In an attempt to reconnect with the beautiful game, I've purchased a Slingbox and fixed my DVD recorder and gotten a DVR with more memory. Some might call that extreme, but with college football essentially ending on Saturday for me...

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Everybody is talking about it, so I thought I'd join in. It has been dubbed the Hand of god II. As if the plot of this sequel is similar to the first one.

Before we can go into further debate, I'm not denying that it wasn't a handball. It will be very difficult to suggest otherwise. The actual handball happened in two parts, the first seemed accidental but the second most definitely wasn't.

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Anybody else feeling edgy?

I'm getting a little tired of reading that this France side aren't "a spot" on the 1998-2000 side. Time for the lads to debunk that nasty sentiment; and a masterclass today would be a good start.

Join Laurie on this site later today (she's never missed a match before, and I wouldn't expect her to start now) for a bit of pre -, during -, and post-match banter (and ranting and raving).

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With J Hutcherson -- That crack media contingent that put Columbus Crew coach Robert Warzycha in the final three for MLS Coach of the Year? Well, the biggest playoff breakdown in recent memory wasn't an overwhelming display on the part of Real Salt Lake. It was Columbus playing for the draw in the first game and not getting it. Click to continue reading...

By Phil Gregory Today, Arsenal welcome Birmingham to the Emirates Stadium for a match that this Gunner had circled on the fixture list from the moment it came out. For many, this match is far, far more than just another chance for three points: it's the memory of Eduardo's leg break, Gallas' meltdown and the moment [. Click to continue reading...

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If you happened to miss last night's USA-Costa Rica match, you missed one of the most exciting U.

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                                                                              Photo by ISIphotos.com
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If you happened to miss last night's USA-Costa Rica match, you missed one of the most exciting U.

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Well, final score: Conor Casey 2, Inter-nets 0. Seriously, how on earth is the one U.S. game that nobody could see was one of the best efforts, and most entertaining soccer games in a recent memory?A more fully composed game break down Sunday morning, but really, wow. The U.S. fell down 1-0, rallied to win 3-2 and punched a ticket to the 2010 World Cup. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel believes his side should have been awarded a first-half penalty in the defeat to Chelsea.
Skrtel, whose side slumped to their third defeat of the season after Sunday's 2-0 reverse, claimed the Reds were denied a spot-kick before the break after the defender was pulled down in the box by striker Didier Drogba. Click to continue reading...

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Unless you are a die-hard New York Red Bulls fan or a San Jose Earthquakes fan, chances are you missed their game last Saturday night, which means you probably didn't see Arturo Alvarez draw what wound up being the match-winning penalty converted by Ryan Johnson.

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                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

Unless you are a die-hard New York Red Bulls fan or a San Jose Earthquakes fan, chances are you missed their game last Saturday night, which means you probably didn't see Arturo Alvarez draw what wound up being the match-winning penalty converted by Ryan Johnson.

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Steve Bruce has spoken about his first memory of Ryan Giggs as a teenager taking the piss on the training ground.

"My first memory of Ryan was Fergie nicking him from City," said Bruce. "Ryan would have been 14 or 15 at the time. Sir Alex was saying, 'We've got this young kid coming over today, he's going to train with the first team, so just be careful with him.

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Kick-off Portman Road, Saturday, 5:30PM [live on BBC1]. Firstly of course, Newcastle United's Championship clash with Ipswich will be another game overshadowed by the memory of the great Sir Bobby Robson, who managed the 'Tractor Boys' for some thirteen years, building the Suffolk team patiently and taking them to the heights of both domestic and [. Click to continue reading...

Mark Hughes reflected following the Fulham victory on the importance of our new found success from set pieces:

"We have not done badly this season - in the early part of last year we did not look a threat from set plays. In games so far we look like a team that can now.
"We have told the players where we want the ball delivered and how they need to be a bit more dynamic in the box and make sure they get first contact.

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Good news for soccer fans as Cox Cable has picked up ESPN360 just in time for folks to be able to watch the FIFA U20 World Cup. Service starts for viewers (including me) on September 30th.
ESPN360 shows all kinds of soccer including the Bundesliga, La Liga, Dutch League, Football League, Portuguese League plus FIFA tournaments like the U20's and, if my memory serves me right, the Confederations Cup. Click to continue reading...

As we near the final few weeks of the season the playoff race continues to be one of the hottest in recent memory. Four clubs are gunning for the Supporter's Shield trophy while another seven are just gunning for a playoff spot in general.

I figured with a few games left on nearly all the club's season menus it was time to look once again at the schedules to see who has what points left out there to grab.

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As one of the most exciting Premier League weekends in recent memory winds down, episode 18 of the Premiership Talk Podcast has been released.

Episode 18 is the first of this 2009/10 season and for the first time ever consists of three c0-hosts. Premiership Talk writer Brian Lofrumento assumes the role of Master of Ceremonies as Taylor Fisher and Zain Alvi help tackle all of the weekend's hottest topics.

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This is it: the big one for the little one's. Or "le grand un pour les petits" as they don't say in foreign parts. Who can ever forget one year ago? There was the memory of the fact that our little guys (with one or two biggies) had a year before smashed Liverpool at their downtrodden home [...] Click to continue reading...

Great result for Arsenal today at home against Wigan.
This type of match can divide opinion, because the performance wasn't always as good as the result.
The match will live in the memory for the performance of Arsenal's new central defender Thomas Vermaelen. He's a good player. Click to continue reading...

I don't know what Fergie has been drinking or smoking, but whatever it is it appears to have affected his memory because his comment that Liverpool has always been the derby is totally way off beam. Fergie doesn't like Liverpool, that much is clear - and neither do the Red Army. However, while we despise most things from the wrong end of the East Lancs Road (Rooney and the Beatles excluded), the Click to continue reading...

Really heart warming news this morning, that Newcastle United and Ipswich Town, the two clubs in England the great Bobby Robson managed to great success, will wear special commemorative shirts in memory of the clubs' former manager during their game at Portman Road on September 26th. The special kit The game is a week tomorrow at Portman [. Click to continue reading...

Toronto FC fan favourite Danny Dichio has called time on his playing career. The man is Toronto FC's first real "legend". Possibly my favourite memory so far at BMO Field happened at 23:13 in our match against the Chicago Fire on May 12, 2007.
He's an English journeyman, having spent time at QPR, Sunderland, Millwall, and Preston Northend. Click to continue reading...

I'm not big on how the 9/11 memory has been appropriated for various government policies and political purposes that I find repugnant, so I'm not going to stand up here with a big American flag and beat my chest about anything. But I think it's important to recognize those who died, were wounded, and had their lives forever altered on that day and in the wars we fought afterward. Click to continue reading...

The United States is sometimes derided for its lack of football culture and traditions. For at least one night, the Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup filled that void admirably as Seattle Sounders F.C. defeated D.C. United 2-1 in the 96th edition of the oldest competition in American football.
Spurred by a war of words between the two team's front offices, the game drew more interest than the U. Click to continue reading...

All seen over at 101 Great Goals.
1. Massive fight on field & in stands
2. Sneijder with a super dirty tackle
3. Worst PK effort in recent memory
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Second half goals by Fredy Montero and Roger Levesque decided the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship, as the Seattle Sounders held on to beat DC United 2-1 in the final match at RFK Stadium Wednesday night. It is the first trophy for the expansion franchise and sends them to next year's CONCACAF Champions League. Click to continue reading...

Second half goals by Fredy Montero and Roger Levesque decided the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship, as the Seattle Sounders held on to beat DC United 2-1 in the final match at RFK Stadium Wednesday night. It is the first trophy for the expansion franchise and sends them to next year's CONCACAF Champions League.

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Another week of Premiership action is now in the books, and Thursday means one thing: it's time for the Thursday Throwdown from A to Z. Here we go...

AÂ is for Anelka. Chelsea fans should be counting their lucky stars that both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba are in spectacular form.

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A great majority of the football world has grown used to laughing off Arsene Wenger's dramatic remarks over major incidents in recent years. This is precisely why the Arsenal manager was largely ignored when he labeled the accusations over Gunners striker Eduardo's recent "dive" against Celtic as a "witch-hunt".

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For once the US Open Cup is getting it's just due for some hype going into tonight's final. It sure didn't hurt that two of the league's best PR teams are in the final. DC United has done it's best hyping the match against expansion side Seattle Sounders FC. Oh and there's been a fun back and forth thing between the club's front offices.

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So little time has been given to the silent helpless victim of that horrendous offence committed by Arsene Wenger that led to him being ordered to the stands. Today we reveal the identity of the poor victim of the Old Trafford incident. (How the hell can a manager be sent off for kicking a plastic container, insane)!

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uslsoccer.com
For one hour on Saturday night, the Charlotte Eagles looked poised to erase the memory of their previous two defeats in the 2006 and 2008 USL-2 Championship match. Both times, the Eagles had fallen behind early and despite late rallies, they had come up short twice. This time, the Eagles scored first but were unable to hold off the surging Richmond Kickers, as Edson Elcock equalised in the 63rd minute and John DiRaimondo and David Bulow scored in the final 7 minutes of the match to claim the match and the championship with a 3-1 victory. Click to continue reading...

On a day where United were guilty of just six more fouls than Arsenal, Arsene Wenger has continued his bitter/sore loser routine by branding our club "anti-football". Of course, all of this is in defence of the divers he has in his team. I don't know how Arsenal fans feel about this one, but I certainly wouldn't enjoy Sir Alex Ferguson making excuses for diving and trying to paint it as not being such a crime.

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So, through four games, Liverpool's conceded seven goals. All seven have come from set plays (if we count Ashley Young's penalty). Zonal marking has been a scapegoat since Benitez came to the club, so it's worth a look at the proportion of goals Liverpool's conceded that have come from set plays over his five seasons. Click to continue reading...

Everyone thinks Jonathan Greening had a tough debut. But both the Guardian and the Telegraph show him as having seen more of the ball than any Fulham player in recent memory.   He didn't do much with it, but was he as bad as people are making out?

By the Telegraph's numbers (it looks like the Guardian were asleep on the job again, given the picture on the right) he gave the ball away 13 times, which seems like a hell of a lot in the modern game, but given the amount of the ball he did see, this is probably quite reasonable.

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