Oly tourney qualifying Feb. 25 - March 5 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2170-2003Sep25.html This better be on TV!
http://www.fifa.com/en/news/fixtures/women,-1.html Here's the USWNT's schedule from the FIFA site: February 25 - Costa Rica February 28 - Haiti I'm waiting for some chode to bitch and moan about how the US ain't playing top caliber opponents in this tourney. It's freakin' CONCACAF for chrissakes....what the heck are they suppose to do...petition to move into UEFA!!?
. The latest from US Soccer... HEINRICHS TO NAME ROSTER FOR CONCACAF OLYMPIC QUALIFYING ON TUESDAY Heck...that's better than nuthin'...I'll take what I can get.
It is sad, isn't it! In fact, as you probably know the U-23 US Men kickoff against Mexico tonight in a match for the ages -- the winner clinching an Olympic birth while the loser, well, boozes -- and that's not on TV either. And Mexico would LOVE to seek a little payback for the WC defeat.
This is going to be such a good game. But we wouldn't want to miss the Dog Show on ESPN now would we? Going to be a rough one for the boys but hopefully they will come through.
Westminster is on the USA network here and not ESPN. Not that I disagree with your point about wanting to see the Mex-USA game today.
Roster Named http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=53282&itype=113&iCategoryID=0 Roster by position Scurry Mullinix Mitts Rampone Reddick LePeilbet Fawcett Markgraf Osborne Boxx Wagner Foudy Lilly Tarpley Hucles MacMillan Hamm Parlow O’Reilly Wambach
The two who saw no time in China (Chalupny and Bivins) were bumped. Also, Wagner in and Roberts out. I hope Parlow's inclusion means her concusion problems really are a thing of the past. It will be interesting to read (since we won't be able to see) how the Wagner vs Tarpley thing works out. Of course, maybe my thinking they are fighting for the same spot on the field is wrong. Tarpley has been effective as a forward where I've never heard about Wagner being used as a forward on any level.
No Millie - interesting. The Tarp/Aly thing is also interesting. Tarp's looking pretty darn good. Aly better get it in gear (although I also have no idea if they are actually in competition for the same position).
Re: Roster Named I realize we are still a long way from stateside friendlies and Athens...but looking at this list of forwards and the fact that only 18 players can be on the Oly squad...where does Millie fit into all of this? I know that she has said that she will take some time off from the team to see if she wants to continue with her USWNT career, but with her being gone in January and February...is she now on the outside looking in and has to earn her way back onto the team, or does she have a spot on the squad until she says she no longer wants to play? And I guess the same questions could apply to the status of Brandi...I'm assuming she is still recovering from her foot injury??? Anyhoo looking at which defenders are going to Costa Rica.... ...I guess the only real question marks are Mitts (yeah yeah Pauk...) and LePeilbet. But if those two play well in the next couple of months...does it make it even harder for B-Chaz to come back to the squad?
Hucles at this point is a complete mystery to me. Mystery as in "the status of her game". When was the last time we saw her play quality minutes? If i remember right that was before the WWC, before her "injury". And i put that in quotes 'cause I still don't have the slightest clue as to what (other than sucking) kept her on the bench for the WWC. Could've just been that Boxx muscled her way into her spot. So why then is she on the roster and not TR? TR isn't exactly Kristine Lilly but i'd take TR as a utility player over Hucles any day. Because a utility player is all I can see Hucles as from now on. Tarpley is blossoming nicely and there is no reason on earth Hucles should ever, after what we saw last year, start over Boxx. So my question is still. Why Hucles? Any thoughts?
Millie From what I've gathered over the past several months and what I saw dating back to well before the WWC, my bet is that we have seen the last of Millie. I used to love to watch the speed she brought to the game, to feel the excitement that when she was on the pitch you knew she could score at any time (like Wambach or Mia), or to even see her come on as a super-sub. Leading up to the WWC, I wondered why she didn't play much. I wondered why she was barely even used as a super sub. Until the WWC. When I was able to see her performance in person. And that's when I started paying more and more attention, to find out what plagued her. To find out whether it was April or anybody else holding her back. And that's when I got my answers. Her fitness was subpar. Her confidence had taken a hit, and it showed in her game. Sadly, the list goes on. That's also when I realized you didn't see much of this "fall off" on TV. But you did see it at the game, when you were able to see the entire field, able to see the plays develop and where all the players were. And to see how each peice works toward the main goal. As much as I had wanted my old Millie to pull through and be a threat, there was no denying Millie was tired. She appeared preoccupied at times. She didn't get back when she should've. She was out of position. On one on one's she seemed afraid. Even when running down a ball in a speed race with the keeper, as she pulled up lame rather than running through. It was clear, she didn't belong on the team. I realize Millie is tough and had at one point been amongst the most dangerous in the sport, but to get back to that level when she's facing, as reports have it, burnout is not easy. Hopefully her time away will help her with this, but burnout has a way of lasting far longer than many can overcome.
I think I'm one of the few who simply didn't notice Millie was left off. I think I've come to expect her not being there, and as a result I didn't even look for her. 18 players in Athens. I don't see us going with less than 5 forwards, and I think those 5 are Hamm, Wambach, O'Reilly, Parlow, and MacMillan. As to Hucles being on the team...your guess is as good as mine.
A: Heinrichs doesn't know how to use her. B: Heinrichs system doesn't suit her. C: She has no confidence in Heinrichs and her coaching ability. D: (The big one) She's just biding her time until Heinrichs is fired after the Olympics.
Hucles is a very good player, but I agree that she's not an international caliber player. So why is she on the team? My thought on this is that it's because she played for Heinrichs in college, and it's April's way of showing that she didn't totally suck as a college coach...or something... I'm not sure it's very effective.
Millie. ---- NSR: Can anyone tell me what some cons would be for states having tax and expenditure limits!? Ugh this is a pain in the arse to research.
no Bandi it's sad Brandi is not healthy enough to play. I know she is the oldest of the senior members but she had kept her fitness untill her foot injury. After watching her play for the C'Rays for 3 years I think she still would have been an asset to the team. I wonder if this is the end to her WNT career? Doesnt look good for seeing the Oly. Qual. games on TV, and if NBC holds true to form we'll be getting recaps of games from Athens. I would pay $$ to see the games webcast! MLB does it, the technolgy is getting cheaper, no reason they couldn't do it.
Re: no Bandi As far as the qual game on TV; there is virtually no chance as the men's games, with a much larger fan base, have not been shown. But on a positive note the smaller numbers of fans "May" actually be an advantage. CONCACAF blocked all US distribution of the men's games whit excessivly high fees and other restrictions. Since the women's games would be in less demand it is possible that a network like FSWD might get the games on some kind of tape delay. For the actual Oly games NBC had all the US games last time, most were tape delayed but they were available on the "side" chs NBC used. I would expect this year it will be the same. Particularly now that the US's soccer interests will only be carried by the Women, if they qualify, as the men did not qualify. Of course the NBC execs can make changes to the way it was done last time and we may see little or nothing except the egg toss finals or some such.
IIRC, NBC plans to show all of the men's games on Telemundo, and all of the women on MSNBC except for a Plausibly Live Final.
Re: no Bandi Hate to say it, but it's about time she retired and started on the quest to bear Brandon Smith, who will team up with Landon Garciaparra, Brad Friedel Jr., Shandon MacMillian, and other offspring to bring the World Cup to the USA in 2034.
Re: question http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=53282 Their first match is on the 25th, so counting back 11 days, I'm guessing they begin practice on the 14th, so I'm assuming they leave either tomorrow or early Saturday.