PROTEST DENIED!
The rumblings of a protest coming from the Costa Rica federation in the aftermath of the SnowClasico actually came to fruition over the course of the weekend. But FIFA wasted no team in giving its response - NO. Costa Rica really did not have great odds of winning a replay, mostly because the procedures to submit a protest in itself - before even getting the matter considered - are ridiculously impossible to meet.
SnowClasico Experience
Here is a great video from MLSsoccer's Kick TV that gives a behind-the-scenes type look at the week leading up to the SnowClasico and what happened during the match (except game footage for rights reasons). I actually think the stuff prior to the game is the more interesting footage in the piece.
Speaking of Snowy Conditions
The Columbus Crew had to break out the orange ball today for their Reserve League match against the Chicago Fire.
Behind the Mic
The Vancouver Whitecaps and their longtime lower division and MLS broadcaster Peter Schaad have kicked off a new behind-the-scenes video feature that takes a look at the various broadcasters around the league.
Educational Video - Passive Offside
DC United were controversially denied a goal over the weekend due to a tricky passive offside situation. I disagree that the player in question does not 'play the ball' - to me it should be like ball to hand where the player does nothing proactive. The Professional Referee Organization that oversees the referees for the professional divisions of soccer in the US and Canada broke down the call on the organization's site, ruling that the goal should have been allowed… take a look.
No Faith
Well, according to the editors of MLSsoccer, the US does not have much chance of getting a positive result in Mexico tonight. Only one of the eight predictions gives the US a point as the seven others project a loss. Following up on that, Greg Lalas provides a column in which he says the Mexico-USA rivalry is the best in international soccer. And here is an excellent preview of the contest, which also includes a look at Azteca Stadium, from MLSsoccer.
Bradley's Egypt Win Again
Playing in front of fans for the first time since the Port Said disaster 13 months prior, the crowd of 10,000 in the 90k-seat venue saw a dramatic 2-1 victory over Zimbabwe for Egypt, led by American coach Bob Bradley, as they keep their perfect record through three games, giving them twice as many points as everyone else in their group.
'Stories of the Day' is a quick recap of interesting, underreported, or top soccer news items - sometimes accompanied by some commentary - to give readers in the Inland Northwest area (or beyond) a brief look around the North American news scene.
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