Good news for those of you who might have been dreading a possible annual rate increase in your
beloved Portland Timbers season ticket package as the FO just sent out a press release announcing
that the price you paid last year will be the price you pay later this year.
I think this goes without saying, but after struggling all season long and going through many a
difficulty on and off the field, this is probably one of the smartest things they could have
done.
Article by Anders Aarhus
There was plenty to talk about with the MLS All-Star game last night as MLS defeated Chelsea 3-2.
But just as intriguing as the victory was the interview with MLS commissioner Don Garber at
halftime. Halftime interviews can be a waste of time, but kudos to the cast of ESPN, specifically
Kasey Keller and Alexi Lalas, for asking some tough and direct questions.
The Philadelphia Union confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Sebastien Le Toux has been traded to
Vancouver.
In return, the club receives an undisclosed amount of allocation money.
Union head coach Peter Nowak said in the announcement, "While this decision wasn't easy, we are
confident that the allocation money we receive will provide the flexibility for us to compile the
best possible roster for 2012 and beyond.
It's almost impossible to have escaped the saga of the Chris Paul trade(s) in the NBA but just
in case you have, here are a couple of need-to-know facts.
Ownership of the New Orleans Hornets (Chris Paul's now former team) was sold to the NBA back in
December 2010
Every owner in the NBA owns 1/29th of the Hornets but does not have any direct say in
day-to-day operations
NBA commissioner David Stern had given full authority to Hornets General Manager Dell Demps to
make whatever player moves he felt were in the team's best interest
The Hornets best player and NBA superstar Chris Paul was under contract for only one more
season
Chris Paul recently told the Hornets he didn't want to sign with them after this season and
would like to be traded
Rather than see the Hornets get nothing when Paul walks this summer, GM Demps worked out a
three-way trade less than two weeks ago that would have shipped Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers and
had a couple of players from the Lakers and the Houston Rockets come to the Hornets.
Shocking move by the Colorado Rockies who fired coach Gary Smith. What makes this decision such
a head scratcher is that Smith led the Rapids to their first MLS Cup less than a year ago.
Managing director Jeff Plush said Monday that he decided not to renew Smith's contract, which
ended after the season.
Gary Smith is now out as head coach of the Colorado Rapids. (Getty Images)
You could see the writing on the wall with this for several weeks. Gary Smith was not happy and
neither were the folks above him with the Colorado Rapids.
Today, they made it official as the club announced they would be parting ways with the only head
coach in their club history to guide them to a MLS Cup.
United States National Team and Chivas USA defender Jimmy Conrad announced his retirement on
Thursday. The 34-year-old had been attempting to return to the club after recovering from multiple
concussions. "I spoke to people that are close to me, like my family, but mainly it was the doctors
and coaches who helped me come to this conclusion," Conrad said in a press statement.
Somewhere out there, someone is upset over this news. Quite frankly I and probably most of the
die-hard LA Galaxy fans are not. Landon Donovan announced over the weekend that he will skip the
MLS All-Star Game this week against Manchester United due to a nagging calf injury that has been
bothering him lately.
He looks pretty chuffed...
Image: liverpoolfc.comLiverpool have completed the signing of Joe Allen making it the shock of
the century after he was spotted watching the lads versus Gomel, I hope whoever planned that one
doesn't have to organise a surprise birthday party...
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup said there is no point keeping a player who wants to leave, with
Joe Allen's Liverpool-link remaining.
Allen, who was crucial during former manager Brendan Rodgers' reign at Swansea, could leave the
Welsh club as rumours persist he will join his former boss at Liverpool for £15 million.
Sending young players out on loan to build experience is standard practice at top Premier League
clubs, and Liverpool is no exception. However, Reserve team coach Rodolfo Borrell is worried that
some loan moves can be counter-productive, and he argues that this has been the case for promising
young striker Nathan Eccleston.
Good morning, welcome to a brand new week and another round of the Robin van Persie affair. Like
it or not, it is dominating proceedings and it's more irritating than getting up on a Monday
morning with a hangover to listen to your dog chew a plant pot right beside your feet.
Yesterday, the manager re-iterated his desire to keep van Persie:
Van Persie is a world-class striker and I am a big supporter of him.
With all of the Chicago Fire's recent forward acquisitions, there couldn't be room for everybody
in Frank Klopas' stable of strikers, and Gaston Puerari is the odd man out.
The Fire sold Puerari, a Uruguayan forward acquired in the offseason, to Mexican club Atlas on
Wednesday for an undisclosed transfer fee.
CHESTER, Pa. -- Brad Guzan has spent four years as a backup goalkeeper at Aston Villa. But this
year, as he and his club prepare for a new Premier League season, the starting spot could be within
reach.
Earlier this week, Guzan put pen to paper on a new contract that will keep him at Aston Villa
for at least the next three years.
Ring the bells and wake the children -- the King of Old Trafford, Portuguese sensation Bebe, is
returning to Manchester United after his almost not completely terrible loan spell in Turkey. The
21-year-old Sir Alex Ferguson bought sight unseen for £7.4 million in August of 2010 has yet to be
unloaded and never spoken of again, so he will now rejoin Man United until that inevitably
happens.
Fabrice Muamba's playing days could be over this is according to Peter Weissberg a leading heart
specialist and director at the renowned British Heart Foundation. Muamba is said to be making
steady improvement in his health since suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for Bolton in a FA
Cup match will join the likes of Ruben de la Red and Sergio Sanchez who were forced to take a break
from their careers after both were found to be having serious heart conditions.
Two weeks without club football? Check. The potential for the club's most important players to
pick up injuries? Check. All the time in the world to stew over a bad performance leading into the
break? Check. A fully functioning liver? That might depend on how many Liverpool players go to
sleep Tuesday night without having picked up an injury between now and then.
As last season moved along, a fairly strong consensus formed: Lucas Leiva was the most
underrated player on the squad, and quite possibly the most underrated player in the league.
Opinion, though, can shift, and by the end of the season he was the consensus player of the year
for his club, a starter in midfield for his country, and had won over many of his former critics as
the top tackler across Europe's five biggest leagues.
FA Cup semifinal today but it doesn't involves The Arsenal. There's a couple of Premier League
matches, none of which involves us as well. Our game against Wigan will only be on Monday night and
that give the players plenty of time to recover from the midweek exertions at Molineux.
FA Cup semifinal today but it doesn't involves The Arsenal. There's a couple of Premier League
matches, none of which involves us as well. Our game against Wigan will only be on Monday night and
that give the players plenty of time to recover from the midweek exertions at Molineux.
With the Premier League start beginning, it's time for previews. Take it away, Amy Lawrence:
Gervinho might prove to be another classic Arsène Wenger bargain, an athletic and pacy ball player
raring to step up a level, spirited over from France for a fee that doesn't make a certain manager
with a well-documented devotion to cautious housekeeping choke as if he was asked to fix the Greek
economy before breakfast.
I've been getting frustrated with the coverage of the Samir Nasri contract situation over the
last week or so, particularly around the vitriol directed at him for his stance in negotiating his
new contract and/or move to another club. I don't doubt for a second that he has been somewhat
ruthless in his approach, but I've not seen anything that he's said or done that has left me
thinking 'ooo, that's a bit off'.
So..it looks like we've made no further progress in regards to our bid for Phil Jones.
Soccernet is reporting that while we've agreed to personal terms with the player AND met the
buyout clause in his contract, the most important thing hasn't been resolved. And that would be the
actual transfer fee to convince Blackburn to sell him to us.
I think Cesc Fabregas' time at Arsenal is nearing it's end. He has been a great servant since
joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow
Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole.
Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if
Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best
interest to take that kind of cash?
I think Cesc Fabregas' time at Arsenal is nearing it's end. He has been a great servant since
joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow
Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole.
Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if
Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best
interest to take that kind of cash?
I think Cesc Fabregas' time at Arsenal is nearing it's end. He has been a great servant since
joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow
Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole.
Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if
Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best
interest to take that kind of cash?
I think Cesc Fabregas' time at Arsenal is nearing it's end. He has been a great servant since
joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow
Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole.
Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if
Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best
interest to take that kind of cash?
I think Cesc Fabregas' time at Arsenal is nearing it's end. He has been a great servant since
joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow
Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole.
Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if
Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best
interest to take that kind of cash?
I think Cesc Fabregas' time at Arsenal is nearing it's end. He has been a great servant since
joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow
Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole.
Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if
Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best
interest to take that kind of cash?
I think Cesc Fabregas' time at Arsenal is nearing it's end. He has been a great servant since
joining the club at age 16, but it may now be time to collect the fat check from Barcelona, allow
Cesc to go where he wants, and use the money to move forward and improve the team as a whole.
Sources say that Arsenal are looking for a fee of 35-40 million pounds for the captain, and if
Barcelona, or any other club, meet that asking price, does anyone NOT think it would be in our best
interest to take that kind of cash?
Salomon Kalou turns Fernando Torres's measured cross into goal in the 75th minute. David Luiz
did not go nuts in front of his former club. He actually did well.
Roberto De Matteo kept Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, and Michael Essien on the bench.
Benfica have loaned out midfielder/right back Ruben Amorim to Braga for the next year and a half.
Amorim who had a falling out with Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, recently signed a contract extension
with the club until 2013 but the club felt it was in their best interest to loan Amorim to Braga
never the less.
There has been much talk recently about the futures of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, both of
whom will see their contracts expire in the summer. Former Chelsea and AC Milan manager Carlo
Ancelotti, for one, has talked up both players as potential targets for Milan, saying he could see
them "fitting in very well" at the Italian club.
No matter how we felt about Carlo Ancelotti or previous managers one thing remains and that's Roman
Abramovich and the fact he is committed to Chelsea. We have to remember where exactly we would be
without him at the club and I know there are a fair few Chelsea fans out there that do feel
disgruntled at his running of the club and some of his methods.
In indication of how much the latest match fixing and gambling scandals are impacted his team
preparations for the Euros, Italian national boss Cesare Prandelli says that the Azzurri would quit
Euro 2012 if they were asked to do so for the good of the game,
"If they tell us that it is in the best interest of football for Italy to not go to the European
Championship then that won't be a problem," Prandelli told Rai Sport.
Gaston Puerari -- Getty ImagesThe Chicago Fire transferred Uruguayan forward Gaston Puerari to Club
Atlas, the team announced Wednesday.
"Club Atlas was very keen on Gaston, and we made the decision to accept the offer based on the best
interest of building our club," Fire interim head coach and technical director Frank Klopas said in
a statement.
If you aren't entirely – or even vaguely – familiar with Mr. Matias Silvestre, it be in your
best interest to spend some time browsing through here. Image Credit: Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images
Europe.
