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Mid-Day Ticker: Bridge quits England, Cabanas shooting update and more

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By AVI CREDITOR

The Wayne Bridge-John Terry saga has reached new heights.

Bridge has taken himself out of national-team consideration for the World Cup, further depleting England's options at left back and adding another chapter to an ugly story for the Three Lions.

The Manchester City defender released a statement Thursday in which he claimed that his inclusion on the team would be "untenable and potentially divisive."

Bridge also said, "For the sake of the team, and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not to put myself forward for selection."

With Ashley Cole recovering from a broken ankle, Everton's Leighton Baines could be next in line at left back in Fabio Capello's squad, which hosts Egypt in a March 3 friendly.

Here are a few other stories happening this Thursday:

SALVADOR CABANAS UPDATE

Six bar employees have been charged with covering for the gunman in the Salvador Cabanas shooting that took place in Mexico a month ago. After the shooting the workers allegedly helped the gunman, who still remains at large, according to the Associated Press.

Cabanas, meanwhile, is recovering from the shot to the head. He is out of the intensive care unit and is reportedly talking and exercising. 

PORTSMOUTH HEADS INTO ADMINISTRATION

Portsmouth will become the first Barclays Premier League team to go into administration, as four prospective buyers for the team did not have sufficient-enough offers by Thursday's deadline.

Last-place Pompey will lose nine points in the standings and is all but facing definite relegation. The club will be financially restructured by an accounting firm, but by going into administration it avoids being shut down altogether.

ANDERSON OUT FOR SEASON

Manchester United suffered a blow to its midfield depth as Brazilian international Anderson will be out for the season after tearing a ligament in his knee in the first half of Tuesday's win over West Ham.

With Michael Carrick suspended for the Red Devils' second-leg Champions League match with AC Milan and Ryan Giggs' status up in the air because of a broken arm, Sir Alex Ferguson's options in the midfield have thinned out considerably.

CECH TO MISS SCOTLAND FRIENDLY

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was taken off the pitch via stretcher during the Blues' 2-1 loss to Inter Milan Wednesday, with the extent of his apparent calf injury still unknown.

What is known is that he has not been included in the Czech Republic squad for the team's friendly with Scotland next week.

Cech suffered a non-contact injury against Inter and is a staple of Chelsea's defense. Henrique Hilario is next in line to start should Cech miss an extended period of time.

The United States faces a possible Cech-less Czech Republic in a May 25 friendly.

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Do you think Bridge did the right thing by quitting the national team? Amazed at Cabanas' recovery? Think AC Milan can stun a somewhat-depleted Manchester United in their second leg? Hope Cech is in the squad that the United States will face?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. i seem to remember reading a couple weeks ago that wynalda told sampson he was okay with harkes being on the team, and that sampson dropped him anyways.

    Reply
  2. Oh i’m sorry you don’t think Ching or Casey will see the field? GTFO.

    I will root for any team playing us until we either field our best players or we stop playing some of the worst soccer in the world. We have a racist coach who refuses to play our hispanic players and plays the worst formations in the world and blames it on our players. We will always have a hard time with the likes of Pearce, Casey, and Ching….are you kidding me what a joke our country is at soccer.

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  3. To be fair, I’m sure most of the posters are fairly level-headed blokes, but there is definitely a visible minority of mind-boggling idiots who have been getting to me. I just looked over some of Elite Hunting’s posts and I can’t believe he’s serious with some of the things he posts: profoundly argumentative and misguided.

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  4. Maybe Bridge took himself out for John Terry’s safety because if one of my team mates pulled the crap that Terry did, I’d bash their head in.

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  5. yeah, it’s tough to find that many sports figures to actually ‘like’ as people.

    Ah well, they don’t need to be people, they need to entertain us on the playing field, I suppose.

    Regards,

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  6. I hope he gets juked severely by Dempsey, then tracks back and lunges hitting the ball and scoring an own goal. This goal eliminates them from advancing from the group stage. That would be sweet karma.

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  7. We’ve got Michael Vick, Tiger, Baseball P.E. Drugs, various NBA gun-toting thugs….England has their footballers. THey have no corner on the market for scumbag athletes.

    Reply
  8. Damn, sounds like England has a difficult decision on who to call up. It feels great to know as a fan of the USMNT that we don’t have any connundrum over a troublesome LB selection…, ;hopefully the sarcasm comes through, haha

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  9. Agreed, alot of people who post on here act like hardasses when guaranteed they’re not. If this happened to any of you, ANY OF YOU, you’d make the same decision Bridge did. I promise you. How could you play LB while the guy who ****ed your child’s mother plays at CB next to you. I’d want to punch him on the field.

    It’s not a question of professionalism, there are more important things in life than the World Cup. Notice Bridge isn’t ducking out of this week’s game against Chelsea, because that’s his actual JOB. International play is a choice, not required.

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  10. It never ceases to amaze me at how England manages to self destruct through the media year in and year out. I also can’t believe how big of dirtballs their players are. This can only help the USA

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  11. No, he meant appealing to players, not to fans. If you haven’t noticed, the NFL and NBA’s player unions HATE the league and it’s mostly because of the salary cap. If the players had it their way, there would be no salary cap in either of these leagues. This is why a league that currently has NO salary cap (i.e. EPL) could neverrrrr get one. The players / rich clubs wouldn’t stand for it.

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  12. They are both responses to insolvency. They are quite similar. In the US, sometimes entities will “go into receivership” which is even closer to the UK concept.

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  13. I’m amazed that these guys are unable to act professionally about this. As a musician, I’ve seen similar situations unfold within bands… but ultimately everyone still gets on stage and plays, because we’re rock’n’rollers and that’s what we do. These guys are footballers, and they get paid millions to play a child’s game, and in their position I can’t imagine worrying about anything other than: “Eff it, I’m playing in the World effing Cup.”

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  14. Bridge is a drama queen. This is the freaking World Cup, buddy. You’re going to punish yourself because of Terry’s despicable behavior? How is that courageous? We keep hearing about how these guys can separate soccer from private life….I guess not. I dunno….some might say he’s doing an honorable thing….I just don’t see it.

    And is “administration” bankruptcy? Can someone put this into Americanese for us?

    Reply
  15. Wait, so a captain running around and undermining team unity by sleeping with a club AND national teammate’s significant other is professional, but bowing out politely for personal reasons isn’t? Come off it. Terry created this entire mess when he couldn’t keep it in his pants. Captains and teammates need to carry a certain amount of responsibility with them on and off the pitch.

    I really wish I had a visual on some of the boneheads who post on this site. Between this, the Ashley Cole tread, and the passing of Fernando Rossi announcement, I’ve seen so much retarded machismo and myopic insensitivity on this site over the past few days to make me wonder just who the hell is posting.

    Reply

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