Okay, bad usage of English and slang aside, this one isn't for the kiddies. If ever there was a perfect example of how much of a defensive hack league that MLS is, here you go:Straight red for Mullen and hopefully a multi game ban. Zakauni is out for at least 5 months following successful surgery on his leg, in which both fibula and tibia were snapped like matchsticks.

In news that has kind of gone a bit unnoticed today, Thad over at The Back Post has news on Teal Bunbury's one time FIFA switch from Canada to the United States. According to Thad, the switch was approved last week by FIFA and Bunbury is officially set to play for the United States. What this means is that Bunbury is now able to play for the US national team in competitive games like World Cup qualifiers and confederation competitions like this summer's Gold Cup.

By Chris Wright

A photograph has surfaced of Mesut Ozil huffing away on a cheeky tab while sunning himself aboard a yacht in Ibiza over the summer and, when taken to task by German daily BILD over being caught out with a filthy lung dart in his mouth, promptly gave the lamest excuse imaginable:

"I was on a yacht on vacation and so I didn't notice I was being photographed.

Higher seed hosting the MLS Cup? Sounds like it could be a real possibility when you hear MLS Commissioner Don Garber talk like this. My bet, it happens when the league gets to 20 clubs but who knows, maybe it will happen this year.

Chuck Blazer could throw a massive monkey wrench into the New York expansion fun. (Getty Images)

The writing was possibly too much on the wall for this not to happen. We heard the whispers for a little while that something could be going wrong in the New York Cosmos to MLS expansion camp. With the news the other day that Cosmos chairman and CEO Paul Kemsley resigned, you just knew something else was going on.

Few quick thoughts on United States 2-0 victory over Jamaica;

• Credit to Bob Bradley for making the difficult and as it turned out correct decisions. Sitting Donovan due to his early morning return from his sisters wedding was the correct call and a gutsy one by Bradley. In addition, trotting out a 4-3-2-1 allowed the United States to control the midfield by spreading out the Reggae Boyz, which also opened up a ton of space.

Manchester United are going to be a much bigger challenge to Barcelona for the Champions League in the coming years, according to one Old Trafford veteran.

Gary Neville, who retired during last season after almost 20 years with the Red Devils, saw United beaten comprehensively in the Champions League final for the second time in three years by Barcelona.

Word is that the club may be on the cusp of securing the services of Oriol Romeu. Wait, who?

Poor Barcelona. They really do seem to be scraping by at the moment, what with the signing of Alexis Sanchez finalized Wednesday and the inevitable transfer of Cesc Fabregas to come.

Boy, talk about a change up.

Yesterday Chivas USA was all set to get midfielder Freddy Adu as their first Designated Player but today their upper management had second thoughts about the deal and went against it. So in came the Philadelphia Union who have now signed Adu.

Fox Soccer was the first to report this deal.

By Andrew Villegas Freddy Adu is coming, er, staying, stateside. On the outs at Benfica, and after four unsuccessful loan stints, Adu has decided that it's probably a better bet to keep his place on the U.S. Men's National Team by seeing the field and getting some meaningful playing time in MLS. And who could [.

Arsenal begin their Champions League campaign on tonight against Udinese and despite missing suspended Robin van Persie, injured Jack Wilshire and Samir Nasri , the bookies still believe it will be a relatively easy victory for the Gunners.

Unibet, who are offering a no risk first bet promotion to arsenalinsider readers, make Arsene Wenger's side 1.

So Arsenal find themselves still competing on all four fronts, with the final of the Carling Cup up first at the end of February.

Sports Betting is an ever growing market place with every major sporting event fully covered.

I know of one chap who resides in North London (no links to the club) who made over £200,000 in 2010 from punting on Football alone.

When Dale Vince took over as owner of the Forest Green Rovers, few knew how far reaching his dietary preferences would be. It wasn't too long before everyone found out.
The boss, who doesn't partake in meat or dairy products, issued an order to his players forbidding them to eat red meat.

There are people who have been watching Arsenal since they had a shiny, bald baby head which is currently returning to its hairless, albeit far less shiny, state. And although I'm the newest of newbies in comparison with them, I think I can match the grumpiest old gooner in being negative about things.

There is a growing trend of neuvo goons who just don't get what supporting a football team is all about... there seems to be some kind of fashion in showing the social media world how much more of a fan you are than the next one.

Shove it... you don't fool me... you are fake as hell and desperate for acceptance.

Wales were so abysmally poor on Saturday it is hard to give too much praise to England but considering so many are quick to criticise when they lose they perhaps deserve positive word when they win.
For Capello he finally seems to be picking a formation that suits his players. Gone is the 4-4-2 and in comes a fluid 4-3-3 formation that suits the roving tendencies of Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young.

Reports from France suggest that Gervinho has refused to renew his contract with Lille. The Ivory Coast striker, who has been linked with Premier League outfit Liverpool, is keen to experience a new challenge and is thought to have blocked talks over a new contract.
The 23-year-old's refusal to renew his present deal will send a clear signal to Lille that they must cash in on their talented forward or risk his value being diminished.

Fifa's World Rankings for May were published today and there is little change throughout the 200+ team ranking. 2010 World Cup winners Spain remain in top spot followed by The Netherlands, Brazil, Germany and England in 6th place. Ghana are the top African team in 15th.
The USA are in 22nd place.

WHO: New England Revolution vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
WHERE: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
WHEN: Saturday, May 28th, 7:30 PM EST

Welcome to the New England Revolution vs. Los Angeles Galaxy live game thread! The Revs are set to complete their season series with the SoCal club in Foxboro this evening after opening the season with a 1-1 draw at the Home Depot Center.

So we've got a game on our hands this afternoon, a rematch of this glory. No Confed Cup hardware on the line here, but it'll give us an early look at the Gold Cup roster and how they're meshing. Let's take a look. - It's a difficult start to the summer - Wanna bet? - Sky's got some facts for ya - U.

This morning I ran a quick survey to see what Fulham fans thought of the squad. It's not meant to provide any great insight into the world, but I did think it would be interesting to see how players are perceived, and the extent to which these views are held. We got 100 responses (the most allowed by the survey system without having to pay) and the results are as follows.

The end of the European club season always brings about major changes on team rosters, and also always leads to plenty of players hitting the open market. This summer is no different, and there are several Americans now available for potential moves to the United States.

Jonathan Spector, Marcus Hahnemann, DaMarcus Beasley and Eddie Johnson are all on the market now, and all four could help MLS teams if they chose to come home and play in Major League Soccer.

Fifa's World Rankings for June were published today. 2010 World Cup winners Spain remain in top spot followed by The Netherlands, Germany and England.
Nepal are in 148th place!
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1 Spain
2 Netherlands
3 Germany
4 England
5 Brazil
6 Italy
7 Portugal
8 Croatia
9 Mexico
10 Argentina
11 Norway
12 Greece
13 Japan
14 Côte d'Ivoire
15 France
16 Montenegro
17 Russia
18 Uruguay
19 Sweden
20 Denmark
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It isn't 100% official yet but the Belgium FA is reporting that the US and Belgium will square off on September 6th in Brussels. This long-rumored friendly was confirmed by the USSF today as well.

Belgium is currently second in their group in Euro 2012 qualifying behind Germany, in a group that also has Austria and Turkey.

Because sometimes you need something to listen to while you drink we present "FBM Drinkin' Songs". This series will... ahem... explore the musical side of soccer and beer.
"Megan Rapinoe, I went to the casino, and put a bet on you..." opens this hilarious tribute song to USWNT super-sub and midfield Megan Rapinoe (first seen on "The Shin Guardian")
We wish this World Cup would never end.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the U.S. Women' National Team during their pre-game meal today to wish the team good luck ahead of the Women's World Cup Final.
Secretary of State Clinton called from Greece where she said she'll be watching the game tonight at a party.

Caption competition: July 22, 2011

Sportsmail has launched a caption competition for you to battle it out each week for a brilliant prize of a £100 Sportsbook bet with our friends at Paddy Power.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-07-22 03:00:08 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

A spell broken, or a mere blip? This may be the question that Manchester City supporters are asking themselves as they prepare themselves for a season which will see their club fall under the spotlight of the media to a hitherto unprecedented extent. They may have been challenging for a place in the Champions League and to land a major trophy for the first time in three and a half decades, but it felt last season as if manager Roberto Mancini was walking a perpetual tightrope, with the entire world watching them from below and a considerable number of them hoping that he would stumble and fall.

Don't ask me why, but, for some reason, there's simply been no news regarding the Timbers this week so far. There are rumors that a player signing is coming by Wednesday, but I can't independently confirm if that's true or not. There have been hints we could see him at the BBQ tonight but I wouldn't place a bet on that if I were you.

The Premier League is again a case of totting up balance sheets. The Championship's glorious unpredictability is gradually being eroded by the distorting effects of parachute payments. The most important aspect of Leagues One and Two could again be those dreaded asterixes against points totals which don't add up to games won or drawn.

The Philadelphia Union battled back on two occasions from one-goal deficits to earn a valuable point in a 2-2 draw against a strong FC Dallas side at PPL Park on Saturday night.

FC Dallas looked like a good bet to escape PPL Park with a win after taking leads on two occasions, but each time the Union kept battling and earned penalties.

Why you shouldn't be tempted to bet on Swansea against City

Fancy a crazy long-shot bet? Well, ­Swansea are 12-1 to beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium ­tomorrow night. The odds are generous ­because Brendan ­Rodgers' side lost 11 away games in the Championship last season.

The Chicago Fire will continue their quest to try to shatter the record for MLS draws in a season under the bright lights of prime time on ESPN2 tonight. Having just tied the MLS record of 14 ties, set just last year by FC Dallas, it's a good bet to assume the Fire will surpass that mark by a sizable margin.

Arsenal take on Liverpool at the Emirates on Saturday at 12.45pm on the back of an unconvincing 1-0 victory against Udinese in their Champions League first leg qualifying match, with injuries to key defenders and mounting pressure on Arsene Wenger.

Despite this, Unibet still make the Gunners favourites to beat the Reds on Saturday – a game that is LIVE on Sky Sports.

Caption competition: August 19, 2011

Each week, Sportsmail has a caption competition for you to battle it out for a brilliant prize of a £100 Sportsbook bet with our friends at Paddy Power. This week's picture involves Peter Crouch.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-08-19 04:00:09 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Word on the street - and by street I mean Twitter - is that Danny Welbeck is going to return to training next week following his hamstring injury. In the meantime, Javier Hernandez is going to start against Bolton Wanderers, at Bolton, and to me looks a good fantasy bet. He's only 10 in the Yahoo! game, and I assume that he'll keep his starting place even if Welbeck recovers quickly.

Amobi Okugo didn't make his way into the ridiculous night that was yesterday's 4-4 draw between the Philadelphia Union and the New England Revolution, but he did have a job to do.

The 20-year-old defensive midfielder sung "Happy Birthday" to a fan at last night's game, after losing a Twitter bet.

You remember Safee Sali? The Malaysian striker who plays for Pelita Jaya in Indonesia? He is currently on trial with Cardiff City.
Anyway the Daily Express, an English newspaper most famous for punk poet John Cooper Clarke asking why there were no topless ladies in their pages, suggests Sali has hit 110 goals in 138 games for the Karawang based club!

You remember Safee Sali? The Malaysian striker who plays for Pelita Jaya in Indonesia? He is currently on trial with Cardiff City.
Anyway the Daily Express, an English newspaper most famous for punk poet John Cooper Clarke asking why there were no topless ladies in their pages, suggests Sali has hit 110 goals in 138 games for the Karawang based club!

Arsenal have a terrific record against Blackburn, and look a solid bet to get their season back on...
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