USA to face 2010 hosts this Nov.

The United States national team will be traveling to Africa for the first time in eight years when they face 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa in a friendly on November 17th in Johannesburg.

The U.S. have only played three matches in Africa, two out of the three were against Morocco. They lost each time. Most recently they played in Marrakech and lost 2-1 to Marrakech Express. Waldo (Eric Wynalda) scored the Yanks only goal of the contest. In their only match against South Africa, USA whooped Bafana and Bafana 4-0.

“It is a great honor to be invited to participate in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “South Africa has always had a talented team, and the match represents an excellent opportunity for our players to travel and play in South Africa.”

The U.S. will return to South Africa again one year prior to the World Cup for the Confederations Cup, having qualified by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup this year.

The U.S.'s next scheduled match is at Switzerland on October 17, after the match against the not-so "autonomous community" Catalonia was cancelled by the Spanish Football Federation.

DC keeper loses his job

DC United goalkeeper Troy Perkins is out of a job, according to an article on The Washington Post's Soccer Insider blog...only it although it isn't the one between the pipes, it is the one that brings in the benjamins:

Troy Perkins knew what was going on in the mortgage industry, of course. His mom's spent 25 years in the business, and he'd spent two years working part-time in the industry himself, starting off as an entry-level loan officer and moving his way into management as a project specialist. His employer--The First National Bank of Arizona--had already gone through a round of layoffs. And as the industry crumbled, Perkins, who worked from home, no longer had the same volume of correspondence.

Click here for the whole article

Perkins, who has a 1.08 GAA avaerage (third in MLS), was only making about $29K per year for DC United until very recently when United rewarded his play with a fat raise, which he will certainly need now that he's losing job number 2.

But he's a silver-lining kind of guy, apparently.

"Starbucks offered me a job," he joked. "I told them they could pay me in coffee."

How convoluted is this?

For your reading pleasure, MLS playoff structure:

Eight teams will qualify for the playoffs - the top two teams in each conference plus the remaining four teams, regardless of conference, that have the most points in the standings upon the completion of the their 30-game regular season. Playoff berths will be determined by points in the standings upon the completion of the regular season on Oct. 21; all 13 teams will have played 30 games. If two teams are tied on points, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head results, the second tiebreaker is goal differential, and the third is goals scored for the season. (Subsequent tiebreakers are available in the Fact and Record Book). The top two teams in each conference qualify and are seeded 1 & 2 in their respective four-team playoff conference brackets. The four MLS teams with the next most points, regardless of conference, receive “wildcard” berths.
• The four wildcard teams will be seeded according to conference first.
• If more than four teams qualify from one conference, those finishing lower than fourth in their conference will shift over to the other conference bracket.
• A team switching conference brackets will be seeded below all other teams in its new conference playoff bracket.

Huh? C'mon, Garber. Why give the fans an algebra test, when it could be so simple? Top eight teams accoring to regular season finish in a single table format advance to the playoffs, seeded accordingly.

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Week 24)

GOALKEEPER

B. Guzan (CHV)

DEFENDERS

S. Thomas (CHV), L. Vaughn (CHV), B. Boswell(DC)

MIDFIELDERS

S. Kljestan (CHV), S. Ralston (NE), C. Gomez (DC),
C. Blanco (CHI)

FORWARD

P. Noonan (NE), S. Sealy (KC), D. DeRosario (HOU)

MLS Week 24: High Noonan

A possible MLS Cup preview between Dallas and New England was all Revs on Saturday, while Kansas City kept playoff hopes alive with an injury-time charge. Los Angeles lost again, and Colorado missed a chance to move up in the standings. MLS bottom feeders split points, while DC kept rolling in early week action.

SEPT. 16
Chivas USA 1-1 Colorado
Sasha Kljestan and Colin Clark traded goals on either side of halftime and Chivas and Colorado split at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sunday. Although they failed to overtake Chicago in the standings, the Rapids were lucky to draw considering they played a man down for 78 minutes, after Argentinean defender Facundo Erpen was sent off early in the first half for running down Laurent Merlin from behind. Chivas were awarded the PK and Kljestan put the visitors ahead, beating Colorado keeper Bouna Coundoul with a low shot to his left. But Clark managed a shorthanded goal in the 76th minute, taking a Conor Casey pass into the area and finishing from a tight angle at the right post.Match Tracker.

Houston 3-1 Los Angeles
Two second-half goals by the Dynamo sealed the Galaxy's fate at the Home Depot Center, as LA inch closer to mathematical elimination. Houston's Ryan Cochrane scored off a RIchard Mulrooney corner kick that might have (or might have not) been touched on by Dwayne DeRosario (he was awarded an assist in any case) in the 21st minute. LA's Alan Gordon responded with a header off their own corner kick, taken by Landon Donovan five minutes later. Troubling developments for Houston as they lost star forward Joseph Nqwenya to injury before halftime. He left under his own power, but seemed to have injured his right leg. With Goldenballs grimacing at the Galaxy play from the owner's box, LA handed the Dynamo a PK, when Mike Randolph appeared to bring down Brian Mullan in the area. DeRosario converted to put Houston ahead. Houston finally added a third after bombarding the LA goal. A miscommunication in the back between Cannon and his centerbacks left the ball sitting at the six for Ricardo Clark who swooped in to finish in the 73rd minute.Match Tracker.

SEPT.15
Real Salt Lake 0-0 Toronto
Toronto futility continues, despite Jeff Cunningham's goal prediction, as the Reds and RSL play to a scoreless draw. Defender Todd Dunivant did his part to keep Toronto impotent by blasting a gimmie from the six over the bar. A superb match from RSL keeper Nick Rimando did the rest, even after RSL's Fabian Espindola was sent off in the 35th minute
Full Match Recap

FC Dallas 2-4 New England
New England's Steve Ralston and Pat Noonan sliced up a porous Dallas defense, combining for three goals, while Carlos Ruiz pulled back two for the Hoops. Khano Smith capped the win at the death. Noonan's first goal came in the 29th minute, a beautiful, right-footed flick at the left post off a Smith cross. Ruiz equalized in the 35th minute, pulling back a deep cross with his head at the far post. Noonan added a second in the 65th, when Dallas youngster Dax McCarty lost the ball to Ralston who pushed down the right and crossed to an unmarked Noonan for the easy right-footed blast. Ralston got his own in the 78th minute, when Dallas keeper Dario Sala spilled a cross to Taylow Twellman who dished to Ralston. Ralston managed to tuck it away after an initial save by a sprawling Sala. Ruiz pulled another back with a powerful header off a Dominic Oduro cross in the 84th. Smith would ice the cake in the 90th with a low, right-footed shot from distance.Full Match Recap

Columbus 2-3 Kansas City
In a crucial, playoff-position match at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City seemed to be slipping away, but two stoppage time goals saved the three points for the Wizards in a 3-2 win over the Crew. KC needed someone besides Eddie Johnson scoring goals and forward Scott Sealy answered the call, providing a 31st-minute free-kick goal to open the scoring, and the eventual game winner four minutes into stoppage. The Crew looked to be in control in the second half, after getting goals from Alejandro Moreno and Andy Herron in quick succession (65th and 67th, respectively). But an Eddie Johnson PK, awarded in the 93rd after Crew substitute Stefani Migloranzi ran into Kerry Zavagnin in the box. It's nice to play at home.Full Match Recap

New York 2-2 Chicago
The Red Bulls and the Fire traded goals twice in this one, including two penalty kicks, as two teams at the cusp of the playoffs split the points. The scoring began in the 10th minute, when Dave van den Bergh's shot from the edge of the box ricocheted off of two Fire defenders and past Fire keeper Matt Pickens. It really should have been a Diego Gutierrez own goal. Chicago's star Cuauhtemoc Blanco equalized from the spot in the 54th minute, when Chad Barret was pulled down by Chris Leitch. New York gained the advantage both on the scoreboard and on the field after a hand ball in the box was called on Fire newboy Wilman Conde, who was ejected after receiving his second caution. Juan Pablo Angel calmly put the ball past Pickens to put the fire up a goal. But it was not enough for a NY defense that has leaked goals all season, as Gonzalo Segares got his first goal of the season, a header from a Blanco cross in the 70th minute.Full Match Recap

SEPT.13
Los Angeles 0-3 Chivas USA
Chivas USA cruised past the Galaxy, sweeping the SuperClassico, with three goals from three different players. Ante Razov beat Abel Xavier and put the first goal off the post in the 23rd minute. Razov's winner was followed by two late goals. The first came in the 88th minute, when Francisco Mendoza carved up a poor Galaxy defense and beat Cannon with a low left-footer. The third and final goal was Frenchman Laurent Merlin's first in MLS, as the late sub finished off a poor clearance by the Galaxy defense.Full Match Recap.

SEPT.12
Real Salt Lake 1-2 DC United
Luciano Emilio continued his torrid goal-scoring pace, adding number ?? in the 16th minute, before Kyle Beckerman's 25-yard wormburner beat DC keeper Troy Perkins in the 32nd minute. RSL keeper Nick Rimando managed to deny his former teammate Christian Gomez from the penalty spot in the 50th minute, after DC's Josh Gros was taken down in the corner of the box. Gomez, however, would not be denied in the 73rd minute, after heading down a Fred cross at the far post. Two minutes later, RSL looked like they would get the equalizer after referee Jorge Gonzalez pointed to the spot and indicated a shirt-tug by Devon McTavish on Carey Talley. But former United forward Alecko Eskandarian's attempt was blocked by Perkins to preserve the win.Full Match Recap.

Is it the hot soccer moms?

High school soccer outdrew MLB's Marlins. Nothing to say here. I just thought this was funny. Although I think it probably speaks to how lousy South Florida's pro sports market is, more than the emergence of soccer:

At a 3A high school soccer game on Monday, about 400 people came out to watch Western Guilford play rival Western Alamance.

It's estimated, meanwhile, that fewer than 400 people attended the Florida Marlins' 5-4 extra-innings victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

After seeing highlights of this game, I'd say that 400 is a generous figure.

Click here for the complete article

No major moves in MLS at deadline

As Friday's roster freeze came and went, most MLS clubs decided to stand pat, rather than make any last minute deals.

The Chicago Fire dealt 22-year-old developmental player Jerson Monteiro (pictured) to DC United in exchange for a conditional 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick and defender Leonard Griffin to Columbus for the Crew's natural fourth-round selection in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft.

Real Salt Lake acquired forward Yura Movsisyan and a youth international roster spot from Kansas City for a third round selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, a first round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and a portion of a player allocation.

Nothing else to report. No discovery signings appear to have been made, so no last minute starts swooping in to upset the balance heading into the playoffs.

MLS hates kangaroos

While perusing MLS news on google, I saw this item Humane Society Pressures Schwarzenegger with Kangaroo Campaign. According to the article, the Humane Society is lobbying the Governator to maintain the states' ban on products made with kangaroo skins, such as soccer cleats.

California is one of only two states (the other is) with a ban on kangaroo products, but a recent bill to overturn the ban hopped its way through the state legislature and is headed to Arnold for a signature. The kangaroo product ban was signed into law in 1970 by Ronald Reagan.

According to the article, Major League Soccer is one of the organization that supports the repeal of the ban on kangaroo products.

I'm not sure where I stand on the whole kangaroo-skin trade. I mean, are kangaroos just the Austrailian equivalent of cows? Are they overpopulated like deer in the U.S.?

Here's what the president of the human Society Michael Markarian said in a LA Times column about the killing of kangaroos:

About 7 million kangaroos are brutally killed each year in Australia for pet food and leather, and 3 million of their hides are exported to supply the global commercial trade. The killing itself is callous and inhumane. Many kangaroos are spotlighted from trucks and shot at night in the outback, where there is scant scrutiny or regulation. When female kangaroos with joeys are killed, the youngsters are pulled from their mothers' pouches and stomped on, clubbed, decapitated or left for the scavengers.

Sounds like a Michael Vick block party.

One kangaroo who won't take the news lying down: