Page 2277 of 2957

      Remember Cobi Jones? Well, now you can call him “Coach.”

      August 13, 2008 /

      There was a time when the U.S. men’s soccer team could give Italy a run for their money. This was in 1992, specifically at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona. That squad included the talents of Tony Meola, Steve Snow, and Alexi Lalas. The star of that team, however, was the speedy goal-scorer Cobi Jones.

      After stints in South America, Europe, and for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS, Jones retired from professional soccer in 2007. But the Galaxy has called upon the great one once again, naming him interim head coach as the team reevaluates their recent performance. He will replace first-year coach Ruud Gullit who has resigned for personal reasons. The major changes include the dismissal of general manager Alexi Lalas, Jones’ former teammate.

      Lalas arrived in Los Angeles in April 2006 after holding a similar position with both the New York Red Bulls and the San Jose Earthquakes, which, like the Galaxy, were owned by AEG. Handing his responsibilities will be Paul Bravo, the team’s director of soccer and Tom Payne, the assistant general manager.

      “With Ruud moving on, we believe that this is the right time to make more sweeping changes throughout the organization,” Leiweke said. “Our commitment continues to be focused on not only winning the MLS Cup this and every season but to build a club capable of competing at the international level. This decision is the right one for the organization, the right one for the players and the right one for our fans. We thank Alexi for the tremendous hard work and dedication he brought to his job each and every day.”

      This has been an extremely disappointing season for the Galaxy. They are on a seven-game losing streak and rapidly falling within their division. The fanfare has seemingly died down despite the solid play by David Beckham and Landon Donovan. It’s unclear whether Jones’ abilities as a player will transfer over to his new coaching position. One thing is for sure, he’s a soccer icon and a Los Angeles darling, and his presence will arouse needed fan support at home games.

      Soccer

      U.S. Men’s Soccer Team Quickly Eliminated

      August 13, 2008 /

      Before the U.S. men’s soccer team even played their first match, coaches from other nations mocked them, saying their roster and style of play could not hold up in international competition.

      This morning, Nigeria defeated the U.S. men’s squad 2-1, knocking them out of the Olympics. With this win, and the Netherlands’ victory over Japan, so ends preliminary play. To the dismay of the U.S. men’s team, who played so well in their first two matches, a favored Netherlands and an underrated Nigeria will see their teams advance to the quarterfinals.

      Things went sour early for the United States when defender Michael Orozco earned himself a red-card in the third minute, elbowing Solomon Okoronkwo with a referee standing nearby. For the remaining 87 minutes, the United States was short one player. This put the U.S. at a major disadvantage, especially considering the absence of Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley because of yellow-cards they received in previous games.

      Nigeria struck first with a goal by Promise Isaac in the 38th minute. Victor Obinna then added another for his team late in the second half. The United States did put one in the net, scoring on a penalty kick with two minutes left in the game. It was for naught, however, and Nigeria secured the victory.

      Orozco’s bone-headed decision to throw a nasty elbow in front of an official probably cost them the game. Referees are instructed to keep Olympic soccer matches as civil as possible and Orozco’s move was anything but.

      Soccer, The Olympics

      Red Sox in trouble: Mike Lowell likely heading to DL

      August 13, 2008 /

      The Red Sox suffered another blow to their postseason chances when third basemen Mike Lowell suffered a strained right oblique in Boston’s wild 19-17 victory over the Texas Rangers Tuesday night at Fenway. The BoSox are likely to place Lowell on the disabled list as soon as today.

      Lowell suffered the injury on a pair of swings in a seventh-inning at-bat and was removed from the game after striking out. He was moving gingerly after the game and was due to undergo an MRI this morning. Oblique injuries are generally slow to heal, and the fact that Lowell also has been slowed by a sore right hip probably clinches a two-week layoff on the DL.
      “It’s frustrating because I’ve never had this happen before,” Lowell said. “I’d like to avoid (the DL), but the doc said it’s a possibility. I think right now it’s probably too early. (Today) after the MRI, they’ll have a lot more information.”

      If Lowell lands on the disabled list, the Sox may opt to shift Kevin Youkilis [stats] over to third base and have Sean Casey take over at first. Then they probably would call up utility man Joe Thurston from Pawtucket or make a waiver-wire trade for a veteran infielder.

      Losing Lowell hurts, but the Sox could be worse off than Youkilis and Casey at the corners. Casey has been known to turn up his game heading into the postseason and he’s not terrible defensively. Boston can thank the baseball gods for depth.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Joe Torre to Manny Ramirez: Lose the dreadlocks

      August 13, 2008 /

      Since he was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Dodgers at the July 31st MLB trade deadline, L.A. manager Joe Torre has asked outfielder Manny Ramirez to cut his dreadlocks.

      Manny said yes, but he apparently is taking his sweet ass time and now people are starting to wonder if Ramirez is testing the manager’s authority.

      “I’m not negotiating anything,” Torre said, not laughing, when the conversation was recounted to him a few minutes later in the Dodgers’ dugout. “He’ll do it. He told me he’ll do it. When he first got here, I asked him, ‘How important is the hair to you?’ And he asked me, ‘Do you want me to cut it?’ So I said, ‘I want you to clean it up a little.”‘

      “We’re going to talk again later,” Torre said yesterday. And yet the manager was adamant when asked if maybe Ramirez was using his distinctive hairdo — which last night was adorned with a single green, yellow and red Rastafarian dread right in the middle — to test the new manager’s authority by continuing to stonewall the request.

      “No, he isn’t,” Torre said. “He is not. I didn’t tell him he had to do it by a certain date. He acknowledged he’s gonna do something and I believe he will do it.” …
      Torre acknowledges he has no idea what that something might be. “What am I going to do, tell him if you don’t do this, Santa Claus isn’t coming? Try to make that one stick.”

      Manny does what he wants – plain and simple. If he wants to drag this thing out until September, he will. For the record, I don’t think Ramirez is destructive, he’s just goofy and likes to play head games. He’ll probably wind up cutting his hair, but he’ll figure out a way to do it on his terms – not Joe Torre’s.

      MLB

      Will the offensive line be the demise of the Steelers in ’08?

      August 13, 2008 /

      In the weeks leading up to the kickoff the 2008 NFL Season, I’ll take a look at position groups that could potentially lift teams to new heights, or bury them and their postseason hopes. Wednesday I take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and their potential offensive line woes.

      I read a stat the other day that was shocking. Apparently Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 93 times in the past two seasons, second to only Jon Kitna of the Detroit Lions.

      Granted, part of the reason why Roethlisberger has been dropped so many times is simply because he holds on to the ball too long. In fact, it has been noted that Roethlisberger has been working with QB coach Ken Anderson this offseason on making quicker reads and getting the ball out of his hands faster.

      But the reason for the high sacks hasn’t been entirely Big Ben’s fault. After years of solid production, the Steelers’ offensive line has actually become a significant weakness, and something that could potentially kill Pittsburgh’s playoff aspirations this year.

      When guard Alan Faneca signed with the Jets in the offseason, he took his five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro-Bowl résumé with him. Even though the Steelers didn’t want to financially bend over backwards for an aging guard, Faneca was one of the best offensive linemen in team history. Chris Kemoeatu, a 2005 sixth-round pick with only three NFL starts under his belt, has been summed to replace Faneca. His lack of experience is a concern, but even more troublesome is that he missed the first eight days of training game due to a triceps injury.

      The only holdovers from the 2007 season are guard Kendall Simmons and left tackle Marvel Smith. There’s an open competition at center between Justin Hartwig and Sean Mahan, who had a sub par 2007 season while trying to replace former Pro Bowler Jeff Hartings. Willie Colon and Max Starks are currently competing for the starting right tackle job.

      One of the reasons why the Steelers have been solid offensively through the years is because Hartings, Faneca and Starks brought cohesion and continuity to the offensive line. But those days appear to be long gone and outside of Simmons and Smith, there remains a ton of uncertainty on the o-line. Head coach Mike Tomlin and the players say there’s no need for concern, but the fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as a productive offense with a poor offensive line. And even if Hartwig, Kemoeatu and Colon overachieve, the line on a whole is still going to need time to gel.

      A team doesn’t replace a combined nine Pro Bowls (Hartings/Faneca) overnight, especially not with a player who was released from another team this offseason (Hartwig) and a former second day pick with only three NFL starts (Kemoeatu).

      The attention in Pittsburgh seems to be on Willie Parker’s recovery and rookie runner Rashard Mendenhall’s development. But a bigger problem is brewing in the trenches and it could damage the Steelers’ postseason hopes.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑