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Soccer Sunday: Your Running Commentary

David Beckham 12 (AP)

The Mexican League playoffs and the MLS Cup Final headline a busy day of soccer action around the world.

The LA Galaxy-Real Salt Lake MLS Cup Final should offer a great nightcap for a day of soccer that includes some EPL and Serie A action, and a Mexican League playoff showdown featuring Michael Orozco's San Luis against Toluca.

If you will be watching today's action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today's soccer TV schedule is after the jump).

SUNDAY

  • 10am- FSE- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wigan Athletic
  • 10:30am- ESPN360.com- PSV vs. Heracles
  • 11am- FSC- Stoke City vs. Portsmouth
  • 11am- Setanta Sports- Saint-Etienne vs. Lorient
  • 11:30am- GolTV- Hamburg SV vs. Vfl Bochum
  • 12pm- FSE- Stoke City vs. Portsmouth (Delayed)
  • 1pm- ESPN360.com- Malaga vs. Real Zaragoza
  • 1pm- Setanta Sports-Bolton Wanderers vs. Blackburn Rovers
  • 1pm- Univision- San Luis vs. CD Toluca
  • 2pm- GolTV- Botafogo vs. Sao Paulo FC
  • 2:30pm- FSC, FSE- Juventus vs. Udinese
  • 2:45pm- Setanta Sports- Montpelier vs. Lille
  • 3pm- GolTV- Osasuna vs. Valencia
  • 5pm- FSE- AC Milan vs. Cagliari (Delayed)
  • 5pm- FSC- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wigan Athletic
  • 6pm- Galavision, Telefutura- Santos Laguna vs. Morelia
  • 7pm- FSE- Juventus vs. Udinese (Delayed)
  • 8:30pm- ESPN/Galavision/Telefutura- Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake (MLS Cup)
  • 10pm- Setanta Sports- Manchester United vs. Everton (Delayed)

Comments

  1. Forgot to mention, today’s games were the 1st leg games at the lower table teams’ stadiums.

    The 2nd leg games are the higher table teams’ home games.

    Reply
  2. Position in the regular season table has resolved ties in prior liguillas, so if Toluca ties on aggregate they go through. The final is resolved with extra time and penalties if tied, and is also 2 leg.

    One way to make the regular season count.

    As an aside, the two short seasons can lead to some weird things happening, like Clausura 2009 when some of the playoff teams(Indios and Tigres, don’t remember if Puebla also got in) had been flirting with relegation(in Mexico’s bizarre structure).

    Reply
  3. I don’t understand what you’re saying. I said under the present rules it appears nearly impossible for a linesman to make off-side calls based on a small, minute portion of the anatomy being ahead of defender.

    Joe, ” …These judgments will change with each ref because everyone thinks differently whether the player got an advantage or not.”

    Are you saying here that the call is based first on advantage and not on player position when ball was played?

    PS; No one has to be a ref to see how difficult the off-side call is to make correctly under present rules.

    Reply
  4. you must have never reffed in your life madmax. because when you are reffing and the ball is hit you can not take a snapshot of what happened and sit and study it, you have to makes calls off impulse, and whether or not you think the player got an advantage. These judgments will change with each ref because everyone thinks differently whether the player got an advantage or not. That is just part of the game.

    Reply
  5. I watched the game against West Ham yesterday and honestly I was wondering the same thing. He doesn’t seem as comfortable with Hull as he does with the Nats but that’s sure to have something to do with his role and status on the team.
    That said, I would like to see him ‘show and prove’ more. He holds his own and plays it safe which should keep him on the field. Maybe we’ll see more out of him as he grows into his role.

    Reply
  6. His first cap representing the USA was in a World Cup Qualifier, a FIFA sponsored event, therefore, even with the new rule around, he won’t switch nationalities.

    He’ll get his chance. He’s in a crowded area.

    Does anyone else think that possibly Pablo Mastroeni could get a look in central defense, seeing as how he’s played that position before? Just thought I’d like to throw that out there.

    Reply
  7. But can you score with a fingernail? It is extremely difficult to call a limb protruding by an inch at the time ball was played, near impossible.

    And I wouldn’t mind giving offense that step. Off-side traps would need to adjust, perhaps be less frequent, and since an offside call would need a piece of green seen easier for linesman to call.

    Reply
  8. All it takes is one part of the body to score. It is silly to think that you can score with your head but you would need your entire body behind the second to last defender to be offsides. The rule is the way it should be. If it were changed then it would give the offensive players at times an entire step on defenders. It just isn’t logical.

    Reply
  9. How does the liguilla work? Is it a 2-leg home and home affair? If so, is the San Luis/Toluca game leg 1 or 2? Do away goals count like in UEFA or is it straight aggregate goals like MLS? Any help anyone can provide would be appreciated

    Reply
  10. Will Micheal Orozco Ever represent the USA again? Has he represented the full national team or is he still able to switch national teams…anyone know?

    Reply
  11. Sweet fancy moses, 9-1. Lost my breath for a few moments while I tried to grasp that I was really seeing that score.
    Anyway, as a Hull City supporter, I can pass along that he’s clearly got the support of the manager and new-old chairman having seen back to back starts. The fans are behind him, and the media is starting to warm up to the fact that an American might play worthwhile football. He hasn’t shown much goal-scoring form, but what he has done is made centre-halves to work and also exhibited good strength and aerial ability. His learning curve is steep but fast-moving, and if Jimmy Bullard stays fit he will have a successful and rewarding season that will only bode well for his USMNT performance. Up the Tigers!

    Reply
  12. Defoe/Tottenham…. Wow.

    Question to all of you guys…

    Jozy- Under-performing in the minutes he is getting or doing a solid job with the supporting cast he has at Hull?

    Reply
  13. The Milan defense is an utter shambles. They look SO slow and so disjointed. I really wish Onyewu hadn’t been hurt because he would probably be getting a lot of time there. Kaladze and Thiago Silva looked lost.

    As to Bayern, Klose is looking old and I have never considered Lahm to be of much use. That team has serious problems and I’m frankly happy about it. Them and their godzilla sized payroll can go soak.

    Reply
  14. I saw most of the Bayern Munich game and part of the AC Milan game. Milan won 4-3, while Munich tied 1-1. Something similar from both games were the close off-side calls. In both contests linesmen (correctly I guess) called attackers off-side because of limbs being slightly behind the last defender. It looked to me that it was a very difficult measurement for any linesmen to make. Great attacking play and at least two goals were called back or interrupted. I would like FIFA to change the off-side rule to ‘the entire body’ clearly behind the last defender. Of course defenders will adjust but I think it will improve the game.
    At Munich good players, Lahm, Klose, Muller, and Sweiny, had poor games.

    Reply

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