Edson Buddle Gets The Call: A Mere Formality Becomes Reality

Yes, everyone saw it coming. I saw it coming, you saw it coming, your next door neighboor shedding a tear (or not) for the Seattle Sounders saw it coming...everyone did. Ladies and gentlemen on the View and on Bleacher Report, welcome back to the USA Men's National Team...Edson Buddle. You can hear church bells ringing in the distance (if not, picture the noise like this ). I bring you great news. The scoring hopes of a resurging footballing country may be saved. Say hello to fresh wind in your sails, noble Yanks. Roy Lassiter, rest assured...your record is safe for now. Although I will say this...Edson might notch at least one more for good measure before taking off for the May gauntlet. With Buddle, former Galaxy ace and now Puebla star Herculez Gomez, your usual suspect Landon Donovan and others named to the 30-man preliminary USA national team roster, I will now go on the record and say that Bob Bradley is doing whatever he can to save his skins. He needs Edson. I will say it one more time. He. Needs. Edson. And at least as a trialist to see if his scoring ...

Logic Trumps Emotion: The U.S. National Team’s “Provisional 30”

U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley announced the 30-man provisional U.S. World Cup team that will head to Princeton, NJ, for its pre-World Cup camp today.   This is not an easy task, and Coach Bradley will inevitably have people pick away at his choices from every conceivable angle. Choosing this team, and soon having to narrow the list to the 23-man FIFA limit, is a difficult task for any World Cup bound coach—at least as far as media/blogger critics are concerned.   I do not plan to second-guess the coach...but that does not mean I don’t have some opinions on the choices—or on those left out.   Goalkeepers Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan   Thoughts on the Goalkeepers Frankly, this was the position with the least mystery.  The three choices are all capable keepers and probably well ahead of others that follow on the depth chart.   No surprises.   Defenders Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce, Chad Marshall   Thoughts on Included Defenders   Hard to say that there are any real surprises here.   Bornstein seems to get more criticism than he deserves, but is a Bradley favorite.  Onyewu is coming back from injury and—if we are honest—didn’t look like a world-beater in his preseason ...

Mistakes Prove Costly As Philadelphia Union Falls To Real Salt Lake 3-0

No one really expected the expansion Philadelphia Union to burst onto the pitch and take Major League Soccer (MLS) by storm in their inaugural season, but lax stretches of play through the first six games have prevented Peter Nowak’s side from producing better results. Example One, 27th minute: In today’s 3-0 loss at Real Salt Lake, the Union carried play during most of the first half, but in the blink of an eye an errant back pass from defender Christian Arrieta to keeper Chris Seitz proved costly. Instead of finding the comfort of his own keeper, Arrieta put the ball right at the feet of Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio, all alone behind the Union defense. A Jordan Harvey tackle prevented Saborio from scoring, but the deflection landed right in front of Real Captain Kyle Beckerman whose one time blast beat Seitz to the lower right corner. Note to Union Defenders; need to do a better job of marking your man. Why was Saborio so wide open inside your own 18? Example Two, 51st minute: Arrieta was also indirectly responsible for Salt Lake's second goal.   Arrieta’s yellow card for rough play helped set up a Real free kick just outside the ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders: A Quest To Conquer Qwest

The Los Angeles Galaxy are a group of in-form footballers that have been chosen to accept a new mission this Saturday. On the Northwest Leg of the Revenge Tour (cue the corny strains of "Also Sprach Zarathustra"), they are on a quest to conquer Qwest Field in an afternoon battle with the Seattle Sounders Football Club. With 19 points and a 6-0-1 record to start the year, Bruce Arena's men look to consolidate their hold on the 2010 Major League Soccer Western Conference and overall MLS standings against a Sounders side sitting fifth and sixth in the West and the league respectively. Last year, Los Angeles managed a 1-1 draw with Seattle before suffering a 2-0 at the Home Depot Center later in the season. Sigi Schmid's club will have a tall task in stopping two threats: 1. Edson Buddle, and 2. anyone NOT NAMED Edson Buddle. While Buddle leads the league with nine goals, other players like A.J. De La Garza and Alan Gordon have also rose to the challenge of taking the slack for the Galaxy's No. 14. A good deal of the credit goes to Landon Donovan. Leading the league in assists with six, ...

Following in Beckham’s Footsteps: Five Players MLS Should Sign

David Beckham's move to the LA Galaxy in 2007 was designed to increase interest in MLS and that's exactly what it did. It also led to the creation of the Designated Player Rule, nicknamed "The Beckham Rule," which helped bring other internationals to MLS as well. The arrival of players like Juan Pablo Angel, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, and Freddie Ljungberg didn’t make quite the media splash that Beckham did, but they were important signings nonetheless. Whereas Beckham lured casual American fans, the other designated players have helped attract more dedicated fans of the beautiful game. MLS recently modified the Beckham Rule, now allowing for up to three designated players per team, and with the summer transfer window about to open, here are 5 international footballers MLS would do well to sign.Begin Slideshow

Chivas USA Is Putting It All Together After Some Key Offseason Losses

With all of the offseason movement for Chivas USA it was evident to most Chivas fans that it might take a few games for the goats to start putting it all together this season. But with just six games underway it looks like Chivas USA is starting to put things together a lot earlier then most would have anticipated. Chivas USA faced a big hole this offseason in their defensive midfield when Jesse Marsch retired and when Paulo Nagamura left to play in the Mexican League, but that hole seems to have been plugged by rookies Blair Gavin and Ben Zemanski. Last week against San Jose, Chivas USA head coach Martin Vasquez added Ben Zemanski (47th pick overall in this year's draft) to the starting lineup to combine him with his former teamate and first-round draft choice (10th overall) Blair Gavin. Adding Zemanski to the starting lineup in the midfield has paid huge dividends for Chivas USA defensively. Zemanski and Gavin are essentially playing like a pair of midfielders that have been playing together for years, exhibiting great chemistry and an uncanny knack for knowing where the other is going to be and, ...

Alan Gordon All Flash And Cash For LA Galaxy Against Colorado Rapids

Holy effing cow. The commercials you see on the tube tout that "Every season starts at Dick's." For some lucky footballers, every scoring account starts at Dick's. With that said, ladies and gentlemen of the sporting universe, I issue this edict: the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy have diversified their scoring portfolio threefold. Meet the new scoring threat for the Gs: Alan Gordon. Yes sir, I kid you not. Alan Gordon was the difference on Wednesday night against the Colorado Rapids (aside from the usual reliability of Donovan Ricketts and the defense making stop after stop in the Colorado attacking third). In the 21st minute, Landon "The Facilitator" Donovan's delivery in the transition was timed on cue for Gordon to open his scoring account on Cinco de Mayo in LA's 1-0 shutout win at the confines of Commerce City's very own Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which-until now-had been a house of horrors for Bruce Arena's men. Tonight, they broke the mold and in the process solified their lead in the MLS Western Conference and overall standings. Omar Cummings had to be the most frustrated of all the players donning the burgundy and blue. It was a horrid night for Colorado. Look at this: just about ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Colorado Rapids: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

T-180 minutes to kickoff: I really wished that John Denver had never flown planes in the 1990's. Especially after imbibing alcohol, breaking his own vow not to drink again. Why? Because he would most likely be alive to day, having toured the world 20 times or so, and became a minority owner of the Colorado Rapids, who the Los Angeles Galaxy face tonight at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, located in Commerce City, Colo. T-170: Seriously. Rest in peace, good sir. I wanted to take the time during this play-by-play (and other miscellany) to talk a little bit about Commerce City. This is a northern suburb of Denver, located in Adams County. In this humble little town of 42,473, a Suncor oil refinery that produces 90,000 barrels of Texas tea juxtaposes with a greyhound racing track. T-160: The Colorado Rapids used to play their matches at Mile High Stadium before making the trip to Commerce City and undergoing a transformation. Gone were the colors of green, gold and the Inter Milan schemes. Gone were the river and circle logos that dominated their first decade. In was a color scheme of burgundy and blue, relationships with Arsenal FC and CF ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Colorado Rapids: Rocky Mountain High or Low?

With 16 out 18 possible points through six matches, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy sit one point clear of the New York Red Bulls for the overall top spot in the Major League Soccer standings. However, the first major mountain for the Galaxy awaits: two road contests in twice as many days. The action begins with a Wednesday night contest with the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. While the Galaxy proved that someone other than MLS Player of the Week Edson Buddle could score for Los Angeles this season, Arena didn't hide that Engine No. 14 was running smooth as silk. "Who would expect anyone to have nine goals in six games? We know he's a very capable player," Arena said on Buddle. "He can certainly score goals. The combination of him and Landon [Donovan] has been excellent." Buddle, Donovan and the rest of the Galaxy take on a Colorado squad sitting third on the MLS Western Conference table with a countdown record: three wins, two defeats, and a draw. Last Saturday, Gary Smith's Rapids dropped a 1-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes and will look to rebound behind the ...

MLS Futbolito 4-V-4 Tournament Across the U.S. This World Cup Summer

This news release was sent to Cesar Diaz of Latino Sports from MLS Communications. If you have any questions or comments, please send them to Cesar at cesar@latinosports.com. NEW YORK (Monday, May 3, 2010) – One of the nation’s most successful grassroots soccer initiatives returns to fields across America this summer, as thousands of soccer players of all ages and from all walks of life will lace up their cleats to participate in the eighth edition of MLS Futbolito, Major League Soccer’s official 4-v-4 tournament. The 13-event national tour, presented by Panasonic, kicks off in Miami on Sunday, May 23 in celebration of this World Cup summer. MLS Futbolito, the largest touring Hispanic event hosted by a U.S. professional sports league, is a series of all-day events targeting the League’s growing multicultural fan base and hosted by the local MLS team.  “MLS Futbolito represents a bridge that connects the soccer community around the country to our League and our clubs,” said David Wright, Major League Soccer's Vice President of Partnership Marketing. “Entering its eighth year, MLS Futbolito has become a well-known and highly anticipated event where soccer is celebrated by the entire family.” Approximately 50,000 people, including participants ages 6 to 55 and spectators, attended MLS Futbolito ...