bullets13

0-0 at the half. US is looking pretty good. Dempsey has been invisible on the field, and Freddy has been playing well.

In the 26th minute, it's 0-0. The US has had pretty decent possession, and has also been somewhat effective up front, with a few good chances and an Eddie Johnson goal called back because he was about a step offsides. Spain has had two or three clearcut chances, and Howard has had to make a couple of nice saves. All that said, this US squad, as of right now, is playing pretty well.

starting lineup... 1 Tim Howard (G) 6 Steve Cherundolo (D) 22 Oguchi Onyewu (D) 3 Carlos Bocanegra (D) 12 Heath Pearce (D) 11 Eddie Lewis (M) 26 Maurice Edu (M) 19 Freddy Adu (M) 8 Clint Dempsey (F) 4 Michael Bradley (F) 9 Eddie Johnson (F)

Red Bulls' Jozy Altidore headed for Spain after Villarreal OKs transfer THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Jozy Altidore, who scored nine goals last year in first full season in MLS, could soon be delighting fans for Spanish first-division club Villarreal. Altidore leads the Red Bulls this season with three goals in eight games. Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore appeared headed for Villarreal, with the Spanish first-division club agreeing to a transfer deal with Major League Soccer for New York’s teenage forward. Altidore, praised by some as the United States’ best soccer prospect, still must negotiate a contract with Villarreal before he can join the club, the Red Bulls said Wednesday. No transfer terms were released but a person with knowledge of the deal said it was worth a minimum of just under $10 million, nearly double the amount previously paid for an American when English club Sunderland bought Claudio Reyna for $5.7 million in 2001. The person could not speak for attribution because league policy is to not disclose financial terms. Reyna transferred to the Red Bulls last season. The previous record paid for an MLS player was the $4 million Fulham paid for Clint Dempsey after the 2006 MLS season. MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said the transfer was negotiated relatively quickly, was a record amount for an American and that the league was under no “compulsion†to sell Altidore. “This was a decision we and the Red Bulls took rationally, with the objective to achieve a couple of things: provide Jozy with an opportunity he’s been looking for, and more importantly from our point of view, give us resources to elevate the team and the league,†Gazidis said. “It’s an offer we wouldn’t be accepting unless we believed the money gave us the opportunity to make the Red Bulls and MLS better. Our only motivation is that we received such value that it can let us make a step forward.†MLS is a single-entity league in which the league owns all the contracts and pays the players out of a central fund. Teams negotiate individual contracts with league oversight. Red Bulls spokesman Andy McGowan said Altidore, whose contract with MLS wasn’t due to expire until 2011, was unlikely to play in Thursday night’s home game against Chivas USA because of an ankle injury, but would speak about the transfer just before the match. “I think he was happy,†Red Bulls sporting director Jeff Agoos said in describing Altidore’s reaction to the transfer. “I think every young MLS player wants to go play for a team in Europe.†The 18-year-old Altidore already has made three appearances for the U.S. national team and scored his first goal against Mexico in February. He was a key member of the U.S. team that qualified for the Olympics in April and was expected to lead the team in Beijing. He scored nine goals for the Red Bulls last year, his first full season in MLS, to finish eighth in the league in scoring. With his combination of speed, size and strength, he has been mentioned repeatedly as a possible transfer target since the end of last season, including Real Madrid. Altidore leads the Red Bulls this season with three goals in eight games. He made his U.S. national team debut in November, entering as a substitute in a 1-0 victory over South Africa in Johannesburg. He added his first goal in a 2-2 tie against Mexico in Houston, becoming the youngest player to score a goal for the United States in the modern era.

alright! let's go boys!!!

I'll say! Boston next year is going to be even better!

he was ONLY 1/3 last night, bringing his average down to a modest .552

he just hit his 3rd in 3 games!!!

he just hit another homer! 3 in 3 games now!!!

Jozie should be there instead of Jaqua and Wolff. He's young enough that this experience will be beneficial to his international career in the future. I'd also like to see twellman get a shot. He's fast, and can create his own chances. It seems like the US is set on having these big boheomeths up front due to the past success of Brian McBride. Nate Jaqua is no Brian McBride (and neither is Brian Ching, for that matter). I don't think anyone thinks Jaqua has a future on USMNT, and Wolff is still terrible. It's weird because I get excited about the United States' future in mens soccer, and then we play Spain and I see Dan Califf, Frankie Hejduk, Eddie Lewis, Pablo Mastroeni, Nate Jaqua, Eddie Johnson, and Josh Wolff in the lineup. There are a few young guys on the team who I'm looking forward to seeing, and who need the experience. I don't understand why we keep trotting out our "experienced" players in friendlies when they aren't even better than the younger players that are "below" them that need the game time.

The roster: Goalkeepers: Dominic Cervi (no club), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton, England) Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (no club), Dan Califf (Midtjylland, Denmark), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege, Belgium), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock, Germany) Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Benfica, Portugal), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Maurice Edu (Toronto), Eddie Lewis (Derby, England), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado) Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Nate Jaqua (no club), Eddie Johnson (Fulham, England), Josh Wolff (no club)

Whats wrong with shooting deer off the mirror of a truck??? lol I heard of a guy that shot a deer off of the mirror of a truck but I am wondering how the deer got there in the first place. ??? it was his neighbor's cambodian pygmy deer.

a picture tells a thousand words. you can tell he's excited about being there... of course, he is standing between two guys with a combined 852 career major league homers.

i'm started to get a little cranky about not picking him up for my fantasy team...

[Hidden Content] Tonight Jay hit a walkoff homer for the reds in the 10th inning! after 5 games he's 11/19 with 4 rbi, 8 runs, 1 hr, and 2 sb. he's also walked 5 times while striking out only once. I can't ever remember a debut that was this impressive.

After five games in the bigs, here are Jay's stats. 11/19 ( 3 doubles, 1 hr) 8 runs, 4 rbi, 2 sb he's also walked 5 times and only struck out once

he hit a walkoff hr in the bottom of the 10th!!!

2-2 today in the top of the 3rd with two runs scored. unbelievable start.

and he scored 2 runs (including the winning run in the bottom of the 11th) and had an rbi

3/3 tonight with a double, RBI, and run. cincinatti as a team only has 2 runs and 5 hits.

If you count 5 months away, right around the corner. this is southeast texas! a few summers back i was working on a house in boykin place in lumberton and one of my coworkers had to take the afternoon off because he'd shot a deer out of someone's front yard there (it is unclear as to whether he had less teeth or brain cells at the time, but i'm pretty sure the number of each was slowly diminishing). it's always deer season in southeast texas

there are a few players in the league (Anderson Varejao, for example), who go flying backwards every time someone bumps into them. this will keep the good actors in the NBA from getting stars in foul trouble all the time. Soccer has implemented a similar rule for diving, or simulation, where someone pretending to be fouled in the box gets a yellow card.

yay lakers. boo spurs. i hear that tim duncan is going to take acting classes this offseason. this way, when they get knocked out early again in the playoffs next year, he can act like he's surprised.

I was really hoping he would have a big year for Texas, but he struggled. Maybe he'll get the call up for the pinstripes soon.