Soccer By Ives

Real Salt Lake 2, Toronto FC 1: A Supporter's View

In a year when the Eastern Conference has owned its Western Conference counterparts in intra-conference player, Real Salt Lake has done its part to try and stem the imbalance.

After wins against New England and Columbus, RSL has added Toronto FC to its list of Eastern Conference conquests with its 2-1 victory on Monday. The victory increased Real Salt Lake's hold on first place in the West to four points (though Houston has two games in hand) and kept RSL unbeaten at Rice-Eccles Stadium this year (6-0-5).

Toronto's offensive struggles continued as TFC failed once again to receive production from the forward position. With Chad Barrett on the way, and an international forward expected to be signed soon, Toronto is counting the seconds until some new strikers can take the field and awaken a badly slumping offense.

SBI correspondents Scott McCallister and Duane Rollins watched Monday night's match and gave us their views on the action.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco fined by MLS

Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco has been fined $7,500 by MLS for his actions during the Fire's U.S. Open Cup loss against D.C. United on July 8th.

Blanco has been suspended for the next two U.S. Open Cup tournaments (in 2009 and 2010, and potentially longer depending on how far Chicago goes in the tournaments) by U.S. Soccer but avoided an MLS suspension for actions that included punching an opponent and allegedly attempting to gouge the eyes of D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms and allegedly head-butting a member of D.C. United's match-day staff.

Blanco will be serving an MLS suspension this weekend. He won't play in Chicago's match against Chivas USA on Saturday due to a suspension for yellow-card accumulation.

What do you think of the punishment? Should MLS have suspended Blanco? Is a $7,500 fine a just punishment or more a waste of time? Will we ever see the video of Blanco's actions that D.C. United submitted to U.S. Soccer?

Share your thoughts below.

A little Zlatan to get you through the day

Good afternoon folks. As I sit here downing a caffeinated beverage, I can't help but think that many of you are like me and struggling to get through the day.

If you love soccer, and I know you do, then the next best thing to caffeine (and plenty of other stimulants) is watching some beautiful soccer. With that in mind, here is a clip of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's memorable goal for Ajax. Whether you have seen it before or not, I'm sure you will still enjoy it:

Could Subotic be the next to pass on USA?

First there was Giuseppe Rossi. Then there was Edgar Castillo. Could Neven Subotic be the next player eligible for the U.S. national team to pass up the USA for another country?

As I told you a while back, Subotic wasn't planning to address his future and national team decision until later this year at the earliest. ESPN colleague Jeff Carlisle secured an interview with Subotic and delivered a very interesting story on him and his potential decision, which Subotic says now won't be made until after the 2008/2009 Bundesliga season.

Crew 2, Rapids 0: A Supporter's View

Lost in the shadow of Matt Reis' MVP-like season, as well as Jon Busch's comeback player of the year-like season, has been the extremely solid season being put in by Columbus goalkeeper Wil Hesmer, who has done his part to make Crew fans stop counting the days until Brad Friedel returns.

Hesmer was at it again on Sunday, stoning the Colorado Rapids left and right as he helped Columbus overcome being a man down to secure a 2-0 victory against the Rapids. The win keeps the Crew near the top of the East, and also leaves Colorado continuing its struggle for consistency.

SBI correspondents Brant Guillory and Craig de Aragon took in the action and shared their thoughts on the match with us.

SBI Fantasy MLS Corner

Managing your fantasy team is getting tougher and tougher. With vacations and erratic MLS scheduling converging to leave you scurrying to set your lineup, some of you (like me) have thrown in the towel and started to look ahead to the EPL fantasy season for some redemption.

That doesn't go for all of you. Some of you are still fighting the good fight in the MLS Fantasy Game and you survivors deserve some help. With that in mind, here is SBI Fantasy MLS guru Casey Cannon with his weekly tips and suggestions for the upcoming fantasy week:

Morning Ticker: Revs reach SuperLiga final, Fire downs Everton and Champions League results

                                                        Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good morning all. Last night was a good night to be an MLS fan. New England toppled Mexican champions Atlante in SuperLiga while the Chicago Fire defeated Everton in a friendly. Couple those results with the latest in the European soccer world and we've got a lot to get to this morning. Let's get started:

Revs reach SuperLiga final

Shalrie Joseph's first-half header goal was all New England needed as its defense held up without Michael Parkhurst in a 1-0 victory against Atlante in the SuperLiga semifinals on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.

The game was marred, as so many matches between Mexican and Amerian teams are, by post-game scuffles (call them handbags if you prefer). The result was five red cards for Atlante and one unfortunate red card for New England and Jay Heaps (has he ever not looked shocked at getting a card?).

Now England moves on to the SuperLiga final, where it will take on the Houston Dynamo in a rematch of the past two MLS Cup finals.

D.C. United lands Guerrero from San Jose

                                                      Photo by ISIphotos.com

D.C. United made its first major move of the summer this morning by acquiring Honduran midfielder/defender Ivan Guerrero from the San Jose for a partial allocation, the club announced on its team blog this morning.

The acquisition is a bold one for a D.C. club that could certainly use the spark that Guerrero can provide. Equally capable of playing on the left flank as well as at left back, Guerrero's speed and versatility will be a very good addition to a D.C. squad that has struggled in recent weeks. He won't come cheap though. He is set to earn $147,000 this season, a price tag that helped lead the Chicago Fire to include him in the waiver draft last winter, and probably helped lead to his departure from San Jose, which added Darren Huckerby on the left flank last week.

SuperLiga semifinal: New England Revolution vs. Atlante (Your running commentary)

Good evening folks. The New England Revolution puts its unbeaten SuperLiga record on the line tonight against Mexican champions Atlante in the SuperLiga semifinal at Gillette Stadium. The winner of tonight's match (8pm, Telefutura) takes on the Houston Dynamo in the second-annual SuperLiga final.

New England has looked sharp in SuperLiga play but will have to beat Atlante without its best defender, U.S. Olympic team defender Michael Parkhurst.

If you don't have Telefutura, you can watch the game online at http://www.superliga2008.com/videoaudio/

If you will be watching tonight's game, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. I will be watching and commenting but won't be doing a full running commentary.

Enjoy the match.

Afternoon Roundup: Barry staying at Villa, Tottenham lands Bentley and Moyes squashes Ochoa rumor

Aston Villa fans can relax. Gareth Barry is staying put.

Aston Villa made it clear today that it has no plans to sell its captain, ending months of speculation about a potential move to Liverpool.

Barry looked like he might become a target for Arsenal, which still hasn't found a replacement for Mathieu Flamini, but Aston Villa has stated its desire to keep Barry.

It's official: Barrett to TFC, McBride to Chicago

The trade is finally complete.

The deal that sends Chad Barrett to Toronto FC and paves the way for Brian McBride to go to the Chicago Fire has been finalized, TFC announced this afternoon. Toronto FC is announce the deal as Barrett, a 2009 first-round draft pick and future considerations for the top allocation slot, which Chicago will use to sign McBride.

The future considerations center around Toronto's ability to re-sign Barrett at the end of the season. TFC will attempt to sign Barrett to a new deal, but if it can't, and Barrett leaves, Toronto will receive more compensation, potentially in the form of an allocation.

Barrett is expected to be in uniform for Toronto's match against FC Dallas at BMO Field on Sunday.

What do you think of the deal (yes, I know, i've asked this about five times by now). Share your thoughts below.

Red Bulls practice report

Good afternoon all. I spent the morning at Red Bulls practice, hoping to get a sense of the state of the team as it heads into a much-needed bye week. There were no new players to mention, no trialists, just the same old faces trying to work out of a funk that has the Red Bulls in last place in the Eastern Conference.

Here is a rundown of what went down at training:

Gabriel Cichero was in training but still hasn't been officially added to the squad. The team expects Cichero to be available for the Red Bulls next MLS match, against D.C. United on Aug. 10.

Former Houston forward Franco Caraccio was in training and I have to say that I don't think he's the player the Red Bulls are looking for.

Fire 0, Wizards 0: A Supporter's View

Ninety minutes, Triple-digit temperatures and no goals.

A scoreless draw had to be expected when the Wizards and Fire took the field on Sunday. Aside from the sweltering heat, neither team was going to be taking many chances in this key Eastern Conference clash. The tie leaves Chicago chasing New England and Columbus atop the East and leaves KC trailing the playoff pack.

SBI correspondents Thad Bell and Stephen Wattles took in the action on Sunday and shared their thought with us:

Red Bulls pass on Cunningham

The New York Red Bulls are in desperate need of a speedy forward. They're just not desperate enough to take a chance on Jeff Cunningham.

The Red Bulls passed on a chance to acquire Cunningham after being offered him by Toronto FC, a source with knowledge of the offer told SBI on Tuesday.

Morning Ticker: FIFA makes Olympic ruling, Dynamo downs Pachuca and Real Madrid close in on midfielder

Good morning all. Lots to get into today so let's get started:

FIFA judge rules that clubs must release U-23 players

If you were ready to go buy some tickets after receiving word on Tuesday that Lionel Messi would be making the trip with Barcelona to the United States you might want to hold off for a bit.

A FIFA judge has ruled that clubs must release Under-23 players for the Olympics, a ruling that affects Messi and Brazilians Diego and Rafinha. All three were being held back by their respective clubs.

What next? The case will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will have the final say. I wouldn't bet on the court ruling against FIFA.

USA ties Ivory Coast, 0-0, in Olympic tune-up

The U.S. men's Olympic team played Ivory Coast to a scoreless tie in its opening match of the ING Cup in Hong Cup on Wednesday.

The Ivorians, led by Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou, out-shot the Americans but could not find the net. The U.S. team struggled to create chances in its first Olympic tune-up match.

Here was the U.S. team's starting lineup:

Brad Guzan, Marvell Wynne, Maurice Edu, Michael Parkhurst, Michael Orozco, Sacha Kljestan, Stuart Holden, Jozy Altidore, Brian McBride, Michael Bradley, Freddy Adu.

Charlie Davies, Dax McCarty, Benny Feilhaber, Danny Szetela and Patrick Ianni entered the match at halftime.

SuperLiga semifina: Pachuca vs. Houston Dynamo (Your Running Commentary)

Good evening folks. Tonight is the night the Houston Dynamo takes on Pachuca in the SuperLiga semifinals. Can the Dynamo finally beat their rivals from Mexico? Will Miguel Calero work his magic yet again?

If you will be watching tonight's match (10pm, Telefutura), please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. I will try to do some running commentary on the match but can't promise it yet.

Enjoy the match.

FC Dallas confirms rejection of Cooper bids

                                                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock has confirmed SBI's report from earlier today that the club has decided to turn down all offers for all-star forward Kenny Cooper.

"We received offers from multiple international clubs for Kenny Cooper during this transfer window, but we elected to decline them all," Hitchcock said in a written statement released by FC Dallas. "The international interest is a credit to Kenny, FC Dallas and the ever increasing talent level in Major League Soccer.

"Winning championships is our priority, and we feel strongly that Kenny will continue to be an important part of our success as we compete for the MLS Cup this year and in the future."

Now that it is official, what do you think? Share your thoughts below.

Earthquakes 1, Red Bulls 1: A Supporter's View

What does a match between two last place teams look like? It looks like what we saw on Sunday in San Jose. The Earthquakes dominated play but couldn't finish while the Red Bulls looked absolutely awful in a 4-5-1 that set attacking soccer back about 10 years.

The performance would have been consider promising for San Jose if not for the huge mountain still to climb in the West standings. Playing well is all fine and dandy but every game San Jose failes to record three points is another shovel on the coffin of the Earthquakes' 2008 season.

The Red Bulls are still very much alive in the East, if by pure math only. The Red Bulls just had no attack as the absence of Dane Richards left Juan Pablo Angel begging for some offensive support. None came though, well unless you count Eric Denton's header own goal.

SBI correspondents Andrew Keh and Kevin Matthiessen took in the action and shared their thoughts with us.

A little Messi to get you through the day

Admit it, you're tired of reading about transfers, trades and contracts right? (okay, not really). I bet what you would like to do is see some beautiful soccer, some pin-point passing, creativity and clinical finishing. Right?

Of course you would. So with that in mind, here are some highlights of Barcelona's recent 5-1 friendly win against Scottish club Dundee United, which included a second-half hat-trick from Mr. Lionel Messi. Enjoy: