London Guardian gives high marks to ESPN, and Andy Gray in particular, for Euro 2008 coverage.

The headline: "How America learned to love soccer
"ESPN's savvy, Brit-inflected coverage of Euro 2008 did much to improve the sport's image in the US"

That's all real nice. But is it just me, or does anyone else find this treatment just a tad ... tiresome? As if the underlying issue with every bit of coverage has to be about whether the game will ever catch on here?

And that we have to have guys with British (or Scottish or Irish) accents doing the commentary on the games that we're lucky to have on TV?

Sigh.

Let the record reflect that we hated Dave O'Brien because he didn't know a damn thing about soccer, not because he had an American accent. We didn't warm to Marcelo Balboa because he just wasn't all that insightful and apparently thought he was getting paid by the word.

I think it's great that ESPN chose to broadcast the tournament – I didn't have to shell out for PPV this time. But they did it because they think there's money in it. Just like big American investors are gobbling up English clubs, because they think there's money in that, as well. There, and here.

I prefer to look at it this way: ESPN didn't screw it up, like they did at the last World Cup. They got mostly out of the way, like they do with their Champions League coverage, and let the game speak for itself.

Kind of like what Fox Soccer Channel (nee Fox Sports World) has been doing on my TV for the past 11 years.

OK, sorry for the dearth of posts. Don's on vacation, so I'm minding the store. The real job is keeping me busy – what can I say?

Reffing all weekend at the Diadora Cup at Starfire, but caught the last 30 mins of the final there Sunday on the Mad Pizza big screens. Sensational Torres goal – now we see what all the fuss is about.

And isn't it just like Lehmann to try to put his studs into El Nino's, er, kids, after he realizes he's beaten?

Sounders, meantime, thought they had a late winner v Montreal on Saturday but gave up a leveler and finished 1-1.

Do everything you can to get out to Tuesday night's U.S. Open Cup clash with Chivas de EEUU at Starfire. Kickoff is 7 p.m. The Yankee Goats don't travel well; the Sounders have an excellent chance of advancing into the quarterfinals.

Tide See Both Sides of a 5-1 Score in Canada
Tide 1 - 5 Vancouver / Tide 5 - 1 Abbotsford
The Tide split their two matches up in Canada June 28th and 29th. The scores keep them in first place in the Northwest Division, (STANDINGS) however they have played one more game than second place Yakima, and four more matches than third place Vancouver.

Vancouver Whitecaps 5 - 1 Tacoma Tide MATCH REPORT from WhitecapsFC.com

Abbotsford Rangers 1 - 5 Tacoma Tide MATCH STATS from USLsoccer.com

The Tide's last two league matches are at Cascade (7/12) and at home against Yakima (719). The Yakima match looks like it will be a pivotal match for the playoff race.

Down to just one last game and then the fun will be all over. Some good stuff to last us 'til Sunday:

Reuters has a great blog post on the Flop XI of the tournament.

"Star" of the side would be Luca Toni, "someone for whom the term 'lump' could have been invented.

"Slow, immobile, clumsy and, when finally presented with some chances to show his ability in the air — poor in the air."

Meantime the Guardian has a look at Germany's track-record in big cup finals – it is astounding to see how often they're there at the end.

I also enjoyed the Guardian's "Joy of Six" item highlighting a half-dozen memorable international tournaments of the past.

And finally, UEFA ranks the Top 10 goals of the tournament on the official Euro 2008 site.

Lots of good players to choose from, no doubt.

On my ballot:

• Cesc Fabregas, Spain. Absolutely no idea why he is not playing from the start.

• Michael Ballack, Germany.

• Wesley Sneijder, Holland. Sure, they got dumped but he was everywhere for them when they were flying.

• Lucas Podolski, Germany.

Discuss.

The Sounders did the business Tuesday night and dispensed with Hollywood FC (vanquishers of the Portland Timbers, wtf?). Sebastien Le Toux bagged four and Josh Gardner and Zach Scott scored one apiece as the Sounders stolled, 6-0, at Starfire.

The win moves the Sounders into a third-round U.S. Open Cup matchup with Chivas USA of Major League Socccer. Kickoff is 7 p.m. July 1 at Starfire. Tickets go on sale this morning, $17 in advance, $20 at the gate.

Andrea has a rundown of the other US Open Cup results.

The other 3rd-round ties, home sides listed first:

Carolina Railhawks v Kansas City Wizards
Richmond Kickers v New England Revolution
Cleveland City Stars v Chicago Fire
Rochester Rhinos v DC United
Miami FC v FC Dallas
Charleston Battery v Houston Dynamo
Crystal Palace Baltimore v New York Red Bulls

OK, so yours truly goes from correctly predicting seven of the eight quarterfinalists – Portugal, Turkey, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia – to exactly zero of the four semifinalists.

You would have thought that to be a mathematical impossibility, but there you go.

Meantime, spare a thought for TNT sports copy editor John Wallingford, who outed himself Monday as a Euro 2008 fanatic. For a guy who works in there with a bunch of knuckle-draggers who still see soccer as "a commie sport," or whatever, it was a brave admission. We're here for you, John.

At any rate, onto the predictions.

Germany v Turkey: A lot riding on it for the massive Turkish population in Germany. But Turkey is too short due to injuries and suspensions, and Germany will grind out the result.

Spain v Russia. Spain nearly crumbled to an extremely pedestrian Italy. Arshavin is the man. Russia.

Final = Germany v Russia.

And you?

The Seattle Sounders of the USL First DIvision meet Hollywood United of the U.S. Amateur Soccer Association and the Coast Soccer League in Los Angeles, at 8 tonight (Tuesday) at Starfire in second round action of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Details at www.seattlesounders.net.

The Sounders advanced to the second round with a 1-0 win over the Arizona Sahuaros (USASA) in extra time.

If the Sounders win, they will host Chivas USA of Major League Soccer at Starfire on July 1.

Former UW goalkeeper Hope Solo has been restored to the U.S. women's national team. Here's an AP report.

By the way, during one of my earlier visits to the offices of the USL and MLS Sounders, I asked if there was any thought at all that Solo might be considered for a look at the Major League Soccer level. The short answer seems to be no.

The longer answer is that Solo has actually done some training with the USL Sounders, and that she apparently showed solid skills. But the typical keeper in MLS these days is well over 6 feet tall. Former Sounder Preson Burpo, now with San Jose is 6-3 and 206 pounds. Jon Conway of New York is 6-6, 215. The smallest successful MLS keeper may be Jon Busch of Chicago, who is 5-10. Solo is 5-9, and beyond height, there are simple physical strength and speed issues that the Sounders don't believe could be overcome.

Adweek takes a very interesting look into MLS jersey sponsorship ... and the interested eye being cast by other U.S. sports.

Here's the link.

Last week we had a bit of a discussion about whether Vancouver or Portland has the inside track as a geographic MLS rival Seattle Sounders FC.

However, the road into MLS for either city is becoming more traffic-choked as more and more cities across two countries express interest in joining MLS.

In addition to Portland and Vancouver, there has been serious talk about St. Louis and Montreal and a second team for New York, along with occasional talk about Las Vegas or Phoenix or another try in Miami.

Last week, a couple of newer cities indicated the stirrings of interest:

Atlanta.

Ottawa.

The Tacoma Tide played a lifeless and scoreless first half last night against the Spokane Spiders. But they came out like they were shot out of a cannon early in the second half on their way to a 3-1 victory.

It was one of the better crowds I've seen over at Curtis, and the majority of Tide supporters were wearing very cool yellow Tide T-shirts handed out at the gate.

Over in Tukwila, the played to a scoreless draw against Miami FC.

The Tacoma Tide meets the Spokane Spiders at 7 tonight (Friday) at Curtis High School. After this, the league schedule takes the Tide on the road, and they won't be back on their home pitch for almost a month: July 19.

The Seattle Sounders also are home tonight, meeting Miami at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

It's the start of a busy stretch for the USL Sounders, who will host Hollywood United in a U.S. Open Cup match at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and then end their current homestand next weekend against Montreal before their schedule also sends them away for four straight road games reaching into mid-July.

I had a little time with Adrian Hanauer last week and took the opportunity to ask him when the Sounders' MLS roster will begin filling in.

His answer:
"It’s possible that we can pick off a player here and there over the next few months. But most players are playing. We’re not going to sign a player and want him to sit on his butt for the next six months not playing.

"There’s also the possibility of picking off some of the guys from the (USL) Sounders team. If there’s some guys that we decide to sign, I’m not sure exactly when we would do that, but that’s conceivable.

"Realistically, though, it’s preparation right now. It’s preparation for the expansion draft (in November, a few days after MLS Cup). Chris (Henderson) and I are working hard at identifying the players that we think will be protected and the players that we would be interested in if they’re not protected. We’re working on our college draft lists. We’ve got lots of lists of foreign players that we’re potentially interested in.

"So, in chronicle order: Picking off a few players here and there, expansion draft, then at the same time there’s a transfer window that opens Jan. 1, so at that point there will probably be a pretty decent flurry of activity as we bring some of the foreign players in. And then the college draft is mid-January."

Fans must hope that Hanauer strikes gold with that transfer window, because the MLS expansion draft hasn't created a really solid side since the earliest days of the league. That hasn't changed much this season with San Jose, and the expansion draft rules for Seattle are expected to be about -- if not exactly -- the same.

Seattle Sounders FC would like a geographic rival, and MLS wants to put another team in the Northwest.

The question is: Does Portland or Vancouver get the first nod.

The vibe I'm getting is that the Canadian city may have nudged aheard of the Oregon city based on ready ownership, an instantly available interim stadum and the great success of Toronto FC.

Here is an update on the Vancouver situation from the National Post.

And here's an interview with Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson from the Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian.

Pretend you're Marco van Basten.

Win or lose Tuesday in your match with Romania, you're through to the quarterfinals for a meeting with Group D runners up Russia or Sweden.

Ah, but if you lose, in one fell swoop you knock out the wounded but dangerous Italy and France and thereby guarantee that you won't meet either of them in the semifinal (which is where either of the two, if they are runners up in Group C, would land if they suddenly found a glimmer of form and knocked off Group D winner Spain in the quarterfinals).

So do you risk losing Mighty Momentum and lay down to Romania? Or do you eschew any skulduggery and plow ahead, figuring you clobbered the Azzuri and Les Bleu once and you can do it again if need be?

The Tacoma Tide netted twice on their trip to Utah. Thanks to excellent team defense and possession, the two goals were enough for a 1-0 win vs the Ogden Outlaws, and a 1-0 victory of the BYU Cougars. The wins put the Tide in the drivers seat for a playoff berth for the second year in a row.

Click here for Standings
Tide play in the Western Conference, Northwest Division. The top two teams from each division will qualify for the playoffs beginning on July 25th.

To see both game reports, see TacomaFC.com

The United States' men's national team begins its long road to the 2010 World Cup today with a 2 p.m. match with Barbados, which will be shown live on ESPN2. (Across, unfortunately, from the start of the final round of the U.S. Open).

Here's a preview from the U.S. Soccer site.

If the Seattle Sounders advance in their June 24 U.S. Open Cup match against Hollywood United, it has been determined that their next stop down the road will be Chivas USA.

The Major League Soccer side would would meet the USL Division I Sounders at 7 p.m. July 1 at the Starfire Sports Complex.

If the Sounders win that one, they would move on to a quarterfinal match July 8 at Qwest Field.

Here's the take from the MLS point of view, which seems more excited about the possibility of an all-LA pairing of Hollywood United vs. Chivas.

Craig Tomlinson ended the scoring in the 86th minute on a well-struck volley of a long pass across the penalty area.

All in all, a very nice result for the Sounders, who managed to rest most of their regulars and still get a solid 3-0 win.

A crowd of 2,085 watched at the Starfire Sports Complex.

HALF: Sounders 2, Juventus 0.
Both goals came from Sounders FC's Sebastien Le Toux. The first was a penalty kick, set up by a dubious call on what looked like a sound tackle to me. The second was pure and beautiful: Le Toux beating Juventus keeper Carlo Pinsoglio to a ball at the top of the box and Le Toux lifting it softly over him and into the goal.

PREGAME
6:50: The starting lineups have just been distributed; and disappointingly, other than Sabastian Le Toux and Kenji Treschuk, none of the Sounders regulars are penciled in. However, starting in midfield is newcomer Nik Besagno, the former MLS No. 1 pick now on loan from Real Salt Lake.

6:35: Primavera just stripped off their red warmup tops, and I am pleased to see that they are wearing the fames Juventus vertical stripes... half the reason I came.

6:15: The Sounders have been on the pitch for at least half an hour. However, Juventus Primavera has just made an appearance. They are young. And small. And talented.

ARRIVE AT STARFIRE
The Sounders are home at 7 o'clock tonight in what projects to be a very interesting friendly against the Juventus developmental side.

I'm attending tonight and will use this as a running blog with scoring updates as the game moves along.

However, it's a beautiful day, and tickets remains, so ...

Sounders FC and the Northwest Film Forum are presenting a screening of the film "ZIDANE: A 21st CENTURY PORTRAIT." What is being called "an experimental documentary depicting French soccer superstar Zinédine Zidane" will be will be shown this weekend at the Northwest Film Forum.

Here's the info:

Tracking Zinédine Zidane exclusively for the duration of a single soccer match, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno’s aesthetic film is a portrait of one player, in one game, on one day. Accompanied by a score from the Scottish band Mogwai, the film is an exploration of the psychology of the sport and a profile of a man in his element. Director Douglas Gordon describes the film as “an exercise in solitude.” During the entire 92 minutes of a Real Madrid vs. Villarreal match, seventeen super-35mm Scope format synchronized cameras were set around the Bernabeu Stadium, each focusing exclusively on Zidane in real time. Two of the cameras were equipped with high definition zoom used by the US Army prior to production of the film. The team behind the seventeen cameras includes operators who have worked with the likes of Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone, as well as NFL Films and Major League Baseball.

ZIDANE: A 21st CENTURY PORTRAIT will screen Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 15 at 7 pm and 9:15pm.

Individual tickets are $8.50 general, $6.00 children/seniors, and $5.00 for NWFF members. Northwest Film Forum is located on Capitol Hill at 1515 12th Ave.(between Pike and Pine).

More information is available at the Northwest Film Forum website.

UPDATE: MG here. For what it's worth, I've wasted a fair amount of time watching clips of this movie on YouTube and thought I'd add one here so you can see what's what.

Zizzou is the greatest player of his generation, hands down, and it's painfully obvious watching the Euros that France have no one to take his place.

Key words regarding this film, though, are "experimental" and "aesthetic" and "French." Be sure to get a triple Americano on your way in.

Started this last week and figured it would be a good place for us all to wag about the tournament (and meant to do update here before the start of the second round of games, but alas, here we are). To that end:

So far so good for Portugal, with Ronnie just warming up. Nice finish today. Turkey gets a thrilling late winner; Czech Republic looks a little busier, at least, with Milan Baros putting himself about up front. That'll be a good game for second spot out of the group.

I still think Croatia can beat Germany. Lehmann and Metzelder are a comedy show just waiting to happen, which will make the German coach even more emo.

France have it all wrong, no link between Makelele and the front-runners. Need to put Scarface in the hole and give him the ball. Favorite Holland player in the Italy pasting is Orlando Engelaar, the enormous No. 8 ball-winner who gobbled up everything. The Dutch look poised to break hearts. Won't concede my Italy pick was wrong just yet, but they looked old. Get Grosso in there -- their best attacking threat. Romania not out of it yet either and Mutu looks like he will score -- goals, that is, not blow. (Is that mean?)

Russia were unlucky early, and then got drilled once the Spanish got some confidence. Swedes aren't so easily shaken and watching Zlatan and Larsson I realize that I completely overlooked them. That was a nice one-two and a sweet finish. As for Spain, well, they will fail, catastrophically, at some point. I was two years old the last time they didn't (and I'm an old guy).

Carry on.

After a successful weekend in which the Tide won 2-0 over Abbotsford and 4-0 over Vancouver, Tacoma Tide midfielder, Chase Tangney , has earned PDL Team of the Week Honors.

Story Here

Check out the highlights from the match to see Tangney's two goals. The first one was an excellent volley.

Nik Besagno, Real Salt Lake's No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 SuperDraft, has been loaned to the USL Seattle Sounders.

Besagno is perceived as a bit of a bust, but he's only 19 and RSL believes the central defender better off playing at a lower level than watching at a higher level. Plus, he'll have the advantage of familiar surroundings: He's from Maple Valley.

Here's a report from the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Seattle Sounders needed 118 minutes to escape with a 1-0 win over Arizona Sahuaros in the 105-degree heat of the Valley of the Sun last night and advance to the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.

The lone goal came as Kenji Treschuk scored unassisted after a missed clearance.

Seattle's returns to Cup action June 24 for a home game against Hollywood United, who beat the Portland Timbers, 3-2, on Tuesday.

The Sounders next game comes Thursday at Starfire Sports Complex, a friendly against Juventus Primavera.

Details on all this are available at the Sounders' website.

Sebastien Le Toux, the first Sounders FC player now on loan to the USL Seattle Sounders has been named the USL Team of the Week.

Here's the announcement from the USL Sounders:

Sebastien Le Toux was named to the USL Team of the Week after scoring a goal in the Sounders 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Thunder on Saturday night, the United Soccer Leagues announced today.

Today’s selection was Le Toux’s second of the season for Team of the Week honors, his first came two weeks ago when he scored a goal and an assist in Vancouver.

The Sounders beat the Thunder behind goals from Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar and Leighton O’Brien, but it was Le Toux who slammed the door shut in the 78th minute, scoring when he collected a loose ball in front of the net and slotted it home. It was his fourth goal in his last six matches bringing his total on the season to five which is half-way to his total goal output for the 2007 USL-1 regular season when he was named USL-1 MVP.

The Sounders host Juventus Primavera Thursday at 7 p.m. Thursday at Starfire. ... (Tickets are available at) www.ticketmaster.com or 1-206-628-0888.

As much as I would like to say otherwise, under the laws, it's a legit goal.

From the Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game, page 37, and I quote:

"A defender who leaves the field during the course of play and does not immediately return must still be considered in determining where the second to last defender is for the purpose of judging which attackers are in an offside position. Such a defender is considered to be on the touchline or goal line closest to his or her off-field position. A defender who leaves the field with the referee's permission (and who thus requires the referee's permission to return) is not included in determining offside position."

In other words, Panucci still counts even though he's laying on the ground off the field.

POSTGAME
The US ended it's three-game set of high-rent friendlies against England, Spain and Argentina without scoring a goal. However, the second and third games formed pretty impressive send-offs into the World Cup qualifiers.

Here's an AP report on the Argentina match.

HALFTIME
No goals in the first half, but lots of action. Especially for US keeper Tim Howard, who has been off-the-charts brilliant.

PREGAME
I don't beleive we included it in our TNT Sports TV listings, but the USA-Argentina match at 4:30 p.m. today is going to be shown on ESPN Classic.

Argentina is the No. 1-ranked team in the world, the USA is No. 21. Landon Donovan is back. However, the on-field temperature is being reported at near 100 degrees ... and we saw what that New York-area heat did to Big Brown yesterday.

Between this and Eruo '08, what a great day of soccer this has been...

Brazil followed up its visit to Qwest Field with a game Friday night in Foxborough, Mass. And while Brazil looked vulnerable in its win over Canada here, they were beaten by Venezuela, 2-0.

Here's a report from the Boston Herald.

The Tacoma Tide remained perfect at home Saturday with a shutout win over Vancouver. The Tide concludes its homestand on Friday with another visit from Spokane to Curtis High's Viking Field.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Sounders also took a home win, 3-1, against Minnesota. The Sounders take a break from USL action on Thursday, hosting Juventus Primavera in friendly at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

The Tacoma Tide beat Abbotsford, 2-0, last night at Curtis High School. And they'll host the Vancouver Whitecaps U23 team tonight at 7 p.m.

Details of last night's game and some details on tonight's are available at the Tide's Web site.

Cross-posting this one from where two of my worlds collide: an all-star team from McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis will run out against the semi-pro Tacoma Tide at 7 p.m. June 17, Curtis High School stadium.

Tide front office says they're hoping to get their club out there front and center in front of the many Army and Air Force soccer fans who may not know they're around.

"We know they've got a lot of guys who know the game from living in Europe, or otherwise have a real affinity for it," Tide communications director Jon Billings said.

Master Sgt. James Royston at McChord said a number of military players participate in the various adult leagues around the region, and a handful from the base have represented the Air Force in the all-service playoffs in years past.

That said, keeping up with the Tide's mostly college-age aspiring pros will be a challenge. The Tide stands second in the Premier Development League's eight-team Northwest division, and play home games tonight and Saturday at Curtis.

Royston says he'll do some scouting.

"We won't be as young as the Tacoma Tide but we've got some experienced guys," Royston said. "We're hoping to give them a run."

The sixth annual All Nations Cup kicks off Friday night at Starfire in Tukwila. If you haven't been to this festival of sport and culture, you are missing one of the very coolest events that our region has to offer.

The tournament, played over the next three weeks, pits 43 teams representing the ethnic communities of the greater Puget Sound region. It's an amateur World Cup with passion and intensity that has grown from each year to the next.

Opening ceremonies are Friday night at 7, with four matches at 8 p.m. Figure Argentina v Ireland to likely be the tastiest of the bunch.

See the schedule for the rest of the weekend's matches.

A reminder that the Tacoma Tide continues its homestand at Curtis High School with a couple of games this weekend. Abbotsford comes in at 7 p.m. Friday, and Vancouver Whitecaps U23 visits at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Sounders will meet Minnesota at 8 p.m. Saturday in USL First Division action and then will meet Juventus Primavera at 7 p.m. next Thursday. Both games will be at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

Here's a game report from the Major League Soccer web site.

Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco was voted MLS Player of the Month for May after registering two goals and four assists in four matches.

Here is the remainder of the MLS announcement:

(Blanco) led the Fire to a 3-1-0 record in May with all three wins coming on the road. His performance in a 5-1 victory over the Red Bulls on May 25 earned Blanco his first Player of the Week honor since joining the League in July 2007.

The Fire sit in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 6-2-1 record and 19 points, just one point behind conference leaders New England Revolution (6-3-2, 20 pts). This is the first career Player of the Month award for Blanco.

Blanco provided his share of highlights in the month of May. He opened the campaign playing 90 minutes in a 3-0 victory at New England on May 3. In the Fire’s second game of the month, May 8, he scored a spectacular goal in a 2-0 road victory over D.C. United that was voted Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for Week 7, which is sure to earn consideration for Goal of the Year honors, an award he captured last season. Blanco deftly dribbled through the midfield and blasted a left-footed shot from 30 yards out that swerved into the top right corner of the goal, past the outstretched hands of United goalkeeper Zach Wells.

He provided an assist in the Fire’s only loss of the month, a 2-1 defeat at home to the Houston Dynamo on May 17, but capped the month for Chicago on May 25 with his most impressive performance of the season. Blanco played a part in all five goals when the Fire defeated the Red Bulls on the road Saturday, May 25. He scored one goal, tallied three assists and his corner kick led to the Fire’s fifth goal, earning him Player of the Week honors for Week 9.

Blanco joined the Fire in July, 2007 as the team’s first Designated Player. He was a finalist for the League’s Most Valuable Player last year after only playing half a season, and helped his team to the Eastern Conference Championship. He is off to a great start this season; his four goals are tied for third most in the League and five assists are tied for second.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Month is selected following the last regular season game of each month by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).

OK all you peerless prognosticators: Time to step up. Euro 2008 kicks off Saturday and here's hoping it will be as entertaining as the last two editions -- recall Greece's against-all-odds run to the title over hosts Portugal in 2004, and irresistible France's golden goal win in the 2000 final.

We shelled out the dough for PPV the last two times, but this year the tournament is ESPN's gaggle of networks. We're not completely sure that's a good thing. At least in the past you knew that for your $179 or whatever, you could put it on the PPV channel and the games would be there.

Now, anybody know which channel? El Ocho? Navigate the ESPN web site to find out what time the games are on; go ahead, we dare you. More bells and whistles than the freakin' USS Enterprise. It makes us grumpy.

At any rate, here are the picks.

Group A: Portugal and Turkey.
Group B: Croatia and Germany.
Group C: France and Italy.
Group D: Spain and Russia.

Quarterfinals
Portugal beats Germany.
Croatia beats Turkey.
France beats Russia.
Italy beats Spain.

Semifinals
Portugal beats Croatia.
Italy beats France.

Italy beats Portugal.

Your turn.

The Major Indoor Soccer League suspended operations over the weekend, which may come as a particular shock to those who didn't realize the league was still around in the first place.

In any case, this may not be one of those permanent deaths. Perhaps more like a reorganization, which the league has done since it's glory days with the Tacoma Stars.

Here's the official league report, and here's a report from the Milwaukee Journal.

The USL Sounders will begin U.S. Open Cup play one week from today (June 10) in the Valley of the Sun against the Arizona Sahuaros of the National Premier Soccer League.

Here's a report from the Arizona Republic.

It seems that some of the Canadian media was as surprised -- and impressed -- by their national team's performance against Brazil on Saturday at Qwest Field as some of us were.

Here's a good overview from the Vancouver Sun.

At least eight people have suffocated in an overcrowded stadium at a World Cup qualifying match in Liberia.

Here's a report from the Associated Press.