- THE SPORTRESS OF BLOGITUDE (I have to say, I like that name) has the details of a Marv Albert/50 Cent scuffle that happened backstage at a recent taping of “Jimmy Kimmel.”

- THE SPORTING BLOG reports that detainees at the Wisconsin National Guard camp over in Iraq are using Brett Favre’s shenanigans against the soldiers.

- BLACK SPORTS ONLINE wonders if anyone cares about the concussion problem in the NFL.

- SHUTDOWN CORNER discusses the Jay Cutler and Lovie Smith’s decision not to sit down for an interview with Bob Costas in advance of the team’s Sunday night game against the Eagles.

- RUMORS & RANTS lists some of the worst calls of all time.

The MLS Cup Playoffs provided another nail-biter on Saturday as Real Salt Lake defeated the Chicago Fire 5-4 in shootouts to win the Eastern Conference Championship.

This time, Ned Grabavoy – a Chicago-area native and substitute in the final minute of overtime – scored the winning penalty kick in the seventh round as his shot went off the fingertips of Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.

Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando made three saves in the shootout – all to his left – after stopping six shots through overtime.

The Fire have lost three consecutive conference finals, and fell for the second time on penalties this season. They lost the SuperLiga final 2-1 via the tiebreaker to Tigres of Mexico on June 27.

“It’s an empty feeling in your stomach right now,” Chicago coach Denis Hamlett said. “I think all season we worked hard and stuck together to get to this point and to lose the way we lost tonight; sometimes soccer is a cruel sport.”

On November 22, Real Salt Lake will make their first appearance in the MLS Cup finals when they meet the Los Angeles Galaxy at Qwest Field in Seattle. The game will be shown on ESPN2 at 8:30 PM ET.

This World Cup qualifier received some extra attention after this video surfaced. Perhaps rattled by the violence, Algeria couldn’t get anything going in their 2-0 loss to Egypt earlier today. Thus, the teams will compete next Wednesday in a playoff to determine who makes the finals in South Africa.

Emad Meteab headed in a goal in the fifth minute of injury time on Saturday to give Egypt a 2-0 win over Algeria in a World Cup qualifier, setting up a decisive playoff between the two teams next week.

Amr Zaki gave Egypt the lead in the second minute, but the host needed a second goal to ensure that both teams ended up level on points and goal difference in Group C.

In 1989, the two faced off in a similar final qualifier, and Egypt won, advancing to the 1990 World Cup in Italy. After that match in Cairo, fans clashed in the stadium and in the streets, and the Egyptian team’s doctor lost an eye when he was hit by a bottle.

Egyptian fans greeted the Algerian team at the airport on Thursday by pelting their bus with stones and Algerian officials said two team members were injured. On Saturday, both Khaled Lemmouchia and Rafik Halliche wore head bandages while playing.

The head of the Algerian Football Association blamed the loss on the animosity.

Egypt hasn’t reached the World Cup since 1990, so a victory next week would drive the nation mad. Algeria’s last entry, however, was in 1986. After experiencing the hosility in Cairo, Algeria is happy the playoff is in Sundan, a location that supposedly offers a friendlier atmosphere.

I can’t remember the last time a major sporting event experienced a power outage. Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want — I do think Major League Soccer games are important. If you’ve seen any this year’s MLS Cup Playoffs, you’d have noticed the lively stadiums, packed with zealous fans pounding drums and swaying back and forth while chanting for their team. The players are likely aware that few, relatively, are watching (the games are buried on ESPN2 and the Fox Soccer Channel in inconvenient time slots), but that isn’t stopping them from going at each other’s throats as if it’s the last game they will ever play. Although the competition has been thrilling, I have to admit that I can’t wait till the center referee blows the final whistle. That’s when the losing team completely cracks and swarms their opposition with jersey-pulling and vehement threats. It’s highly entertaining, mostly because these players know they won’t get fined, so they come desperately close to cracking skulls.

Take it from me — the games are fun to watch. Given the time of year, you don’t have many options to placate your sportive appetite. You’ve got your college football on Saturdays, NFL on Sundays, NBA throughout the week, and NHL if you’re lucky. OK, so there are plenty of distractions, but that doesn’t mean the MLS Cup Playoffs aren’t worth you time.

Oh, yes — the blackouts. Occurring at the 19th and 51st minutes, the power failures accumulated to over a half hour of delay. It’s a shame, because both instances killed the game’s momentum. The Dynamo outplayed the Galaxy in the first half, keeping the pressure on LA goalie Donovan Ricketts. The Dynamo defense also managed to contain the league’s leading scorer, Landon Donovan, who didn’t have any shots on goal in this Western Conference final.

With the game still scoreless at the beginning of the second half, both teams increased the tempo and focused on making runs down the field. Unfortunately, another power outage six minutes in prevented either squad from finding a groove. Neither could rebound from the unwanted interval, and the game subsequently suffered from sloppy and fatigued play.

I spent a good half hour trying to figure out the MLS Cup Playoffs system. Teams don’t compete in multi-game series like other sports. The playoffs start with eight clubs split into the Conference Semifinals. Two games are played in this round, conducted by a home-and-away, aggregate goal format. Thus, the team that scores the most goals after the two matches advances. The Conference Championships are next, followed by — you guessed it — the MLS Cup.

I’m not even going to get started on tiebreakers because I want to be in bed before sunrise.

Come to think of it, the format isn’t too hard to explain — just strange. For more information, written by a qualified individual, click here.

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA entered today’s competition tied at two goals a piece. Technically, the Galaxy had home field advantage even though they share the same stadium. Fans were treated to an impressive first half as both teams moved moved the ball well and played their hearts out in the box. At the half, each squad only had two shots on goal. Considering the four goals in the first game (finishing in a 2-2 tie), this match was much more contained.

The Galaxy instantly increased their attack in the second half. Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, and Mike Magee had numerous scoring opportunities. Playing with an encouraging focus, David Beckham consistently set up his offense, at one point making a beautiful lob over the Chivas defense to a breaking Donovan. Still, neither team could put the ball in the net. Just when it looked like this game was heading into overtime, the Galaxy were awarded a penalty kick after Magee was taken down inside the box by Yamith Cuesta. Donovan subsequently scored on the kick, completely fooling Chivas goalie Zach Thornton.

In the 78th minute, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena removed a limping Beckham from the match. Based on different reports, the British footballer may or may not be inured. The camera caught Beckham holding his ribs and grimacing in pain, so something is obviously wrong. Nevertheless, he won’t miss the team’s next match. Deep down, the guy wants to win — wherever he’s playing.

On November 13, the Galaxy will host the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference Championship.

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.

Here’s the video:

Here’s what Lambert’s official bio says:

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.

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?

Read the rest of this entry »

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?

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.