Athletic Bilbao-Barcelona

Bilbao had one of the hottest starts of any La Liga squad, but the squad has not proven that they can consistently score with only eleven goals on the year as a team. Barcelona has a few guys that are not too far from that total including newly acquired forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

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At the Olympic Stadium, Greece drew 0-0 with Ukraine in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. Tomorrow night, the 2nd leg with take place at another Olympic Stadium, this time in Kyiv. It really should be a tough affair with it all to play for and a place in the tournament in South Africa.

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VS.
The drama of World Cup qualifying reaches its apex in the next 7 days as the final spots for South Africa 2010 will be set. Nations will be paralyzed as their teams fight for footballing glory. The CONCACAF vs. CONMEBOL playoff features Los Ticos of Costa Rica vs. Click to continue reading...

VS.

The drama of World Cup qualifying reaches its apex in the next 7 days as the final spots for South Africa 2010 will be set. Nations will be paralyzed as their teams fight for footballing glory. The CONCACAF vs. CONMEBOL playoff features Los Ticos of Costa Rica vs.

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By NESTOR F. SEBASTIAN

It's been all business in the Uruguayan and Costa Rican camps this week, ahead of their first-leg playoff match at San Jose's Saprissa stadium, with no bulletin-board material or off-key quotes to rile each other up.

Instead, it's generally been a pleasant environment for players, media corps and managers, both of whom have praised each other's squad's games and achievements but have also divulged very little information on their respective teams' workouts.

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In a move that probaly shows that the Wizards Front Office might know money but doesn't really know that much about soccer, KC has removed the title of "interim" from Peter Vermes and now he is officially..., wait for it..., wait for it... the new head coach of Your Kansas City Wizards.

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Starting this weekend, the final slots for the 2010 World Cup will be decided around the world. So, let's have a bit of fun with the playoffs.
Today until Saturday, entries are open for picks for the first leg of the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA first legs and for the AFC/OFC second leg. We'll pick the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA second legs starting on Sunday or Monday. Click to continue reading...

In a unique pair of MIAC playoff finals, the Men's and Women's competetion saw the same pair of teams facing off for the league championship and a ticket to the NCAA D-III Tournament. The Carlton men's soccer team played Macalester at Carlton yesterday afternoon, while the women's championship game was last night and saw the exact same schools matched up.

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In a unique pair of MIAC playoff finals, the Men's and Women's competetion saw the same pair of schools facing off for the league championship and a ticket to the NCAA D-III Tournament. The Carlton men's soccer team played Macalester at Carlton yesterday afternoon, while the women's championship game was last night and saw the exact same schools matched up.

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The Columbus Crew quest for a repeat MLS Cup championship will ride on tonight's First Round playoff decider against Real Salt Lake at Crew Stadium (8pm, ESPN2).

The Crew will need to erase a 1-0 deficit from its first-leg loss at Rio Tinto Stadium to do win the series, and will welcome back reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who is expected to start after being benched for the first game.

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The Columbus Crew quest for a repeat MLS Cup championship will ride on tonight's First Round playoff decider against Real Salt Lake at Crew Stadium (8pm, ESPN2).

The Crew will need to erase a 1-0 deficit from its first-leg loss at Rio Tinto Stadium to do win the series, and will welcome back reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who is expected to start after being benched for the first game.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Four matches, zero wins and four tough tasks to accomplish heading into the second set of first-round MLS playoff games. That is the reality facing the top four seeds in the MLS playoffs as they return home to host game two of their respective series.

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I love that mistakes are being punished like so much naughtiness at a Catholic boys school.

I'll have more thorough reviews up later today at ESPN Soccernet and at MLSnet.com. For now, here's a quick review, including a recap of a few killer mistakes:

Columbus vet Frankie Hejduk was snoozing momentarily and allowed too much room for RealSaltLake's Yura Movsisyan, who fed Robbie Findley for a big goal in the RSL-Columbus series.

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L.A. and Chivas brought us some major drama in the MLS Playoffs first ever SuperClasico in a battle for Los Angeles bragging rights and some sorely needed points in the Conference Semifinals. Chivas has to struggle to pull together a draw on the Galaxy, but the fireworks have only just begun.

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Houston visits Seattle in MLS Cup playoffs

Our reward for enduring through 32 weeks of regular season matches is a fascinating final four in the Western Conference playoffs. While the Chivas USA versus Galaxy doubleheader in Los Angeles stacks up to be a tough defensive struggle for both squads, expect fireworks from the Houston Dynamo and the Seattle Sounders FC.

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The 2009 MIAC men's soccer season is coming to a close in dramatic fashion.

Tuesdays round of MIAC men's soccer games were crucial for several team to stay in the dogfight for a playoff spot. The top 4 teams in the standings will move onto to a post season MIAC playoff championship with the winner moving onto NCAA D3 Tournament.

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The 2009 MIAC men's soccer season is coming to a close in dramatic fashion.

Tuesday's round of MIAC men's soccer games were crucial for several teams to stay in the dogfight for a playoff spot. The top 4 teams in the standings will move on to a postseason MIAC playoff championship with the winner moving on to the NCAA D3 Tournament.

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The Major League Soccer 2009 regular season finished on Sunday, October 25, 2009. The playoff match-ups are now set with Columbus, Salt Lake, New England, Chivas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and Houston qualifying. The Los Angeles Galaxy are the top seed in the Western Conference and will have home field advantage through the Conference Finals.

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The Galaxy come into the season's final game knowing a win will give them the top spot in the Western Conference and home field advantage in the playoffs because L.A. holds most of the tiebreakers over Houston and Chivas USA, which play each other at noon Sunday here at Home Depot Center, should either of those two teams finish tied with them on points.

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Drury Panthers, Ben Nabers

Drury Panthers 2
St Joseph's Pumas 1
Nationally seventh-ranked Drury rallied from an early deficit to beat Saint Joseph's 2-1 Friday night and move closer to its first Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title. Click to continue reading...

Drury Panthers, Ben Nabers

Drury Panthers 2
St Joseph's Pumas 1
Nationally seventh-ranked Drury rallied from an early deficit to beat Saint Joseph's 2-1 Friday night and move closer to its first Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title. Click to continue reading...

The nationally seventh-ranked Drury men's soccer Panthers will try to secure home-field advantage throughout the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament when they close out the league's regular season this weekend with matches at Saint Joseph's (Friday) and Wisconsin-Parkside (Sunday).

Drury, 14-1 overall, has an 11-1 league record and owns a one-game lead over Northern Kentucky in the standings entering the final two matches; the Norse would hold any tie-breaker by virtue of their head-to-head, 2-1 victory over the Panthers last weekend in Springfield.

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The nationally seventh-ranked Drury men's soccer Panthers will try to secure home-field advantage throughout the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament when they close out the league's regular season this weekend with matches at Saint Joseph's (Friday) and Wisconsin-Parkside (Sunday).

Drury, 14-1 overall, has an 11-1 league record and owns a one-game lead over Northern Kentucky in the standings entering the final two matches; the Norse would hold any tie-breaker by virtue of their head-to-head, 2-1 victory over the Panthers last weekend in Springfield.

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Sacha Kljestan and Chivas head to Chicago to face the Fire. (Getty Images)

It is simple for each club, keep winning and good things happen. All the Chicago Fire needs to do tonight is win (or even draw) and they are in the playoffs. As for Chivas a win tonight and a win over the weekend could turn into a Supporter's Shield trophy.

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In tonight's game Chivas USA still have a shot at the MLS regular season title and home field advantage in the playoffs while the Chicago Fire are still seeking a playoff berth.

Kick off is at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.

Meanwhile, the CSUDH men (11-5-1) beat Western Washington 3-0 in Carson Wednesday, while the Cal State Northridge men (7-5-2) tied UC Davis 0-0.

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There were plenty of upsets yesterday, could we see more today? On paper Manchester United, who have struggled as of late, could be expected to slip against CSKA after a long trip to Moscow but CSKA has not been performing well either. I am not expecting a feast of football from that match and the real drama lies elsewhere in the schedule.

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Ahh, this is looking to be quite the match up!

The Galaxy, Dynamo, and Chivas are all tied for first in the Western Conference with 44 points each. So this match will likely determine the first place team in the Western Conference. Only two games remain for our Galaxy they play the Earthquakes at home next Saturday to end the regular season.

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Miss Cleo is rolling into this weekend with a very impressive record of 47-14.  Forty seven picks correct, Miss Cleo! That doesn't even include the middle of the week matches which means your favorite false prophet is picking around 6.8 games dead on. But what about the shenanigans going on this week?

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Dynamo, it's time to test your mettle. Your final two regular season opponents have also clinched invitations to the postseason. So, knowing that win or lose you'll still be in the dance, does that alter your mindset? Will you be reserved to rest or do you push for custody of the coveted home-field advantage?

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French Ligue 1 returns into action after the international break and Olympique Lyon are leading the title race at the moment. Bordeaux and surprise package Montpellier are just behind the leaders, while Marseille and PSG are slowly falling behind. Monaco and Lorient are also exceeding expectations at the moment, while Toulouse, Nice and Lille are not doing as well as last season.

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Light Rain, via Vanilla Days (Liverpool)

OZARKS CONFERENCE
Camdenton Lakers 4
Parkview Vikings 0
Camdenton continues their unbeaten run through the Ozark Conference, now 6-0. Parkview drops to 2-5 in Conference. The 1st goal was scored by Nate Buttram, from a Jeff Dorhauer assist. Click to continue reading...

The Rapids just sent out a press release with the header, "A Special Message From Conor Casey." Swear to God, I thought it was going to be him rapping, "Tell me, how my ass taste?"
Also sent out today - a press release reminding the world that nine teams are still vying for the playoffs. Click to continue reading...

The Galaxy won't sell tickets to the upper deck at Carson's Home Depot Center for its first and perhaps only playoff game this year at the stadium (date and opponent TBD), the first time the club has done that since moving there in 2003.

Of course, that's slightly misleading because the Galaxy haven't made the playoffs in the last three seasons.

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A lot has been made this year over the home struggles of the Chicago Fire and the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Fire are doing much better away (1.64 PPG) than at home (1.29 PPG). The Galaxy were in that same boat, but they've won their last two home games and are now sporting equal marks (1.57 PPG) home and away. Click to continue reading...