There are some stories in life and sports that force us to re-evaluate what is important. This is one of those stories. It is the story of a young man whose courage, determination and heart has touched the lives of professional athletes from all over Major League Soccer and beyond. Evan Mundine, a 13 year old boy from Texas has found a way to connect with athletes in the best ways possible.

Reserve coach Rodolfo Borrell believes Liverpool might be forced to adopt a more direct style of play as they look to overcome a physical Blackburn side at the Academy on Tuesday.
Rovers have yet to win a reserve game so far in 2011-12, but they did prove a tough nut to crack when the two sides shared the spoils in a goalless draw back in November.

-
-
- For comprehensive and latest QPR news-related pieces and discussion, visit the football-only, somewhat-different QPR Report Messageboard. All QPR Perspectives genuinely welcomed! Or comment on any of the articles posted below - QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!

Junior N'Tame (left) may be set to join the Revs after trialing with the team in October. (Photo by Art Donahue/artdonahue.com)

Despite trialing under former New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol in October, Théophile Junior N'Tame may be a part of new head coach Jay Heaps' plans. According to a report on French site MLS-News.

By Alan Duffy

A gifted and athletic footballer, Kieron Dyer has seen his career harangued and harrassed by a seemingly never-ending procession of injuries, the latest of which has knocked his 2011/12 campaign on the head.

The Queens Park Rangers midfielder had picked up a knock in the opening game of this season, but was in line to make a return to first-team football after Christmas.

After his winning goal in Saturday's 3-1 win over West Brom, manager Harry Redknapp was quick to heap praise on the striker. JD only broke into this winning side after an injury to Rafael van der Vaart but he resumed his potent pairing with Emmanuel Adebayor and rounded off the performance with the crucial goal on 81 minutes.

After losing veteran midfielder Justin Mapp to the Montreal Impact in the Expansion Draft, the Philadelphia Union claimed fellow midfielder Nizar Khalfan from the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Waiver Draft.

The Union also released central defender Juan Diego Gonzalez and goalkeeper Thorne Holder.

The New England Revolution survived today's MLS Expansion Draft unscathed, but waived three players after the Draft ended. Rookies Alan Koger, Andrew Sousa and Otto Loewy were waived by the team and went unselected in this afternoon's Waiver Draft.

None of the three rookies featured in any MLS action, but played regularly for the Revolution Reserves and in U.

Arsene Wenger revealed last week that Jack Wilshere's recovery was going well, and today it has been reported that the Arsenal medical team have targeted the reserve game against Fulham on January the 24th as the England midfielders expected return to action. Wilshere announced that he had finally been able to walk without the aid [.

The Germans are renown for being pretty darn good at everything. And we all know they are. One of the many things on their "the things we're better than you at" list, just below "penalties", is "producing world-class goalkeepers". You've just got to look at past players such as Oliver Kahn, Andreas Kopke or Sepp Maier to justify this point.

The Germans are renown for being pretty darn good at everything. And we all know they are. One of the many things on their "the things we're better than you at" list, just below "penalties", is "producing world-class goalkeepers". You've just got to look at past players such as Oliver Kahn, Andreas Kopke or Sepp Maier to justify this point.

Disney is not going to do a cartoon remake of the Russian Premier League anytime soon. That may be an exercise in acknowledging the obvious, but it remains true the RPL isn't for the kiddies. Roberto Carlos might have a few words of commentary in that realm.

And yet, it can still manage to surprise with some off-pitch shenanigans, like this weekend, when one player who'd just been sent off in a reserve game was beaten in the tunnel by men "dressed as" police officers.

As the Oranj sit idle, the Dynamo Theory Faithful (ROYAL WE) must endure an excruciating lull between games, teams push past us in the playoff standings. So I sit, twiddling my angry thumbs-with little left to do other than creating an interim poll. Impotence sucks so I must resort to madness.

For years, one of the primary questions for the Dynamo has been- if Ching is injured or is having one of his infamous dry spells, who picks up the scoring slack?

Chicago Fire Reserves (6-2-1) vs. Houston Dynamo Reserves (5-4-0) October 01, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX MLS Reserve League -- Central/Mountain Division

Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Will Bruin 1 (Calen Carr 1) 12
HOU -- Will Bruin 2 (Jason Garey 2) 25
HOU -- Calen Carr 1 (unassisted) 42

Chicago Fire – Alec Dufty, Pari Pantazopoulos, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Yamith Cuesta, Francisco Mendoza, A.

Davide Santon looks to be fairly fit after playing the full 90 minutes of a reserve game against Swansea and does Jonas's interview indicate that Colo is angling for a longer contract? Davide Santon completed the full 90 minutes of our reserve game against Swansea last night, which we won 5-3. Santon only had his [.

Got my copy in yesterday but wasn't able to actually sit down with it until about 9:00pm unfortunately so my review of the game might be delayed until tomorrow. That said, I will say that I'm loving the new physics system as it brings a whole new level of realism not experienced prior, but I'm hating the new defense system.

According to the match preview on MLSsoccer.com published on Thursday morning, Sheanon Williams will miss Friday night's game against Sporting Kansas City with a concussion.

Also on the injury report with a concussion is backup goalkeeper Throne Holder.

A spokesperson for the Union confirmed to PSP that Sheanon Williams' concussion occurred during Saturday night's match against Columbus.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admits Didier Drogba will miss Sunday's clash against Manchester United as the Ivory Coast striker continues to recover from concussion.

Drogba was concussed in a collision with Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy during Chelsea's 3-1 victory on August 27 and has yet to return to action.

The Philadelphia Union have signed Joe Tait, formerly a defender for the Dayton Dutch Lions of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) PRO division.

Tait is listed as part of the Union's salary cap as of 9/1/2011, according to the Major League Soccer Players Union. Seen as a prospect at center back, the former 2010 USL Premier Development League (PDL) Defender of the Year will make the minimum MLS salary, a prorated $42,000 this season,

The 20-year-old's status with the Union has been up in the air since Tait tweeted about being disappointed that his paperwork had not gone through in time to play the Columbus Crew on the road.

If you were trying to figure out a way to make it from LIVESTRONG Sporting Park to Swope Park for the reserve game against the Houston Dynamo, you can stop your planning. Today the team announced that the Swope Park Rangers game against the Dynamo has been moved totally from this Saturday. The game will now be played on Tuesday October 18th.

Stuart Holden passed his second test.

Holden started and played 65 minutes in Bolton's 1-1 draw with Rochdale (Bolton won 6-5 in penalties) in a reserve match on Wednesday in rainy conditions. Playing in front of U.S. national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Holden emerged unscathed and is set for the next challenge on his comeback road.

Under a sunny, cloudless sky the Timbers continued their training today, focusing on one and two touch passing and possession.

Troy Perkins was mysteriously absent but Futty Danso continued his recover from injury, working with the full team for much of the practice.

More notes plus quotes from John Spencer after the jump.

This coming Saturday was supposed to see a double header at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park between Sporting KC and the Houston Dynamo with the reserves set to follow the first team. That plan has now changed, likely due to the deteriorating conditions of the playing field at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. The reserve game will now be taking place at the club's training facility at Swope Park.

*The U.S.-Costa Rica game kicks off at 8 p.m. at Home Depot Center (live ESPN2). Plenty of tickets are available. The 24,500-seat stadium may be around half full for the game.

Staff writer Phil Collin has the game preview.

Here's more on the philosophy of Jurgen Klinsmann and what we learned from his first game in charge of the U.

The Open Cup three-peat © is now firmly in the sight of the Seattle Sounders. Their 1-0 win against FC Dallas was a grind-it-out brutal affair in loud and packed Starfire Stadium. It was an atmosphere able to intimidate even the most battle tested of opponents. Although I would remind Schellas Hyndman that there are much more hostile crowds in the wide world of football.

• Ailing Houston youngsters Bruin, Cruz ready to return [Sporting News]
• Bruin, Cruz could appear in reserve game [MLS Soccer]
• Dynamo not overreacting to Vancouver loss [MLS Soccer]
• Dynamo welcome back Cruz, Bruin for playoff push [Houston Chronicle]

In Other News:

• Myanmar Soccer Fans Given Freedom of Raucous Speech [NY Times]
• Minnesota Vikings owner wants an MLS Franchise [Pioneer Press]

William Conwell (who contributed to this report) and I attended our first Portland Timbers training session this morning, and even in this quiet week there's still some interesting news afoot.

Exhibit A: the presence of Alex Nimo, the former Benson HS star who played for the USL Timbers while on loan from Real Salt Lake from 2009-2010.

Traditionally, when late-August bleeds into early-September, there's usually plenty for the Revs to attend to.

Whether its a slate of MLS games to push its postseason agenda, a SuperLiga final, or even a pair of late-round U.S. Open Cup games, the Revs have often been a busy bunch as the unofficial end of summer approaches.

STARTERS
For one of the 1st times ever MLS is complying with FIFA international dates and only 2 games will be played this weekend, one of them a make up game. We are getting there.
dN
Michael Bradley has completed his transfer to Chievo in Italy from Gladbach in Germany.

With the potential dangers of Hurricane Irene threatening the New England Revolution's trip to face the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, Major League Soccer today announced the game has been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 7th. The game will kickoff at 8:00 p.m. and is still slated to air locally on Comcast SportsNet New England and nationally in Spanish on Galavision.

The Philadelphia Union have brought in former Player Development League (PDL), part of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), Defender of the Year Joe Tait on trial.

Tait, revealed as a Union trialist during the team's 5-3 friendly win over the USL's Harrisburg Islanders, is a 20-year-old defender with the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL PRO division.

The Seattle Sounders officially announced that Miguel Montano has been loaned to the Montreal Impact for the remainder of the 2011 season. The 20-year-old was in Seattle on a loan from Argentinian side Quilmes.

Montano has shown glimpses of quality at various points during his Sounders career, but has also been prone to mental errors that have helped keep him off the field.

I'm not sure I entirely believe in the concept of a "trap game," but if one ever fit the bill, this is it. The Seattle Sounders are coming off a very tough stretch that saw them playing emotionally and physically draining games once or twice a week for about a month. They face a similar stretch coming up.

This week's former SKC Wizards update is here. Nick Cardenas is back on the radar, having played for Sporting KC in their reserve game on Monday, and is apparently still in training now. May have a shot at at least a short term contract with Daneil Cyrus now out. Here's the rest of this week's update.

The injuries for Sporting Kansas City seem to continue to mount up, with news on two more players coming out today. First for some good news, the team posted on Twitter today that captain, Davy Arnaud had returned to training. Combine that with the return of Craig Rocastle to game play yesterday in the reserve game.

Reserve game is 2 pm at Swangard for those asking. But they will only let in about 100 people and it's not staffed.

Marc Weber from the Province in BC

If that counts as "Open to the public" I actually own a yacht

Today's Reserve Game has so many different storylines. There's O'Brian White's probable return to the lineup. There's the attempt by Seattle to remain perfect in this lower level competition, as they are currently 7-0-0 with a +8 Goal Differential. Is the game open to the public or not? Which seems like it should have a simple answer, but there were conflicting reports yesterday, and the Vancouver Whitecaps statement on the subject provides little clarity.

There's a tiny pause in play for the Seattle Sounders. There is the Reserve game on Tuesday, but for the Senior squad, or First Team as the Sounders FC website tracks it they actually have a midweek of just practicing and refining who will start in which competitions for the rest of the packed August.

The Time for Honouring Yourself Will Soon Be at an End

Years of building my DVD library and watching films have given me the uncanny ability of being able to liken certain scenarios to the big screen. For example, Liam Tomkins' continuous yet comical mishaps are almost a carbon copy of 'how to lose friends and alienate people; while the constant twitter arguements I found myself in are reminiscent to a scene from 8 mile.

Kansas City gets into the in-season friendly business again this year as they take on Newcastle United tomorrow at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. Newcastle isn't the glamor opponent that Manchester United was last year, but Newcastle is still a big club (and not just in their fans minds). St. James' Park is the third largest stadium in the EPL, and even though Newcastle is entering their second season back in the Premier League, they still continue to draw well.