Our favorite forward/midfielder, Landon Donovan, is this year's MLS MVP! It's actually the first time he has won the award, but after the smokin' season he has had it should come as no surprise.

With all the awards he has been receiving this year, I'm continually reminded of that scene in Forrest Gump.

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After 22 hours of flight and 2,5 hours of stop-over, Bert van Marwijk resembles an American president after his eight years reign in the White House. His little grey beard shows, his hair is ruffled and his clothes wrinkled. The only difference? The Dutch coach has sparkles in his eyes. But Click to continue reading...

As you surely have read by now, FIFA President Joseph "Sepp" Blatter paid a visit to the United States, first stopping by the New Meadowlands Blatter, CONCACAF President Jack Warner and FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke took a tour of the new 82,500-seat stadium, which will open in May 2010 and serve as one of the jewel venues proposed in the U. Click to continue reading...

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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A couple of weeks ago, all the pundits claimed that the proposed move of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid was almost a done deal, as the midfielder was said to have requested a move to the Bernabeu. However, a lot has gone on since then, and the Spanish giants are reportedly unwilling to meet the Reds' [.. Click to continue reading...

The Columbus Crew finally made their visit to the White House on Tuesday and they were greeted by a huge surprise.
President Barack Obama received a ball signed by the entire MLS championship-winning side and he treated them to some of his own trickery and skill with the ball. Click to continue reading...

AP Photos

I'm a mite late with this I know (blame Beckham), but I did want to acknowledge the visit to the White House Monday by the MLS champion Columbus Crew.

Among those attending were Sigi Schmid, last year's MLS Coach of the Year when he was with the Crew, and a long-time Torrance resident (he still owns a place in Manhattan Beach while coaching the Sounders), as well as midfielder Robbie Rogers, who grew up in Rolling Hills Estates.

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He was receiving the MLS champions Columbus Crew at a White House reception to honour their achievements and got to show off his skills. For the record he actually seemed to know the club and its players.

He singled out Schmid for being coach of the year, Guillermo Barros Schelotto's league MVP award and three assists in the MLS Cup win against New York and praised 2008 MLS defender of the Year Chad Marshall, who along with midfielder Robbie Rogers and Evans took a day off from the U.

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The MLS Champion Columbus Crew were at The White House to meet President Barack Obama. You can click here to see the pictures.

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Photos Courtesy of The Black and Gold Standard, Official Blog of the Columbus Crew.

The Columbus Crew visited President Obama at the White House this afternoon to receive recognition as the 2008 MLS Cup Champions and to present the President with a Black & Gold No. 44 kit.

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Today's training session featured smaller numbers, as a few players departed camp while Brad Evans, Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers joined up with the Columbus Crew for a visit to the White House in Washington D.C. We went to the Philadelphia Eagles training complex, which as you can see from the above photo, is close to where we'll be playing Panama on Saturday night (you can see Lincoln Financial Field in the background above the trees). Click to continue reading...

The Columbus Crew are at the White House today getting a tour and meeting President Obama. If you want to watch the live stream of the Welcoming here is the link:

It will begin at 2:20 pm EST.

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This coming Monday the Crew will be flying out to D.C. and taking a tour of the White House. Afterwards they will meet with President Obama for about 20 minutes or so. This will be the first time for most of the team. They also invited former coach Sigi Schmidt and former players Erza, Brad Evans and Stefani Migs.

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The Confederations Cup nears its conclusion in South Africa this week ...
The days tick down to the 2010 World Cup next summer ...
My computer is broken AGAIN!
And news that US President Barack Obama may attend the world's biggest sporting event in South Africa next summer. Click to continue reading...

Friend of the show John Hodgman at the Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner on Friday night.

Hodgman shows precisely why he's a genius: he learned. Rather than doing the same tired jokes about the same politicians that manages to piss off someone somehow and force the White House into an awkward situation, he completely changes the game.

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And you thought politics and sport don't mix.... how ironic! On the same day USA met Italy at the Confederations cup, both their classy presidents (Berlu, is that you?) also met to discuss l'attività in the Oval office of the White House. Barack totally received the half-time score on his Blackberry and is trying not to move a muscle in that photo above!

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There are six games going on around the league today. Four of six look attractive.
Here's what we will be watching (and attempting to stream) and why.
Chicago Fire at DC United - Eastern Conference Rivals, Chicago Fire players invited to the White House, weekend night game at RFK
Red Bull New York at Toronto FC - Rumor has it this could be the deciding game in RBNY's Juan Carlos Osorio's exit. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool defender, Alvaro Arbeloa is aware that compatriot, Xabi Alonso could very well be on his way to his old club Real Madrid this summer.
The return of Florentino Perez to the ‘White House' as club president has ushered in another era of big money, high profile signings at the Spanish capital but Arbeloa does not believe that it is necessarily a bad thing. Click to continue reading...

Now this is a bit dated being that it was filmed during last year's play off run, but that's OK because the post-season is so integral to this (late night, sleep deprived) post. The subject is a Wizards newbie but obviously a veteran of the K.C. sports scene. And she's up for getting her first taste of MLS not because she's a footie fan but because unlike other Kansas City big-league teams, the Wizards know how to make the playoffs.

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Soccer - In an exclusive interview conducted by Univision at the White House on Wednesday on April 15, 2009, popular US president Barack Obama talked favorably about status soccer in the U.S. and the possibility of the US playing as host to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

Source: US Soccer Association

P.

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In an exclusive Univision interview conducted by renowned journalist Jorge Ramos at the White House on Wednesday, April 15, 2009, President Barack Obama talked about soccer in the U.S. and the possibility of the country playing host to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
The United States, Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and Russia have formally declared their desire to host to the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday, Ben Olsen and Devon McTavish were invited to participate in the White House's annual Easter Egg Roll. Both players read to the kids in attendance and ran mini-soccer clinics. A couple of Washington Redskins - kicker Shuan Suisham and guard Derrick Dockery - were also on hand.

More photos from the event on our Flickr account.

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It's Breakers Game Day. Freezing, and quite possibly wet - but hey, we're hardy folk right?

Before embarking on this new chapter in Breakers' history - a pause to remember good times past. Maren? Dagney? We miss you!

No sound with this video - but that kinda makes it all the more resonant, doesn't it?

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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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The press release for my book.

Limited Edition Collector's Vault Celebrates
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
Two-Volume Box Set Highlights First Family In Hundreds of Photographs
and More Than 90 Commemorative Souvenirs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Deb Murphy, Whitman Publishing
March 31, 2009 678.

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Despite what you think of him or his policies, it's nice to have someone back in the white house who is at least visible and transparent as one could hope.

Now you can submit your own questions to the President in a new digg style feature on www.whitehouse.gov:

Submit your own question about the economy and vote on submissions from others.

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Still no women's bracket, so far as I can tell, from the Prez. Come on, Barack - where's the women's hoops love? Seriously, write to the President here and let him know that he's sending a skewed message but just doing the men's NCAA Tournament bracket. Maybe remind him that he has a wife and two daughters . Click to continue reading...

First off, our friend Alice (who suffers good-humoredly my unrelenting pressure to become a JordanCornblog contributor) is off to tour Florence today.  Happy travels, Alice! Happily, she will not have to leave before the USWNT faces Iceland in their second game at the Algarve.  She (and the rest of us) will be able to follow it [. Click to continue reading...

Happy Saturday everyone! Looks like it's going to be one beauty of a day. HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew should be on their way in another couple of hours and if I disappear for a while after they arrive, well, you'll know what I'm up to! Let's see what's happening in the world of soccer, first. I see [. Click to continue reading...

Oh my god.  All I can say is "Oh, my god!"  We added a wireless access point on the third floor of our house yesterday (where I am writing) and it has opened up whole new vistas!  No longer do I wait for seemingly interminable minutes as screens open or posts get saved.  No longer [...] Click to continue reading...

So the stimulus package has passed, as the sun rises on this beautiful Saturday morning.  It wouldn't have, without the help of Arlen Specter, Olympia Snow, and Susan Collins - courageous, centrist Republicans in a sea of dissembling, disingenuous, faux bipartisan doofusses mouthing old platitudes and marching in lockstep. Click to continue reading...

Pat Summitt's Lady Vols gave her a solid, at-home victory over Georgia ... and her 1000th win last night!  She wanted to hit the milestone at home on the court named after her - and she did - thanks to her "Baby Vols" - a team that includes 7 freshmen! How does she do it?  Leadership [...] Click to continue reading...

First off, is Andrew Card crazy?  He's tweaked about Obama disrespecting the office of the Presidency.  Why?  Because Obama changed the dress code at the White House.  Good grief.  Is that what Andrew Card really thinks?  Is he a grown-up?  (And I loved the comments on this piece ... especially the one about how the [. Click to continue reading...

Sounds ominous, I now ... but I'm just talking about the beginning of the end of the month, here.  It's been a frozen, snowy January - in fact I can't remember the last time I saw bare ground here in NH.  Not that I'm complaining.  So long as it's mostly snow (as opposed to ice) [...] Click to continue reading...

Saturday morning ... and please remind me to not eat handfuls of chocolate-covered cherries while Watching Rachel Maddow ... and before going to bed!  And I don't mean the sweet syrupy kind - but nice tart ones - delicious, for sure - and probably marginally good for me (yes, I do believe I could make [. Click to continue reading...