This week the Premier League rejected a proposal by the Bolton chairman to include Celtic and Rangers in a two-tiered Premier League with the Guardian saying that 14 clubs voted against it.
There are two ideas here that want to handle separately. First is the Celtic and Rangers problem. Clearly, they have outgrown the SPL and its financial limitation, chiefly television rights fees. Click to continue reading...

According to Reuters and Kicker, Germany and Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke killed himself today at a railroad crossing. Details are only now starting to emerge, but it is a terrible tragedy for all involved. Enke was 32. Click to continue reading...

I've always said that one of the realistic options for the disaffected USL owners was to leave and then just setup their own league away from the USL umbrella. Today, that appears to be what has happened, with everyone bailing on Francisco Marcos and the USL. I have not been following this all that closely, but where does this leave Portland, who has one more year to go before they join MLS. Click to continue reading...

Starting this weekend, the final slots for the 2010 World Cup will be decided around the world. So, let's have a bit of fun with the playoffs.
Today until Saturday, entries are open for picks for the first leg of the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA first legs and for the AFC/OFC second leg. We'll pick the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA second legs starting on Sunday or Monday. Click to continue reading...

Late notice on this one thanks to the dunderheads at Comcast and some other issues beyond my control, so as a result, everyone who posts any pick at all gets 10 bonus points today.
Decent lineup of matches in the Champions League today, and like yesterday, these are the reverse fixtures of Matchday 3. Click to continue reading...

I am making my way through Soccernomics and as you might imagine, I am liking it very much. I am going to be writing about it in pieces rather than in an enormous thesis-length review. I don't think the book is perfect, but I think the authors do a very good job at shining a very different light on the sport. Click to continue reading...

DC United has posted on its blog that Coach Tom Soehn has decided to "remove his name from consideration for the club's head coaching position ahead of the expiration of his three-year contract at the end of the calendar year."
Despite Steven Goff's strange defense of Soehn yesterday (Tom must return his calls), Tommy must have known that his days were numbered or gotten word that DC was already deep in talks with a successor. Click to continue reading...

After starting a new job, losing Internet access for a bit, and just being on the go for the last 2 weeks or so, it's nice to finally be able to sit down and crank out something - anything!
So why not go back to an old reliable, with a full slate of Champions League matches on tap for tomorrow afternoon - eight matches in Groups A-D. Click to continue reading...

This morning, EPLTalk writes about "How American Soccer Fans Are Smarter Than Average Americans."
I don't know how soccer fans stack up compared to "average Americans," but I do think that following soccer can make you smarter. It's not that you have to be smart in order to follow soccer, it's that through the act(s) of being a soccer fan, you learn a lot especially as it relates to geography and foreign culture. Click to continue reading...

Strange stuff Strange stuff
So, I found this bizarre moment from the J-League over on the Guardian's website. It shows Grampus Eight Manager Dragan Stojkavic "scoring" a great goal as he half-volleyed a rolling ball into the net from in front of his bench. Click to continue reading...

So Toronto FC fired their interim manager Chris Cummins today, on the heels of a 5-0 meltdown in a must-win match against woeful New York. That's a reasonable move, and one that I suspect most TFC fans welcome. But whichever English or Scottish league washout that Mo recruits (and you can bet your bottom dollar that it'll be a Brit), will face the same problem that Cummins and his predecessor John Carver faced. Click to continue reading...

Not seen out of frame, the past laurels Kevin Payne is resting on.
Kevin Payne decided to blow off some steam in an interview with the Washington Post's Steven Goff last night. Payne sounds a little bit flustered and more than a little bit defensive.
Quote: "We don't want to play like Colorado or New England, which most of the season sat with eight or nine guys behind the ball. Click to continue reading...

Sure, Tom Soehn isn't technically gone yet. But we all know he's doomed. That's why it's time to start speculating on his replacement. Here's my latest odds.
Richie Williams, current Red Bull interim coach – Now that virtually everyone I have spoken to, both close and distant, say that Red Bull clearly wants a name head coach going into its first season at Red Bull Park. Click to continue reading...

So, DC United misses the playoffs for the second-consecutive season. Am I surprised? Not really, it's been clear from fairly early on that this team was practically built to swoon down the stretch and swoon it did - winning only two of its last seven matches. That said, missing out on the playoffs on a comedy handball by a festering sore of a player (Fred) in stoppage time was an especially emphatic way of doing it. Click to continue reading...

The owner of the Seattle Sounders
So, I was driving home from work one day and flipped on the latest edition of the riotously funny Adam Carolla Podcast. He was talking to actress Kaitlin Olson of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and guess who came up? None other than Seattle Sounders owner Drew Carey! Click to continue reading...