Chivas USA 1 – 1 Chicago Fire: 12th Man’s Game

Ah, the sound of crunching tackles…it’s like hearing the rumble of the post-season echoing from the next valley over. Both Chivas and Chicago brought playoff intensity to the late Saturday game, turning in a hard-fought thriller in which either side could have taken the points. In the end, though, splitting them seemed fair [...]

Portland v. Seattle: A Screed of Independence

“Anonymous said…”“No self-respecting Portlander will EVER cheer for Seattle Sounders. They may attend a match to watch Beckham or root against Seattle with the opposing fans. The Timbers have a strong identity in Portland and the very heated rivalry goes back to NASL days.”
I lifted that from the comments on du Nord’s main post from [...]

One-liner guide to La Liga–Jornada 6 ¡Qué guay!

I moved my One Liner guide to La Liga over to ¡Hay Liga! this weekend.
Pop over there and give it a look.

LA 1-0 KC: The Joys of Catching Up Mid-Game

There’s something vaguely enlightening about catching a game midway through – though, obviously, not as enlightening as seeing one unfold from start to finish.  Still, there’s this process, a step-by-step weighing of the successive moments you’re seeing on the screen against the expectations you had for the game before kick-off.
For instance, when I tuned in [...]

MLS: My All-Time “Good” Players List

We all know about “the Greats” of Major League Soccer (MLS), but we too rarely acknowledge, or even celebrate, “the Good.”  These are the kinds of players who, during their best years, showed up every week and played the game at a level befitting a pro; and plenty of them are still doing it.  Begging [...]

He’s Legit, so I’m Posting It: MLS to Seattle in 2009

I think the title says plenty.  And the “he” referred to there is Ives Galarcep.  I don’t think he’d post it if it wasn’t solid.
Seattle becomes Major League Soccer’s 15th team in 2009.
To think, just a short (exceedingly boring) drive from where I live…

Who is Michael Mifsud? The Maltese Man Yoo Killer?

There is a history behind the guy who single-handedly acted as executioner in Manchester United’s 2-0 loss to Championship side Coventry City in the Carling Cup.
Mifsud scored an early goal and a clincher in the 70th minute to put the Red Devils on edge in front of over 70,000 at Old Trafford. Man Utd’s Anderson [...]

Today’s Best: The Loss, the Hot Seat Under Ryan, and Why I’m Happy

As we all know by now, the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) crashed out of the 2007 Women’s World Cup in a manner reminiscent of a car packed with C-4 going into triple roll-over. I only know what the few reports I read told me, so I can’t analyze the game or speak to [...]

“If the Playoffs Started Today…”: Mysteries Revealed

UPDATE: A hat-tip goes to Goose, who caught a rather significant error in this post. Check the comments to see how the playoff picture really shapes up; what I have in the main body of the post reflects the first draft of the playoff rules.
Of all the games sports fans like to play, few, [...]

MLS Week 25 Collective Rankings: The Dark Horse Wears Orange

It took till Week 25, but the Semi-Detached Pundit Collective (SDPC) has crossed broken the elusive twelve-pundit barrier.  Not only did Ryan Hunt finally made a deadline (of which he was, admittedly, unaware), but, through the services of On Soccer’s pate, the Fullback Files joined the collective this week.  Together, we reach dizzying heights of [...]