Soccer By Ives

What was your highlight of the weekend?

Good afternoon folks. Apologies for the absence of posts today but I'm having issues with the official SBI computer. Hopefully they can be straightened out later today, but if not I'll definitely be back up by tomorrow.

For now I want to hear from you folks on what you thought were the best soccer highlights from the weekend? Was it Fulham, led by its American players, holding Chelsea to a tie? Was it Portsmouth's seven-goal drubbing of Reading? Was it Thierry Henry's hat-trick? Was it D.C. United's dismantling of Toronto? How about Seattle's USL championship?

I want to hear them. Tell me your favorite moments from the weekend.

Seattle Sounders trounce Atlanta, win USL title

The Seattle Sounders routed the Atlanta Silverbacks, 4-0, in the United Soccer League championship on Saturday night. The title is Seattle's fourth.

Greg Howes came on as an 18th-minute substitute for injured Sounders star Leighton O'Brien and scored two goals to help the Sounders win the league championship in what could be their last season in the USL. As first reported on SBI, Seattle has been approved for an Major League Soccer franchise in 2009.

What do you think of Seattle's championship victory? Share your thoughts below.

Red Bulls vs. Real Salt Lake (Running Commentary)

Good evening folks. I'm here at Giants STadium and the Red Bulls-REal Salt Lake match is about to kick off. Apologies for the absence of posts today. I had some non-work stuff to take care of today. I'm back now and ready to roll.

Let's get going. Follow the match here and feel free to share your thoughts on the match below:

Convey Hurt Again

Bobby Convey can't catch a break.

He finally returns from a long injury layoff to score a stunning goal against Liverpool earlier this week but now reports are surfacing that he injured his leg in training and won't play this weekend.

There are no details on the injury yet but it does not appear severe enough to keep him out for an extended period of time. At least you hope so for Convey's sake.

SBI Reader Roll Call (Take Four)

Good afternoon all. It is time to bring back the reader roll call one final time. We're at almost 800 responses and I really want to see if we can get to 1,000. Just remember, if you've provided your info here before please don't add it again. Those of you who haven't taken part yet can keep reading on.

(Alert, if the next three paragraphs sound familiar it's because they're basically the same from the last three times I did roll calls.)

You've heard about the SBI Mafia, but what remains unknown is where all the readers are checking in from. There have been comments from all over the US, Europe and Asia. Now it's time to get a real sense of where everybody is.

Let's hear it. Tell me where you're from. Post your name (comment nickname if it's different) and where you're posting from. You can also share what clubs you support but that's about it (No zodiac signs or favorite movies, this isn't MySpace.) Now, if you already posted your information below PLEASE do not post it again.

I plan to post a detailed breakdown of where SBI readers are checking in from. I can say based on the early returns that New Jersey/New York, DC/Virginia/Maryland and California lead the way as 45 states and 14 countries have been represented in the roll call. Since the number of hits the blog gets has increased considerably since the last roll call I'm hoping for enough responses to create a good sample of where SBI readers are checking in from:

Fire away folks, let's give the SBI Mafia an identify. Post your info below.

This Weekend's Soccer on TV

Okay folks, you asked for an expanded weekend TV schedule so I have included MLS and some Latin American soccer matches on the Soccer TV schedule.

Roma at Inter Milan is the headliner this weekend, kicking off at 2:30pm ET on Saturday on Fox Soccer Channel.

I'm sure there are other matches I am missing, and I still haven't included Setanta, but consider this schedule a good starting-off point. SBI readers are encouraged to add more TV games in the comments section.

Here it is. This weekend's soccer TV schedule:

TGIF: What would a 20-team MLS look like?

It is a day after SBI reported the Seattle MLS expansion team and while some people still aren't buying it, those of you who are believers have probably started wondering just how big MLS can get and what it might look like when the league is done expanding.

Wizards lose game, Conrad and Arnaud sent off

Gavin Glinton's goal was enough to give the lowly Los Angeles Galaxy a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Wizards on Thursday night.

KC defender Jimmy Conrad and midfielder Davy Arnaud were both issued red cards in the match, which means both will now miss the Wizard's key Eastern Conference showdown against DC United on Friday, Oct. 5th.

The KC loss also means the Chicago Fire could pull within a point of the Wizards with a win against Chivas USA on Saturday.

For the third straight season the Wizards are stumbling to the finish line. It seems unlikely that KC will miss the playoffs for a third straight year but the Wizards don't look like they'll be lasting too long once they make them.

What do you think of the Wizards' latest late-season swoon? Share your thoughts below.

Red Bulls practice report

Hello all. Apologies for the lack of posts today but I wanted to let that breaking news on the Seattle expansion team enjoy the spotlight. I've also been running around a bit today, attending Red Bulls practice and some other personal matters. Here are some tidbits from practice:

Brazil blasts USA in Women's World Cup semis (Hope Solo sounds off)

Marta scored two goals to lead Brazil past the U.S. women's national team in the World Cup semifinals. The story of the match was U.S. coach Greg Ryan's decision to start Brianna Scurry in goal ahead of Hope Solo. Scurry looked old and slow in net today, with at least two of Brazil's shots coming close enough to save only to have Scurry fail to make the stop.

Ryan was already going to face the heat for his decision but Solo hasn't made things any easier after blasting Ryan's decision in post-match interviews. I don't have a link to her comments yet but I'm sure they will hit the web soon. Keep an eye out and get ready for some raw anger from Solo, who has every right to be upset about Ryan's ridiculous decision.

Would Solo in net have helped the Americans win? I'm not sure about that one, but I do doubt the score is a blowout with her in goal.

What do you think of today's events in China? Share your thoughts below.