Danielle Llanes and myself are back for part one of the come back episode! Peace, love and soccer you guys!

In this week’s episode of Chicks & Free Kicks, we dive into the headlines from this past week in Major League Soccer. In part one, we focus on the controversy surrounding Alan Gordon and his usage of a gay slur against Portland Timbers’ Will Johnsen. We also talk about Robbie Rogers, his interview and what the future could possible hold for the midfielder in MLS.

Check out part one of the podcast here -> http://bit.ly/12szAsm

And part 2 here! -> http://bit.ly/17Asbqn

Picking up where we left off in Part 1, Danielle and I continue the discussion of MLS headlines involving NBC and EPL’s big announcement and the incident with George John during the FC Dallas v. LA Galaxy match!

Okay, so SuperDraft can be just as hairy as it can be exciting. For me, being a Columbus Crew fan, I was a bit nervous as to what it would bring.

In case you don’t keep up with the Black and Gold, let me just tell you that – once again – there have been some big moves and changes in the squad since the end of the season. Ones fans saw coming and others that made me personally go “Whaaaat?” Head Coach Robert Warzycha isn’t afraid to mix things up and release players that are actually pretty favored among fans. We all remember the Steven Lenhart thing, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Anyway, what the Crew needed going into this draft was defense. Other areas need work, yes. Concerning the attack, the Crew now have a whole season with Higuain and Arrieta up front; a perfect opportunity for us all to see what that partnership is really made of. We saw glimpses of it here and there toward the end of 2012, but it was never consistent enough for my liking. Our midfield could use some stability too, especially with winning and keeping the ball.

And as for keepers – though the Crew let go long time goal tender William Hesmer after his season long injury absence, I would say the team is pretty set with Andy Gruenebaum; the kid had a league-leading 124 saves and is pretty much the reason Chris Wondolowski is short that one goal last season.

So it was really a strong, promising defensive player I wanted out of the draft. When the Crew came up on the clock with the No. 9 pick in the first round, I have to say I was more than a bit surprised when they chose forward Ryan Finley from the University of Notre Dame.

Not to knock Finley or his talent – just looking at reports and his college accomplishments, this kid is pretty fierce on the attack; during his college career at Duke and Notre Dame, he scored 56 goals and has numerous awards, including being named 2012 Big East Offensive Player of the year – but I just wasn’t so sure about bringing in a forward with our first pick. But like I said, he’s been a big asset on the attack for ND. And that’s something the Crew could definitely utilize.

I just find myself wondering if he’ll stay in the forward position or if Coach Warzycha might try to make him more of a midfielder. Given his talents though, I don’t think that will happen.

When the Crew’s second pick came round, I finally got my wish. The team picked up University of Denver defender Drew Beckie. Yes, a centerback! Just what the Crew could use in the back line! Beckie is Canadian and appeared 78 times for Denver through his four years of college. He’s also apparently versatile in the back, which is a quality the Crew could also greatly benefit from.

At the end of the draft, I found myself not overly disappointed. Columbus did pick up a promising defender and even a promising attacking player. Couldn’t ask much more than that?

Other news that Crew fans are probably paying close attention to is the talks of Milovan Mirosevic and Dilly Duka leaving. Oh and then there is the news that former midfielder Robbie Rogers was released from Leeds earlier this week.

According to mlssoccer.com, on Friday Crew technical director Brian Bliss and coach Warzycha said Mirosevic and Duka were staying put as far as they knew. While both players did not report to training on Friday, Bliss and Warzycha said Mirosevic had talked to the two and assured them he would be in practice on Monday. As for Duka, the Crew are talking to three teams in the MLS about him (including the Chicago Fire, ew) but at the moment, Duka is still under contract with the Crew and expected to show on Monday.

Then there’s the curious case of Robbie Rogers. When Rogers was released to go play with Leeds in England, the Crew opted to retain his rights, should he decide to return to MLS. Leeds and Rogers parted ways by “mutual consent,” which begs the question, where will Robbie go now? I haven’t heard any rumors, but unless he has something lined up with another team in Europe, the logical choice would be back to MLS. However, I don’t see him coming back with the Crew.

As of right now, Rogers isn’t listed on the roster for preseason training. So I can only imagine if he does decide to come back, Bliss and Warzycha will be making deals with another MLS team.

The Columbus Crew will kick off the 2013 MLS season March 2 in California against Chivas USA!

So I issued a challenge to the girls of Aerys Soccer last week; out of the 25 amazing, gorgeous drool-worthy Midweek Muscles guys and gals we have featured, pick one for a staff post. Yikes! Some of the ladies had an easier time of it … then there was me, who had no idea who to pick.

Nevertheless, we did the deed and have picked our top Midweek Muscles. We know, we know. It was such a trying task. But we did it for you. Enjoy!

Carlos Bocanegra

Alyssa: Los.  Captain America.  If Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller had an athletically gifted child, it would be him — Carlos Bocanegra, currently of Rangers F.C.  I fell in love with Carlos as he represented our country during the 2010 World Cup.  He is a defender, which is the position I played growing up.  He is gorgeous.  And he sports the captain’s armband — what can I say, I’m attracted to power!  While I am generally able to gauge a player’s talent and playing style more or less objectively, I find that to be almost impossible with this man.  He is just too nice too look at to worry about how well he is playing.  Fortunately, I can trust the powers-that-be in the US Soccer hierarchy to worry about that for me.  Clearly, they like what they see.  And so do I.

Toni: Aerys Soccer’s Midweek Muscles has featured so many incredibly sexy athletes, many of whom are humanitarians, great role models for kids and just plain nice people. But  having to pick a favorite was easy.  Carlos Bocanegra is all of the above, but my favorite part about him is that he is just plain ole smokin’ hot! Check out Carlos’ pics  - – those eyes, that body…. oh, uh, yeah… and of course those footie skills. What’s not to like?? Captain America is my MWM hero!

Brian Ching

Dana: Our MWM feature on Brian didn’t show him half naked on the pitch or stripped down to his underwear (or less) posing for a magazine. It didn’t get any comments from our female readers drooling or fainting over his pictures. But it’s my favorite Midweek Muscles so far, and I think it’s because it really just shows him. Don’t get me wrong — Brian has an extremely fine body, and the muscles he shows on those beach pictures are certainly wow-inducing. But I love that these photos are nothing flashy. They just show him loving what he’s doing – whether it’s celebrating a goal, playing on the beach or paddle surfing. That smile is sexy enough for me. What can I say? I have a thing for Hawaiians.

Sergio Ramos

Tamara: Sergio Ramos. Now why is Ramos my favorite? Well, first off, he’s a great defender. Seriously, the guy rarely has a bad match and he’s always there to carry Real Madrid’s defense when we’re struggling, hence why he’s vice-captain.
Secondly, look at him. He is gorgeous! Perfectly toned with the right amount of tattoos for his physique. His hair is so flawless, I know a lot of women who are envious of the Ramos’ mane. His smile is contagious and so is his energy.
If it wasn’t for Sergio Ramos, my favorite midweek muscles would be…..Lance Parker. Hot damn!

Landon Donovan

 Robbie Rogers

Trista: Okay, honestly. If you know me, are you really surprised by my pick? I have to be honest, I really didn’t know who I wanted to pick for fav MWM. Good lord, I had Carlos Bocanegra and Lance Parker to chose from! But in the end, I stayed true and went with Robbie. Why is RR my favorite? Well, there’s the blue eyes, the smile, the arms, the abs… ahem. Over all I think Robbie is my favorite MWM because he’s a bit different from other footballers like LD and Carlos. And I really like that about him.
 

Next week, we’ll have the best of Midweek Muscles!!! If you haven’t let us know your favorites, make sure to comment here, or send us a tweet at @AerysSoccer!

Happy Wednesday! I don’t know about you guys, but I definitely need a little pick-me up today after this week so far! The games have been crazy and the rumors crazier, as always. Thank God for Midweek Muscles! If you follow us on twitter (we’re at @AerysSoccer by the way), you’ve probably seen us mention that we’re going to do a “Best of Midweek Muscles” post soon. I’m pretty excited about it, so I hope you are too! To kick this off, I thought I would do a little kick back edition of MWM, to refresh all of your memories of the hotness that has adorn the Aerys Soccer page since we started this lovely segment in October.

So, are you partial to Landon Donovan? Maybe Cristiano Ronaldo or David Beckham? And who could forget the amazing pics of Alex Morgan and Lance Parker? They’re all here for your viewing pleasure this evening, with links to all the MWM posts! And hey, let us know you’re favorites! We’d love to hear what guy or gal had you seeing hearts in your eyes!

1.) Benny Feilhaber

2.) Robbie Rogers

3.) Landon Donovan

4.) Taylor Twellman

5.) Carlos Bocanegra

6.) Brian Ching

7.) Omar Gonzalez 

8.) Sergio Ramos

9.) Heath Pearce

10.) Tim Howard

11.) Chris Pontius

12.) Stuart Holden

13.) Thierry Henry

14.) Clint Dempsey

15.) Sydney Leroux

16.) Alex Morgan

17.) Daniele De Rossi

18.) David Beckham

19.) Euan Holden

20.) Cristiano Ronaldo

21.) Chris Wingert

22.) Brek Shea

23.) Herculez Gomez

24.) Chris Wondolowski

25.) Lance Parker

Whew! That’s a lot of hotties! Don’t forget to leave a comment here or shoot us a tweet telling us about your favorite soccer hotties, or even leave us a suggestion for our next installment of Midweek Muscles!

Good Thursday morning to you all! I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but for me it’s beautiful, spring soccer weather! Today we’ve got the news from the CONCACAF Champion’s League games last night, the MLS power rankings, where Jose Mourinho might be next season and tragic news about Eric Abidal. Here’s your Thursday Daily Kick Around!

CONCACAF Champion’s League

Well, well, if things aren’t a bit interesting already in the CCL! Seattle squared off with Santos Laguna and let’s just say Santos apparently were there to prove a point, along with USMNT forward Herculez Gomez. The Mexican side squashed the Sounders 6-1.  “If this was a boxing match, they would have knocked us out,”  Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. And he would have been right.

And they weren’t the only shocker last night. LA Galaxy hosted Toronto FC and let’s just say, the boys from LA showed again they are a team that can be beat. It looks like the back line is still the biggest trouble for the Galaxy. You can check out the highlights from the match here.

MLS Kick Off also has a ton of links concerning both games for all the information you could ever want!

Major League Soccer

The Montreal Impact might have lost their season opener to Vancouver this weekend, but clearly they aren’t thinking negatively. They are still building their team, and today they announced they would sign Italian Veteran Bernardo Carradi to their roster.

Now that we have First Kick out of the way, it’s time for that nice little thing called the power rankings. Real Salt Lake have taken the top after their impressive showing against LA and the Montreal Impact find themselves still at the bottom. But it’s only the beginning folks!

English Premier League

For once, it’s not a player’s miscue that is causing a ruckus, but none other than Premier League chairman Dave Richards. He took aim at FIFA, stating the governing body of world soccer stole the game from England.

“Then, 50 years later, some guy came along and said you’re liars and they actually stole it. It was called FIFA. Fifty years later, another gang came along called UEFA and stole a bit more.”

He  had to offer up an embarrassing apology for his words. But you have to kind of feel for him too; apparently while at the event where he had made his comments, he accidentally stepped in a pool and fell, hurting himself badly. Talk about adding injury to insult.

Okay, this saddens me a bit. According to Sir Alex Ferguson, Dimitar Berbatov is on his way out of Manchester United. And who could really blame him? Over the past two seasons, we haven’t really seen a lot of Berba in the line up. This does make me a bit sad because he was a top notch player and a great goal scorer for the Red Devils.

U.S. Men’s National Team

After making his debut for Leeds United a few weeks back and suffering a concussion, US international Robbie Rogers was back on the pitch for Leeds United Tuesday in a friendly match with Carlisle United. Rogers not only played 90 minutes, but he also scored a goal.

UEFA Champion’s League

Now that Real Madrid and Chelsea (which is a wonder in itself) are through to the next round of the Champion’s League, RM boss Jose Mourinho said he would “love” to face off with his old EPL club in CL final. What do you guys think? Can Chelsea, or Real for that matter, get to the final?

La Liga

Speaking of “The Special One,” rumors have been running rampant that Jose will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and possibly return to England to take up another English team. However, he was quoted in the Daily Mail last week stating he would extend his contract with the Spanish club. Sounds like good news for Real fans!

Finally, our thoughts and prayers are with Barcelona’s Eric Abidal as it was announced today he would need a liver transplant. Last year, the French international underwent surgery after a tumor was discovered on his liver. We’re hoping for all of the best for Eric and that he is on a road to recovery.

It’s Saturday Game Day folks! There’s tons going on in the footy world, per usual, and we’ve got lots of headlines for you today! From Leeds United getting a new manager, Balotelli adding a racial complaint to the news and trouble in China as the country’s former deputy soccer chief heads to jail. It’s here in today’s DKA!

World Soccer

China may not be little, but they’re soccer world is in big trouble. Yang Yimin, China’s former deputy soccer chief, was sentenced today to 10 1/2 years in prison after taking $20,000 in bribes to fix matches. He was just one of 39 people convicted – including four refs. Big Trouble in Little China indeed.

Will he or won’t he? It seems that instead of asking who will lead England’s National team in the coming months, the real question is if Harry Redknapp will take the job. After insisting he doesn’t want the command of the Three Lions’, Redknapp now is “opening the door” to talks of managing the squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 tournament. Hmmm….

Major League Soccer

In a huge, late night surprise, Seattle Sounders fans were shocked as the club announced it would trade fan favorites, forward Mike Fucito and midfielder Lamar Neagle, for USMNT international Eddie Johnson, who returned to MLS. Fucito and Neagle are now headed to Montreal. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out after this.

If you’re a regular reader of DKA, you know MLS has been moving and shaking things up all off season. The Bleacher Report has a nice article outlining the 10 most important moves MLS teams have made during their months off.

Europa League

I hate to talk about it – Hell, all of the girls here at Aerys Soccer hate when we have to talk about this – but there is another complaint of racism in the EPL. Apparently Manchester City has officially filed with UEFA stating Italian striker Mario Balotelli suffered racial abuse during the Tuesday Europa League game against Porto. Midfielder Yaya Toure could have also been on the receiving end, but it seems only Balotelli is the only one the club has confirmed. UEFA stated they will make a decision to launch an investigation after they have received and reviewed the delegate’s match reports.

Championship League

Apparently Leeds United have finally settled on a new manager; former Queens Park Rangers boss Neil Warnock. And ol’ Neil is already making an impression as Leeds was able to notch a late win over Doncaster today at home. Side note: US International Robbie Rogers made his debut with the squad, only to be stretchered off 5 minutes later after a horrid collision with Tommy Spurr. Apparently, Rogers suffered a concussion, but Leeds has not issued an official statement. Here’s hoping both Robbie and Tommy Spurr are all right!

Serie A

Inter Milan got a little wake up call this week as they were hammered by a struggling Bologna. Inter went down 3-0, a hard loss after winning 8 consecutive games in the league.

Some of the big news out of Italy however this week seems to be centered around penalties. Juventus and Inter Milan are both issuing out negative remarks about refs decisions on penalty kicks this season. You just can’t make everyone happy, can you?

FA Cup

Chelsea 1 – Birmingham 1

Everton 2 – Blackpool 0

Millwall 0 – Bolton 2

Norwich 1 – Leicester 2

Sunderland 2 – Arsenal 0

Ready for your Daily Kick Around? Today we have a bus-surfing French women’s national team, players quash rumors on Twitter and lots more! Check it out!

International 

The France Women’s National Team had a little too much fun on their bus trip after qualifying for the 2012 Olympics with a victory against England. Bus surfing anyone?

La Liga

Real Sociedad goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai made a huge mistake in yesterday’s Copa del Rey match against Mallorca in the second round. It was only the 4th match this season that Zubikarai has played in net, all of which were Sociedad’s CdR matches, and after a mistake like that, it might be a while before he backs up his club. Note to all keepers out there: Make sure there is no one behind you when your about to kick the ball out of your box.

Earlier in the week during the Catalan Derby between Barcelona and Espanyol, there were racial remarks towards Barca player Dani Alves by a section of supporters. Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino says otherwise. The Brazil international claimed that he hadn’t heard any racial remarks from the crowd because he was more focused on the match. Anyone else getting tired of all these racism accusations lately? I know I am.

Congrats to Real Madrid player Gonzalo Higuain on being with the club for 5 years! He played his first match with the white 5 years ago today against Betis in the Copa del Rey. So far in his career with Madrid, he’s the fourth captain, won two league titles in 2007 and 2008, one Copa del Rey in 2011 and one Spanish Super Cup in 2008.

English Premier League

After Arsenal legend Thierry Henry made his debut with the Gunners since 2006 on Monday, rumors began that other Gunner legends could make a return to the club. But not so fast! Robert Pires, who is currently training with the Gunners, slammed down any speculation via his twitter account, of a possible return to Emirates. Pires, who left Aston Villa in May, is still in a search for a club, preferably one in Asia.

New Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Hughes claimed that Joey Barton will remain club captain despite the controversy surrounding his career.

Apparently there is some mis-communication between Newcastle’s Demba Ba and his “agent” Armand Doorn. The 26-year-old Ba took to his twitter account attacking Doorn about his remarks that Manchester United were interested in picking up Ba in the January transfer window. The tweet? “Really, I don’t know how desperate this “armand doorn” can be to talk like he’s my agent!! He’s nothing for me. Stop lying and show respect.” 

Serie A

Lazio midfielder Lorik Cana will be sidelined for about two months with a back injury. During Lazio’s 4-nil defeat of Siena, Cana was forced off during halftime, confirming through tests that he has a damaged lumbar vertebrae. With this injury, the Albanian will miss 10 Serie A matches including their Europa League match against Atletico Madrid.

Major League Soccer

The Chicago Fire has signed Uruguayan forward Federico Puppa two days after signing Colombian midfielder Rafael Robayo. This is good news for the Fire due to the international experience that Puppa has, moving well off the ball and finishing strong in front of the net.

Goodbye Robbie Rogers! The Ex-Columbus Crew midfielder has signed a new deal with English club Leeds United until 2014. That’s of course, if he can get his hands on a work permit. Rogers doesn’t meet the national team cap percentage needed to score a work permit, but Leeds seems overly confident that the Huntington Beach native can get one. Leeds beat out another MLS (who was undisclosed) club, a secret English club, and even a return offer from the Crew. All I have to say is good luck to Robbie in England! He now joins the ranks of Mike Grella, Eddie Lewis, Eric Lichaj and England Youth International Paul Rachubka as the 5th American-born player to suit up for Leeds.

Major League Soccer

Brek Shea isn’t the only one looking overseas. Perry Kitchen, Kyle Beckerman and Robbie Rogers are just a few of the other MLSers hanging around in Europe during the off season. While Shea is training with Arsenal, Beckerman, Kitchen and Rogers are training with German teams.

MLS Goal of the Year goes to Portland Timbers Darlington Nagbe, MLS announced yesterday. Fans voted through groups of several goals throughout the season to whittle down the finalist. You need to see this wonder goal.

English Premier League

With all the allegations in EPL lately about racism, Sepp Blatter had the guts to actually say there isn’t any racism in football. Our own Tamara Rinehart weighed in on the fiasco.

Speaking of the lovely president of FIFA, ol’ Sepp seems to have his knickers in a twist over some remarks Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand made on twitter. I bet Rio is shaking in his boots.

Queens Park Rangers chairman Gianni Paladini said goodbye to the club yesterday, under mutual consent.

Who are the top 20 midfield-providers in EPL? The Bleacher Report has their rankings here.

 La Liga

International break is over, to the relief of some, including this EPSNsoccernet blogger, who talks about how the games this weekend in La Liga could be huge.

The debate over the league format continues. Not only has there been talk in cutting the teams in La Liga, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is now calling for a European super league! EPL and La Liga together? I don’t think so sir.

Headed to the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid soon? If you are, Real Madrid are going high tech to make sure your experience is even more unforgettable.

Serie A

And we’re talking about Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli again. The Italian recently told the press that rumors of his return to Inter Milan are FAR from the truth.

Bad news for Roma fans: defender Nicolas Burdisso is going to be laid up for a while as he undergoes surgery for a knee injury.

Speaking of Roma news, talks between the club and fearless-midfielder Daniele De Rossi have stalled. The Italian International has spent his entire career in Rome, but with several EPL teams nipping his heels, one has to wonder if maybe he’ll turn his sights to England now.

Major League Soccer

L.A. was a buzz yesterday as the MLS Cup arrived in town. The final against the Houston Dynamo and the L.A. Galaxy will take place in the Home Depot Center in Carson Sunday, Nov. 20. Who do you have winning the cup?

The overhaul for the New England Revolution continues, with the club announcing yesterday that Brian Bilello would be promoted to president and Michael Burns to general manager.

Speaking of overhauls, Columbus Crew fans are buzzing with rumors recently. Four of the clubs players are up for contract renewals; Eddie Gaven, Robbie Rogers, Emmanuel Ekpo and Kevin Burns. Some think Rogers is about to make an exit while there is no doubt star Gaven will be back with the team.

So, MLS game attendance has been at an all-time high this year. Is David Beckham to thank for that? You be the judge.

La Liga

The debate is still swirling in Spain whether fewer teams in La Liga will create a more competitive league. Barcelona’s manager, Pep Guardiola is following the statement of his club, stating he believes cutting teams will improve one of the biggest leagues in Europe.

Here’s an interesting thought: Is the reason Ronaldo and Messi are both so amazing in La Liga because only Real Madrid and Barcelona have the economic stature to house and hone such great players? Forbes contributor Adrian Melville takes a look at the issue. It’s definitely food for thought.

Serie A

New Fiorentina boss Delio Rossi is promising changes for his new team, including “giving the team a soul.” The Italian team is currently sitting in the 13th spot of the league and are hoping the management change will turn around the season.

Italia giants A.C. Milan announced they would NOT be signing Chelsea star Didier Drogba in the January transfer window. He just costs too much.

English Premier League

Here’s something fun to try; describe each of the top seven teams in EPL with one word? Ready, go!

Liverpool just announced the signing of USMNT U-17 captain Marc Pelosi to a three-year contract. The teen chose the Reds over two MLS squads and two EPL teams.

Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli said he’s not crazy, even though his actions lately have been . . . well, a little crazy.

International games

It’s international break in Europe! Here’s a list of some of the national teams facing off on the pitch in the next few days!
Thursday (today) – Brazil v. Gabon
Friday – Italy v. Poland; Germany v. Ukraine; France v. USMNT; Panama v. Costa Rica; Mexico v. Serbia
Saturday – South Africa v. Ivory Coast; England v. Spain.
Monday – Brazil v. Egypt
Tuesday – Slovenia v. USMNT (a rematch of that nail-biting WC 2010 match); Italy v. Uruguay; Germany v. Netherlands; England v. Sweden; France v. Belgium; Costa Rica v. Spain.

Major League Soccer

The Houston Dynamo defeated the Philadelphia Union by a 1-0 final score to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, where they will face Sporting KC, who once again blanked Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Wednesday.

The LA Galaxy advanced to the Western Conference Final, where they will face Real Salt Lake, after defeating New York Red Bulls 2-1, with a 3-1 aggregate score, on Thursday night. The Red Bulls went in front early with a 4th minute goal by Luke Rodgers, but LA equalized with a header from Mike Magee on a cross by David Beckham in the 42nd minute. The Galaxy put the game away on a Landon Donovan penalty kick in the 75th minute.

MLS has suspended New York Red Bulls’ Rafa Marquez for two games, on top of his suspension from last night’s Red Bulls-Galaxy rematch after receiving a red card in Sunday’s game between New York and LA. The league stated that “Marquez’s conduct was violent and aggressive and put the League in disrepute.” Soccer by Ives has more on this story.

MLSsoccer.com reports that Robbie Rogers’ future with the Columbus Crew is “uncertain.” Rogers will join the U.S. national team for their international friendlies later this month.

USMNT

Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story released in theaters Thursday night and SI.com’s Grant Wahl has the story on how the film made it to the big screen.

ESPNDallas.com reports that Brek Shea will train with Arsenal following his participation with the national team’s upcoming friendlies against France (November 11) and Slovenia (November 15), before he returns to FC Dallas in mid-January.

The full roster for the France and Slovenia matches has been announced by U.S. Soccer: “Nine players on the roster appeared in the 2-2 draw against Slovenia in the teams’ second group game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including goalscorers Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan.”

WPS

One week after WPS announced that it was terminating its South Florida magicJack franchise due to disputes between the league and team owner Dan Borislow, Equalizer Soccer’s Jeff Kassouf writes that the turbulent relationship “did serve a critical purpose in getting the league to this point.”  As WPS tries to stay afloat in the wake of losing a team with some of its most popular and well-known players, Kassouf adds that “the league seems like it is willing to move into 2012 with five teams, but likely will add a Connecticut team very soon before going west in 2013.”

NCAA Women’s Soccer

Conference tournaments began this week, in advance of the NCAA Tournament which begins November 11, and the unpredictability of college sports is already rearing its head:

• Big East: Defending national champion Notre Dame, who has surprisingly struggled this season, entered the Big East tournament with its back against the wall, needing a strong run to ensure a bid to the dance. Their first challenge was a date in the quarterfinal with #5 Marquette, who previously defeated them in overtime this season. The result: a 1-0 victory for the Irish, on an ninth minute goal by do-it-all senior forward Melissa Henderson. ND faces Louisville today at 3pm ET in the semifinals.

• ACC: The UNC Tar Heels went down in the first round to Florida State, on a goal by FSU’s Jessica Price with just five minutes remaining in the second period of extra time. AllWhiteKit.com reports: ”The Noles have now won four in a row in the crucible that is the ACC and are a real threat to take home the trophy in Cary this weekend,”  Meanwhile, UNC suffered its first-ever loss in the ACC Tournament, as well as several other firsts that they’d soon like to forget. FSU faces Virginia in the semifinals today at 7:30pm ET.

• SEC: Alabama shocked regular-season league champions South Carolina, breaking the Gamecocks’ 8-game winning streak. AWK points out that ”undoing the psychological damage caused by this shock defeat in the run-up to their NCAA Tournament opener will ultimately be key to whether this team has a shot at extended progress through November.”

UEFA Women’s Championship League

AWK has the dirt on the Round of 16. Fans of the U.S. Soccer may remember that USWNT defender Ali Krieger plays for Frankfurt, who ranks first in the Fraulen-Bundesliga.

World Soccer

And in just plain crazy news, butt-grabbing is an offense punishable by 74 lashes in Iranian club soccer:

Mohammed Nosrati and Sheis Rezaei of Iranian league club Persepolis have already been banned indefinitely from entering any stadium in the country after celebrating goals in their side’s nationally televised win over Damash Gilan last weekend by grabbing their teammate’s backsides.

The next time American football players complain about getting flagged 15 yards for celebration penalties, they should read that article.

Enjoy the weekend, and remember kids – no butt-grabbing!