22Jul/120
MLS Expansion: 4-Hour Thunderstorm Delay Raises Questions About Southeast US
In NASL action last night, the Carolina Railhawks defeated the Minnesota Stars 1-0 to pull within eight points of the league lead.That wouldn't be notable news in the national soccer scene, except for one rather interesting twist—the game finished at 12:58 a.m. FINAL: #RailHawks win 1-0 in a game that literally started yesterday.— SWakeSports (@SWakeSports) July 22, 2012 Why so late?Thunderstorms.Four hours of them.Lightning was first spotted just moments into the second half—with precisely 47:24 on the clock—and the game officially entered a rain delay at 8:17 p.m. local time.The 3,158 announced fans were cleared from the stands, the stadium loudspeakers began an endless run of weather-related songs and the storms began.And continued. And continued.At 11:51 p.m. local time, the two teams at last returned to the field for another round of warmups.At 12:23 a.m. local time, the game finally resumed play after a league-record four hours and six minutes of rain delay.And 43 minutes of regulation and three minutes of stoppage time later, the Railhawks walked off the WakeMed Soccer Park Field for the final time, having battled through a six-hour-long match to earn a 1-0 victory... ...On a goal in the 10th minute.Railhawks' coach Colin Clarke was, understandably, a bit irritated: Colin Clarke in postgame ...22Jul/120
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA: Rating David Beckham’s Performance
David Beckham had another of those "par for the course" performances on Saturday in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 3-1 win over Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. His contributions to the match: two assists and a yellow card. Yep. Par for the course indeed. But that's David Beckham for you. As a provider, he is one of the best in Major League Soccer. When he is combined with Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas, the chemistry these three have makes for a competent midfield. When Mike Magee gets healthy and returns to action, it's going to make Beckham's job a little bit easier. But let's go back to his two assists. In the 14th minute, Beckham had space from 25 yards out to find a streaking Robbie Keane, who was onsides in opening the match, 1-0. It was Juninho who set him up on that successful sequence. Then, in the 48th minute of play, the three kings of L.A. teamed up. David Beckham sent a through ball to Keane, who sent another one to a streaking Landon Donovan. It was virtually the same play and the same sequence, at least in terms of the run towards the finish. ...22Jul/120
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA: Rating the Galaxy Players
Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy saw its three designated players go to work once again on Saturday. Those three designated players are, of course, Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane. All three were instrumental in delivering three goals and three points to the Galaxy in their 3-1 victory over Robin Fraser's Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Ah, the power of threes. Yes, I can personally confirm to you that good things do come in threes. But what about the rest of the team that was on the pitch? How did they do? Well, the rest of the supporting cast weren't too bad themselves, but they could have done a little bit better to acquit themselves in these Galaxy player ratings. Josh Saunders: 7 I am giving Josh Saunders the benefit of the doubt because he did make five saves on the night, but he could have had at least one more. However, in his defense, the back line didn't help him out on the Paolo Cardozo goal in the 52nd minute of play. Aside from that hiccup, Saunders put on a workmanlike performance and will look to do more of the same against FC ...22Jul/120
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA: 6 Things We Learned
Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy knew that they could not let Chivas USA get their hands on the Doug Hamilton Trophy just yet. After a 1-0 defeat to Robin Fraser's Goats in the first meeting, the Galaxy provided a much-improved performance, defeating Chivas USA 3-1 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.With the victory, the Galaxy improve to 9-10-3 (30 points) and are breathing down the necks of the Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps. Chivas USA drop to 6-8-5 (23 points) but still have three games in hand over Los Angeles.Here are six things we learned from Saturday's second leg of the 2012 Honda SuperClasico.Begin Slideshow22Jul/120
Chicago Fire Versus Aston Villa First Half Game Notes
Chicago Fire fans got a glimpse of players that they seldom get to see play against Aston Villa. In the international friendly, reserves such as Corben Bone, Rafael Robayo and Orr Barouch received some much-needed playing time. They started alongside, among others, Marco Pappa and Alex, the newcomer from Brazil.Jay Nolly also started for the Fire as the goalkeeper. It was his first game since tearing his Achilles.For Alex, this game should prove to be beneficial as he is still getting acclimated to his Fire teammates. For the rest of the reserves, they receive in-game experience that may prove vital in case of an injury strikes the team going forward.Thus far the Fire has looked slightly tentative against their foes from the English Premier League. While the Fire's passing has been sharp, they seldom had chances to attack. Their defense has also appeared sluggish as they get a feel for Aston Villa's offensive attack.Aston Villa struck first in the 28th minute of play with a goal by Gabriel Agbonlahor and took their 1-0 lead into halftime. Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report. All observations were obtained firsthand. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com21Jul/120
FC Dallas: Can Star Winger Brek Shea Break out of His 2012 Slump?
With a little luck here or there, It could all have been so very different for Brek Shea at Buck Shaw Stadium on Wednesday night.In just the first minute of his FC Dallas side's match against the host San Jose Earthquakes, Shea saw his left-footed drive from point-blank range cleared off the line by 'Quakes midfielder Jeff Baca.Then, just minutes after the start of the second half, Shea again had another effort saved off the line, again from Baca, this time after the Dallas winger/forward had nearly bundled his way into what would have been his fourth league goal of the season.In between those two opportunities, however, came the further degradation of a Shea clearly not at the pinnacle of his powers.He certainly had looked his dangerous self when these two teams had met just 11 days earlier in Frisco, Texas. Playing predominantly up front in Dallas's 4-5-1 formation, Shea had turned San Jose central defender Victor Bernardez this way and that in the 0-0 draw.But this time, nothing was clicking, although Shea could not be faulted for attempting to build through industry.His running style, seen yet again against San Jose, might best be ...21Jul/120
Aston Villa vs. Chicago Fire: Live Score, Analysis, Recap
The Chicago Fire face off tonight against Aston Villa in an international friendly here at Toyota Park in Chicago.The Fire are looking to build on the success of last year's international matchup against Manchester United. Chicago lost the game 3-1 but held a 1-0 lead on the Red Devils for the majority of the game and frankly should have scored at least three more times for the upset win. Speaking of international players/teams that typically dwarf the Fire in terms of excitement, Chicago is coming off a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday. Thierry Henry scored what is surely the goal of the season in the MLS and what might be the goal of the year in World Football. No blame can be laid on the Fire for the loss as Henry connected on an extremely low-percentage shot. The hot New York weather slowed down the Fire and after two days' rest they look to surge back against an Aston Villa club that is coming off a dismal EPL season in which they finished 16th. We're coming to you live from the stadium and we'll keep you updated on all the latest action in tonight's showdown. Read more ...20Jul/120
10 Biggest Surprises of 2012 MLS Season So Far
We are a little more than halfway through this MLS season and already have seen a number of surprising things go down.From San Jose leading the Supporters' Shield race to the career revival of multiple formerly injured players, this season has been a roller coaster full of twists and turns.In case you are not too good at spotting surprises, here is a list of the top 10 surprises so far this year. Enjoy!Begin Slideshow20Jul/120
Is Smart Soccer in the MLS the Dawn of Football’s Moneyball Era?
There will be no place to hide in the MLS next season. Smart Soccer technology will provide coaches with real-time data tracking the performance of every player on the field—offering new insight and ushering in a new era of football analysis.The implications are far-reaching. Coaches will be able to monitor players' activity so closely they could in theory calculate substitutions in the same way Formula One racing teams plan tire changes. Trades may end up being subject to statistics in the same way house sales are subject to inspections.Some players will prove themselves worth every cent. Others may show themselves to be contributing far less than their talent demands. Smart Soccer could make or break careers, and it will almost certainly influence the way we think about footballers and the contribution they make.Read the official press release from adidas: By measuring every move, heartbeat and step and relaying that to a coach on the touch line in less than a second, the technology enables a better understanding of the physical and physiological impact on the team, or any individual, during a game or training session. From analyzing trends to preventing overtraining and risk of injury, the micoach ...20Jul/120