It's a Good Weekend for Football.

Saturday, April 28th

Toronto FC 0, Kansas City 1

An 81st minute strike by Eddie Johnson silenced the BMO Field crowd of 20,000 plus. A shame considering Toronto was playing much better than any previous match. I like the energy and aggression that big-man Danny Dichio brings to the game and apparently so did the Toronto crowd. The biggest star of the game, however, was BMO Field itself. Even on a gray day like it was, the Toronto skyline fit nicely in the background of the stadium and there were very little empty seats. Regardless, Toronto succumbed to their defensive mistakes (somewhat defeating themselves at times). A couple Toronto chances were cleared off the line and it looked somewhat certain that they would get their first goal. But no. Improvement is promising however.
Because I Think...'s MVP: EJ, no matter how many times I call him lazy (I think he hears me), he keeps producing. All different times in the game too. Last week, 5th minute, This week, 81st minute. Can we have him do that at the international level too, please?


Columbus 1, D.C. United 0

I understand a well-fought win. I understand a slow start to the season. But a 0-3 start for reigning Supporter's Shield holders DC United is just mindblowing. Ezra Hendrickson, the veteran of all veterans, got 'two bites at the apple' and made the most of it after Devon McTavish had cleared his first chance off the line. DC shares its last place spot in the Eastern Conference with Toronto FC and failed in a chance to correct themselves. Luciano Emilio had a goal disallowed and plenty of shots were well off-target for struggling United. Watch them drop in the power rankings this week, but I still never bet against D.C., especially with this roster. New signing Nicholas Addlery got 20 minutes in his first appearance.
Because I Think...'s MVP: Ezra Hendrickson, the guy never gets the respect he probably deserves...for longevity, loyalty (despite the several teams he has played for), and leadership.

Los Angeles 3, Chivas USA 1

Landon Donovan likes big games. A goal and two assists from Mr. Landycakes put the nail in Chivas USA's coffin. His goal was his first of the season. Canadian Kevin Harmse scored LA's second with a nice run into the box with the finish right by Brad Guzan's near post. Los Angeles is starting to really like this new guy. For Chivas USA, there was a noticable difference without Sacha Kljestan in there. Despite his absence, however, the chances were there for the Goats but Joe Cannon showed his worth for the first time this season and smothered every Chivas chance (and for this game, made Frank Yallop and Alexi Lalas look like a genius). Like Toronto, Chivas USA paid dearly for their defensive lapses. Superclasico number one in the books and the majority prediction is proven wrong. Now, LA has to play well consistently, not just when they want to.
Because I Think...'s MVP: Landon Donovan and Joe Cannon. Cannon has been under a spotlight since his trade from the Rapids created some controversy. Donovan is always under the microscope and silenced the critics...for one night.

English Premiership

It was a goal-scoring weekend all over Europe as defenders everywhere seemed to take the day off.

Chelsea 2, Bolton 2

Solomon Kalou's goal couldn't spark a Chelsea rout and a tie (with Man Utd's win) puts 5 points between the two with three games to go in the Premiership season. The young Slovakian Lubomir Michalik scored a gift of a goal and Kevin Davies equalized to frustrate Jose Mourinho and the Chelsea hopefuls. Afterwards, Bolton boss Sam Allardyce resigned.

Manchester United 4, Everton 2

With the consistency, regardless of injury problems, shown this season by the Red Devils, who in their right minds would bet against them to hold off Chelsea for the crown. A head-to-head match-up with Chelski still looms but a 5 point cushion could allow for a couple mistakes here or there. Goals from the unlikelys, Chris Eagles (a long-time Man Utd loanee who just can't break into the first team) and Irish defender/defensive midfielder John O'Shea, allowed Man Utd to overcome a pesky Everton side. Timmy Howard was rained heavily with 12 shots on goals forcing Howard to make 9 saves. Wayne Rooney provided the other goal (as his drought is clearly effectively over). Everton went up 2-0 (testing Man Utd's resilience) with strikes from veteran defender Alan Stubbs and Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes.


Wigan 0, West Ham United 3

In a relegation battle, the untapped talent of WHU puts the advantage on the Hammers' side. West Ham spread out their scoring and finished what chances they had to put Wigan's season in dire straits. Luis Boa Morte, Yossi Benayoun, and big-man Marlon Harewood allowed to pull even point-wise with the Latics but goal difference still separates the two. WHU also have to face seemingly unstoppable Man Utd and recently shaky Bolton with their last two games. Wigan, on the other hand, faces Middlesbrough and Sheffield United to finish out the season. Momentum favors West Ham, but Wigan certainly has the easier match-ups. Fulham, however, is only one point up on both and is now in the thick of the relegation battle.


Other Saturday Premiership Scores:

Manchester City 0, Aston Villa 2

Jon Carew and Shaun Maloney provided the impetus to get around Man City. Damarcus Beasley sat out of this match-up.

Blackburn 4, Charlton 1

Brad Friedel had little work to do as the sharpshooting of Jason Roberts (with two goals) and young'un Matt Derbyshire pushed the Rovers forward.

Middlesbrough 2, Tottenham 3

Gareth Southgate and Middlesbrough's slide continues as Dimitar Berbatov provided the momentum buster with a beautiful volley in the 47th minute. Middlesbrough still fought back from 2 down with a goal from trusty Mark Viduka. Robbie Keane scored two goals to assure Tottenham fans and Martin Jol that Middlesbrough's comeback attempts were futile.

Portsmouth 2, Liverpool 1

Pompey went up 2-0 early and Liverpool had to fight out of the trenches. Benjani and Niko Kranjcar (I hope he stays in the Premiership) scored the goals and Finnish defender Sami Hyypia gave Liverpool a chance with 30 minutes to go. Pompey however took advantage of the young back four used by Liverpool: Gabrial Palletta, 17 year old Emiliano Insua, and Alvaro Arbeloa.

Sheffield United 1, Watford 0

Sheffield United refused to become a relegation battler and profited from a Michael Tonge deflected goal. Paddy Kenny looked strong in goal again. Jay Demerit is out for Watford.

Sunday, April 29th

English Premiership

Arsenal 3, Fulham 1

An early strike from Julio Baptista (who recently talked about the disgusting play, weather, and social life in England) allowed Arsenal to put the run on Fulham. Even an equalizer from former Everton man Simon Davies couldn't sway the momentum. Emmanuel Adebayor and Gilberto Silva (a penalty) provided the other two goals with 10 minutes to go. McBride couldn't find an opening, Bocanegra had trouble with the speedy Adebayor and Baptista, and Dempsey couldn't light the spark needed in the last 30 minutes of the game.


Dutch Eredivisie

PSV are crowned Eredivisie champions for. PSV Eindhoven's win could guarantee Damarcus Beasley's exit from the Dutch Eredivisie. PSV notched 5 goals to continue the trend this weekend of massive goal scoring efforts (Roda JC 7-0 win, Heerenveen's 5-1 win). PSV wins their third consecutive championship and looks to create a Lyon-like dynasty (who clinched last week their 6th consecutive French Ligue One title). This one was tighter race than past years as PSV, Ajax, and AZ Alkmaar were tied in points before matchday. As all three looked that they would win, it came down to goal difference. Ajax won 2-0 against Willem II, AZ lost to Exclesior 3-2, and PSV did the job, spreading the wealth around to 4 different scorers, to take the title.

Heerenveen's Brazilian striker Afonso Alves and Michael Bradley's teammate scored an impressive 4 goals in a 5-1 Frisian spanking of rivals Feyenoord Rotterdam (old Cory Gibbs stomping ground). His total has now reached 34 goals which surpasses some notable tally totals of former big Eredivisie strikers Dirk Kuijt, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Arnold Bruggink, and Jan Vennegor de Hesselink. All have moved on to big European careers and I would look for someone like Chelsea or a Spanish La Liga team to pick him up in the upcoming offseason. Michael Bradley also fared well providing an assist in his 20 minutes of play.


More to come...

Whoever said the Eagles picked Brady Quinn. That was a mean, mean joke.

Herb-a-what?

Two big pieces of MLS News:

So the reason the Los Angeles Galaxy did not announce a jersey sponsorship deal with Citibank earlier was because it was more of a two potential sponsor race...with Herbalife. The Galaxy yesterday announced a $3.5 to $5 million a year agreement through to 2011 with the nutritional giant Herbalife. So far...the money is good, but the jersey is shite. What happened to the new colors? New logo? When did that get scrapped? Or is it still in the works?


The Bank of Montreal (BMO) has built itself a rather big influence in the Toronto FC organization with the announcement of a jersey sponsorship deal (pretty much in tandem with the LA announcement). First, the stadium. Second, the jerseys. Next?? At least it's better than Herbalife. No word to the logistics of the deal. Anyone got that?


- A flurry of transactions of happened within the MLS recently. They are all up to date in the top right of the this blog. Enjoy.

- There are some great Euro 2008 qualifiers and International Friendlies going on right now. I will round those up tomorrow, but there aren't many on TV in America.

FOR NOW, here are the updated scoring leaders for the big European leagues:

English Premiership

1 Didier Drogba Chelsea 18
2 Cristiano Ronaldo Man Utd 16
3 Wayne Rooney Man Utd 12
Ayegbeni Yakubu Middlesbrough 12
Benedict McCarthy Blackburn 12
6 Andrew Johnson Everton 11
Frank Lampard Chelsea 11
Robin Van Persie Arsenal 11


Spanish Primera Liga

1 Frederic Kanoute FC Sevilla 19
2 Alberto Diego Milito Real Zaragoza 18
3 Ronaldinho Barcelona 17
4 Ruud van Nistelrooy Real Madrid 14
5 Fernando Morientes Valencia 11
6 Raúl Tamudo Espanyol 10
Fernando Baiano Celta Vigo 10
David Villa Valencia 10


Italian Serie A

1 Francesco Totti AS Roma 18
2 Rolando Bianchi Reggina 15
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Inter Milan 15
Luca Toni Fiorentina 15
5 Tommaso Rocchi Lazio 13
Adrian Mutu Fiorentina 13



German Bundesliga

1 Mario Gomez VfB Stuttgart 13
Theofanis Gekas VfL Bochum 13
3 Roy Makaay Bayern Munich 12
4 Alexander Frei Dortmund 11
Kevin Kuranyi Schalke 04 11
Miroslav Klose Werder Bremen 11
Marko Pantelic Hertha Berlin 11


French Ligue 1

1 Steve Savidan Valenciennes 13
2 Aruna Dindane Lens 11
3 Fred Lyon 10
Ismael Bangoura Le Mans 10
Pauleta PSG 10
6 Bafetimbi Gomis St Etienne 9
Seydou Keita Lens 9


Scottish Premier League

1 Kris Boyd Rangers 19
2 Anthony Stokes Falkirk 14
3 Christopher Killen Hibernian 13
4 Steven Naismith Kilmarnock 12
5 Barry Robson Dundee Utd 11
Scott McDonald Motherwell 11
7 Jan Vennegoor of H. Celtic 10
Colin Nish Kilmarnock 10
Darren Mackie Aberdeen 10



Dutch Eredivisie

1 Afonso Alves Heerenveen 25
2 Blaise N'Kufo Twente 19
Danny Koevermans AZ Alkmaar 19
4 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Ajax 17
Danko Lazovic Vitesse 17
6 Jefferson Farfan PSV Eindhoven 16
7 Wesley Sneijder Ajax 13
Kennedy Bakircioglu Twente 13



Portuguese Liga

1 Sabrosa Simao Benfica 10
Helder Postiga FC Porto 10
3 Aparecido Nei Naval 9
4 Salazar Jose Pedro Belenenses 8
Da Silva Liedson Sporting Lisbon 8
6 Collins Mbesuma Maritimo 7
Lucho Gonzalez FC Porto 7
Roland Linz Boavista 7

Frustration for the Rovers

English Premiership

West Ham United 2, Blackburn 1

I am now convinced that goal-line technology is now needed to ensure proper results. Carlos Tevez effectively blocked his own team's goal by roving on the goal-line. The shot, however, was ruled a goal which disrupted B-burn's game and momentum. Bobby Zamora, West Ham super-sub, got the credit. All in all, Blackburn was the better team but this time, the best team didn't win. A lucky win for Alan Curbishley and yet another review for the FA to take a look at.

WHU: C. Tevez (PEN 71), B. Zamora (75)
BLA: C. Samba (47)

Middlesborough 0, Manchester City 2

The life of Stuart Pearce just got a little easier. Gareth Southgate's life just got a little bit harder. He will come under scruting for leaving big-guns Mark Viduka and Jonathan Woodgate on the sidelines for this clash. A prime example of Man City losing a lot and then taking advantage of a sheer underestimation to gain momentum. DaMarcus Beasley got on in the 84th minute. By then, however, the damage was already done by new Belgian signing Emile Mpenza and French veteran Sylvain Distin.

MID: NONE
MNC: S. Distin (61), E. Mpenza (74)

Tottenham 3, Watford 1

Ben Foster, a young GK phenom, showed his inexperience today. Paul Robinson, an established England international, dealt the blow. Robinson struck a free-kick into the penalty box from his own half (clearly for someone to head). The ball fell however and bounced high, Foster who was out off his line judging the ball jumped to intercept but the ball went clear over his head and into the back of the net. This brought me great pleasure as it was retribution for Paul Robinson who against Croatia last year whiffed on a Gary Neville backpass which ended up in England's goal. To Foster's credit, he bounced back nicely and fought the onslaught from Tottenham. Watford, however, did nothing exciting or remotely productive proving their Championship worth. By the way, that goal was Paul Robinson's second of his career. A far cry from Jose Luis Chilavert, but close enough for a half-assed comparison.


TOT: J. Jenas (41), P. Robinson (63), H. Ghali (85)
WAT: D. Henderson (89)

Manchester United 4, Bolton 1

Manchester United is unstoppable lately. I would love to say it is also because of the new leadership of Americans Malcolm Glazer and his sons but no. However, I can safely say that the change in leadership has given the players something else to play for. They now have to reprove their worth and take whatever distrust and skepticism out on the opponents. Maybe that was the missing ingredient or maybe it never really mattered and football is football. Regardless, Park Ji-Sung and Wayne Rooney headlined this game by striking for two a-piece. We all know who the architect was, however. Cristiano Ronaldo was simply brilliant causing all sorts of trouble on the wings. This Drogba vs. Ronaldo debate shall continue until the bitter end. Anyways, Man U...amazing. They are going to win it all. Small backstep for Man U, though, as Gary Neville had to go off injured. No word on the verdict yet.


MAN: P. Ji-Sung (14, 25), W. Rooney (17, 74)
BOL: G. Speed (PEN 87)

Wigan 0, Fulham 0

Carlos Bocanegra and Brian McBride were quiet and Dempsey didn't get on again. Essentially, this was a bore draw. However, Fulham missed a chance to get a tad higher than 14th and frankly, their play has been crap as of late.

WIG: NONE
FUL: NONE


Chelsea 3, Sheffield United 0

Butt-whooping. In all honesty, not many were expecting anything much different. Chelsea and Man Utd are going win for win. Shevchenko deserves goal of the game with a beautiful volley real early in the game. Solomon Kalou has simply been brilliant as of late and this game was no different as he scored for the 2nd time in 3 games. Shevchenko seems to be slowly adapting to the pace and physical nature of the English Premiership. His touch is improving again (not exactly back to Milan-standard, but certainly close). Also, the fans and media are beginning to change their minds about the approximate 50 million dollar man.


CHE: Shevchenko (4), S. Kalou (17), M.Ballack (58)
SHF: NONE

Reading 0, Portsmouth 0

Reading actually missed the presence of Bobby Convey today. Glen Little hustled on the sideline with several brilliant crosses, but overall, he botched the chances that would have most likely led to results. Regardless, Convey is out. Glen Little is decent on the right and Shane Long has been playing fantastic filling in. These points were critical, however, as Reading and Portsmouth are locked in the European competition struggle. Hard fought game for both. No real stars in this one, except for Portsmouth's Hughes' shot from 30 yards out. Look it up and check it out.

REA: NONE
POR: NONE

Sunday, March 18th

Charlton Athletic 2, Newcastle United 0

The Shandong cast-off Zheng Zhi should have probably had 2-3 goals today and was, by far, the man of the match. Zhi, before coming over to Charlton on loan, had several skeptics as the transfer speculation was very Agustin Delgado-like. This really helps the Addicks out though. Onyewu went all 90 in a rather porous Newcastle back-line.


CHA: Zhi (53), J. Thomas (PEN 88)
NEW: NONE

Everton 1, Arsenal 0

The Gunners' woes continue and Andy Johnson gets the last laugh. Arsenal has been kicked in the teeth within all three competitions they are involved in. No Abou Diaby deflection to save Arsene Wenger this time. The game was fairly even but Everton's physical play clearly intimidated the vulnerable young Gunners. The Toffees had 6 yellows to show for it. David Moyes gave James Vaughan, part of an Everton young'un duo that is showing a lot of promise (Victor Anichebe is the other half), his first start of his Premiership career. Timmy Howard survived several Arsenal barrages and held his own, which is sort of becoming the usual. Goodison Park is a magical place.


EVR: A. Johnson (90)
ARS: NONE

Aston Villa 0, Liverpool 0

Gareth Barry gave Steve McClaren a swift kick in the arse with his great performance against Liverpool. Barry was axed from English national team duty by McClaren along with delinquent Joey Barton. Unfortunately, Barry didn't put one in the net. In fact, not many chances were created for either side. L'pool still get one point closer to third place Arsenal.

AVI: NONE
LIV: NONE

Italian Serie A

Sampdoria 1, Palermo 1

Still no first Serie A appearance from former-Red Bull New York young'un Gabriel Ferrari.

German Bundesliga

VfL Wolfsburg 3, VfL Bochum 1

Kamani Hill saw 3 minutes in Wolfsburg's mastery of Bochum.

French Ligue 1

AS Nancy Lorraine 0, Olympique Lyonnais 3

Not exactly a dominant performance from OL, but the scoreline says all. With 5 shots on goal, OL scored 60% of those shots. In many senses, that is dominance. The 6th Championship in a row now seems a foregone conclusion. I think within the next year or so we are going to see a good many OL players seeking new challenges. Juninho shall be the first to go. It is unfortunate but probably true.

NAN: NONE
LYO: M.Baros (36), K.Kallstrom (76), Fred (81)

Scottish Premier Division

Falkirk 1, Celtic 0

Shared this because the Scottish Premiership minnows Falkirk gave the Hoops a real hard time and actually have a win to show for it. I told you I like upsets.

Other big results:

Recreativo 0, Barcelona 4
Real Madrid 2, Gimnastic 0
FC Sevilla 2, Celta Vigo 0
Ascoli 1, Inter Milan 2
PSV 1, Ajax 5
Heerenveen 4, NAC Breda 2
Hannover 96 0, Hamburg 0
Frankfurt 1, Bayern Munich 0

IN OTHER NEWS:

- Steve Davis writes about how a Cauhotemac Blanco signing could and would be bad news. Read here.



- Greece skipper Otto Rehaggel has shocked pundits by selecting 7 strikers (out of 23) for their upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Turkey and Malta next weekend. He even dropped one. The striker contingent is meant to keep the momentum as they have won their past five matches.

- Inter Milan are preparing a rather significant bid for Chelsea captain and central defensive stalwart John Terry. The bid is supposedly around 20 million pounds (40 million dollars). Inter's purchase of Terry would either shore up a defense that currently has won 16 in a row in the Serie A or it would stir a pot that doesn't necessarily need to be stirred.

- Shalrie Joseph is finally going to show his true colors apparently. He could be leaving the MLS sometime soon. I just hope we can get something along the lines of the offer we got before from Celtic. Here is the article.