTavish, RB – Struggled with Gaven in first half; better in second.
6 Dejan Jakovic, CB – Solid at back. Moved to forward after United fell behind in extra time and missed wide-open net.
5 Julius James, CB – Solid at back.
4 Marc Burch, LB – Unlucky to deflect Iro shot into his net. Long balls a bit off.

8 Andy Najar, RM – Powerful shots. Very effective on counterattacks after United was reduced to 10, but touch started to desert him late, especially on golden chance in 89th. Set up terrific chance for Jakovic in extra time.
6 Stephen King, CM – Helped United limit Crew in center.
6 Clyde Simms, CM – See King.
7 Santino Quaranta, LM – Helped Najar on the counter and was productive throughout.

6 Pablo Hernandez, F – Actively buzzed around Crew box to cause problems, winning and converting PK. Red card obviously costly.
5 Danny Allsopp, F – Dangerous in spots.

Subs:
5 Jordan Graye, D – Speed helped at back.
3 Carey Talley, D – At fault on the goal in extra time.
4 Jaime Moreno, F – Tried a little too hard to draw a PK in the second extra session.

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soccer

Why don’t we have a soccer blog like this?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Check out this breakdown of the pivotal final play in the U.S. basketball team’s win over Spain. Great stuff, showing how a sudden switch to zone defense threw off Spain’s offense.

So here’s a question: With so many soccer blogs in the country — I barely know a soccer fan who does NOT double as a journalist to some degree — why don’t we have one that gives this sort of tactical breakdown?

(Apologies if I’m missing one. Great time to step forward if you’re doing this.)

Update: Several people on Twitter pointed out ZonalMarking.net, which I’ve probably missed because I’m a provincial American. (I joke, but I was indeed thinking of the vibrant U.S. soccer-blogging community.)

Update 2: World Soccer Reader tackles tactics on occasion. Here’s the one I should’ve known: Steve Davis writes about tactics at MLSSoccer.com. New to the blogosphere: Give Us A Goal.

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mma, olympic sports, soccer, track and field

Midweek Myriad: PanPac swimming, Diamond League finals

Posted on by Beau Dure

Yes, I’m spending some time away from the computer this week. Coincidentally, I’m pondering a remake of SportsMyriad.com. The experimental phase should be at an end soon; the question is what follows.

This is an unusually busy midweek for Myriad sports — CONCACAF Champions League group stage games, UEFA Champions League playoffs featuring teams you might be able to find on a map, plus the culmination of some swimming and track and field seasons.

Track and field: The Weltklasse Zurich meet wraps up roughly half of the Diamond League events. The shot putters got an early start. The rest of the meet is Thursday on Universal Sports online. Events to watch: men’s long jump (Dwight Phillips leads but hasn’t clinched), women’s 400 (Allyson Felix, who has clinched 200, leads here as well) and women’s long jump (Brittney Reese has narrow lead) . You’ll also see victory laps for Jeremy Wariner (men’s 400), David Oliver (men’s 110 hurdles) and Carmelita Jeter (women’s 100). The most curious event is the men’s 200, where runaway leader Walter Dix has withdrawn, leaving Wallace Spearmon a chance to clean up.

Swimming: The Pan Pacific Championships — mostly USA, Australia, Japan, Canada and South Korea, but with a handful of people from non-Pacific places like South Africa — are on Universal Sports and Swim Network.

Soccer: Seeing Joe Public FC play at home in Trinidad carries a reminder of a sad incident in international youth soccer. The stadium is named for Marvin Lee, a Trinidad & Tobago Under-20 player who was paralyzed in a collision during a game and died a couple of years later. The player with whom he collided — Landon Donovan.

MMA: Sorry for the lack of advance warning, but you’ll want to get to a TV now to see WEC on Versus. Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez are in the main event.

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