Thursday's musings...

The weekend is almost here! Some interesting news to come out today...


---Peter Nowak is set to be named as the first head coach of the Philadelphia Union (Philly's new MLS franchise) tomorrow morning. And good for Peter... He could've easily been on his way to South Africa at this time next year as an assistant to Bob Bradley with the US men's team, but he's a great coach and belongs in charge somewhere. Philadelphia is only going to be a better team with him at the helm.

---Eduardo Garcia has withdrawn from the race for president at Real Madrid, leaving Florentino Perez as the only candidate (if nobody else steps up, Perez could be appointed on Monday without an election). Perez has vowed to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu if he's elected...and with his appointment now likely, it's time for those rumors to begin once again. A deal for Ronaldo could cost in excess of 100 million English pounds, and given the economy, as well as Ronaldo's refusal to discuss a move, it appears unlikely.

---Portsmouth is the second Premiership team to be sold to Sulaiman Al Fahim...sort of. Al Fahim brokered the sale of Manchester City to the Abu Dhabi United Group, but gave control of the club to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (one of the world's wealthiest men). He's not promising Pompey the kind of cash that he promised to Man City, which is probably a good thing for this team (especially considering what the record-breaking deal for Robinho has managed to do for City (a mid-table finish)). Hopefully he'll bring stability to the club and invest enough to have them challenging for a European spot in the next few years... Fratton Park is too small for Kaka.




MLS got their week underway last night with Columbus' 2-1 victory over San Jose. The win is only the 2nd of the season for the defending MLS Cup champs...but against San Jose (at home, as well) doesn't say too much. Chicago could give Chivas a run for their money tonight (10:30pm ET, ESPN2), but the Goats are home and playing too well this year.

The Red Bulls host Colorado on Saturday night (and, as always, I'll be there---this time with 100+ from the local rec club my family is involved with). Expectations? Well, the way the season's gone, the only expectation you can have is no expectations. Rojas is set to serve the second (and final) game of his suspension, which it's hard to tell how much that hurts the Bulls, considering how inconsistent his play has been. Colorado has a solid roster---Conor Casey is tied for the league lead in goals, Howell product Nick Labrocca has produced when given the opportunity, and Matt Pickens is playing like a 'keeper who earned a contract in Europe (and will likely earn another). All of that adds up to the Rapids likely getting at least a point out of this one... (Analysis, of course, will follow after the game)

This week's predictions (home team listed first, predicted winner in CAPS):

Chicago vs CHIVAS USA (Thursday)
Colorado vs Red Bulls (draw)
New England vs DC UNITED
Houston vs Toronto FC (draw)
SEATTLE vs Columbus
Los Angeles vs Kansas City (draw)
San Jose vs REAL SALT LAKE
CHICAGO vs Dallas (Sunday)





And just to finish up yesterday's US roster posting, here's my prediction for the US lineups in next week's games:


vs Costa Rica (at Estadio Saprissa, San Jose, Costa Rica), Weds. June 3rd, 8pm MT (10pm ET), ESPN:


--------------------------------------Howard--------------------------------------------------

----Hejduk------------Onyewu---------------Bocanegra-------------Spector------------

---------------------Mastroeni----------------------Edu-------------------------------------
---Dempsey----------------------Bradley-----------------------------Donovan-----------

-------------------------------------Ching-----------------------------------------------------



vs Honduras (at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL), Sat. June 6th, 7pm CT (8pm ET), ESPN:

----------------------------------Howard----------------------------------------------------

----Wynne--------Onyewu----------------Bocanegra---------------Beasley-------------

---Dempsey-------Bradley------------------Adu------------------Donovan--------------

--------------------Altidore-------------------Ching-----------------------------------------