I have a lot just up or coming (a new MLSNet bit with Jermaine Jones, the promised Top 5 List and a S365 Random Thoughts column), but first I'm going to occupy you kids by sticking you in front of the TV...Let us not dilly dally - it's 2 Good 2 Bad.2 Good 2 Badvon BozWolfESPN tries to get us primed for the new MLS season with preview roundup. Click to continue reading...

Whew! Got Cut of the Day repaired! Still not sure how I broke it, but it's working again...#1 - I've dropped a new Random Thoughts at S365, full of European knockout and USMNT talk. And this is the Jed Zayner post featuring Guille Schelotto I am referring to - do go check out his blog.#2 - IK Start defender Clarence Goodson has been allowed to join USMNT camp. Click to continue reading...

Sad news (I was too obsessed with John and Liz to pick this up when it first came out) .. the LA Sol have folded.� You probably heard it from Boltgirl first! (I heard via an e-mail at work from a friend.)

At first I was horrified on hearing it -- PTSD from old WUSA days.� But the model is different (franchises) this time around -- so what happens with the Sol doesn't drag on the league the way it would have back in the day.

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Here at MLStalk.com and EPLtalk.com, we are working on a soccer-centric way to help the youth of Haiti that we will be announcing next week.� In the meantime, if you want to make a major contribution to the Red Cross relief effort and grab a super-cool piece of US Soccer history, Jonathan Bornstein is auctioning a pair of his cleats on EBAY.

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After that cesspool of a result in Paris on Wednesday, it is nice to turn our attention to a league where the sportsmen are pure, the referees are beyond reproach and the game is always played with a spirit of manly honor – the MLS.� Or something like that.

Sunday's game will feature the best team in the west this season against the best team in the west right now.

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Just a note to say Hi really. You've probably read the biog that Taylor posted on me, a couple of days ago. So you probably know most things about my professional life and that I've had strong links with the club for many years.

Obviously a lot of you are based in the States so I hope I can bring a bit of Manchester to you as often as possible, to keep you in touch with what's going on right here in ‘God's own country!

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It has been a long and sometimes unforgiving decade for the Bulls. They played in the highest of highs (an MLS Cup Appearance) and the lowest of the lows (2009), suffered extreme anguish over injustice (Diallo, Petke is still gunning for you), and extreme ecstasy (Mathis - those 5 goals were a thing of beauty).

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This is not the sort of morning that I'd relish watching a soccer game ... but two of my intrepid housemates (applesrisp in hand) will be heading to Lewiston momentarily to watch the Bobcats tangle with the Panthers.� Would be so nice if Bates could defeat Middlebury ... and while it's probably in the unlikely category, what I love about sports is that "it could happen.

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Oh, and loved this article by Jayson Stark, sent by a friend ... worth a reprint here.� Onward!

Phillies walk off into history

By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

PHILADELPHIA The magic is in the moment.

The frozen moment when a baseball soars through the night and your mind begins to understand what's unfolding before your eyeballs.

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There's a red storm raging and it's threatening to overwhelm the Houston Dynamo, if it hasn't already.
So yes I'll start. I am quite bummed about the guys losing to Metapan, who had neither won nor tied a single game in group play before last night. So, not to be a downer here, but it's very possible that the season, which we all hope lasts five more games, might just be over in three. Click to continue reading...

Wow what a game!� The Dodgers set a record for hits ... but left 10 runners on.� Ruiz and Ibanez each had a 3-run homer.� Lidge and Madson scared us but got it done.� Ryan Howard hit another clutch double.

I love it AND I'd love to see a much bigger lead in Game 2, guys, okay?� Today it'll be Pedro for the Phillies after lots of rest.

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�

Some random thoughts from RFK.....

DC soccer fans are among the best in the nation.� My only previous experience seeing a soccer game at RFK was when I saw Norway play Mexico in the 1994 World Cup, so last night was my first chance to see the DC soccer fans in action.

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First off here's a nice interview with Pia Sundhage about her focus in coaching, and her preparation with the USWNT for facing Germany on 10/29/09.

On the Fantasy Football front, Flying Pigs and Sir Hits Alot are tied heading into tonight's game ... where Flying Pigs still have a player left.

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Some random thoughts on the US win and the upcoming game against Costa Rica

The Greatest US Win I Have Never Seen.� � A lot has already been said about how absurd it was that this game was not broadcast to the average US fan, so there is no reason to continue to beat this dead horse.

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I just got a friendly call from the LA Galaxy front office letting me know that a local bar, the Off-Campus Pub on Avelon Blvd. right near the HDC, will be showing the game in English.� � Similarly,� a commenter to my previous post has mentioned that the game will also be shown at the Cock and Bull on Lincoln Blvd in Venice CA.

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The game against Honduras this weekend is massive.� Win, and the US can start buying those non-refundable tickets to South Africa and will probably win CONCACF.� Lose, and the game against Costa Rica the following Wednesday will be a pressure-cooker.� Some random thoughts....

The Honduras game will be played in.

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This is the updated table after the weekend action:�

� A week later, and though the table has tightened a little, the same eight teams as last week are still on track for the playoffs.� As it stands now, the playoffs would be:

East Columbus vs Colorado Chicago vs New England � West Los Angeles vs Chivas Houston vs. Click to continue reading...

I'll be honest: I haven't watched Valencia CF as much as I'd like to this season.
One thing or another in my ‘real' life has kept me from Our Beloved.

So imagine my joy to notice my agenda open this afternoon and Valencia visiting Getafe?

My first full VCF match of the season.

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I am glad to say it is Friday. Somehow this week has flown by me here but thankfully we have a weekend full of soccer ahead of us here. Two games tonight, with one just about underway in New York, and plenty more tomorrow and Sunday. Nearly every game has playoff implications surrounding them.

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I'm working from my "basement office" today because our floors are being buffed and poly-urethaned.� An adventure.� Ruby is with me, under house arrest, as she has already helped herself to part of one of the guys' lunches (a feat she accomplished while Willie and I were walking down the driveway to get the paper).

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... that the Euros were pretty much all there is that's newsworthy in the world, if you limited yourself to JordanCornblog.� It's just that with healthcare denial the apparent top priority of Congress, and Obama dangerously on the prowl, accosting schoolchildren with his socialist ideas ... I'm basically too discouraged and/or angry to write about anything other than England's history-making run on the soccer pitch.

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First off apologies to HollyCornblog ... who I offended by describing September as JBD's birthday month.� It is HollyCornblog's birthday month, too ... and that fact should be duly celebrated by everyone ... most especially everyone who likes a nice hoppy beer from time to time!

Second .

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It's a bittersweet, end-of-summer day here in NH.� The leaves are still (mostly) green but there's a clarity and cleanness to the air that bespeaks September.� Every once in awhile, the scent of woodsmoke wafts by.� The crickets and cicadas are singing their heads off, and the sky sometimes seems awash in dragonflies.

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Okay -- it's day two of running.� Haven't gone yet but plan to.� The challenges will be days 3, 4 and 5!� Right now I am at the stage where I feel so good and so thanksful that my body still works the way it is supposed to.� Today will probably go well ... and then, if true to form, I'll start developing a wee bit of hubris.

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Somehow it seems appropriate that the funeral for Teddy Kennedy should be in the rain.� Late summer rain.� A grey day sad and kind of empty-feeling.� A pause.� The end of a season.� And much work, many beginnings ahead.

Speaking of work, I have a full plate of it for the weekend so the rain is a relief in some ways.

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I was on a job site all day, so I wasn't quite able to put in the research I would have liked. However, I did have time to jot down some random thoughts. So, without further ado, my abbreviated preview (disclaimer: I'm writing this while Terminator 2 is on television, so some random references may come into play.

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... and already it is feeling like September.� No complints here (except about the rapid passage of time).

Time.

I came awake this morning with a bit of a start after some of the most vivid dreams of Judy I've had in quite awhile.� Came awake to realize that I was dreaming and it's been 10 years and no, I wasn't just sharing a meal with a healthy and vibrant Judy.

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Sun pouring through humid air and drooping birches, beeches and maples, as we head into the final full week of August.� Soon RPE will be heading back to school and we'll contemplate fall chores while watching the leaves turn (some have already started) and wondering how much snow there will be this winter.

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Random thoughts and ideas from the Colorado Rapids' shameful 3-2 loss against the Fire on Sunday evening in Chicago.

OMAR'S FIRST GOAL: Two things went right on Omar Cummings' goal in the first five minutes of the second half. First, Jamie Smith's shot was difficult enough that Chicago goalkeeper Jon Busch couldn't handle it cleanly.

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Here's to you, Sky Blue!

Too bad a red card played into the mix and overall I wish the officiating, all year, in the WPS, had not been quite as 'obtrusive' as it's tended to be but that takes nothing away from the Sky Blue story.

Christie Rampone gets my vote for League MVP.� (Oh, and in noodling around on the net last night, I saw that Ian Sawyers and Kelly Lindsey are both working at Julie Foudy's Leadership/Soccer Camp.

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As I write I am listening to Jon Stewart's interview with Betsy McCaughey the promulgator of the death panel drivel (although I believe Sarah Palin may actually deserve credit for the term).� A dangerous combination there.� But watch the interview ... watch the caginess, the pandering to the audience, the lack of substance.

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The WPS Championship match-up between the Sol and Sky Blue gets underway tomorrow at 3:30 PM ET on FSN.� Sky Blue will be the improbable champ.� Why?� Because they are just like the Belmont High School girls' basketball team, circa 2006.� They've come through fire, as it were, and dug deep.� They are now relying on their bond as teammates and on leadership (STRONG leadership) from within their own ranks.

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Did I call it or what?� ;>)

Sky Blue FC played with passion all through that first half last night (we're talking WPS playoff soccer, in case you were wondering) and beat the Athletica to move into the Final on the strength of defender Keeley Dowling's goal off an assist from Yael Averbuch.

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Ready for round 2 of the play-offs?� Sky Blue and the Athletica are set to square off in St. Louis 7PM ET tonight on FSC.� After rough starts, both teams find themselves in contention to take on the LA Sol this weekend.

On the rough start front, Sky Blue definitely has the upper hand, as is recapped in this article from the NY Times .

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Soooo ... Congrats to Sky Blue FC (Beulah will be writing this one up late Tuesday, most likely).� Next up the Athletica at 7PM ET on Wednesday on FSC.

Now onward!� Grass to mow ... water to drink ... more grass to mow .. more water to drink.� A sweaty, zen-like day in the works here!� (Oh, and we had a very nice couple of days at the lake, where ChristopherCornblog remains stranded while he waits for his car to be repaired .

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Yup late again!� Some tidbits here ...

First ... ChristopherCornblog's car started smoking en route to the lake last night (and I don't mean that it initiated an unhealthy and expensive nicotine habit).� Luckily he wasn't far from Rensselaerville when it happened, so he was able to call HollyCornblog for a ride.

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I've captured a few random thoughts that have been bouncing around my head during one of my� multi-hour soccer watching blocks in the last couple days.

Perhaps I need to write a letter to Fox Soccer Channel.� � Those unnaturally frequent Enzyte "natural male enhancement" ads I've been subject to� on FSC that� feature a newly happy (and apparently newly� 'impressive') guy named Bob have me on edge.

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Damn it's chilly (again) this morning.� Bracing.� We've got a nice big stack of big old birch logs to start sawing up and splitting, compliments of ChristopherCornblog (and yours truly who stripped and trucked the last load up the hill).� And man am I sore now!� It felt good but the lesson is that you can't sit at a computer for 6 years and then chop and saw and lift and carry .

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With the Fire and Real Salt Lake set to kick off in a little less than two hours, it's high time I get the Matchday post up, so here it is. I'll be posting the starting lineups for each side (along with any other random thoughts/observations) in the comments section later on so get ready for those.

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It's nice to see that brightness back in the eastern sky this morning after a terribly wet, rainy day yesterday.� We thought it couldn't keep raining the way it had ... oh well.� Let's see what August holds.� (I keep trying to imagine what this weather pattern would have been like had it started in December .

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