The year is over half over already, and that means time to look at my Wishes for 2009 and how they've done so far.
1. Ground breaking on the stadium - The mall is down now and we actually have some renderings, but we still have not seen an official ground breaking for the building of the stadium.

It's crunch time and DC United has been thrown a lifeline in the CONCACAF Champions League, but the Black and Red need a big win in RFK over a suddenly misfiring Marathon to get themselves back on track.

Still reveling in my first-ever Picking The Winners victory, the time has come to turn an eye to this weekend's games in hopes of turning it into a winning streak. My opponent this week is no stranger to regular readers of MLS Daily; Jason Davis contributes to this site with an excellent column every Friday.

Pacos Ferreira opened Week 10 of the Superliga (Liga Sagres) with a big win over floundering Belenenses. Cristiano scored a brace and William added the other as Pacos moved out of the relegation zone.

The Rapids came up with a big win at Dicks Sporting Goods Park last night. They beat Eastern Conference leaders DC United 3-0. Not only did they finally get another shutout, their 2nd of the season, but 12 games into...

For once the US Open Cup is getting it's just due for some hype going into tonight's final. It sure didn't hurt that two of the league's best PR teams are in the final. DC United has done it's best hyping the match against expansion side Seattle Sounders FC. Oh and there's been a fun back and forth thing between the club's front offices.

Ugh, I think I'm getting power ranking fatigue. Fortunately I think my symptoms will only last another couple weeks.
Chicago hasn't won in five games and L.A. is the only team in the top four that won last week. I have to have the three clinched playoff teams up top.
The Sounders FC picked up a big win over the weekend, but I find it hard to move my hometown team past No.

Yet another big win against our northern rivals, this time with a scoreline of 3-1.

Videos below:

It was a fairly confident win against PAOK this time with goals coming from Djebbour, Blanco, and Scocco. There were some questionable calls from the ref (including a red for PAOK, which I agree with but could have been avoided by PAOK) and some calls not made (including a hand ball from Kafes which wasn't called).

As mentioned yesterday the playoff race has gotten pretty clear for me. Aside from two or three clubs I pretty much have a good understanding of who will be in the second season and who will not. The rankings sort of reflect that this week and there was some movement across the board.

First up I think LA has finished climbing the charts for now.

The International break is over and it is time to get back to Premier League action. The big game this weekend has to be the lunch time match up between Liverpool and Manchester City.

Liverpool v Man City
This is really a huge game for two teams who have Champions League ambitions.

The Wizards went into Salt Lake City last night and came away with a 2-0 win, the first regular season loss by Real Salt Lake at their new stadium, Rio Tinto. Two goals by Josh Wolff led the Wizards to the big win in probably their best performance of the season. Early on KC controlled the tempo of the game, and were rewarded for it with a very nice counterattacking goal.

I am deeply saddened to return to the Greece Blog on the heels of a bitter (to say the least) 2-0 loss to Switzerland on Saturday night in Basel. My big return was supposed to be capped with a huge celebration of a big win in Basel, but somebody (I'll deal with him in a sec) really ruined...everything (this is not a conspiracy theory, or me saying England is going to win the World Cup again, ever).

All it takes is one weekend and so many crazy stories come out, many of them sad, many of them bizarre.
First off, here's a ref giving some heckling fans the finger. He later provided this quote:

"I let myself get provoked by the verbal insults of the fans and was dragged down to making an unsporting gesture.

French Ligue 1 side A.S. Saint-Étienne have officially launched their adidas 2009/10 third kit. It was worn for the first time during this weekend's 2-1 away win against A.S. Monaco. Here's a look at Saint-Étienne's new adidas kit (including some cool shots from their big win against Monaco). Check out our 2009/10 Kits and Jerseys section for more [.

FC Barcelona thumped Zaragoza 6-1 to retain their spot at the top of the Spanish La Liga on Sunday. They are now three points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid after eight games played. Barca's big win came via an unexpected Seydou Keita hat trick and two goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. FC Barcelona now has 22 points.

Liverpool full-back, Emiliano Insua, 20, is looking to add to his midweek goal - a sensational long-range volley struck against Arsenal in the fourth round of the League Cup at Ashburton Grove.
The burgeoning Argentinean, who has one international cap, was delighted to ripple the net in the first half, despite his side going on to lose 2-1 due to a second half Nicklas Bendtner effort.

Unbeaten at home squares off against unbeaten on the road.

The Seattle Sounders and their perfect record are on the line tonight against the visiting Kansas City Wizards. Not many folks outside of KC give the Wizards much of a chance, but you never know.

SBI readers voted to have the Chivas USA-LA match be tonight's SBI Match Commentary, but the voting was extremely close and given the circumstances of tonight's match, I have decided to switch.

Three games on Saturday, with Boston getting their first win and Washington and Sky Blue FC opening their home schedule with draws. Saint Louis 0 - Boston 2 The Breakers won at home with goals from English international Kelly Smith in the 53rd minute and US veteran Kristine Lilly in the 87th. "Obviously it's a big win.

A big game tonight and another big win for Graham Westley's side. If only we had hit the ground running back in August!

Stevenage have been superb since December. If the season had begun at the beginning of that month, then Boro would be comfortable winners of the Blue Square Premier.

Its time to award the World Cup Buzz Team Of The Week to some lucky team. The winner should be honored because its a recognition of a team's superior performance during the week. Remember that the WCB Team Of The Week made headlines and/or played matches during the calendar week of April 20 - 26.

The Rapids apparently learned their lesson. After taking a 1 goal lead early, losing it, and then getting it back they kept pushing and extended the lead to two goals before winning 3-2. The game started with a huge save from Pickens after the central defense fell asleep in the first minute. After that the team took control and had a few chances.

To whom it may concern,
How could a club who has been preparing for the biggest game in the it's history come out so flat? It's not as if Puerto Rico was tearing up the pitch. What happened to "BMO Field -The Fortress", "This Is Our House" etc. etc? The lack of effort and game plan was terrible and as the game wore on the crosses got worse, the corners near amateurish and the finishing was non-existent.

With J Hutcherson -- Dueling Champions Leagues for our viewing enjoyment, with our friends from Major League Soccer appreciating it if you'd be pal and go ahead and pencil in their 'focus on the League' excuse. They have a point. The big win for the CONCACAF Champions League isn't a nice chunk of money and worldwide acclaim.

With yet another exciting Premier League weekend in the books it's time to review this weekend's winners and losers.

Winners Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane emerges from this weekend as the biggest winner. The Tottenham striker has had a relatively quiet start to the season, oftentimes playing second fiddle to the red hot Jermain Defoe.

USF's leading scorer, Noelle Pineiro [left], secured a big win for the Bulls on Sunday with an assist and then a goal to defeat West Virginia (4-3-4) in front of just 267 at the USF Soccer Stadium. Pineiro, a sophomore from Bradenton, has been USF's most consistent source of scoring this season, while the team has lacked the finishing touch at times.

French Ligue 1 returns into action after the international break and Olympique Lyon are leading the title race at the moment. Bordeaux and surprise package Montpellier are just behind the leaders, while Marseille and PSG are slowly falling behind. Monaco and Lorient are also exceeding expectations at the moment, while Toulouse, Nice and Lille are not doing as well as last season.

Three points dropped.

Life is tough at the top. Last year at this stage of the season, Tottenham were propping up the Premier League table. Coming into this game they actually had a chance to go top with a big win, or at least draw level on points. Instead, Stoke gave them a lesson in defensive tenacity and profligacy in should-win games.

Emiliano Insua today predicted Liverpool's defenders are ready to rediscover their miserly ways – as Steven Gerrard geared up for a return to action.
Having been restricted to just 25 minutes of action in the past three weeks due to a groin problem, Gerrard is poised to slot back into the Reds' midfield at Fulham on Saturday.

Yesterday out at the Nike headquarters in Oregon the USL first division owners got together for a little meeting. It turns out the group does know how to play some hardball with the other group of owners known as the TOA who are planning to start their own league.

The USL called it a new era for the league, especially the first division.

The International break is over and it is time to get back to Premier League action. The big game this weekend has to be the lunch time match up between Liverpool and Manchester City.

Liverpool v Man City
This is really a huge game for two teams who have Champions League ambitions.

The year 2009 ends tonight so it's time to take a look back at my wishes for the year of 2009. For reference here are my original wishes and my mid-year review of them.
1. Ground breaking on the stadium - Well, Robb Heineman said it would happen by the end of the year, but with the late snow and everything, that looks extremely unlikely.

Though there is still work to be done in Tijuana, the U.S. got off to a good start last night with a big win against Cuba. You can read more about the game by clicking here. You can also watch head coach Wilmer Cabrera, forwards Jack McInerney and Stefan Jerome and midfielder Luis Gil react by watching this post game video.

A big game tonight and another big win for Graham Westley's side. If only we had hit the ground running back in August!

Stevenage have been superb since December. If the season had begun at the beginning of that month, then Boro would be comfortable winners of the Blue Square Premier.

Have goals ever been so important? With two games remaining, points are only marginally more important than goal difference in the hunt for survival, Europe and even the Meisterschaft.

Wolfsburg silenced the critics and showed their professionalism by keeping their outstanding home-form (remember the only points dropped at the VW were back in August) by crushing the hottest team in the Bundesliga: Dortmund.

Well the title is finally wrapped up and now La Liga's attention will focus on the races for European cup spots as well as to see who stays in the Spanish top flight and who does not. Also the race for the Pichichi will have a very interesting turn in the days and weeks ahead.

Barcelona were given the honor guard in Mallorca, although they would end up losing after former home team star (Eto'o) missed a penalty in the dying moments of the match.

You can watch the Spain v South Africa match live online - here.

Spain v South Africa (Group A)
Date: Saturday 20th June
Venue: Bloemfontein
Kickoff: 19:30 GMT

Hosts South Africa could join Spain in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup if they avoid defeat in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Come join Minnesota supporters of the Men's National team, along with readers of Inside Minnesota Soccer.com, for a U.S. National Team watch party.

The US National team plays Spain on Wednesday June, 24th with a 1:25 p.m. CT kick off and televised on ESPN. The US backed their way into this game with 2 ugly losses but then redeemed themselves with a big win on Sunday against Egypt.

Come join Minnesota supporters of the Men's National team, along with readers of Inside Minnesota Soccer.com, for a U.S. National Team watch party.

The US National team plays Spain on Wednesday June, 24th with a 1:25 p.m. CT kick off and televised on ESPN. The US backed their way into this game with 2 ugly losses but then redeemed themselves with a big win on Sunday against Egypt.

FIFA's July 2009 world rankings are out and in Africa, Ivory Coast's Elephants reign supreme.
The Elephants are 18th in the world, up 20 places from last month. They've now over taken last month's African #1, Cameroon, who slipped to second, 29th in the world.
This matches Ivory Coast's highest ever position in the FIFA table.