I have struggled with whether I want to continue writing for The Offside. My recent posts indicate my frustrations, which may appear to be a little acrimonious. The truth isn't as harsh as I make it out to be, honestly.

A few days ago I contacted the powers-that-be and proposed a new page for The Offside.

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A few times over the past few years I've noted the obvious word play, "The Roar purred." I guess it would have been used more if it was true more often, but even when they were really getting it together, like toward the end of last season, it didn't quite work as a metaphor.
Yesterday against Perth at Ballymore the Brisbane Roar Women purred. Click to continue reading...

Enter Sasha McDonnell, the first professional woman player who caught my attention, somewhat by accident a few years ago. One of the reasons I came across her was she's a Brisbane girl, so I was mightily annoyed last year when she signed with Canberra.

Sasha (second from left) just after her goal

The way I discovered she had signed for Brisbane this season, believe it or not, was Wikipedia, which also had the W-League table updated before the official A-League site. Click to continue reading...

A short weekend in Major League Soccer saw a couple things take place. The Columbus Crew inched closer towards their second straight Supporter's Shield trophy (and another birth into the CONCACAF Champions League) and Toronto FC's stumble nearly towards elimination.

SUPPORTER'S SHIELD RACE
Columbus (28) 13-5-10, 49 points (at DC, vs.

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Last week we covered that Portsmouth players had not been paid, and I asked whether Sulaiman al Fahim actually had the money to buy the club.

The answer was no, as Sulaiman al Fahim today sold Portsmouth to Saudi property magnate Ali al Faraj. Ali al Faraj is a familiar name to Pompey fans as Portsmouth executive Peter Storrie had told former, former, Portsmouth owner Sasha Gaydamak that Al Farai was interested in buying the club.

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So this afternoon the second season of the Westfield W-League will kick off, the same eight clubs, but new players and coaches everywhere. But shall we just take a minute to think about the first season? Here girlswithgame takes a look at its top five moments from season 2008.
5. Canberra United's late rush to draw with Perth Glory in Round 6. Click to continue reading...

Yay, the new season of the W-League is just two sleeps away and finally, the squads are here.
So who's in and out? Probably won't know exactly what will happen until the team's line-up but certainly some interesting last minute signings. Here are the interesting parts of the previews, game by game. Click to continue reading...

2008ChivasCalShoot_0761
Originally uploaded by Sasha's Pro Cheer Photos Ayer las chivas originales fueron a la casa de las Chiva USA para que en 5 minutos Omar Arellano anotara dos goles.
Pero es viernes y aquí esta una pequeña dosis de Área Chicas, las Chiva Girls en una sesión de fotos para el calendario del año pasado. Click to continue reading...

As previously noted, being a Vice President of FIFA is one sweet gig.
Even when you're not being bribed to the eyeballs in return for your World Cup venue vote.
Or when you're making untold millions of dollars on World Cup tickets you grabbed by the thousands (and never paid for) and then bundled with overpriced air fares and hotel rooms and had your wholly owned travel agency peddle them to desperate soccer fans. Click to continue reading...

Sasha Kljestan leads Chivas USA tonight into Rio Tinto Stadium to face RSL. (Getty Images)

Old expansion mates square off tonight in what could be said is a must-win situation for the home side. Real Salt Lake enters tonight's game at Rio Tinto Stadium with Chivas USA just three points behind the last playoff spot.

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Game story.

MLS standings. Note that Chivas USA have three games in hand over the Galaxy and could vault over them Wednesday with a win in Salt Lake City before Saturday's SuperClasico.

Bonus quotes;

Here's Preki on getting a second straight win after not winning for two months before that:

"Obviously, we had a couple of new guys and it's not always easy to gel right away with your teammates, but I thought both of those guys the longer the game went (on) they settled in and they both played better, especially in the second half.

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Three cheers (at least) to Sasha for this Premier League-quality suggestion. Great spot, Sasha. Got a lookalike for Pies? Email me with your tip, no matter how shit it is....

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Sepp Blatter was in town recently for the Gold Cup final and then flew down to DC, invited to the White House for a meeting with Barack Obama. The FIFA president formally invited the US president to attend the World Cup in South Africa next year. Obama also took the opportunity to make a plug for USA's bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

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Just us here for live commentary in the (you guessed it) comments section. I would commit to live-blogging it, but I can't count on staying functionally awake until 1am my time.

It should be a great match entertaining with lots of side action. This is Eskandarian's first game against his former team, and Chivas is his former team by fewer than two weeks.

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FC Inter (6th) IFK Mariehamn (4th), Saturday 6:30 PM

The weekend (Monday included) has a full round of Veikkausliiga in store for football fans. Tonight's game is first of the seven matches to be played, and NFN will treat you to minute-by-minute updates of the game in this post.

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U.S. head coach Bob Bradley felt his team were still in the game against Brazil when a late challenge from Sasha Kljestan resulted in a straight red card. Speaking after the game Bradley said: "We had a very nervous, tentative start to the game. An early goal off a set piece really put us in a difficult situation right from the start.

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The entire saga surrounding the proposed selling of Portsmouth FC to Dr. Sulaiman al-Fahim has really opened my eyes as to what the British media considers journalism.

First a little back story.

Pompey have been in financial trouble for quite some time, as has been documented by the media as well as the club.

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Remember if you have any questions for the players or coaches, post here before halftime and I will do what I can.
Venue:
Home Depot Center, Carson, CA
Weather:
Clear
Referees:
Head Ref: Ricardo Salazar
Asst Ref: Eric Boria
Asst Ref: Peter Balciunas
4th Official: Abbey Okulaja
Projected Lineups:
Chivas USA
GK Zach Thornton
RB Mariano Trujillo
CB Shavar Thomas
CB Carey Talley
LB Jim Curtin
RM Atiba Harris
CM Paolo Nagamura
CM Sasha Victorine
LM Bojan Stepanovic
RS Maykel Galindo
LS Eduardo Lillingston
Subs
Seattle Sounders
GK Kasey Keller
LB Tyson Wahl
CB Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
CB Patrick Ianni
RB James Riley
LM Steve Zakuani
CDM Peter Vagenas
CAM Freddie Ljungberg - Captain
RM Brad Evans
LS Nate Jaqua
RS Freddy Montero
Subs
PRE-GAME:
-Confirmed Jorge Flores will be starting at LB
-Actually, got the first interview ever for Zamora.

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O hello thur! The new Arsenal kit looks pretty neat, if you compare it to Chelski's sky-diving ensemble. Cescy is not looking at the camera but Arshavin knows that his fashionista wife will not forgive him if he made the same mistake. So be proud, Sasha Pivovarova!

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I'm hardly what anybody would call the world's most observant Jew these days, but my Hebraic heart was filled with joy this morning when I saw this little piece of news.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is inviting close friends and staff to a private White House meal Thursday to mark Passover, a signal that the new president intends to fulfill his promise that Jewish voters would have an ally.

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From the Chicagoist:

Oak Brook-based Ty, Inc. is insisting that the two new dolls they've added to their "TyGirlz Collection" named "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia" are not supposed to represent President Barack Obama's daughters, no way, no how, nu uh.

Of course not. They gave the same excuse eight years ago when they released "Bangin' Barbara" and "Juiced-Up Jenna.

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Bosnich limped off after a goal kick on 5 minutes. Loooks like he has done his knee.
On 9 minutes Sasha Petrovski gluided through the Perth defence. 1-0 so far. Click to continue reading...

Wow. Wow. Melbourne do it again with just 10 men. And an Archie special in the last 4 seconds.
But the real message from this and the Sydney/CCM match was the A-League is now all about speed and strength combined. If you don't have this physicality across the park, you are making up the numbers. Click to continue reading...

BehindTheBadge kindly corrected us, Luciano Emilio's site is no longer the one we mentioned but www.LuciGOL.com
Galaxy fans barraged us with emails, "What about Landon's site?!" - Well we forgot about that... Landon Donovan's site is www.landondonovan.com
Also former MLSer and current Glasgow Ranger, Maurice Edu has his own digs over at www. Click to continue reading...

Think that Beckham fella knows a thing or two about show-business? He's not the only soccer player around who has starred in a hit movie. While none of these flicks are named after someone on our roster, the guys got a little nostalgic recently and went back in time to reenact their favorite scenes from 80s movies. Click to continue reading...

HAPPY LABOR DAY!
Hopefully you're enjoying some quality beer and barbecue.
Like the Get Stuck In shirts?
Well nab one on sale for today only. We've knocked the prices down by a couple of dollars to the least amount we could sell them for.
But that's not all! Click to continue reading...

Ryan Babel put the Netherlands 1-0 up in the 15th minute.USA drew went ahead with two goals in the second half. (Sasha Kljestan and Jozy Alatidore).Sibon scored the equaliser three minutes into stoppage time. Alas...

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A last-minute goal by the Netherland's Gerald Sibon denied the U.S. men their second consecutive Olympic win Sunday, forcing them to settle for the 2-2 tie. Chivas USA's Sasha Klejstan and Jozy Altidore tallied second-half goals for Team USA, which... Click to continue reading...

We have tragic news that we have been informed of today, that a proud Geordie and Newcastle United fan, Kenneth Rowe, was recently murdered with his sniffer dog, while serving in Afghanistan. Kenneth Rowe - with Sasha - on duty recently in Afghanistan Click to continue reading...

He didn't look alright yesterday, after being knocked out by Haka goalkeeper Sasha Dovbnya while challenging for a cross. At that point KTP were, shockingly, 1-0 up after Dovbnya had dropped the ball and substitute Vesa Helenius swept the ball home with his first touch of the ball on 43 minutes. Finnish footballers are extraordinarily [. Click to continue reading...

There are classic feel-good stories that are designed to give people an inspirational uplift that might even last more than a day. There are tales that warm the heart.
Sacha Kljestan's Karate Kid celebration, done in honor of his father, Slavko, definitely takes on greater meaning when viewed in the context of their close relationship and Slavko's soccer past. Click to continue reading...

Part I Here This brings us to Group B in the Superliga, one that has the potential to be a bit more unpredictable.  Chivas USA - The other goats look outmatched in this group, especially if Brad Guzan's move to Villa takes place as rumored. With Sasha Kljestan (5 goals) and Jesse Marsch (4) and Ante [. Click to continue reading...

TOR brothers-in-blog (and fellow DESIGNATED PLAYER) The Original Winger have started this nice series of posts labeled The Essentials that you should all check out. It's all a bunch of gear, gadgets, games, girls and other stuff that does not begin with the letter "G" that you just can't live without. Click to continue reading...

The biggest crowd of the year so far for a Chivas USA home game - 24,143 - saw a 2-0 win by the hosts Thursday over the Chicago Fire that was thoroughly entertaining to watch.

Actually, it was fun to ask (most of) the participants questions about it too, although Chicago players were obviously not happy.

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The second half was exactly as one might expect with Chivas USA up two goals and the Fire enjoying a man advantage; constant Chicago pressure, with Chivas resolutely defending.

Still, the Fire didn't boast too many clear-cut chances that would allow it to cut the 2-0 deficit, with shots going wide or goalmouth scrambles going nowhere.

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