12.7.15
ASN Morning Read: Portland Gets its Trophy
The club from the Pacific Northwest gets its trophy in a weird, wild, and mostly entertaining game; the United States women's team doesn't take the field for understandable reasons; Sepp Sepps.
- Two Goals in Seven Minutes Lift Timbers to MLS Title: That just about says it all, right?
- Here's how the Portland Timbers succeeded:
- The United States women cancelled their game against Trinidad and Tobago in Hawaii over concerns about the field condition after Megan Rapinoe tore her ACL during training:
One of the reasons @ussoccer canceled today's game in Hawaii. #USWNT pic.twitter.com/uKJUMmOCA5
— Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) December 6, 2015 - This isn't a good look:
I'm being told for men's team a rep flies to venue months in advance & no @ussoccer rep inspected this Hawaii field. #USWNT
— Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) December 6, 2015 - It wasn’t until we got to Aloha Stadium the next day — the day before the match against Trinidad and Tobago — that we finally saw, for the first time, how bad the stadium’s field truly was. The conditions were such that our coach shortened practice to a brief 30-minute training session so we wouldn’t risk injury before the game. There were sharp rocks ingrained all over the field. They were everywhere. The artificial turf was actually pulling up out of the ground, and the turf itself was both low-grade and aging. This was a playing surface that looked like it hadn’t been replaced in years. There is a larger, more vital conversation about turf — as it concerns women’s soccer — that continues to make progress. But turf is our reality right now; we play on it all the time. This decision wasn’t about “turf vs. grass.” This was about field conditions and player safety.
- Sepp Blatter could be in more trouble: "The FBI is investigating the role played by Fifa president Sepp Blatter in a $100m (£66.2m) bribes scandal, a BBC investigation has discovered."
