Dominic Wilcox is an artist who makes, among other things, watch sculptures the type which operate better in a glass encasement than inevitably shattering against the nearest solid object. He made one for football which was on exhibit in London recently.

The Beautiful Game, 2011 A footballer holds aloft a trophy in the form of a pound symbol (£) as three prospective WAGs fight for his attention.

Photo by Tracy Allen/ISIphotos.com

By DAVID GUBALA

The Chicago Fire will swap the crispy, cold ways of Chicago for the sunny rays of Ave Maria as they travel to Florida to officially kick off the preseason camp for their 15th season in Major League Soccer.

By Sharon Hom
The Kansas Magic continued their 2-game road trip in Detroit on Saturday night. Seeking to gain a split in their weekend games, the Kansas Magic failed to outscore the Detroit Waza and lost 10-7 at the Taylor Sportsplex.
Behind 4-0 after the 1st quarter, the Magic could only match the Waza's output for the 2nd quarter and trailed 6-2 at halftime.

Thursday's SuperDraft will be here before we know it. I'll be fairly busy with the day job over the next day and a half but I did want to get this up today. With one final day of the Combine, teams are hoping to fill as many holes in this draft as they possibly can. Some teams will only get one shot at it (FC Dallas) while others have a few chances to add depth (Toronto).

Maurice Edu picked up an assist as Rangers put three past Motherwell while Dominic Cervi and Greenock Morton came from behind in Scottish action.

By ANTHONY ZILIS

Patrick Nyarko turned and pointed out the window of Palace Gate Restaurant on a chilly October day in uptown Chicago, where he was having lunch with Fire teammate Dominic Oduro. He can't look at an open space in a cramped city, like the small parking lot outside, without being reminded of his childhood soccer games.

Dominic Cervi and Greenock Morton will be looking to get a big win in the Scottish First Division while Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu welcome Inverness CT to Ibrox Stadium.

Celtic's American goalkeeper Dominic Cervi has been enjoying his time on loan to Greenock Morton.

Carlos Bocanegra returned to Rangers starting line up as they picked up a win at Hibernian while Dominic Cervi could not keep Patrick Thistle at bay in Scottish action.

Maurice Edu and Rangers got back to winning ways as Dominic Cervi and Greenock Morton fell away from home.

The Yanks at Rangers will look to bounce back from their current slump while Dominic Cervi and Morton visit second-place Falkirk.

With Carlos Bocanegra injured, Rangers played to a shocking defeat against Kilmarnock while Dominic Cervi and Greenock Morton drew Queen of the South

Alejandro Bedoya looks to retain his starting position for the traveling Rangers as Dominic Cervi slots back in goal for Greenock Morton who host Queen of the South.

Chelsea v Liverpool: five things we learned | Dominic Fifield

André Villas-Boas is under increasing pressure, while big money signings are still struggling to settle at both clubs 1 André Villas-Boas is already a manager under pressure It was arguable that, given the summer transfer outlay, Kenny Dalglish should actually have edged into this fixture as the manager under greater scrutiny, though in ensuring he has now gone 12 matches unbeaten against Chelsea while in charge of Liverpool, he left the focus fixed on André Villas-Boas.

Rangers will look to extend their formidable lead atop the Scottish Premier League standings while Dominic Cervi will not participate as Greenock look to advance in the Cup.

Dominic Cervi was beaten twice as Greenock Morton let their early lead slip at home to Dundee.

Dominic Cervi and Greenock Morton will look to pick up another three points in the Scottish First Division against Dundee at home.

By Chris Wright

Puma held a bit of a bash at the Design Museum in London last night to formally unveil their latest nine creations for next January's African Cup of Nations there were originally supposed to be ten on display, though Algeria's kit was omitted after they failed to qualify for the competition.

Categories: Yanks Home and Abroad

Tags: Featured, US Soccer, USMNT, Yanks Abroad

How 50 USMNT players performed for their club teams this weekend: Goalkeepers (7) Guzan, Brad (Aston Villa/BPL) Dressed however did not play in 3-2 win over Norwich City. Dominic Cervi (Celtic/SPL) Did not dress in 2-1 win over Motherwell.

John Terry, if I got this right, claims that he didn't call anybody, and certainly not Anton Ferdinand, a black you-know-what (rhymes with "bunt") and that he was explaining to Ferdinand that he hadn't used that specific expression when the cameras apparently caught him using that expression?

Categories: Yanks Home and Abroad

Tags: Featured, US Soccer, USMNT, Yanks Abroad

How 49 USMNT players performed for their club teams this weekend: Goalkeepers (7) Guzan, Brad (Aston Villa/BPL) Dressed however did not play in 2-1 loss to West Brom. Dominic Cervi (Celtic/SPL) Did not dress in 2-1 win over Aberdeen.

by Dru Boyer The Yanks Abroad returned to Europa League play on Thursday with a vengeance ... not a single Yanks' squad lost a match. It was a pretty decent Thursday, in fact the Yanks were 7-2-0 in the matches (Dominic Cervi and Brad Friedel did not dress for Celtic and Tottenham, respectively.) The Player of the Week honor goes [.

Categories: Yanks Home and Abroad

Tags: Featured, US Soccer, USMNT, Yanks Abroad

How 48 USMNT players performed for their club teams this weekend: Goalkeepers Guzan, Brad (Aston Villa/BPL) Dressed however did not play in 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic. Dominic Cervi (Celtic/SPL) Did not dress in 2-0 loss to Heart of Midlothian.

194 - ciento noventa y cuatro (by Dominic Vieira)

¿Quién es? ¿Cómo lo haces?

Me llamo Lionel Messi y juego fútbol. Nada más.

The wonder wizard scored his 193rd and 194th goal in Belarus as the defending champions thumped BATE Borisov 5-0.

194 - ciento noventa y cuatro (by Dominic Vieira)

¿Quién es? ¿Cómo lo haces?

Me llamo Lionel Messi y juego fútbol. Nada más.

The wonder wizard scored his 193rd and 194th goal in Belarus as the defending champions thumped BATE Borisov 5-0.

The man who always finds a job: Claudio Ranieri (By Dominic Vieira)

Whether you think he's world class or not, it's clear Claudio Ranieri is a lucky manager. Since the Italian retired as a player in 1986, he has rarely experienced unemployment.

Latest updates from United States National Team players both home and abroad: Goalkeepers Guzan, Brad (Aston Villa/BPL) Dressed however did not play in 1-1 draw vs. Queens Park Rangers. Dominic Cervi (Celtic/SPL) Did not dress in 2-0 win over Inverness. Hamid, Bill (DC United/MLS) Started, played full 90 and had 4 saves in 4-1 win [.

Will the revolution crumble tonight at the Mestalla? by Dominic Vieira

Valencia is sailing in uncharted waters are they're sitting at the top of La Liga, a position they've struggled to conquer since the glorious Ranieri and Benitez days.

Will the revolution crumble tonight at the Mestalla? by Dominic Vieira

Valencia is sailing in uncharted waters are they're sitting at the top of La Liga, a position they've struggled to conquer since the glorious Ranieri and Benitez days.

Steven Gerrard return will boost Liverpool Mersey Beat

Every Friday, Sportsmail's man on Merseyside, Dominic King, will provide expert analysis and behind-the-scenes insight into the affairs of a footballing heartland.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-09-16 09:41:35 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Sebastian Grazzini -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire more or less are approaching Wednesday's international friendly against Chivas de Guadalajara as a high-profile training session. Midweek typically marks Chicago's hardest training to prepare for a weekend match, and Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas plans to use his lineup significantly when it hosts Chivas at Toyota Park.

The Colorado Rapids roster is being tested by CONCACAF Champions League and MLS play, and it is being found wanting.

The latest evidence came on Saturday night as the Rapids fell to the Chicago Fire, one of the worst teams in MLS, 2-0 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.

While it was the most disastrous result in the latest string of games, it was also further proof of the mounting fatigue for a squad battling in two competitions.

Photo by Daveblog

In the land of draws, the Chicago Fire are kings.

Last night, La Maquina Roja looked well on their way to their third win of the season after dominating DC United at home for about 70 minutes. Sebastian Grazzini had given the home side the lead early in the second half and United's attack looked spent.

With the recent moves, it's time for another F5 on this list... Champions League Playoff round *Villyan Bijev - Genk Group phase David Yelldell - Bayer Leverkusen Europa League Playoff round Jozy Altidore - AZ *Dominic Cervi - Celtic Steve Cherundolo - Hannover 96 *Charlie Davies - Sochaux Clint Dempsey - Fulham Alejandro Bedoya, Carlos Bocanegra, Maurice Edu - Rangers Brad Friedel -

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon, Portugal

Unfortunately he earned that label. On occasions he displayed a lethal scoring ability; remember his glorious Parma days partnering an incredible Adriano up front? On the pitch he was a performer, an icon to his country and a symbol.

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon, Portugal

Unfortunately he earned that label. On occasions he displayed a lethal scoring ability; remember his glorious Parma days partnering an incredible Adriano up front? On the pitch he was a performer, an icon to his country and a symbol.

Another draw is in the books, except this ain't just any old draw. This is the record tying draw. I'm sure FC Dallas is pulling for us to get another draw so they can only have one season with that infamous record (and at least they can always say "MLS Cup Participants!" after that record is referenced).

The Chicago Fire's 2011 MLS Regular Season has essentially become an exercise in preparing for the 2011 U.S. Open Cup and the 2012 MLS Regular Season. Last week's 4-2 loss to the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps was no doubt the worst moment in the Fire's 2011 campaign and it might have been the worst moment in the club's entire history as Stephen Piggott opined in last week's game recap.

Dominic Oduro (right) and ex-Fire midfielder
John Thorrington (left) -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Will the real Chicago Fire please stand up?
A topsy-turvy five-day stretch last week brought out the Fire's best efforts (1-1 draw against the Philadelphia Union) and easily the team's worst performances (4-2 loss to the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps) of the season.

Maurice Edu and Rangers will look to get a big win over Inverness CT away from home while Dominic Cervi will be on the bench for Celtic who face Dundee Untied at home.