Yesterday we found out that the new League was a go and today a number of sites confirm that the TOA will play the 2010 season in a new league.
Teams such as Miami FC, Atlanta Silverbacks, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, Carolina Railhawks and the Vancouver Whitecaps will soon be joined by a St. Click to continue reading...

First of all, I want to apologize for the sudden disappearance of Culture of Soccer last year. Starting graduate school ate up most of my time, and I couldn't keep up the site. However, now that I am a couple of years into my PhD, I find myself with a bit more time and I am happy to announce that I will be restarting Culture of Soccer shortly.

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The last time Don Garber sounded so satisfied in an interview, it was when the nation's sports commissioners were hauled before Congress to mealymouth about steroids. Garber told anyone who would listen how clean MLS was. (This was before Abel Xavier was signed, and before Conway and Parke were caught. Click to continue reading...

http://www.soccerpro.com/KwikGoal-Premier-Referee-Jersey-p8493/

The KwikGoal Premier referee jersey is the perfect shirt for those of you who referee youth, recreational, or local soccer leagues. The shirt is the classic vertical stripe referee jersey design with a collar and two buttons. It comes in five colors: red, yellow, blue, green, and classic black.

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For the fourth year in a row, EPL Talk will be interviewing executives from Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta Sports and GolTV in a special preview of the 2009/2010 seasons of the Premier League, Championship, La Liga, Bundesliga and other major soccer leagues from around the world.

Every summer, there's always a host of changes and exciting developments at the different soccer networks in the United States, so we pose the questions you want us to ask to the big wigs at the networks that we watch religiously.

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The year-round nature of football and the assortment of betting options available makes it a non-stop thrilling exercise that should not be missed. But many sports punters are intimidated by the many different teams, soccer leagues and competitions available. They simply do not know where or how to start. Click to continue reading...

Today is the last Saturday before the Fourth of July. The great thing about Independence Day is that like many holidays, it's a day when you can do whatever you want.  A man can lounge around and watch soccer on TV, drink beers, and grill out with his friends by the pool. It's also one of the only days of the year where you can shoot off fireworks.

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Vancouver Whitecaps 1:2 Montreal Impact
Impact rebound from TFC loss by beating Whitecaps The Globe and Mail
Impact bounces back from humiliation Montreal Gazette
Montreal Impact continues to frustrate Vancouver Whitecaps with 2-1 win Vancouver Sun
Miami FC Blues 1:0 Cleveland City Stars
Miami FC tops Cleveland City Miami Herald
Charleston Battery 0:1 Puerto Rico Islanders
Islanders hand Battery second straight defeat Charlston Post and Courier
Battery lose second straight in Puerto Rico The Digitel
Richmond Kickers 2 :2 Charlotte Eagles
Eagles rally to tie Kickers Richmond Times-Dispatch
USL Eagles OK with tie against Richmond Charlotte Observer
Real Maryland Monarchs 0 - 4 Harrisburg City Islanders
Shipalane fuels Islanders PennLive. Click to continue reading...

When American soccer players discover they have the athletic prowess to play overseas, they go, and we encourage their choice. But when American soccer fans choose to ignore MLS, its considered to be detrimental to the success of American soccer.

As has been stated before in the New York Times, the biggest hurdle MLS has right now is that better quality soccer is incredibly accessible to existing American soccer fans, making MLS even less desirable.

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ESPN recently released a new app for the iPhone entitled ESPN ScoreCenter, which is a must-have app for soccer fans.

The free app features real-time score updates, live game details, schedules, stats, game summaries and more for an exhaustive number of leagues and tournaments, such as:

• Premier League,
• Champions League,
• La Liga,
• Bundesliga,
• Serie A,
• MLS,
• USL-1,
• Championship,
• Confederations Cup,
• World Cup qualifiers,
• International friendlies,
• UEFA Cup,
• African Nations Cup,
• AFC Champions League,
• Copa America,
• and many many more.

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God, what an appallingly unoriginal headline. "Atlanta: We Got The Beat" would at least have referenced a better song.
Suggestions that WPS choose "Atalanta Atlanta" or "Atlante Atlanta" fell on predictably deaf ears. Logos posted below, using technology I have only recently discovered called "Manage Attachments. Click to continue reading...

Soccer purists tend to exaggerate the reality of the state of American Soccer. They tend to emphasize the negative when referencing U.S. Soccer and they don't want to accept the fact that of the world's greatest Soccer leagues, it is only the upper-eschelon teams that are truly great. In the EPL, there are probably 5 great teams and the rest of them are very good, good and average.

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The Poster Above Was For One of the Derbies of the 2007 USL-1 Season
Two cities, only separated by 3 hours, whose fans have a 30 year history through various soccer leagues are set to collide once again in the US Open Cup.
The following comes courtesy of our friend and MLSR partners Prost Amerika Soccer:

If Portland Timbers manage to overcome Sonoma County Sol on June 16th, their reward will be a home game with MLS Seattle Sounders on June 30th.

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One of the time-honored, post-match traditions of adult league soccer leagues is to head to the pub and have a pint or two (or three). Many believe that beer and other alcohol-containing drinks actually aid recovery. The argument is that alcohol is a carbohydrate and carbohydrates help replenish energy stores. Click to continue reading...

Kansas City Wizards, Heartland Soccer Association Announce Strategic Partnership

Wizards, Heartland Soccer Join Together to Promote Soccer from Youth Ranks to Professional Level; Entire Kansas City Wizards Roster will Appear Sunday at Heritage Soccer Park to Launch Partnership

(May 21, 2009) – The Kansas City Wizards and Heartland Soccer Association (Heartland) announced a major strategic partnership Thursday that will help both organizations promote the game of soccer in the Kansas City area and increase participation in the sport.

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The Family asked that in lieu of Flowers, please make a donation to the following:

Charlotte's Foundation for Women's Soccer

To fund and promote women's soccer - the sport that was so dear to Charlotte Moran's heart. This non-profit charity is dedicated to providing opportunities for women and girls' soccer, including girls' ODP, field development for women and girls' teams, and the expansion of women and girls' soccer leagues.

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By SEAN RUBIO

With a few days to catch up, Recommeded Reading comes to you chock full of stories, including entries related to Argentina, Mexico, the former Soviet republics, Greece, and more:

The Special One's "special" goal and celebration [The Beautiful Game]
Mexican player suspended for coughing at another player [New York Post]
Football Manager 2010 Wish List [Soccerlens]
Kansas City Wizards fan immortalized on Special1TV [Hillcrest Road]
Roundup of soccer leagues in the former Soviet republics [FourFourtwo]

Video highlights from a wild contest in the Greek Cup Final [Objectivo]

Brazilian cup celebration goes up in flames [Reuters] [Video]

An interview with Peppe Pinton - the current owner of the Cosmos brand [This Is American Soccer]

Ariel Ortega: The Anti-Messi [Mad About Futbol]

A look at youth soccer coaches and in-match communication techniques [Evansville Courier & Press]

Blind EPL fans find solace in commentating geared towards them [OleOle]

Why U.

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By SEAN RUBIO

With a few days to catch up, Recommeded Reading comes to you chock full of stories, including entries related to Argentina, Mexico, the former Soviet republics, Greece, and more:

The Special One's "special" goal and celebration [The Beautiful Game]
Mexican player suspended for coughing at another player [New York Post]
Football Manager 2010 Wish List [Soccerlens]
Kansas City Wizards fan immortalized on Special1TV [Hillcrest Road]
Roundup of soccer leagues in the former Soviet republics [FourFourtwo]

Video highlights from a wild contest in the Greek Cup Final [Objectivo]

Brazilian cup celebration goes up in flames [Reuters] [Video]

An interview with Peppe Pinton - the current owner of the Cosmos brand [This Is American Soccer]

Ariel Ortega: The Anti-Messi [Mad About Futbol]

A look at youth soccer coaches and in-match communication techniques [Evansville Courier & Press]

Blind EPL fans find solace in commentating geared towards them [OleOle]

Why U.

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As the severity of the H1N1 or swine flu pandemic increases, governments are taking significant steps to deal with any severe outbreak. The US has already authorized the release of significant portions of it's flu medication stockpiles and many states are activating their pandemic flu plans. Most of these plans were put into place after the avian flu outbreak in Asia.

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It is not often that MLS Commissioner Don Garber seldom pisses off people in other sports. But yesterday he did.
Courtesy of ESPN:

NEW YORK -- Mention those empty seats at Yankee Stadium at your own risk.
Don Garber did.
A day after the Major League Soccer commissioner raised the subject, New York Yankees president Randy Levine blasted back.

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In many of the top soccer leagues around the world, if you finish at the bottom of the table, you play in the second division or B league the next season. The US has a second division, the USL, but does not practice relegation, which is a very, very good thing for Beckham and the [...] Click to continue reading...

D.C United won the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night by narrowly defeating the Charleston Battery from the United States Soccer League's First Division 2-1. More coverage can be obtained by clicking on this link as there is a story by Sports Illustrated.
As I've said before and I'll say it again, this Cup competition should be given a much more prestigious ranking within the world of United States soccer. Click to continue reading...

2008 Fall Soccer Registration can be completed betwee now and August 16th at the following locations:

St. Robert Municipal Building will hold registration
Saturday August 9th & Saturday August 16th
Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm

St. Robert Community Center will hold registration
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
August 4th, 6th and 8th
August 11th, 13th and 15th
Time: 11:00am – 1:00pm

Soccer Leagues are for Youth Ages 4–14
Must be age 4 prior to August 1, 2008
Please provide a copy of your child's birth certificate when you register
Family fees: $35 First player, $33 Second player, $31 Third player, $29 Fourth/Additional players
$10 Late Fee after sign-up dates

Games start September 13th

There will be a Coaches Meeting at the St.

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I like basketball. I play it when I can. I've been a fan for a long, long time. But something it's still a bit strange to see the absolute wall-to-wall, bounce by bounce coverage of the U.S. basketball team at the Olympics. My theory is that it reveals something about American attitudes - let me share this shocking revelation: People in the U. Click to continue reading...

I like basketball. I play it when I can. I've been a fan for a long, long time. But something it's still a bit strange to see the absolute wall-to-wall, bounce by bounce coverage of the U.S. basketball team at the Olympics. My theory is that it reveals something about American attitudes - let me share this shocking revelation: People in the U. Click to continue reading...

First of all, Rob Hues, it's Grahame, not Graeme. Also, I'd like to offer my own thoughts on what California offers soccer.
I mean, I'm not sure that I even understand the point of the recent article - is it that California allowed Jurgen to relax and Beckham to smile? That's all one can put together about the state and soccer? Click to continue reading...

I knew England had a number of soccer leagues in a hierarchical structure where teams could be promoted and relegated between them. But I never knew it was made up of 24 levels, 140 leagues, 480 divisions, and over 7000 clubs. If England can manage to promote and relegate teams within 24 levels, why can't we [. Click to continue reading...

From the West County Journal in St Louis comes Revenue shortfall makes Sportport's future uncertain

The problem with Sportport, city officials said, is that it has failed to draw enough revenue to keep pace with costs. Since the facility opened in 1999, the city has spent about $2.

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Tony Limarzi, the Radio Voice of D.C. United, provides live match commentary for all D.C. United games on WFED 1050 AM. He recently published his first book,Forza Italia, which is the story of the summer of 2006 – both Italy's World Cup win in Germany and United's MLS season.

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Jon Lowder did a followup on my recent post about racism in soccer and took it in the direction of the shortage of minorities of any color playing in North Carolina leagues: I don't think that overt racism is a contributing factor to the lack of diversity on the soccer fields. I think most clubs would [. Click to continue reading...