¡Hola!

Catch this apparently unmanned shot of DaMarcus Beasley's friendly hello to Puebla fans, an 85th minute 1-0 winner against Monterrey. How does one say "Woosh" in Spanish?





- Greg Seltzer

Kicking & Screening NYC set to kick off again

It's a smooth move from Will's Woody Allen flick Top 5'er (What? No NSC reader love for Bananas?!? Shocking!!). We go straight into the card for the third New York Kicking & Screening Festival, which will take place in Manhattan from July 20-23.

I had a blast at the inaugural Amsterdam version - even if my foosball offense was short of form. Well, Rachel and Greg are back at it, with a fresh slate of soccer films and a deluxe panel line-up for the Big Apple.


"The Passion of the Game” — Wednesday, July 20, 7:30 pm

Rick Ball, writer, producer and Manchester United fan

Gavin Sullivan, writer/producer Argentina Futbol Club (feature selection)


“Over There: The Battle for American Respect in Europe” — Thursday, July 21, 7:30 pm

Alexi Lalas, ESPN soccer analyst and former US national team star

Nick Lewis & Ranko Tutulugdzija, writers/directors - Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story (feature selection)


“Developing Talent or Trafficking Players? Player movement from Africa,” July 22, 7:30 pm

Erik Soler, technical director of the New York Red Bulls

Simon Laub & Sam Potter, producers - Soka Afrika (feature selection)


“Pressure at the Highest Level” — Saturday, July 23, 7:30 pm

Daniel Gordon, director of Match 64 (feature selection)

Mattias Löw, director of Rättskiparen (The Referee) (feature selection)


You can check out the full film list, watch trailers, pick up your passes and much more at the official K&S website.



- Greg Seltzer

Top 5 Woody Allen movies

I am an unabashed Woody Allen apologist, so you won't find a "Top 5 Worst" list from me. Only the good stuff. He's missed on a few, though none badly, and despite his age he continues to churn out brilliant dialogue, thought-provoking themes and lush backdrops in his movies, which he still dutifully produces at a clip of one a year. This may be my youth speaking, but I think he's in another career-defining phase like the one he entered in the late 70s. It only gets better.

Plus, the man can deliver witty self deprecating one-liners like few others.

To the movies! These are my faves, for the record, not necessarily the most critically acclaimed.

5. Hannah and her Sisters

The witty repartee in this film reveals nearly all of Allen's most endearing qualities as a filmmaker. The movie won three Oscars (Michael Caine for best actor in a supporting role, Diane Wiest for best actress in a supporting role and best screenplay) for its nuanced view of family and the misshapen venn diagram created by the scattered interests therein.

Interestingly, Caine won his Oscar in the midst one of the worst runs of any top-billed actor in modern film history. Less than a year after Hannah was released, Caine dropped Jaws: The Revenge on us. He accepted his Oscar via satellite from the set of this massive turd. He plays Hoagie Newcombe in one of the dumbest, most befuddling movies ever made. But it was hilarious.

4. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Hidden behind the entrancing Spanish guitar licks that float over every scene, the immutable beauty of Barcelona and the lure of the Spanish countryside is a compelling storyline of longing, the slow death of unhappy marriage and the fluidity of youth.

It also features the brilliance of Penelope Cruz, who plays a mentally imbalanced artist in a fiery relationship with Javier Bardem straight off the pages of A Moveable Feast. Scarlet Jo and Cruz also share a kiss scene in a darkroom. Aaalrighty.

3. Manhattan

Manhattan was Act Two in Woody Allen's immaculate run in the 70's that produced some of his most challenging work. It is, in essence, a black-and-white ode to the city that created and cultivated Allen's neurosis, biting wit and culturally-themed work. It also put a beautiful face on Gershwin's timeless Rhapsody in Blue.

2. Midnight in Paris

So this is Woody's newest. As I just saw it last week (and again this week) I'm extremely high on it. It may be a smidge impulsive, but this is one of his masterworks that should live comfortably alongside his very best.

It hits all my high notes: an imperfect but intelligent interlocutor in a never-ending search for meaning (Owen Wilson), an incredible setting (Paris, my most favorite of cities) and heaping helpings of cultural high history. Well-acted facsimiles of Picasso, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Degas all make cameos as Wilson's character travels back in time to unknowingly gain life-altering perspective. Plus, Rachel McAdams.

1. Annie Hall

The legend that really boosted Allen's career. Not much to say on this monster of film that hasn't already been said. At its core it will forever define relationships in the 70s, but it stands up remarkably well across the decades. Ninety three minutes of bliss.

- Will Parchman

The Jozy Show

Let's try to get you caught up with the Jozy Altidore-to-AZ scene, even if I am not entirely sure what is going on right now.

There are a lot of variables at play here, so pay attention, there will be a pop quiz later:

• For starters, AZ Alkmaar have now sold Graziano Pellè and Kolbeinn Sigþórsson. That part is done.

• Voetbal International reports that AZ has a three-year deal on the table for Altidore, and unsurprisingly, that he would need to agree to some sort of wage slice from his Villarreal paychecks.
  
  My sense is that he already has, but I do not know if they've agreed on personal terms yet. They may have or they may merely be close.

• Right now, the hold-up seems to be Villarreal, who obviously want to make back some of the €7 million or so they spent on Jozy back then. Meanwhile, AZ got €4 million for Sigþórsson. Apparently, Villarreal will take that sum, but AZ are not in a position to use 100% of those sale funds.

• Now, to the inevitable part, one outcome or another: I spoke to Earnie Stewart yesterday after a looooong meeting. He stated that they remain in for Altidore... as one of the players they are discussing.
  
  This morning, Omroep Brabant reported that AZ were also looking at NAC Breda forward Matthew Amoah, whom Stewart recruited for the Yellow Army while technical director there in 2007. At 30 years of age and with loads of Eredivisie experience, he's clearly a whole new direction and a cheaper one.
  
  FC Utrecht are also after Amoah right now, but NAC says they've had no official offers to date.
  

• On the other end of it, I know Altidore still has a few admirers in the EPL and most likely the same is true in Spain (though I get the feeling Villarreal want to ship him away).

So... where does this all leave us on a move that seemed set to roll over the weekend?

Well, there is the distinct possibility that this is all just symptomatic of business haggling and the deal will get done eventually. Patience isn't just a virtue, it's a revealer.

There is then, naturally, the chance that Jozy will simply end up as a little too rich for AZ's blood. I would find that sad. I'd really like to see this move get done. It may just be the perfect development tonic.

I guess we'll just wait and see.


- Greg Seltzer

The MLS Grinder: The Quakes Live

Game of the Week

San Jose 2, New York 2

I keep wanting to bury San Jose. Not because I hate the Quakes, or even because I dislike them. But because at a time it made sense. The Quakes were a known commodity at the beginning of the year, and they were a terrible commodity. The end. But not so fast my friends.


This is why Frank Yallop says why the hell not.

So no Thierry Henry, Luke Rodgers and Rafa Marquez. In a sense, the Red Bulls are happy to pull out a seventh draw in nine games. Joel Lindpere's equalizer in the 85th minute saved New York the ignominy of dropping a point, but that they did it in front of 41,000 in Stanford, Calif. shows that San Jose's season is very much alive. There goes that perception flip again. In another sense, the Quakes are unhappy not to take the full three. But these are points that keep San Jose on an upward swing. It's easy to forget where they were after a few weeks.

What is most interesting about this result is the disparity in conferences and the perception of these two teams. San Jose has five wins and 22 goals in 16 games and is sixth in the West. New York has five wins and 29 goals from 18 games and is second in the East. Most of us would pick NY in a pinch, especially full strength. But it all goes back to the hilarious parity this league presents. It's nuts.

Best of the Best

- TFC, that woebegone franchise north of the border with 18 points from 19 games, fired a salvo this week that's ringing all the way to Bremen. Here comes rocked-footed Torsten Frings and his new Dutch buddy Danny Koevermans.

This has (of course) ignited another brisk round of "MLS as a retirement community" discussions, an argument I'll largely stay out of only to say this: the 34-year-old Frings will rightly bump Julian de Guzman out of the top DP spot and take over a much-needed role in TFC's defensive midfield. TFC has the worst goals against and goal differential numbers in the league. Neither of these guys are back line players, but Frings' mindset brings a sharp edge and his tackling ability will be key for the point man for TFC's leaky defense.

Frings' Canadian fans can overlook it, but plenty of Yanks no doubt remember his fateful handball in the 2002 World Cup that kept out a sure goal in Germany's 1-0 quarterfinal victory over the US. Can you forgive him in order to raise MLS' standard of play? I can. Plus, there's this.

As for Koevermans, the lesser known of the two, he fills a sucking void at center forward in Aron Winter's 4-3-3. There have been three relatively unsuccessful experiments at the tip of the spear this season, and Koeverman's ability to bring bags of goals will presumably lift TFC's attack from the realm of the embarrassing. He collected just one goal for PSV last season in a diminished role, but his pedigree in front of net is historically impressive. At 32, the well-built 6-foot-3 striker had 136 goals in 11 seasons in the Eredivise. Insert obligatory goals montage here.

- Darlington Nagbe (sorry, I meant Darlington Neymar), this year's second overall pick, has a brief announcement on MLS' perceived lack of flair.

- Happy Fourth to all my American buddies. We've got a pair of games on tap tonight with RSL-New England and the highly anticipated LA-Seattle tie both going down. Enjoy.

- Jason Kreis had his jersey retired.

- Hopefully we're in for a treat. Soony Saad is coming.

- Brek Shea is smoking. Dude scored his eighth goal of the year in a 2-0 win over Columbus and nearly added an assist 10 minutes later on a beautiful weighted through ball. He's got his hands on his hips, tapping his foot impatiently while staring a hole through Bob Bradley right now.

Worst of the Worst

- Portland lost to SKC. At Jeld-Wen. Oh dear. This whole thing is coming unraveled for the Timbers in a hurry. The cruel twist of Nagbe's goal is that it came in a losing effort. Sweet and sour defined.

- The Crew, who are now just three points off Philly's first-place pace in the East, lost 2-0 to FCD this weekend. Suck, right? Not the half of it. In 90 minutes, Columbus lost the Pioneer Cup and three players for this Wednesday's Whitecaps fixture. Andy Iro and Emmanuel Ekpo are both out on bookings, and Rich Balchan (the Balchanator!) is out with a groin injury. Oops.

- Chicago held a lead... and still only earned a draw. Again. If you're counting (and you are), that's 12, tops in the league. A ridiculous Nick LaBrocca goal helped the Goats equalize. I know this is the unhappy section, but I'm an optimist. Goals!

- Will Parchman

A heads up, fully baked goodie (updated)

Bayer Leverkusen is about to announce the signing of David Yelldell from Duisburg. It is a done deal, three-year contract, begins as the back-up there.

You heard it here first. Report at MLSS on the way.

UPDATE: And while I have your attention, Josh Gatt's injury from last night is not serious. It's an ankle ligament sprain, he should be back in a few weeks. Report coming on that, as well.


- Greg Seltzer

Video Sunday

Let's enjoy a little variety show before Will cooks up the MLS Grinder...

Let's begin with a quick look at my hunch pick to win Copa América, Uruguay.

Let's check back with the USWNT to get some thoughts from a few of the ladies responsible for yesterday's big win over Colombia.




Hey, ya know how all those Mexico players kept testing positive for banned substances? The reason behind is actually quite sad. If I may step on a soapbox... people in North America need to make food companies stop filling their products with crazy growth hormones and the like. This is not just a Mexico problem with one substance. I'll be forthright; whenever I go visit home, the food always makes me very feel sluggish and heavy and ill. There's just too much salt, too many chemicals and pesticides, too many additives, and it's all there in the most readily available, cheapest, easiest food. I really notice it because I'm now so accustomed to affordable fresh food, and frankly it scares me. It's not good what they will do to make money and we are the only ones who can force them to feed us right by voting with our dollars.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=32b6aeb6-718e-459f-ad86-d8348307f1f9" target="_new" title="">FIFA warns Mexican National Team</a>


Wanna see the most amazing missed penalty call of all-time? I give you Equatorial Guinea and referee Gyoengyi Gaal.




Finally... you just gotta love Dutch people. And specifically in this case, VVV Venlo.







- Greg Seltzer

100% Lady Nats clinch knockout round

It took a while for some proper clips to surface, but here we go. I have a new nickname suggestion to proffer: Heather O' Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em...












- Greg Seltzer

A speck of red in a sea of green

Evan Ream, Russell Jordan and four friends walked into the Rose Bowl parking lot before the Gold Cup final bedecked in USMNT gear. The final was still hours away, but the group of six wanted to get the lay of the land and tour the area before meeting up with some American Outlaws compatriots at a pregame tailgate.

What they found was an area awash in Mexican green. Some fans were openly hostile, sidling up to Ream's group and ostentatiously twirling noisemakers and blowing horns at point blank range. Others shook hands and posed for pictures.

"I guess going into it we knew it was going to be a big game and fans were going to get up to it," said Ream, a 21-year-old student at Southern Oregon University. "We never really expected it to go as far as it did."

Once the group found the AO tailgate, things escalated. Rowdy Mexican fans occasionally taunted the group to in attempts to spark confrontation. At one point, Ream was nearly drilled in the back of the head by a wayward glass beer bottle before it was deflected by a fellow AO member at the last minute.

On their march into the stadium, the confused crush continued. Surrounded by Mexican fans in the line to enter the stadium, nervy push-and-shove moments involving the small, surrounded US contingent continued. In response to a request for security, a stadium attendant offered no physical help but told the group they could "sue the police" if things got out of hand.

Once in the stadium, things were kept to a low boil until around the 80th minute, when the security detail barricading the US fans from the surrounding sea of green uniformly left their posts. Ream heard it was because the security team itself was worried for its safety.

"I was surprised by how far they went," Ream said. "I really thought stuff like that didn't happen in this country, it wouldn't happen in this country. I was surprised by the lack of preparedness by the security and staff there as well."

Ream's experience at the Gold Cup was fairly typical for American fans wading into the madness in Pasadena. Brave US fans who showed were outnumbered about 95-5 by Ream's estimate. Inflamed by the passion of the rivalry and emboldened by a bloated edge in numbers, Mexican fans held every homefield advantage, US soil or not. In the wake of the event on Monday morning, Russell posted this letter on Facebook, in which he decried the poor security conditions and unpreparedness they were met with at the Rose Bowl.

The letter quickly went viral. Alexi Lalas, Jay Demerit, Heath Pearce and Herculez Gomez all re-tweeted it. Ream, the co-creator of TheSackLunchBlog.com, posted it to his site and got 12,000 views and more than 160 comments in a week.

Ream is relatively consigned to the fan reactions. To an extent, most of the abuse was expected, and extrapolated over the years, none of it was a particularly new phenomenon. That an Azteca-like atmosphere of lax security and heightened pro-Mexico passion was farmed out to US shores was the unwelcome surprise.

"I felt pretty disrespected that this could happen," Ream said. "I just kind of wanted to make a point that the security was awful and they laughed in our faces when we asked them to do anything."

The group is encouraging people to email in their personal game accounts to thesacklunchblog@gmail.com or post up support to #ProtectOurFans on Twitter. And if you want to keep up on any updates, be sure to periodically check up on @RussaldoAO, @EvanReam, and @WRobinson91 and, of course, Ream's blog, www.thesacklunchblog.com.

As an addendum, Sunil Gulati came out with this open letter to the fans that at once strikes conciliatory and "it's not our fault!" tones.

- Will Parchman

Who likes goodies?

I was going to do a Video Friday, but let's just push that to the weekend...

• Let's begin with a story. Once upon a time, a guy reported from a far away land that PSV was among the teams scouting NYRB defender Tim Ream. And then one place altered it to PSV wanted Tim Ream, they needed Tim Ream! Then another bumped it up to PSV was in talks for Tim Ream!!! Eventually, enough tabloid outlets from that far away land falsely used his quotes to falsely claim that OMG TIM REAM IS ON THE VERGE OF JOINING PSV that an actual newspaper picked it up!!!!! It got so out of hand that even the most respected outlet from that far away land was suckered by the back corridor chat in that far away land that they claimed that, based on the original correct reporting, Tim Ream was weighing a PSV offer among many others!!!!!!! But the deal was nearly done with PSV, and thus too bad so sad for all you bridesmaid LOSERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  Ya know, I try really hard to word things in a precise manner to give only the indication desired. I realize how these things can be spun out of control, but normally they don't finger me in the false claim across two hemispheres. It's more than a bit annoying.
  
  Let me go ahead and try this again, so at least folks can stop claiming I did anything other than report a good player being monitored by a cool team:
  
  PSV has not made an offer or even official contact over Tim Ream.
  
  Period. End of. Fin.
  
  Incredibly, I will be filing a report before long on how PSV has not yet done any of this besides watching the guy with interest - like I reported before.
  

• And meanwhile, I get quotes from AZ exec Earnie Stewart that they are in deep talks for Jozy Altidore and that story has somehow yet to rise above barely noted "rumor" status in the rest of American press.
  
  (bewildered expression)
  
  FYI: The word is that Ajax expect to be able to present Kolbeinn Sigthórsson in the next few days, which should domino directly into Altidore's move. At this moment, I can find no late hijackers or deal breakdowns here. It looks like a go.
  
  Now don't go spread around that I said the deal was 100% done. I know you so want to.
  

• Hey, remember last week when I told you the Alejandro Bedoya race had cooled off? Never mind. You can remove those scarves and jackets now.
  
  Rangers remain the odds-on favorite, but there is a Dutch club and a French club (I've yet to place either, but have a scent) and perhaps other clubs I've yet to detect that will not go gently into that good night.
  
  Basically, it seems some folks are suddenly getting more serious about snagging him in August. And as that Swedish transfer window does not open until next month, let's project this scene to play out somewhat slowly. At least, that will give me time to do more digging.
  

• Alright, try not to spaz out one way or the other. I've learned that there are clubs in France (not sure if L1 or L2 or both) and Turkey's top flight, among possibly others, expressing an initial interest in Freddy Adu.
  
  At this time, I am not aware of any MLS options and I have yet to confirm a Portuguese buzz that Benfica actually may bring him into camp for a "just in case" look-see. I'll need to see some real evidence before I believe either of these things is about to happen.
  

• A new free agent, Lee Nguyen is exploring potential options in MLS, Denmark and Portugal. However, I get the sense that the interest from multiple other clubs in Vietnam may keep him there (where dude's like a rock star) and that Europe is preference #2. It's still early in the situation, though, much can happen.
  

• That promised Djibril Cissé rumor knockdown report is up - but, my, wasn't Seattle's fire "denial" rather smoky?
  

• Long story short: free agent Quentin Westberg is mulling an extension offer from promoted Évian, where he enjoys being, but has no assurance of a chance to start. I briefly spoke to Q-Dub today and starting is definitely something he wants to do, in part because he wants back in the USMNT set-up. Meanwhile, Portuguese side Beira-Mar are at the front of a small crowd of clubs in Ligue 1, England and Italy discussing whether to give him that shot at a #1 shirt.

• Finally, I heard from separated sources that playmaker Conor O'Brien of promoted Danish second flight side Blokhuis is smashing it on trial with SAS Liga outfit SønderjyskE. Apparently, he was terrific in a friendly against Wolfsburg and we can probably expect him to get an offer shortly.

- Greg Seltzer

Up for the Copa

It's Copa America time again, with hosts Argentina kicking-off in La Plata against Bolivia at 20:45 EST.

Brazil are seeking a hat-trick of Copas, having beaten La Albiceleste in the final of 2004 and again, devsatatingly, in 2007:



Argentina will be hoping that Buenos Aires' Estadio Monumental will host a happier occasion on July 24th than last Sunday's relegation for River Plate and ensuing riots.

Tim Vickery, Jonathan Wilson, Tim Sturtridge & Alejandro Perez and Michael Cox tell you all you need to know about this year's competition.

Speaking of the Copa, remember Steve Sampson's finest hour (along with beating Brazil in the '98 Gold Cup) -



*The US are out of the FIFA U-17 World Cup after being blitzed 4-0 by Germany in Queretaro, Mexico. The awesome Germans have scored 15 in four games with only one in reply.



QFs (July 3rd & 4th) - Uruguay v Uzbekistan, Japan v Brazil, Germany v England, France v Mexico.

*The US Women play Colombia in their second game of the Womens World Cup tomorrow (Sat) at 12 noon EST in Bochum, Germany.

-Sean O'Conor