Boro's new home kit was fully revealed this morning. It's billed as "the beautiful kit for the beautiful game", which is quite a line for a team in the Championship. Perhaps "the beautiful kit for the ugly game" would...

The USA's run in the Confederations Cup got the beautiful game some coverage on the Colbert Report. He asks if its time to care about soccer.

What direction is football heading in? Sunday afternoon was supposed to be a feast of world class football; a battle between the titans; Manchester United versus Chelsea. Instead, Howard Webb and his team of assistant referees were determined to leave their own mark on the game, and for that reason football was robbed of one of its great goals.

I love to listen to podcast soccer shows from around the world daily and weekly.Some of my fav are World Soccer daily,the UK times online podcast and the Guardian's podcast.But living in America i also listen to 4 sport radio.Football,baseball,basketball and sometimes Hockey, Nascar radio. I am a big fan of Dan Lebatard the Miami Herald writer and sports radio host on AM 790 out Miami.

And Why It's Probably OK

Ah, summer soccer in America. When we can finally kick back, crack an ice cold Miller Lite, and take in some of that industrious Major League Soccer all of these scallywags have been talking about ... oh you've got Stella? Wait, Barca's playing? Maybe next year....

In a lot of ways, foreign club tours of America have exposed just how secondary MLS's secondary status is even in its home country compared to foreign soccer.

The Premier League is not that great

I remember the first time the ball was put in to touch to allow treatment to an injured player, it wasn't that long ago, a world cup game if I recall correctly. I had a lump in my throat when the ball was given back to the team that put it out, at this display of sportsmanship gracing the beautiful game.

The Beauty: For a few years now, Bianca Kajlich has sort of been labeled the only "real" American WAG. It's not because she is the only beautiful lady on a US Nat's arm. It's because she's the only one with a profession (actress) in the public eye.

I've lost track of the number of times Americans ask me where I'm from, and I mention Wales only to hear the next follow-up question, which is "Where is Wales? Is that part of England?"

While most US residents get an F in geography (not just from me, but from many scholars), I've found that soccer fans living in the United States are far smarter than average Americans for the following reasons:

1. Time difference wizards.

Fox has revealed the TV schedule for its playoff round of Champions League matches it'll be on showing live on its Fox Soccer Channel network as well as its sister networks such as FSN and Fox Sports en Espanol.

The schedule is listed below. But in other important and related news, Fox Soccer Channel has pushed back the timeline of its HD coverage from this fall to February 2010, for the round of 16.

It's the perfect time of the year to catch up on reading, so what better choice is there to read than some of the greatest football books?

In conjunction with our sister site EPL Talk, we've put together a list of the top 18 recommended football books for this summer. Some of the highlights that US soccer fans will enjoy include:

• Soccer In A Football World by David Wangerin.

I don't know whether to congratulate Chelsea for deactivating the explosive Barcelona attack. Or chastise them for playing a very negative, defensive brand of football that has nothing to do with the reasons why we call this the beautiful game.

The reality is that if Chelsea played their usual brand of attacking football, they would have been torn apart by the attacking prowess of Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o.

So you thought you could eliminate Steven Cohen and his reporting of the beautiful game, well think...
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Miami native, Chad Ochocinco (formerly known as Chad Johnson) is a supporter of the beautiful game here in the United States and as evidenced by the picture supports Miami's bid for the World Cup. The American Football star who plays for the Bengals as a wide receiver is also said to be a Fan of the Miami FC Blues!

American Anton Peterlin has signed with Everton. Who you ask? Peterlin, is a former midfielder for Cal Poly, and UC Santa Cruz as well as having played in the PDL as many collegiate footballers do with the Ventura County Fusion.

Peterlin grew up in San Francisco around the game with Danish parents and developed a love for the beautiful game.

(Can a simple name change effect results?)

Last Friday, August 21st, 2009 was in my opinion a small step back for football in this country. The controversial day marked the end of World Soccer Daily, the only daily football talk show in America. The sense of community that I & so many other American European football fans found at WSD will truly be missed.

Hulkamania will not be coming to FIU Stadium after all. Turns out the Hulkster canceled his South Florida dates. No further info was given.
While all the drama concerning USL's sale was going on, Miami FC signed a new player. He is Forward Aaron King who transferred last Friday. King, will be need up front as Miami's forwards have not been very efficient this year.

A bullying, selfish FIFA Confederation President pursuing his own agenda to the detriment of the development of the beautiful game? No, not Jack Warner, but AFC boss Mohamed Bin Hammam.

That, at least, is the perspective of much of New Zealand's soccer media this week, following the AFC's ultimatum to New Zealand's Wellington Phoenix, who play in Australia's A-League: become a lot more Australian, or else.

Ladies & Gentlemen as you well know FC Barcelona completed their greatest season ever by defeating Manchester United 2-0 in the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League Final. The win gave them their 1st ever treble as Barcelona became the 1st Spanish team to win a treble. Barca captured La Liga, Copa Del Rey, and the Champions League.

As an American soccer fan, I'm often frustrated with ESPN's efforts to promote the beautiful game. Despite being the home of MLS and the Champions League (for the time being), the network does...

This excerpt of an excellent story comes to us via the Footy Blog on the Score. Be sure to check them out frequently and subscribe to The Footy Show podcast for a uniquely Canadian perspective on all things football and MLS.

It might well be a Manic Monday around the Toronto FC front offices on Monday, and by that I don't mean Susanna Hoffs will be lounging around a crystal blue Italian stream.

Dual citizenship, discussions about players being raised in one country, then playing for another have been running rampant the last several days. Some like the new FIFA rule change, some don't. For some the thought of Guiseppe Rossi playing for Italy after being born in the States, causes their blood to boil.

Burrito is tired of all this War of the Soccer Leagues between USL and NASL!
The latest comes from Burrito's compadre Kartik. It look like USL has sued teams for breach of contract!

Florida court documents filed on Tuesday indicate that the United Soccer Leagues have sued the Rochester Rhinos and two other clubs for breach of contract.

Recent results in world cup qualifying have brought a swift sense of reality to my vision of the U.S. National Team's potential. We were trounced in Costa Rica and won at home in less than convincing fashion against a Honduras team that jumped out to an early lead. Now the Nats head to South Africa to take part in the warm up to the 2010 World Cup tournament.

Football Association in sense of humour shocker! The FA has produced a spoof of a Nike viral to encourage more people to take up 11-a-side football. They reckon the full size version of the beautiful game is facing dwindling numbers at grassroots level (presumably because it is easier to haul your beer gut around a five-a-side [.

Martin Tyler has joined ESPN's 2010 World Cup team as the main commentator, according to Sports Illustrated.

EPL Talk speculated back in July that ESPN were interested in acquiring Tyler. And now, according to SI, they expect ESPN to make a formal announcement this week.

Without a doubt, Tyler is by far the number one football commentator in the world and it's an incredible achievement for ESPN to acquire his talent.

The term hero, legend, great, superstar and even celebrity are widely over used in the world today and have now been over used in the sporting world too, none more so than football.

Players become celebrities before they are even greats of the game, it's a crying shame, it really is.

Five days have passed since Italy's whopping 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil, a match which put an an end to Lippi's South African countryside scouting (one year before the big tournament) and sent the Azzurri home among general shrugs of indifference, frowned eyebrows, and sincere worries in the ranks of Italian supporters.

Earlier this week, Planet Football opened its doors to the circus that is the transfer window.

From now until the end of August, the ring master, in the guise of Manchester City and Real Madrid, will be orchestrating the greatest show of them all.

There is no price is too dear for the big boys to pay anymore, while back in the real world, regular people face the threat of redundancy and trying to work out where the next pay cheque is coming from.

Language and Contradictions in The Beautiful Game

The Barcelona – Chelsea game tomorrow is one of monumental implications. It might affect our conceptions of the game's aesthetics, morality, and function. Don't believe me? Then check out all the philosophizing, pontificating and aggrandizing going on about the game in columns, soccer-culture blogs, and chat rooms the world over.

Here's news of a fantastic series of football supplements being given away free in The Guardian and The Observer from this Saturday (in the UK only).
'Foul Play: The Seven Deadly Sins of Football' scratches beneath the shiny veneer of the modern Premier League era and discovers that the beautiful game has a secret history of the odd, the unexpected and the downright shady.

When we posted our editorial, the Punk Rockization of MLS little did we know that there were more connections between Punk subculture and MLS supporters groups than we originally though:
"This article is odd, but i can't believe you forgot to include Garden State Supporters (GSS).

Miami FC PR Ignacio Rodriguez was on the "The DA Show" on local Sports station WQAM 560 Radio yesterday. Below you can check out the podcast of the show under "Wildcat Gimmick". If you want to listen in you can find his interview at about minute 44. Be Sure to listen in on Damon Amendolara and his "DA Show" which starts at 8 pm and runs till 11 pm weekdays.

I'm going to gingerly set this down in the middle of the room, careful not to make any sudden moves, and then slowly back away from it so that I can get as close to the door as possible before anyone realizes what I've done. By the time someone notices it sitting there, and wanders over curiously to sniff it and poke it with a paw, I'll have a thick door between us and will have already bolted 3 of the four padlocks.

Brazilian coach, who is currently employed in Uzbekistan, found some time to give his thoughts on the burning issues in football. Big Phil believes that main reasons behind Ronaldinho's downfall are the fact that he is overweight and that he's lost the passion for the beautiful game.

Americans Abroad / USMNT
USA 2, Honduras 0: A Look Back - Soccer By Ives
US v Honduras Player Ratings - Soccer365
It's All About Speed - American Soccer News
McCarthy's Musings: Job Done - Goal.com
The Kids Are Alright - Bill Archer Blog
Bradley: Davies, Feilhaber Made Difference - Yanks Abroad
Gold Cup Over For Adu - Match Fit USA
Adu And Feilhaber Return To Europe - Goal.

I am talking tomorrow with Gustavo Arellano (KPFK 90.7/4:00pm) about David Beckham, one of my favorite subjects. Becks, of course, is much in the news for his reappearance on the LA Galaxy roster in an exhibition match against the other team in his life - AC Milan. (See Nick Green's match report.)
While watching the game on television this afternoon, I couldn't help noticing that the man seems happier.

A few general housekeeping items here at the site as we prepare for the new EPL season to kick-off this weekend:

• We can now be found at http://www.nevercaptainnickybutt.com. Special thanks to GoDaddy for the pain free purchase and domain registration, and to Danica Patrick for that little bit of extra "care.

Screen Shot taken from ESPN News, makes me feel good
Confirmed, breaking news for those of us living in the USA. EPL Talk is reporting that ESPN will show the Chelsea - Hull match live tomorrow morning on ESPN2.
Updated: Screen shot above just taken from ESPN News, confirming the match.

Yes folks! Red Bull Street Style is here! The event will be held at 5701 Sunset Drive tomorrow Friday September 18, 2009. Doors open at 6 pm and starts at 7 pm. There is no cost to register, participate or attend.
No idea what I'm talking about? Check the video out below.
Here is what it's all about from the Red Bull Street Style site:

Following the runaway success of 2008 culminating in the first ever World Finals in Sao Paulo, Red Bull Street Style returns for 2009/10 to keep the world freestyle elite on their toes and the tricks fresh.

There are a few things that have been detrimental to the image of MLS this week, including Alexi Lalas' face appearing every time I open the MLS homepage. High on my list would have been MLS moving the Fire's away playoff game at New England to Sunday from Saturday, just two days after they had scheduled it for the original date in the first place.