With the NBA schedule in fult tilt since Christmas, the season has never seemed this action-packed. The reason is because the games are coming closer together and delivered faster to consumers.
There is more back-to-back scheduling for teams than other years, meaning they play two nights in a row and some back-to-back-to-back, meaning they play three nights in a row at times throughout the season, as well.

We all know that Premier League football is far more than the 90 minutes our favorite team plays each weekend. Throughout the week there's plenty of programming, on television, the Internet and radio, to keep us informed and entertained about ...
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Carlos Farias | photo property of MISL  The Wichita Wings announced via their official team website that the team has released forward Carlos "Chile" Farias.
Wichita Wings Release Carlos Farias
Farias was the first player signed by the expansion Wings heading into the 2011-2012 MISL season.

By Joel Greenwaldt
As we find ourselves fully entrenched in the holiday season, we can't forget the fans of the MISL and what they have on their wish list for their favorite team. We've complied a list of what the fans in each market likely are asking for from their teams as we are now 1/3 of the way through the season.

Every year, around these dates, which incidentally includes my birthday, the Champions League is entering the last round of the group stages. And often, around my birthday, my favorite team of Valencia is eliminated from the Champions League.Yesterday was no exception; leading up to the match much of the talk had been about the pressure on Chelsea.

Tonight at Old Trafford, Manchester, the latest Group game in the 2011 UEFA Champions League competition kicks off with United facing old enemy Benfica from Portugal. This particular match, as I'm sure it does for many other fans across the globe, evokes memories from a summer evening back in 1968 where all of the lost dreams of those immortal Busby Babes finally came to fruition.

With apologies to Gil Scott-Heron, the data revolution that is currently happening in football will not be televised. Instead, it is taking place in the cramped back offices of clubs where scouts are now as likely to be hunched over a computer to check a player's performance indicators as they are to be swapping stories of watching a young Algerian striker on a rainy night in Copenhagen.

Sports fans typically don't care where the money behind their favorite team comes from. It's the thinking that as long as we are winning games and championships, does it even matter who's writing the checks? Most are fine with not knowing simple because they don't care for the simple reason that its sports and one of the core purposes of sport is to distract us from reality and allow us to forget about the trials and tribulations of day to day life.

With the 2011 NFL season almost halfway over, let's take a look at the best team's in all of football. This NFL power rankings will cover the top ten teams. Did your favorite team make the cut? Find out below.

1. Green Bay Packers
The reigning champs are undefeated and by far the best team in the NFL.

In The Fan In You (TFIY) series, TSG explores how a fan became fanatical about their favorite team. We're nowhere near derby time which makes this piece by Ronan Quinn not reduced to noise in a sea of...vile.

Early roots...Newcastle vs. Sunderland

Watching Manchester United and Manchester City battle it out at the top for the first time has given the derby games between the two a new dimension.

In The Fan In You (TFIY) series, TSG explores how a fan became fanatical about their favorite team. This piece about the sport itself.

Arguably Benfica's greatest....Eusebio...

By: RJ DeMello

The beautiful game enveloped me completely in the summer of 2006.

I don't want to sound hyperbolic. I keep reminding myself that this is just a game- a simple and athletic form of entertainment meant to distract and please the masses from the day to day hardships of life. After a long, hard day at the factory, the conference room, the construction site, the school, or the hacker cave, everyone is entitled to sit down, grab a beer/juice/bottle o' water/Faygo, sit down on the couch, and watch your favorite team engage in 90-120 minutes of some good old football/soccer.

Photo credit: Daily Harrison
Good afternoon! It's another beautiful day here in Red Bulls Land and it's do-or-die time for our favorite team. Yes - today RBNY finds itself tied for 5th place in the Eastern Conference with non other than DC United. Also, a couple of teams that were way behind the Red Bulls (Houston & KC), are now ahead in the Eastern Conference standings.

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Over the years we have learned that are readers are savvy consumers of soccer media who use multiple sources to check soccer news, keep in touch with other fans and follow trends in the beautiful game. Because a large part of what we cover is the soccer media, we thought it was time for the first Footiebusiness poll since 2009.

Liverpool FC fans received an unusual tweet from their favorite team Tuesday morning.
The tweet, which was written in Chinese, was translated a few moments later when the team announced it had launched an official Weibo account.
Weibo, for those who might not know, is a Chinese social network that is a cross between Facebook and Twitter.

Meet Chelsea's newest signing, Romelu Lukaku. Aged 18 years, the former star for Belgium club Anderlecht is often called "the new Didier Drogba," so it's fitting that he has signed for the club he called his favorite team to play on the same team as...
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Meet Chelsea's newest signing, Romelu Lukaku. Aged 18 years, the former star for Belgium club Anderlecht is often called "the new Didier Drogba," so it's fitting that he has signed for the club he called his favorite team to play on the same team as...
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While the result does not matter, it will certainly be a spectacle as one of the best teams in the world host Manchester United. Wait, sorry, as one of the best teams in the world comes to Seattle to play against the Sounders. This game will not be broken down tactically, as the point Wednesday night will not be to win, but first to not get hurt and second to see some unique players showcase their skills.

Another game, another depressing drive home from Gillette Stadium. This one hurt. It hurt because it's now officially the second half of the season and there is just barely anything left out there. Sunday night I saw a team with their tails between their legs. It even hurts me to relive the game and write this.

Yes. Big things are finally happening in Wolverhampton and it's all about football. First of all. Paddytheflea signs on for a third season covering Wolverhampton Wanderers! After one month of silence and vacation the annoying little bug has decided to write about his favorite team one more year. And he believes this will be the [.

FIFA is easily my favorite video game ever. I have spent more time playing the FIFA series than I have on any other game or game series. In my opinion, FIFA 11 has been the best FIFA in history. FIFA 12 will have a lot to live up to but I definitely like what I am seeing so far. The gameplay updates seem minor compared to past editions but I believe that is a good thing.

With the lack of any recent news going on, I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane to a time when our team won a couple of trophies. I thought the Gervinho deal would be completed by now, and Darren is still planning on doing a report on that if/when it ever happens. Until there's some actual news, you're stuck with me again.

As the summer transfer window opens and teams across Europe begin their annual spending spree/discount sale, I wanted to share the perspective of American fans of Bari, Brescia, and Sampdoria, or the "Relegated Three" for the 2011-2012 season. Relegation is a part of soccer life, and much has been written on the pain of seeing your favorite team descending into lower league hell after the glories of top flight redemption.

The U.S. will take on 2010 FIFA World Cup champion Spain on June 4 in Foxborough, Mass. Kickoff against the current No.1-ranked team in the world is set for 3:30 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN. Head Coach Bob Bradley announced the team roster two weeks ago and the team has been training since.

Big news from the site of the new Dynamo Stadium, tomorrow afternoon Manhattan Construction will begin pouring the concrete foundations for the new building. It may not sound super exciting, but it's a huge step towards the new home of the Dynamo opening next spring.

There should be plenty of photos from the event as the team has invited the media, so I'll be sure to post whatever I can find so we can all ogle at what will become the backbone of our favorite team's new home for years to come.

Did your favorite team draft well in the 2011 NFL Draft? Check out the list below to see how we ranked your team's draft. Since this draft was relatively strong, a lot of teams got solid grades. However, like every season, there were teams who had no idea what they were doing.

Bengals A

Buccaneers A

Lions A-

Chargers A-

Steelers B+

Colts B+

Browns B+

Packers B

Ravens B

Broncos B

Bills B

Jets B

Bears B-

Texans B-

Saints B-

Rams B-

Cardinals B-

Cowboys B-

Giants B-

Dolphins B-

Eagles C+

Chiefs C+

Titans C+

Patriots C+

Redskins C+

49ers C+

Vikings C+

Panthers C

Seahawks C

Jaguars D

Raiders D

Falcons F

The Falcons got the only failing grade

Post from: EveryJoe

Local, legacy craft brewery Redhook has partnered with the Seattle Sounders as the official craft brewery. This according to a press release at www.BrewClick.com. The extent of the relationship will still be discovered, but with Redhook celebrating their 30th anniversary it is a strong sign for the team and the brewery to have a partnership.

Photos by Jose M. Romero

(SBI Staff writer Jose M. Romero was one of the thousands of Portland natives who braved the elements at Jeld-Wen Field last Thursday to take in a historic night for Portland soccer. Here is his account of that unforgettable night.

I hope everyone is having as an exciting sports week as I am. Both the MLS season and the Seattle Sounders kicked off on Tuesday in a wet, rainy battle between two favorites in the West. The Sounders would go on to lose 1-0 to the Galaxy in an evenly matched affair. The results of the match were somewhat overshadowed by the surprising news that Blaise Nkufo and the Sounders would be parting ways.

Courtesy TribeAthletics.com
Tue, March 15, 2011
Courtesy TribeAthletics.com
Q: Why did you choose the Tribe?
Because I wanted to compete for, and win, CAA Titles.
Q: Describe a moment when you felt the most Tribe pride...
When we made it to the sweet 16 and got to go to Dallas.

With the new MLS season about to get under way, I thought it'd be interesting to take a quick look back at the last season to generate some baseline information for putting the league and teams in a little bit of a soccermetric perspective. Without too much ado, here are some basic stats on the league from last season to put you in the mood for soccer made in the U.

*I thought I should get that headline out of the way before the season began. The Galaxy won 2-0 today in a weather-delayed game in Arizona on first half goals by Chris Birchall and Juan Pablo Angel.

It's the first shutout for the Galaxy in preseason, although it helps that the Whitecaps major attacking threat is former Chivas USA striker Atiba Harris (ahem).

I'm back from Arizona after spending a few days there, with great access to MLS players and coaches on site. Ten teams have already or will spend time in and around Phoenix in February or March, so the opportunity for journalists to gather information (or for fans to closely inspect their favorite team) is immense.

If popular convention is true, there's no such thing as bad publicity.

And if you're a porn star, there's no such thing as anything short of excellent publicity, because the good ship dignity sailed long, long ago.

Last night on Chiambretti Night, a popular Italian show which can only be described as supremely Italian, a porn star outed herself as an escort to Serie A and Azzurri players.

Michael Cash is a freelance writer and internet consultant residing in western Michigan with an interest in the practice and role of soccer fandom in a 2.0 world. Here, he discusses how the world's march towards technological progress will change how we follow our beloved MLS teams. Enjoy.

Guillermo Rivera has an outstanding piece up on Julian Posada - Posada Has A Full Plate Going Into 2011 Season. Rivera breaks out a list of things that should be implemented like a team store at Toyota Park, honoring the team's history, jersey sponsor and much more. I'd call this a 'must-read'.

Soccer by Ives had a couple of must read Tweets today - first one:

Chicago Fire finally announces Nery Castillo loan to Aris (MLS paperwork slowed announcement).

Mario Balotelli has always been known for his controversy in and out of the field especially about his constant praise of his favorite team Ac Milan, however the striker now seemed to settle with life in Eastlands especially after saying his positive words about his current manager and teammates.

Loyal and humbly named reader World Cup Expert had a slightly different take on my Liverpool post yesterday. He has an interesting thought on a perceived media-fan disconnect when it comes to storied clubs. See what you think ...

What Liverpool is going through reminds me a lot of what my NFL team – the Broncos – are also going through.

Passionate fans can now manage and remit funds easily and securely, and connect with their favorite team