Those looking for hopeful news about women's professional soccer in the US may have been heartened by the announcement on Thursday that Western New York Flash and Boston Breakers had officially committed to participate in the Women's Premier Soccer League's new Elite Division. As PSP wrote last Wednesday, WPSL president Jerry Zanelli had extended an offer to WPS teams to join the new league for the 2012 season so that players could maintain fitness and form while WPS worked on the business of re-launching the league in 2013.

Images courtesy of the man himself, Lance Parker.

Footballer and male model, Lance Parker, is obviously cool with posing in his underwear.

Coincidentally, we are too.

Since he seemed down for our interview games and uncontrollable flirting tactics, we decided to spice up our Q&A style a bit.

It looks like members of the Sporting KC Juniors system will have some big decisions to make this coming fall. The rumor making the run around the internet today is that the US Soccer Developmental Academy will be making changes to the season, making it longer. The announcement sounds like it could even come tomorrow.

The Breakers are back.

Less than two weeks after Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) folded its tent for the 2012 season, the Breakers announced on Thursday that it will compete in the new Elite Division of the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) this year.

"The WPSL recognizes the importance of a professional women's soccer league in America," WPSL Commissioner Jerry Zanelli said in a statement.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 8, 2012) US Soccer Players -- I was in 8th grade in the Fall of 1989, a time when neon was about to give way to plaid and skater haircuts were close to turning into anything that wasn't a skater haircut. This was also an era when professional soccer was still working to reestablish itself as an American sport, so keep that in mind while reading the story.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 6, 2012) US Soccer Players -- As halftime came to an end during Sunday's Chelsea - Manchester United broadcast on Fox, studio host Rob Stone fell back on what has become a cliché of getting professional soccer over to a broader audience. Each and every game is of unquestioned importance.

The Philadelphia Union were expected to announce the signing of Lionard Pajoy last week, but the team has yet to officially recognize the striker as a player. According to a Colombian league report, Pajoy is experiencing visa problems, which are keeping him from joining the Union.

The 30-year-old had problems getting out of his contract with Itagui Ditaires, per a source that talked to Kerith Gabriel, of the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.

We've admittedly given short shrift to the fate of the WPS, which announced that it was suspending operations for 2012. Over the years, we had expressed cautious optimism about the league both on this site and elsewhere. The three year old league has definitely had some ups and downs in the last couple of years.

Dan Borislaw hijacking the magic out of women's professional soccer

What a blow to women's soccer after that magnificent exposition by the US national team at the CONCACAF Olympics qualifiers. The WPS has decided to cancel the 2012 season after running into a retaliatory lawsuit bought by the former owner of the magicJack, Dan Borislow.

Que triste! It isn't a good week for fans of the US Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league. The board announced it would be "suspending play" this year due to complex legal issues involving a former club owner. This matters because some of the world's best female players ply their trade there including Abby Wambach, Marta, Alex Morgan and Hope Solo.

When a politician suspends his or her campaign, it effectively means the end of the campaign. Even if it is restarted, all of the momentum generated has been lost and almost impossible to recover. Sports league operations are no different, and especially soccer leagues in the USA. So the news today that Women's Professional Soccer has suspended operations for the 2012 season is very bad.

Virginia Online Soccer News reached out to Dan Borislow, owner of the magicJack team that has been battling with the WPS since he purchased the former Washington Freedom club. Borislow is currently taking a lot of blame via social media outlets concerning his perceived role in today's announcement by the WPS that it will suspend the 2012 season.

Women's Professional Soccer announced on Monday that they will suspend the 2012 season. The five-team league is involved in litigation with a former owner.

There will be no Women's Professional Soccer in 2012. Earlier today, the league's Board of Governors voted to suspend operations until the 2013 season, with the hope of play resuming then.

This past October, WPS decided to drop its franchise in South Florida amid constant issues with former owner Dan Borislow.

Official Announcement by WPS press release:
WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER
SUSPENDS PLAY FOR 2012 SEASON
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 30, 2012) – Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) announced today that its Board of Governors has voted to suspend the 2012 season to permit the League to focus on the resolution of certain pending legal issues and the challenges that now face the League as a result of its ongoing dispute with a former owner.

The owners of the five-team Women's Professional Soccer have voted to suspend the 2012 season, citing the costs associated with the legal wranglings involving magicJack owner Dan Borislow as the primary culprit. A formal announcement is set for Monday at 1pm ET.

In a league issued e-mail that was sent to the players on Monday morning, the owners attempted to find a way to circumvent costs of the lawsuit, but ultimately, could not find a way.

Women's Professional Soccer will announce later today that it has canceled the 2012 season.

The decision was reached after a vote by team owners on Monday morning. Am email was subsequently sent to the players informing them of the decision.

While details are at present sketchy, the decision appears to be the direct result of the ongoing legal battles with magicJack owner Dan Borislow.

The bench-bound scoring "siren"....

John Nyen on the enigma that is Sir Carlos Tevez

The man on the keyboards pounds out the rhythms to the beat as the two brothers swap verses.

Of the two front men, one is a skinnier kid, while the other is dressed in a soccer kit.

Former Boston Breakers (WPS) General Manager, Andy Crossley, runs a great site called Fun While It Lasted where I love to go to see the great history and information he digs up about minor league franchises that have come and gone in the American sports landscape. I especially enjoy anytime he posts something regarding soccer teams that once played in the D.

Like many Americans of my generation, I fell in love with football at age 14 during the 1994 World Cup.
Prior to 1994, I did not even realize that you could play football professionally. I figured it was something to do for fun. It was nothing more than a PE activity to do in between American football and basketball seasons.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 23, 2012) US Soccer Players -- On Sunday morning, the Premier League on Fox gave us a glimpse of the immediate future of professional soccer in the United States. A live regular season game on network television treated the same way as the other North American pro sports.

Almost two years ago, Paraguayan forward Salvador Cabañas was months away from being a starting striker in the World Cup until he was left in a fight for his life after being the victim of a shooting at a Mexican bar.

Now he's on the verge of a stunning comeback to professional soccer.

In a shocking move, the SAISD (San Antonio Independent School District) board voted on Tuesday evening to ditch their plans for SS&E (Spurs Sports and Entertainment) to use Alamo Stadium for professional soccer. SS&E had hoped to bring a USL PRO soccer franchise to San Antonio with hopes of someday rolling them into a 3rd [.

The Philadelphia Union's Veljko Paunovic has decided to announce his retirement from professional soccer for the second time, according to the team. His beginning in Philadelphia wasn't a celebrated one, but by the end of his time in the city, he was appreciated.

"It is with great sadness that I announce my retirement from soccer due to family reasons but I will never forget the Union fans and the atmosphere at PPL Park every game," Paunvoci said to PhiladelphiaUnion.

Paul Riley thinks very highly of Sarah Hagen (Appleton North/UW-Milwaukee).

So much so that even though Hagen signed with Bayern Munich through June and joined up with the German club this week, Riley still wanted to make sure his team had the rights to the high-scoring forward if she chooses to play in Women's Professional Soccer.

Earlier tonight, the Philadelphia Independence announced that Havertown native, Sinead Farrelly, has re-signed with the team. Farrelly, a midfielder, was the first round draft pick for Philadelphia in 2011, scoring one goal with two assists in her rookie season. In 2011, Farrelly started in 13 of the 14 games she played, bringing her strong presence to the Independence midfield.

Four time MLS Cup champion defender Eddie Robinson, one of the last remaining original Dynamo, announced his from professional soccer today. Robinson came with the team in 2006 when they moved from San Jose and was a key part of the team's two championships. Injuries have limited Robinson the last couple seasons, but his retirement from the game does not mean we'll be seeing any less of E-Rob around Houston.

Eclipse Select Communications
CHICAGO -- Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and former Notre Dame midfielder Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) re-signed with Women's Professional Soccer's Philadelphia Independence, the team announced Friday. Buczkowski was named to the 2011 WPS Best XI and was named the team's 2011 Ironwoman after logging every minute of the 18-game regular season last year.

I love to see the MLS passion pouring in from these new ports of call. Devoted fans from Toronto, Portland, Vancouver, Seattle and, going a little further back, Salt Lake City, have done wonders to energize Major League Soccer, now going into its 17th season.

And plenty of new fans from older markets are adding more air to the MLS baloon, too.

The Philadelphia Independence have been busy this offseason despite the fact that up until only a few weeks ago, they weren't even sure they would have a season at all. Women's Professional Soccer had a rough go of things after the 2011 season came to an end, almost folding after a lack of both ratings and teams.

Back in November, the New England Revolution made a major step by hiring former defender Jay Heaps. The assistant coaching staff of the previous regime was kept on until Heaps could hire his own crew, and as news about various drafts circulated, one question has remained: who will Heaps bring in to support him?

PSC Soccer Academy - News
Pro Soccer Consulting (PSC) is proud to announce that they will be hosting a professional soccer combine for the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Pro League in March 2012 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, MD.
PSC has already hosted three combines for top college and professional players during the last quarter for clubs within the USL Pro, Norwegian Premier League and Norwegian Second Division.

It might be the first time in soccer history that frozen custard helped secure a signing.

Earlier this month as Sarah Hagen (Appleton North/UW-Milwaukee) weighed a contract offer from German club FC Bayern Munich against staying in the U.S. to play in Women's Professional Soccer, the prolific forward made her way to her local Kopp's Frozen Custard for a snack.

By Charlie Corr
Eclipse Select staff
Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and former Notre Dame midfielder Jen Buczkowski is coming off a successful third season within Women's Professional Soccer.
The 26-year-old Elk Grove, Ill., native was named to the 2011 WPS Best XI as voted by select media, and her Philadelphia Independence advanced to the WPS title match, eventually falling to the champion Western New York Flash.

Happy Holidays to all from MLS Reserves. Few things are as rewarding as getting to interact with both levels of professional soccer. On the one hand, I've had to opportunity to speak with professional athletes who make money playing the sport I love. On the other hand I get to dialogue with perhaps the most important aspect of pro sports: the fans.

Brittany BockOur Game Magazine took the time to interview L.A. Vikings President and head coach Robert Kleinberger. This winter the team has incorporated a heavily Women's Professional Soccer-based roster to face the U.S., Canadian and Mexican national teams.
Former Eclipse Select Soccer Club players Brittany Bock (Western New York Flash) and Jen Buczkowski (WPS free agent, played for Philadelphia Independence in 2010 and 2011) are on the squad.

In yet another foreign news or Twitter released move, the Philadelphia Union have officially signed Gabriel Gomez. The 27-year-old midfielder/defender will join the team upon receiving his International Transfer Certificate and the acceptance of his application for an American P-1 Visa.

Gomez was rumored to be joining that Union last week, when a Central American news outlet, Presna.

New England soccer fans who can't get enough of the sport will have plenty of opportunities to watch live soccer this summer, thanks in part to the arrival if three new USL Premier Development League (PDL) teams in the region. Boston Victory Soccer Club, Connecticut FC Azul and Worcester Hydra FC have all been announced over the past month as expansion clubs in the PDL.

Women's Professional Soccer lives, albeit conditionally and mysteriously.On Monday night, US Soccer's Board of Directors agreed to sanction "Division I" five-team WPS for 2012 on the basis of arguments made by league officials citing growing support from the 2011 Women's World Cup, continued exposure for the sport promised by the 2012 Olympics Games, and potential expansion.

Nicolas Anelka will soon be playing professional soccer in China. This is surprising because Nicolas Anelka is still a talented, effective soccer player who would help all but about 10 teams in the world. This is not surprising because Nicolas Anelka is going to a place where they'll pay him an exponent of a number it'd take me years to count to.