Fans, fanaticos
I have you covered tonite with the best in soccer talk on 790 The Sports Animal.
Guests:
Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear
Dynamo defender Julius James
Dynamo CEO Chris Canetti
I am also working on Charlie Davies from the U.S. National team.
Call in number is 713-212-5790 and the show streams live at 790 The Sports Animal and at MLSNET.com

How about the All Star selections of Stuart Holden and Geoff Cameron?

TICKETS FOR THE GOLD CUP quarterfinals in the new Cowboys Stadium in ARLINGTON, TX will be in abundance on the radio show tonite so if you are up for a road trip get ready!
I have five pairs to give away plus Dynamo vs. NE tickets……

Let me know what topics and questions you want covered on this show!

The Dynamo depleted and fatigued from the road fought valiantly with a make-shift lineup in Seattle in front of 30,000 fans.
After getting a great opening goal from Brad Davis who beat Kasey Keller with a blast to his left from 20 yards out the Dynamo despite some nervous moments had the edge in play in the first half and had good spells of possession.
Late in the half a controversial goal from Fredy Montero was allowed as referee Mark Geiger and his crew deemed a Montero touch cleared the entire goal line.
After watching replays it is hard to believe that the ball cleared the entire plane of the goal line despite not having the perfect camera angle. Reaction from Mike Chabala was dis-belief.
The 1-1 halftime score would turn into 2-1 after Pat Onstad made a mistake conceding an early corner which result in a Patrick Ianni bicycle kick goal. Ianni atoned for his first half loss of possession which led to the Dynamo goal.
In the end players like Chabala, Eric Ustruck, Julius James, Danny Cruz all took valuable experience out of the game that could serve them down the road as the Dynamo continued to push till the end. Seattle now within three points of the Dynamo.
We discuss this on DYNAMO ALL ACCESS WITH GLENN DAVIS tomorrow night on 790 The Sports Animal at 7pm.

On another Dynamo front Stuart Holden hit an absolute blast with a high degree of difficulty for the U.S. in a 2-2 Gold Cup draw with Haiti. Holden has shined in his two appearances in Gold Cup play scoring 2 goals while picking up his first two caps.

Dynamo camps are rolling and youth soccer players can sign up at www.houstondynamo.com

SOCCER MATTERS WITH GLENN DAVIS on Fox Sports Houston debuts next Saturday at 9am and will re-air three times weekly.
The magazine style show will feature highlights, interviews, opinion and much , much more!

Zizou is in the United States!
Don’t get too excited as he is not getting ready to sign for FC Dallas…..but the great one will be showing up at tonite’s Superclassico when the LA Galaxy take on Chivas USA…

I read the new book the “Beckham Experiment” on the flight from New York to Seattle that I took yesterday and how ironic is it that Beckham himself returns to the U.S. today and will practice and train on Monday and be ready to go next weekend at New York.
So what do you think will occur on “another” return to MLS from David Beckham.
It should be interesting based on the new book and the large differences Beckham and Landon Donovan had last go round with the squad.

Jozy Altidore is expected to move to Olympiakos of Greece in search of first team football on loan from Villareal according to goal.com
Altidore scored vs. Spain in the recent U.S upset of the world’s number one team and is 19 years of age….

DYNAMO AT SEATTLE

Lets talk about players missing and player opportunity. That is what it is about today at Qwest Field.
With the core of the Dynamo missing today will be opportunity for some less experienced players.
Expect Julius James and Mike Chabala to be in a lineup that will look different.
It is amazing how many miles and games the Dynamo are in the midst of but that is the trappings of success when you factor in the Open Cup.
Nate Jacqua and Patrick Ianni are expected to start today at Qwest Field at 3pm CST so catch it on KHOU 11.2

The trio of Freddy Montero, Freddy Ljunberg and Nate Jacqua are dangerous and if you throw in Steve Zakuani (probable) and Sanna Nyassi you have a blend of players that bring mobility and game changing ability. They feed off the crowd’s energy as well so the Dynamo will need a great day of possession, intelligent play and new levels of performance individually from some thrown in the mix. A great day to find out about yourselves and some players that will get further opportunity.
Keep a particular eye on James who was a starter at the beginning of the year.

So that time of the year in MLS is here and players like Mike Chabala and Cory Ashe have been contributing. Lots stacked against the Dynamo tonite but to pull off a result in this environment would be a huge confidence builder!!!
What are your thoughts on today’s game?

Debut of magazine tv style show “Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis” next Saturday morning at 9am on Fox Sports Houston!!

Get your World Football Challenge tickets at FIESTA TICKETMASTER and don’t forget your Dynamo tickets at HoustonDynamo.com
Beckham and Blanco are coming to Robertson!!!

So 47,000 fans saw Mexico draw 1-1 with Panama and we now know that things are still in flux with “El Tri”.
The “Javier Aguirre incident” will now be Gold Cup lore as he ventured out of the coaching box to raise his leg towards an onrushing Panamanian player.
Unwise? You bet? Stupid from your leader? You bet.
So will Concacaf step up here and truly lead by suspending Aguirre for the tournament or will they turn a blind eye based on the strength that Mexico is financially in Concacaf?
In my opinion Concacaf must suspend Aguirre to show that they are leaders!
As a soccer fan what do you think ? And for those fans throwing things on the field…is this acceptable and will Concacaf make a stand?
After all isn’t that just FIFA fair play and doesn’t accountability extend to fans?
By the way the goalscorers were Miguel Sabah for Mexico and Blas Perez Panama.

One thing was really clear for the United States.
When manager Bob Bradley brought on Charlie Davies and Benny Feilhaber for Freddy Adu and Logan the United States became a different team.
The timing of the substitutions were correct as well against a fatiguing Honduras and the two players did much to lift the tempo, provide a creative edge that led to two great goals.
The first goal scored by Santino Quaranta was a beauty that involved wonderful circulation of the ball ultimately bringing in Quaranta at the top of the box who smashed in his finish.
THe moment was a great one for Quaranta who recently became a father and has had addiction problems which he seems to have under control.
I couldn’t help think what was running through his mind when he soaked up the moment and took a bow.

Brian Ching headed home beautifully the second goal off a great cross from captain Steve Cherundolo. Next up for the U.S. is Haiti. Freddy Adu will not play anymore in the Concacaf Gold Cup and is heading back to Benfica in Portugal due to a prior arrangement.
One always wonders in situations like this with Freddy Adu currently if players are given opportunity to play themselves OFF the team. What did you think of Adu’s performance.

Mexico takes on Panama at Reliant Stadium on Thursday in a match that should draw between 40,000 and 50,000. Don’t miss it and grab your tickets at FIESTA TICKETMASTER outlets!!!!

SOCCER MATTERS WITH GLENN DAVIS a new soccer program on FOX SPORTS HOUSTON debuts Saturday July 18th at 9AM and will re-air three times during the week!!!
Don’t forget the Dynamo this Saturday on KHOU 11.2 as the “Orange” invade Qwest Field in Seattle to take on former ARSENAL star FREDDY LJUNBERG.

On a water logged field in Charleston the Houston Dynamo defeated the Charleston Battery 4-0 behind two goals from Geoff Cameron.
Normally playing as a center back, Cameron was given a more attack oriented midfield role from manager Dominic Kinnear and responded.
Here is the scoring summary: 16th Cameron
47th Boswell
52nd Oduro
73rd Cameron
The Dynamo will take on Seattle Sounders FC in the semi-finals in Seattle later in the month in Tuwila, WA at the Starfire Complex.
Former Strake Jesuit high school captain Nelson Akwari played for Charleston.
The Dynamo will head to Seattle later this week to take on Sounders in an MLS game this Saturday at 3pm Pacific time. The game will air on KHOU 11.2.
The Dynamo will be without a slew of players including central defenders Bobby Boswell and Geoff Cameron who will both miss the game due to suspension.
Stuart Holden, Brian Ching and Andrew Hainault are all involved in the Gold Cup.
Seattle will be missing Brad Evans and Tyrone Marshall also to the Gold Cup.

U.S. HONDURAS tonite
The competition should take a step up tonite as the U.S. takes on Honduras tonite at RFK Stadium in the nation’s capital.
The game will be broadcasted on FSC.
Stuart Holden should get another run in midfield after producing a goal against Grenada in a 4-0 U.S. win….After the U.S. defeated Spain and lost in the final of the Confederations Cup to Brazil do you find it hard to get excited about the Gold Cup?

MICHAEL OWEN AND MAN U

So Red Devil fans what do you think of this shock signing?
And what do you think of the stable of strikers Sir Alex has assembled?
Will Dimitar Berbatov take his game to the level he produced at Spurs? Will Wayne Rooney relish playing as a central striker and having some positional consistency?
Can Luis Antonio Valencia live up to it at a big club?
Owen injury fears are always first and foremost on the minds of fans these days but he did pass the physical.
Can and will the former Liverpool star produce for United?

THANKS TO HBU
My gratitude to Houston Baptist University soccer campers and coach Steve Jones for having me out last night to address the campers after a long day on the fields.
HBU remarkably is one of only two NCAA division 1 mens soccer programs in the state of Texas.

Get your World Football Challenge (Chelsea vs. Club America) and Gold Cup tickets (Mexico vs. Panama) this Thursday at FIESTA TICKETMASTER where you can save!
The Dynamo are back in town until they play NE at the end of the month but you better start thinking Blanco and Beckham….Their visits are just around the corner.

How about this great news for the American game and the American player.
U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu has signed with Italian giants A.C. Milan and will now be plying his trade at the San Siro.
So how does this make you feel as an American soccer fan? We always clamor and hope for U.S. players to get a shot at bigger clubs, well this is big!!!
Onyewu goes to Milan as a bargain on a free transfer as he played out his contract in Belgium at Standard Liege. For Milan Onyewu comes at a bargain price!

Who knows if this move even occurs if it wasn’t for the great performance of the U.S. national team at the back end of the Confederations Cup when they knocked off #1 Spain and pushed Brazil in the final though losing 3-2?

Alexi Lalas who formerly play in Italy at Padova brings up a good point in that Onyewu will match up with bigger , target type forwards in Italy just fine.
“Most Italian clubs have at least one big forward, an Ibrahimovic, a Iaquinta or whoever, and I think he’ll match up very well against those big forwards that alot of teams have,” said Lalas who played in Italy with Padova. ” As a matter of fact, I think he will gobble them up.”

Alexi may be just jumping the gun a little bit. I say lets wait and see how Onyewu does as only the second ever American to play in the Serie “A”. Lets give him a chance to play a game before we annoit the move a success though I do agree that Onyewu will obviously be more comfortable playing against strong, aggressive, target man type forwards.
It’s those quick little strikers that can be pests…….Great move for Onyewu and I look forward to see him in the famed strip of AC Milan.

CRISTIANO RONALDO……Soccer player ? Celebrity? Or both?

When is the last time in any major sport in America where 80,000 people turned out to the signing of an NBA, NFL or MLB player?
It just doesn’t happen. But in the world of soccer yesterday 80,000 fans turned out to see Real Madrid’s new signing. Simply amazing, and simply amazing the expectations now on Real Madrid. And we thought the 30,000 who came out to see Kaka was a big deal?
Still I am not convinced Manuel Pelligrini the new Real Madrid coach will be able to control this star-laden squad, are you?

DYNAMO AT CHARLESTON
The Dynamo take on the Charleston Battery tonite in the U.S. Open Cup . The Battery feature former Strake Jesuit high school player Nelson Akwari who also played in MLS with the Metrostars, Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake. Akwari is a wonderful young man and has been on the radio show here in Houston a number of times dating back to when I launched a soccer program on 90.1 KPFT. Rest assured that USL clubs circle their calendar to play MLS teams and this will not be an easy game. The Battery will be motivated and hungry to prove and measure themselves against the Dynamo. Catch it on the radio tonite on 790 The Sports Animal.
The Dynamo then head to Seattle to play the Sounders at a sold out Qwest Field in downtown Seattle on Saturday afternoon . Catch it and Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis the tv show on KHOU 11.2. The Dynamo game airs at 1pm with pre-game at 12:30.

PRIZE MONEY
By the way here is the break-down of prize money awarded to teams in various competitions, remember this is per team and the winnings then divided amongst players and staff:

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: $100,000
MLS CUP : $200,000 might be a bit more
Superliga: $300,000
Concacaf Champions League $36,000 is my understanding.

So what is wrong with this picture and as a player wouldn’t you be more interested in being in the Superliga with the potential of winning $300,000 in a reasonably short tournament?
The Champions league in Concacaf brings prestige and as shot at going to the World Club Championships but includes far more travel and wear and tear.
MLS teams have their own way of dividing their prize money if they win.

What do you think of these incentives?

SOCCER MATTERS WITH GLENN DAVIS ON FOX SPORTS HOUSTON

I quietly mentioned at the end of Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis last night that in partnership with Fox Sports Houston we will debut a new soccer program on Saturday mornings called “Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis”.
The show will cover all the tiers of the game and will focus on community pieces, the Dynamo and MLS, EPL, Mexican League, Champions League and the international game.
It will be lively, energetic, informative and will honor those working on the sport in our community as well as the top stories from around the world.
If you have story ideas please pass them on to me but I consider this a huge opportunity to grow the awareness and enjoyment of the sport.
You the viewer will have input that I will gladly receive and segments will include highlights, interviews, viewer mail, tips segments, red card and lots of passion and opinion.
Fox Sports Houston reaches close to a million homes and has a footprint of 4 million into Louisiana, and New Mexico.
The show in a sense is national as well since FSH also reaches around the country on Direct tv and Dish tv sports packages.
The program will air on Saturday mornings at 9am and will re-air three times per week.
You the soccer fan have helped to get this on the air. Look for a press release coming out this week and get ready fanaticos for this magazine style show!!

FIESTA UNSUNG SOCCER HERO AWARD WINNER

Danny Foster of Kickoff Magazine!

Podcast for Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis is up on 790TheSportsanimal.com, click podcasts, click Glenn Davis.
Sigi Schmid of Seattle Sounders FC weighs in on the Dynamo, Dominic Kinnear talks about opportunity for players in the near future for the “orange” plus he rates the “Michael Jackson” impersonation from Kei Kamara after scoring his goal in Kansas City.

Houston Soccer Unsung Hero Award winner goes to Danny Foster of Kick-off Magazine!
Congratulations to Danny!!!

Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis tonite from 7-9 pm om 790 AM will feature Charleston Battery head coach Michael Anhaesuer and Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America magazine and SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC Coach Sigi Schmid. Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear and Wade Barrett also on this show!
Call in number is 713-212-5790, Gold Cup ticket giveaway tonite!

FIESTA TICKETMASTER has your GOLD CUP TICKETS for Mexico this Thursday plus your CHELSEA /CLUB AMERICA tickets…..HOUSTONDYNAMO.com for tickets to the New England Revolution plus don’t forget the visits of Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Chicago and David Beckham, Landon Donovan and the LA GALAXY.

The Dynamo picked up a value three points but at a cost tonite in Kansas City.
Their 1-0 win was punctuated with a beautifully put together goal that involved Ricardo Clark, Cory Ashe, Mike Chabala and ultimately a Kei Kamara header.
Some good fortune rained on the Dynamo as Josh Wolff hit the crossbar late with Pat Onstad beaten but in the end a three point road win was acquired.
The Dynamo will not have available both center-backs Bobby Boswell and Geoff Cameron due to yellow card accumulation next weekend in Seattle. Prior to heading west they will go East to take on the Charleston Battery in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Charleston has eliminated the Dynamo the last two years in the Open Cup.
This will be a big challenge going to Seattle sans your two center-backs to play in front of 30,000! Not to mention that Seattle had this weekend off……..What are your thoughts on the Dynamo win in KC ?

Titan Football players STEVE MCNAIR murdered….I am baffled by this and the amount of incidents NFL players get it off the field? I am also saddened because McNair seemed like an up-front guy not to mention was one tough athlete and followed his dream of being a quarterback by going to Alcorn. Sorry to see this etched all over the front page of the newspaper.

Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis tomorrow on 790 The Sports Animal features the best in soccer talk. Guests lined up include coach Sigi Schmid of Seattle Sounders F.C., Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear, Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America and more……