What a difference a week makes in football, talk about being brought back down to earth with a bump from flying high after the Nou Camp and beating QPR 6-1 last Sunday!.
I said in my match preview that with confidence flowing through our squad, I felt confident in Chelsea getting the three points because as far as finishing in the top four was concerned, Tonight was litterally all or nothing.

Although the fans in The Fort have never wavered in their support for the Revolution, the early-season attendance figures at Gillette Stadium don't look promising. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

Although the Revolution may be playing inspired soccer this season, one thing that hasn't looked good in 2012 is the team's home attendance record.

After multiple wins, it's back to earth with a bump. Thoughts as follows:
* We started sluggishly and never really - and I hate that I'm about to say this - played 'without the handbrake on'. I may not particularly like him, but Hughes clearly instructed his team to play a high-tempo pressing game from the first whistle, and they prevented us from settling into any form of rhythm.

The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps will each receive 1,500 tickets to disperse among their fans for each of their Cascadia Cup games at CenturyLink Field this season, Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer said on Wednesday. This news comes on the heels of the revelation that Sounders fans would be receiving 800 tickets for each of the two games in Portland and Vancouver.

Boy Week 3 sure was interesting in MLS now wasn't it? Some of the bottom teams got their first wins of the season while a couple teams at the top of the order stumbled.

One thing to be clear, it's March, it's early and we don't know a ton just yet. I didn't do a ton of moving around this week with all the shake ups.

I came close to not even bothering to do the rankings this week. If you read them, you will find that they are a bit convoluted, but there is a reason for that. Champions League data for the first knockout round isn't entered until after the round is complete. For that reason, you won't see a bump in the rankings for clubs like Barcelona and APOEL in the rankings until next week's rankings.

After a couple of weeks of such promise, with improved performances and improved results, trust Forest to bring us back down to earth with a bump [...] Read the original post on eighteensixtyfive

By Jason Davis

Today, Aston Villa reported a record loss of $85 million (£54m) for the last financial year, because finishing ninth just isn't as lucrative as finishing sixth.

I kid. Three places in the table doesn't fully explain Villa's losses any more than Randy Lerner's passport determines his ability to be a good owner.

Player news is starting to pick up a little bit for Sporting KC. The team today made two announcements on player news, and a new rumor has cropped up on another player.
First, after the announcement yesterday of the trade for Michael Thomas' rights, the team today announced that they had signed the Olathe native to a contract.

I wish I could furnish you today with news of multiple transfers, but alas I live in the real world. There is very little out there to report.
Looking through this list on Football 365, you realise that we're not alone. There is very little movement happening anywhere in the prem, even at Man City.

Arturo Alvarez was picked up by Chivas USA. (Getty Images)

The first stage of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft has come and gone with a bang. Only three players were selected in the first stage today as 16 clubs passed on their selection.

The terms of the first stage mean the three players selected today, their new teams will have honor their current contracts or offer them a 5 percent raise over what they made last year if they are currently out of contract.

It doesn't look that way. He's not getting any bump in the polls from them. But, why not? Their everywhere on television, showing up often during the highest rated shows and sports events.
The spots are awesome.

There was no blood, no bruise, not even a bump. Not a sprain, no strain, no fracture and no break. Yet the injury was scarier than the time I had managed to get a rusty fishing hook nearly through my right thumb. Two weeks later, the symptoms have finally subsided, but the grim possibilities of future problems remain.

Further to Timmy's post, perhaps it's time to revisit the predictortron.

As you will recall, we fired this up last year to see if a slow start necessarily meant we were doomed. The predictortron was comforting, told us not to worry and gave us a hug. It said we'd finish with 46 points, and we got 48, so that was nice.

There's much to be discussed about this couple venturing around today town, but we're a bit stuck on where to start.

Is it with the leopard-on-leopard style statement that Alex and her bump are making? The plausibility of the LFC captain picking a wedgie whilst walking? Or should we turn our attention to issues which have a direct impact on ourselves, such as when will those who hoarded all those Four Loko cans finally bust open their stash and share with us?

Hey Arsenal fans. You calling for Arsene's head now? Or do you just want to ride this "bump" out? 4th loss in 7 and just 2pts clear of the relegation zone. I know it's early, but you just lost to Spurs... Van der Vaart and Ramsey score and Walker notches his first for Spurs in this 2-1 win at White Hart Lane.

On we go, with a visit from old friend Juan Mata and Chelsea, a club we have a recent history with.

It's the Champions League! The goose bump-inducing song, the pomp and circumstance!
Today, I'm re-directing you to a post I wrote for our friends at Forza Futbol.

If you're not following them on Facebook and Twitter, what are you waiting for?

Manchester United coaching staffs and fans can pretty much breathe a sigh of relief regarding the condition of their Mexican striker, Javier "Chicarito" Hernandez, who picked up an injury against Chelsea on the weekend after the latest reports suggested that the striker isn't suffering from a fracture.

Awesome Sporting News soccer reporter Brian Straus adds some context for everyone on Major League Soccer's surgence (not re-surgence... we had to be good before... which we weren't) in the CONCACAF Champions League.


MLS teams are heading south and kicking a**, heading to Mexico and finally kicking a**, and making their mark in the region.

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson
Not horrible attendance wise for KC last night compared to KC's history, but I am a little disappointed that the attendance last night was only 15,352. Hopefully this coming Saturday with a home game we'll see a sell out. Check out the break down for the 11th home game of the season all time for KC.

And by hold the line I mean "keep raising prices." Neil deMause of Field of Schemes writing in Slate on the dip in demand for sporting event tickets in America:

Where we look to be headed, then, is a two-tiered system. A handful of top teams and events will be able to charge whatever they want, while most everyone else is forced to give away tickets.

New Order at Reading, 1998. Thirteen years ago. Hade and I were in the crowd, we'd have been 21/22, one of those delicious moments that far exceed expectations and you end up with a goose-bump evening when you just expected to see a few bands. I mean, we knew New Order and sort of liked them, but this was transcendental.

Every week the New England Soccer Today crew will look beyond the standings to rank each of the 18 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. This week Brian O'Connell and Sean Donahue contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker's name and the rank they gave that team.

1.

Image Source: Ego.globo.com.

Inter Milan's manager, Leonardo Araujo, and his girlfriend of two and a half years, Anna Billó, are expecting! And to think, it was only a day ago that we discovered Leonardo had a surname, let alone a girlfriend!

Seen on vacay in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro earlier this week, the Brazilian-born, Italian Sky News journalist showed off her four-months-along baby bump in a pretty patterned bikini.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Either she's trying to win us over by pretending she's just a normal chica who hits the trackie bottoms when the going gets tough, or, as some unreliable peeps might have it, she's preggo. Pray to San Iker it's the former, for all our sakes.

So I'm switching it up a little because, frankly, there's just no point in focusing on Arsenal or City this week.
1. Manchester United, 73 pts - Well, United's worst-case scenario came true. Their loss at Arsenal and Chelsea's "win" against Spurs leaves the Red Devils just three points ahead of the Blues going into this weekend's clash.

In New Orleans, we are left with a red bump commemorating a mosquito's feast on an arm or leg. A world away in Africa? Malaria. A child rendered lifeless every 45 seconds. Amidst life's inequities we come to take solace in the efforts of those selfless few like Jared Montz, a former professional soccer player, [.

Why Blaise Nkufo Left

not only is this a good article, but I also want to give a bump to SportsPressNW, a good site founded by Art Thiel and Steve Rudman of the old Seattle P.I. (R.I.P).
http://sportspressnw.com/about-us/

Back down to earth with not so much a bump, more like an avalanche. Wile. E. Coyote, maybe, poised atop some improbably sheer mountain range, on the pinnacle of success, then his cunning plan fails, inevitably. He doesn't just fall to earth. Rather, it's a slow descent, each painful moment of impact freeze-framed with a resigned look to the camera.

Images: Getty Images.

Hearing how Arsenal captain/Finest Five member, Cesc Fabregas suddenly found himself in facial hair distress earlier today was all shades of traumatic for our office. For one unfortunate staffer, the decision making panic set in all too quickly as she failed to tried to avoid recalling a painful memory of the time she was left stranded by her Mum in one of Harrod's dressing rooms.

John O'Shea's lovely wife debuted her baby bump for the first time last weekend. The couple are expecting their first child this summer, which with Rebecca Ferdinand (Rio) and Leanne Brown (Wes), completes a hat-trick of new Manchester United babies to be on the look out for. In case you weren't aware, Yvonne wasn't the only Red Deviled WAG looking good at Old Trafford this weekend.

More lower league punts, foreign predictions, and some Valentine's plans Last week Punter Dan returned a profit of 23 of your English pounds. More this week, he promises: Another week of footy, and after the crazy mental eff-up of last weekend's Premier League it was back to Earth with the bump of international friendly week.

That's the most expensive photo bomber we've ever seen. Images: Bauer Griffin.

Seeing Victoria Beckham at an airport is not uncommon. Seeing her conceal her budding baby bump as she navigates an airport terminal is somewhat of unchartered waters.

We can hardly believe it, but it'll be a month tomorrow since David and Victoria announced they were having a fourth.

- Jason Davis
Charlie Davies just made it a bit harder for D.C. United to say no to a loan deal. Davies scored and provided an assist to Joseph Ngwenya in United's 5-1 victory over the Canadian U-20s in Fort Lauderdale. Even considering the competition, United can't ask much more of Davies than to spark the offense when given the chance during his week-long evaluation period.

What a chance we have to make up ground on these two today. The look on Arsene Wengers face after blowing a 4-goal, that's a 4-goal lead against Newcastle is priceless and as for United, well it seems they have been brought back down to earth with a bump.
They said Chelsea were out of it!

By Chris Wright

A batch of quotes have surfaced from a Real Madrid press conference, in which coach Jose Mourinho who refused to commit to the cause past the coming summer a couple of days ago appears to openly pine for a return to the good old, down-home Premier League.

Kevork Djansezian - Getty Images

I wonder how many joyous moments Edson Buddle may experience in Germany?

View full size photo »

I've been to Munich.

Birmingham City 0-3 Arsenal

Now that's what I call fairweather blogging! I raved about the Chelski performance, but kept mum after earthward bump at Wigan. Now I'm back to doff the cap to the team for today's performance at lowly Birmingham, which was as excellent as Wigan was disappointing as Chelski was excellent.