There's nothing to finish off the Fourth of July weekend like some flat track roller derby, courtesy of the Texas Rollergirls.
Sunday night's season closer will effectively be a preview of August's championship bouts, with this season's breakout successes The Hustlers taking on touted favorites the Hotrod Honeys. Both teams are 2-0 for the regular season and head to the title bout, but on paper the Hotrods have the advantage. Back in March's pre-main season round robin, they gave the Hustlers their only home defeat of the year in a mini-bout. So taking out the reigning champs could be a real momentum-builder for the ladies in purple and silver.
There's as much on the line in the second bout, as the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers go up against the Hell Marys. The Heartbreakers came out of the Round Robin looking strong, but they haven't been able to capitalize on that strength for a championship position. Like the Marys, they'll be fighting to break their 0-2 season record and put at least one in the win column.
The action starts Sunday, July 5 at 7pm (doors 6.30pm) at Playland Skate Center (8822 McCann), tickets $12 advance or $15 on the door.
Speed kills. It killed the Austin Aztex last night, as the Houston Dynamo, probably the top team in the MLS, knocked the Aztex out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-0 win at Nelson Field. Halftime sub Corey Ashe scored the decisive goal on a rebound off a diving Sam Reynolds save in the 71st minute, then got free down the left flank for a gorgeous cross into the box that Dominic Oduro converted into the clincher in the final minute of the game.
In truth, Ashe and Brian Mullan – whom he came in for after the first half – were getting open runs up the sidelines pretty much at will. I'm a big fan of wing defender Josh Alcala, but he and Marshall Yohance were getting torched all night long. The central defenders and midfielders stood strong, but that wide game (and the Aztex's lack of one, with the exception of Jeff Harwell) was the difference between the teams. The Aztex's lack of a wide game, and of imagination in the attacking third of the field, has been their downfall for much of the season.
But, sorry, I don't mean to be negative; this was a great effort against a very, very good team. The game was played on fairly even terms for the most part – in fact it could easily have gone the other way, if what looked like a fairly obvious penalty against Harwell in the first half had been called.
Elsewhere, the Seattle Sounders edged the Portland Timbers, 2-1, before 16,000 fans in Portland, to even the score for Major League Soccer in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16: four wins for MLS, and four wins for the upstart United Soccer Leagues. The quarterfinals are next Tuesday: Houston at Charleston, D.C. United at Harrisburg, Rochester at Wilmington, and Seattle at Kansas City.
The Aztex U-23s had a rough road trip last weekend – a 1-1 draw against the Laredo Heat on Friday, followed by a 5-1 loss to Rio Grande Valley on Sunday leaving the Azteclets tied with El Paso for first place in the PDL Mid South Division with four games left to play. They host third-place Laredo this Friday, July 3, 7:30pm, at Bobcat Soccer Complex in San Marcos – a huge game, since only the Top 2 teams make the playoffs.
Wow! What a gutsy (and unexpected) turnaround by the U.S. men in the Confederations Cup last week in South Africa. After clawing their way into the knockout round with a six-goal turnaround on the last day of group play, the Yanks ended Spain's world-record winning streak in the semis, then went up 2-0 in the final against the best Brazilian squad in years before wilting in the second half and losing 3-2.
United Soccer League teams won four games out of six in their first day of competition against "Major League" Soccer in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. In the biggest surprises on Tuesday night, the defending champion Columbus Crew lost at home to the Rochester Rhinos, and New England lost at home to Harrisburg City of the USL-2. In fact, the only MLS wins were by the Kansas City Wizards in penalty kicks, and D.C. United beating the amateur Ocean City Barons.
The Open Cup third round wraps up tonight, as the Austin Aztex host the Houston Dynamo at 7:30pm at Nelson Field. They're expecting a big crowd, with Houston supporters groups showing up in force, but tickets are still available (call 335-8881 until 3pm today to preorder). The winner of this game advances to the quarterfinals at Charleston next Tuesday, July 7.
On Friday, July 26, the Brentwood Donkeys entered their matchup with the BookPeople Filthy Animals sporting a dismal 0-6 record. BookPeople was struggling as well, having won only two games out of the six they have played after competing for the 2008 ASL championship, where they fell short to The Austin Chronicle. What transpired Friday night – a stunning 23-22 BW walk-off victory – would seem impossible to some of the league's faithful. But we have footage to prove it. Enjoy this video shot by Mike Bartnett of the historic ninth inning …
Popular local Americana artists Reckless Kelly will be rolling their tour bus up to the gates of the Dell Diamond this Tuesday, June 30 to participate in all kinds of baseball-related fun. Following their supersuccesful Celebrity Softball Jam held last April 19 at the Dell, Austin's local boys done good will be handing over the cash they raised at that event to the Miracle League and South Austin Little League. In addition to the check presentation, RK will be performing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and competing in a "trike race" following the sixth inning of the Round Rock Express' game vs. the Iowa Cubs. First pitch at 7:05pm.
They were kind enough to invite me to the CSJ and I must say it was a good time was had by all. Plus, I got to rub shoulders with Eric Winston of the Houston Texans and Ray Benson just to name a few. Seeing Dale Watson play ball in his biker boots was worth the price of admission alone. And you couldn't meet a bunch of nicer guys. Please check out the photo gallery above for my pics from the Softball Jam and click here for more on the Express.
Astros fans looking for some good news during the struggling 2009 season need look no further than a young arm currently residing in Round Rock. Right-handed starting pitcher Bud Norris was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 15-21, and for good reason. Norris is currently riding the high of 19 consecutive shutout innings with a team low 2.11 ERA posting 82 strikeouts in 81 innings while only allowing 65 hits. He has pitched eight scoreless innings in each of his past two starts.
Norris was ranked the Astros No. 2 prospect entering the season behind catcher Jason Castro who is currently playing for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks. Castro has been limited to 13 games for the Hooks this season batting for a .306 average and a .727 OPS. He went 0-3 in Corpus' 1-0 win over San Antonio on Wednesday.
It should be a while before we see Castro in an Astros' uniform with the J.R. Towles project ongoing in Round Rock and the legendary “Pudge” Rodriguez having a solid season for the parent club, but if Norris keeps posting numbers like these, he could be pitching from the mound at Minute Maid Park sooner rather than later.
I am so looking forward to Wednesday night and the Austin Aztex's matchup with downstate rival Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16. The Dynamo's in top form right now, with the best record in Major League Soccer. They were here for a preseason exhibition – which the Aztex won on penalty kicks – it will be fun to see them again with something on the line. They're wanting to do well in this year's Open Cup; they were bounced in an early round last year by the USL's Charleston Battery.
Should be a great game and also a great atmosphere: The Dynamo has an active traveling fan base, with two supporters groups who will likely be here in force. We need to be prepared to be loud enough to drown them out. And a reminder: The Open Cup is a knockout tournament, so the game will go to overtime and penalties, if needed, to decide a winner. Wednesday, July 1, 7:30pm at Nelson Field, 7400 Berkman, just north of Highway 290. $20; $15 for kids… Meanwhile, the Aztex are in Cleveland this weekend, trying to turn around a recent slide in the USL standings.
The Aztex U-23s beat West Texas United on Saturday, 1-0, to stay atop the PDL Mid-South division; they're on the road down in the Valley for two games this weekend.
A shocker in South Africa as we go to press with the print edition Wednesday: The U.S. advances to Sunday's Confederations Cup championship game with a 2-0 win over world No. 1 Spain, who had been sitting on a world-record streak of 15 wins in a row and 35 games unbeaten, dating back to 2006.
The Associated Press play-by-play commentary started with: "Hello and welcome to Spain's thrashing of the U.S." But it didn't turn out that way, as the Americans came back from an atrocious opening two games in the prestigious tournament to score on their only two shots on goal in the entire game and pull one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history.
The other semifinal, Brazil vs. South Africa, is 1:30pmThursday, June 25; the final is 1:30pm Sunday, June 28, preceded by the third-place game at 8am. All games are live on ESPN or ESPN2.
