Just to keep to the USA connection (but not QPR)
July 29 MLS All-Star Game vs Everton FC, Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy, Utah web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090428&content_id=245820And lobbying to get players on the team:"[LA Galaxy] released a video lobbying for Ricketts to play in next month's MLS All-Star game in Utah. In this humorous campaign video, ..."
latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/06/ricketts-for-mls-allstar-game-video.html[Try this for the England team!]
Kinnear will lead MLS All-Stars vs. EvertonJun 21, 2009
NEW YORK (AP) — The Houston Dynamo's Dominic Kinnear was picked to coach the MLS against Premier League team Everton in the All-Star game in July.
The Dynamo earned a tie with Real Salt Lake on Saturday night, clinching the top points average in Major League Soccer through June 8 and getting the selection for Kinnear.
He'll get to pick five players to add to the team picked by fans, coaches and GMs, media, and players for the July 29 game.
Kinnear, who got a contract extension through 2012 in April, led Houston to the MLS Cup title in 2006 and 2007 and was picked as coach of the year in 2005. He will be coaching in his first All-Star game.
The Scotland-born Kinnear scored nine goals in 54 games for the United States and appeared in 117 MLS games.
Sounders FC still strong as voting hits stretch run
Fullback, midfield races remain close; balloting ends July 6
06/30/2009 10:33 AMBy Dylan Butler / MLSnet.com Staff MLS - And down the stretch they come. With less than a week remaining in the fan voting for the First XI for the MLS All-Star Game, there are a few races that are just too close to call, while others, like goalkeeper, have been decided since Day One.
Veteran Kasey Keller is far and away the overall leader in votes among the fans, with Seattle Sounders FC teammate Freddie Ljungberg a distant second.
Seattle remains the hotbed of fan voting, with eight Sounders FC players -- Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani, Osvaldo Alonso, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Tyrone Marshall joining Keller and Ljungberg among the leading vote-getters.
Still, the fan vote doesn't mean those players will be in the actual starting XI. That decision will be made by the coaching staff of the MLS All-Stars. The current top 11 vote-getters also does not factor in the balloting from the other three voting bodies (media, players, and coaches/GMs).
While Sounders FC once boasted 10 of the First XI in the fan vote, that number is now down to eight, with fans of the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew clearly having their voices heard.
Veteran fullback Frankie Hejduk has moved in front of Seattle's James Riley in one of the tightest races left, while Crew teammate Guillermo Barros Schelotto has a slight edge on Seattle's Brad Evans, Toronto FC star Dwayne De Rosario and Chicago standout Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who was named the MVP of last year's All-Star Game, in the race for the fifth and final midfield spot according to the fans.
Fresh off a huge goal in the FIFA Confederations Cup championship match, Los Angeles Galaxy forward Landon Donovan is the fans' second choice at striker, a nose in front of Sounders FC's Nate Jaqua, while Chicago's Brian McBride is third but still capable of overtaking his rivals.
Haven't voted yet? Or not happy with the way the team is shaping up? You still have time to speak your mind.
Fans have until July 6 to vote for the All-Star First XI online by selecting one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards. Fans can vote up to 10 times per day. The online fan balloting program will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote.
The MLS All-Star game will pit the best in MLS against U.S. international goalkeeper Tim Howard and Everton FC of the English Premier League at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on July 29 at 9:30 p.m. ET
The game will be televised in the U.S. on ESPN2 and Galavision.
This is the sixth consecutive year the best in MLS take on a high-profile international opponent. Last year, Blanco, Christian Gomez and De Rosario scored in a 3-2 win against West Ham United of the English Premier League at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto.
The MLS All-Stars have also defeated Mexican club CD Guadalajara, English opponents Fulham and Chelsea and Scottish Premier League standouts Celtic FC.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090630&content_id=5615930&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
