Soccer

Rooster and Gonzo drop knowledge on The Redskins Preseason, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, USA Basketball, the Nationals, and yes even a little soccer.

D.C. United keeper Louis Crayton records first shutout

Dr. Gonzo Reporting,

It took DC United goal keeper Zach Wells almost 4 months to record his first clean sheet.  It took new United keeper Louis Crayton only 90 minutes to do the same.  Crayton only had to make 2 saves to record his first victory in his very first MLS game.

United took the lead 1-0 in the 27th minute of last nights clash with MLS East rival Chicago Fire off a header from midfielder Fred.  Fred who has been reliant and consistent all year, headed home the potential game winner off a Jaime Moreno corner.

The win separated United from the pack putting them in soul possession of 4th place with a record of (9-9-1) 28 pts, 4 pts behind the Fire.
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Brad Guzan emphasizing the agony of defeat

Dr. Gonzo Reporting,

What started out with so much promise, ended in utter failure this morning for the US Men’s National Soccer team.

2-1 Nigeria was the final score.  The Americans failed to recover from their heartbreaking draw with the Netherlands, and now find themselves on the next flight back to the states.  The US came in to Wednesday mornings game against Nigeria with all the cards in their hands, all they had to do was tie or win. 

Three minutes in to the game defender Micheal Orozco shot the US in the foot by picking up a straight red card for elbowing.  For the rest of the game the US played back on their heals, a man down, defending and praying for a counter attack.
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Liverpool star Ryan Babel fights for a ball with former Terp Maurice Edu

I spent my weekend sports free at a musical hideaway in Baltimore, MD. I was one of the thousands of vagabond concert goers at the Virgin Mobile Fest. For me it truly was an eclectic mix of old, reunited and fresh music acts that kept me in a melodic trance, which rejuvenated my mind, spirit and soul.

When the concert was finally over on Sunday night, I had an instant craving for Sports action, luckily I had set my DVR to tape the mornings Olympic events. What I saw when I got home was an instant classic match, pitting a European powerhouse against a US side with endless potential.
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Last night marked the mid way point of the Major League Soccer Season. To celebrate the event, MLS put on it’s annual All-Star game.

The game was mildly exciting, as the MLS All-Star prevailed 3-2, over West Ham United of the English Premier League.

Now most would say, “wow, a bunch of MLS players beat an English Premier team, what an accomplishment.” That type of comment would be justified, if West Ham wasn’t in their preseason, which brings me to my point.

The MLS struggles to get viewers in this country, they seem to only market to two types: Diehards and Latin Americans. No question these are valuable demographics, but think about all the other people who tune in, and just don’t know who West Ham is, or for that matter care. I would love to see the MLS change the format of their Mid-Summer Classic. They should pit a team of All-Stars from the East against a team of All-Star from the West, or how about American Born All-Stars against Internationals. The only players that should be in the MLS All-Star game should be MLS players.

The MLS is 5-0 in these international get together, but what happens if they lose, and you have to give the MLS ALL-STAR MVP to a guy from a team in another league, it seems silly.
The MLS needs to market it’s stars, and worry about it’s product. I would love to see an All-Star game with only MLS players and formatted rules. Rules that might allow more lenient offside calls, something that will opens up the game more.

They should also consider using an entire weekend, may be Saturday you have a skills challenge: Hardest Shot, Best Dribbler etc…. and then Sunday, could be the showcase game.
The MLS is still growing, and like most leagues starting out, there will be growing pains.

Its official, Sunday, June 29, 2008, will now be known as SOCCER SUNDAY!!

And what a Sunday it was, DC United won their 4th straight, giving them a 7-7-1 record, pretty impressive considering they started the year 2-7. Some 36,000 people were at RFK to see the 4-1 thrashing. Emilio added two goals, giving him 10 goals on the year, one behind league leader Landon Donovan.

So 4-1, that seems like all you would need to make SOCCER SUNDAY a great day, but United had one more surprise up their sleeves.

With the clock winding down, an eruption was heard from the thousands in attendance at RFK; Ben Olsen was being substituted in to the game. For those unaware, Olsen was the heart and motor of United, until off-season ankle surgery left him unable to play.

In an article in the Washington Post early this season, Olsen seemed to be accepting the fact that he may never play again. With so much uncertainty around Olsen’s return, he couldn’t have picked a better moment to return then on national television. For the United faithful, Olsen’s return was more historic than seeing David Beckham do anything.

I’m almost out of breath writing about all the excitement that took place in our Nations Capital, but wait, there’s more.

Directly after the 4-1 thrashing, ABC took us across the pond to Vienna, Switzerland to witness a classic Euro 2008 final.

This year’s final pitted the flashy and quick Spanish side against the powerful Germans. These two squads were not strangers to the Euro final with Germany winning the title 3 times before and Spain once.

Spain had cruised through the group stage, dominating with slick passing and clinical finishing. They ran in to a tough game with the Italians in the first round of elimination games, but pulled off a penalty kick victory, and then they proceeded to thrash the Russians in the semis.

Germany who were favorites from the start struggled in group play losing to Croatia and finishing second in the group. They proceed to the semis were they played down to Turkey, but finished them off when it mattered.

In the final Spain took it to Germany, moving in and out of the German defense, picking them apart with slick passing and fluid movement.

In a moment of utter brilliance, Spanish forward Fernando Torres beat Philipp Lahm to the ball and gently chipped it over the outstretched hands of Hans Lehman, finding the back of the net and giving Spain the 1-0 victory.

Soccer Sunday is forever burned in to the minds of US soccer diehards, a day when soccer dominated the national and international sports scenes.