Noel S. Williams

Real Salt Lake may have had a middling season. They may have sneaked into the playoffs on the last day of the campaign. They may have a team of names that would never go on the MLS marquee. None of that matters very much right now. Real Salt Lake are deserved winners of the MLS […]

The appetite for commentary on the farce in Paris still seems strong, and I thought Arsene Wenger had a very wise take on the entire situation today. Wenger is, obviously, a French supporter and very close with Henry. In fairness to the Irish fans, the world football community, and for the sake of Henry, he […]

After that cesspool of a result in Paris on Wednesday, it is nice to turn our attention to a league where the sportsmen are pure, the referees are beyond reproach and the game is always played with a spirit of manly honor – the MLS. Or something like that. Sunday’s game will feature the best […]

Thierry Henry is my favorite player of all time. He has had so many magical moments on the pitch that it is hard for me to list them all. That is what makes this all the more painful. Yes, Ireland should have taken their chances. Yes, this will renew the call for instant replay. Yes, […]

Rafa Benitez gave a bizarre interview to the Times yesterday, and Liverpool fans should be worried that the pressure may be getting the better of their leader. When a manager spends time talking about the support he is getting from the management, threatening to quit, and talking about the legacy he wants to leave behind, […]

Every fan of the US team has been hoping that the stars could align, the flipped coin could land on its edge and that somehow the US could be seeded in the World Cup draw. Being among those top eight seeds would make a huge difference and the path to the final 16 would be […]

The Western Conference Finals was a long, hard slog between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo. With an 8:30 starting time to accommodate ESPN2’s college football schedule, two blackouts that interrupted play in each half, and a half hour of overtime, the Galaxy did not trudge off the pitch with their Western Conference […]

Soccer is a cruel game, and Chivas USA felt that cruelty tonight. While the Galaxy may have done enough to win the game, Chivas did not deserve to lose it. On the pitch, the differences between Chivas and the Galaxy were small and on the margins. Off the pitch, the difference in huge – the […]

I once read about a British sports journalist's amazement at the access that American sportswriters had. The British writer was visiting Chicago and asked to tag along with the Sun Times reporter who covered the Bulls. First, he went to a Bulls practice, and after the practice was over, the Chicago reporter ambled up to […]

For those of us that follow a major European team, there is a weekly pattern that develops over the season. After the weekend game, many fans like myself spend a couple of days absorbing commentary about the game. Youtube is scoured for clips and the blogs are mined for insights. If your team happens to […]

When Don Garber finally assented to allowing the Chivas USA franchise to call Los Angeles its home in 2004, it was a sacrifice. The MLS cares about geographic expansion, and was looking to grow into Canada, the Northwest, and back into Florida. Adding a team into a well-established market, and have that team plant itself […]

When Michael Lewis published Moneyball in 2003, it instantly became one of the most influential books about American sports in a generation. Michael Lewis, normally a financial writer, analyzed how baseball’s Oakland A’s managed to consistently produce highly competitive teams despite a payroll that was a fraction of their biggest rivals. From 1999 -2006, the […]

The season is over and, after a wild weekend, we have our playoff teams. The first round of playoffs looks like this: West LA Galaxy vs Chivas USA Houston Dynamo vs Seattle Sounders East Columbus Crew vs Real Salt Lake New England Revolution vs Chicago Fire Before we start previewing this first round of the […]

As Fox Soccer Channel’s Nick Webster told me, “Americans have more access to soccer from around the world than in any other country on earth.” That is undoubtedly true. On any given weekend, you can flip around the dial and find the EPL, Serie A, La Liga, the MLS, the Bundesliga, the Mexican leagues, French […]

One week to go, and this is where we stand: As the table stands now, this would be the playoff matchup – WEST Los Angeles vs Seattle Houston vs Chivas EAST Columbus vs Colorado Chicago vs Toronto Remember, the first tie-breaker is head to head competition, not goal difference. The Galaxy have a superior record […]