Major League Soccer is rounding out 2010 with a series of "Best of..." awards and fans of the
United States National Team (including many, many of our compatriots in the American Outlaws) were
honored with the "Celebration of the Year" for their captured-by-video ecstasy following Landon
Donovan's dramatic late winner against Algeria in the World Cup.
The red carpet outside the Messe Zurich convention center is awash with celebrities, famous
players, heads of state, politicians, bid committee members and many other VIPs. We got Landon
Donovan arriving and we must say he's looking pretty sharp in his suit and jacket. Donovan was part
of the USA's Bid presentation yesterday, getting solid reviews for his performance and looking
quite comfortable on a pressurized stage.
U.S. World Cup star Landon Donovan is officially getting a divorce from his wife , actress
Bianca Kajlich, according to TMZ. The Galaxy star is also seeking spousal support from his soon
to be ex-wife, and would like her to pay his attorney fees. Hit the link for more info
The couple married in 2006, and seperated in July 2009.
The presentation from the USA Bid Committee for the 2022 World Cup is in the books. If you didn't
catch it live, you can still watch it on FIFA.com.
Here are some photos from the USA's presentation at FIFA House on a cold, snowy day in Zurich.
President Bill Clinton took the anchor leg in the presentation and closed with a
flourish
Landon Donovan was one of two active players that participated in the presentations today.
Landon Donovan address's the the FIFA Executive Committee who will vote on Thursday morning US
time to decide who will host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.
"The world of the world cup is the world we want to live in," said actor Morgan Freeman as he
opened US Soccer's address to the FIFA Executive Committee.
Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o headline the shortlist of five players up for this year's African
Player of the Year award. The award comes at an exciting time for the continent following this
summer's vibrant World Cup in South Africa, and Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan also makes the
shortlist as he represented his nation, Ghana, proudly.
By now the dust is beginning to settle over England's disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign as well
as the unsuccessful 2018 bid, but a disappointing end to 2010 for England may once again have the
critics debating whether this England team is actually capable of anything noteworthy on the
pitch.
Well, after a couple of weeks off to catch my breath after that great run (and get some non-soccer
stuff in my life done) I'm back. Normally after the season I've done a season recap and a post
about what I think the Rapids should do on a player-by-player basis. Things are a little different
this year, obviously, with the MLS Cup win.
Well done TSG Community.....
A few weeks ago, TSG was honored to be named by US Soccer as one of its finalist for best US
Soccer Blog 2010.
Today is in fact the last day to vote for that award...and we don't mind saying it's unlikely
TSG is going to pull an Algeria here. The simple law of numbers and conversion of those from reader
to votes might leave us just shy in the group stage here.
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This week's main report is all about FIFA's decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and
the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
Trust Jose and his team to put on a great Christmas special on Special 1 TV. The episode even
features a guest appearance by a man in red who has one of the worst costumes ever, which adds to
the comedic genius.
There are plenty more laughs in this episode and even a sentimental bit near the end.
NEW YORK, NY Landon Donovan and Abby Wambach won the U.S. Soccer Federation Male and Female Athlete
of the Year awards respectively on Monday. It is the fourth time that both have received the award
with Donovan becoming the first male athlete to win it four times, while Wambach trails only Mia
Hamm, who [.
Landon Donovan was named U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year on Monday, garnering the award for
the fourth time in his career.
Donovan joined Female Athlete of the Year Abby Wambach, Young Male Athlete of the Year Gale
Agbossoumonde and Young Female Athlete of the Year Bianca Henninger among those honored on Monday
in contests voted on by fans, media and members of U.
Oh! That goal.... Now, we remember.So ESPN's "SportsNation" (a show where the collective
sports-world rabble speaks their minds) hosted a contest for the "Best Sports Play of 2010" and
LD10's game-saving, epic goal against Algeria was thrown up in the bracket. Even got a number one
seed. Now, the cynical part of me thinks ESPN and their notorious soccer hating seeded the goal so
high just so it could get upset.
It's been a big year for American men's soccer. The national team surprised most everyone by
winning its group -- with England, Algeria and Slovenia -- at the World Cup in South Africa. It
also had a legitimate shot to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1930, when a mere
13 countries participated.
This was yet another great and memorable year in sports. Most of the memories start with the
product in field, court or floor and that product begins with the coaches.
They shape the identity of their team, prepare them to handle adversity, give them the plays and
strategy to succeed and mold the individuals on the roster into one team—a job that is much
easier said then done.
As we close the books on 2010 and go through our retrospectives (including MLS Talk's own
awards) I wanted to take a different look back on the year that was through a different lens: what
if what happened didn't happen, or vice versa. Over the weekend I intend to take four 2010 events
from American soccer and debate what would have happened if they would have turned out
differently.