The big soccer game on American soil over the weekend involved the Women's National Team, which packed more than 20,000 people into FC Dallas Stadium as part of a 2-1 victory over New Zealand. That is a big number for a friendly game against a non-big name opponent, especially given the fairly cold temperatures in the Dallas area.

Following U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo's naked lawn watering in ESPN The Magazine's body issue, Alex Morgan -- Hope's U.S national teammate and fellow recipient of an impressive number of Facebook marriage proposals during last summer's Women's World Cup -- will be one of three female athletes to pose in bodypaint for the upcoming Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

I love playing sports for a long list of reasons, but I especially love sports because they help define who we are:

• Sports give you confidence.
• Sports give you strength.
• Sports give you a voice (hence, the nickname Loudy Foudy). :)
• Sports teach teamwork and leadership.

U.S. Soccer released its "Best of" nominee lists for 2011 (link to Facebook voting). Categories from "Male and Female Athletes of the Year", "Best Goal", "Best Fan Moments" and the like are all up for grabs.
The one that concerned us the most was the "Best Twitter" account which featured loads of USMNT and USWNT players and a few big media accounts.

A sound nutritional strategy is a critical component of any athletes training program. Unfortunately, this is one aspect of a player's game that is often overlooked. Over the years, research has examined the diets of both youth and professional male players (Click here for a recent SSO article). However, very few studies have focused on female athletes.

One of the Mission Statements from the 1999 Women's World Cup was to "inspire the next generation of female athletes" something that current group of WNT players has certainly accomplished (albeit for the kid sisters and even daughters of those back in 1999!).

It sounds a lot like you do
Always saying shit I know is not true
It sucks me in
It spits me out
I try to shut it up
'Cause I must let it go
-Poe, Choking the Cherry

I was a little confused about Beau Dure's piece on choking.

My recent post on Louisa Necib has been the most read popular I've ever written on this blog. That's a great testament to the burst of interest this Women's World Cup has generated around the world. (France's semi-final game, for instance, attracted 4 million viewers in a country that has been very slow to adopt women's football).

Brandi Chastain and Ian Darke

ESPN has shown a remarkable commitment to properly covering the Women's World Cup this year. While previous World Cups were well covered by the ESPN family of networks, this summer's event has demonstrated an enhanced understanding of the audience that watches this competition and the type of coverage that would be appealing to those viewers.

Missouri Elite FC U15 Girls at Incredible Pizza Fall Classic

Missouri Elite FC, a Springfield all-girls club soccer program committed to meeting the needs of female athletes, has a few more openings for the 2011-12 season.

If you are a junior or senior in high school looking to improve your game for high school and possibly beyond, please come to our open field on Tuesday evening, July 5, from 6:00-7:15pm at Lake Country Soccer on the South fields.

Watch ALL six shorts here.
ESPN will present HERoics, a series of six short documentaries chronicling women's courage, perseverance, breaking through barriers, failure and redemption, as part of its unprecedented coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011, it was announced today. The series, an ESPN global content development project, will live on www.

There are several major reasons why a player disappoints:

1. He or she I'll use just "he" from here on, but these points apply equally to female athletes gets injured and has difficulty recovering.
2. He turns out to be older than many people had thought, that is, on the decline at an age when some other players are able to maintain peak performance.

Kristine Lilly, US Soccer

CHICAGO (Jan. 5, 2011) – Kristine Lilly, one of the most legendary figures in the history of women's soccer and holder of the world record with 352 international appearances, has retired.

The 5-foot-4-inch midfielder hangs up her boots at age 39 as perhaps the game's most accomplished player and certainly one of the most successful and decorated female athletes in U.

Kudos to U.S. soccer legend Kristine LIlly for calling it a day while she's still got game. After 352 appearances for the national team, one of the most beloved figures in the history of women's soccer anounced she is retiring.

The 5-foot-4-inch midfielder hangs up her boots at age 39 as perhaps the game's most accomplished player and certainly one of the most successful and decorated female athletes in U.