Muita música, bastante alta, junto do hotel da Selecção Nacional. Os bósnios estão eufóricos nas ruas de Zenica. Parece o 2004 em Portugal. A maioria pacífica e ordeira, mas andam para aí uns tantos meio perturbados. Deve ser do sol que trouxemos de Lisboa que os está a pôr fora de si. Faltam pouco mais de cinco horas. Click to continue reading...

I've got this weird mental block - I always have to remind myself whether it's CHRISTIE Rampone, or CHRISTINE Rampone. (It's Christie.)
Embarrassing, right? I wonder how people like, say, FIFA deal with it. Turns out they have a very simple way of making sure they don't make that mistake. Click to continue reading...

Sol, calor, humedad, todos daba para un partido en el que el primer equipo que se cansaba primero o no pegaba de una perdía. Por suerte el que vino sin ganas fue Tigre, el conjunto de Cagna que perece que no tiene mas ganas de jugar este campenato.
Por suerte el Grana fue efectivo y en el primer tiempo liquidó el partido para tranquilidad de los que rezábamos que Tigre no gane un partido justo contra nosotros. Click to continue reading...

"Diz-se agora que o playoff vai ser muito difícil, que o apuramento será uma estrondosa vitória, uma lança em África. Mas eu pergunto: se não conseguirmos ganhar � Bósnia, o que vamos fazer � África do Sul, onde teremos pela frente seleções muitíssimo mais fortes?" O sol e a peneira - Record de 21 de Outubro Por vezes questiono-me sobre o motivo pelo qual pessoas com tanto prestígio na sua área profissional se põem a escrever e a falar sobre futebol. Click to continue reading...

That's according to Brian Boswell, coach of the Rolling Hills Estates-based Women's Professional Soccer League club Ajax America (for years now one of the top women's teams in the nation and a WPSL finalist again last year) and a sometime contributor to this blog.

The revelations were contained in what is essentially a begging letter circulating via e-mail that seeks to ensure the continued existence of Ajax.

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Por Halftown
Los últimos partidos de la fase de grupos clasificatoria para el Mundial de Sudáfrica se juegan este miércoles en todo el planeta. Poca emoción en Europa, con un Francia-Austria sin nada en juego en el que los franceses estarán pensando en el sorteo del lunes que decidirá su rival en las eliminatorias más que en devolver el 3-1 de Viena. Click to continue reading...

¡Felices fiestas del Pilar amig@s! Y aunque hace un sol de justícia en la capital maña, en Armenia cayó un diluvio. España venció a la potente selección de Armenia por 1-2, con tantos de Cesc y Mata de penalti. El partido era intranscendte pues la selección ya estaba clasificada para el Mundial. Click to continue reading...

In a shock trade the Sol allowed central defender Allison Falk, an integral part of the L.A. defense last serason, and backup goalkeeper Val Henderson to leave for the expansion Philadelphia Independence today in exchange for the No. 5 and No. 22 draft picks.

I've received no notification from the Sol, but it's up on the Independence Web site.

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Red Stars midfielder to face Germany on Oct. 29
Chicago Red Stars midfielder Megan Rapinoe was one of 18 players named to the U.S. Women's National Team on Monday for the team's Oct. 29 match against Germany.
This year she has played in all seven of the U.S.'s international matches, posting two goals, an assist and a team-high five points. Click to continue reading...

1974 senesi ve West Ham'lı Frank Lampard. Fotoğraftaki abinin tipini ve altındaki ismi görenler şaırabilir. Bu Frank Lampard yeni neslin en kaliteli orta sahalarından Chelsea'li Frank Lampard'ın babası olan West Ham'lı Frank "George" Lampard. 18 sene formasını giydiği West Ham'da efsane olmuş bir sol bek! Click to continue reading...

Stuff to read while you watch Samuel Eto'o get his revenge on Pep...... Diego Maradona is writing the new Boca Juniors Offside, apparently. (Boca Juniors Offside) Another look at the wishy-washy ways of Sol. (Three Match Ban) A soft spot for Bochum. (ESPN) The Cristiano Ronaldo Experience, one month in. Click to continue reading...

I was surfing around when I came across this article.. Sol has had several accusations of being gay in the past. His brother went to jail for beating a guy up to protect his brother's name. Sol definitely doesn't mind being called gay. He goes on with his life. At times, he makes it clear with pictures [. Click to continue reading...

They were Canadian international defender Sharolta Nonen, who started two games after joining the team in the wake of defender Christie Shaner breaking her leg on her Sol debut, and midfielder Katie Larkin, a BYU product who made five starts for the Sol.

Full details of today's expansion draft are here.

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'have at you sir!'

I'd like to think that the so called; journalists at the Daily Mail have some element of decency in the fact that despite falsely exposing a small minority of spurs supporters as small minded bigots during what will probably be known on Sky Sports News as 'Sol-gate'.

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Marta was introduced to Santos fans today. She will be the main name of the side in the women's version of Copa do Brasil and Copa Libertadores. She will be on loan for 3 months from Los Angeles Sol. The Copa Libertadores will be from the 4th to the 18th of October. The Copa do Brasil will run from September 15th to December 15th.

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via Reuters

Ok, Marta throwing a baseball at a LA Dodgers game is pretty random. They should've included a bonus round with Mickey Mouse Beckham as he elegantly manhandles a Javelin. What a spectacle that would've been.

On a more serious note, Pele will officially announce Marta as a Santos player in the squad's attempt to win the first ever female edition of the Libertadores Cup on October 4th.

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Not many surprises here.

The WPS awards were handed out Saturday night ahead of Sunday's WPS All-Star game in St. Louis.

The six award winners:

*Golden Boot Award - Marta (Sol)
*Defender of the Year - Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers)
*Coach of the Year - Abner Rogers (Sol)
*Goalkeeper of the Year - Hope Solo (Saint Louis Athletica)
*Sportswoman of the Year - Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC)
* Player of the Year Award - Marta (Sol)

Quotable:

"Each player in the league has it as their goal to try for an award like this," said Marta on being named WPS MVP.

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Final shots for the day:

*Sol defenders Brittany Bock and Stephanie Cox and midfielder Shannon Boxx were among 26 players called into Pia Sundhage's 12-day USWNT camp that begins Sept. 21 at Home Depot Center. Bock gets her second call-up of the year after also making the U.S. roster for the May 25 game against Canada in Toronto she was forced to miss after suffering a heel injury in training the day before.

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United States Women's National Team coach Pia Sundhage has named 26 players for a training camp running from September 21st to October 2nd in Carson, California. GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Ashlyn Harris (North Carolina), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica); DEFENDERS (8): Brittany Bock (Los Angeles Sol), Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Lori Chalupny (St. Click to continue reading...

What's the difference between Notts County and Newcastle United?
Lots of things of course - like one being on an upward trajectory, and one, at least until recently, downwards. Oh and one has a new owner and one doesn't. And then of course there are Sven and Sol.
But apart from that, I would struggle to tell them apart. Click to continue reading...

"The fibers of this team are so close and so that that nothing was going to break us." Sky Blue FC's Heather O'Reilly (left, with Natasha Kai) on her team's triumph in the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer championship game. O'Reilly scored the game's only goal in the 16th minute and the New York/New Jersey franchise held on to defeat th heavily-favored Los Angeles Sol.

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By CHRISTA MANN

The highs and lows of the Women's Pro Soccer season were ever so present in the first WPS Championship.

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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Photo by ISIphotos.com

By CHRISTA MANN

The highs and lows of the Women's Pro Soccer season were ever so present in the first WPS Championship.

Click to continue reading...

Sky Blue FC beat LA Sol 1-0 to win the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) championship game on Saturday, thanks to a goal from Heather O'Reilly (pictured with Natasha Kai and Natasha Kai's tattoos) So WPS has survived its inaugural season (even after launching at the worst possible time, economically speaking) and - crucially -established the [. Click to continue reading...

ASN's Craig Bennett was at Home Depot Center Saturday afternoon gathering photographic evidence of the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer championship match between Sky Blue FC and the Los Angeles Sol (read ASN's match report here).
Click here to visit the photo gallery.
All photos ©ASN/Craig Bennett, 112575 Media Inc. Click to continue reading...

Sky Blue FC spent its 2009 season embroiled in turmoil, both on and off the pitch. The New York/New Jersey-based franchise waddled near the bottom of the WPS standings for a good part of the season and saw two head coaches leave the organization. But the club clawed its way to two road playoff victories, then pulled off the mother of all upsets, as one strike off the foot of Heather O'Reilly coupled with some gritty defense and some timely breaks enabled Sky Blue FC to claim the inaugural WPS championship over the host Los Angeles Sol 1-0 Saturday afternoon at the Home Depot Center. Click to continue reading...

After it was revealed that some Women's Professional Soccer teams lost as much as $2 million in the league's inaugural season, LA Sol star Marta did her part to help bring attention to the league in her side's 1-0 loss to Sky Blue FC in the WPS championship match on Saturday.

[Photo: Getty Images]

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Sky Blue FC finished off their dramatic run through the Women's Professional Soccer playoffs on Saturday, beating the Los Angeles Sol 1-0 at the Home Depot Center to win the first WPS Championship. Heather O'Reilly was named the game's Most Valuable Player for scoring in the 16th minute. "Natasha Kai is pretty well known for headers in the box so I was kind of hanging back post," O'Reilly said. Click to continue reading...

Walking into Carson stadium for the WPS final, I found myself thinking that a win for Sky Blue would be good for the league, and perhaps even good for the Sol. The WPS needs to get rid of the impression that there is one team that is far and away better than the rest. The playoff structure, which guaranteed a place in the finals for the regular season champs, did that by clearing a path to the final for the Sol, as if they deserved a free pass. Click to continue reading...

Sol 0 Sky Blue FC 1

A team that barely got into the playoffs has just beaten the dominant team of the regular season.

The Sol never got their attack in sync today; frankly there was more urgency in the line outside the women's restroom at half time.

FC Sky Blue outplayed them in virtually every facet of the game, especially with a defense marshaled by central defender Jen Buczkowski alongside player-coach Christie Rampone.

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Sol 0 Sky Blue FC 1

It's a well-deserved lead for the underdogs against a flat Sol. Coach Abner Rogers removed midfielder McCall Zerboni for defender Sharolta Nonen after the straight red, but the Sol will need to do more than that to come from behind. Which team had the most rest coming into this game anyway?

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A straight red for Sol defender Allison Falk in the 27th minute after she clipped an on-rushing Natasha Kai from behind.

A poor decision by referee Kari Seitz in a championship game this early that changes the complexion of the match; no way did that look deliberate. It was just a clumsy, almost accidental touch.

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Sol 0 Sky Blue FC 1

The improbable story of Sky Blue FC continues.

A 16th minute cross by Sky Blue midfielder Keeley Dowling that was nodded on by Natasha Kai and met by Heather O'Reilly from eight yards out provided the opening goal.

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The Women's Professional Soccer championship is on at 1 p.m. on Prime. Alternatively, wander over to Carson and catch the game for $20.

It's a giggling global game for the Sol.

Game preview.

The Sky Blue perspective.

It's unusually muggy today in the South Bay.

I'll blog from the game.

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WPS Final on regional Fox Sports Net at 3:30pm and delayed on Fox Soccer Channel at 10pm: Sol - Sky Blue FC. MLS on Fox Soccer: LA - DC at 7:30pm. EPL on ESPN2: Wigan - Manchester United at 10am. On Fox Soccer: Manchester City - Wolves at 10am and Hull - Bolton at 5pm. On Setanta: Arsenal - Portsmouth at 10am, Sunderland - Blackburn at 6:45pm, and Birmingham - Stoke City at 8:30pm. Click to continue reading...