Admit it, you're feeling a little down today. After 16 straight days of great European Championship action, we are coping with the first off-day of the tournament. The first of two off days actually. I don't know about you but I'm feeling a bit of withdrawal and no, watching a replace of USA-Barbados isn't the cure. So what can you do during these two soccer-less days? I've been dealing with laptop issues that have made things rough in SBI-land the past few days but there is still plenty to do for the bored soccer fan waiting for Germany-Turkey to kick...

And then there were 12. CONCACAF World Cup qualifying wrapped up second-round action and there were no surprises in the head-to-head phase of qualifying. The powerhouse countries we thought we would see advancing to the third round did just that (with Panama being the one team I was surprised to see knocked off) and now we can start looking to the third round of qualifying. Here are the Groups for the next round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying:

Call it the Curse of the No. 1 spot. FC Dallas was once No. 1 in the SBI MLS Power Rankings, then the Hoops promptly fell apart. The Columbus Crew had it for a while, but eventually suffered a losing streak. Most recently the Chicago Fire grabbed the top spot and hasn't won a match since. Now you have New England, which moved into No. 1 last week only to promptly go 0-1-1 in a week where two wins were probably expected. Was that enough to knock the Revs off the top spot? Nope, not yet. With the Galaxy settling...

Save for one Freddy Adu pass and one Eddie Lewis finish, the U.S. national team's World Cup qualifying victory against Barbados on Sunday was just plain ugly. From the soccer to the field to the backdrop at the cricket stadium, watching the U.S. team's 1-0 victory was slightly more difficult than watching Spain's penalty kick triumph over Italy (let's just say that after watching it on my TIVO late last night I was able to get to sleep). Should we read much into the result?

Spain's curse is over. You heard over and over about Spain's history of losing penalty kick shootouts on the date June 22, along with the tradition of falling short in major tournaments. The Spanish national team was able to put that to bed on Sunday after its thrilling penalty shootout victory against Italy in the European Championship quarterfinals. No, Spain still hasn't lifted the trophy, but getting this far has helped validate a talented team that may now have the confidence to finish the task. Spain deserved it in every sense of the word. The Spanish attacked more than Italy,...

The U.S. national team will look to move one step closer to World Cup 2010 in South Africa today by beating Barbados and winning its home-and-home series to advance to the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. The task is a simple one. Hold on to its 8-0 lead from the first game and the Americans advance to the next round (stop laughing). The U.S. team will be fielding an inexperienced squad, with key stars such as Tim Howard, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey being left out of today's match in Barbados. We could see several young faces in...

After three exhilarating, unpredictable, entertaining and unforgettable quarterfinal match-ups, can the last match of the European Championship quarterfinal round possibly give us more? It just might. Spain and Italy square off in what was probably the most anticipated match-up of the quarterfinal round. That was before late-game heroics, penalty kick drama and a shocking upset left us begging for more. Can Spain and Italy deliver? In one corner you have the Spaniards, notorious for folding in big tournaments, the last remaining unbeaten and the last remaining group winner, facing Italy, the reigning World Champions and the team that didn't win...

Andrei Arshavin has played just two games in the European Championships but two games have been enough for him to earn the label of fastest rising star at the tournament. Arshavin's skillful display against the Netherlands, which saw him outshine midfield stars Wesley Sneijder and Rafael Van Der Vaart, has helped catapult his transfer price, a price that will surely be paid by some team hoping he can duplicate his Euro magic in one of Europe's biggest leagues. The Zenit St. Petersburg playmaker drew raves after leading Zenit to the UEFA Cup title, but his performance in the Euros has...

Three more teams booked their places to the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying as regional powers Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica all posted victories. Here is a rundown of their victories. Mexico trounces Belize So much for that huge upset in CONCACAF qualifying. When Mexico only defeated Belize 2-0 in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying series there was at least a little speculation about whether the tiny Central American country could shock the world and knock off mighty Mexico. Not so much. The Mexicans scored seven unanswered goals to smash Belize, 7-0, to win the...

The United States wrapped up their home and home series against Barbados Sunday afternoon, cruising to a 1-0 victory at Kensington Oval Cricket Ground in Bridgetown.

Good evening folks. I'm coming to you from Giants Stadium, where the Red Bulls are set to face FC Dallas. Tonight marks the coaching debut of Schellas Hyndman, appointed as FC Dallas' head coach earlier in the week. The Red Bulls will be trotting out the same lineup they used to tie New England on Wednesday. Computer problems will prevent me from doing my usual running commentary but please feel free to share your own thoughts, opinions and play-by-play on the action. Enjoy the match.

American striker Eddie Johnson has had an eventful year as a soccer player. The 24 year-old Florida native left Major League Soccer in January to join several of his compatriots at English Premier League club Fulham.

The United States has called in a host of new players for the second leg of its clash with Barbados in Bridgetown this Sunday.

Brazil and Argentina square off in a crucial World Cup qualifier for both teams in Brazil tonight. If you will be watching the game, and will be online, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. I will be looking to do a running commentary of this match so check back throughout the evening to follow the match. Enjoy the action.

One of the hottest teams in MLS is set to face one of the coldest tonight as the New England Revolution take on the New York Red Bulls tonight at Gillette Stadium. The Revs come in winners of five of their past six and haven't lost in more than a month while the Red Bulls come into tonight's match losers of three of their past four, having been outscored 10-2 in those losses. So what will be the key to tonight's match? The Red Bulls are the longest of longshots, still missing Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna, and still...

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