The Seattle Sounders' preseason roster got just a little bit lighter as they got ready to take off for Florida and Mexico. Although the Sounders didn't officially release an updated roster, Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times has managed to piece one together:

Goalkeepers (5): Chris Blais*, Josh Ford, Michael Gspurning, Bryan Meredith, Andrew Weber*

Defenders (10): Marc Burch, Andrew Duran#, Leo Gonzalez, Harlinton Gutierres*, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Michael Tetteh

Midfielders (13): Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Alex Caskey*, Cordell Cato, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez, Lamar Neagle, Mauro Rosales, Andy Rose^, Amadou Sanyang, Michael Seamon, Christian Sivebaek, Steve Zakuani

Forwards (7): David Estrada, Mike Fucito, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Sammy Ochoa, Babayele Soldade#, O'Brian White

* -- trialist/invitee, # -- unsigned draft pick, ^ -- acquired on draft day trade, underline -- recovering from injury with uncertain timeline

Still not a whole lot of surprises at this point.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

No. 1 North Carolina and unseeded Charlotte share the same state geographically but that's about all these two teams have in common.

The Tar Heels are a perennial power participating in their fourth-straight College Cup. It is a team full of pro-ready talent, a team that has gelled remarkably fast under first-year head coach Carlos Somoano, who spent the better part of the decade as an assistant with North Carolina.

I was at RFK Stadium last night. I was at RFK Stadium last year when the Fire won on the backs of two goals after the 80th minute. I certainly did not expect to see a repeat two-late-goal performance after Dwayne De Rosario converted his 89th minute penalty kick. A fairly blah game turned into a story for the ages when Sebastian Grazzini scored a scorcher of a goal and Diego Chaves finished D.

Liverpool's two biggest matches of the early season are divided by yet another international break, with all of the active national sides on the continent wrapping up their Euro 2012 qualifying campaigns, and World Cup 2014 qualifiers starting nearly everywhere else. Fitness struggles mean there's a bit less action than usual for Kenny Dalglish's side, but there's a decent amount taking part in qualifiers or friendlies around across the globe.

The second match of the Jurgen Klinsmann era with the U.S. national team is set to take place Friday night at the Home Depot Center with the United States taking on Costa Rica, and while it is the less intriguing of the U.S. team's two upcoming friendlies, it should still help shed light on Klinsmann's work with the team.

While the wide receiving crop for the 2011 fantasy football season is a bit light up top, there are a ton of players with a lot of potential. Who will catch fire and be a fantasy football stud at the wide receiver position? Here are our top ten wide receivers for 2011 fantasy football:

1. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
He's the most talented wide receiver in the game.

Salacious headlines is not the first thing that comes to mind when the American public thinks of Major League Soccer. Most people in America probably don't even know what MLS stands for exactly. Many might say Multiple Listing Service, representing real estate and homes, which is what appears first on a Google search (MLS.

The impending season would be tough but the mere mention of Anthony Gardner was comic relief for RedknappHere we sit, dear friends, on the verge on another Premier League season. The players have had their break, we've had ours, pre-season has come and gone and now it's time to deliver. It may seem like we say this before every campaign these days but this really is a big year for the Hotspur.

"We are ourselves" — that's what Jürgen Klinsmann wanted to teach the players of Bayern Munich. He wanted them to "open up"; he wanted to get to know them, to "look inside" them, to meet their emotional needs. It was a philosophy of liberation — of helping players to get beyond the inhibitions of consciousness, back to some easy inner self.

It's only the preseason, and already a long off-week between matches is making time drag in a way it didn't during the weeks in June and July when there wasn't any Liverpool football waiting tantalisingly out of reach. For those content with being out of Europe and so avoiding those somnambulant Europa League group stage Thursdays, this is your future.

BBC Sport Aston Villa sign Shay Given from Manchester City on five-year deal.

In probably the most cost effective transfer in the close season to date, Aston Villa today signed Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper Shay Given to a 5 year deal.

Given is widely regarded as one of the top goalies in the Premier League despite having spent most of last season on the bench as backup to Manchester City's England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

By ALAN LEDBETTER

A full week of MLS games made for a high scoring week last week. There is a much lighter schedule this week with no teams playing twice this week as many of them are engaged in the US Open Cup competition. Prepare a challenge to find the right starting lineup as most games are fairly even this week.

Good afternoon! The Red Bulls are back in MLS action today vs the San Jose Earthquakes (10:30pm ET, ESPN2). The Earthquakes usually play @Buckshaw Stadium (pictured above) but they moved this match to the much larger Stanford Stadium. As of yesterday, 30,000 tickets had been sold, so it should be a fantastic atmosphere.

photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Jonathan Spector has spent the last five years with West Ham United, but his time with the club appears to have come to a end.

Spector is officially a free agent after failing to agree to new a deal with West Ham, which will be attempting to gain promotion to the Premiership next season.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

Coming off the U.S. men's national team's Gold Cup opening 2-0 win against Canada, head coach Bob Bradley has a quick turnaround before Saturday's Group C match-up against Panama. He will have just a few days to decide whether to stick with the lineup that beat Canada, or make some changes.

Like we did for the match against Real Salt Lake, this week's Seattle Sounders projected lineup is more of a preferred lineup than one necessarily based on any inside information. In fact, it seems like based on the way personnel was deployed during practice this week, Fredy Montero could be on the bench again this week.

There have been plenty of stories circulating this week, and particularly today, regarding Americans plying their trade abroad, and it's time to catch everyone up on the latest:

Michael Bradley has NOT completed a transfer to Aston Villa, despite reports out of Germany suggesting otherwise.

Hey F.C. Porto, look at your Classico rivals Benfica. That could be you a year from now.
Remember Benfica's wondrous championship season last year? Remember how they used to score goals by the bushel, 4, 5, 6 at a time? Remember how they'd run teams into the ground, literally and figuratively?

Gary Neville is a man who hasn't made too many fans outside the confines of Old Trafford, and particularly over towards the direction of Merseyside, but he is also a man who has been a fantastic servant over the years for Manchester United. Those who follow the football odds will know this.

With the club preparing to honour his career with a testimonial at Old Trafford against Italian giants Juventus, it's sure to be a special night for all involved with the club and all involved with the development of a man who made his debut at the age of just 17.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is now less than ten weeks away, and with the U.S. men's national team having its final two friendlies before June, players hoping for spots on the roster have done what they can do on the national team level to impress head coach Bob Bradley and earn a place on the U.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIPhotos.com

The U.S. national team's impressive second-half performance in Saturday's 1-1 tie vs. Argentina has the team heading into Tuesday's friendly against Paraguay with confidence as Bob Bradley faces some tough questions about just which players he will turn to for the team's second game in four days.

The U.S. national team's longer-than-planned hiatus is set to come to an end soon, with match-ups against South American powers Argentina and Paraguay looming. Bob Bradley hasn't really had a chance to field a full-strength team since last summer's World Cup, but will now have a chance to see just where his team stands less than three months before the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Dane's been the man of the moment this preseason.

The hectic preseason continued for New York as they wrapped up their final trip in Arizona this week. The only thing is, did this long preseason leave us with more questions than answers?

Last time we spoke, the Red Bulls just finished up winning against Ft.

Charlie Davies will take the field today for D.C. United in a scrimmage against Florida International University in what will be his final chance to impress D.C. before the club decides whether to bring him in on a season-long loan from FC Sochaux.

Davies has already impressed, netting a goal and assist and showing glimpses of his trademark speed.

Photo by John Todd/ISIPhotos.com

The U.S. men's national team began its new year on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Chile, and while the first match of 2011 had some of the sloppiness often associated with January friendlies, there were also the bright spots that come with seeing new faces perform.

The U.S. men's national team will open a new year and new four-year World Cup cycle tonight when the Americans take on Chile at Home Depot Center (10pm, Telefutura/ESPN3.com).

Bob Bradley will be fielding a young squad against a Chile side made up of domestic league players.

The King is back. Long live the King.

Yes, Eric Cantona, one of the greatest legends of the Premier League, has returned to the world of football after it was announced today that he'll be the director of football, achh I mean soccer, at The New York Cosmos. It's a safe bet that the Cosmos will become the 20th team in Major League Soccer in 2013.

The first U.S. national team match of the year won't feature many familiar faces. In fact, there are no players who could be considered first-choice national team options. No, Saturday's friendly against Chile is instead about new faces and Bob Bradley's chance to see how a new crop of MLS players can measure up in what will be a first or second appearance for many of them.

Does a "Goodbye, Blue Monday" joke work following a draw like yesterday's? Not really? Drat. Oh well, on with the show.

There was absolutely nothing, not even nothing. And then there was this great big bang. And that's where all this crap came from...

* It's charts and chalkboards over at OYB, as with the continuing lack of tangible results Liverpool bloggers everywhere are left to pick at any positive signs and hope it all comes together damn soon.

Apparently, there's a rumor floating around that we're looking to land Kaka on a loan deal this month. I highly doubt the credibility of said rumor or the likelihood of it ever transpiring. But if it does, I don't think it would be a bad situation to be in. We have needed creative reinforcements in midfield for awhile now and this would be a good environment for Kaka to get his career back on track after the injuries/dip in form he's had recently.