By Alan Duffy

While Spain and Germany might be the two most fancied sides ahead of Euro 2012, the Netherlands must be in with a shout of glory this summer. With too many semi-final and final defeats in major tournaments, the Dutch deserve a bit of luck in Poland and Ukraine.

DC United midfielder Dwayne De Rosario has been named Major League Soccer's Player of the Month for May, MLS announced on Thursday. The reining League MVP, De Rosario scored four goals and had four assists.

Emotions are high right now. We have fans calling for firings. Timbers Army capos yelling at players. Players being restrained from said capo. There's a lot of stuff in the air right now and I think it's time to just get it all out in the open with a good ol' venting thread.

So, essentially, this is your place right now to get WHATEVER you have on your mind with regards to the Portland Timbers players, coaching staff, front office, management OR the Timbers Army out in the open.

England's attempt to replace injured midfielder Frank Lampard with disappointing Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson was blocked by UEFA on the grounds that it would bring the Euro 12 tournament into disrepute. Lampard was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a thigh injury during training and of all the players available to England from the professional ranks down to the amateur, they settled on Henderson.

By FRANCO PANIZO

LANDOVER, Md. -- The U.S. men's national team looked to their match against Brazil as a way to guage just how far they have come in their first year under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and they found out there is still work to be done.

Four days after routing Scotland to open their busy summer, the United States suffered a 4-1 defeat to Brazil in front of a crowd of 67,619 fans at FedEx Field on Wednesday night.

How do you play starting swingman/small forward on the best team in the NBA and not get more consideration for Rookie of the Year? The vote for this year's ROY proves it's just a political exercise to try and make stars.
Two point guards were ahead of Kawhi Leonard, Ricky Rubio of Minnesota got second place and Kyrie Irving of Cleveland won the award.

German football magazine, Kicker, have today reported that Shinji Kagawa is set to make the move to Manchester United this week. Borussia Dortmund had wanted £16m but United have apparently agreed a £12m deal with the potential for it to rise to £17m.

"The transfer is not yet complete," said Michael Zorc, the club's director of sport, with Kicker claiming the agreement has been negotiated, but lacks the signatures of the parties involved.

So it seems that a Champions League win has persuaded Eden Hazard to come and sign for Chelsea. Hazard has confirmed on his Twitter account tonight that he has decided to "join the Champions League winner" and has turned his back on Manchester.
Now for all the talk of this kid, and there has been constant speculation, I have to admit I haven't seen alot of him.

It was same stuff, different night for Ryan Kinne on Saturday.

Twenty-four hours after he scored two in a 6-0 romp over Boston, Kinne collected two more in the Azul's 4-0 victory over the Voltage at Pomperaug High School on Saturday.

Kinne, who scored twice in Friday's 6-0 rout of Boston, added two more to his account against Vermont with strikes in the 53rd and 84th minutes.

With the series tied 3-3, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers played a Game 7 on Saturday night. Boston was at home and was favored to win. And thanks to a late rally, the Celtics were able to take home the victory and advance to play the Miami Heat in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.

Kevin Garnett powered Boston with 18 points and 13 rebounds, however it was Rajon Rondo who came up big at the end.

Lot of talk these days linking Chelsea with some world class footballing talent. Not exactly a surprising development is it? Nevertheless, a host of names have been sprinkled about in the rags Lucas Moura, Shinji Kagawa among them. Two, however, continue to rise to the top of the list: Givanildo Vieira de Souza (Hulk for short) and Eden Hazard.

Chelsea are reportedly showing interest in Napoli winger Ezequiel Lavezzi.

The 26-year old has been a stand out player for the Italian side this season, and with the Blues searching for a new wide-man, it looks like the Argentine could be on his way to Stamford Bridge.

Lavezzi has been a regular in the Napoli team this season, and taking into consideration that he has scored 10 goals this season (of which 2 came against Chelsea in the Champions League), to go along with 10 assists, it is no wonder that he is attracting interest.

In the Darwinian jungle of football, every summer ought to be a surgery. It's a chance for the coaching staff to doctor the cosmetics of the side. To assess what went well and what didn't and where and how to improve. Improvements aren't solely transplanted through the transfer market, but a good nip and tuck on the training field can often make just as much, if not more difference.

When Roy Hodgson came to selecting his strikers for the Euro 2012 England squad, it was probably the easiest position to choose for, when looking at the whole squad.
There were question marks; chiefly, whether or not Wayne Rooney should have been included, given that he will miss the first few qualifiers, due to suspension, but, since he had his ban reduced to just the two games, it is a no brainer to take him.

Remember those conversations back in late April about how packed the schedule was? Nine games in 32 days it was to be a proving ground. Sure, the Seattle Sounders are 4-1-1 +5 two-thirds of the way through that stretch, but come on, are we really going to ignore the 0-1-1 -1 in the last two? The team is struggling right now.

More season-long statistics in graphic form, similar to those about goals scored and conceded published last week. Because no matter how painful the 2011-12 season was, this is still more fun than baseless and mindless speculation about the new manager and/or future of the club.
As often, all statistics from LFCHistory.

Analysts and fans alike were writing off the Miami Heat after they went down 2-1 against the Indiana Pacers in round two of the NBA playoffs. But LeBron and crew aren't dead yet. On Sunday, the Heat evened up the series at 2-2 with a 101-93 victory over the Pacers.

As expected LeBron James and Dwyane Wade led the way for the Heat with 40 and 30 points respectively.

Dwayne Wade's biggest assist this season for the Miami Heat had less to do with a pass on the basketball court, and more to his ability to accept a role that would put his team in the best possible position to win a championship. Israel Gutierrez of ESPN writes how Wade is willing to check his ego at the door to enable his team to contend for an NBA title.

So our journey through the season (belatedly) continues. It's time to grade the midfield. I've followed the club's definition of "midfielder for this – see the link here. So you'll have to wait another day or two for the
Anyway, here goes.
Abou Diaby: F
I'm not going to lie, I find it hard to muster too much sympathy for anyone who has become a member of a Premier League football squad.

The Danny Califf trade saga is finally complete.

The Union's captain is going to Chivas USA with Michael Lahoud and allocation money coming the other way.

Photo via AP

Lahoud was drafted #9 overall by Chivas in 2009. He notched 1 goal and 3 assists in 23 games (17 starts) last season.

So, yesterday I looked at the keepers and defence and sent them home to get their report cards signed by their parents otherwise they'd get 100 lines (I must not do that thing I do which makes us concede goals").

Today it's time to look at the middle and top end of the pitch and see how they got on.

David Beckham found his line of underwear the butt of jokes during a reception at the White House with President Obama. It's customary for the President to meet the MLS Cup winners at the end of every season. But attention soon turned to Becks' moonlighting role with H&M. Obama said: "I have to say, I [.

David Beckham found his line of underwear the butt of jokes during a reception at the White House with President Obama. It's customary for the President to meet the MLS Cup winners at the end of every season. But attention soon turned to Becks' moonlighting role with H&M. Obama said: "I have to say, I [.

The MLS champion LA Galaxy visited the White House on Tuesday for the traditional winners' ceremony/photo op -- an event especially notable since it brought together the most powerful man in the world and the President of the United States. And President Obama's brief speech about the team quickly turned into a roast of David Beckham (who brought some impressive Three Musketeers style facial hair).

There would be little value in doing an opinion poll on who has been our best player of the season. No doubt, a vast majority would opt for our captain, top goal scorer, and the PL's Player of the Season, Robin van Persie. But it all becomes a lot more difficult when we have to choose our second best player of the season.

There would be little value in doing an opinion poll on who has been our best player of the season. No doubt, a vast majority would opt for our captain, top goal scorer, and the PL's Player of the Season, Robin van Persie. But it all becomes a lot more difficult when we have to choose our second best player of the season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder versus the Los Angeles Lakers is the series everyone has been waiting for in the Western Conference. However, despite the hype, Game 1 turned out to be a laugher. The Thunder got up early and then destroyed the Lakers by a final score of 119-90.

Russell Westbrook was the player of the game, scoring 27 points, dishing out nine assists and puling down seven rebounds in only 27 minutes of play.

Emmanuel Adebayor's early strike in the 2-0 defeat of Fulham yesterday meant that he finished the season with 18 goals in 36 appearances but will this be his first and only campaign in a Lilywhite shirt?

It has seemed at times that Ade has been on the periphery of some matches but add in 11 assists and it's clear that the striker has played a significant part in Tottenham's top four finish at the end of 2011-12.

Here's a look at some stats from last night's game against Chicago.
Bobby Convey scored his first goal for Sporting KC last night.
Convey's goal was the 50th goal that KC has scored against the Fire.
Kei Kamara recorded his 12th assist for KC on Convey's goal, that ties him with Paul Wright for 19th for the most assists in league play.

The legendary Columbian goalkeeper, Rene Higuita, perfected the 'Scorpion Kick.'
As the ball approached the goal in the air, Higuita would get his body ready and perfectly time his action to flex his torso and bring his legs back together in the air to boot the ball out away from the goal.

Lansbury wonder goal for Under 21′s vs Belgium

Signing for Arsenal at the tender age of 9, central midfielder Henri Lansbury came up through the ranks until he eventually signed a professional contract in 1 July 2008. After a successful loan spell at Scunthorpe United in League One (which included 4 goals and 5 assists in 16 appearances), Lansbury featured in Arsenal's FA Youth Cup winning team (6-2 over Liverpool, Lansbury 2 assists).

Lansbury wonder goal for Under 21′s vs Belgium

Signing for Arsenal at the tender age of 9, central midfielder Henri Lansbury came up through the ranks until he eventually signed a professional contract in 1 July 2008. After a successful loan spell at Scunthorpe United in League One (which included 4 goals and 5 assists in 16 appearances), Lansbury featured in Arsenal's FA Youth Cup winning team (6-2 over Liverpool, Lansbury 2 assists).

The Los Angeles Lakers were attempting to eliminate the Denver Nuggets in Game 5. However, despite 43 points from Kobe Bryant, the Nuggets were able to survive by beating the Lakers by a final score of 102-99. Denver was led by Andre Miller and JaVale McGee, who both came off the bench.

Miller had 24 points and eight assists on 8-for-11 shooting from the field.

Milan's quest to repeat as champions of Serie A fell short due to a number of reasons, in particular the injuries which affected the squad and the demands of European football which drained the players.

The Rossoneri must address the following key concerns in order to be successful next season in Italy and Europe:

a) Ibrahimovic Factor: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been in fine form since his move from Barcelona prior to the beginning of last season.

I have to admit that I naively raised an eyebrow yesterday when Roberto Mancini, chasing a much-needed win at Newcastle, took off attacking midfielder Samir Nasri for defensive midfielder Nigel De Jong. In the end this turned out to be the masterstroke that won City the game, and possibly the league title.

Without a fuss in Sunday's 2-0 win over Swansea City, Wayne Rooney strolled off, looking resigned, and accepted his substitution. Manchester United were bringing on Dimitar Berbatov for the last 10 minutes of a game that had already been won and just as Rooney was coming off, he received a warm ovation.

The Revolution parted ways with veteran midfielder/forward Kenny Mansally (middle) on Friday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

After failing to find the field with the first team this season, Revolution midfielder/forward Kenny Mansally was waived by the club on Friday.

The 23-year-old Gambian international, who played in 25 games last season, was limited to reserve team duty in 2012.

The April EA Sports Player of the Month award has gone to Tomas Rosicky for the second time after he won the award in March. From Arsenal.com "The Czech Republic captain picked up his first award of the season in March and made it back-to-back wins after another impressive month in the Arsenal midfield".

This is the one football question on everyone's lips throughout the world who is better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Now, before I look over these two massively talented footballers careers, you should note that personally I think its very hard to compare Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo.

Just as my own blogging season was in danger of fizzling out, I've decided to rouse myself for one last push. Two more blog posts and I might just totter over the line. Why haven't I sealed this sooner though? I can only think it's a confidence thing.

Since I last dipped in here we have drawn at Stoke, a result that is far from calamitous at any stage of any season, but coming after a loss and a goalless draw it was a result that hardly kick-started the kind of swashbuckling tone for the rest of the season that I had hoped for.