Highest Paid Players in MLS 2017 Kaka On Top

Orlando City captain Kaka is still the highest-paid player in MLS for a third straight season, this  according to figures released Tuesday by the MLS Players Union. He has $7.168 in guaranteed compensation topping Toronto FC star Sebastian Giovinco $7.116 million.

The report also stated that Chicago Fire newcomer Bastian Schweinsteiger is being paid $5.4 million for this season, while Atlanta United spent over $3 million combined for the DP tandem of Miguel Almiron and Josef Martineznot including their transfer fees.

Michael Bradley remains the highest-paid American in the league, with a $6.5 million salary.

Here is the full list of the top 50 Highest Paid Players in MLS 2017:

1. Orlando City MF Kaka (Brazil): $7.168 million
2. Toronto FC MF Sebastian Giovinco (Italy): $7.116 million
3. Toronto FC MF Michael Bradley (U.S.): $6.5 million
4. New York City FC MF Andrea Pirlo (Italy): $5.915 million
5. New York City FC F David Villa (Spain): $5.61 million
6. Los Angeles Galaxy F Giovani Dos Santos (Mexico): $5.5 million
7. Chicago Fire MF Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany): $5.4 million
8. Toronto FC F Jozy Altidore (U.S.): $4.875 million
9. Seattle Sounders F Clint Dempsey (U.S.): $3.892 million
10. Portland Timbers MF Diego Valeri (Argentina): $2.607 million
11. Colorado Rapids GK Tim Howard (U.S.): $2.475 million
12. Atlanta United MF Miguel Almiron (Paraguay): $2.297 million
13. New York City FC MF Maxi Moralez (Argentina): $2 million
14. Los Angeles Galaxy MF Romain Alessandrini (France): $1.999 million
15. Real Salt Lake F Yura Movsisyan (Armenia): $1.973 million
16. Chicago Fire F Nemanja Nikolic (Hungary): $1.906 million
17. Vancouver Whitecaps F Fredy Montero (Colombia): $1.8 million
18. Seattle Sounders MF Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay): $1.743 million
19. Portland Timbers F Fanendo Adi (Nigeria): $1.736 million
20. Colorado Rapids F Shkelzen Gashi (Albania): $1.668 million
21. New York Red Bulls F Bradley Wright-Phillips (England): $1.635 million
22. Philadelphia Union MF Alejandro Bedoya (U.S.): $1.197 million
23. Seattle Sounders MF Osvaldo Alonso (Cuba): $1.141 million
24. Portland Timbers MF Sebastian Blanco (Argentina): $1.075 million
25. Columbus Crew MF Federico Higuain (Argentina): $1.05 million
26. Colorado Rapids F Kevin Doyle (Ireland): $1.045 million
27. Atlanta United F Josef Martinez (Venezuela): $1.041 million
28. Portland Timbers F Lucas Melano (Argentina): $1.010 million
29. New England Revolution MF Xavier Kouassi (Ivory Coast): $891,000
30. Vancouver Whitecaps MF Matias Laba (Argentina): $886,000
31. Real Salt Lake MF Albert Rusnak (Czech Republic): $883,000
32. FC Dallas MF Mauro Diaz (Argentina): $881,000
33. Sporting Kansas City MF Roger Espinoza (Honduras): $850,000
34. Orlando City MF Antonio Nocerino (Italy): $850,000
35. Columbus Crew D Jonathan Mensah (Ghana): $844,000
36. Real Salt Lake MF Kyle Beckerman (U.S.): $825,000
37. Chicago Fire F David Accam (Ghana): $821,000
38. Philadelphia Union MF Maurice Edu (U.S.): $819,000
39. New England Revolution F Kei Kamara (Sierra Leone): $800,000
40. San Jose Earthquakes F Chris Wondolowski (U.S.): $800,000
41. San Jose Earthquakes F Simon Dawkins (England): $800,000
42. New York Red Bulls MF Sacha Kljestan (U.S.): $788,000
43. Orlando City F Giles Barnes (Jamaica): $781,000
44. FC Dallas MF Roland Lamah (Ivory Coast): $774,000
45. New York City FC MF Mix Diskerud (U.S.), on loan in Sweden: $773,000
46. Atlanta United F Hector Villalba (Argentina): $771,000
47. Sporting Kansas City D Matt Besler (U.S.): $758,000
48. Sporting Kansas City D Graham Zusi (U.S.): $757,000
49. FC Dallas MF Carlos Gruezo (Ecuador): $732,000
50. Atlanta United MF Carlos Carmona (Chile): $725,000


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Tibet Women's Soccer Team US visas Denied

 

A women's soccer team in Tibet said that they have been denied from getting United States visas to join a tournament in Texas. They said that the US officials told them that they had "no good reason" to visit the US.

Most of the players are Tibetan refugees living in India, and had applied at the US embassy in Delhi. The United States has temporarily barred people from seven countries. But Tibetans and Indians are not on the list.

Cassie Childers, the executive director of Tibet Women's Soccer and a US citizen, said  that went with the group of 16 players for their interviews at the embassy on February 24.

"I am disappointed because we had planned the trip for months. It was a big moment in every player's life when they were told about the trip. It was their opportunity to tell the world that Tibetan women are capable of achieving anything," she said.

Ms Childers added that she was "ashamed" that her country refused to grant visas to a women's football team.

However, she said she did not think the denial had anything to do with the Trump administration.

"I had feared an outcome like this because Tibetans usually struggle to get US visas as officials fear that they might request asylum," she said.

She added that her team "was in good spirits despite this setback".

"The players are very positive. I was very dejected but they motivated me. I hope some other place will invite us where Tibetans are welcomed. Otherwise, we will just get together in an Indian city and practice anyway."

Most of the women in the team carry Indian Identity Certificates, which are documents issued by the Indian government to Tibetan refugees and function as passports.

Two members of the group held Indian passports.

A US official told the AP news agency that they did not comment on individual cases, but that the US position on Tibet had not changed, which is that Tibet is still recognized as part of China.

They were planning to take part in the Dallas Cup, a yearly tournament for youth teams from around the world.


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Buffalo Bills Made History By Hiring NFL's first full-time female coach

The Buffalo Bills promoted Kathryn Smith last Wednesday night for their special teams quality control coach on Rex Ryan's staff, making her the NFL's first full-time female coach.

She will assist special teams coordinator Danny Crossman and his assistant Eric Smith, she will replace Michael Hamlin who was not retained.

Her appointment comes after Jen Welter did a 6 week training camp internship last summer coaching inside linebackers for the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith served as the administrative assistant to head coach Rex Ryan this season after working for 12 years for the New York Jets, including the final 6 with Ryan as Jets head coach.

Bills offensive lineman Richie Incognito expressed his support for Smith in a tweet.

"Congrats Kathryn!! I know you will do a great job," Incognito said in a post that included a thumb's up and smiley face.

This is not the first time the Bills broke the gender barrier. Linda Bogdan, in 1986, became the NFL's first female scout, when she joined the team's player personnel department. Bogdan, who died in 2009, was the daughter of late Bills Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson.

NFL Thursday, November 27

Chicago Bears (5-6) vs. Detroit Lions (7-4)

The Lions has not been doing good lately they lost to Arizona Cardinals (6-14) then got clobbered by the New England Patriots (9 - 34), while the Chicago Bears beat Buccaneers 21-13. The last meeting of the two teams Lions beat Bears 21-19, November 10, 2013. My call is that the Lions the Bears, hey the Lions were up against two top teams in Cardinals 9-2 while the Patriots are also 9-2 and Detroit will be fighting for the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) vs. Dallas Cowboys (8-3)

Eagles and Cowboys will be battling for the top spot in the NFC East get ready for this showdown. This is a hard pick since both are good teams but I'll pick the Cowboys since they ussually play well on Thanksgiving. The Eagles  can score points but it'll be the Cowboys defense that will control the game.


Seattle Seahawks (7-4) vs San Francisco 49ers (7-4)

The NFC West rivals will face off Thursday night, this is the first matchup of the two in 18 days, the 49ers are looking for a 6th consecutive home victory against the Seahawks. This is be a great game, Seahawks has the advantage in offense since lately the 49ers offense is not good. They are out of rhythm. I think 49ers will still come through and take this game.

NFL Round up

Green Bay Packers defeated Chicago Bears 55 - 14 with Aaron Rodgers tossing 6 touchdown passes in the first half last Sunday. The last time who've done that performance was Daryle Lamonica who was playing for the Oakland Raiders on October 19, 1969, against the Buffalo Bills.

Aaron Rodgers toss 2 touchdown passes to Jordy Nelson, and one each to Brandon Bostick, Andrew Quarless, Eddie Lacy and Randall Cobb this gave the Green Bay Packers the lead 42-0 at halftime.
  
New York Jets won against the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-13,  New York's stunning defense force 4 turnovers, and shut down Ben Roethlisberger to win this one and end their 8 game losing streak. Michael Vick has thrown 2 touchdown passes.

San Francisco 49ers beat New Orleans Saints 27 - 24, Colin Kaepernick where able to do a 51-yard pass on fourth down to be able to tie the game in the final minutes of regulation, Brooks sacked and stripped Drew Brees in overtime, and Phil Dawson kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the 49ers a scary 27-24 win over New Orleans ending their 2 game losing streak.

Georgia loses WR Mitchell to knee injury

ATLANTA (AP) -- Malcolm Mitchell, receiver of Georgia Bulldogs will not be able to play the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Saturday's loss at Clemson.

Mitchell, the leading returning receiver for the No. 5 Bulldogs, hurt his knee when celebrating with a teammate following Todd Gurley's 75-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. No. 8 Clemson beat Georgia 38-35.

"He actually hurt it in the exuberance of the first touchdown of the game for us," Richt said on a conference call.
"He went to congratulate his teammate and I think they jumped up and chest-bumped or whatever and it ended up that he landed in a bad way. So he knew something happened."

Georgia opens its Southeastern Conference schedule against No. 6 South Carolina on Saturday.

Mitchell, a junior, was Georgia's leading returning receiver. He had a combined 85 catches for 1,237 yards and eight touchdowns in 2011 and 2012.

He played primarily at cornerback in the first four games last season before returning to offense.

Richt said he expects Mitchell will receive a medical redshirt and have two years of eligibility remaining, beginning with the 2014 season.

Brett Favre returns to football as high school offensive coordinator

Brett Favre is expected to sign a contract as a high school offensive coordinator.

Favre is expected to be named the new offensive coordinator at Hattiesburg Miss. Oak Grove High within days. The move could become official as early as Monday night.

While Oak Grove head football coach Nevil Barr told WDAM that no official decision had been made, Favre's longtime agent, Bus Cook, told the Sun-Herald that Favre was definitely taking a position at the school to "give him something to do."

Barr and Favre are reportedly close friends, and the coach has expressed a great deal of flexibility in potential roles for the legendary quarterback as a way to get him involved in the program.

Brady throws record 6 TDs defeat Broncos

New England advanced to next weekend’s AFC championship game at home against the winner of Sunday’s game between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens game with a 45-10 thrashing of Denver. The Patriots, as they have been wont to do over the years, played at a relentless pace for much of the game as Brady finished with an NFL playoff-record-tying six touchdown passes and a team record for passing yards (363) in a playoff game.

The Patriots’ defense is just too much for the Bronco's. Tebow completed just nine of 26 passes for 136 yards and no touchdowns and rushed for only 13 yards on five carries. With New England up 42-7, the fans began chanting, “Teeee-bow . . . Teee-bow.” On the next play, he was sacked for an 11-yard loss — one of five sacks for New England’s 31st-ranked defense.

2011 NFL Regular Season Standings

AFC
East	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
Buffalo Bills	5	2	0	.714	211	147	4-0-0	1-2-0	1-0-0	3-1-0	Won 1
New England Patriots	5	2	0	.714	202	160	3-0-0	2-2-0	2-1-0	4-2-0	Lost 1
New York Jets	4	3	0	.571	172	152	4-0-0	0-3-0	1-1-0	3-3-0	Won 2
Miami Dolphins	0	7	0	.000	107	166	0-3-0	0-4-0	0-2-0	0-6-0	Lost 7
North	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	2	0	.750	176	139	4-0-0	2-2-0	0-1-0	4-2-0	Won 4
Cincinnati Bengals	5	2	0	.714	171	123	2-1-0	3-1-0	1-0-0	4-1-0	Won 4
Baltimore Ravens	5	2	0	.714	185	110	4-0-0	1-2-0	1-0-0	3-2-0	Won 1
Cleveland Browns	3	4	0	.429	107	140	2-2-0	1-2-0	0-1-0	2-3-0	Lost 1
South	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
Houston Texans	5	3	0	.625	206	145	3-1-0	2-2-0	3-0-0	5-2-0	Won 2
Tennessee Titans	4	3	0	.571	139	145	3-1-0	1-2-0	1-2-0	4-3-0	Won 1
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	6	0	.250	98	163	2-2-0	0-4-0	1-1-0	2-4-0	Lost 1
Indianapolis Colts	0	8	0	.000	121	252	0-3-0	0-5-0	0-2-0	0-6-0	Lost 8
West	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
Kansas City Chiefs	4	3	0	.571	128	170	2-1-0	2-2-0	2-1-0	3-2-0	Won 4
San Diego Chargers	4	3	0	.571	161	159	3-0-0	1-3-0	2-1-0	3-3-0	Lost 2
Oakland Raiders	4	3	0	.571	160	178	2-2-0	2-1-0	1-1-0	4-3-0	Lost 1
Denver Broncos	2	5	0	.286	133	200	1-3-0	1-2-0	0-2-0	2-3-0	Lost 1
NFC
East	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
New York Giants	5	2	0	.714	174	164	3-1-0	2-1-0	1-1-0	3-2-0	Won 2
Philadelphia Eagles	3	4	0	.429	179	152	1-2-0	2-2-0	2-1-0	3-3-0	Won 2
Dallas Cowboys	3	4	0	.429	156	162	2-1-0	1-3-0	1-1-0	3-2-0	Lost 1
Washington Redskins	3	4	0	.429	116	139	2-1-0	1-3-0	1-2-0	3-3-0	Lost 3
North	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
Green Bay Packers	7	0	0	1.000	230	141	3-0-0	4-0-0	2-0-0	6-0-0	Won 7
Detroit Lions	6	2	0	.750	239	147	2-2-0	4-0-0	2-0-0	4-2-0	Won 1
Chicago Bears	4	3	0	.571	170	150	3-1-0	1-2-0	1-2-0	4-3-0	Won 2
Minnesota Vikings	2	6	0	.250	172	199	1-3-0	1-3-0	0-3-0	2-4-0	Won 1
South	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
New Orleans Saints	5	3	0	.625	260	189	3-0-0	2-3-0	1-1-0	2-3-0	Lost 1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4	3	0	.571	131	169	3-2-0	1-1-0	2-0-0	3-3-0	Lost 1
Atlanta Falcons	4	3	0	.571	158	163	2-1-0	2-2-0	1-1-0	4-3-0	Won 2
Carolina Panthers	2	6	0	.250	187	207	2-3-0	0-3-0	0-2-0	1-6-0	Lost 1
West	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Road	Div	Conf	Streak
San Francisco 49ers	6	1	0	.857	187	107	3-1-0	3-0-0	1-0-0	4-1-0	Won 5
Seattle Seahawks	2	5	0	.286	109	162	1-2-0	1-3-0	1-1-0	2-2-0	Lost 2
St. Louis Rams	1	6	0	.143	87	192	1-3-0	0-3-0	0-0-0	1-5-0	Won 1
Arizona Cardinals	1	6	0	.143	143	183	1-2-0	0-4-0	0-1-0	1-4-0	Lost 6
x-Clinched Playoff Spot; y-Division Champ; z-Clinched Home Field Last updated Saturday, Nov 5, 2011 11:06 am EDT

 yahoo sports

Millions watched the Women's World Cup final

Whoa! According to this news the Women's World Cup final has been watched by 13.5 million viewers, which is the highest television rating for any soccer game on an ESPN network. It was the sixth most watched soccer telecast ever in the United States. The record is still held by the 1999 Women's World Cup final, which had an 11.4 rating. 

Japan beats the USA to capture the Women's World Cup.

Philippines' Azkals blank Sri Lanka, march to World Cup 2nd round

THE Philippine National Football Men’s Team Azkals' dream to qualify in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil lives on, as the nationals blanked the visiting Sri Lanka Brave Reds, 4-0 Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Azkals’ victory gave them the ticket to the 2nd round of the World Cup qualifying tournament against Kuwait on July 23 and July 28 on a home and away game.

In Sunday’s win, Ilonggo Azkals midfielder Chieffy Caligdong nailed a goal in the 19th minute to open up the scoring for the nationals.

Drilling from the left side just inside the box and passing through two Sri Lankan defenders, Caligdong struck the ball towards the right of keeper Manjula Fernando. The ball hit the right bar before it entered the goal.

With 1-0 advantage, the Azkals picked up the tempo, as striker Phil Younghusband scored the squad’s second goal in the 43rd minute.

In the second half, striker Angel Guirado fired the team’s third goal in the 50th minute on a pass from James Youghusband. Guirado drilled past a Sri Lankan defender and escaped Fernando’s defense for an open goal.

After seven minutes, the Azkals got another goal opportunity when Stephan Schrock was fouled on the right side of the goal just inside the box. Phil Younghusband was tasked to take the penalty kick and he nailed the squad’s 4th goal in the 57th minute.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chairman and Philippine Football Federation (PFF) Advisory Council member Monico Puentevella lauded the Azkals’ performance. “Our Azkals’s performance yesterday was great,” he said.

“But it would be an uphill game against Kuwait. We will be underdogs but we have a bigger chance. We will have a bigger crowd, too,” Puentevella stressed.

On the other hand, sportsman Oscar ‘Dodong’ Bascon praised the Azkals’ game. “They did great on defense and, most especially, improved their offense. It is noticeably that the team played well. They slowly got the chemistry. We just hope they play much better in the next round,” said Bascon.

Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on July 04, 2011