Once, they were both on the side of good

Hello there. Finally starting to get back to my daily routine back home after the long trip. A journey that was worth every single penny spent. The experience will be penned out hopefully in the next few days and if all goes well, will be up at the Arsenal Collective website.

Jon Levy You'll have to forgive all of us here at The Yanks Are Coming for getting into a more-than-healthy amount of self-referencing in the coming months. We're coming up on the blog's fourth birthday this summer, TYAC having been created in the wake of a very talented 2008 Olympic soccer team's early and unexpected exit from the Beijing [.

The beat (no pun intended) goes on for the Independence, announcing the signing of former US Women's National Team standout, Lori Chalupny earlier today. Chalupny comes to Philadelphia from the Atlanta Beat, where she played in 17 games and scored two goals. "Lori is a world class midfielder. She has great vision, is a fantastic engine and can play both the percentage and million dollar pass," Philadelphia head coach Paul Riley told the official Independence website today.

Arsenal will tour the Far East taking in Seoul, Beijing and Hong Kong in the summer, it can be revealed.

Gunners chiefs are in talks with Far East parties to finalise the jaunt having already sealed a deal to play a friendly match in Nigeria.

With exposing the brand to global markets key to Arsenal's business strategy, gone are the days when Arsène Wenger could take the squad to Austria to take the Alpine air and prepare for the season ahead.

Arsenal will tour the Far East taking in Seoul, Beijing and Hong Kong in the summer, it can be revealed.

Gunners chiefs are in talks with Far East parties to finalise the jaunt having already sealed a deal to play a friendly match in Nigeria.

With exposing the brand to global markets key to Arsenal's business strategy, gone are the days when Arsène Wenger could take the squad to Austria to take the Alpine air and prepare for the season ahead.

Ladies and gentlemen, please mark your calendars for July 27, 2012. On that day, Arsenal will meet Manchester City in a pre-season friendly...In China?

For those of you who may not be privy to certain information, it is official: Arsenal will play Manchester City in Beijing, China, at the Beijing National Stadium (affectionately referred to as the "Bird's Nest Stadium.

Veronica Perez (right) will be an assistant referee for Friday's semifinal match between Canada and Panama at the 2012 CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship.

Veronica Perez, who was selected in mid-February to officiate the 2012 CONCACAF Under-20 Women's Championship, will be an assistant referee for the semifinal match between Canada and host Panama on Friday, March 9.

Arsene Wenger will take Arsenal to play Hong Kong Champions Kitchee FC at the HK Stadium on Sunday, July 29, as part of the club's Asia Tour 2012.

The club says the game will give the Gunners' huge fan base in Hong Kong the opportunity to see AW's team play live ahead of the 2012/2013 season.

Freddy Adu was a member of the U.S. squad that beat Japan 1-0 in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Could there be a USA-Japan rematch in the cards for the 2012 Olympic Games? Japan has just booked its spot in London with a 2-0 win against Bahrain and joins South Korea as the two AFC representatives.

Piotr Nowak knows more about Olympic Qualifying than most. The Union head coach worked as an assistant to then USMNT boss Bob Bradley, and was in charge of the Olympic team for qualifying & the Beijing games back in 2008. Coach Nowak was kind enough to take a few minutes to discuss Caleb Porter's selections & the challenges of qualifying process last night at the FanFest at Chickie's & Pete's.

Chinese Super League outfit Guizhou Renhe are keen on landing England internationals Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand this summer and in a bid to try and convince the duo to move to China, the club is ready to offer both players £250k every week for their services.

"I want the best team in China and we are prepared to invest a lot of money to bring Ferdinand and Lampard to us," club chairman Wang Guolin told The Sun Newspaper.

Stephon Marbury is a champion. The former NBA star has won a championship in the Chinese Basketball Association. Marbury's Guangdog team beat the team from Beijing in Game 5 of the Finals to capture the championship. It's the first title of any kind for Marbury.

Said Marbury: "It has been an incredible experience.

Pele, who recently signed up on Twitter (about time!), has drummed up his Anti-Messi sentiments again by declaring that the Barcelona striker needs to do 'a lot better' than Neymar if he wants to impress the Santos legend and get invited for "cacau" (hot chocolate) in his home.

The Spanish federation (RFEF) has agreed a preliminary deal with Chinese promoter United Vansen International Sport for the Spanish Super Cup to take place in Beijing beginning in 2013.

The two-legged, season-opening tie, which pits the La Liga champions against the Copa del Rey holders, will be played in the Bird's Nest stadium in the Chinese capital, the federation said in a statement on their website.