Table Update as of 9/21

MLS:
- Past week's results - 4 draws this past week, including the top 2 teams in the east drawing at 2 a piece (Columbus & Chicago) - David Beckham returns to the score sheet with a goal and an assist in the 2-0 over Toronto (video highlights)
- Current MLS Table - Exact same standings as last week although Columbus looks to have a strong lead for the Supports Shield (regular season title) - As of now DC United would be the 8th and final team to make the playoffs

EPL:
- Past week's results - ManU defeats ManCity 4-3 in the match of the weekend as Michael Owen strikes the winner in the 90th minute - Wolverhampton secure their second win of the season over Fulham - Chelsea and Arsenal continue to roll
- Current EPL Table - Aston Villa jumps ManCity & Tottenham to move into the top 4 - Blackburn and Hull City fall into the relegation zone, while Portsmouth stays winless after 6

Serie A:
- Past week's results - The big 3 (Inter, AC Milan & Juventus) all get victories - Sampdoria wins 4-1 over Siena to stay perfect on the season
- Current Serie A Table - Juventus & Sampdoria stay tied atop with perfect records, while Inter sits in third 2 points back - AC Milan moves into 7th, 2 points back of the final Champions League spot

USL:
- Past week's results - The USL wrapped up the regular season with 6 games in the final 7 days - The playoff spots were sealed going into the week but seeding was up for grabs - Carolina secured 2nd place (best ever finish) with a 2-0 over Montreal - The top 4 teams all ended their seasons with a win
- Final USL Table - The 2009 regular season ended with Portland up top, Carolina 3 points back in 2nd, Puerto Rico & Charleston tied 5 points back - Montreal, Rochester & Vancouver round out the playoff teams
- The USL playoffs start this Thursday. I will have another post later this week coming those match-ups.

World Cup Qualifying:
- No changes over the past week, but in case you want a refresher here are the current 2010 World Cup Qualification Standings - UEFA (Europe) - CAF (Africa) - AFC (Asia) - CONCACAF (North America) - OFC (Oceania) - CONMEBOL (South America)

TV Schedule for the Week of 9/19

TV lineup of all the live games on ESPN2 and Fox Soccer Channel over the next week:

Saturday (19th):
- EPL: Burnley vs. Sunderland - 7:30am - ESPN2 HD
- EPL: Aston Villa vs. Portsmouth - 10am - FSC
- EPL: West Ham vs. Liverpool - 12:30 - FSC
- MLS: Seattle Sounders vs. Chivas USA - 3pm - FSC

Sunday (20th):
- Serie A: AC Milan vs. Bologna - 9am - FSC
- EPL: Chelsea vs. Tottenham - 11am - FSC
- La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Xerez - 12:55pm - ESPN2 HD
- Serie A: Roma vs. Fiorentina - 2:30pm - FSC

Tuesday (22nd):
- CONCACAF Champions League: Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) vs. Saprissa (CRC) - 8pm - FSC
- CONCACAF Champions League: Houston Dynamo (USA) vs. Arabe Unido (PAN) - 10pm - FSC

Wednesday (23rd):
- Serie A: AC Milan vs. Udinese - 2:30pm - FSC
- CONCACAF Champions League: Columbus Crew (USA) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) - 8pm - FSC

Thursday (24th):

- Serie A: Genoa vs. Juventus - 2:30pm - FSC

- CONCACAF Champions League: DC United (USA) vs. Marathon (HON) - 8pm - FSC

Friday (25th):

- NCAA: UNC vs. Maryland - 8pm - FSC

UEFA Champions League Update

The first round of UEFA Champions League group play matches were held yesterday and today and have kicked the European Super League is full drive. Lets take a look at the results and notes:

Group A:
Juventus (ITA) 1-1 Bordeaux (FRA) - Two teams looking to return to European power
Maccabi Haifa (ISR) 0-3 Bayern Munich (GER) - Group favorites get off to a great early start.

Group B:
Wolfsburg (GER) 3-1 CSKA Moscow (RUS) - Wolfsburg continues the strike rate from last year and could be a surprise team this year
Besiktas (TUR) 0-1 Manchester United (ENG) - 2008/2009 Champions struggle to take 3 points from Turkish champions

Group C:
Zurich (SWI) 2-5 Real Madrid (SPA) - The new Galacticos dominate
Marseille (FRA) 1-2 AC Milan (ITA) - Struggles in Serie A didn't carry over in the CL for AC Milan

Group D:
Chelsea (ENG) 1-0 Porto (POR) - The Blues strong season continues over the group's second team
Atletico Madrid (SPA) 0-0 APOEL (CYP) - APOEL picks up a surprise road draw

Group E: 
Liverpool (ENG) 1-0 Debrecen (HUN) - The English side struggles against the groups weakest team
Lyon (FRA) 1-0 Fiorentina (ITA) - Lyon looks to regain the French title and European respect

Group F:
Inter (ITA) 0-0 Barca (SPA) - Two star teams in a disappointing, defensive struggle
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 3-1 Rubin Kazan (RUS) - Dynamo continue's the Ukraine good European run

Group G:
Stuttgart (GER) 1-1 Rangers (SCO) - Draw leaves the group standings open
Sevilla (SPA) 2-0 Unirea Urziceni (ROM) - Luis Fabiano scores a winner, sadly just like in the Confederation Cup

Group H:
Olympiacos (GRE) 1-0 AZ (NED) - Greek Champions take early home match
Standard Liege (BEL) 2-3 Arsenal (ENG) - Most entertaining game of the first group stage week, Arsenal comes back from 2 goals down

Thoughts on the first two days of the UEFA Champions League? Early Favorite?

News & Rumors Update

Here are some of the latest news and rumors across the globe this week:
- The Premier League has announced a new home grown player rule, 8 players on the 25 player squad must fulfill the England eligibility requirements. Currently, all teams meet this new rule, however, Chelsea and Liverpool are at the minimum.
- Costa Rica have fired their national team coach following 3 straight World Cup qualifying loses which saw the team go from 1st to 4th in the CONCACAF standings.
- Currently there are no plans to air the United States World Cup Qualifier against Honduras since ESPN and various outlets passed on the TV package. This is the game that could clinch the 2010 World Cup for America.
- Good news for Barca fans as reports are indicating that Messi will sign a 7 year contract extension. 
- Bad economy, don't tell Liverpool that, they just signed a new record sponsorship deal for 80 million pounds over the next four years. Time to replace that old Carlsberg jersey. But good news for the Liverpool fans is that with this money owners may move forward to expand the stadium. 
- Finally, UEFA has approved a new 'financial fair play' rule in which teams must operate within their revenue. What does this mean for the major EPL and La Liga teams which love to spend? The rule goes into effect for the 2012/2013 season and teams not complying would be thrown out of European competitions.

Table Update as of 9/14

The World Cup qualifying took a break while European soccer got back to action and in the US leagues head toward the playoffs.

MLS:
- Past week's results - LA loses a goal-fest to Dallas 3-6 - Brian McBride returns but can only get a draw against Real Salt Lake - Division leaders faced off with Columbus beating Houston 2-1.
- Current MLS Table - Little movement in the standings this week except for Chivas USA moving into the 5th spot in the Western Division and the final playoff spot.

 EPL:
- Past week's results - ManU tops Tottenham 3-1 to end the Spurs undefeated streak - ManCity stays perfect with a 4-2 victory over Arsenal - Bolton kept Portsmouth winless with a 3-2 win.
- Current EPL Table - The top 5 remain the same, however Chelsea & ManCity remain perfect on the season - Fulham moves into the to 10 with a win over Everton - While Bolton falls into the relegation zone dispite a victory this past weekend.

Serie A:
- Past week's results - Juventus get a 2-0 victory over Lazio - AC Milan continues to struggle with a 0-0 draw - Inter and Eto'o get another victory over Parma
- Current Serie A Table - Genoa moves to the top of the table - Top 3 teams stay perfect - AS Roma climbs out of the relegation zone and AC Milan moves into 10th

USL:
- Past week's results - Games each day this past week as the season nears the end - Carolina & Puerto Rico play twice and split the points - Portland loses two in a row to Austin and Cleveland but still clinches the regular season title
- Current USL Table - Portland earns the top spot and a first round playoff bye - The top 7 teams are locked into the playoffs, only the seeding remains up for grabs - Carolina moves into 2nd with a win over Puerto Rico

UEFA Champions League:
- Upcoming group stage matches this week - Highlight matches over the next two days - Chelsea v FC Porto - Internazionale v Barcelona
- Group Tables - Check out Groups D & F

Railhawks take over 2nd place

Sports on TV is always fun, sports in person is even better. Last night I was at the Carolina Railhawks USL-1 game against the Puerto Rico Islanders and as always soccer in person beats television. Lets run through the reasons to be at last nights game:
1) The chance to watch two attack-focused squads like Carolina and Puerto Rico who have been leading the USL is goals scored this year.
2) The two teams just met in Puerto Rico this past week with the Islanders getting the victory and taking over second place.
3) Heading into the game only 1 point separated the two teams for 2nd place.
4) In their only other meeting in Cary, NC the Islanders took the 3 points from the home team.
5) Live crowd, supporting the local team, fan club singing and drumming

Luckily for the Railhawk home fans last night the squad knocked in 2 goals within the first 15 minutes and held on the victory. The win pushed Carolina into 2nd place with only 1 game to go - home match against Montreal this coming Friday. In only the team's 3rd year they have built a steady following and will have the best ever finish in the USL-1. If you live in the Triangle area and have yet to make it out to a game this season do yourself a favor and head to WakeMed Soccer Park Friday night to catch the Railhawks in their final match of season. For those of you who don't live in the area but want to follow the team check out USLLive.com.

Lets hear your thoughts on live games vs. televised game and stories from live games you've been to this season.

TV Schedule for the Week of 9/11

World Cup Qualifying is over for the time being so its time to jump back into league and regional action. If you've got Fox Soccer Channel and either don't have to work or have a DVR this is going to be a good week for you.

Saturday (12th):
 - EPL: Liverpool vs. Burnley - 9:55am - ESPN2 HD
 - EPL: Stoke City vs. Chelsea - 10am - FSC
 - EPL: Tottenham vs. Manchester United - 12:30pm - FSC
 - Serie A: Teams To Be Determined - 2:30pm - FSC
 - MLS: Real Salt Lake vs. Chicago Fire - 9pm - FSC

Sunday (13th):
 - Serie A: Teams To Be Determined - 9am - FSC
 - La Liga: Sporting Gijon vs. Almeria - 10:55am - ESPN2 HD
 - EPL: Fulham vs. Everton - 11am - FSC

Tuesday (15th):
 - UEFA Champions League: AC Milan (ITA) vs. Marseille (FRA) - 2:30pm - FSC
 - CONCACAF Champions League: DC United (US) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) - 8pm - FSC

Wednesday (16th):
- UEFA Champions League: Liverpool (ENG) vs. Debreceni VSC (HUN) - 2:30pm - FSC
- CONCACAF Champions League: Houston Dynamo (US) vs. Pachuca (MEX) - 10pm - FSC

Friday (18th):
 - MLS: San Jose vs. Colorado - 11pm - ESPN2 HD
 - USL: Vancouver vs. Cleveland - 11pm - FSC

Note: Throughout the day and night from Tuesday (15th) through Friday (18th), Fox Soccer Channel will be airing replays of additional UEFA Champions League Matches featuring Manchester United, Chelsea, Porto, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barca, Inter Milan, Lyon and more.

World Cup Update - 5 New Teams

We've concluded another week of World Cup qualifying for 2010 and have 5 new teams booking travel plans to South Africa next summer.

- Brazil & Paraguay clinched top 4 spots in CONMEBOL (South America) with victories this week.
- Ghana won Group D in CAF (Africa) with a 2-0 victory over Sudan. Ghana has been a perfect four for four so far in the group play.
- Spain won UEFA Group 5 with a 3-0 win over Estonia. The Euro 2008 champions took all 24 points from their first 8 games scoring 21 goals and only conceding 2.
- England won UEFA Group 6 with a 5-1 victory against Croatia (who knocked England out of Euro 08 qualification). England also held a perfect record throughout qualification and scored 31 goals in 8 games.

Wednesday night all 6 teams from CONCACAF were in action and produced the following results:
US vs. Trinidad & Tobago: 1 - 0
El Salvador vs. Coasta Rica: 1 - 0
Mexico vs. Honduras: 1 - 0

Based on last night's results this is what we know:

• The US & Mexico have guaranteed a 4th place finish at worse, in which the team would enter a home and away series with the 5th place team from South America (current Argentina).
• Following their 1 - 0 loss, Trinidad & Tobago have officially been eliminated - the first team from CONCACAF Round 4.
• The US & Mexico can both qualify for the World Cup with victories in their next game.

So while the United States' last two performances have been sub-par they have gotten the results they needed in their games, as well as throughout group play. It's nice that the US has a 4th place finish at worse, but right now 4th place is not a place any team from CONCACAF wants to be. At this moment the team that falls into that spot will get the lovely gift up getting to play away in Argentina. The US had a great week overall, but can now spend the next month preparing for the final push toward South Africa which should include finalizing the starting line-up, figuring out which 2 central mid-fielders to pair together, and getting the team to play at a more consistent and higher level.

What are your thoughts on World Cup qualifying so far? How about the USA's games this past week?

World Soccer (Sept/09 Issue)

The September issue of World Soccer is out and hitting news stands across the country, unless you live in Europe and to you this is old news about a magazine you got to read last week. While this issue is $1 more than the normal price it is definitely worth it this month. Here is a quick preview of this month's issue:

• A full preview of the 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League & Europa League. The magazine features a breakdown of the 118 teams making up the two tournaments. This is a great resource to summarize the off-season moves & current status of Europe's major players, as well as, learn about dozens of other small teams throughout UEFA.
• Dispatch articles from across the globe including - Beckham's relationship with LA Galaxy fans, Portugal's bad World Cup qualifying form, Xabi Alonso's move to Real Madrid, & Mexico's World Cup qualifying resurgence.
• A great article on FIFA's ethics and issues being overlooked in South Africa.
• A financial breakdown of the top 33 earning clubs from UEFA competitions in 2008-09.
• A full breakdown of league and tournament results and standings from around the world.

World Cup Update - USA

We are about 24 hours away from the United State's next 2010 World Cup Qualifying game tomorrow at Trinidad & Tobago (6:30 ET - ESPN Classic). This past Saturday all 6 remaining teams from CONCACAF had matches with the results looking like this:

Home vs. Away (Score)
 - US vs. El Salvador (2 - 1)
 - Honduras vs. Trinidad & Tobago (4-1)
 - Coasta Rica vs. Mexico (0-3)

Based on those results the current CONCACAF table now looks like this:

Honduras 13
United States 13
Mexico  12
Costa Rica 12
El Salvador 5
Trinidad and Tobago 5

The US will be guaranteed at worst a 4th place finish and the playoff sport vs. the 5th place South American team with a win tomorrow night or a tie and El Salvador getting a draw or loss. At this point even with a victory the standings are too close to clinch a top 3 spot (automatic spot in South Africa). However, this is the easiest of the 3 remaining games for the US which makes it a must win like Saturday night. Make sure you tune in, set your DVR or track the game live online via ESPN's gamecast to see if the Red, White & Blue can take another step toward World Cup 2010.