There are few teams in the world playing better soccer than AC Milan and few players enjoying finer form than Ronaldinho.
The Brazilian star and the club David Beckham now calls home will look to keep their hot streak going today against the cellar-dwellars from Siena.
If mismatches aren't your style, then Napoli-Palermo and Bordeaux-Marseille can offer better match-ups for your viewing pleasure. Lastly, River Plate-Independiente can help satisfy the craving for a top-notch rivalry.
If you will be watching today's action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Today's soccer TV schedule is after the jump):
SUNDAY'S SOCCER ON TV
8:30am- Setanta USA- Aston Villa vs. West Ham
9am- FSC- AC Milan vs. Siena
9am- ESPN360.com/RAI- Chievo Verona vs. Juventus
10:30am- GolTV- Schalke 04 vs. Nuremberg
11am- FSC- Bolton vs. Arsenal
11am- ESPN Deportes- Deportivo La Coruna vs. Mallorca
11am- DirecTV- Almeria vs. Tenerife
11am- DirecTV- Racing Santander vs. Valladolid
11am- DirecTV- Malaga vs. Getafe
1pm- Setanta USA- Lille vs. Paris St. Germain
1pm- GolTV- Atletico Madrid vs. Sporting Gijon
1pm- Telemundo- UNAM Pumas vs. Atlas
1pm- FSE- Puebla vs. Tigres
1:15pm- No TV- Cameroon vs. Zambia (African Cup of Nations)
2:30pm- FSC- Napoli vs. Palermo
2:55pm- Setanta USA- Bordeaux vs. Marseille
3pm- ESPN Deportes- Villarreal vs. Valencia
5pm- FSC_ Blackburn vs. Fulham
8pm- FSE- River Plate vs. Independiente
—————
First!
When can we finally get rid of Setanta?
Spector could use a good game. He’s been struggling a bit although part of that is that the Hammers are really not playing well as a team.
First…to call “First!” blog entry guy an idiot
Really? Is that all you have to complain about?
Siena have such classy unis: the mudflap silhouette ladies down each sleeve really make a lot of sense.
how does Marcarone miss that one?
wow, Borriello with a striker’s goal. Unstoppable.
Adu and Johnson on the bench for Aris FC.
Game starts in a few minutes
Spector got the start today, 0-0 at half
i thought atleast one of them was going to start…i hope they didnt just bring them in to sit on the bench
Villa has been awarded 11 corner kicks already. Tomkins and Spector have both been conceding them one after another.
big Luca Toni scoring again Serie A.
Ouch…this quote from the BBC commentators:
If Martin O’Neill wanted to get Ashley Young one-on-one with Jonathan Spector, it looks like it might be a good idea. He twice beats the defender and Spector concedes a free-kick, which Richard Dunne goes agonisingly close to heading in. Touch too high for the defender.
Spector isn’t fast enough to play as a full back in the epl. I think he needs to play as a cnter back. THen he wouldn’t get beat so much by pacey wingers.
anyone have a stream for the game?
Amen
Well, they’re hanging on. For all the possession and corners, Villa only has a couple of shots on goal.
Seriously. He was on fire last week, though.
Just because you like European soccer doesn’t mean you need to use the word “pacey” when you mean “quick.” (By the way, I agree that Spector gets beat way too easily by speedy wingers.)
Dempsey starting UP FRONT at (CF: Left) for fulham today..
anyone have the stream for Adu and Johnson game???
oh c’mon Omar. Pacy is a nice word. You oughta try to keep your shots on frame.
do u have the stream for the game??
pacy is nowhere near as offensive as “gutted”
If I told my American friends that LeBron James is “pacey,” I’d get laughed at for days. Not that I care, mind you; but besides, I don’t get the word….slow is a pace, just as much as fast is a pace! Under that logic, you’d be just as right calling Spector “pacey” as you would Donovan!
touche my friend, well said
Or “delightful”…as in “what a delightful cross.” Can you imagine Marv Albert talking about a “delightful halfcourt shot”?
not too many full backs can keep up with Young. This is why the health and form of Beasley is critical to the Nats. His ability to drop back and defend from a midfield position is a huge asset
ever use the expression “speedy”? it’s the same as “pacey.” there are slow speeds and fast speeds but everybody knows what you mean when you say someone is speedy.
grammar lesson over.
anyone have a stream of Fulham v. Blackburn?
True. Then again, we all use a lot of slang that gets the point across.
Jeez, don’t we have some soccer to talk about?
Well, if Spector is pacey enough to keep Villa off the scoresheet, the home side’s fans will be gutted by the delightful defensive display from the East Enders.
Shut up, Gaymar. hahaha. Family guy.
Argh you’ve got me there. You have a pacey wit. link to iraqgoals.net
hey at least andrew johnson can go play fifa ’09 and score a hat trick every game
Just saw the last ten minutes of the Villa game and Spector looked good, trying to get forward. Funny you all comment on Young’s pace but the announcers stated that Specs did a good job. Wonder what’s up.
what a silly argument this is.
OHHHHHHHHH CLINTTTTTT
Dempsey with a ridiculous bicycle kick off the crossbar.
Dempsey..off the bar with the bicycle….so close!
wow, what a turn by dempsey. is it me or is his skill getting outrageous lately?
Some Pacey Gonzales doesn’t have the same ring to it.
all hard work…he’s turning himself into a World Class player…now if only Everton can find a way to keep Landon…
I am not watching the Fulham game but the gamecast on ESPN has Clint Dempsey all over it. He assited on shots, hit some shots himself, hit a post, drew a free kick or two, etc…. He needs a goal.
Ronaldinho with a hat-trick.
Yeah, I’m really not sure what all the hub-bub is about, either. I thought he played pretty well, the D held a pretty fiery front to zero goals.. and he got up and cut in a few times with marginal success.
There was some talk of him not being “pacey” enough (apparently comparing him unfavorably to Joshua Jackson’s character from Dawson’s Creek– not sure about the legitimacy of that claim, but whatever), but he seems to keep up just fine out there.
I think people are looking for more goals from his defensive position. That’s all I can come up with.
sorry, this was supposed to be a response to Randy’s comment a few below.. still works, though!
Crazy Greeks
Fans have broken through the security railing and have invaded the pitch in the Aris game.
Game delayed as Adu and Johnson where warming up
Dempsey down….
Dempsey going out with a knee injury it looks like
uh oh. Dempsey down and immediately signals for a substitute and points to his knee. Hope it’s just a knock.
ugh
Game back on!
where is the link to the game
and he was looking so good! agghhhh
Ronaldinho lit it up today with a hat trick! Should’ve had 5 + 3 assists. Beginning to look like his old form. The goals will boost his confidence for the upcoming matches with Inter and Man U. Watch out, Rossoneri coming at you full throttle!!
I don’t get why people get so worked up about what words other people use.
Ditto
what happened to dempsey? was he able to walk off the pitch?
BBC says Deuce has been taken to a hospital for a scan on his knee. Cue a collective (F#$&!!!!) from all across the U.S.
This sucks because Deuce was looking great today. Unlucky not to have two really special goals.
Aris FC wins 1-0
Eddie Johnson came on in the 79 minute
Adu did not play.
After the delay Aris got defensive and bunkered down, thus Johnson didn’t do much.
Oh fudge
Yes, he was able to walk off the pitch on his own.
Haha…nice Dawson’s ref.
I crack up everytime I see the first guy when I read blogs. The joke is always inevitably on the people who get pissed off and can’t help but respond. One of the internetz phenomenon. Funny stuff!
Slow day when sports jargon is attacked/defended with such vigor. If you make up your own, it will probably be better.
That’s always a good sign. Gooch’s was a 6-month lay-off and he had to be stretchered off. Maybe Clint’s looking at a tweak and a few weeks as a precaution….anything worse will be a baaad thing.
Did I really just read a spat between posters about sports vernacular?
The English established the rules and made them uniform, so I don’t see a reason not to use their words to describe their game.
When the NFL comes to the UK, I doubt they say things like “the 49ers are taking the pitch” or “the quartreback gets the pass out with pace”.
With the trivial stuff out of the way.. When can we expect an update on Deuce? We can’t afford to lose another talented player for any extended period.
No one has to bow down to the English. It’s the world’s game.
No word on Dempsey yet.
From BBC:
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson on injured forward Clint Dempsey: “The initial prognosis for Clint is not good. It looks like cruciate knee ligament damage and if it is it will keep him out for a while.”
Well boys, this is about the worst thing that could have happened to our chances in South Africa.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO……………….!!!!!!
yes but a while could be mid – march which is not so bad
Hope you’re right. Knees are driving me crazy.
could just be MCL…only few months…
Initial diagnosis is posterior cruciate ligament–don’t know if it is torn or strain.
If it’s cruciate, it’s ACL or PCL
So with your logic, Argentines should call it pitch instead of “Cancha”, no?
Wait for the doctors before leaping to conclusions. But, if Dempsey is gone the USMNT is so screwed. Personally I think you play all of Bradley, Clark and Edu or Jones if ever available and get ready to bunker down rather than adding a poor attacker.
I’ve had 3 knee surgeries and know a little about this subject, if he tore a cruciate ligament then he’s done for 6 to 9 months
I blew up my ACL in College and I was able to walk (albeit with a major limp) off the field so although its good he didn’t have to be stretchered off…it is by no means an indication of potential severity
Now it’s time for some young blood to step up into the void and show their worth.
I tore my PCL and was out for 3 months. If it’s his PCL he should be fine for the World Cup.
it’s not 2 ladies, it’s a guy a lady. And it’s the Kappa logo:
“Known as the Omini, is a silhouette of a man (left) and woman (right) sitting back to back in the nude. Created in 1969 by mere accident. After a photo shoot for a bathing suit ad, a man and a woman were sitting back-to-back, naked, with the outlines of their bodies traced by the back lighting. The photographers knew they had something and the idea grew into what is now the logo for Robe di Kappa, or the Kappa brand which was later attributed to the active and sports wear. Symbolizes the mutual support between Man and Woman, and their completion.”
Losing Dempsey would be a major blow, but losing Donovan to a long-term injury would be the “worst thing that could happen” to the USMNT…
Hodgson said: “Clint will be scanned tomorrow but we feel it might be a posterior cruciate knee ligament which would be very bad for us and he would be out for a while.
So PCL gives some hope for a return for the world cup.
Of course no one has to bow down to the English. But I feel like when people get really worked up about English words ‘infecting’ the way Americans talk, we’re just showing how incredibly insecure we are about our place in this game. Sort of like how the French are so insecure about English/American words infecting their language. If the word’s a good one and people will understand you, use it. If you don’t like the word, don’t use it. Enough with the policing.
Apparently PCL tear is very, very rare and there’s a lot of controversy among medical professionals about how to treat. Great link here: link to cincinnatisportsmed.com
“Injuries to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) are rare, accounting for only about 5% of all knee ligament injuries. There is disagreement among physicians over which patients with isolated PCL ruptures (that do not have any other ligament damage) should have surgery and which patients should not have surgery – and for those who need surgery, just how to perform it to achieve the best results. The problem is that these injuries can either not cause many problems, or they can be disabling and cause considerable problems with sports and, in some cases, regular activities of daily living.”
I agree. That’s why I wrote “about the worst thing.”
Very difficult to injure the PCL without hurting some other stuff along the way. Really, though, the only prognosis that would keep him out of the World Cup is an ACL tear. Those require surgery and 6-9 months. A sprain of a ligament can heal with rest/rehab, and a meniscus tear can be repaired surgically with just 6 weeks out. An ACL almost always is easy to spot, as the knee takes undue pressure to the inside. A doctor can tell fairly soon if an ACL is the problem as the knee feels loose when pulling. Did anyone see how he got hurt? Did his knee ‘dip’ in or was it a twist or hyperectension?
After 4 knee surgeries myself, I certainly hope this is not needed for Deuce. Its just never the same.
Even if Dempsey is back in time for the World Cup, if he faces a long layoff it might take a while for him to get back in shape and find his form. Our chances just took a major hit.
If he could walk off the pitch, could it really be a complete tear of the ligament then?
can the body support all that weight if 1 of the 4 ligaments is completely severed?
gooch couldnt even come close to standing, so thats how you know it was bad.
but dempsey walked off just kind of limping. that said, the PCL apparently doesnt heal on its own, so a tear could still require surgery if he cant play without it bothering him.
hope not tho, he’s improved so much since the last world cup. Im too excited to see what he could do this time around
Let’s hope for the best.
link to soccer.fanhouse.com
i don’t think it was a full out ACL tear. trainers can immediately tell if the ACL is blown out because they can literally feel the tear in the knee. if anyone watches american football wes welker knew his season was over right after his injury because the trainer told him he knew from feeling that the ACL was out. hopefully this is a good thing for deuce because it doesn’t seem like that happened
Well it’s a real kick in the nuts, however long he’s out. Our attacking corps is weak as it is.
Everyone knows what you mean with speedy because it is a legitimate word.