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 [.

Here's a nice write up of the WPS weekend activity from over in the UK. I love the snippet about how it was really Alex Scott's fear of her housemate Kelly Smith that led to her goal (and an important point for the Boston Breakers). Who knows, maybe I'd have scored as well, if I lived with Kelly Smith!

It's really not fair for Amy Rodriguez. Of all the places she could have started her professional soccer career, she ends up in locale where she get booed and hissed at right from the start. Yes, I know that she was just selected first overall in the very first WPS Draft yesterday in St. Louis. I also know that she's easily one of the best American players, by virtue of her gold mdeal earned

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 [.

Boston Breakers is an American professional women's soccer team based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 2001, the team plays in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), the premier women's soccer league in the United States. They're currently in 2nd place in WPS' 2009 standings. The club features a number of internationals including Heather Mitts, Angela [.

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.

Chicago drops 2nd straight and 4th straight at home
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Red Stars are in last place in Women's Professional Soccer. And coach Emma Hayes was pretty dramatic with her starting lineup choices.
On the bench: Brazilian forward Cristiane, midfielder Megan Rapinoe and midfielder Carli Lloyd.

From the Comparing Things You Can't Really Compare Department, here's a list of MLS, USL-1 and WPS teams ranked by their average attendance to this point:

Team League G Total Average Seattle Sounders FC MLS 8 234,909 29,364 Toronto FC MLS 9 181,979 20,220 Los Angeles Galaxy MLS 7 135,085 19,298 Houston Dynamo MLS 8 125,510 15,689 Real Salt Lake MLS 6 92,691 15,449 Chivas USA MLS 8 122,494 15,312 DC United MLS 8 118,491 14,811 Columbus Crew MLS 6 74,501 12,417 Colorado Rapids MLS 5 61,054 12,211 Montreal Impact USL-1 4 48,183 12,046 San Jose Earthquakes MLS 7 82,421 11,774 Chicago Fire MLS 6 70,357 11,726 New England Revolution MLS 5 57,557 11,511 New York Red Bulls MLS 8 91,076 11,385 Kansas City Wizards MLS 7 67,924 9,703 FC Dallas MLS 8 69,429 8,679 Rochester Rhinos USL-1 2 17,039 8,520 Portland Timbers USL-1 6 46,466 7,744 Los Angeles Sol WPS 8 53,486 6,686 Washington Freedom WPS 6 40,021 6,670 Vancouver Whitecaps USL-1 6 31,026 5,171 Boston Breakers WPS 5 24,706 4,941 Chicago Red Stars WPS 6 26,840 4,473 FC Gold Pride WPS 5 21,549 4,310 Sky Blue FC WPS 5 19,048 3,810 St.

Your inaugural WPS All-Star Team:
Karina LeBlanc GK - Los Angeles Sol, Canada
Tina Ellertson D - Saint Louis Athletica, United States
Amy LePeilbet D - Boston Breakers, United States
Alex Scott D - Boston Breakers, England
Camille Abily M - Los Angeles Sol, France
Sonia Bompastor M - Washington Freedom, France
Shannon Boxx M - Los Angeles Sol, United States
Lori Chalupny M - Saint Louis Athletica, United States
Kelly Smith M - Boston Breakers, England
Eniola Aluko F - Saint Louis Athletica, England
Marta F - Los Angeles Sol, Brazil
The first order of comedy, of course, is that half of this team won't be available for the All-Star game itself, or for the WPS championship, thanks to the UEFA Women's Championship.

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 [.

A report by the Commission on the Future of Women's Sport which the BBC's Gordon Farquhar blogged about earlier this month points out that just 2% of media coverage on elite sport focuses on women. Now I first got into writing about football by following one of my best friend's journeys through the matches, tournaments and politics of women's football in Oxford.

In Week 19 of Women's Pro Soccer, the Sky Blue FC (NJ) coach walked out on her team, a red card left the Boston Breakers shorthanded, and the two bottom teams pulled off some dramatic upsets. Of all the surprises in Week 19, the drama in New Jersey drew the most attention.

On Thursday, Sky Blue FC Head Coach Kelly Lindsey abruptly left the team with no explanation at all.

Final shots for the day:

*Sol defenders Brittany Bock and Stephanie Cox and midfielder Shannon Boxx were among 26 players called into Pia Sundhage's 12-day USWNT camp that begins Sept. 21 at Home Depot Center. Bock gets her second call-up of the year after also making the U.S. roster for the May 25 game against Canada in Toronto she was forced to miss after suffering a heel injury in training the day before.

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 [.

Pro Soccer Comes to City Hall Plaza
The New England Revolution and the Boston Breakers join the kids of America SCORES New England for FitKick 2009
Pro soccer is coming to downtown Boston. The top-ranked New England Revolution and the Boston Breakers will join the Boston Public School kids of America SCORES New England for FitKick 2009.

If Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) sides Boston Breakers and Chicago Red Stars have their way, Arsenal America had better get ready for a new wave of members. This weekend, both Boston and Chicago hit the road to make their WPS debuts, facing the – it has to be said – curiously-named FC Gold Pride (Santa Clara, [.

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).

Recapping the weekend:

* David Beckham's AC Milan moved into second place in Serie A Sunday.

* Fontana's Maurice Edu is just beginning to gain some traction with Glasgow Rangers after an injury-marred season.

Pasadena City College product Yura Movsisyan is finally off the mark for Real Salt Lake.

It is not uncommon for a coach to be fined for comments made about officiating, but when you see why Tony DiCicco was fined the other day, it certainly seems like the WPS is walking the line with disciplining a coach who didn't say anything over the top.
The WPS Disciplinary Committee fined Boston Breakers coach Tony DiCicco $750 for comments after the game that had "an effect prejudicial and detrimental to WPS including public criticism of game officials and WPS officiating generally.

United States Women's National Team coach Pia Sundhage has announced the roster for the July 19th (Rochester - 3pm - ESPN) and July 22nd (Charleston - 8pm - FSC) friendlies against Canada. GOALKEEPERS (2): Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica) DEFENDERS (7): Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Stephanie Cox (Los Angeles Sol), Lori Chalupny (St.

Does Liking Women's Soccer Make You Gayer?

I love soccer. And I'm pretty sure I love women. So why don't I love Women's Professional Soccer? Or do I, secretly? These are questions I fear to answer because any serious soul-searching might uncover the misogynistic pig within. That, or I'll end up stripping away a vestigial layer of macho-callous that has kept me straight and largely insensitive to the needs of women through the years.

Slide over to TBO.com to read Bart O'Connell's article on Tampa Bay Hellenic's midfielder Stacy Bishop [pictured righ in action for Boston Breakers]. Stacy started the WPS season with the Boston Breakers before being let go in July and returning to Hellenic, who she starred for in 2008.
In just five regular season matches with Tampa Bay this season, Bishop scored three goals and one assist.

Chicago midfielder, along with Lloyd and Rapinoe, to train with squad
On Tuesday, three players from the Chicago Red Stars were named to the U.S. Women's National Team's training session running from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2.
Red Stars midfielder Brittany Klein (pictured) joins the team with the hopes of earning her first international camp.

Crunching some numbers and shaking them until they give up some useless information about the 148 players who played in Women's Professional Soccer this season:

• Five players - Kristine Lilly (Boston Breakers), Aya Miyama (Los Angeles Sol), Caroline Jonsson (Chicago Red Stars), Becky Sauerbrunn and Homare Sawa (Washington Freedom) all played every minute of every game.

Before I get started, yes that really is a living albino alligator. Lisa Cole of the Boston Breakers is in San Francisco this weekend watching games, so last night we took a jaunt to the California Academy of Sciences to take in a little NiteLife. This place is AWESOME. Basically, the Academy is a museum/planetarium/aquarium in Golden Gate Park.

Man oh man oh man - here's Glenn Beck making fun of Obama's Aunt - and a bunch of other people, too. This is why I've been staying away from the news in favor of b-ball and soccer. What a hateful, useless tool! Isn't this the dude who was recently weeping about how much he loves [...]

Two teams in desperate need of a victory square off today as struggling Manchester United plays host to Aston Villa today in one of the key matches of the weekend.

United heads into today's match in second place after Liverpool kept its hot streaking going with another victory on Saturday.

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?

A few things gathered from a visit to the Boston Breakers-Washington Freedom WPS game this weekend:
- Boston's Kristine Lilly had a few sharp runs but doesn't feel that she's all the way back yet.
- Kelly Smith, the skilled English midfielder who played in the WUSA, was always looking forward to returning to a pro league in the USA but "didn't actually think it would happen.

Chicago remains unbeaten in home debut at Toyota Park
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Red Stars drew 5,824 fans in their home opener despite rainy conditions, and the team itself played to a scoreless draw against Sky Blue FC on Sunday in Women's Professional Soccer play at Toyota Park.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By CHRISTA MANN

As Women's Professional Soccer approaches its fifth week of play, the quality of finishing is a main concern for at least four of the six competing teams .

Brazilian not available following Wednesday's international friendly
The Chicago Red Stars' defense is back to full strength, but Chicago (1-0-2) will be without Brazilian striker Cristiane when it hosts the Boston Breakers (2-1-0) in Women's Professional Soccer action this Saturday at Toyota Park (7:30 p.

Chicago leapfrogs Boston for 2nd in WPS standings
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Chicago Red Stars fans were waiting for their home team to light up the scoreboard. The offense was in full effect Saturday night at Toyota Park with the most dominating offensive display so far in Women's Professional Soccer.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By CHRISTA MANN

We are five weeks into this opening Womens Pro Soccer season and things keep getting more and more interesting.

Hope Solo is the goalkeeper for the US national team, a 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold medalist, and now the undaunted keeper for St. Louis Athletica, a WPS team currently at the bottom of the table.

Noted for her outspoken comments about her coach's decisions during the World Cup, she is just as genuine and forthright now speaking about her decision to become a goalkeeper, why England should have a women's league, and why MLS should increase their international roster slots.

The latest attendance figures for MLS, USL-1 and WPS:

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER Team G Total Average Median Seattle Sounders FC 4 118,655 29,664 28,792 Toronto FC 5 100,899 20,180 20,056 Los Angeles Galaxy 4 79,045 19,761 19,510 Houston Dynamo 3 48,255 16,085 16,053 Chivas USA 4 59,354 14,839 15,037 DC United 4 57,155 14,289 14,333 Columbus Crew 3 38,779 12,926 14,686 Real Salt Lake 3 37,650 12,550 11,806 New England Revolution 1 11,314 11,314 11,314 Colorado Rapids 3 33,110 11,037 11,885 San Jose Earthquakes 5 55,140 11,028 10,049 Chicago Fire 3 32,703 10,901 10,782 New York Red Bulls 3 31,273 10,424 10,303 FC Dallas 3 29,242 9,747 6,813 Kansas City Wizards 3 27,692 9,231 10,385 MLS TOTAL 51 760,266 14,907 14,051 UNITED SOCCER LEAGUES DIVISION I Team G Total Average Median Portland Timbers 2 15,291 7,646 7,646 Vancouver Whitecaps 2 10,139 5,070 5,070 Puerto Rico Islanders 3 13,350 4,450 4,078 Charleston Battery 2 8,512 4,256 4,256 Minnesota Thunder 1 3,298 3,298 3,298 Austin Aztex 3 9,688 3,229 3,248 Carolina RailHawks 3 7,631 2,544 2,927 Cleveland City Stars 1 2,087 2,087 2,087 Miami FC Blues 4 6,686 1,672 1,539 Montreal Impact 0 0 0 0 Rochester Rhinos 0 0 0 0 USL-1 TOTAL 21 76,682 3,652 3,427 WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER Team G Total Average Median Los Angeles Sol 2 20,951 10,476 10,476 Boston Breakers 2 12,835 6,418 6,418 Chicago Red Stars 2 9,942 4,971 4,971 Washington Freedom 3 14,409 4,803 5,028 Saint Louis Athletica 2 9,236 4,618 4,618 Sky Blue FC 2 8,806 4,403 4,403 FC Gold Pride 3 12,313 4,104 3,321 WPS TOTAL 16 88,492 5,531 5,018

• It's early in USL-1.

Locals Bock, LePeilbet also join for May 20, 23 matches vs. Japan
On Wednesday, U.S. Women's National Team head coach Pia Sundhage named her 21-player roster for a two-game international tilt against Japan. The games take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, and at 5 p.

Heather Mitts is a left back starting for the Boston Breakers in the new WPS league. Mitts has earned 100 caps with the U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT), a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics, and featured colorfully in several magazines.

From running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, to her views on collegiate soccer, a possible future in broadcast journalism, and being ESPN's "Sexiest Female Athlete," Mitts runs the gamut in an interview prior to her May 17th home match with the Washington Freedom at Harvard Stadium.