August 21, 2007
Apparently NY Red Bulls midfielder Dema Kovalenko suffered a broken nose, amongst other injuires, when he was a passenger in a car driven by Red Bulls rookie midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic and they were in an accident when another driver cut them off.
The vehicle they were riding in flipped multiple times and while Ubiparipovic escaped relatively uninjured, Kovalenko suffered at least the broken nose and facial cuts that required stitches.
Thankfully it sounds like the injuries that Kovalenko suffered were relatively minor and he expects to be back in the Red Bulls lineup soon. Although, he is planning on wearing a facemask to protect his broken nose unlike earlier in the season when he suffered a broken nose versus Colorado.
Other news & notes:
- US Soccer.com has a new USMNT blog that is hosted at blogspot.com. My favorite posts are the quote of the morning and this post about using swag to get some practice balls pumped up.
Good stuff!
- There are all sorts of articles on DaMarcus Beasley and racism in European soccer. SI.com has an AP report, along with an interview with Sepp Blatter on the topic. I really hope this isn't an issue when the US takes on Sweden tomorrow.
- Speaking of Run DMB, US Soccer.com has an interview with the Rangers and USMNT midfielder.
- Newsday.com has an article about how the Red Bulls are trying to build off the huge crowd that came out to see Beckham on Saturday night. But, if fans haven't caught on to Jozy Altidore, Juan Pablo Angel, Clint Mathis, and company by now, will Saturday night change that? I have serious doubts that it will.
- Martin Rogers at Yahoo! Sports is the latest to pump Jozy Altidore's tires. The question shouldn't be IF Altidore moves to Europe, but rather when he makes the jump and how big the transfer fee will be. There shouldn't be any doubt that it will be the biggest transfer fee ever for a player that MLS has sold. And the real fun debate will be how long will the record stand?
- Beckham is going to try and go from the England-Germany game in London on Wednesday to the Chivas USA-LA Galaxy game at the Home Depot Center on Thursday. If playing in the Chelsea friendly was a bad idea, I don;t see how this can be a good one.
- Blanco may not be Beckham, but he is generating his own buzz. This time it was when the Chicago Fire played at Real Salt Lake over the weekend. Apparently a lot of Club America fans were in attendance to cheer on the former hero of their favorite club.
- In the latest example of a coach going after a player he has a history with, the Chicago Fire have signed Colombian defender Wilman Conde on Monday, reuniting him with manager Juan Carlos Osorio.
- Soccer365.com does a Q&A with the Bald Yank, Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann. A goalkeeper playing with 18 screws in his hand and getting a clean sheet at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the EPL.........BRILLIANT!
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.
