Grahame L. Jones reports that Women's Professional Soccer's Los Angeles Sol will announce on Friday that it is ceasing operations. The Sol finished runner-up in the league's seven-team inaugural season in 2009 after dominating the regular season. The Sol featured the Brazilian forward Marta, the world's top women's player who reportedly earned a league-high salary of $500,000. The Sol parted ways with Coach Abner Rogers during the offseason.

One of the team's co-owners, AEG, has been trying for several months to sell its share of the team without success. The other owners did not have the resources to carry the club on their own and decided this week to shut up shop. The team was not included when WPS released its 2010 schedule this month, with the league saying Sol games would be revealed after stadium issues had been settled. (The Sol played at the Home Depot Center.) Read the original story...