It's the calm before the storm, people; the New England Revolution are in California, preparing
to take on the defending MLS Champs, the LA Galaxy, tomorrow night at 11 PM EST on national TV.
That's right - your Revs are going to be on the NBC Sports Network for the first time. I find that
to be incredibly exciting - not only do we get to hear the magical voice of Arlo White announcing
the play-by-play, but the greatest production value in soccer broadcasts in America will be showing
it.
The Calm Before The StormBSK Borča 0-4 Vojvodina (26:11:11)It's the morning of The Eternal Derby in Belgrade. Before living and
breathing that dream fixture, Ken Morton and friends took in a match in relatively serene
surroundings...The Luton Ibis is far from glamorous but the prospect of a big European derby made it slightly
easier to rise from my slumber.
If soccer in the US is to reach its fullest potential, helping the sport grow in
disadvantaged urban areas is essential. While US Soccer has begun to recognize this need,
volunteers have long been laying the foundation for such efforts. As PSP readers know, the
Philadelphia-area has a admirable tradition of volunteer-led urban soccer programs.
As the regular season winds down I'm going to be posting a weekly summary of the some of the
data and predictions we're generating, which should give you some context going into each week of
games.
Previous Week
We're in the calm before the storm as the mostly-observed FIFA international break meant that
there were only 3 games played since our last update.
With the weekend off, it's almost like the Portland Timbers are rearing themselves for the storm
of games that's to follow in the next couple weeks. This Friday the Timbers play their last regular
home season game against the Houston Dynamo. A few days later the gang is taking a "road" trip
first to D.
There aren't a lot of changes in the rankings this week but there were some. Most notably, Lyon
enters the Top Ten after its win against Marseille pushed it to the top of the Ligue Un table.
Let's just call this the calm before the storm, though, okay? If you've been paying attention, you
noticed (because we told you) that last week, the German Bundesliga and French Ligue Un numbers
from last season were purged from the calculus.
Transfer Rumors: Barton Joins QPR - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
So, the Joey Barton era is over at Newcastle. It doesn't come as a surprise,
but is it a real shame or the best thing for both parties? I'll settle for somewhere in the middle,
as he was arguably Newcastle's most influential player, but the relationship between player and
club had perhaps reached the point of no return.
