It has been almost a year since SBI's last installment of You Write the Caption, and that one came after a two-year hiatus for one of the site's original and most popular series. We plan on changing that after feedback from readers who told us we should bring the series back.

For those of you unfamiliar, You Write the Caption is when we post a funny photo and allow our readers to take their cracks at writing a caption to go with the photo.

After a two month hiatus, our Great Teams series is up and running again with this account of Blackburn Rovers' return to the top echelon in 2001, a third Lancastrian study in a row after Fiona Martin and myself considered matters Blackpool and Bolton in turn. You can follow Phil on twitter here - and look out for further entries in the series throughout February.

Man, where do I even start? First, let me apologize for such a long hiatus. These past few months have been pretty crazy for me for a number of reasons, but I'm back now. If there's anyone out there that actually still reads this blog, thank you for your patience. This hasn't been a fun time for me, but things are starting to look up.

Some good things; some bad things...

The United States went south to Panama Wednesday night and came away with a win against a CONCACAF up-and-comer and little else.

The small margin of victory came early in the contest as Zach Loyd lofted a ball into the box. Chris Wondolowski challenged his defender for it as it skipped (or grazed) past their heads.

If you have been to a Fire game in the past few years, you have probably heard the steady pulse of the bass drum coming from Section 8. The man behind that beat is long time Chicago Fire fan DJ Racis. DJ has been a dedicated part of Section 8 for almost a decade. Among many other things, he is infamous for running for every Section 8 board position at the Annual General Meeting.

The transformation from Bruce Banner to the Incredible Hulk still isn't an easy process to watchHello? Is this thing still on? Oh good, you're still here.
Apologies for the delay in regular programming but, fret not, The Boys From White Hart Lane is back from it's Christmas hiatus and is ready to rock your socks off all over again in this new year.

The Chicago Fire might be adding a new graphic to the front of their jerseys this season.

According to reports out of Chicago, the club is closing in on a jersey sponsor deal with Quaker Oats, something that would end the club's sponsor hiatus after one season. Best Buy had been the team's jersey sponsor from 2008-2010 before ending its commitment prior to last season.

Photo: Paul Rudderow

With the release of the Union's 2012 regular season schedule, I, along with my colleagues at the PSP, am buzzing about the prospects of the new season. Just 66 more days (stupid leap year) until the Union take the pitch in Portland to get Year Three underway. In the meantime, now that MLS has thrown out last year's balanced schedule (take that purists) we have plenty to talk about with respect to the construction of the 2012 Union schedule.

Back after a hiatus, I present you the latest attendance figures from the Major Indoor Soccer League. As you may or may not know, United Soccer Leagues took over the MISL this season and brought it under their umbrella along with its nascent I-League. The result is a seven-team league that's averaging right about what the old one was through the same number of games a year ago.

It's taken us two and a half years but we have finally achieved our exit strategy from Blogger and arrived on board with Wordpress - a natural evolutionary path that many said we would take on starting The Two Unfortunates in the wake of the 2008-9 season. The pages you see in front of you have been developed by Michael Kinlan and we hope you agree that he's done a super job, following on from his sterling work with Richard and Neil Bellis's Blue and White Fanzine.

Right. I'm back. Well not really- I'm still temporarily on hiatus exploring the vast riches that Monaco has to offer at the moment. But, I couldn't resist the urge to get something online after leaving Jack to fend for himself for what seems like an eternity. The basics? Yes, I'm married. Yes, I'm delighted.

Football Focus pundit Garth Crooks has praised the performances of Martin Skrtel in light of the towering centre-half's superb individual effort at the weekend.
The Slovakian international scored Liverpool's second goal during the 2-0 win against Aston Villa and the 27-year-old has been one of Kenny Dalglish's most consistent performers.

Football Focus pundit Garth Crooks has praised the performances of Liverpool centre-half Daniel Agger this season.
The Danish international has been keeping Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher out of the side, with Kenny Dalglish persisting instead with a centre-back partnership of Martin Skrtel and Agger.

We're back! Regular readers will have noticed this blog has essentially been on hiatus since Nov. 29. But it was more than that. Due to a technical issue (I'll leave it at that) I was unable to post updates and readers were unable to leave comments. Those issues have now

The Cascadia Summit will be taking at least a one-year hiatus. The news about the preseason, round-robin tournament between the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps was officially broken by Timbers owner Merritt Paulson in this tweet:

piltdownman7Brett Graham @MerrittPaulson Will there be another Cascadia summit this season?

Week 11 kicked off after a long hiatus due to International play and the Taca de Portugal qualifying. Beira Mar defeated Academica 1-0 to move into sixth place in the league. Saturday was Derby day in the league as Nacional played Martimo to a 2-2 draw in Madeira, while Benfica hosted Sporting at the Luz.

We're finally back to some league action again after the two week hiatus. I guess in England they'd call that a fortnight. Anyway, we're off to the east coast of England to take on Norwich at Carrow Road in an early morning (North American time) tilt.
Before I get to the official preview, let's check in on some injury notes.

The Midnight Ride: Episode 54

I made an appearance on the Midnight Ride podcast with Hank Alexandre after a long hiatus. We talked mostly about the expansion draft, management changes, and future coaching prospects. Give it a listen.

The Midnight Ride: Episode 54

I made an appearance on the Midnight Ride podcast with Hank Alexandre after a long hiatus. We talked mostly about the expansion draft, management changes, and future coaching prospects. Give it a listen.

The NASL Atlanta Silverbacks announced the appointment of Alex Pineda Chacon to replace Jose Manuel Abundis, who coached the team in the 2011 season. After a two year hiatus from fielding a team, the Silverbacks were a disappointment in Abundis' first head coaching opportunity, finishing last in the NASL with a 4-20-4 record.

The Never Captain Nicky Butt Shop came back to life after a nearly three year hiatus after Mario Balotelli scored "that goal" in the Manchester Derby on Sunday. If you're interested in joining in on the fun just click on the ... Continue reading →

Firstly, please accept my apologies for this mini-hiatus. I appreciate the emails and higher expectations. Indeed, I wanted to write a lot more frequently but a couple of factors kept me away. The current run of form has been disheartening to say the least and while I dearly wished to look back and analyze some games and stats, the heart just wasn't up to it.

photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - If Oguchi Onyewu's recent string of performances for Sporting Lisbon wasn't a sign that he's getting back to top form, his outing against Honduras likely was.

Having not played for the U.

With the cancellation of the Reserve League Playoffs, as reported by Kelly McLain over at Timbers Insider, the Portland Timbers' inaugural season in the Reserve League is now officially over.

The MLS Reserve League was created in 2005 to help teams develop young talent and keep lesser used players fresh, but it was canceled after the 2008 season because of a lack of funding.

It's that time of year again. Most of the domestic league action is on hiatus so the world can enjoy international football. Here, we're not particularly adverse to international football, although we are know much more for our fondness of domestic league action.
There will be some club action in the Western Hemisphere and you can find much of that on GolTV and, in the case of Mexican league play, on the Spanish-language channels in the United States.

Carles Puyol returns from injury (Photo: Getty Images)

Great news came today from all places, Twitter!

Captain Carles Puyol announced via his personal Twitter page that he is finally returning to action following a three month hiatus due to a knee injury.

Puyol has been sidelined since May, missing out on the clubs entire summer tour and the first La Liga match of the season.

Since we're in the throes of international competition and most of the domestic league action is on hiatus (save South America, where we are still getting a full slate of action), this week's Weekly Club Rankings are being postponed a week in order to bring you the WCR International RPI Rankings for September 2011.

Steve Clarke believes Liverpool has every reason to be satisfied with their start to 2011-12.
The Reds have picked up seven points from a possible nine in the Barclays Premier League, while they also made sure of a place in the third round of the Carling Cup with a 3-1 win over Exeter City.
A stylish attacking verve has characterized Liverpool's performances this term - and Clarke feels everyone within the camp can feel pleased with their efforts thus far.

Valencia CF c. 2011-12 have inspired me to jump back on my soap box and preach to the masses.
And why not? I'm giddy with excitement for the season to start this weekend!

That is, if it starts. The players union may strike. The season may be delayed. We may have to wait to see Our Beloved Valencia CF trot out to defend the colors of the Valencian Community.

The Theatre of Dreams has proven a nightmare for those who care for the history of New York soccer, the much heralded "return of the Cosmos" after twenty-five years hiatus ends a 6-0 disgrace. After the slaughter of MLS sides last month, I didn't anticipate Manchester United playing with similar intensity.

After a 19-year hiatus from Italy's top tier AC Cesena returned to the the Italian Serie A for the 2010/11 season. Following a season that saw the club emerge as early table toppers (defeating eventual champions AC Milan along the way), Cesena eventually finished the season in 15th place. With the new Serie A season quicklly [.

Liverpool remains hopeful Luis Suárez will be able to play a part in the opening fixtures of the season despite his exertions in helping Uruguay win the Copa America.
Uruguay's run to the final means that Suárez has less than three weeks of recovery time before the start of the domestic season.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

It's no secret that Carolina has been far and away the best team in the NASL this season and, somewhat unfortunately for the Railhawks, teams across the Atlantic Ocean are starting to take notice.

Carolina captain Brad Rusin left the club abruptly earlier this week to sign a three-year contract with Denmark Superliga side HB Køge.

There was a time when Kele Okereke and Bloc Party were it. Then they went on hiatus and Kele went solo and it all pretty much went to sh*t. Now he's singing on songs for French people to use in the most French videos around not featuring Pepe Le Pew.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Can the Hod bring a touch of Spanish sunshine to Hyde?

It might have escaped many people's notice this month, but one of the most intriguing lower-league stories of the week involves the return to England of one Glenn Hoddle, former national team boss and psychic-consulter extraordinaire.

By JONATHAN VERA

PASADENA, Calif – On a night when there were few bright spots for the U.S. men's national team in its Gold Cup Final loss to Mexico, perhaps the only true positive was the performance of Freddy Adu.

A surprising selection to the U.

By FRANCO PANIZO

HOUSTON, Texas - Freddy Adu won't take it for granted. Not anymore.

After a near two-year hiatus, Adu made his return to the U.S. men's national team as second-half substitute in its Gold Cup semifinals match against Panama on Wednesday night at Reliant Stadium.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Orlando City took advantage of its rivals being on hiatus during the weekend to increase its lead in the ultra-competitive American Division to seven points.

Orlando scored three times in the second half to earn a comeback victory over a Wilmington team that was riding a four-game unbeaten streak.

The first tumbleweeds of summer are blowing gently across the boughs. The nation's football stadia entertain an eerie silence and the journalists have started to slowly creep above the parapets, sharpening their bayoneted pens and preparing themselves to fill our footballing no man's land with three months of unremitting shit.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

With their closest rivals on hiatus, the Richmond Kickers are looking to take advantage.

A midweek loss to Orlando City put the Floridians into pole position in the American Division, a place Richmond has occupied since the first week of the season.