Category: soccer

soccer

MLS: Who’s paying cash for clunkers?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Soccer America’s Paul Kennedy has a provocative piece on Major League Soccer teams’ wild misses in judging talent. Sure, teams make mistakes all the time, but in this new era with more guaranteed contracts, those mistakes can be more costly.

Kennedy singles out Toronto and the signing of Latvian left back Raivis Hscanovics, about whom Wikipedia says the following: “In March 2010 his contract was terminated with Skonto FC because of knee problems. He later joined Toronto FC.” (We’ll have to take Wikipedia’s word for it, because the source cited on that note is in a language I don’t even recognize.) After a messy spring that included a protracted breakup with Ali Gerba and the shock retirement of Jim Brennan, Toronto put out a starting lineup last weekend that looked like a preseason lineup full of trialists.

“What has Preki been thinking all these months?” Kennedy asks. But Preki’s only part of the Toronto brain trust. There’s also “Trader Mo” Johnston, the wheelingest, dealingest soccer director in the business. Players and coaches have come and gone, but Toronto hasn’t yet found the right mix.

The coaches are always the most visible player personnel people. But do they always have the most influence? Hard to say.

In most cases, they have a fair amount of input, always able to bring “their guys” into a roster. Adrian Hanauer is the guy who can be fired by the fans if things are going wrong, but Sigi Schmid clearly has players he wants to keep around. In New England, Mike Burns has the player personnel job but hasn’t been in that position as long as Steve Nicol has been head coach. Curt Onalfo brought Kurt Morsink with him to D.C. United.

D.C. might be the best place to inquire about the brain trust, because it’s not delivering as well as it used to. United hasn’t shaken off the disastrous class of 2008 South American imports — Jose Carvallo, Gonzalo Martinez, Gonzalo Peralta, Franco Niell and designated player Marcelo Gallardo. The younger players on the roster that year also fell off the team, leaving an unsupported core of Jaime Moreno, Santino Quaranta, Clyde Simms, Marc Burch and Bryan Namoff.

Coach Tom Soehn has departed. General manager Dave Kaspar remains. That might be fair to Kaspar, who also has presided over the building of an excellent academy program that is producing solid prospects. But was it fair to blame Soehn?

Generally, the coach/GM relationship is co-dependent. MLS champions Real Salt Lake were built by a pair of Duke classmates, coach Jason Kreis and GM Garth Lagerwey. Where coach and GM are less close — Los Angeles in the brief Ruud Gullit era springs to mind — results aren’t as good.

The new collective bargaining agreement has changed the landscape — not dramatically, but enough so that teams need to adjust. And 15 years of evolution have given the teams plenty of leeway in finding players. For all the braying over the league’s single-entity structure, teams control their own rosters and destiny. And it’s no accident that New England and Houston have been successful in replenishing rosters year after year while others struggle.

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soccer

MLS Week 3 wrap

Posted on by Beau Dure

Quick programming note: I’m not likely to post daily news wraps every day during the week, especially on a week with little midweek action and a free-lancing deadline. But you’ll still get the Weekend Watch on Friday, Weekend Wrap on Monday, TUF recaps each Wednesday night in season and a wide variety of other stuff. I’m working mostly on original content, which takes a while to develop.

I also share a lot of links on Twitter — keep your eye out for two good ones today.

On to Week 3, where a couple of East teams remained pointless and the Galaxy remained perfect …

Game of the week (in terms of impact): Houston 0, Los Angeles 2 (highlights)
– Edson Buddle must have had some crooked teeth, because he’s collecting braces. Yes, that’s awful, but I’ve never really liked the term “brace” for some reason.
– Luis Angel Landin remains in the running for “worst designated player signing ever” by seeing red for Houston in the first half. LA’s Donovan and Donovan kept calm after the incident.
– That’s three straight wins and three straight shutouts for Los Angeles.
– Postgame records (US-style win-loss-tie): Houston 1-1-1, LA 3-0-0

Game of the week (in terms of highlights): Chicago 1, San Jose 2 (highlights)
– Least expected result of the week. Sold-out crowd in Chicago, Earthquakes seemed to be in shambles early this season.
– Rookies are breaking out all over. Ike Opara gets the winner here on a superb cross from Bobby Convey, who bounced back after fretting over a halftime substitution in the Quakes’ first game.
– Dreadful errors for the Fire. Collins John had an atrocious miss, and the first San Jose goal was a calamity of miscommunication between veteran defender CJ Brown and first-year starting keeper Andrew Dykstra.
– Save of the week goes to Jason Hernandez. No, he’s not a goalkeeper. Fantastic play for the Quakes defender.
– Chicago 0-2-1, San Jose 1-1-0

Salt Lake 2, Seattle 2 (highlights)
– Statistical domination for the defending champs, but they were asleep early to let Steve Zakuani race in alone. The second Seattle goal was an own goal off Nat Borchers (erroneously credited to Tyrone Marshall in the credits).
– More greatness from Kasey Keller.
– Salt Lake 1-1-1, Seattle 1-1-1

Chivas USA 2, New York 0 (highlights)
– Chivas lineup changes: Zach Thornton replaces Dan Kennedy in goal. Jonathan Bornstein up to midfield. Chukwudi Chijindu and Maicon Santos up front.
– Red Bulls keeper Bouna Coundoul has been terrific so far, aside from one play that’ll make blooper reels for years to come. That was the first Chivas USA goal.
– Player to watch: Jesus Padilla, born in the USA to Mexican parents, on loan from the original Chivas after going through their youth system.
– Chivas USA 1-2-0, New York 2-1-0

Philadelphia 3, D.C. United 2 (highlights)
– Sebastien Le Toux gets the first goal in Union history. And the second. And the third.
– Jaime Moreno’s equalizer shouldn’t have counted. He interfered with Philly keeper Chris Seitz on the play. So says U.S. Soccer director of referee development Paul Tamberino.
– Philly home opener draws 34,870 to Lincoln Financial Field. Nearly half that crowd would’ve needed to stay home if the game had been in Philly’s almost-complete soccer stadium in Chester.
– Philadelphia 1-1-0, D.C. 0-3-0

New England 4, Toronto 1 (highlights)
– Rookie forward Zack Schilawski earned my Player of the Week vote with the hat trick. Great set-up work from Sainey Nyassi and Kheli Dube.
– Toronto signed two defenders after this one.
– Anyone reminded of De Ro’s MLS Cup headed goal? He pops up and snaps like a salmon.
– New England 2-1-0, Toronto 0-2-0

Kansas City 1, Colorado 0 (highlights)
– KC newcomer Ryan Smith has a terrific opportunistic streak. He almost caught Matt Pickens off his line, and he made a nice aggressive move to regain the ball (whistled, unfortunately — his reaction earned a yellow card) after a free kick. He also set up the goal.
– KC keeper Jimmy Nielsen, known as “Casino Jimmy,” wasn’t feeling very lucky after making a save with his face. Ouch.
– Colorado managed only five shots in this game, though two were saved in spectacular fashion (one without Nielsen’s face taking damage). KC’s defense is looking sharp, with no goals conceded in two games.
– KC 2-0-0, Colorado 1-1-1

Dallas 2, Columbus 2 (highlights)
– Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman tinkered with the lineup, though the switch in goal of Kevin Hartman for Dario Sala was necessitated by Sala’s hamstring injury.
– Hartman is one of the best and unluckiest keepers in league history. He made a terrific stop of Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s PK, but it rebounded straight to the wonderfully skilled Argentine, who put it home.
– Dallas’ Jeff Cunningham got his first of the season. Time for another streak?
– One of two last-minute equalizers of the week.
– Dallas 0-0-2, Columbus 1-0-1

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soccer

Ringing of the Division (2) Bell

Posted on by Beau Dure

The first weekend of the USSF Division II Featuring Teams of the USL and NASL went as follows:

– Miami 1, Rochester 1: Disappointing crowd of “roughly 1,000” sees Christian Gomez go the full 90 despite tiring after 70. (Miami Herald – Michelle Kaufman!)

– Vancouver 2, Minnesota 0: The Whitecaps, full of D.C. alumni, took advantage when former D.C. keeper Louis Crayton was injured. Both goals went past the backup keeper. (Vancouver Province)

– Carolina 2, St. Louis 0: When you’re going to a game, be sure to bring all proper documentation so your team doesn’t start with 10 men and concede two early goals. (Independent)

– Austin 2, Montreal 0: No, that’s not the same Eddie Johnson. (Austin American-Statesman)

MLS recapping tomorrow.

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soccer

WPS Week 1: Best women’s league ever?

Posted on by Beau Dure

The second season of Women’s Professional Soccer kicked off Saturday in lovely Boyds, Md. Check out the highlights:

http://www.womensprosoccer.com/wps/swf/wpsflashplayer2.swf

The Freedom defense had one horrible lapse to let rookie Lauren Cheney sit at the doorstep on the first goal, and the marking could’ve been better on the second. Freedom captain and defender Cat Whitehill says the defenders are still getting used to each other, with one rookie (Nikki Marshall) and a converted midfielder (Rebecca Moros) at the back.

Freedom coach Jim Gabarra didn’t attribute the lapses and the lack of early possession to inexperience. “The more experienced players were doing the silly things, which is a shock,” Gabarra said.

Kristine Lilly, who has now appeared for the U.S. team in four different decades, wasn’t happy with her game. The Breakers midfielder set up the first goal off a short corner kick. Some reports credited her with setting up the second goal, but Boston’s Kelly Smith confirmed what the highlight-reader above says — the cross came from Stephanie Cox.

“I didn’t have the best game,” Lilly said. “I gave the ball away a little too much.”

And finally, Boston coach Tony DiCicco didn’t like the Breakers’ form in the final minutes.

“I was a little disappointed we gave up that late goal, but it was a good goal,” DiCicco said.

The criticisms, though, just demonstrate how high the standards have been raised for pro women’s soccer. The quality of play was better than what we saw in last year’s opener and far better than what we usually saw in the WUSA. We saw two excellent goals — Smith’s post move to give Boston the 2-0 lead a Whitehill-to-Abby Wambach-to-Allie Long quick strike to give Washington hope late in the game. The Freedom pressed very well late in each half.

DiCicco, the former U.S. coach and WUSA commissioner, sees a lot of improvement:

“The league, out of the gate last year, was better than the WUSA. This year, I think it’s a little bit better yet. I thought the WUSA in the second year was very good because all those amateur players that stepped into the league, by the second year, they were pros. The first year, they didn’t really know what professional was. I think we’ll see the same thing this year in the WPS.

“Games like this are fun to watch, Not as fun for a coach, but fun to watch.”

England has plans for a pro women’s league next summer, but English national team star Smith answered a quick “no” when asked if it would rival WPS.

“They’re cutting 12 teams down to eight,” Smith said. “It’s going to be hard for the league. The top international players are playing in America, and that’s the draw.”

The schedule — and likely a few FIFA and UEFA regulations — ensure that we won’t see player-sharing between WPS and England as we see in basketball, where Diana Taurasi spends summers in the WNBA but just led Russia’s Spartak Moscow to another Euroleague title.

The only leagues to keep most of their national teams at home are China, which has faded, and Germany, which is preparing to host the World Cup in 2011. But the German sides have few international players, and the national team is spread among several clubs. Two German teams are in the Champions League final four along with French side Lyon and traditional Swedish power Umea, yet both of those clubs have lost talent to WPS.

So can we call it? Is WPS the best women’s league ever?

The other games in Week 1 featured defenses that are a little ahead of the offenses:

– Philadelphia 0, Atlanta 0: Showcase for expansion goalkeepers Karina LeBlanc (ex-LA Sol) and Allison Whitworth (ex-FC Gold Pride).

– New Jersey 1, Chicago 0: The Red Stars’ lineup looks solid, especially with Kate Markgraf back from maternity, but Sky Blue have Natasha Kai.

– St. Louis 2, Bay Area 0: Shannon Boxx to Eniola Aluko. Repeat.

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cycling, olympic sports, soccer

Weekend wrap: Schizophrenic synchronized diving, more Messi, Horner’s hat

Posted on by Beau Dure

What did you miss if you were focusing on The Masters?

SOCCER

– Portsmouth made it to the FA Cup final against Chelsea, which would qualify the already-relegated Premier League team for the Europa Cup … if they can win an appeal after failing to turn in their paperwork on time. (BBC)

– Remembering Ruben Mendoza, who played in the youth system of Mexican club Atlante but was a U.S. national teamer in the 1950s and a U.S. Open Cup champion with St. Louis club Kutis. (US Soccer Players)

– Hey, we thought MLS was the only league that played on while national team players were elsewhere. (AP)

– Real Madrid has been giving Barcelona a good chase this year, but Messi’s club now has the look of a team on one of those majestic runs at which others can only marvel. The Spanish showdown this weekend: Real Madrid 0, Barcelona 2. (ESPN video)

– Bayern Munich was a little less emphatic in stamping its authority over the race in Germany, eking out a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen (The Offside)

CYCLING

– This is not a leftover from last week — Fabian Cancellara broke away and left Tom Boonen behind to win the classic Paris-Roubaix race. Next up: Cancellara conquers America. (USA TODAY: Sal Ruibal’s blog)

– Americans didn’t fare well in Paris-Roubaix, but check out the winner of the Tour of the Basque Country — it’s Chris Horner, who spent years dominating in the States before getting a consistent ride in Europe. (VeloNews)

ELSEWHERE

– Curling: Fourth place for Pete Fenson and the USA, first place for Canada at the World Championships. (Universal Sports videos)

– Modern pentathlon: The BBC produced a 10-minute highlight/feature reel that’s a good introduction to the sport for those of you who didn’t spend a whole day covering the women’s event in Beijing. Top U.S. finishers, not appearing in this video, were Will Brady (19th) and Margaux Isaksen (24th). No word on whether Isaksen kissed her horse.  (BBC video)

– Marathon: Ethiopia’s Tadesse Tola won the Paris Marathon in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 41 seconds. Let’s check the pace calculator here: That’s a 4:50 mile, repeated 26 1/4 times. (AP)

– Triathlon: A couple of top-10s for U.S. athletes in Sydney (USOC),

– Boxing: Evander Holyfield wins a world heavyweight title of some sort. So will you please retire for good this time? No? You want to fight a Klitschko? Please, no. (ESPN)

– Diving: Diving ‘gainst myse-elf, oh oh, diving ‘gainst myse-elf! With a synchro selection giving coaches reflection, I’m diving ‘gainst myse-elf, oh oh … (USOC)

– Tennis/cricket: Those of us in Duke-North Carolina marriages have nothing on this — Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik married over the weekend. Congratulations and best wishes for peace. (BBC)

We covered the UFC bout that mattered (we’re ignoring Anderson Silva’s sleepwalking defense of his middleweight belt), and we’ll have an MLS/WPS wrap later today.

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soccer

WPS welcomes the sound of sponsors in Season 2

Posted on by Beau Dure
Washington Freedom video board
Wait until you hear the speakers ...

What do you see in this picture? Most likely, you see a new scoreboard with video that you wouldn’t have seen at the Maryland SoccerPlex last season at a Washington Freedom game.

Cat Whitehill sees something more specific.

“The most exciting thing – look at all the sponsors around it,” the Freedom defender said Thursday. “The money that it took to go in there – we have it.”

That’s one of the storylines of Women’s Professional Soccer, Season 2. Your buddies or your favorite news outlet (or possibly the ownership group of the now-dormant Los Angeles Sol) might not have much interest in WPS, but plenty of people with money do.

“The teams coming back, on average, are up just over double where they were last year in terms of team sponsorship dollars,” says WPS commissioner Tonya Antonucci.

At the national level, the corporate money is flowing as well. Puma was already on board. During last season, WPS added presenting sponsors of the championship game (MedImmune) and the All-Star Game (U.S. Coast Guard). This season, look for Citi logos on everything — backdrops for interviews, uniforms, etc.

Dive down to the grass-roots level, and everything’s also trending upward.

“For five of the six teams that are returning, they’re above where they were this time last year in season-ticket sales,” Antonucci said in March. “On average, they’re up 17% across the league. That’s a substantial number.”

WPS will keep the goals reasonable.

“We’re shooting for a 5-10% increase from 2009 into 2010,” Antonucci says. “Our average attendance was just over 4,600 when you include the playoffs. That will push us into 5,000 per game.”

That would be quite an accomplishment, given the sophomore slumps that usually strike sports teams and leagues. MLS dropped from a 17,406 average in its 1996 debut year to 14,619 in 1997. The Washington Nationals no longer pack ’em in.

The good news for most organizations in Year 2 is that the start-up hiccups are gone. Christie Welsh, who is returning to her W-League roots in Washington after stints with Los Angeles and St. Louis last year, recalls that one game in St. Louis was played at noon because the venue was reserved for a wedding later that day.

“We were moving practice fields,” Welsh says. “Every day was like a new adventure in a way.”

Now that the old Anheuser-Busch Center or Soccer Park has spent a full year in the hands of St. Louis Soccer United, Athletica’s parent company under the leadership of Jeff Cooper, such scheduling conflicts are less likely.

Most teams put a lot of effort into reshuffling their rosters in the offseason — Soccer America has a simple yet thorough examination — with an influx of foreign players from European powers such as Umea and Arsenal. That’s another sign of a confident league.

The exception to the reshuffling is Washington. Welsh is technically new but says Washington feels like home after her time there in the W-League. “Importing players every year from all over isn’t our philosophy,” Abby Wambach says.

Yet with Wambach, Whitehill and goalkeeper Erin McLeod healthy in preseason, the team should have a smoother start compared with last season.

As a whole, though, the league isn’t easy to predict.

“My husband asked me the other day who I thought would be 1 through 8 in the standings, and I said it’s really hard because the talent is there,” Whitehill says. “Last year, the talent was there, but there were spots where you could pick on a team and say, ‘Hey, let’s exploit that.'”

So we’ll let Scott French do the predicting instead. Wait a minute … St. Louis first? Atlanta last?

If you want coverage of WPS, you’ll have to scrounge. The TV deal with Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Net is still in place, but mainstream media have been cutting back. Look for a good online source like the new women’s soccer blog All White Kit or some random multisport blog you might be reading right now.

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mma, soccer, tennis

Friday news: Not all Masters

Posted on by Beau Dure

A few headlines for today; look for a full Weekend Watch later. It’ll be staggering, given all that’s going on in soccer this weekend.

Soccer: Another step forward for the Dynamo’s stadium. Commenters still insisting we shouldn’t believe everything that’s been reported and researched — it’ll all fall on taxpayers, anyway. Yeah, reporting and research are overrated. (Houston Chronicle)

Soccer: Australia’s A-League has earned some praise and a few followers for late-night broadcasts on FSC, but with one club set to stop paying bills and others needing rescue, the head of operations has stepped down. (Sydney Morning Herald)

MMA: You might not have seen it on TV (I believe my first English-language option is NBC’s highlight show a little after 4 a.m. Sunday morning), but Bellator’s second season debuted last night with a solid win for UFC vet Roger Huerta and a survival-mode win for international wrestling vet Joe Warren. (MMA Fighting Stances)

MMA: A judge says fighting pioneer Ken Shamrock must pay the UFC $175,000 in legal fees after losing his lawsuit against the promotion. As Michael David Smith points out at FanHouse, that’s an effective deterrent for the UFC against future lawsuits from fighters, but it’s rather sad for Shamrock, whose fight career has only grown more farcical with each passing year. He’s a UFC Hall of Famer — can he put that status up for sale on eBay? (FanHouse)

Tennis: Kim Clijsters won a big title last week in Miami but had a rough transition to clay-court season, falling to 258th-ranked Beatriz Garcia Vidagany in the Andalucia Open. (AP)

Women’s football: No, not women’s soccer. We’re talking American football, which will have a women’s world championship. Should we contact IOC president Jacques Rogge to tell us the tournament won’t be competitive? The PDF with the roster tells us everyone’s full-time job — a handful of teachers, some physical trainers and at least one attorney. Don’t mess with this group. (USA Football)

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mma, soccer, winter sports

Thursday: Bring on Bellator

Posted on by Beau Dure

Quick roundup this morning in between a traffic-slowed morning run to school and a trek out of the Plex. As in Maryland SoccerPlex.

– Soccer: Can anyone remember a more  memorable week of Champions League games? Messi’s magic and Bayern’s rally, punctuated by Arjen Robben’s wonder goal, were spectacular. Most of the semifinalists have no time to rest. Lyon is in the middle of a tight five-team race in France. Bayern Munich, which just reclaimed the lead in Germany, plays at third-place Bayer Leverkusen. Messi and Barcelona? Oh, they just have a game at Real Madrid, which is always one of the top rivalry games in the world but even moreso now that they’re tied for first in Spain.

– Soccer: Pachuca has advanced to face Cruz Azul in a Mexican exhibition, I mean, the CONCACAF Champions League. (AP)

– Short-track speedskating: Apolo Anton Ohno has eight Olympic medals but might go even more Greek now as he auditions for films and considers TV options. (AP)

– Figure skating: Evan Lysacek is even busier as he balances Stars on Ice with Dancing with the Stars. (Washington Post)

– Nordic combined: Still more Olympic athletes keeping busy — the four U.S. medalists are heading to the Middle East to visit troops on what they’re calling the Heavy Medal Tour. (USOC)

– Triathlon: World Cup season starts Sunday in Sydney. (AP)

– MMA: Can we stop the “Rich Franklin replaces Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell” rumors now? Dana White has said rather emphatically that the June 12 Vancouver main event is Tito-Chuck. (FanHouse)

– MMA: UFC in Afghanistan? (Yahoo!)

– Curling: Make it six straight wins for Pete Fenson and company, and they’re on the verge of the World Championship final four. (USOC)

TODAY’S TV

– MMA: The second season of Bellator, a tournament-based promotion that has expanded its talent pool, begins live on some Fox Sports Net affiliates. Trying to pin down which ones. Major signings Roger Huerta and Joe Warren are in action tonight. See the Sherdog weigh-in report.

– Soccer: All Europa League and Copa Libertadores. (Soccer America)

– Other sports: Masters, NBA, NHL and the Frozen Four, an underrated event. (USA TODAY)

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soccer

What makes a soccer game change? Besides Messi

Posted on by Beau Dure

Barcelona was dominating Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal, taking a 2-0 away lead that could have been more. Then the game changed.

Why? What made that game change? What makes any game change?

I asked a couple of people who are in far better position than I am to know such things.

X, O, squiggle, goal
Ummm, coach? Can you possibly go over all that again?

Houston coach Dominic Kinnear saw some tactical changes:

“Two things happened that changed the game. One was Arsenal’s decision to play three at the back. The other was the insertion of Theo Walcott. Walcott’s pace to get in behind (the Barcelona defense) was huge.”

U.S. women’s veteran Brandi Chastain went with another angle:

“When the other team seems to be in control but is not putting away chances, you start to think, ‘Maybe we’re in this.’ And they start to become frustrated with the lack of finishing. Barcelona probably could’ve scored another two goals. That becomes frustration, and then you start to let down your mental guard. Then the other team gets a little bit of success, whether it’s possession or chances on goal.”

Matt Besler from the Kansas City Wizards figures Arsenal just had to turn it up a few notches:

“I think it was just the situation that Arsenal was in. The urgency that they had once they went down 2-0, they knew that being at home that they needed a tie or win, they really needed to go for the goal. I think that was the tipping point that helped them get some more energy and get more urgent. That’s why soccer is such a tough game. You can dominate a game for 70 or 80 minutes, but if you lose concentration for 10 minutes you can lose everything that you worked for.”

Continue reading →

5
cycling, general sports, mma, olympic sports, soccer

Wednesday now officially renamed Messiday

Posted on by Beau Dure

The top news from yesterday: The story from Barcelona quickly changed from “Hey, can Arsenal really win at the Nou Camp?” to “Do we go ahead and put Lionel Messi alongside Pele and Maradona?” The young Argentine, just three years removed from being hyped alongside Freddy Adu as one of the potential stars of the U-20 World Cup, scored four goals to silence any talk of Arsenal advancing to the semis. Inter Milan advanced past CSKA Moscow in the other Tuesday quarterfinal.

Also:

– Soccer: Speaking of four-goal outbursts, Cruz Azul waited until the last 20 minutes to turn an aggregate tie into a rout against Pumas in the CONCACAF Champions League semis. (The Original Winger – video)

– Soccer: Former D.C. United goalkeeping prospect Milos Kocic has turned up with Toronto FC, where Mo Johnston says he can learn from Stefan Frei and Jon Conway. Kocic, though, is a year older than Frei and therefore might not have much of a future there unless Frei gets snapped up by a European club at some point — which shouldn’t be out of the question. (Toronto FC “beta” site)

– Soccer: A far more curious story from Toronto — unconfirmed reports say Jim Brennan will abruptly retire as a player and join the front office. The club has scheduled a 1:30 p.m. ET “player announcement.” (Toronto Sun)

– Curling: Pete Fenson and the USA won their must-win against Italy to move into a tie for a playoff spot in the World Championships. (USOC)

– MMA: Suspended heavyweight Josh Barnett seems resigned to sitting out a year before applying to get his California fight license again, frustrated with delays in his appeal that he blames on California authorities. He’s been busy fighting overseas and working on his “film career” along with every other MMA fighter. It’d be a pity not to give the articulate Barnett a day in court to see if he can address his second U.S. doping offense. (MMA Junkie)

– Golf: Story too strange to pass up — John Daly didn’t qualify for The Masters, so he set up shop in August selling merchandise. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

– Soccer: And in this amusing video, Philly defender Danny Califf aims for a cup atop Danny Bonaduce’s head and misses several times, the last one catching Bonaduce flush in the face. Bonaduce also has been KO’d by Sugar Ray Leonard in the studio, so he takes the shot pretty well. But we’d fear for his safety if fellow Union defender Toni Stahl showed up. (The Offside Rules)

TODAY’S TV

– Now: Cycling, Tour of the Basque Country, Universal Sports webcast

– 2:30 p.m. ET: Soccer, Champions League quarterfinals, second leg. Manchester United-Bayern Munich is on Fox Soccer Channel. Bordeaux-Lyon is on Fox Soccer Plus, then replayed at 5 on FSC.

– 10 p.m. ET: MMA, The Ultimate Fighter, Spike. Check back for the recap by 11:30 p.m.

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