Apparently New Mexico women’s soccer player Elizabeth Lambert is trying to audition for MMA, because she went bananas during a semifinials game vs. BYU on Thursday night.
Gained valuable playing experience last season and will be a fixture on the back line this season … is fearless when making a challenge … has size and speed to match … will be the Lobos’ featured centerback this season.
2008 – SOPHOMORE SEASON
Saw action in 10 matches last season and started six … made her first career start against Denver on Aug. 22 … used her size and aggressiveness to stop the opposing attack … named to the 2008 Fall Academic All-Conference team.
I happened to get a preview of her 2009 bio and it reads:
2009 – JUNIOR SEASON
Saw action in one game last year in which she attacked opponents like an unstoppable rebel force…Used her size and aggressiveness to punch an opponent in the back…made her first career takedown of an opponent by grabbing their pony tail and whipping them to the ground in an apparent attempt to see if their head would rip off…Was quoted as saying, “B*tches should know by now I play for keeps.”
No word yet on if New Mexico asked Lambert to play defensive back for the football team after she was suspended from the soccer team.
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (10/25/2009 @ 2:52 pm)
After tying for the worst record in MLS last year, the Los Angeles Galaxy has clinched its first Western Conference title since 2002. Star halfback David Beckham took plenty of heat at the start of the season as both the press and teammate Landon Donovan questioned his dedication. Outmatching that negativity, the team is now headed to the playoffs. In their victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, the crowd showed the Brit their appreciation.
The Galaxy’s David Beckham, who received a standing ovation from the crowd when he was replaced by Jovan Kirovski just four minutes from end of regulation time, said Saturday’s game was all about gathering momentum for the playoffs.
The game might have been anticlimactic in the sense the Galaxy knew they had a playoff berth clinched three weeks ago, but Beckham said there was no shortage of effort against the Earthquakes.
The Galaxy now prepare for their first postseason appearance since 2005 but won’t know who they will play until after Sunday’s Houston-Chivas USA game. If their Home Depot Center co-tenants win, the Galaxy will play Houston in the first round. If the teams finish in a tie or the Dynamo win, the Galaxy will play Chivas in a showdown area soccer fans have been hoping for.
The Galaxy will have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. This is Beckham’s third year in the MLS. In 2007, he signed a 5-year contract worth $250 million after leaving Real Madrid. Things haven’t quite panned out the way MLS expected. The league’s popularity hasn’t grown tremendously and the Galaxy hasn’t won a championship.
Nevertheless, the team has looked solid all season. I’m sure MLS is praying the Galaxy and the Columbus Crew meet in the finals.
I love sports, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. Here are ten things that drive me crazy on a regular basis, in order of increasing stupidity:
10. The scoring system in tennis
Love? 15? 30? 40? Deuce? Actually, I kind of like “deuce.” But why not just go to four, win by two. It’s the exact same thing and a lot easier to follow when you’ve already thrown back a couple of Bloody Marys.
9. The overkill of NASCAR
Does it really take 500 laps to figure out which car and driver are the fastest? Here’s an idea: Make every race 50 to 100 laps and limit the number of pit stops. Every decision will be magnified and second-guessed and strategy will become an even bigger part of the sport.
8. Offsides (in soccer and hockey)
Anytime that you have defenders trying to encourage offsides calls by pulling up as they run/skate back to protect their goal, it’s not a good thing. There’s no offsides in basketball and it works just fine. When Randy Moss outruns a cornerback, play doesn’t stop because he has a clear path to the endzone. Why not reward anticipation and speed, and make soccer and hockey that much more exciting by creating a flurry of one-on-one situations between the striker/forward and the goalie?
Soccer enthusiasts should check out this article [Insider subscription required] in the Aug. 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine. It’s about “The Everton Way,” which is a term used to describe the training method used by EPL team Everton, a club that doesn’t have money to poach the best players from other teams, so they have to cultivate it. Think of Everton as the Milwaukee Brewers of the EPL.
Tony Farrell (a.k.a. “Tosh”) is touring the U.S. holding clinics on the subject. More and more U.S. soccer associations are signing up and are starting to teach their kids the system, which focuses less on wins and losses and more about coaching and technique.
The Everton Way is many things, but at its center is this maxim: Great footballers are made, not born. Like every British team, Everton is permitted to sign kids as young as 9 years old to its youth academy. But, per the rules of the Football Association, which governs the EPL, no club may recruit any player who lives more than an hour’s drive from its training complex. The mandate was instituted long ago to keep the battle for young talent from turning ugly. The problem for Everton is that one-quarter of its scouting region is in the Irish Sea. So, over the past 20 years, the team has perfected a teaching strategy that, in truth, is more nuanced worldview than coaching dictum. There are no secret mantras or exotic drills in the Everton Way; most of the training techniques are identical to those used at other major soccer academies around the world. The difference is in the details, or more precisely in the club’s commitment to paying close attention to them. To the extent that the Everton Way has major tenets, they are as follows: 1) The best coaches should teach the youngest players, because lifelong habits are formed early; 2) all instructors should coach according to their expertise, which means you will never see an Under-16s coach holding forth on the potential of an Under-10s player; 3) winning doesn’t matter until kids are about 16; what does matter is technique and development; and 4) every year, at least one player who signed as a 9-year-old will debut with the pro club.
Could this be what finally makes U.S. soccer a constant on the international stage?
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (08/08/2009 @ 6:16 pm)
After receiving harsh criticism from American fans and even teammates, David Beckham is expressing interest in owning an MLS franchise.
“There’s a deal in place where I can purchase an MLS team or start a franchise. It’s something I am definitely interested in, or I wouldn’t have it in my contract.”
Beckham’s option to buy a Major League Soccer franchise was reported last year, though he would not comment on the details. But now the international star, who will be 36 when his contract expires, is just two seasons away from the end of the five-year, $32.5 million deal he signed to leave Real Madrid and join the upstart American league.
He pulled a bank job on the Galaxy ownership, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to buy that organization or any other he sees fit. Fans have been warming up to him since he’s actually playing matches, but he be should doing that without being forced into it. The Galaxy are paying him millions to win a championship and so far he hasn’t gotten close. If he were to do that, fans in California would warm up to the possibility of him buying a franchise. As of right now, most MLS fans in other cities can’t stand him. The last thing they want him to do is own their team.
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (08/02/2009 @ 3:56 pm)
When a crowd of 93,137 filled the Rose Bowl yesterday to see the Los Angeles Galaxy take on FC Barcelona, it was obvious that this is what the MLS needs more of.
These fans, part of the largest crowd to see a soccer game in the U.S. since the 1994 World Cup, didn’t need to be told to clap or to scream loud enough to ratchet up a phony noise meter.
They appreciated the jaw-dropping passing of Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodriguez, the speed and skill of a game played with fervor and at a high level, and they showed it at every turn. They also showed their passion by booing Beckham for the nearly 87 minutes he played, still scornful that he’s an MLS drop-in.
Beckham, fined $1,000 last month for attempting to combat a heckler during the Galaxy’s friendly against AC Milan, silenced the jeers when he powered a free kick through the defensive wall for the Galaxy’s goal in the 45th minute.
There is an audience for soccer, for the big occasions when remarkable club teams such as Barcelona visit. Yet, Saturday’s crowd was about six times bigger than the average MLS crowd, which was about 15,515 through mid-July.
It’s funny to think that more than 70,000 people would rather watch an MLS team take on a European squad rather than one from their own league. This shows us that American soccer fans follow, or are at least more interested, in foreign teams. Of course, these teams have been around decades longer than those from the MLS, amassing diehard fans whether or not they are from the team’s country.
Fact is, these friendlies are extremely helpful for the MLS. This ideal situation is one where a big-market team like the Galaxy actually beats the stronger foreign opponent. There’s nothing European and South American soccer fans hate more than losing to a team from the United States.
The goal here is to generate more interest from both American fans and those abroad. Like the U.S. national team beating Spain in the Confederations Cup, if an MLS team can grab a victory against a club like FC Barcelona, ratings and attendance will gradually increase. It didn’t happen on Saturday, but hopefully it will in the future.
I can’t deny that I have a soft spot for anything soccer related. I tend to write a rather large proportion of my articles about the sport, and I’ve been lucky lately because there has actually been relevant news. However, since the beginning of this whole Landon Donovan and David Beckham “controversy” I can’t help but roll my eyes at the whole thing. So hopefully I’ll be able to make this my last article about David Beckham, I think Norman Chad over at Sports Illustrated would agree:
The way I see it, you’ve just pulled off one of the greatest scams in U.S. history. You signed a massive five-year contract, you took a lot of money from a lot of people and, in the end, you were pretty much a marketing mirage.
Essentially, you’re Bernie Madoff with a bicycle kick.
In 2007, you had no goals and two assists and the Galaxy finished with the league’s third-worst record, 9-14-7. In 2008, you had five goals and 10 assists and the Galaxy tied for the league’s worst record, 8-13-9.
Not exactly impressive, plus given the English media’s coverage of this, it’s become some sort of international incident. Anyway, David Beckham, I can’t really blame you for your behavior around here. You were certainly charming, but I don’t see anybody caring about American soccer anymore than I used to. I’d say you failed in that, but I don’t think that’s what all this was about. In any case, happy trails. Enjoy your time in Milan, I know it’s quite posh around there.
Update: Oh, he’s still here for a little bit longer. My bad.
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (07/12/2009 @ 2:32 pm)
Much has happened during David Beckham’s five-month absence from the L.A. Galaxy. After the painstaking and very public negotiations between the Galaxy and AC Milan, Beckham was able to play for the Italian club, much to the disdain of his American fans and teammates. In an upcoming book entitled “The Beckham Experiment,” Landon Donovan is quoted as calling his teammate a bad captain who is also stingy. Apparently, Beckham is not too pleased.
“It’s unprofessional in my eyes. In every soccer player’s eyes throughout the world it would be unprofessional to speak out about a teammate especially in the press and not to your face,” Beckham said.
“But I’m going to turn it on a positive spin because that’s what this needs. But in 17 years, I have played with the biggest teams in the world and the biggest players and not once have I been criticized for my professionalism. It’s important to get this cleared up and I will be speaking to Landon either this evening or over the next couple of days.”
The Galaxy plays Chivas USA on Saturday, with Beckham returning to his first practice with the team on Monday.
And what about playing with Donovan?
“I’m personally very professional when I am on the field. I don’t care what people say about me off the field, once I’m on the field I’m professional and if there is a chance for him to score, I will be giving him the ball. Me and Landon will talk, but that will be a private conversation.”
Jesus, this whole situation with Beckham and the Galaxy has been horrible, hasn’t it? Donovan had every right to criticize his teammate, but sometimes you wonder why these guys choose to go to media instead of confronting one another man-to-man. I can understand why Beckham would be irritated, but at this point he should be getting used to this type of response.
SI.com compiled a ranking of the 50 highest-earning American athletes and discovered that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are at the top of the list.
1. Tiger Woods
Pro Golf
Last Year’s Rank: 1
Salary/Winnings: $7,737,626
Endorsements: $92,000,000
Total: $99,737,626
Tiger sacrificed millions in appearance fees during his year off to recover from knee surgery, but replaced his lucrative Buick deal — voided by mutual consent — with a new one from AT&T.
2. Phil Mickelson
Pro Golf
Last Year’s Rank: 2
Salary/Winnings: $6,350,356
Endorsements: $46,600,000
Total: $52,950,356
Like Tiger, Phil no longer counts on a car-maker in his endorsement portfolio. (Ford chose not to re-sign him.) He still has lucrative deals with Rolex, Callaway, Exxon, Barclay’s and KPMG.
3. LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
Last Year’s Rank: 3
Salary/Winnings: $14,410,581
Endorsements: $28,000,000
Total: $42,410,581
LeBron has one more season left under his deal before he can opt out. If Cleveland doesn’t show it’s Finals-worthy by next spring, expect the Knicks to come in with a huge offer.
4. Alex Rodriguez
New York Yankees (MLB)
Last Year’s Rank: 6 (tie)
Salary/Winnings: $33,000,000
Endorsements: $6,000,000
Total: $39,000,000
We’re in the middle of A-Rod’s peak earning power in his middle-loaded, 10-year megadeal: He’ll make another $33 million in 2010 and then gradually decrease to a “normal” $20 million by ‘17.
The Big Bargaining Chip? Regardless of his trade to Cleveland, Shaq is in the final year of the five-year, $100 million deal he signed while with Miami. It’s the largest expiring deal in the NBA.
No. 10 Peyton Manning
Indianapolis Colts (NFL)
Last Year’s Rank: 9
Salary/Winnings: $14,500,000
Endorsements: $13,000,000
Total: $27,000,000
NFL’s top endorser has distributed $500,000 in grants in ‘09 through his PayBack Foundation to charities in Indianapolis, near his alma mater (Tennessee) and his hometown, New Orleans.
It’s amazing that the highest paid NFL player (Peyton Manning) barely cracked the top 10. Granted, the NFL only has a 17-game regular season, but you’d think that for what football players put their bodies through every season that they would make more than baseball players, golfers and basketball players.
Although he is pitching well this season despite his overall numbers, seeing Zito’s name on this list at No. 26 makes me shudder. He’s the third best pitcher (maybe fourth depending on how high you value Randy Johnson) on his own club, yet he’s the 26th highest-earning American athlete. Still, it should be noted that Zito donates $400 for every strikeout that he throws to the Strikeouts for Troops charity that he created to help hospitals treat soldiers that are wounded in military operations. In fact, as the article notes, a lot of the guys on this list give thousands of dollars to charities every year and that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Most people in America, and especially Los Angeles (thanks to bus advertisements everywhere), know that David Beckham plays for the LA Galaxy. The only problem is that he kinda doesn’t. With all his English national team World Cup qualifiers and his loan to AC Milan, his MLS season is about as long as a cocktail weenie.
After the tragic death of Michael Jackson last week, David Beckham’s future in American soccer has been called into question. How could these two seemingly unrelated things be related? Well, SPORTSbyBROOKS has all the answers. Due to spatial constraints, let me give you a quick summation: AEG is a corporation operating concert venues/events worldwide, including all those canceled comeback concerts in England with Michael Jackson. Davd Beckham has been a flop since arriving in America, his potential for igniting interest in soccer in America has fizzled. He is now a financial drain on his team.
And, of course, the owners of the Los Angeles Galaxy that could really use the cash on this year’s balance sheet to offset losses in other parts of the business… AEG.
On top of it all, the best thing that could happen to the popularity of U.S. soccer is happening today in South Africa as the U.S. men’s national team takes on Brazil for the chance to hoist their first international soccer cup in modern history. AEG didn’t need to invest in David Beckham to raise soccer’s profile in America; they needed to invest in U.S. Soccer. (Or better insurance.)
Hell yeah. Despite our loss to Brazil in the final today. I can’t agree more with Brooks’ sentiment that we should look to America for American soccer. While we don’t have nearly the farm system of the global soccer powerhouses like Spain and Brazil, the infrastructure is certainly there, as well as the ability. Remember when American ice hockey was laughable when compared to the USSR? Neither do I, being born in ‘82 and all. But I saw the movie. Well hey, where did that go?
Having been a fan of American soccer since the ‘96 (update: my bad, 94) World Cup here, I’ve never been able to talk much about it with other people. This past week, once I told them what had happened with Spain, I’ve never felt as much interest and enthusiasm for an upcoming soccer match as this morning. Keep it up America (and the LA Galaxy’s real hero, Landon Donovan) and good luck next month when we play our southern rivals, Mexico.
And as long as we’re on the subject of Michael Jackson and USA soccer, you gotta check out this memorial jersey.
