I won’t rub it in to our European fans too much about the Ryder Cup….not much anyway.:)

So I get a text from our pal Chris Boyes from Wakefield, UK this week updating me on the progress of his beloved Wolves football club. Like the Bills, Wolves are also off to a undefeated start and sit atop the Championship table and are looking to return to the English Premier League for only the second time in nearly a quarter century. This past weekend featured a stern test for them as Wolves hit the road to face third place Preston…..

Wolves 3, Preston 1 and it wasn’t that close. Striker Chris Iwelumo recorded an unusual type of hat trick(yeah, they all are in soccer. There, beat you to it!) racking up three goals and a red card. Sounds like soccer’s version of a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Like over here, it’s early and there’s a long way to go. And maybe the reward of having the right to get hammered by the likes of belong in the same league as Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal and such isn’t the same as being in the NFL Playoffs or going to the Super Bowl. But for longtime fans of Wolves who can recall the glory days of being a dominant Premier League club, a chance…any chance to get back to where they feel they rightfully belong is a huge plus.

As I have for the past few years….I’ll be watching!

-pjf

The sport of “futbol” has been known to have incidents of fan violence, commonly referred to as “hooligans” for decades. Hooligans tend to be people who simply show up at soccer games to start trouble rather than watch events going on the field.

It’s been a part of the culture of soccer in European countries for decades whether it be friendlys between clubs or major event involving national sides.

And last night it made its way to US soil. According to this article in the Columbus Dispatch some scuffles broke out during a friendly between the homestanding Columbus Crew and English Premier League’s West Ham after some West Ham supporters ventured into a crowd of Crew supporters at the half.

What can I say, I think this will earn more respect around the world for American soccer than anything David Beckham or Pele ever did. We’re finally starting to have enough passion for the game to get involved in stuff like this.:)

Oh by the way, West Ham won 3-1.

-Peter Farrell

I’m generally not much of a soccer fan - game is much too slow and not nearly enough scoring opportunities to grab my attention. But when it comes time for the World Cup or the Euro tournament, that’s when the game piques my interest.

This year’s Euro tournament is taking place in venues across Switzerland and Austria, and the first really compelling story happened in the opening round match between Germany and Poland. It was Polish born Lukas Podolski, one of the stars of FC Bayern Munchen in the Bundesliga, who tallied both goals for Germany in a 2-0 win. Said Podolski, “I was born in Poland and I have a big family there so it’s a very important thing for me. We applied what we worked on in training and must push forward from here.”

BTW… Euro 2012 is set to be staged in Poland and Ukraine, although infrastructure shortcomings and problems with the venues in the host cities may force that event to relocate to Scotland. If plans don’t change, that would be an AWESOME USRT! My family’s origins are outside Lviv in western Ukraine near the Polish border. I visited there once, while still in college, and it was an experience of a lifetime. If by some strange chance Pete and I actually made the trip, an entire village of Kulyks, along with distant relatives and friends of the family would roll out the red carpet for the USRT - plenty of platters of varenyky, holuptschi and bowls of homemade borscht. Oh… and plenty of shots of vodka… yes they do brew the stuff themselves in backyard stills there!

-Andrew Kulyk

My friend and colleague, Channel 2 sports reporter Matt Pearl and I were sitting side by side in the pressbox at a Sabres game earlier this month, and Matt shared with me his upcoming plans for his exciting vacation - he and his old high school bud were traveling to Spain for a week of adventure and sightseeing. Part of that journey would involve attending a real live professional soccer game, a match between RCD Espanol and FC Mallorca to take place in Barcelona.

So I gave Matt the challenge - could he “profile” the experience, USRT style. Describe the venue, the event, the sights the sounds and the smells. Matt was eager to answer the call.

Matt and his friend saw an unbelievable game - won by Espanol 2-1 with both goals scored late by a guy named Luis Garcia, the winner coming on a penalty kick.

Matt is back home from his trip. Here is his story on the game and his experiences there, complete with pictures and even a video clip.

Check it out. Good stuff!

Those who will be attending the FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Chelsea at the new Wembley Stadium in London will be the judge of that. This stadium will final open its doors after much controversy, delay after delay and cost overruns.

More info here from The Independent in the U.K.

A USRT journey to the United Kingdom has been bandied about from time to time. Wembley Stadium would certainly be the marquee event.

Can’t wait to hear Jim Rome start ripping on this again.