Trying to mediate the dispute between the United Soccer Leagues and the Team Owners Association, the U.S. Soccer Federation called the principals together for a meeting on Sunday, Dec. 6, where it asked both sides to submit further information by Dec. 9. Austin Aztex owner Phil Rawlins was at the meeting (a good sign that the Aztex are one of the few parties still on good terms with both sides), but all parties were asked not to comment pending the USSF’s next determination.
England vs. United States, one of the first pairings drawn for World Cup 2010, instantly became the hottest ticket in South Africa. The Saturday night game on opening weekend (a comfortable noon-thirty our time) has a lot of storylines: U.S. captain Landon Donovan going against Galaxy teammate David Beckham, all those Americans who play in England going against players they see every week … plus that whole empire-colony thing, which the locals may be able to relate to. With games at 5:30am, 8am, and 12:30pm local time (June 11-July 11), I’m already pondering breakfast and brunch menus.
The European Champions League group stage ended this week with only one real surprise: Bayern Munich‘s crunching 4-1 win in Turin, Italy, that bounced Juventus out of the final 16. For the first time in a while, no country has four teams advancing into the knockout round after the holidays. Italy, England, and Spain have three each.
The North Carolina Tar Heels scored in the third minute and pressured top-ranked, undefeated Stanford all over the field to win their third NCAA women’s soccer title in four years Sunday in College Station. The Men’s College Cup is being shown live on ESPN2 and ESPNU this weekend, Dec. 11-13. The semifinals are on Friday: Virginia vs. Wake Forest at 4pm, North Carolina vs. Akron at 6:30pm, with the final Sunday at noon.
This article appears in December 11 • 2009.