August 15, 2007

There is a ton of news in the world of soccer, so let's get to it:

- Luis Bueno thinks that DaMarcus Beasley will have a bigger impact than Freddy Adu, but neither player made much of a difference yesterday in Champions League qualifying action.

- Connolly Edozien scored a hat trick last night at Blackbaud Stadium as the Carolina RailHawks got a six point win over the Battery whom they are chasing for the 8th and final playoff spot. Right now, the RailHawks are even in games with Charleston and trail the Battery by four points . Will it end up being too little, too late? Well, at least the RailHawks have the Southern Derby Cup to show for their rookie season in the USL.....

- If you want to go to Chicago to see the US take on Brazil, then I'd suggest becoming a member of US Soccer.com today. There will be a pre-sale of tickets for the match that begins tomorrow morning for anyone that is a member by the end of the day today. If I won the MegaMillions drawing last night, I'm all over the $250 seats where you get to keep your chair!

- And if you want to read about why the Mexico-US game at Azteca fell through, check this article out. When Gordon Gecko said that "Greed is good", I don't think he was talking about a scenario like this one.

- So is David Beckham only going to play in games versus DC United? Becks is saying that it looks good that he'll be available for tonight's SuperLiga semifinal versus DC at the Home Depot Center.

- Speaking of the SuperLiga semis, Pachuca bounced Houston in PKs last night. I wish I would have taped the match that saw three red cards (and only one was a second yellow), four goals in regulation, and Brian Ching and Joseph Ngwenya wearing the PK goathorns for the Dynamo.

- Getting youth leagues to schedule games around their local pro team's games. Who would have thought of such a radical idea?

- Apparently the New England Revolution have had struggles at the gate in recent years as the team has gotten better on the field. I'd love to figure that riddle out. Perhaps a new MLS-sized stadium would help?

- Check out the slideshow showing the proposed stadium for an MLS team in the metro St. Louis area. I've always wondered why a city with such a rich soccer tradition doesn't have a pro outdoor soccer team to call their own.

- I like it when players do things like Chris Rolfe did by being a guest blogger Chicago Sports.com. But, Chris has a ways to go before he's in Jimmy Conrad or Bobby Boswell's league.

- According to Big Apple Soccer.com, Tony Meola is getting paid more than $125,000 to be the NJ Ironmen's starting goalkeeper AND front office staffer. I wonder how this arrangement jives with other owners when it comes to the league's $380,000 salary cap for players? And I'm sure Scott Palguta and Kenney Bertz are both wondering how much is left over for them.

- The Washington Post has a big article on DC United supporters. The article focuses mainly on Barra Brava , but the Screaming Eagles and la Norte get mentions as well. I love the story of how DC United has changed their policies over the years to make things work amongst all their groups and other fans.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.