Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis tonight from 7-9pm on Sports Talk 790 AM…call in number 713-212-5790, streaming live at Mlsnet.com and can be accessed at Houstondynamo.com….Dynamo open pre-season, Egypt win African Nations Cup, United over Arsenal as Rooney gets 100th, Donovan first Prem goal, Altidore shines for Hull, CBA extension, Adu-Johnson hook-up for Aris, Gbandi to camp with Kansas City Wizards, Monterrey over Cruz Azul, Cabanas improving, collegiate tournament at San Jacinto, Futsal at Legends in Woodlands plus Fiesta Houston Unsung Soccer Hero…did I miss anything?

Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson has been an All Star defender in MLS and many strikers around the league will tell you they don’t like playing against him.
Quickly after Stuart Holden was signed by Bolton in England both Robinson and Richard Mulrooney were re-signed by the Dynamo.

The Robinson ‘edge’ at times last year was missing from the this squad. On a number of occasions when I interviewed Eddie last season he alluded very strongly that due to his knee injury that he thought his career might be close to being over.

Currently Robinson says his knee is solid and he is elated to get camp and pre-season going for the Dynamo. Robinson’s health could and I said could prove to be a big piece in solving the loss of two of the most talented young midfield players in the U.S. in Stuart Holden who has signed at Bolton and Ricardo Clark who has signed at Eintracht Frankfurt.

A healthy Robinson would give manager Dominic Kinnear the ability to move central defender Geoff Cameron into midfield which Kinnear has made clear is an option to solve the problem. Here are some thoughts from Robinson who enters his tenth year in MLS:

GD: How is your knee?

ERob: It is great. It has been a long mental and physical recovery. There was a time I thought my career might be over. The last two months I have worked really hard. It’s
almost as good as new. I am ready and ready to compete.

GD: How much did the injury prey on your mind emotionally?

ERob: It was an emotional battle, few in my life would top this. It has to do with the unknown. I like to know what is happening. Not knowing was what bothered me most.

GD: How do you replace or absorb the loss of two talented midfield players in Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark?

ERob: That is where the whole title of professional comes in to play. You have to find ways to get it done. I don’t think it will be a problem. I think it will be hard though
to find quality players in that role. The league is set up for parity. Our goal will be to outwork teams.

GD: Give me your thoughts on what it would mean to play in your own stadium?

ERob: For me it relates to other players in professional sports that have never won a championship. Most of us have never known what it is like to have our own place.
To not have to worry about hustling out of the locker room for a football team or if our car is going to have a ticket on it. You wonder how much that effects you mentally?
Would we have won more games if we had our own stadium? We would give anything to have our own stadium.

What do you take out of the Eddie Robinson interview?

Major League Soccer and the players Union have agreed to continue negotiations through February 12th as they work towards reaching a collective bargaining agreement.

“While we still have areas of disagreement, the talks have been constructive and both parties believe it makes sense to continue to work hard to reach an agreement,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “This extension provides both MLS and the players the opportunity to continue to our discussions while clubs are in training camps preparing for the 2010 MLS season.”

“Both the Players Union and MLS have concluded that a new agreement will not be reached by February 1, but we have agreed to continue to talk and we will be meeting over the next two weeks to determine if a new agreement can be reached,” said Players Union Executive Director Bob Foose. “In the meantime, MLS Players are reporting to training camp, and preparations for the 2010 season will continue.

The current CBA agreement expires on January 31st.

SOCCER MATTERS WITH GLENN DAVIS ON FOX SPORTS HOUSTON TODAY AT 3pm BROUGHT TO YOU BY MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE
So set the DVR or catch it live! (Comcast and ATT Uverse)

On the home front the Dynamo will start their pre-season on Monday with manager Dominic Kinnear, striker Brian Ching and midfielder Brad Davis addressing the media after.

Lets face it.
The chances of catching the U.S. National team and Landon Donovan in a stand alone game in Houston just may never happen but it would be a great litmus test.
I believe if the U.S. national team played in Houston against someone other than Mexico they would draw over 20,000. Not quite the sell-out numbers of Mexico but solid in a soccer market that has a huge population of Mexican soccer fans but also others from those born in the states to England, El Salvador, Greece, Turkey, Nigeria, and on that are huge soccer fans.
So the big announcement from the Mexican Federation today was that Mexico will do a six city U.S. trip.
“The U.S. tour allows us to test our squad while giving our fans from all parts of the country the chance to send us to South Africa,” said the Mexican Federation’s Nestor de la Torre.

So the fans that are getting the chance to see the Mexican National team are all those living in the United States not those living in Mexico. What Nestor left out is that doing a tour in the United States like this will generate far more revenue than anything that can be put together in Mexico. The following six games should draw between 375,000 to 450,00 fans which translated means “big bucks”. We already knew that Mexico is playing more games in the U.S. from the standpoint of exhibition or “friendly” matches. The team remains an amazing draw. So here are the tour dates with our fair city of Houston being fortunate enough to get the last game against an undetermined opponent at Reliant Stadium.

Feb. 24 vs. Bolivia at Candlestick Park
March 3 vs. New Zealand at Rose Bowl
March 24 vs. Iceland at Bank America Stadium in Charlotte
May 7 vs. Ecuador at new Meadowlands Stadium
May 10 vs. Senegal at Soldier Field
May 13 vs Team Adidas at Reliant Stadium
May 16th vs. Chile in Azteca Stadium

Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis on Fox Sports Houston airs today at 5pm and is brought to you by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE………

Catch it live or set your dvr to catch interviews with the “Peaceful Warrior” Craig Waibel on being a father, new Dynamo signing Kevin Harmse and Stuart Holden.
Gustavo Rangel of Rumbo Newspaper also weighs in on Salvador Cabanas, pressure on Luis Landin this coming season for the Dynamo and more.

Milan Derby and U.S. National team break-down plutop ten goals come from around the world, we hear from you the fan in viewer mail as we taped this episode from our Fox Sports Houston studios downtown.

WHEN: TODAY at 5pm on Fox Sports Houston (available in Comcast and ATT UVerse cable systems)

Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis tomorrow on Fox Sports Houston presented by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE

Everton’s on loan Landon Donovan bagged his first Premier League goal against struggling Sunderland. Donovan went 76 minutes in the win and was praised by Everton manager David Moyes. Now what I loved about the goal was the curling run Donovan made in towards the top of the box to pick up a knock down. His finish was calm and placed amongst bewildered Black Cats.
After debuting under difficult conditions at Arsenal and again performing well against Manchester City it seems the best is yet to come for Donovan. Scoring a few goals will make Donovan more legit in the eyes of many.
Those who said he would not survive in England might just not have a clue how talented and and intelligent Donovan is as a soccer player. His ability to adapt in England has been impressive and one has to think this Donovan goal is somewhat symbolic of shaking off his detractors who have questioned his ability to play in Europe.
Great news for Donovan and U.S. soccer fans to see a home-grown talent performing well. Should Donovan stay in England?

Manchester United defeated rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford with an injury time goal from Wayne Rooney 3-1 . The Rooney goal proved the difference as United advances to the Carling Cup final where they will play Aston Villa 4-3 on aggregate. Carlos Tevez scored the lone goal in a match that had everyone in the city of Manchester captivated.

The Dynamo have resigned both Eddie Robinson and Richard Mulrooney.
Robinson spent last year dealing with a knee injury that kept him off the field. It was clear at time the ‘edge’ that Robinson brings to the game might have been missing.
Mulrooney got injured on the artificial surface at Qwest Field and missed a large portion of the season.
Their health and contributions could be vital to the upcoming Dynamo season for a variety of reasons. A healthy strong Robinson could partner Bobby Boswell enabling coach Dominic Kinnear to have the option of moving Geoff Cameron into midfield.
Mulrooney has been valuable both as a central midfield player and a right back. His ability to play both positions a great fall-back for the Dynamo and a quick solution to filling out a lineup card.
Dominic Kinnear has been at the Copa Chivas tournament in Guadalajara.

*Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis presented by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE this Thursday at 5pm

*FIESTA Houston Unsung Soccer Hero weekly on Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis

SO IS CARLOS TEVEZ AT THE RIGHT MANCHESTER CLUB?

Ahead of tomorrow’s spicy Carling Cup semi-final match at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Manchester City alot of bantering in the press is ocurring.
Carlos Tevez who scored both goals in the recent win over United was involved in a controversial moment when he put a finger to his mouth as to tell Gary Neville a United sub warming up to be quiet. Neville responded by giving Tevez the international symbol of_______you. Neville had been quoted as saying that United were in a sense better off without the talented and fiery Argentine. Tevez responded by calling Neville an “idiot” and “boot licker” in an Argentine radio interview.
Tevez apparently was offered a lucrative deal by United but passed on it saying he was never made to feel welcome at Old Trafford by the club. He has stated he now feels he is “at the right club”. Others claim he was just greedy for grabbing more money at City, Tevez says he has been made to feel more welcome there.
So the villian (Tevez) comes back to Old Trafford tomorrow for a match between two teams who live and work in one city. Security and tension will be high all spurred on by this controversy.
So what are your thoughts on Carlos Tevez going back to Manchester United? And by the way, I think Wayne Rooney is going to steal the show.

Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabanas has apparently been shot in the head according to a report from Televisa.
Cabanas was with family and friends and attacked at a bar south of Mexico City.
According to a prosecutor named Miguel Angel Mancera the attack occurred in a bathroom and Cabanas was shot in the head. No one yet knows the motive.
Cabanas apparently arrived conscious to the hospital and responded to questions but they were also saying they were trying to stabilise his heart.
Club America president Michael Bauer revealed that Cabanas was undergoing surgery and the attack was unprovoked after talking to Cabanas’ wife.

What do you even say about this? One can only hope for Cabanas to make it through this ordeal.

Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis tonight on Fox Sports Houston….

Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis tonight on Sports Talk 790 AM….the show streams live on the internet at mlsnet.com and can be accessed at houstondynamo.com

Guests: Brad Davis- Dynamo midfielder fresh off U.S. National team camp
Dominic Kinnear- Dynamo coach updates us on everything Dynamo including the loss of Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark to European teams
Kyle Rote Jr.- Houston Hurricane NASL, Superstar winner

Call in number is 713-212-5790

*Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis this Thursday at 5pm on Fox Sports Houston brought to you by Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute…..
*Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis on Sports Talk 790 AM radio……….Monday from 7-9pm

Inter Milan got a 2-0 win over AC Milan in front of 80,000 fans to strike a heavy blow towards winning the Italian Serie A title.
They have now stretched their lead at the top of table to 9 pts ahead of AC Milan who were on the defensive at the start of this one from the San Siro.
The build up and passion in the week leading up to this match was beyond the breaking point and watching it on tv it is still hard to imagine what the environment was really like. Oh, and did I mention that Inter had 9 men at the final whistle after Wesly Sneijder (27th) and Lucio (90) wer both ejected prompting manager Jose Mourinho to say we could have won this with 7 men.
AC Milan had far more possession in this game but Inter Milan was clearly dangerous on the counter attack through Diego Milito and Goran Pandev. The recent current form of Ronaldinho did not carry over to this match although he was dangerous on occasion

AC Milan made a huge push at the beginning of the 2nd half that led to numerous chances but Julio Cesar came up big in goal for Inter. He also saved a late penalty to preserve the shutout denying Ronaldinho from the spot.
Referee Gianluca Rocchi will no doubt come under the microscope much like every referee in a Milan Derby but was it right for him to send off Sneijder for his sarcastic clapping in the face?

Scoring :
Diego Milito 10th Inter Milan
Goran Pandev 65th Inter Milan