Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching was fined $500 by MLS today for the following tweet he made during the Houston/Seattle match last weekend.

"Ref in seattle just cheated the dynamo. What a joke. Not even close. Ref is a cheat"

Myself and many others believe this fine is ridiculous and completely unnecessary.

Nope, this is not a joke!

Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu is pledging to fight against the order to pay Chelsea €17million compensation as he issues an open letter to FIFA, Sep Blatter, and the English club, according to the Italian media.

The striker was ordered to pay the mega sum following his drugs taking case which dates back to October 2004.

You may have already read about this little matchup on Dan Steinberg's D.C. Sports Bog, but here are the details straight from the Namoffs:

Barra Brava FC, in cooperation with Nadine Namoff, is pleased to host the 1st Annual D.C. United Supporters' Charity Shield Match with Screaming Eagles FC on Sunday, June 7th at Robinson Field on the campus on George Mason University.

UPDATE: Donation has been made to Dynamo Charities!
Well I wasn't able to get to $500 but we did get $200! Not too bad.
Fundable.com has taken their 10% usage fee (part of the deal) but because I'm such a nice guy, I'm kicking in the difference to get the final donation back to $200.

This is few days old, mind you.

Adrian Mutu, after having two appeals against his FIFA fine for breach of contract dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), is now seeking another alternative to paying the 17-plus million euro fine to his former club, Chelsea.

Now he wants to make a substantial donation to several charities, including one of Chelsea's choice.

"Charity is not the right word when you pit two important teams against each other." Houston Dynamo defender Craig Waibel on his team's match with Mexican club CF Monterrey on Sunday night, Oct. 11. Billed as the 'Dynamo Charities Cup,' the match featured four red cards after a fight in the 69th minute.

This episode's topics include the tragic accident involving US National Team forward Charlie Davies, the US victory over Honduras, and the Dynamo victory in the Charities Cup on Sunday.
The entire press conference with Dynamo Coach Dominic Kinnear is included in this episode, as well as some audio of Luis Angel Landin, in Spanish.

The team got their first look at the training venue today with a visit to Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria. About 30 minutes drive, the stadium is primarily used for track and field. There is a grandstand one one side, with a grassy berm surrounding the other three. The pitch is in pretty good condition, with members of the grounds crew working all morning to address the team needs after a site inspection by the coaching staff.

With the Dynamo's Charities Cup coming up this weekend, houstondynamo.com put out a pregame quotesheet that contained a small tidbit of very informative yet very incorrect information. Here's a quote from Monterrey's head coach, Victor Manuel Vucetich:

We appreciate the invitation extended for this game and we want to thank the Dynamo for the opportunity of sharing the sport of soccer through charity.

The Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee fined New York Red Cards Bulls midfielder Jorge "Rojo" Rojas $1,000 and suspended him one additional game for an egregious offense and failure to leave the field in a timely and orderly manner after being issued a red card on May 16 versus the Houston Dynamo.

CHECK OUT LONGPIER'S FLICKR SITE FOR ALL OF THE NIGHT'S PICS


CHECK OUT LONGPIER'S FLICKR SITE FOR ALL OF THE NIGHT'S PICS
CHECK OUT LONGPIER'S FLICKR SITE FOR ALL OF THE NIGHT'S PICS
CHECK OUT LONGPIER'S FLICKR SITE FOR ALL OF THE NIGHT'S PICS
CHECK OUT LONGPIER'S FLICKR SITE FOR ALL OF THE NIGHT'S PICS
CHECK OUT LONGPIER'S FLICKR SITE FOR ALL OF THE NIGHT'S PICS
UPDATE 0034: Colourthon raises £139,000 for 236 charities.

"Las Fútbolistas" Ángel Zárraga (Mexico, 1886-1946)
A friend recommended this painting to me - amazing, given the year it was painted and the commonly held view that women's football is a recent phenomenon spearheaded by post Title IX generations of American women. By chance, I happen to be just finishing Barbara Jacobs's incredible portrait of perhaps the most successful and famous side in English women's football, The Dick, Kerr's Ladies (see also this recent Guardian story).

The Houston Dynamo are offering a Ticket Sales Fundraising Program for all non-profits in the Greater Houston area. The charity that raises the most money throughout the year will be honored on the field at their October 4th game. For every $15.00 ticket sold, $5.00 will go towards your charity. The four game schedule includes: May 23rd, June 10, July 25th, and August 23rd.

One of Southend's premier events takes place on Saturday (4th July) with more than 1,000 people taking to the streets of the borough for a half marathon walk.
The Moonlight Colourthon - now in its third year - encourages walkers to dress as brightly as possible, while raising money for their chosen charities.

TORONTO - Soccer, Futbol, Football - whatever you'd like to call it - is a global game that bridges gaps between people, and unifies them around something so passionate, that they can forget their troubles or quarrels if only for 90 minutes. It is 'the world's sport' and its reach reigns through every country, in every continent.

Over 100 items or promises, including a week in a swanky Spanish villa - worth 1000 euros - are being auctioned off for one of Southend's biggest charities this coming Friday (27th).
The auction of goods and promises takes place at the town's Leisure and Tennis Centre at Garon's Park, starting at 7.

Seattle Sounders CEO Tod Leiweke has been honored by the Puget Sound Business Journal as the Business Executive of the Year. Leiweke was recognized largely for his work in bringing MLS to Seattle and for the explosion of interest in the Sounders and MLS. As the Puget Sound Business Journal is not a sports publication, this represents important mainstream recognition of the Sounders' success.

We were out and about in the Southend area this year, filming lots of big events for Longpier.com. From the airshow to charity events, we provided unrivalled coverage via this site, Youtube and Twitter. We also featured live blogging - a first for a Southend site. So in descending numerical order here are the top 10 videos, by views of 2009.