- Maxi Rodriguez

An athletic career, like the human body in general, is subject to a law of diminishing returns. At some point the bargain with fate turns and a fuse is lit. Each step comes slower than the last. Each minute more draining than the preceding.

- Maxi Rodriguez

On the eve of one of the most universally celebrated days of the year, the English Football Association released a stunning 115-page document explaining their decision on the Suarez case. Within minutes, a legion of the brightest legal minds across the world yet to pursue law as a profession, took to the internet in a massive orgy of self-righteousness and ignorance, cascading their uninformed opinions over a technology originally meant for collaboration and academic study.

- Maxi Rodriguez

It's a cliche, especially in the sports world, to describe a certain "electricity in the air" surrounding a sporting event. Used to describe everything ranging from the enthusiasm that precedes a Vegas title fight, to the excitement that surrounds certain sports memorabilia conventions, the idiom is a crutch for the generic sportswriter in the face of stifling deadlines.

The presence of the holidays seems to signify to most MLS die-hards that the 2012 season grows ever-closer, and it's with that thought in mind we continue our player profiles with a pair of midfielders: National Champion UNC's Enzo Martinez, and Louisville's Nick DeLeon!

Enzo Martinez has been on the radar of MLS clubs for quite some time already.

The Under-23 Men's National Team camp is officially underway in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. as the team arrived this evening in advance of tomorrow's first training session.
U.S. U-23 head coach Caleb Porter has called 30 players into the eight-day camp, and plans to use the time to get a full picture of the talent pool.

With the Super Draft a little over a month away, it's time to start getting familiar with some of the prospects that will be available for selection. Every few days or so leading up to the draft we will be providing player profiles to give you some insight into each prospect. These previews will obviously have a Revolution-centric theme and feel to them, and we'll be looking at players that we feel will be a proper fit for the organization going forward.

Dead easy, this interviewing malarkey. Turn on the recorder, sit back, arrange the gems in some semblance of order and there you have it. At least you do when you speak to someone with the infectious enthusiasm of Martin Cloake. A leading authority on Spurs in print, many books written alongside co-author Adam Powley, his ardent passion for the club as journalist and fan remains undiminished.

- Maxi Rodriguez

A broken thermometer near the grandstand reads 78°, but the truth of the matter is that games were always played nearer the century mark, our very own Qatari World Cup matches on a windswept field in Central California. The team, the Bakersfield Brigade, is long gone, victim to a downturn in local fortunes as much as misplaced presumptions about the local fan base.

The 2011 NCAA Men's Soccer season kicks into full swing today with many of the nation's top squads starting their seasons tonight and on Saturday.

Louisville, Akron and UCLA come into the season as the big title favorites, and all three boast top-class talent that pro scouts will be keeping their eyes on this fall.

- Maxi Rodriguez

I've had a reoccurring dream for a few months now.

I'm standing in a dimly lit corn field, and I can't make out much more than the shadows of downed power-lines and a golden hue in the distance. Naturally, as a god-fearing man, I head towards the light, expecting some sort of fortune-cookie divine guidance about which path my life should take, but just as my uncertain steps settle, I stumble over a shadow in the corn field.

Time to power on the rumor machine as it's starting a little bit early this morning. Late last night, Ryan Gates posted a possible rumor at the two players possibly heading over to the Timbers, but for what he couldn't say. Today, I'm hearing that this might be a trade for Kenny Cooper. Here's why it makes sense.

- Maxi Rodriguez

There's a certain attraction most people feel towards the Summer months. The heady smell of a just-lit barbeque, the weekend trips to undiscovered nooks of coastline, the sun dresses. The sun dresses! While I certainly enjoy a freshly grilled hotdog while listening to "Blackbird" in front of a dangerously swelling pit fire, the arrival of Summer always brings a rash of unwanted anxieties into my life.

-
-
- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general....Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- QPR report back to training.

There was a moment Friday night where it seemed like fate was finally going to submit to ability.

Receiving a well-weighted pass from Ever Banega on the right side of the pitch, he quickly turned and touched the ball with his left foot, dodging a rushing challenge. With two defenders closing in from opposite directions, he burst forward, leaving one trailing while his partner missed a sliding attempt to derail the procession.

Here is another in our series of WNT Player Profiles that have been quite popular with the fans. Today we meet Thunder and Lightning, or "Tea Kettle" as Heather O'Reilly explains, giving some insight into how she developed her incredible fighting spirit.

Lauren Cheney scored a huge goal for the USA in the opening game of the 2011 WWC against North Korea, but before that, she and Tobin Heath stood for yet another of our WNT Player Profiles.

Today, you get a two-for-one day on WNT Player Profiles on the WNT Blog. The only problem with this profile is that they couldn't come to a consensus on who is nicer. Truth be told, tough call. Mutual admiration going on here. They are also part of a group on the WNT that loves to take in the culture everywhere the team travels.

Here is another in our series of U.S. WNT Player Profiles. For this one, we triple up defenders with Amy LePeilbet, Becky Sauerbrunn and Ali Krieger. It's also our only WNT Player Profile that has anyone setting up a defensive wall or anyone speaking German. So three cheers for the defense as you get to know Amy, Becky and Ali just a little bit better.

When you talk about someone who has proven his price tag wrong this season, Luis Suarez is certainly definitely a possibility to what you might be talking about. He broke...

Roger Levesque realises a moment too late that his generosity is about to be exploited in a most alarming manner. Images: AP Photo/Daylife, Getty Images/Zimbio.

We like to feel that in the years we have existed, our influence has infiltrated the collective consciousness of the footballing world in some small way.

I gave up competitive sports in my mid-teens.

"A victim of the 90s," you might assume, but it wasn't the parents or coaches who turned me away. I was lucky, to be honest. My parents always supported my efforts with fruit snacks and soft drinks, the most a ten-year old version of myself could ask.

My earliest memories of football are a bit fuzzy. Not so much because of the fallibility that comes with age, but rather, because the football was distorted from the start.

Back then, recording and watching a game after its debut was a more complicated process than setting your Tivo to record a season's worth of games with a single press of a button.

- Maxi Rodriguez

38 months later, the effects are still apparent. His pace less explosive than it once was, his touch a bit less controlled, his overall game more contingent on craft than outright beating his marker. 38 months later, one-time Arsenal prodigy Eduardo da Silva is thriving in the Ukranian Premier League, but things could have been different.

An enigma wrapped around a mystery inside a left back. Benny doesn't play the game for enjoyment, as he made clear in a Guardian interview in 2010. No, no: he plays because it's his job. Miserable, spoilt footballer or a refreshingly honest view? You'll have to decide yourself. No player quite divides opinion amongst fans quite like BAE.

Make no mistake about it: AC Milan put in the kind of performance that usually wins Scudetti. In the Derby Della Madonnina against Inter Milan, the top side in the league notched three goals to extend their lead to five points over Leonardo's side. Pato was exceptional throughout as he scored a brace; his first goal was in the very first minute and put the Nerazzurri under enormous pressure right from the beginning.

- Dan Egner

November 18, 2003 should have been one of the greatest, if not THE greatest day in American soccer history. Instead, i's remembered with disgust and resentment by a miniscule handful of soccer fanatics. If you find yourself pondering why this particular date is so significant, I commend you, as you've managed to erase one of the most tragic soccer stories from the bowels of your brain.

Mario Balotelli needs Xanax is the understatement of the century. The Manchester City player makes a spectacle of himself at least once a week. He single handedly is keep News of the World afloat with his antics.While Balotelli is an attention seeker, he isn't being incredibly flashy showing up to red carpet events, spending money like water, and going through more models than Mick Jagger.

I make fun of a lot of players for pretending to be models. Everyone from Beckham to Ronaldo as tried their hands at modeling, but Canadian soccer player Adrian Cann is actually a model. Before he played professionally, he was walking down runways in Milan. He got his big break signing to top agencies such as Next Models in Canada and Boss Models in New York.

A while back, I wrote an article about football and homosexuality. Unbeknown to me, an obscure player I blogged about player would announce he was gay via Offside Magazine. His name is Anton Hysen. Before this, he was best known for being a part of what I called the Hysen Dynasty. Now, he is making headlines all his own.

Anel Raskaj is the next Zidane, atleast that is what former Halmstad BK manager Janne Andersson believes. Anderson claims that Raskaj is even better than Halmstad greats Fredrik Ljungberg and Niclas Alexandersson. Raskaj was born on August 19, 1989 in Prizren, then a part of Yugoslavia. He started his career with KF Liria.

Every once and a while a player comes along and changes the game. Their unique abilities combined with a great management team propels their career foward into the celebrity stratosphere. Using good looks, charm, and great athletic skill paired with an amazing agent, manager, publicist team is what I like to call the Beckham Effect.

Many players wonder what they will do upon retirement. Fortunately for Aston Villa's Robert Pires, he knows exactly what he will do. He will be a television presenter because he is already one. The Frenchmen hosts a show called Caviar et Biscotte, a show his model wife created and produces. The show consists of Pires visiting footballers homes, going grocery shopping, and waiting for said

The first time you see Tom Huddlestone play football is the first day of your life. He's a man mountain. Honestly, they guy's absolutely huge. When he and Luka Modric partner up in the centre of midfield, the difference in sizes make it appear like a comedy duo. But no-one's laughing when this man lines up a 30 yard Exocet towards goal.

Hello readers, this is post is actually not my work, it's a contribution from a person that some of you may be familiar with: Steven, who used to write for the Palermo Offside. His story is about one of his favorite players, Dario "The Bison" Hübner, probably one of the most underrated strikers in calcio in the mid to late 90's and early 2000's.

Has he really been with us for almost seven years!? The 'loan' spell at Portsmouth doesn't count. He was always our player. Tiny little striker who, at times, scores goals almost as prolifically as he seduces women in Chinawhites. Is part of a select band of just four players who have scored a whopping five goals in one game, which he achieved in a 9-1 molestation of Wigan.

Given to Spurs by Jose Mourinho as a gift No-one's quite sure why - perhaps it was to keep Liverpool down in their place. Who knows. The official 2010 Bargain of the Season. Signed for a ridiculously cheap £8 million, he bounded into the Spurs team and immediately set about making us look bloody awesome as a result.

Liverpool have confirmed that they've accepted a bid from Hoffenheim for Ryan Babel. Media reports put the fee at €7m, or £5.8m, which is almost exactly 50% of what Liverpool paid for the winger/striker/professional Tweeter in the summer of 2007. The deal's not done yet – Babel still has to agree personal terms – but I expect we're past the point of no return.

The second half of the season is about to begin, we have our eyes set on that first game against Lorient, but there are a couple of interesting things that have been said or done around the club lately.

Here's a quick roundup:

- Jean II Makoun is on his way to Aston Villa.

Johan Elmander is just another Swedish player who likes to strike a pose for men's fashion magazines. The Bolton player who joined the English Premier League club for a record breaking £8.2 million from Ligue 1 team Toulouse must have taken notes from Frank Lampard. The 29 year old has scored 13 goals and made 51 appearances for Sweden.

Some say he was born to play for Spurs. Others just stand there, jaw to the floor, STILL lost for words as he absolutely burns down the wing, leaving a trail of weary defenders in his wake. And, to think, he used to be a bit rubbish. Signed by Martin Jol ages ago and announced himself with disgracefully good free-kick against Arsenal.