Until just five years ago, Bill McPherson was the all-time leader in games played in first-division American soccer, with the 370 games that he played in the original American Soccer League of the 1920s. In the 2008 MLS season, Steve Ralston passed him. Since then, McPherson has dropped to fifth place on that list, which…
Month: March 2019
Different World Cup, Same Story
Argentina was too much for Mexico If Mexico was to have a chance against Argentina, they needed to exorcise the old ghosts that have persistently haunted them at the international level. They didn’t have enough garlic and holy water today. Missed opportunities and sloppy play once again were the culprits in yet another Round of…
Even After Match 2, all 16 Teams are still Alive in Top Half
Lionel Messi is just gettin' started – Andy Mead YCJ The top half of the draw only has one game left to play, and every team is still alive. Can it be attributed to parity? Partly. The minnows have definitely improved, they know their opponents better, and footie is a lot more homogeneous than, say,…
Semi-finals Will be a Regional Rivalry
There is going to be plenty of football on the flatscreens today and all day, both of the round and oblong variety. It’s Thanksgiving after all. I’ll be producing Texas-Texas A&M game a little later (el clasico Texano is what we’ll call it on the air). We’ll also be keeping one eye on the Mexican…
France’s Matthieu Jalibert will end long wait for a teenage No 10
Not even Jonny Wilkinson started a championship match at fly-half while still a teenager. Few players ever have, and almost as few people will ever have heard of them, so long ago did they do it. Only Neil Jenkins, for Wales in 1991, has managed it since one Billy McCombe, for Ireland in 1968. Exactly….
Injured Chris Farrell set to miss Ireland’s Six Nations title charge
Chris Farrell is unlikely to feature in the final two rounds of the Six Nations after the Ireland centre twisted a knee in training on Tuesday. Ireland’s head coach, Joe Schmidt, initially laughed off the incident saying the other players had dubbed Farrell, a starter against Wales last weekend in place of Robbie Henshaw who…
Leigh Halfpenny gives Wales illness scare before England clash
Wales have suffered a scare before their Six Nations showdown with England on Saturday with Leigh Halfpenny sitting out Friday’s captain’s run due to illness. Wales will continue to monitor the fullback and there was a degree of confidence within the camp that Halfpenny will recover but it has left Warren Gatland sweating on one…
Scotland’s Ryan Wilson avoids ban as teams escape action over tunnel scuffle
The Scotland No 8 Ryan Wilson has escaped a ban for making contact with the eye area of his opposite number Nathan Hughes during the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield last weekend despite a disciplinary panel finding that he had committed an act of foul play. Wilson was cited two days after the match and charged…
England’s bid for Six Nations hat-trick serves as motivation to rivals
So here is a question: does history have any bearing on the outcome of a modern Six Nations championship? Eddie Jones is unconvinced and wants his England players to jettison any preconceptions before the 2018 edition. Doing so, he argues, will dynamite the annual mountain of psychological baggage and remove one of the bigger obstacles…
Former Ireland captain Jamie Heaslip retires from rugby union at 34
The former Ireland captain Jamie Heaslip has announced his retirement from the game at the age of 34. The 95-cap international made his debut in 2006 and went on to lead the side 13 times as well as winning five Test caps for the British and Irish Lions. Jacob Stockdale surges past Wales to keep…