Since the United States tied England 1-1 last Saturday, every sportswriter that doesn't put an extra U in "These colors don't run!" has been hooting and hollering about the significance of picking up a point. And while there is no disputing the importance of grabbing that point off the group favorites, there are plenty of issues for the U.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The U.S. national team found itself in a familiar position, surrendering an early goal to Slovenia in t, but once again it fought back to earn a result.

Second-half goals from Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley negated a 2-0 Slovenia lead. Despite getting a draw, the Americans will feel somewhat disappointed with the result, having came close to claiming three points late in the game.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

It wasn't the prettiest game, but there was an equal amount of positive and negative to be drawn from the U.S. men's national team's 2-2 tie vs. Poland on Saturday.

The positives? Among them, the play of the attack. The passing and movement by the 4-2-3-1 formation was encouraging, though Jozy Altidore's finishing kept it from being a more effective performance.

What the deuce? That must have been Clint Dempsey's reaction on each harrowing occasion he missed and the time his goal was disallowed for a dubious offside call.

The Fulham winger had about three clear chances to bury the game but was unable to put them away. But his 91st minute effort once again blocked by Rais M Bolhi, who had an outstanding match for someone so green (a bit tongue in cheek that), was followed up very nicely by Donovan for the winning goal.

On Saturday night, July 31st was the official debut for Thierry Henry in Major League Soccer as the New York Red Bulls traveled down to Houston and faced the Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. The hope was to see a successful partnership with Juan Pablo Angel and become a brand new terror in the ranks of MLS.

Fourteen teams got off to perfect starts Saturday as Madison United's 17th annual President's Cup indoor soccer tournament kicked off at Keva Sports Center in Middleton and BreakAway Sports Center in Middleton.

Seven-time defending Women's Open champion Chichitas led the way by winning all three of its pool-play matches by a combined 25-1 score and collecting the maximum 27 points in the tournament's scoring system.

Athletic Club of Saint Louis is on the verge of folding its North American Soccer League and Women's Professional Soccer clubs, sources have confirmed. The club's weakened cash reserves may not allow them to make their next payroll obligations, and despite ongoing conversations amongst the United States Soccer Federation, NASL, and WPS, no plan is currently in place which will allow the teams to complete their 2010 seasons.

Today out at Swope Park, the Swope Park Rangers pulled out a 2-0 win over the KC Brass. Goals on either side of half time from Jamar Beasley and Sunil Chhetri helped the Wizards to the win over the local PDL side. Based off of what I was told the Rangers got the full 90 minutes today, with Josh Wolff being the only regular starter to play today.

Tshabalala has scored the first goal for FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa on a breakaway run on the 55'. Liveblogging underway - Liveblogging: South Africa vs Mexico (11 Jun 2010)

Photo by ISIphotos.com

It wasn't quite Good triumphing over Evil, but in some ways it felt that way.

Spain joined the list of teams to win the World Cup and proved every bit the deserving champion after winning an ugly, physical and extremely tough match against a strong Netherlands side.

Thanks again to commenter Sairax, I was able to watch the game from the stream he linked me to. I'm beginning to wish we played his team every weekend, as I would be set in terms of blogging content. You've been awesome Sairax! I didn't get the full game experience, due to the fact that I only started watching 30 minutes in, and my horrible internet meant the stream kept going out.

Oftentimes, little thought is given to making sure that the throw-in is thrown in accurately. It is important that the ball is thrown at the player's feet in order to give that player the best chance to control the ball and to give that same player other options than just passing the ball back to the thrower.

As many as 1,000 players will converge on BreakAway Sports Center in Fitchburg and Keva Sports Center in Middleton this weekend for the 17th annual Madison United President's Cup indoor soccer tournament.

A record 84 teams are scheduled to play in the event, and each team can have up to 12 players on its roster.

So it is to be Barcelona v. Inter Milan in the semi-final of the Champions League.
It's a great pity that the draw matched these two at the penultimate stage, since it was surely the final many neutrals were keenly anticipating. Expansive Catalan flair versus shrewd Italian pragmatism. Eto'o versus Ibrahimovic.

The USA through Edson Buddle's brace and Herculez Gomez stoppage time goal broke Australia's record of never losing when Tim Cahill scores.

As heartwarming as Buddle's individual talent and Gomez's opportunism on display was the flowing sequence of passes the US put together that resulted in Clint Dempsey almost scoring.

The US looked good earning a 3-1 victory over the Australians on Saturday, June 5th 2010. Although the US defense had some scares and looked very vulnerable to crosses, the US deserved to win by at least two goals. The US had a plethora of quality chances, and Robbie Findley must be very disappointed to have missed two gilt edged opportunities.

It's over. No more early morning games, no more enticing over/under bets, no more national anthems, no more complaining about vuvuzela's or the Jabulani, no more questionable calls, no more goal celebrations, no more Martin Tyler, no more Paul the Octopus, no more Diego Forlan free kicks, no more Germany counter-attacks, no more Dutch karate kicks, no more Spanish 1-0 victories and no more World Cup.

Thierry Henry is getting paid to score goals, and he didn't wait very long to justify the digits on his check. Giving Spurs fans a bit of a flashback, and Red Bulls fans something to look forward to, the French legend managed to find the back of the net just 27 minutes into the game.

Wanted to share some photos, more in the gallery...Davy Arnaud surprises the visitors and scores on a breakaway to give the Wizards the early leadJimmy Nielsen watches the ball out of danger after blocking a hard shot...Nielsen looks a little upset after Diouf tried to pull a Maradona and hand the ball in air.

Motagua 2 Toronto 2 (Toronto advances 3-2 on aggregate)
Metapán 1 Seattle 1 (Seattle advances 2-1 on aggregate)
With a bar set low enough that even a stumbling step might clear it, it wouldn't have taken much for MLS to have its best collective night ever in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Omar Cummings scores Colorado's third goal in a picture that says everything about how the night went for Los Angeles. (Getty Images)

30 minutes to build on, 60 minutes to forget.

For the opening 25 minutes, the Los Angeles Galaxy looked like a team that no one could beat. They were quick to the ball, aggressive on offense, monsters on defense, playing a quick, crafty, creative game that presented them with dangerous chance after dangerous chance, including a just-offside gol from Edson Buddle in the 1st minute.

Registration is open for the 18th annual President's Cup indoor soccer tournament, and Madison United officials are expecting the 84-team field to fill up quickly.

The 2011 event is scheduled for Feb. 19 and 20 at Keva Sports Center in Middleton and BreakAway Sports Center in Fitchburg.

The biggest day in South African women's football history ended in heartbreak as Equatorial Guinea defeated Banyana Banyana 3-1 after extra time on Thursday at a packed Sinaba stadium in Daveyton outside Johannesburg. After 90 minutes the score was 0-0.
The decisive moment came in the 103rd minute.

Ah the Conference Finals. The most shocking and entertaining matches of the post season. No one would have predicted that two Western teams would face in the EASTERN Conference final. In the Western Conference was a slight give that LA Galaxy would make it to the final, but no one could predict the outcome.

There was one reason I have been looking forward to January: Wellington Silva arriving at the club.

He is a type of player we have rarely seen in an Arsenal side, a player with tricks and the ability to beat a man that few players in this current squad have. Imagine your typical English full-back who has been pestered by Arshavin, Nasri or Walcott for 80 minutes then having to deal with a tricky, enthusiastic young Brazilian with searing pace.

Irfan Bachdim has become the talk of Indonesia this last month. To be fair I think it's less to do with his ability and more to do with his looks but there you go. Anyway, enjoy it while it lasts girls because if he plays in tomorrow's AFF Cup Final 2nd Leg in Jakarta against Malaysia it could prove to be his last international appearance.

I've written plenty of stuff about the breakaway LPI recently and not all of it has been positive. There are a couple of reasons why I haven't really sat down and analysed the arguments for it are two fold. First I covered all that ground when I started writing about Indonesian football. Second, I am not convinced it's a long term option.

More than 100 people on the call, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said with some amazement.
That was the interest in the goings-on between the USL, NASL and the shotgun marriage that will comprise the USA's second division next year.
That league would include a "USL" conference with Austin, Minnesota, Portland, Puerto Rico, Rochester and Tampa Bay.

The USSF has brokered a deal between the USL First Division and its breakaway clubs to form a new second division for the 2010 season. The new league would feature 12 teams (two six-team conferences) with somewhere between 28-32 matches plus playoffs. To the best of my memory, this is the first time that the Federation has managed a professional soccer league -- they've sanctioned leagues, of course, but not managed them.

Thursday January 7, 2010 was the official start date of the next professional soccer team in Minnesota.
The former top team was the Minnesota Thunder who started in 1990, but for all intents and purposes are now just a part of history.
The National Sports Center in the northern suburb of Blaine has stepped forward to start a team and have them play in the newly formed USSF Division 2 league.

You really can't accuse NAC Breda's Ellery Cairo of getting a cheap goal in his side's 1-1 draw with Ajax on Sunday. As you can see at the start of the video above, Cairo found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper after an NAC breakaway. The keeper got the best of him on his sliding shot, but Cairo's teammate quickly crossed the ball back to him just as he got his feet.

Pool play schedules for the record 84 teams headed to the 17th annual Madison United President's Cup indoor soccer tournament Feb. 13 and 14 have been announced by tournament organizers.

The tournament grew by four teams from last year with the addition of another pool in the Women's Open competition, taking that division to 28 teams.

Reigning FIFA World Player of the year Lionel Messi led holders Barcelona to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-0 dismantling of VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday. Messi scored twice and assisted on a Pedro goal before Bojan Krkic scored on a late breakaway to give Barca a 5-1 aggregate win. Barcelona is now the last Spanish [.

Kelly Smith, West Plains clears ball in front of Jennifer McArthur, Marshfield

Marshfield Blue Jays 0
West Plains Zizzers 1 (2nd OT)
She's back! Sophomore Tasha Ugbah, who played a 10 minute shift in the second half for her first minutes of the season, came on at the start of the second overtime in the scoreless tie at Marshfield and got the game winner in the first minute.

Image via MSN Starlounge

Long standing Kickettes will recall our previous query on the whole tattoo/'baller interface thing. Apart from frightening us to death with your articulate and knowledgeable responses on the subject (bearing in mind that we write the majority of these posts whilst in glass-to-mouth mode) you seemed to concur with our thoughts a little ink is a marvelous thing for self-expression, as long as one doesn't get too carried away.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Whoa, Danny Mwanga. Talk about a way to finally stamp your name on a game.

Mwanga drilled home a game-tying goal in injury time to give Philadelphia Union a 1-1 draw Saturday against FC Dallas and keep the Union unbeaten at home. The play closed an evenly played match with an emphatic burst of euphoria as the 25,038 fans at Lincoln Financial Field went absolutely nuts at the salvaging of a game the Union played well enough to win.

Going into Saturday's game with the Chicago Fire there were many questions that Wizards fans hoped to get positive answers to. Would the Wizards return to winning ways? Would we remain undefeated at home? Would we score again? Would our defense stop leaking goals? Would we ever get a home game with decent weather?

Rinus Michels the legendary coach who refined Totaalvoetbal or Total Football

Ruud Krol, the left back in the 1974 Dutch team summarized it best:

"Our system was also a solution to a physical problem. How can you play for 90 minutes and remain strong? If I as a left back run 70 meters up the wing it's not good if I immediately have to run back 70 to my starting place.

What a dramatic finish tonight at Red Bull Arena as the Red Bulls were mired in a four match league losing streak between US Open Cup Qualifying Wins and the Friendly win over Juventus. But the Captain of the club imposed his will on the game and when he needed to come out on top, he has done so in grand fashion.

With three games in eight days, these two teams who know each other so well will be left wondering if if absence might make the heart grow fonder. At least that appears to be the case for the Springfield Demize who fell for the second straight game via a shutout at the hands of the Lions. Saturday it was a 4-0 blanking in St Louis.