Soccer Watch
Mascots become erudite, Man United trounces Arsenal
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., Feb. 4, 2005
With the prospect of a player strike behind them, the U.S. National Team goes into the final round of World Cup qualifying this week in Trinidad, still facing a lot of question marks: Not a single one of the Europe-based players are on the roster or in training camp – no Landon Donovan, no DaMarcus Beasley, none of the top three goalkeepers, and only three or four of what's generally considered to be the U.S. starting team. What's left is about a third of an MLS all-star team. Still, that ought to be good enough to get a result, although Port of Spain is not an easy place to play. Wednesday, Feb. 9, 1:30pm, ESPN2.
Well, the long wait is over. FIFA has introduced Goleo VI, official mascot of WC2006, seen here with his trusty sidekick, "Pille the erudite ball." They helped to kick off WC ticket sales on Tuesday. But don't panic; tickets aren't first-come-first-served, but by lottery drawing, and you can sign up through March. See www.fifaworldcup.com for details.
Manchester United pretty much killed off Arsenal's chances of repeating as English champion this year, with an ill-tempered, but convincing, 4-2 win at Arsenal's home park in London. So much for the traditional powers; across town, upstart Chelsea got a day off, and could savor an eight-point lead in the standings, with a game in hand.
