Results tagged “worldcup”

              

The cold, blustery and wet conditions at RFK Stadium were nothing short of appropriate for the United States' final World Cup qualifier, really: the fitting backdrop for the conclusion of a road trip which has seen little sunshine for the men's national team. In the light of the car crash which severely injured forward Charlie Davies, most of the 26,243 on hand focused their meditations on one question: would the accident inspire the Americans to perform at the peak of their abilities, or would they simply fall flat in a match that both math and the accident had rendered much less of a priority?

Shaq couldn't get in to see the Commander-In-Chief on Monday, but FIFA boss Sepp Blatter sure did. And from the sound of it, Washington's most famous resident turned on the charm, dribbling a ball which Blatter brought with him and kinda-sorta accepting an invitation to attend the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

Two weeks ago, D.C. United traveled to Los Angeles to play a depleted Galaxy team and were lucky to come away with a disappointing 0-0 tie after Nate Jaqua missed two easy opportunities in front of the United goal. Determined not to fall into the trap of playing down to their competition again, United scored early in their 3-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Fire and never looked back. Fire goalie Matt Pickens bobbled...

If you've been to the box suites at RFK Stadium, you may have noticed photos of acts that have played the stadium lining the hallway - U2, New Kids on the Block, the Promise Keepers and so on. But after we finished laughing at the New Kids, one plaque off to the side caught our eye: "Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, site of Olympic football, 19 July-4 August 1996." What? The Olympics were at RFK? There...

Yesterday we picked up a false report from a usually reliable news source, and conveyed misinformation as facts. Washington Capitals team webmaster Mike Vogel ran a story on the official team website stating that Caps forward Alexander Ovechkin had been disciplined for a "hit from behind," and we picked it up as fact. After all, there was a link to the story on the NHL.com homepage, so someone must have checked it out. Hitting...

> > Deadline worth noting! Anyone interested in participating in this year's DC Idiotarod has until tomorrow, Thursday March 1, at 11:59 p.m. to register your team for the big race on March 3. Don't miss out on this opportunity to bring wanton chaos to the streets of D.C. [DC Idiotarod] > > Fans of soccer, wine, photography, and philanthropy will descend upon the JW Marriott tonight for the Goals for Girls Auction & Wine...

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,...

Despite having the best record in MLS, D.C. United took the field Saturday night looking to regain the form that has the team on pace for the second best season in MLS history. On paper, the visiting L.A. Galaxy seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. However, after a rough stretch that saw them lose 9 of 11 matches, the Galaxy have come around of late, losing only one of their last nine...

Fresh off of their victory Wednesday night over the New York Red Bulls, MLS leading DC United hope to continue their winning ways Saturday night when they host the LA Galaxy. While the Galaxy's 7-11-5 record may not sound too enticing there are plenty of subplots in Saturday's game that bear watching. Recently departed Santino Quaranta, traded from DC to LA for a future draft pick, will be making his return to RFK. He's...

Mired in a 4-game winless slump and experiencing an offensive drought, DC United headed into last night's match against Red Bull New York with a degree of uncertainty. Would United's forwards be able to capitalize on the scoring chances that had slipped by them in past games? Could the team regain its competitive edge? Was it time for another early exit from U.S. Open Cup play? United provided an emphatic answer to these questions,...

After soundly thrashing Celtic FC in a friendly two weeks ago, MLS-leading DC United will take on another international power, only this time it's the mighty Real Madrid. Due to scheduling conflicts at the local stadiums and Real's already booked West Coast tour, this friendly will be played in Seattle at Qwest Field on August 9th at 11 p.m. ET. We here at DCist are bummed that we won't be able to watch this...

The following is an account of DCist's experience as part of the press corps covering DC United's 4-0 win over Celtic FC. Ever wonder what it would be like in the press box during a big game? There'd be scores of reporters, banging away on their typewriters, cigarettes hanging from their mouths with a half inch of ash dangling precariously. A man sporting a fedora would run in and say, "Here's the scoop, ya hear?"...

Washington-area fútbol enthusiasts get a real treat tomorrow night (7:30 p.m.) when Celtic FC, one of the most storied clubs in Europe, visits a DC United squad playing some of the best soccer in its history. Nominally, the match is an international friendly, an exhibition. DC is playing through a 33 game season, and will not want to risk injury or exhaustion to its stars. Celtic is in its preseason, and will be eager to...

While fans of Italy's soccer squad celebrated their team's World Cup victory, District residents yesterday braced at the news of two brutal killings over the weekend. While this isn't the first time that a weekend has yielded a number of violent deaths, the victims involved remind us how random the violence can often be. As with all of these deaths, our thoughts go out to the friends, family, and neighbors affected. British Politician Murdered in...

Today we kick off "Buying Indie," a new series about local and independent businesses written by Vince Wadhwani, the brain behind Buy Indie. Every now and then he'll feature a new business, observing only one rule — it must be local, it must be independent. You don't often see soccer fans heading in groups to the hair salon, so at first the sight may seem strange. But then, just before they get to the...

Like a villain in a predictable horror movie, Deluge '06 refuses to go away, even after being stabbed, burnt, and buried by angry villagers (us). After being practically washed away last week, Washington enjoyed a nearly precip-free streak of days, before yesterday afternoon's thunderstorms chased hordes of Jason Alexander fans from the Mall and let us all know that our sins had not yet been expunged. Those of you lucky enough to have window views...

Sometimes you need to clean yourself up, get serious, and move in with daddie for a few months before you head to Latin America for a new gig. The District bids Jenna Bush adios. D.C.-based television shows have an elderly audience and DCist has some suggestions to fix that. They're also throwing Butterstick the panda bear a birthday bash. Yeah, we may have a few issues with our World Cup broadcasters here, but this guy...

If your fellow employees were able to reap the benefits of July 4th being on a Tuesday and took July 3rd off -- and even added today for good measure -- chances are your workplace will be a veritable ghost town. So much the better, right? There's World Cup soccer to be watched. Pharmacies Oppose D.C. Cold Medicine Law: Kids getting high off of Sudafed? Basement drug producers using cold medication to make meth? It's...

Sampaist is on the scene in São Paulo beginning this week to become the only ist south of the Equator. Editor Leandro M. Pinto leads the paulistanos down there. You can protest someone at his office, sure, but when the whistle blows at the end of the day can you follow him home? D.C. has sports fans, apparently, and elephants aren't really cut out for zoos. There's this trick where you can read information from...

Today all eyes are on the U.S. squad in Germany, where they will square off against a powerful and confident Ghana in what may be their make-or-break match of the World Cup. And according to Sports Illustrated, it was a Ghanaian businessman in the District that helped the U.S. team prepare -- maybe unwittingly -- for what could be today's tough game. How so? States the article, which includes an interview with assistant U.S. coach...

There are certain critical junctures when the weight of the world is upon a team. Baseball's pennant race, college bowl season, and the final day of group qualifying in soccer are similar situations in which a team must race to the finish, desperately holding off its competitors. In such situations, there are two phrases in sports' lexicon that are inescapable: "win or go home" and "control their own destiny". Not surprisingly, these phrases are...

On Monday, the U.S. suffered a sobering 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic. Monstruous forward Jan Koller scored in the 5th minute of play, putting the U.S. on its heels. The Czechs did not look back, out-hustling, out-muscling, and out-classing the U.S. for the remainder of the game. How does a team maintain a positive attitude coming from a game in which it was so thoroughly beaten? Apparently with a rededication to the original...

With the daily commuter inflows and outflows, a transient residential base, and the interdependence of economies in the metropolitan region, it is understandable that the lines between the District and its neighbors can be a little blurry at times. However, it is safe to say that Cleveland Park is still solidly located within the District. Friendship Heights? Now that’s another story altogether. As always, we want to know what you hear: overheardindc (at) gmail (dot)...

We have an oft-repeated complaint about unwilling dancers: it’s all in your head. It's clear people don't dance at shows have never given it a serious chance. Or they haven’t been forced to. That’s where !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) comes in, with silky beats and drum circle percussion; where frontman Nic Offer grinds against you like some creepy, beautiful stranger. Releasing the seminal dance-punk single “Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard”...

With the USA's first World Cup match coming monday at noon, I decided to get a U.S. soccer jersey. It shouldn't be too hard, I thought, since the U.S. is ranked fifth in FIFA's rankings and the D.C. area has a relatively strong soccer tradition. After all, D.C. United is one of the most popular MLS teams and local colleges perform well nationally, with Maryland's men winning the NCAA title in 2005. However, I was...

Pardon the comparison, but Trinidad and Tobago's surprise tie with Sweden on Saturday was the "Cool Runnings" moment of the 2006 World Cup. It was in that 1993 movie that a Jamaican bobsled team surprised the competition at the 1988 Winter Olympics in an event usually dominated by teams that have, you know, snow and ice. And such was the shock when Trinidad and Tobago, ranked 47 internationally and playing a man down, performed with...

LAist is flashing a sad peace out to their editor Carolyn Kellogg with one hand and bumping knuckles with their new head typist L.A. blogger king Tony Pierce with the other. Where do ist editors go when they hang up the 'editorial we'? They take on MySpace, apparently. At least Ben Brown does. Austinist reminds of the just rewards of less savory careers this week and then they witness the Arctic Monkeys and We Are...

Last night DCist ventured north to Charm City for a three band lineup made in blogger heaven. L.A.'s Cold War Kids, Denmark's Figurines and Minnesota's Tapes 'n Tapes brought the music that all the indie kids have been gushing about to a great little club called Fletcher's. The review in 20 words or less: Cold Ware Kids were really, really good. Figurines were not. Tapes 'n Tapes pretty much rocked. Fletcher's is a tiny (probably...

FRIDAY: >> There ain't nothin' remotely unfun about hanging out with North Carolina's trailer park heroes, Southern Culture On The Skids, who will be playing the 9:30 Club — or as it's more pretentiously known, "Nightclub 9:30" — tonight with Jumpin' Jupiter. If you're good enough to treat SCOTS to some fried chicken, maybe they'll indulge us locals with a Link Wray cover or two. $15, doors at 9 p.m. (Jason Linkins) >> Do your...

As Monday's opener with the Czech Republic draws nearer, U.S. Men's National Team Coach Bruce Arena had this to say to reporters yesterday: "you can't believe everything you read in the papers". Although Arena was referring to reports that the Czechs would be without the services of their injury-ridden star players, the statement could well serve as a mantra for his squad throughout this month's World Cup. The U.S. has the misfortune of being...