Finals: D.C. United vs Los Angeles Galaxy
Champions: Los Angeles Galaxy
MVP: Landon Donovan, L.A.
ROY: Adam Cristman, N.E.
United is the premier franchise in the MLS, and the Galaxy features Donovan and David Beckham (among others), so I think that this is the final that everyone not named Joey Dellafave wants to see. However, United was the favorite last year and failed to reach the MLS Cup, so you can never be too sure. I think that Donovan will ride his recent wave of success while captaining the U.S. Soccer squad into another Honda MVP. I am just taking a shot on Cristman because he seems to have a knack for putting the ball into the back of the net.
The most interesting facet of this MLS season will probably be the effect that the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the COPA America will have on the season. U.S. standouts will be competing in these two competitions, and the lack of their presence could severely affect how their clubs perform. Nevertheless, it should be an exciting summer of soccer!
I am so pumped for the MLS, because they have Thursday nights on ESPN, new stadiums and a new star.
Conf. Finals: Red Bulls over DC United, RSL over Colorado
Finals: Red Bulls v RSL
Champs: Red Bulls(Just in time to open up the new stadium next year)
MVP: Jeff Cunningham
ROY: Maurice Edu…Now I know he was the first pick in the draft, but this is a brand new franchise and I think he will get a lot of time on the field and chances to tally some points for this team.
Wow, it looks like the absence of Peter Nowak and Freddy Adu is hurting United, eh? Historically the class of the MLS, D.C. finds itself 0-3 after its loss to Columbus on Saturday.
New York, meanwhile, has yet to give up a goal, Eddie Johnson seems to have regained his scoring touch, Taylor Twellman is doing his typical thing, and Landon Donovan simply took over the Super Clasico against Chivas, scoring 1 goal and assisting on 2 others in a Galaxy win.
Across the pond, it appears that Manchester United will indeed clinch the Premiership title. In addition, the Red Devils are poised to meet their English rivals Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final; both Man U. and Chelsea hold 1-goal advantages heading into their respective second legs against AC Milan and Liverpool. Inter Milan has clinched Serie A, the top of the Budesliga table is getting cluttered, albeit without Bayern Munich playing much of a factor, and the Primera Liga is tight with Barcelona, Sevilla, Real Madrid, and Valencia.
Lots to look forward to in the coming weeks and months, too, as we will crown a Champions League winner, a UEFA Cup winner, a FA cup winner (Man U. vs Chelsea), the MLS All-Star contest against Celtic, the U.S. Open Cup (and its new qualifying procedures), the SuperLiga tournament, the Gold Cup, Copa America, and the U-20 World Cup, being played this year on Canadian soil.
I don’t think that anyone has caught up to Tiger Woods. While his desire may be in question from time to time, Tiger is still in a class by himself. I mean, we are talking about a guy who is the DEFENDING CHAMPION at the following tournaments:
British Open
Buick Open
PGA Championship
Bridgestone Invitational
Deutsche Bank Championship
American Express Championship
Buick Invitational
CA Championship
Wachovia Championship
I actually think that the potential re-emergence of Phil Mickelson will be good for Tiger as it will give him more of a reason to show up on Thursdays, bring his “A” game, and leave the rest of the field in the dust, as he has done countless times since he turned pro in 1996.
While watching Wimbledon today, I decided that the time was about right for me to take a look at the best tennis players of all time (why not?). After having voted for Roger Federer for the ESPY for Best Male Athlete, now seemed like as good of a time as any. First, a look at the Top 5 Grand Slam Singles Titles:
1. Pete Sampras – 14
2. Roy Emerson – 12
3. Bjorn Borg – 11
4. Roger Federer – 10
5. Jimmy Connors/Ivan Lendl/Andre Agassi – 8
Obviously, this list excludes those who played before the Open Era, such as Bill Tilden (3 Wimbledon titles and 7 U.S. Open titles), Donald Budge (1st to hold all 4 Grand Slams at once), and Rod Laver (11 Grand Slam Titles as tennis shifted into the Open Era).
In my opinion, to be the best of all-time, you have to be able to win on every surface. As good as Sampras was, he failed to win the French Open. Federer has yet to win the French, too, while Borg never won a U.S. or Australian Open. Agassi, meanwhile, for his part achieved the Career Grand Slam (he is actually the only male player during the Open Era to have won a Career Grand Slam plus an Olympic Gold Medal).
I am going to refrain from including guys like Tilden, Budge, and Pancho Gonzales on my list because I feel like tennis was a different sport back then. Besides, they played too damn long ago for a guy of my age to care much about them!
Without further ado, I present my Top 5 Tennis Players of All-Time:
1. Rod Laver – Only male player during the open era to have won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments in a calendar year – 1969. He also won the Calendar Year Grand Slam in 1962, before the Open Era began.
2. Pete Sampras – Most Grand Slam men’s singles tournaments won – 14. Most weeks at number 1 – 286. Although Pete never won the French, he was as dominant a player on hardcourt and grass as this sport has ever seen. He also married Bridgette Wilson, which deserves recognition.
3. Roger Federer – Has the opportunity, much like Tiger Woods in Golf, to become the greatest of all-time. Federer has already amassed the most consecutive weeks as the top ranked male player, the longest winning streak on hardcourt, and the longest winning streak on grass. Dominance is the word that comes to mind when talking about Roger. Now, if he can only get past Nadal and win that elusive French Open.
4. Bjorn Borg – Unlike Sampras and Federer, Borg dominated the French Open, amassing a record 6 titles in his career. Borg was so dominant at the French and Wimbledon (Only player to have won the most difficult “double” in tennis, both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, for three consecutive years – 1978 to 1980); both Federer and Nadal are chasing his records at Wimbledon and the French Open, respectively. While Borg is generally regarded as the best of his era (a notch above Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe), it was his lack of success in the U.S. Open and his general disregard for the Australian Open (Borg chose to make the journey to the Australian Open only once, in 1974, where he lost in the third round) that has him at #4 on my list.
5. Andre Agassi – Maybe it’s because he was just so saavy, but Agassi rounds out my Top 5. His off-court action (from Brooke Shields to Steffi Graf) was almost as entertaining as his on-court action. But Agassi was a stud when he stepped on the court, becoming the only person to achieve the aforementioned Career Golden Slam. Andre also has the most overall ATP Masters Series titles, with 17.
Outside Looking In: Connors, McEnroe, Nadal
While we are at it, let’s take a look at who I consider to be the Top 5 Tennis Players Today (I am not even going to consider guys who have, in my opinion, no shot at beating Federer or Nadal on their preferred surfaces):
1. Roger Federer – The best player in the World on Hardcourt and Grass.
2. Rafael Nadal – The best player in the World on Clay.
3. Andy Roddick – Better than Nadal on Hardcourt and Grass, in my opinion, I feel like Andy is Federer’s toughest (and I use that term extremely loosely) rival at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open.
4. Lleyton Hewitt – Has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Hewitt was the best player in the World before the 3 guys ranked above him started to blossom. He has fallen to #19 in the ATP Rankings, but I’d consider him more of a threat to win a Grand Slam title than the majority of the guys ranked ahead of him.
5. Marat Safin – Currently ranked #24 in the world, Safin is a former World #1. Safin won the 2000 U.S. Open and the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Federer in the process. Safin has also helped Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006.
There are plenty of other players in the world of tennis that can be mentioned here, including Nikolay Davydenko (currently ranked #4), Fernando Gonzalez (#6), Andy Murray (#8), James Blake (#10), and David Nalbandian (#25). However, as a huge Roddick fan, it is the 5 guys I listed that are the first 5 names that I look for when brackets are released for the Grand Slams.
With that in mind, my prediction for Wimbledon…
Men’s Singles Semifinals:
Federer over Roddick
Nadal over Hewitt
Men’s Singles Finals:
Federer over Nadal
Women’s Singles Finals:
Serena Williams over Maria Sharapova
David Beckham arrives in America this Saturday for his MLS debut. Any thoughts? Are you going to watch? How long before the MLS can be a respected league? Will it ever, and do moves like this help or hurt the league?
First off, the Beckham commercial with The Beatles playing in the background and showing him moving from England to the USA (which is actually playing as I type this during the MLS All-Star Game – another win for the MLS All-Stars over a solid European squad in Celtic!) is priceless!
My thoughts of Becks coming to America? While it might not be the same as the arrival of Prince Akeem searching for his Queen, I am completely stoked! You are talking about a guy who is arguably the world’s most famous athlete coming to play in a league that many have considered to be inferior to the rest of the world. I don’t care if Beckham is past his prime or not, the dude is still one of the greatest names in the game today. And, his performance at last year’s World Cup tells me that he still has some fuel left in the tank (as a result, I still fully expect the Galaxy to challenge for the MLS Cup with Becks and Landon Donovan on the same squad).
As for his debut, I am most definitely hoping to tune in on Saturday as Becks and his new Galaxy teammates take on Chelsea. Speaking of which, how stellar has the soccer been this Summer? ESPN has done a fine job promoting the sport through its MLS Primetime Thursdays, and I have been closely following a number of exciting tournaments (Gold Cup, Copa America, U-20 World Cup, etc.). The Superliga begins on July 24th, too!
I am not sure if the MLS will ever fully be a respected league, just as I am not sure if the USA will ever fully be respected as a soccer playing nation. The only way to get respect is to earn it, which the USA can do on the field and the MLS can continue to do with signing like this (and Juan Pablo Angel, keeping Landon Donovan, etc.). Inspired play by MLS squads in tournaments (Champions Cup, Superliga, etc.) would go a long way toward giving the league respect, too.
The MLS gaining respect is a tough question to answer. I think it depends. Are you gearing it towards actual soccer fans that will watch for the quality of the game and dissect it? Or, are you asking the non soccer fan if perhaps he’ll start to watch and thus make the league more famous? Let’s be serious here, how many people have never in their life played football but consider if their favorite sport? I’m an avid sports fan and there’s no reason Soccer couldn’t be my favorite sport to watch, but Soccer has grown into something that really people that pay attention are diehard fans, not just casual ones. I think what Beckham can do and any other big signing that could be similar, is make the sport a little more in the public eye as something to watch. The MLS season appears to be during the perfect time in the United States to become popular. The sweet commercials, the hot dude I mean wife, and pumping up the league should hopefully help it become more mainstream. I might watch because of Beckham. The thing is, not because he’s playing, but simply because of how much they are advertising BECAUSE of Beckham, I’ll be more aware of when a game is on TV.
For those of you who watched Beckham’s arrival did you notice that Landon Donovan was completely non-existent?
I mean I understand the Galaxy are a horrible team, but I feel like Donovan doesn’t demand the ball, doesn’t go out and get it, and therefore isn’t producing. Granted he has 4 goals and 6 assists in 9 games played, I just feel like the player isn’t living up tot he hype.
You’re not the first person, Wells, to call out Landon…and you probably won’t be the last. With that being said, one of the main reasons why I am excited about Beckham’s arrival is the hope that Becks can have a positive influence on Landon. Landon has a lot to learn (it’s amazing how good he has been so far…and how much better he can become), and, hopefully, he will be receptive to Becks teaching him a thing or two. Who knows? Maybe Landon will start banging Geri Halliwell soon, too?!?!
My only major concern and fear with Landon Donovan being the star, face and future of American soccer is him seemingly being alright with being complacent.
He had a wonderful opportunity to grow with a top level european club like bayer levenkusen when he was young and inexperienced. And what did he do other then ride the bench and barely contribute for a year.
It seems now he loves the fact that hes one of the top played players in the MLS (making around $900k per season), lives and plays in LA and basically lives the high life. Does he really want to put the effort into taking the USA to the top? When I see him play, especially for team USA, I don’t see the fire, the passion or anything I see from players like Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry and many many others. Those guys WANT to win. It just seems to me, Donovan is just there to be there. I don’t see him taking charge on the field or doing anything other then being a ordinary player.
I know he is still young and believe me, I still have plenty of hope for him for the 2010 world cup games and to hopefully play at a level worth watching. I just hope in the next few yrs be becomes that player the USA need him to be.
As far as david beckham and his impact on US soccer, I don’t really think he’s going to do much. Granted, the above average soccer fan and 13-17 yr old girls will watch him because we wanna see him play and girls think hes good looking, hes a name MLS needs. However, most smart sports fans and especially smart soccer fans know that david beckham isn’t the skilled player he once was, hes definitely over the hill and to be honest he’s a little on the weak side. What the MLS needed is/was a flashy play-maker type that shows why soccer is the greatest sport on earth. Ronaldihino, Henry, Rooney, Materazzi, Crespo, Messi. Any of these guys are the faces the MLS needed.
Now, i realize the marketing stragedy with Beckham is phenonomal. But after a few games, and the additional people who paid to watch, watched on tv, realize that david beckham isn’t worth their time, its going to be all over. If PELE couldnt get soccer going in the USA and he actually won when he player here, whos to say Becks will be anything more then a washed up has been, playing in a country that is clearly going to resent him coming here after about 6-8months.
Landon Donovan scored in the 81st minute and the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Pachua 2-1 while playing without David Beckham in its opening match of the SuperLiga tournament on Tuesday night.
The SuperLiga will be yet another opportunity for Landon to try and perform well in front of an International audience.
The SuperLiga is through the first set of matches, and MLS teams are undefeated, with the Galaxy and Dynamo having won their respective matches. This tournament is a good opportunity for the MLS to make some noise on a regional (and possibly worldwide) level. With L.A., D.C., Houston, and Dallas in the mix, the MLS should have a shot at winning the title.
Speaking of the Dynamo, can you say “en fuego?” The defending MLS champs haven’t lost since May 26th. And with Brian Ching back from Team USA duty, Dwayne DeRosario extended through 2010, and the continued stellar play of Pat Onstad, there is no reason to believe that Houston won’t at least contend for another MLS Cup.
On the International front, Freddy Adu is being courted by Portugese power Benfica. The MLS is prepared to accept a $2 million transfer fee from Benfica for the services of Adu, who had 3 goals and 4 assists in captaining the U.S. team to the quarterfinals of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Eddie Johnson turned down a transfer from the Kansas City Wizards to Derby of England’s Premier League.
The U.S. Open Cup hasn’t been as kind to the MLS as other things have been lately, with 5 of the 8 MLS squads having gone down in defeat in the Third Round. New England appears to be the favorite moving forward, but there should be plenty of excitement as 3 USL-1 teams and even 2 USL-2 teams continue play on August 7th.
Finally, on the David Beckham front, the plan is for Beckham to take as long as he needs before playing in his next Galaxy game. Although he hasn’t been able to play on a regular basis since arriving in Los Angeles, Becks has thrived in other ways. He has smoothly handled all the challenges involved with his heavy public relations responsibilities for the club and MLS. In addition, coach Frank Yallop gives Beckham high marks for the way the British superstar has fit in with his new teammates and dealt with the media from around the world.
Here’s my Landon Donovan input. His wife, Bianca Kajlich, was on Psych last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fantastic episode as usual!!!! FWIW, also a big fan of hers on Rules of Engagement.
I also loved watching soccer last week and every time Chelsea’s Joe Cole was involved I thought, “Man he used to bang Keeley Hazell.”
Bianca Kajlich, for you Dawson’s Creek fans, was also Dawson’s Hollywood love interest Natasha Kelly.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again…as hot as Posh and Keeley are, my favorite “Footballer Wife,” if you will, is Cheryl Ann Tweedy, wife of Chelsea’s Ashley Cole:
I’m glad Hope Solo isn’t playing. Her comments pissed me off. I don’t care if she was right or not, you can’t have that type of attitude on an Olympic team represented by your country. She deserves to be banned for life and head-butted in the face.
I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with you on that one tim. While I completely am against her throwing briena scurry under the bus by saving her would of made those saves, I am 100% with her that the usa coach fucked up big time and that you can not live in the past and who cares what scurry did against brazil 4 years ago.
Solo had not allowed a goal in over 300 minutes, the whole team was fully confident with her in net and for greg ryan (usa womens coach) to switch goalies the day before the biggest match for the usa to date, really fucked things up. I think she was justified in being pissed off, upset, mad, angry and calling out ryan bc I think the whole game would of been different had the goalie change not been the big news going into the game.
Granted, the team played down a girl the whole 2nd half, but I do have to say, briana scurry should of saved at least 2 of the 3 goals she had a chance to save (the own goal you could do nothing about) she was slow, out of position and just not quick enough to make those saves, bottom line.
I love hope solo and once she gets back in goal she’ll show why she has 300 straight minutes of shutout soccer.
Yeah, I think that Greg Ryan is a giant douche bag and completely outsmarted himself on this one. Why play a 55-year-old black woman in net when you can play a 20-something-year-old white woman? All jokes aside, Solo is simply the better keeper.
I guess we’ll just agree to disagree because I don’t care how wrong the coach was, how right Hope “Don’t call me Hans” Solo was, or how pissed off she was, on an Olympic team I don’t want any part of someone that said the kinds of stuff she said. Admittedly this is probably one of those situations where you can say “Well I’m not sayin what she said was justified but the coach is the dumbest person in the world” or “I’m not sayin the coach made the right decision but you just can’t say those things.” I guess I just feel like the decision was made, probably was wrong, you wouldn’t have known what would have happened, but Scurry played pretty poorly and without saying a word Solo would have found herself back in the net. She decided to open her mouth when it wasn’t needed and only caused problems. This is Team USA not Team I. Not only would I like her head-butted in the face but a nice elbow would also be appreciated. I’ve actually requested her friendship on myspace so i can write a nasty message to her.
-There’s a big fight tomorrow night, when Manny Pacquiao takes on Marco Antonio Barrera on PPV. Pacquiao, generally regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, already owns a win over Barrera (a 11th-round TKO in 2003), the only time that Barrera has been stopped in his career. To make things even more interesting, Barrera has said that this will be his last fight.
-Last week, Jermain Taylor fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing his Middleweight title in the process. Taylor was knocked out by Kelly Pavlik, a man that some are already claiming should be the Fighter of the Year. I didn’t get to see the fight, but all reviews seem to say that it was one of the best in a long time. Taylor plans on exercising his rematch clause, which could prove to be a treat for boxing fans worldwide.
-What I did get to see last week, though, was up-and-coming Light Heavyweight Chad Dawson simply put on a clinic against an overmatch opponent. Dawson is unbeaten, is smooth, has some jazz (the guy wore purple tights for crying out loud), and should be the face of this division moving forward, what with Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones Jr., Glen Johnson, etc. on the downsides of their careers. The guys on the broadcast mentioned that he may get the winner of Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler, however, at Super Middleweight.
-The Heavyweight Division continues to be a mess, with no one guy really being able to stand up and become the undisputed champion. You have to think that one of the Klitschko brothers is going to do it, but neither one of them fight often enough for anyone to seem to care. Oleg Maskaev, meanwhile, seems to hate fighting so much that he relinquished his title, which will be contested between Samuel Peter and Jameel McCline tomorrow night. Evander Holyfield continues his attempt to regain the titles in a fight next week, taking on Sultan Ibragimov.
-A peek further into the future reveals what could be the Fight of the Year: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Ricky Hatton on December 8th. Mayweather is generally considered to be the premier fighter in the sport, while Hatton has certainly built up a strong fan base overseas. Nevertheless, it would be shocking of Mayweather didnt’t toy with Hatton the way he has with seemingly so many other fighters, including Bires’ boy De La Hoya.
-Boxing needs someone to come in and breathe life into the sport, especially with the emergence of MMA. Guys like Mayweather, Hopkins, Winky Wright, Jones Jr., Tarver, etc. have been around for awhile and appear headed toward the end of their careers. Hopefully, one of these younger guys, whether it becomes Dawson, Miguel Cotto, Pavlik, etc., can step up and make the sport as exciting as it once was. More importantly, who wouldn’t love to see a legitimate Heavyweight come in and dominate like Tyson did some 20-odd years ago? Shows like The Contender help the sport some, but the fact remains that not only is nearly every big fight on PPV, but most people don’t even care about nearly every big fight. Meanwhile, Dana White and his mates continue to give fans what they want to see in the UFC, which has clearly surpassed Boxing, in my opinion, in popularity.
-In a completely unrelated matter, how said is it that John Cena was injured and was forced to relinquish his WWE Championship? The Champ is expected to be sidelined for 6 months to 1 year. As much as I love Cena, maybe this is just what the doctor ordered, no pun intended, as it will allow him to triumphantly return (possibly in time for Wrestlemania) and have his charater re-energized. As for the title, Randy Orton will be fighting someone on Sunday at No Mercy for the belt. Who his opponent will be remains up for debate, however. A WWE.com poll has Val Venis winning a chance at the title, which will happen about as soon as the Pirates win a World Series. Triple H would seem to be a logical choice, but he already has a match scheduled vs. Umaga earlier in the evening. Other guys who could be considered include:
Bobby Lashley – Is ready to return from injury yet?
Carlito – Carlito with the title? That’s cool!
Jeff Hardy – The IC champ could be considered.
King Booker – Haven’t heard much from him lately.
Mr. Kennedy – A logical choice, especially being from Green Bay.
Shawn Michaels – Not sure if he is ready yet, either.
Now that the MLS Playoffs are upon us, I figured it would be a good time to take a look back at the preseason predictions made by me and Wells…
Raible –
Finals: D.C. United vs Los Angeles Galaxy
Champions: Los Angeles Galaxy
MVP: Landon Donovan, L.A.
ROY: Adam Cristman, N.E.
D.C. United can certainly still make the Finals; in fact, they are the favorite to win the MLS Cup at this juncture after securing the Supporters’ Shield as the team with the best regular season record. The Galaxy, meanwhile, kept things interesting right until the last game of the season. But, much like the arrival of Beckham, the team came up disappointing. Donovan has no chance of winning the MVP, while Cristman’s solid rookie campaign will probably not result in him winning the ROY.
Wells –
Finals: Red Bulls v RSL
Champs: Red Bulls
MVP: Jeff Cunningham
ROY: Maurice Edu
Like United, Wells has a chance to see his Eastern Conference champion still win it all as the Red Bulls are very much alive in the Playoffs. RSL, like the Galaxy, were a major disappointment. Like Donovan, Cunningham pretty much has no shot at the MVP, while Edu’s chances of winning the ROY are probably on par with Cristman’s.
With that out of the way, it’s time for some new predictions for the MLS Cup Playoffs…
Chivas USA (15-7-8) vs K.C. Wizards (11-12-7)
-As the Western Conference champions, there is really no reason that Chivas shouldn’t win this matchup. The Wizards struggled down the stretch, needing a win in its last match to secure a spot in the Playoffs. While Eddie Johnson is amazing, Chivas’ tandem of Galindo and Razov should be too much for the Wiz to overcome.
Houston Dynamo (15-8-7) vs FC Dallas (13-12-5)
-The defending champion Dynamo are back in the Playoffs this year and should pose a serious threat to reclaim their MLS Cup title. The Hoops will prove to be a tough matchup, but when in doubt, I always go with the team that has experienced the more success. That team, of course, is Houston.
Western Conference Championship: Chivas vs Dynamo
-These two teams finished exactly one point apart in the regular season, so a hard-fought, tight matchup would be expected. As exciting as Chivas’ offensive attack is, I am going to stick with the Dyanmo and their tandem of Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario.
D.C. United (16-7-7) vs Chicago Fire (10-10-10)
-United has homefield advantage throughout…literally; the MLS Cup will be contested at RFK Stadium this year. United is clearly the better team on paper, having amassed the most regular season points and boasting the Golden Boot winner in Luciano Emilio. The Fire came up big yesterday in their win over the Galaxy to secure a spot in the Playoffs, but the pick here is United.
N.E. Revolution (14-8-8) vs New York Red Bulls (12-11-7)
-I think that this is the most exciting 1st round matchup, pitting, among others, Taylor Twellman and his Revs vs Juan Pablo Angel and his Red Bulls. It’s hard to pick against Bruce Arena in MLS play, especially when he has budding superstar Jozy Altidore, but I think I’m going to go with the Revs here and their staple of MLS-proven talent (Twellman, Noonan, Ralston, Reis, etc.).
Eastern Conference Championship: United vs Revs
-It’s hard to pick against D.C. United this year. After starting slow, United simply steamrolled its way through the rest of its regular season schedule. Meanwhile, the Revs stayed busy too, capturing the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on its way to the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference. United might have the best fans in the league…they make the difference here.
MLS Cup: Houston Dynamo at D.C. United
-What a matchup! The defending champs vs the best this year has to offer. As was the case in the Eastern Conference Finals, I’m gonna stick with United and their incredible fan base.
The underdogs ruled the day in the first legs, with Chicago opening a 1-0 lead on D.C., Dallas opening a 1-0 lead on Houston, and Kansas City opening a 1-0 lead on Chivas; New York was the only home team that was unable to score. These results should make for a very interesting weekend of 2nd legs, highlighted by United vs the Fire on ESPN 2 on Thursday night.
This weekend is a fairly decently big one in the Boxing world. On Saturday, there are 2 fights featuring 4 fighters worthy of being talked about on this site.
On HBO at 9 PM, a unification title match will take place between Wales’ Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) and Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs). This fight has the possibility to go down as the best of the year, even if most Americans don’t know who either guy is. Calzaghe has wins over Jeff Lacy, Sakio Bika, and Peter Manfredo, while Kessler has defeated the likes of Manny Siaca, Anthony Mundine, and Markus Beyer. The winner of this superfight could find themselves in the ring against the Jermain Taylor-Kelly Pavlik rematch winner, Bernard Hopkins, or even the Roy Jones Jr.-Felix Trinidad winner.
At 10 PM on Showtime, Juan Manuel Marquez defends his title against Rockey Juarez. This fight is of utmost importance to Marquez as it could set-up a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, who Marquez fought to a draw in their only fight.
A couple more big fights are on the horizon, including Miguel Angel Cotto vs Shane Mosley on HBO PPV next Saturday, Nov. 10th (Joel Casamayor fights on the undercard), Fernando Vargas vs Ricardo Mayorga on Showtime on November 23rd, and, of course, the HUGE Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Ricky Hatton fight on HBO PPV on December 8th. Meanwhile, Winky Wright and Oscar De La Hoya could find themsleves staring at each other from across the ring before too long, although the Golden Boy has stated that he wants to fight Hatton sometime in 2008.
Here’s my picks for the next few fights with some comments:
Calzaghe vs. Kessler – I’ve only seen joe calzaghe fight a few times and I’ve never seen kessler fight. Kessler has the knockout power that could potentially bring the undefeated calzaghe down, calzaghe is just a machine and will once again prevail. Calzaghe by KO 9th rd
Marquez vs. Juarez – Marquez TKO 5th. This is a complete guess by the way since I know nothing about these two fighters.
Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley – As much as I love the crafty veteran in sugar shane, Miguel Cotto has been waiting his whole life for this type of a fight and I certainly don’t think hes going to waste it. Cotto unanimous decision
Mayweather vs. Hatton – There’s just something that doesn’t sit right with me with Ricky Hatton. I feel like hes a good boxer, but every time I’ve seen him fight (at least the last 4 times) and although he was 4-0 w/2 KOs and 2 UD and in both decisions he dominated the scorecard, I really don’t feel he DOMINATES a fight or a fighter or even controls the fight. He gets hit hard and often but its his stamina that seems to always keep him alive and victorious. Now he faces arguable one of the greatest champs of all time in mayweather and let me tell you from watching Floyd fight: He never tires. He never looks outta breath and he certainly never fades during the duration of a fight. Oh and did I mention hes faster then lightening. What am I trying to say? Simply, it will be another case of Mayweather sticking and moving all night long and eventually I see a 8-10th round KO of Hatton or a easy decision for Mayweather.
Due to an injury suffered in training camp by WBC super featherweight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez, the September 15 scheduled bout with challenger Rocky Juarez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas has been cancelled.
The Marquez/Juarez fight was to be the main event of four battles that night.
Also cancelled were a match featuring middleweights Kassim Ouma against Sergio Mora, an IBF world featherweight title bout between Robert Guerrero and Martin Honorio and a fight pairing light welterweights Francisco Bojado against Steve Forbes.
Oh yeah, and the Chicago Fire have opened a 2-0 lead in the 1st half tonight on D.C. United for a 3-0 aggregate lead. Looks like I jinxed United!?!?
His right hand healed, Juan Manuel Marquez says he’s ready to defend his WBC super featherweight title Saturday night against Rocky Juarez.
The fight, originally scheduled for Las Vegas on Sept. 15, has been moved to the Desert Diamond Casino on the Tohono O’odham Nation near Tucson. A sellout of 2,400 is expected for the Showtime event.
A win for Marquez, and perhaps even Juarez, could set up a fight with Manny Pacquiao next year. Pacquiao successfully defended his WBC international super featherweight title last month by beating Marco Antonio norra. Marquez and Pacquiao fought to a draw in 2004.
Nevermind…all of that cancellation talk was from the first time the Marquez-Juarez fight was cancelled. I didn’t see the date. Enjoy the fights tonight!
I think that Calzaghe and Marquez both win tonight. There’s too much at stake for both fighters to lose. Calzaghe could be staring at a big money fight with Roy Jones Jr. or Bernard Hopkins here in the States, while Marquez should get the Pac-Man if he gets past Juarez tonight. I think that the Calzaghe-Kessler fight should be the better of the two, though.
All this boxing talk is nice, but MMA has really just surpassed it as the better sport at this point, in my mind. On Wednesday night, I watched the replay of the Soliman-Bika fight from The Contender, then watched The Ultimate Fighter. It’s like night and day watching the two sports. Boxing has so much sticking and moving, clutching and grabbing, and the 3-minute rounds. MMA has so much ass kicking, blood spewing, and the 5-minute rounds. I feel like with MMA you can still get the feel of a boxing match, whereas you can’t ground and pound someone, for example, in boxing.
I’ll continue to follow boxing, but I just don’t have it on the same level as MMA at this point.
The pride of Wales, Joe Calzaghe beat Mikkel Kessler to unify the Super Middleweight championships with a 12-round unanimous decision victory this past Saturday night in England. After the fight, Joe Calzaghe again called out the legendary “Executioner” Bernard Hopkins to meet him in the ring for a future mega-fight. Time shall tell.
Also last night, Juan Manuel Marquez won an easy lopsided unanimous decision victory over the durable Rocky Juarez Saturday night on Showtime Championship Boxing to retain his WBC Super Featherweight championship title. After the fight, Marquez called out Manny Pacquiao and said he badly wants a rematch to prove he can beat one of the pound for pound kings in the sport today.
Next week, Cotto takes on Mosley and Elite XC has another show on Showtime, with Shields vs. Pyle as the main event.
-Miguel Cotto never backed down from a relentless Shane Mosley and won a unanimous decision Saturday night, retaining his WBA welterweight title. So what’s next for the unbeaten Cotto (31-0, 25 KOs)? Cotto said he would next want to face either the winner of the December 8 meeting in Las Vegas WBC welterweight champion Mayweather, undisputed light-welterweight champion Hatton or Oscar De La Hoya. Cotto said, however, that newly crowned WBO Intercontinental welterweight champion Antonio Margarito of Mexico would have to wait for his chance to fight the WBA champion. Meanwhile, Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) said he will watch the tape of the fight before he decides on his next move.
-Big News: Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr., two of modern boxing’s greatest exponents, will face each other in the ring at Madison Square Garden on January 19, the fighters and promoter Don King announced Saturday.
-In case you missed it, Fedor Emelianenko won the open-weight division of the 31st Combat Sambo World Championship on Nov. 10 in Prague. With the win, the 31-year-old Russian, widely regarded as the No. 1 heavyweight fighter in the world, defended the title he won two years ago in the Czech Republic capital.
-At the Elite XC event on Saturday, Kimbo Slice made short work of Bo Cantrell with a referee stoppage just 19 seconds into Round 1.
-Next week, us fight fans will be treated to UFC 78, with Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping serving as the Main Event.
The MLS Expansion Draft for the San Jose Earthquakes takes place on Wednesday. The new-look ‘Quakes get the opportunity to select 10 guys to build their roster around. Only 1 guy can be selected from any 1 team, meaning that 3 of the teams will have no one selected.
If I’m Frank Yallop, this is who I am building my squad around:
GK: Pat Onstad, Houston
D: Greg Vanney, D.C.
D: Jose Burciaga, Kansas City
D: Avery John, New England
D: Ritchie Kotschau, Real Salt Lake
M: Amado Guevara, Chivas USA
M: Clint Mathis, Los Angeles
F: Conor Casey, Colorado
F: Santino Quaranta, New York
F: DenÃlson, FC Dallas
The following 3 teams I selected no one from: Chicago, Columbus, Toronto
Onstad played for the Earthquakes when they were originally in San Jose, so I like starting my team with a championship-caliber Keeper who is familiar with the area. My defenders look to be solid if unspectacular, especially with the addition of John from the Revs. I am pretty excited about my midfielders and forwards; each of the guys I selected have had some hype associated with them, so it’s hoped that at least a couple of them will experience it with my new squad. Guevara was the MLS MVP in 2005, while Mathis is one of the more recognizable American players in the league. Casey has played professionally in Germany, Quaranta is only 23 years old, and Denilson was the most expensive footballer on the planet in 1998.
It should be interesting to see how Yallop molds his squad tomorrow.
Below is the complete list of players selected in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft.
1. Ryan Cochrane (Houston Dynamo)
2. Clarence Goodson (FC Dallas)
3. Ned Grabavoy (Columbus Crew)
4. James Riley (New England Revolution)
5. Joseph Vide (New York Red Bulls)
6. Ivan Guerrero (Chicago Fire)
7. Brian Carroll (D.C. United)
8. Jason Hernandez (Chivas USA)
9. Gavin Glinton (LA Galaxy)
10. Chris Pozniak (Toronto FC)
So obviously Frank Yallop and I 100% disagree about who they should have selected. LOL!
UEFA Champs League Group Stage finishes up today with a dandy of a match between Rangers and Lyon, with the winner moving on to the Knockout Stage and the loser being relegated to the UEFA Cup. Speaking oe the Knockout Stage, whose draw takes place on Dec. 21st, most of the favorites have advanced from the Group Stage, including Chelsea, Real, Milan, Barca, United, Inter, Arsenal, and Liverpool.
As for the recent Euro 2008 drawing, how about the “Group of Death” of Holland, Italy, Romania, and France. The Czechs and Portugese should battle it out in Group A, while Germany seems to be the team to beat in Group B. As for Group D, defending champs Greece got a decent draw, being paired with Spain, Sweden, and Russia. Need I remind you that England somehow didn’t qualify for this tournament? That’s like the equivalent of the USA not qualifying for the FIBA Americas…simply “Stunning” Steve Austin!
There’s nothing really left in terms of boxing for this year, so now seemed like a good time to hand out some awards…
Fighter of the Year: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
-As good as Kelly Pavlik and others were, Mayweather headlined and won the 2 biggest fight cards of the year against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. “Pretty Boy” is the best pound-for-pound, and he really proved it this year.
Fight of the Year: Pavlik vs. Taylor I
-I feel like this award should go to a fight that I actually saw. But, when I sit back and think about it, I didn’t see too many fights this past year (Boxing is clearly 2nd to MMA, now, in my eyes). As a result, I’m going to have to give the award to Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor, which was so good that it is going to happen again in the new year.
Comeback of the Year: Vernon Forrest
-Remember when this guy was one of the top stories in all of boxing? After two losses to Ricardo Mayorga, though, Forrest soon found himself out of the sport. However, he bounced back big time this year, defeating Carlos Baldomir for the WBC Light Middleweight Title.
Ready for Primetime: Chad Dawson
-I watched this guy fight a few months ago on Showtime and came away very impressed. In a Light Heavyweight division that features many old names (Hopkins, Tarver, Jones, Wright), Dawson is the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion and could soon find himself on top of the division as a young champion before long.
After beating Kessler, Calzaghe said he would like to step up a division and challenge light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins, but no deal has been finalized.
USA beat Sweden 2-0 last weekend. Landon Donovan is the new USA all-time goal scoring leader. Eddie Johnson is headed to Fulham, like seemingly every other American playing overseas. Newcastle wants Beckham, while the African Cup of Nations is now underway (I can’t see Ghana losing). Football is in full effect!
The Watercooler Guys 
Finals: D.C. United vs Los Angeles Galaxy
Champions: Los Angeles Galaxy
MVP: Landon Donovan, L.A.
ROY: Adam Cristman, N.E.
United is the premier franchise in the MLS, and the Galaxy features Donovan and David Beckham (among others), so I think that this is the final that everyone not named Joey Dellafave wants to see. However, United was the favorite last year and failed to reach the MLS Cup, so you can never be too sure. I think that Donovan will ride his recent wave of success while captaining the U.S. Soccer squad into another Honda MVP. I am just taking a shot on Cristman because he seems to have a knack for putting the ball into the back of the net.
The most interesting facet of this MLS season will probably be the effect that the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the COPA America will have on the season. U.S. standouts will be competing in these two competitions, and the lack of their presence could severely affect how their clubs perform. Nevertheless, it should be an exciting summer of soccer!
Raible
April 9, 2007
I am so pumped for the MLS, because they have Thursday nights on ESPN, new stadiums and a new star.
Conf. Finals: Red Bulls over DC United, RSL over Colorado
Finals: Red Bulls v RSL
Champs: Red Bulls(Just in time to open up the new stadium next year)
MVP: Jeff Cunningham
ROY: Maurice Edu…Now I know he was the first pick in the draft, but this is a brand new franchise and I think he will get a lot of time on the field and chances to tally some points for this team.
Wells
April 10, 2007
Wow, it looks like the absence of Peter Nowak and Freddy Adu is hurting United, eh? Historically the class of the MLS, D.C. finds itself 0-3 after its loss to Columbus on Saturday.
New York, meanwhile, has yet to give up a goal, Eddie Johnson seems to have regained his scoring touch, Taylor Twellman is doing his typical thing, and Landon Donovan simply took over the Super Clasico against Chivas, scoring 1 goal and assisting on 2 others in a Galaxy win.
Across the pond, it appears that Manchester United will indeed clinch the Premiership title. In addition, the Red Devils are poised to meet their English rivals Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final; both Man U. and Chelsea hold 1-goal advantages heading into their respective second legs against AC Milan and Liverpool. Inter Milan has clinched Serie A, the top of the Budesliga table is getting cluttered, albeit without Bayern Munich playing much of a factor, and the Primera Liga is tight with Barcelona, Sevilla, Real Madrid, and Valencia.
Lots to look forward to in the coming weeks and months, too, as we will crown a Champions League winner, a UEFA Cup winner, a FA cup winner (Man U. vs Chelsea), the MLS All-Star contest against Celtic, the U.S. Open Cup (and its new qualifying procedures), the SuperLiga tournament, the Gold Cup, Copa America, and the U-20 World Cup, being played this year on Canadian soil.
Raible
April 29, 2007
I don’t think that anyone has caught up to Tiger Woods. While his desire may be in question from time to time, Tiger is still in a class by himself. I mean, we are talking about a guy who is the DEFENDING CHAMPION at the following tournaments:
British Open
Buick Open
PGA Championship
Bridgestone Invitational
Deutsche Bank Championship
American Express Championship
Buick Invitational
CA Championship
Wachovia Championship
I actually think that the potential re-emergence of Phil Mickelson will be good for Tiger as it will give him more of a reason to show up on Thursdays, bring his “A” game, and leave the rest of the field in the dust, as he has done countless times since he turned pro in 1996.
Raible
May 17, 2007
While watching Wimbledon today, I decided that the time was about right for me to take a look at the best tennis players of all time (why not?). After having voted for Roger Federer for the ESPY for Best Male Athlete, now seemed like as good of a time as any. First, a look at the Top 5 Grand Slam Singles Titles:
1. Pete Sampras – 14
2. Roy Emerson – 12
3. Bjorn Borg – 11
4. Roger Federer – 10
5. Jimmy Connors/Ivan Lendl/Andre Agassi – 8
Obviously, this list excludes those who played before the Open Era, such as Bill Tilden (3 Wimbledon titles and 7 U.S. Open titles), Donald Budge (1st to hold all 4 Grand Slams at once), and Rod Laver (11 Grand Slam Titles as tennis shifted into the Open Era).
In my opinion, to be the best of all-time, you have to be able to win on every surface. As good as Sampras was, he failed to win the French Open. Federer has yet to win the French, too, while Borg never won a U.S. or Australian Open. Agassi, meanwhile, for his part achieved the Career Grand Slam (he is actually the only male player during the Open Era to have won a Career Grand Slam plus an Olympic Gold Medal).
I am going to refrain from including guys like Tilden, Budge, and Pancho Gonzales on my list because I feel like tennis was a different sport back then. Besides, they played too damn long ago for a guy of my age to care much about them!
Without further ado, I present my Top 5 Tennis Players of All-Time:
1. Rod Laver – Only male player during the open era to have won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments in a calendar year – 1969. He also won the Calendar Year Grand Slam in 1962, before the Open Era began.
2. Pete Sampras – Most Grand Slam men’s singles tournaments won – 14. Most weeks at number 1 – 286. Although Pete never won the French, he was as dominant a player on hardcourt and grass as this sport has ever seen. He also married Bridgette Wilson, which deserves recognition.
3. Roger Federer – Has the opportunity, much like Tiger Woods in Golf, to become the greatest of all-time. Federer has already amassed the most consecutive weeks as the top ranked male player, the longest winning streak on hardcourt, and the longest winning streak on grass. Dominance is the word that comes to mind when talking about Roger. Now, if he can only get past Nadal and win that elusive French Open.
4. Bjorn Borg – Unlike Sampras and Federer, Borg dominated the French Open, amassing a record 6 titles in his career. Borg was so dominant at the French and Wimbledon (Only player to have won the most difficult “double” in tennis, both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, for three consecutive years – 1978 to 1980); both Federer and Nadal are chasing his records at Wimbledon and the French Open, respectively. While Borg is generally regarded as the best of his era (a notch above Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe), it was his lack of success in the U.S. Open and his general disregard for the Australian Open (Borg chose to make the journey to the Australian Open only once, in 1974, where he lost in the third round) that has him at #4 on my list.
5. Andre Agassi – Maybe it’s because he was just so saavy, but Agassi rounds out my Top 5. His off-court action (from Brooke Shields to Steffi Graf) was almost as entertaining as his on-court action. But Agassi was a stud when he stepped on the court, becoming the only person to achieve the aforementioned Career Golden Slam. Andre also has the most overall ATP Masters Series titles, with 17.
Outside Looking In: Connors, McEnroe, Nadal
While we are at it, let’s take a look at who I consider to be the Top 5 Tennis Players Today (I am not even going to consider guys who have, in my opinion, no shot at beating Federer or Nadal on their preferred surfaces):
1. Roger Federer – The best player in the World on Hardcourt and Grass.
2. Rafael Nadal – The best player in the World on Clay.
3. Andy Roddick – Better than Nadal on Hardcourt and Grass, in my opinion, I feel like Andy is Federer’s toughest (and I use that term extremely loosely) rival at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open.
4. Lleyton Hewitt – Has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Hewitt was the best player in the World before the 3 guys ranked above him started to blossom. He has fallen to #19 in the ATP Rankings, but I’d consider him more of a threat to win a Grand Slam title than the majority of the guys ranked ahead of him.
5. Marat Safin – Currently ranked #24 in the world, Safin is a former World #1. Safin won the 2000 U.S. Open and the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Federer in the process. Safin has also helped Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006.
There are plenty of other players in the world of tennis that can be mentioned here, including Nikolay Davydenko (currently ranked #4), Fernando Gonzalez (#6), Andy Murray (#8), James Blake (#10), and David Nalbandian (#25). However, as a huge Roddick fan, it is the 5 guys I listed that are the first 5 names that I look for when brackets are released for the Grand Slams.
With that in mind, my prediction for Wimbledon…
Men’s Singles Semifinals:
Federer over Roddick
Nadal over Hewitt
Men’s Singles Finals:
Federer over Nadal
Women’s Singles Finals:
Serena Williams over Maria Sharapova
Men’s Doubles Champions:
Bob and Mike Bryan
Raible
June 25, 2007
David Beckham arrives in America this Saturday for his MLS debut. Any thoughts? Are you going to watch? How long before the MLS can be a respected league? Will it ever, and do moves like this help or hurt the league?
First off, the Beckham commercial with The Beatles playing in the background and showing him moving from England to the USA (which is actually playing as I type this during the MLS All-Star Game – another win for the MLS All-Stars over a solid European squad in Celtic!) is priceless!
My thoughts of Becks coming to America? While it might not be the same as the arrival of Prince Akeem searching for his Queen, I am completely stoked! You are talking about a guy who is arguably the world’s most famous athlete coming to play in a league that many have considered to be inferior to the rest of the world. I don’t care if Beckham is past his prime or not, the dude is still one of the greatest names in the game today. And, his performance at last year’s World Cup tells me that he still has some fuel left in the tank (as a result, I still fully expect the Galaxy to challenge for the MLS Cup with Becks and Landon Donovan on the same squad).
As for his debut, I am most definitely hoping to tune in on Saturday as Becks and his new Galaxy teammates take on Chelsea. Speaking of which, how stellar has the soccer been this Summer? ESPN has done a fine job promoting the sport through its MLS Primetime Thursdays, and I have been closely following a number of exciting tournaments (Gold Cup, Copa America, U-20 World Cup, etc.). The Superliga begins on July 24th, too!
I am not sure if the MLS will ever fully be a respected league, just as I am not sure if the USA will ever fully be respected as a soccer playing nation. The only way to get respect is to earn it, which the USA can do on the field and the MLS can continue to do with signing like this (and Juan Pablo Angel, keeping Landon Donovan, etc.). Inspired play by MLS squads in tournaments (Champions Cup, Superliga, etc.) would go a long way toward giving the league respect, too.
Raible
July 20, 2007
The MLS gaining respect is a tough question to answer. I think it depends. Are you gearing it towards actual soccer fans that will watch for the quality of the game and dissect it? Or, are you asking the non soccer fan if perhaps he’ll start to watch and thus make the league more famous? Let’s be serious here, how many people have never in their life played football but consider if their favorite sport? I’m an avid sports fan and there’s no reason Soccer couldn’t be my favorite sport to watch, but Soccer has grown into something that really people that pay attention are diehard fans, not just casual ones. I think what Beckham can do and any other big signing that could be similar, is make the sport a little more in the public eye as something to watch. The MLS season appears to be during the perfect time in the United States to become popular. The sweet commercials, the hot dude I mean wife, and pumping up the league should hopefully help it become more mainstream. I might watch because of Beckham. The thing is, not because he’s playing, but simply because of how much they are advertising BECAUSE of Beckham, I’ll be more aware of when a game is on TV.
Haver
July 20, 2007
For those of you who watched Beckham’s arrival did you notice that Landon Donovan was completely non-existent?
I mean I understand the Galaxy are a horrible team, but I feel like Donovan doesn’t demand the ball, doesn’t go out and get it, and therefore isn’t producing. Granted he has 4 goals and 6 assists in 9 games played, I just feel like the player isn’t living up tot he hype.
Wells
July 24, 2007
You’re not the first person, Wells, to call out Landon…and you probably won’t be the last. With that being said, one of the main reasons why I am excited about Beckham’s arrival is the hope that Becks can have a positive influence on Landon. Landon has a lot to learn (it’s amazing how good he has been so far…and how much better he can become), and, hopefully, he will be receptive to Becks teaching him a thing or two. Who knows? Maybe Landon will start banging Geri Halliwell soon, too?!?!
Raible
July 24, 2007
My only major concern and fear with Landon Donovan being the star, face and future of American soccer is him seemingly being alright with being complacent.
He had a wonderful opportunity to grow with a top level european club like bayer levenkusen when he was young and inexperienced. And what did he do other then ride the bench and barely contribute for a year.
It seems now he loves the fact that hes one of the top played players in the MLS (making around $900k per season), lives and plays in LA and basically lives the high life. Does he really want to put the effort into taking the USA to the top? When I see him play, especially for team USA, I don’t see the fire, the passion or anything I see from players like Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry and many many others. Those guys WANT to win. It just seems to me, Donovan is just there to be there. I don’t see him taking charge on the field or doing anything other then being a ordinary player.
I know he is still young and believe me, I still have plenty of hope for him for the 2010 world cup games and to hopefully play at a level worth watching. I just hope in the next few yrs be becomes that player the USA need him to be.
As far as david beckham and his impact on US soccer, I don’t really think he’s going to do much. Granted, the above average soccer fan and 13-17 yr old girls will watch him because we wanna see him play and girls think hes good looking, hes a name MLS needs. However, most smart sports fans and especially smart soccer fans know that david beckham isn’t the skilled player he once was, hes definitely over the hill and to be honest he’s a little on the weak side. What the MLS needed is/was a flashy play-maker type that shows why soccer is the greatest sport on earth. Ronaldihino, Henry, Rooney, Materazzi, Crespo, Messi. Any of these guys are the faces the MLS needed.
Now, i realize the marketing stragedy with Beckham is phenonomal. But after a few games, and the additional people who paid to watch, watched on tv, realize that david beckham isn’t worth their time, its going to be all over. If PELE couldnt get soccer going in the USA and he actually won when he player here, whos to say Becks will be anything more then a washed up has been, playing in a country that is clearly going to resent him coming here after about 6-8months.
JD
July 25, 2007
Big goal for Landon last night:
Landon Donovan scored in the 81st minute and the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Pachua 2-1 while playing without David Beckham in its opening match of the SuperLiga tournament on Tuesday night.
The SuperLiga will be yet another opportunity for Landon to try and perform well in front of an International audience.
Raible
July 25, 2007
Man, I could talk about soccer every single day…
The SuperLiga is through the first set of matches, and MLS teams are undefeated, with the Galaxy and Dynamo having won their respective matches. This tournament is a good opportunity for the MLS to make some noise on a regional (and possibly worldwide) level. With L.A., D.C., Houston, and Dallas in the mix, the MLS should have a shot at winning the title.
Speaking of the Dynamo, can you say “en fuego?” The defending MLS champs haven’t lost since May 26th. And with Brian Ching back from Team USA duty, Dwayne DeRosario extended through 2010, and the continued stellar play of Pat Onstad, there is no reason to believe that Houston won’t at least contend for another MLS Cup.
On the International front, Freddy Adu is being courted by Portugese power Benfica. The MLS is prepared to accept a $2 million transfer fee from Benfica for the services of Adu, who had 3 goals and 4 assists in captaining the U.S. team to the quarterfinals of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Eddie Johnson turned down a transfer from the Kansas City Wizards to Derby of England’s Premier League.
The U.S. Open Cup hasn’t been as kind to the MLS as other things have been lately, with 5 of the 8 MLS squads having gone down in defeat in the Third Round. New England appears to be the favorite moving forward, but there should be plenty of excitement as 3 USL-1 teams and even 2 USL-2 teams continue play on August 7th.
Finally, on the David Beckham front, the plan is for Beckham to take as long as he needs before playing in his next Galaxy game. Although he hasn’t been able to play on a regular basis since arriving in Los Angeles, Becks has thrived in other ways. He has smoothly handled all the challenges involved with his heavy public relations responsibilities for the club and MLS. In addition, coach Frank Yallop gives Beckham high marks for the way the British superstar has fit in with his new teammates and dealt with the media from around the world.
Raible
July 26, 2007
Here’s my Landon Donovan input. His wife, Bianca Kajlich, was on Psych last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fantastic episode as usual!!!! FWIW, also a big fan of hers on Rules of Engagement.
I also loved watching soccer last week and every time Chelsea’s Joe Cole was involved I thought, “Man he used to bang Keeley Hazell.”
Haver
July 28, 2007
Bianca Kajlich, for you Dawson’s Creek fans, was also Dawson’s Hollywood love interest Natasha Kelly.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again…as hot as Posh and Keeley are, my favorite “Footballer Wife,” if you will, is Cheryl Ann Tweedy, wife of Chelsea’s Ashley Cole:
Raible
July 28, 2007
Girls Aloud are great
Haver
July 28, 2007
I’m glad Hope Solo isn’t playing. Her comments pissed me off. I don’t care if she was right or not, you can’t have that type of attitude on an Olympic team represented by your country. She deserves to be banned for life and head-butted in the face.
thav916
September 29, 2007
I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with you on that one tim. While I completely am against her throwing briena scurry under the bus by saving her would of made those saves, I am 100% with her that the usa coach fucked up big time and that you can not live in the past and who cares what scurry did against brazil 4 years ago.
Solo had not allowed a goal in over 300 minutes, the whole team was fully confident with her in net and for greg ryan (usa womens coach) to switch goalies the day before the biggest match for the usa to date, really fucked things up. I think she was justified in being pissed off, upset, mad, angry and calling out ryan bc I think the whole game would of been different had the goalie change not been the big news going into the game.
Granted, the team played down a girl the whole 2nd half, but I do have to say, briana scurry should of saved at least 2 of the 3 goals she had a chance to save (the own goal you could do nothing about) she was slow, out of position and just not quick enough to make those saves, bottom line.
I love hope solo and once she gets back in goal she’ll show why she has 300 straight minutes of shutout soccer.
JD
September 30, 2007
Yeah, I think that Greg Ryan is a giant douche bag and completely outsmarted himself on this one. Why play a 55-year-old black woman in net when you can play a 20-something-year-old white woman? All jokes aside, Solo is simply the better keeper.
Raible
September 30, 2007
I guess we’ll just agree to disagree because I don’t care how wrong the coach was, how right Hope “Don’t call me Hans” Solo was, or how pissed off she was, on an Olympic team I don’t want any part of someone that said the kinds of stuff she said. Admittedly this is probably one of those situations where you can say “Well I’m not sayin what she said was justified but the coach is the dumbest person in the world” or “I’m not sayin the coach made the right decision but you just can’t say those things.” I guess I just feel like the decision was made, probably was wrong, you wouldn’t have known what would have happened, but Scurry played pretty poorly and without saying a word Solo would have found herself back in the net. She decided to open her mouth when it wasn’t needed and only caused problems. This is Team USA not Team I. Not only would I like her head-butted in the face but a nice elbow would also be appreciated. I’ve actually requested her friendship on myspace so i can write a nasty message to her.
thav916
September 30, 2007
Anyone wanna talk some boxing?
-There’s a big fight tomorrow night, when Manny Pacquiao takes on Marco Antonio Barrera on PPV. Pacquiao, generally regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, already owns a win over Barrera (a 11th-round TKO in 2003), the only time that Barrera has been stopped in his career. To make things even more interesting, Barrera has said that this will be his last fight.
-Last week, Jermain Taylor fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing his Middleweight title in the process. Taylor was knocked out by Kelly Pavlik, a man that some are already claiming should be the Fighter of the Year. I didn’t get to see the fight, but all reviews seem to say that it was one of the best in a long time. Taylor plans on exercising his rematch clause, which could prove to be a treat for boxing fans worldwide.
-What I did get to see last week, though, was up-and-coming Light Heavyweight Chad Dawson simply put on a clinic against an overmatch opponent. Dawson is unbeaten, is smooth, has some jazz (the guy wore purple tights for crying out loud), and should be the face of this division moving forward, what with Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones Jr., Glen Johnson, etc. on the downsides of their careers. The guys on the broadcast mentioned that he may get the winner of Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler, however, at Super Middleweight.
-The Heavyweight Division continues to be a mess, with no one guy really being able to stand up and become the undisputed champion. You have to think that one of the Klitschko brothers is going to do it, but neither one of them fight often enough for anyone to seem to care. Oleg Maskaev, meanwhile, seems to hate fighting so much that he relinquished his title, which will be contested between Samuel Peter and Jameel McCline tomorrow night. Evander Holyfield continues his attempt to regain the titles in a fight next week, taking on Sultan Ibragimov.
-A peek further into the future reveals what could be the Fight of the Year: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Ricky Hatton on December 8th. Mayweather is generally considered to be the premier fighter in the sport, while Hatton has certainly built up a strong fan base overseas. Nevertheless, it would be shocking of Mayweather didnt’t toy with Hatton the way he has with seemingly so many other fighters, including Bires’ boy De La Hoya.
-Boxing needs someone to come in and breathe life into the sport, especially with the emergence of MMA. Guys like Mayweather, Hopkins, Winky Wright, Jones Jr., Tarver, etc. have been around for awhile and appear headed toward the end of their careers. Hopefully, one of these younger guys, whether it becomes Dawson, Miguel Cotto, Pavlik, etc., can step up and make the sport as exciting as it once was. More importantly, who wouldn’t love to see a legitimate Heavyweight come in and dominate like Tyson did some 20-odd years ago? Shows like The Contender help the sport some, but the fact remains that not only is nearly every big fight on PPV, but most people don’t even care about nearly every big fight. Meanwhile, Dana White and his mates continue to give fans what they want to see in the UFC, which has clearly surpassed Boxing, in my opinion, in popularity.
-In a completely unrelated matter, how said is it that John Cena was injured and was forced to relinquish his WWE Championship? The Champ is expected to be sidelined for 6 months to 1 year. As much as I love Cena, maybe this is just what the doctor ordered, no pun intended, as it will allow him to triumphantly return (possibly in time for Wrestlemania) and have his charater re-energized. As for the title, Randy Orton will be fighting someone on Sunday at No Mercy for the belt. Who his opponent will be remains up for debate, however. A WWE.com poll has Val Venis winning a chance at the title, which will happen about as soon as the Pirates win a World Series. Triple H would seem to be a logical choice, but he already has a match scheduled vs. Umaga earlier in the evening. Other guys who could be considered include:
Bobby Lashley – Is ready to return from injury yet?
Carlito – Carlito with the title? That’s cool!
Jeff Hardy – The IC champ could be considered.
King Booker – Haven’t heard much from him lately.
Mr. Kennedy – A logical choice, especially being from Green Bay.
Shawn Michaels – Not sure if he is ready yet, either.
Raible
October 5, 2007
Now that the MLS Playoffs are upon us, I figured it would be a good time to take a look back at the preseason predictions made by me and Wells…
Raible –
Finals: D.C. United vs Los Angeles Galaxy
Champions: Los Angeles Galaxy
MVP: Landon Donovan, L.A.
ROY: Adam Cristman, N.E.
D.C. United can certainly still make the Finals; in fact, they are the favorite to win the MLS Cup at this juncture after securing the Supporters’ Shield as the team with the best regular season record. The Galaxy, meanwhile, kept things interesting right until the last game of the season. But, much like the arrival of Beckham, the team came up disappointing. Donovan has no chance of winning the MVP, while Cristman’s solid rookie campaign will probably not result in him winning the ROY.
Wells –
Finals: Red Bulls v RSL
Champs: Red Bulls
MVP: Jeff Cunningham
ROY: Maurice Edu
Like United, Wells has a chance to see his Eastern Conference champion still win it all as the Red Bulls are very much alive in the Playoffs. RSL, like the Galaxy, were a major disappointment. Like Donovan, Cunningham pretty much has no shot at the MVP, while Edu’s chances of winning the ROY are probably on par with Cristman’s.
With that out of the way, it’s time for some new predictions for the MLS Cup Playoffs…
Chivas USA (15-7-8) vs K.C. Wizards (11-12-7)
-As the Western Conference champions, there is really no reason that Chivas shouldn’t win this matchup. The Wizards struggled down the stretch, needing a win in its last match to secure a spot in the Playoffs. While Eddie Johnson is amazing, Chivas’ tandem of Galindo and Razov should be too much for the Wiz to overcome.
Houston Dynamo (15-8-7) vs FC Dallas (13-12-5)
-The defending champion Dynamo are back in the Playoffs this year and should pose a serious threat to reclaim their MLS Cup title. The Hoops will prove to be a tough matchup, but when in doubt, I always go with the team that has experienced the more success. That team, of course, is Houston.
Western Conference Championship: Chivas vs Dynamo
-These two teams finished exactly one point apart in the regular season, so a hard-fought, tight matchup would be expected. As exciting as Chivas’ offensive attack is, I am going to stick with the Dyanmo and their tandem of Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario.
D.C. United (16-7-7) vs Chicago Fire (10-10-10)
-United has homefield advantage throughout…literally; the MLS Cup will be contested at RFK Stadium this year. United is clearly the better team on paper, having amassed the most regular season points and boasting the Golden Boot winner in Luciano Emilio. The Fire came up big yesterday in their win over the Galaxy to secure a spot in the Playoffs, but the pick here is United.
N.E. Revolution (14-8-8) vs New York Red Bulls (12-11-7)
-I think that this is the most exciting 1st round matchup, pitting, among others, Taylor Twellman and his Revs vs Juan Pablo Angel and his Red Bulls. It’s hard to pick against Bruce Arena in MLS play, especially when he has budding superstar Jozy Altidore, but I think I’m going to go with the Revs here and their staple of MLS-proven talent (Twellman, Noonan, Ralston, Reis, etc.).
Eastern Conference Championship: United vs Revs
-It’s hard to pick against D.C. United this year. After starting slow, United simply steamrolled its way through the rest of its regular season schedule. Meanwhile, the Revs stayed busy too, capturing the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on its way to the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference. United might have the best fans in the league…they make the difference here.
MLS Cup: Houston Dynamo at D.C. United
-What a matchup! The defending champs vs the best this year has to offer. As was the case in the Eastern Conference Finals, I’m gonna stick with United and their incredible fan base.
Raible
October 22, 2007
What’s the MLS?
thegreatawakening
October 22, 2007
The underdogs ruled the day in the first legs, with Chicago opening a 1-0 lead on D.C., Dallas opening a 1-0 lead on Houston, and Kansas City opening a 1-0 lead on Chivas; New York was the only home team that was unable to score. These results should make for a very interesting weekend of 2nd legs, highlighted by United vs the Fire on ESPN 2 on Thursday night.
Raible
October 29, 2007
This weekend is a fairly decently big one in the Boxing world. On Saturday, there are 2 fights featuring 4 fighters worthy of being talked about on this site.
On HBO at 9 PM, a unification title match will take place between Wales’ Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) and Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs). This fight has the possibility to go down as the best of the year, even if most Americans don’t know who either guy is. Calzaghe has wins over Jeff Lacy, Sakio Bika, and Peter Manfredo, while Kessler has defeated the likes of Manny Siaca, Anthony Mundine, and Markus Beyer. The winner of this superfight could find themselves in the ring against the Jermain Taylor-Kelly Pavlik rematch winner, Bernard Hopkins, or even the Roy Jones Jr.-Felix Trinidad winner.
At 10 PM on Showtime, Juan Manuel Marquez defends his title against Rockey Juarez. This fight is of utmost importance to Marquez as it could set-up a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, who Marquez fought to a draw in their only fight.
A couple more big fights are on the horizon, including Miguel Angel Cotto vs Shane Mosley on HBO PPV next Saturday, Nov. 10th (Joel Casamayor fights on the undercard), Fernando Vargas vs Ricardo Mayorga on Showtime on November 23rd, and, of course, the HUGE Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Ricky Hatton fight on HBO PPV on December 8th. Meanwhile, Winky Wright and Oscar De La Hoya could find themsleves staring at each other from across the ring before too long, although the Golden Boy has stated that he wants to fight Hatton sometime in 2008.
Raible
October 31, 2007
Here’s my picks for the next few fights with some comments:
Calzaghe vs. Kessler – I’ve only seen joe calzaghe fight a few times and I’ve never seen kessler fight. Kessler has the knockout power that could potentially bring the undefeated calzaghe down, calzaghe is just a machine and will once again prevail. Calzaghe by KO 9th rd
Marquez vs. Juarez – Marquez TKO 5th. This is a complete guess by the way since I know nothing about these two fighters.
Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley – As much as I love the crafty veteran in sugar shane, Miguel Cotto has been waiting his whole life for this type of a fight and I certainly don’t think hes going to waste it. Cotto unanimous decision
Mayweather vs. Hatton – There’s just something that doesn’t sit right with me with Ricky Hatton. I feel like hes a good boxer, but every time I’ve seen him fight (at least the last 4 times) and although he was 4-0 w/2 KOs and 2 UD and in both decisions he dominated the scorecard, I really don’t feel he DOMINATES a fight or a fighter or even controls the fight. He gets hit hard and often but its his stamina that seems to always keep him alive and victorious. Now he faces arguable one of the greatest champs of all time in mayweather and let me tell you from watching Floyd fight: He never tires. He never looks outta breath and he certainly never fades during the duration of a fight. Oh and did I mention hes faster then lightening. What am I trying to say? Simply, it will be another case of Mayweather sticking and moving all night long and eventually I see a 8-10th round KO of Hatton or a easy decision for Mayweather.
JD
October 31, 2007
This just in…
Due to an injury suffered in training camp by WBC super featherweight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez, the September 15 scheduled bout with challenger Rocky Juarez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas has been cancelled.
The Marquez/Juarez fight was to be the main event of four battles that night.
Also cancelled were a match featuring middleweights Kassim Ouma against Sergio Mora, an IBF world featherweight title bout between Robert Guerrero and Martin Honorio and a fight pairing light welterweights Francisco Bojado against Steve Forbes.
Oh yeah, and the Chicago Fire have opened a 2-0 lead in the 1st half tonight on D.C. United for a 3-0 aggregate lead. Looks like I jinxed United!?!?
Raible
November 2, 2007
And now we have this…
His right hand healed, Juan Manuel Marquez says he’s ready to defend his WBC super featherweight title Saturday night against Rocky Juarez.
The fight, originally scheduled for Las Vegas on Sept. 15, has been moved to the Desert Diamond Casino on the Tohono O’odham Nation near Tucson. A sellout of 2,400 is expected for the Showtime event.
A win for Marquez, and perhaps even Juarez, could set up a fight with Manny Pacquiao next year. Pacquiao successfully defended his WBC international super featherweight title last month by beating Marco Antonio norra. Marquez and Pacquiao fought to a draw in 2004.
Raible
November 3, 2007
Nevermind…all of that cancellation talk was from the first time the Marquez-Juarez fight was cancelled. I didn’t see the date. Enjoy the fights tonight!
Raible
November 3, 2007
I think that Calzaghe and Marquez both win tonight. There’s too much at stake for both fighters to lose. Calzaghe could be staring at a big money fight with Roy Jones Jr. or Bernard Hopkins here in the States, while Marquez should get the Pac-Man if he gets past Juarez tonight. I think that the Calzaghe-Kessler fight should be the better of the two, though.
All this boxing talk is nice, but MMA has really just surpassed it as the better sport at this point, in my mind. On Wednesday night, I watched the replay of the Soliman-Bika fight from The Contender, then watched The Ultimate Fighter. It’s like night and day watching the two sports. Boxing has so much sticking and moving, clutching and grabbing, and the 3-minute rounds. MMA has so much ass kicking, blood spewing, and the 5-minute rounds. I feel like with MMA you can still get the feel of a boxing match, whereas you can’t ground and pound someone, for example, in boxing.
I’ll continue to follow boxing, but I just don’t have it on the same level as MMA at this point.
Raible
November 3, 2007
The pride of Wales, Joe Calzaghe beat Mikkel Kessler to unify the Super Middleweight championships with a 12-round unanimous decision victory this past Saturday night in England. After the fight, Joe Calzaghe again called out the legendary “Executioner” Bernard Hopkins to meet him in the ring for a future mega-fight. Time shall tell.
Also last night, Juan Manuel Marquez won an easy lopsided unanimous decision victory over the durable Rocky Juarez Saturday night on Showtime Championship Boxing to retain his WBC Super Featherweight championship title. After the fight, Marquez called out Manny Pacquiao and said he badly wants a rematch to prove he can beat one of the pound for pound kings in the sport today.
Next week, Cotto takes on Mosley and Elite XC has another show on Showtime, with Shields vs. Pyle as the main event.
Raible
November 4, 2007
-Miguel Cotto never backed down from a relentless Shane Mosley and won a unanimous decision Saturday night, retaining his WBA welterweight title. So what’s next for the unbeaten Cotto (31-0, 25 KOs)? Cotto said he would next want to face either the winner of the December 8 meeting in Las Vegas WBC welterweight champion Mayweather, undisputed light-welterweight champion Hatton or Oscar De La Hoya. Cotto said, however, that newly crowned WBO Intercontinental welterweight champion Antonio Margarito of Mexico would have to wait for his chance to fight the WBA champion. Meanwhile, Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) said he will watch the tape of the fight before he decides on his next move.
-Big News: Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr., two of modern boxing’s greatest exponents, will face each other in the ring at Madison Square Garden on January 19, the fighters and promoter Don King announced Saturday.
-In case you missed it, Fedor Emelianenko won the open-weight division of the 31st Combat Sambo World Championship on Nov. 10 in Prague. With the win, the 31-year-old Russian, widely regarded as the No. 1 heavyweight fighter in the world, defended the title he won two years ago in the Czech Republic capital.
-At the Elite XC event on Saturday, Kimbo Slice made short work of Bo Cantrell with a referee stoppage just 19 seconds into Round 1.
-Next week, us fight fans will be treated to UFC 78, with Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping serving as the Main Event.
Raible
November 12, 2007
The MLS Expansion Draft for the San Jose Earthquakes takes place on Wednesday. The new-look ‘Quakes get the opportunity to select 10 guys to build their roster around. Only 1 guy can be selected from any 1 team, meaning that 3 of the teams will have no one selected.
If I’m Frank Yallop, this is who I am building my squad around:
GK: Pat Onstad, Houston
D: Greg Vanney, D.C.
D: Jose Burciaga, Kansas City
D: Avery John, New England
D: Ritchie Kotschau, Real Salt Lake
M: Amado Guevara, Chivas USA
M: Clint Mathis, Los Angeles
F: Conor Casey, Colorado
F: Santino Quaranta, New York
F: DenÃlson, FC Dallas
The following 3 teams I selected no one from: Chicago, Columbus, Toronto
Onstad played for the Earthquakes when they were originally in San Jose, so I like starting my team with a championship-caliber Keeper who is familiar with the area. My defenders look to be solid if unspectacular, especially with the addition of John from the Revs. I am pretty excited about my midfielders and forwards; each of the guys I selected have had some hype associated with them, so it’s hoped that at least a couple of them will experience it with my new squad. Guevara was the MLS MVP in 2005, while Mathis is one of the more recognizable American players in the league. Casey has played professionally in Germany, Quaranta is only 23 years old, and Denilson was the most expensive footballer on the planet in 1998.
It should be interesting to see how Yallop molds his squad tomorrow.
Raible
November 21, 2007
Below is the complete list of players selected in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft.
1. Ryan Cochrane (Houston Dynamo)
2. Clarence Goodson (FC Dallas)
3. Ned Grabavoy (Columbus Crew)
4. James Riley (New England Revolution)
5. Joseph Vide (New York Red Bulls)
6. Ivan Guerrero (Chicago Fire)
7. Brian Carroll (D.C. United)
8. Jason Hernandez (Chivas USA)
9. Gavin Glinton (LA Galaxy)
10. Chris Pozniak (Toronto FC)
So obviously Frank Yallop and I 100% disagree about who they should have selected. LOL!
Raible
November 21, 2007
Davis Cup Final…USA vs. Russia…HUGE!!!
Raible
November 30, 2007
UEFA Champs League Group Stage finishes up today with a dandy of a match between Rangers and Lyon, with the winner moving on to the Knockout Stage and the loser being relegated to the UEFA Cup. Speaking oe the Knockout Stage, whose draw takes place on Dec. 21st, most of the favorites have advanced from the Group Stage, including Chelsea, Real, Milan, Barca, United, Inter, Arsenal, and Liverpool.
As for the recent Euro 2008 drawing, how about the “Group of Death” of Holland, Italy, Romania, and France. The Czechs and Portugese should battle it out in Group A, while Germany seems to be the team to beat in Group B. As for Group D, defending champs Greece got a decent draw, being paired with Spain, Sweden, and Russia. Need I remind you that England somehow didn’t qualify for this tournament? That’s like the equivalent of the USA not qualifying for the FIBA Americas…simply “Stunning” Steve Austin!
Raible
December 12, 2007
There’s nothing really left in terms of boxing for this year, so now seemed like a good time to hand out some awards…
Fighter of the Year: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
-As good as Kelly Pavlik and others were, Mayweather headlined and won the 2 biggest fight cards of the year against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. “Pretty Boy” is the best pound-for-pound, and he really proved it this year.
Fight of the Year: Pavlik vs. Taylor I
-I feel like this award should go to a fight that I actually saw. But, when I sit back and think about it, I didn’t see too many fights this past year (Boxing is clearly 2nd to MMA, now, in my eyes). As a result, I’m going to have to give the award to Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor, which was so good that it is going to happen again in the new year.
Comeback of the Year: Vernon Forrest
-Remember when this guy was one of the top stories in all of boxing? After two losses to Ricardo Mayorga, though, Forrest soon found himself out of the sport. However, he bounced back big time this year, defeating Carlos Baldomir for the WBC Light Middleweight Title.
Ready for Primetime: Chad Dawson
-I watched this guy fight a few months ago on Showtime and came away very impressed. In a Light Heavyweight division that features many old names (Hopkins, Tarver, Jones, Wright), Dawson is the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion and could soon find himself on top of the division as a young champion before long.
Raible
December 18, 2007
This would be huge…
After beating Kessler, Calzaghe said he would like to step up a division and challenge light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins, but no deal has been finalized.
Jones Jr. vs. Trinidad in January…SWEET!
Raible
December 31, 2007
Interesting Read…
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=495270&root=mls&cc=5901
Raible
January 4, 2008
USA beat Sweden 2-0 last weekend. Landon Donovan is the new USA all-time goal scoring leader. Eddie Johnson is headed to Fulham, like seemingly every other American playing overseas. Newcastle wants Beckham, while the African Cup of Nations is now underway (I can’t see Ghana losing). Football is in full effect!
Raible
January 25, 2008
MLS Predictions!!!
East:
1. D.C. United
2. New England
3. New York
4. Kansas City
5. Chicago
6. Columbus
7. Toronto FC
West:
1. Chivas USA
2. Houston
3. Los Angeles
4. FC Dallas
5. Colorado
6. Real Salt Lake
7. San Jose
East Champions: New England
West Champions: Los Angeles
MLS Champions: New England
Golden Boot: Juan Pablo Angel
Top Goalkeeper: Brad Guzan
Honda MVP: Christian Gomez
Raible
March 28, 2008