The coach of a new team of six and seven year old girls decided now was not the time to be coddling youth players and told his new U8 parents what he really thought about competition. In the end , it got him fired.

Congratulations to John Murphy, who recently became the first American coach to be named as a manager of our domestic team in Europe - given the reigns at Livingston FC in Scotland.
Murphy went from successful coach at the youth, collegiate and professional levels here in the United States to getting named as the goalkeeper coach at Livingston in February.

But first, a poem - because any collection of words that includes the phrase "the high arc of midsummer" deserves to be repeated today.  (As pretty much always, this is from The Writers Almanac): First Cutting by Susie Patlove (from Quickening) What is the hayfield in late afternoon that it can fly in the face of time, and light [.

I just read (via Google Alert) that Kelly Smith has signed a 4-year deal with the Boston Breakers! England striker Kelly Smith has stunned Arsenal by quitting the club to play in the United States' new Women's Professional Soccer league. Smith, 30, has agreed a four-year deal with Boston Breakers and joins team-mates Karen Carney and Alex [.

Phew - I feel like it's been a long time since I sat down with some good strong coffee and just caught up here. There's lots of news in the soccer world as the WPS season kick-off is just weeks away!  March 29th, to be exact.  (I should probably think about taking a day or two [...]

So Abby Wambach and Kia MacNeill have garnered one match suspensions as Tonya Antonucci (WPS Commissioner) made the call (after the WPS Disciplinary Committee had decided differently). Let the controversy roil and the debating continue. It probably isn't a bad thing for WPS to have everyone kinda riled at this point in the young season.

The USA Bid Committee for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup released a revised list of potential host cities on Tuesday. The 37 cities account for 45 stadiums, and include several college venues. Proposed stadiums, cities and metropolitan markets for further consideration Atlanta Georgia Dome 71,250 Baltimore M & T Bank Stadium 71,008 Birmingham, Ala.

Jermaine Jones and Edgar Castillo have expressed their interest in becoming eligible for the US national team. Schalke 04 midfielder Jones is keen to switch allegiances to the US from Germany (where he was born) and is close to achieving this according to US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati.

Hmmm - the usual internet issues this morning - and an e-mail from FairPoint indicating that my webspace is now available.  Hey FairPoint - it ain't my webspace that's the problem.  Could you maybe help me with the little e-mail issue that I've now contacted you about TWICE?  (Never mind the time spent waiting on [.

Well, this Monday the leaves are bursting out of clenched buds and the silohuettes of the trees are taking on that lacy, early-spring look. The new greens are woven in with reds, still - and the tulips are coming into their own as the daffodils fade ... and birds are trilling and mating as their tiny bird hormones take over their tiny bird brains - and spring is, yes, very much in the air.

There's quite a bit on the soccer news front, as you may have guessed from the headline this morning.  The WPS has held its combines on the East and West coasts, and is gearing up for its draft on Friday, January 16th.  (That's this Friday, folks!)  Here's some nice video from the West Coast combine [.

63. Bianca Kajlich
Originally uploaded by 肥仔.se7en No sabemos si tiene la gripa H1N1 pero si la tiene, no importaría y ademas esta mujer le enseña modales al jugador de fútbol mas odiado en México Landon Donovan.
Ella es actriz y proviene de Seattle, Washington, ha aparecido en Halloween: Resurrection , en el TV show Boston Public.

FC Dallas is going to help ESPNDallas.com launch by doing a two game partnership that includes front of the jersey sponsorship. ESPN has been rolling out regional websites for large cities, Chicago was I believe the first with Boston recently going on line. The first game of this two game promotion is this Saturday against Real Salt Lake with the second being the New England Revolution double header with Mexico and Colombia at the Cotton Bowl.

Fingers crossed here for another good NFL day for the bird teams.  The Ravens I had with a win.  But the Cardinals?  Wow.  I just hope they didn't steal the Eagles' mojo.  (Nah ... an unworthy thought to be having this snowy NH Sunday.)  If Ravens can bring down Titans, certainly Eagles can bring down [.

Spoken like a true Phillies phan, I know.  There's lots of news this morning on the Boston Breakers front, starting with the fact that an agreement has been reached between the Boston Aztecs and the Boston Breakers. Under the agreement the Aztecs will become the reserve team of the Breakers. Seems like a positive [.

Okay so I do, I really do want to be rooting for Obama but what's with this latest appointment? GE's defender on environmental issues, Ignacia Moreno, has been hired to do the legal stuff for EPA? How did Obama explained this decision, I'm wondering. It kind of gives me a weird feeling in my stomach.

Americans, listen up! Well, you probably already know this but some of the biggest stars in world futbol are coming your way. Inter are already in Boston, Milan are getting there and Chelski and Mexico's club América are expected to arrive shortly in Baltimore and Atlanta.

First off, is Andrew Card crazy?  He's tweaked about Obama disrespecting the office of the Presidency.  Why?  Because Obama changed the dress code at the White House.  Good grief.  Is that what Andrew Card really thinks?  Is he a grown-up?  (And I loved the comments on this piece ... especially the one about how the [.

Check out MatchTracker starting at 7AM ET to follow the USWNT's opening game of the Algarve Cup.  They start off against Denmark, in a match-up that could prove one of their more difficult of the tournament. "It's not a World Cup year or an Olympic year, so we can try different things and one thing we [.

I read through the post-match quotes re. yesterday's USWNT win over Norway at the Algarve - and continue to just love Pia's detailed and forthright comments ... for example: (On the ebb and flow of the match)  You can imagine that you have a team running at you the whole time and doing everything to win, [.

In what sounded like a wild and wooly second half, Christine Latham and Kristin Luckinbill were major contributers in a decisive 3-1 win for the Boston Breakers.

The Breakers scored first, on a PK by Kelly Smith in the 54th minute after Scurry fouled Hucles in the box. Lori Lindsey equalized soon after, and Abby had a chance to give the Freedom their first lead of the new season on a second PK (after a handball).

That's not a typo - but I'm morose as well, after Rebecca Moros scored for the Freedom against the Breakers, and all the blue team could come up with was a tie in yesterday's match. I am sure that they wanted to pull off the win against the Abby-less Freedom ... and with Maren Meinert there, no less.

Not quite halfway through its first season, Women's Professional Soccer is hanging in there at the gate. With slightly fewer big names and vastly reduced budgets, the new league appears to be staying within its projections. Here's a comparison of each of the three years of the old WUSA and this season of WPS after 29 games:

2001 SEASON Team G Total Average Median Washington 3 62,226 20,742 21,682 Atlanta 4 46,996 11,749 9,541 Philadelphia 3 29,324 9,775 11,092 Boston 3 26,035 8,678 8,193 Bay Area 4 27,532 6,883 6,418 San Diego 4 23,121 5,780 5,828 Carolina 4 23,033 5,758 5,938 New York 4 22,836 5,709 5,246 WUSA 29 261,103 9,004 6,432 2002 SEASON Team G Total Average Median Boston 3 34,591 11,530 6,747 Washington 3 33,024 11,008 8,206 Philadelphia 2 14,814 7,407 7,407 San Jose 5 36,951 7,390 6,051 Atlanta 4 29,193 7,298 7,103 San Diego 5 28,286 5,657 5,779 Carolina 3 16,317 5,439 5,420 New York 4 17,956 4,489 4,446 WUSA 29 211,132 7,280 5,815 2003 SEASON Team G Total Average Median Washington 4 40,484 10,121 6,745 San Jose 3 29,263 9,754 6,189 Boston 4 29,231 7,308 5,996 Atlanta 5 34,869 6,974 7,238 Philadelphia 2 13,612 6,806 6,806 San Diego 3 17,254 5,751 5,965 Carolina 4 22,594 5,649 5,712 New York 4 17,044 4,261 4,266 WUSA 29 204,351 7,047 5,965 2009 SEASON Team G Total Average Median Los Angeles 6 43,396 7,233 6,165 Washington 5 34,972 6,994 5,028 Boston 3 17,076 5,692 4,804 FC Gold Pride 4 18,593 4,648 4,801 Chicago 5 22,951 4,590 4,461 Saint Louis 3 13,096 4,365 4,228 Sky Blue FC 3 12,299 4,100 3,493 WPS 29 162,383 5,599 4,884

Keep in mind that the early-season WUSA numbers were all skewed by either the inaugural match in Washington (which drew 34,148) or doubleheaders with MLS teams.

Instead of bringing up some more MLS guys looking for their first shot with the Nats or some guys in need of finding their form again, Bob Bradley has called on seven Confederation Cup players to fill out the additional seven roster spots for his Gold Cup roster.

Here is the list:

Jozy Altidore
Jonathan Bornstein
Conor Casey
Ricardo Clark
Benny Feilhaber
Brad Guzan
Sacha Kljestan

These seven players will not be traveling with the 23-man U.

La información más relevante y menos morbosa del equipo es el itinerario de su viaje a Estados Unidos, específicamente a Boston y Austin. Así que aquí se las dejamos para que no pierdan la huella del Tigre:

LUNES 13 DE JULIO
8:30 hrs Llegada al aeropuerto Mariano Escobedo
10:00 hrs Salida a Boston, con escala en Chicago
19:20 hrs Llegada a Boston

MARTES 14 DE JULIO
10:00 hrs Entrenamiento en Cancha alterna al Estadio Gillete

MIÉRCOLES 15 DE JULIO
21:30 hrs Partido Vs Santos (Semifinal Super Liga 2009)
Estadio Gillete

JUEVES 16 DE JULIO
16:00 hrs Salida a Austin, Texas, con escala en Chicago
22:28 hrs Llegada a Austin, Texas

VIERNES 17 DE JULIO
10:00 hrs Entrenamiento en lugar por confirmar

SÁBADO 18 DE JULIO
19:00 hrs Partido Vs Cruz Azul (Amistoso)
Estadio Mike Miyers
23:55 hrs Salida a Monterrey

DOMINGO 19 DE JULIO
01:05 hrs Llegada al aeropuerto Mariano Escobedo de Monterrey

Ya están debidamente informados.

81,224 gathered for Chelsea vs Inter Milan at the Rose Bowl

53,600 fans saw AC Milan and Club America in Atlanta

71,000 for Chelsea vs AC Milan in Baltimore

42,531 fileld Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA for the AC - Inter Milan classico.

57,229 were on hand in Dallas to see Chelsea vs.

Boston Pro Soccer Examiner L.E. Eisenmenger has a Vancouver stadium update, courtesy of her interview with Vancouver Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi. BC Place won't only get a roof, he says, it...

... but that didn't dampen the spirits of the nearly 5,000 Breakers fans who trooped to Cambridge to see their Boston Blues defeat the St. Louis Athletica 2-0 in their home opener at Harvard Stadium. Here are the Week 3 WPS Power Rankings by Jo-Ryan Salazar. (I'll track these through the season on my WPS page.

It's Breakers Game Day. Freezing, and quite possibly wet - but hey, we're hardy folk right?

Before embarking on this new chapter in Breakers' history - a pause to remember good times past. Maren? Dagney? We miss you!

No sound with this video - but that kinda makes it all the more resonant, doesn't it?

If you've been paying any attention to JordanCornblog's track record on sports predictions, you'll know that it's pretty much best to ignore anything that I say. (This is, by the way, very freeing in some ways.)

So here are my week 6 WPS predictions ... and for more informed previews, check out Christa Mann's Week 6 Preview on Soccer by Ives!

In a bit of a rush this morning, as usual. Our black lab Willie came up lame yesterday. He has a chronic shoulder problem which something seems to have exacerbated. This morning he seems a little bit better, but still not himself. He'll be turning 10 this summer, so it's worrisome to see him hurting.

I am in the midst of preparing for an annual retreat that I attend every June an opportunity to reflect and explore. This year, I find myself thinking a lot about my father appreciating and missing him in ways that I'd never have imagined several years ago. As I've been walking Willie, this week, it's provided some nice quiet spans of time for thinking.

It's finally Friday, and after work today I'll be driving over Hogback to HollyCornblog's house! She says she'll have the chiminea going and some homebrews ready for sampling when I get there!

In soccer news I see that, apparently, a share of the LA Sol is going to be up for grabs soon. Any buyers?

This summer football fans in America got a glimpse of some of the world's top talents and teams during the World Football Challenge. Chelsea, Club America, AC Milan, and Inter Milan all arrived in America to massive crowds, high expectations, and lots of fun for everyone. With Premiership Talk based in Boston, we witnessed first hand how the Italian giants consumed everyone in and around the Boston area for a weekend.

Before Saturday, I remained undecided on whether or not FIFA should add two more officials to the mix. But since England won the surreal penalty against Slovenia, I find myself tipping in the direction of adding the extra officials.

In one of the more eye-popping Did-That-Really-Just-Happen moments I've seen in a while, Wayne Rooney managed to win a penalty after tugging on his Slovenian marker's shirt, losing his balance and falling to the ground.

I'm loving the warmer temps here in NH, as the sun rises on this February Sunday! Have you heard of Jennifer Figge?  She just completed the amazing feat of swimming from the Cape Verde Islands to Trinidad ... at the age of 56.  (And I can't even get myself to exercise for 15 minutes these days!)  [.

First off, our friend Alice (who suffers good-humoredly my unrelenting pressure to become a JordanCornblog contributor) is off to tour Florence today.  Happy travels, Alice! Happily, she will not have to leave before the USWNT faces Iceland in their second game at the Algarve.  She (and the rest of us) will be able to follow it [.

We're working on getting the WPS glance automated. Until then ...
LA 3-0-0, 9 pts.
BOS 2-1-0, 6 pts.
CHI 1-0-2, 5 pts.
BAY 1-1-1, 4 pts.
NJ 0-1-2, 2 pts.
WAS 0-2-1, 1 pt.
STL 0-2-0, 0 pts.
This weekend (home teams listed first):
Washington 1, Boston 3 (video): Freedom give up a PK goal against the run of play, equalize, miss a PK (save - Kristin Luckenbill), then surrender two goals.

The Los Angeles Sol forward's free kick in the 36th minute led to Brazil's equalizer, with Maurine putting home the rebound in front of a European record crowd of 44,825 fans today at Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena.

Anja Mittag had opened the scoring for Germany in the 24th minute.

Marta and Brazil will face Sweden on the weekend in Gothenburg.

Wow - what a race! I've watched the video twice and still can't quite track how it happened. Red Sox, Phillies and Celtics all won their respective games yesterday ... and the Breakers came back after a disappointing and lackluster performance against the Red Stars to beat Marta and her LA Sol at Hahvard!