Wednesday, Feb. 27: Dutch League: = John OGBrien (Ajax Amsterdam/D1) vs. Fortuna Sittard (1-1) Started: 56 minutes. Replaced in the by Ahmed Hossam Mido four minutes after receiving a yellow card. A tie at lowly Sittard puts first-place AjaxGs lead over PSV at 4 points. Libertadores Cup: = Jonny Walker (Universidad Catolica/D1) vs. Olimpia (0-1) Started: 90 minutes. After starting its Libertadores Cup campaign with a win in Brazil over Flamengo, Catolica lost its first home game since May 2001. Olimpia is in first place of Group 8 with a 2-0-0 (win-loss-tie) record, followed by Catolica (1-1-0), Flamengo (1-2-0) …

CHICAGO Training March 2-10 -- Birmingham, Ala. March 10-15 -- Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Matches Jan. 28 -- Univ. of Tampa (3-0). Feb. 4 -- U.S. U-18 national team (2-0). Feb. 6 -- Kansas City Wizards (1-4). Feb. 16 -- at Portuguese union all-stars (6-0). Feb. 20 -- at Benfica (Portugal) (2-0). March 5 -- at UAB. March 9 -- at Birmingham Southern. March 16 -- at Municipal (Guatemala) in first round, first leg of FC Champions Cup. March 20 -- Municipal (Guatemala) in Naperville, Ill., in first round, second leg of FC Champions Cup. COLORADO Training March 1-15 -- Lisbon, …

BY SCOTT FRENCH Fourteen of the WUSA's Americans, and about a dozen of its foreigners, are on Portugal's resort coast for the March 1-7 Algarve Cup, the annual fling that brings the world's top teams together to compete before crowds sometimes topping 100. The lack of local interest notwithstanding, the Algarve Cup -- in its ninth year -- is like an unofficial world championship, and April Heinrichs' U.S. squad is looking to triumph for only the second time. The usual suspects (a group now including Danielle Slaton, Boston's Jena Kluegel and San Jose's LaKeysia Beene) are joined by defenders Kylie …

In parentheses are 2001 teams. Key: SI=senior international; TI=transitional international; YI=youth international; P-40=Project-40. Chicago Goalkeepers Henry Ring Zach Thornton Defenders Carlos Bocanegra C.J. Brown Jim Curtin Billy Sleeth (Univ. of Washington) Evan Whitfield Midfielders Chris Armas DaMarcus Beasley Craig Capano (P-40) (Chicago Sockers) Sergi Daniv (SI) Kelly Gray (P-40) (Univ. of Portland) Dema Kovalenko Jesse Marsch Peter Nowak Miguel Saavedra (P40) (Dallas Burn) Steve Totten (Univ. of Virginia) Forwards Aleksey Korol (SI) (Dallas Burn) Mike Nugent (Princeton Univ.) Ante Razov Dipsy Selolwane (Saint Louis Univ.) Hristo Stoitchkov (SI) Josh Wolff Colorado Goalkeepers Scott Garlick David Kramer Defenders …

The pain of contraction struck not just the folding Fusion and Mutiny, but scores of players across MLS. A friend saw his name on the Internet. The Colorado Rapids' most valuable defensive player last season thought he had found his niche. Playing in Denver, his hometown, leading the team in minutes for two consecutive seasons, Chris Martinez felt secure. And even after a tough season in which the team failed to make the playoffs, he felt the team was headed in the right direction. Then suddenly, the team was headed in that direction without him. Contraction …

On Tuesday, MLS celebrated the ground-breaking on the Los Angeles GalaxyGs new venue in Carson, Calif. On Wednesday, the league revealed bad news from the stadium-building front. The city council of McKinney, Texas voted unanimously to pcease all negotiations on the projectS that would have provided the Dallas Burn a 22,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium. The Hunt Sports Group had been negotiating with the city of McKinney for six months on behalf of MLS. Earlier this month MLS Commissioner Don Garber predicted that the league was close to successfully completing negotiations on splitting up the $51 million stadium costs. "We're on the …

Milton Nunez and former MLS and A-League striker Saul Martinez head the Honduran national team roster for the USA-Honduras match Saturday in Seattle (ESPN, 4 pm ET). Nunez tormented the U.S. defense in the Catrachos' 3-2 win in 2002 World Cup qualifying last September in Washington. Martinez had four goals against World Cup finalist Slovenia and the winning goal against the Hong Kong XI to lead Honduras to the Carlsberg Cup title earlier this month in Hong Kong. Midfielders Jose Luis Pineda, Danilo Turcios, Amado Guevara and Nunez are the only starters from the Washington game on the Honduras traveling …

Gregg Berhalter, who was put on the transfer list by Crystal Palace two weeks ago but started in last weekend's 1-0 loss to Sheffield United, was left out of Crystal Palace's win on Tuesday. English First Division = Jovan Kirovski (Crystal Palace) at Barnsley (4-1) Entered as sub in 90th minute = Gregg Berhalter (Crystal Palace) at Barnsley (4-1) DNP: not on bench

On Sunday, U.S. keeper Brad Friedel helped Blackburn Rovers defeat Tottenham Hotspur, 2-1, to lift the English (Worthington) League Cup. He is the third American, after John Harkes and Kasey Keller, to win that title. Here are other American products who have won titles abroad: STEVE BOYLE 1999 Faeroe Islands First Division (KI) 1999 Faeroe Islands Cup (KI) NICK BROUJOS 1994 Irish FAI Cup (Sligo Rovers) 1994 Irish Second Division (Sligo Rovers) 1998 Irish League Cup (Sligo Rovers) PAUL CALIGIURI 1991 East German First Division (Hansa Rostock) 1991 East German Cup (Hansa Rostock) BRAD FRIEDEL 1996 Turkish Cup (Galatasaray) 2002 …

English FA Cup 5th round, replay = Joe-Max Moore (Everton) vs. Crewe (2-1) DNP: not on bench.

For most of 2002 World Cup qualifying, the United States seldom played its game. It did well enough - eight wins, four losses and four ties - to qualify, but it rarely played as a team. Not until the 2002 Gold Cup did the Americans orchestrate the action consistently from one game to the next. Set aside for a moment the caliber of opposition. Aside from a jittery opener against the full-throttle forays of South Korea, the U.S. thumped three teams it should have thumped and soundly defeated Costa Rica, one of its toughest CONCACAF rivals. The …

Atlanta Beat Training March 1-18 -- Atlanta. March 19-24 -- Richmond, Va. March 26-April 1 -- Atlanta. April 2-13 -- site TBD. Matches March 3 -- University of Georgia (at Agnes Scott College). March 10 -- University of Nebraska (at Agnes Scott College); Clemson University (at Agnes Scott College). March 16 -- Team TBD (at Georgia Tech). March 20 -- Boston Breakers in Richmond, Va. March 23 -- Washington Freedom in Richmond, Va. March 24 -- New York Power in Richmond, Va. March 28 -- Univ. of North Carolina (at Agnes Scott College). April 6 -- Carolina Courage in Chattanooga, …

U.S. national team goalkeeper Brad Friedel became the third American to win a title in England when he was named the Man of The Match in Blackburn's 2-1 victory over Tottenham on Sunday. Elsewhere in Europe, John O'Brien and Tony Sanneh were the only Americans to play in victories for their respective clubs. Friedel made three brilliant stops on Les Ferdinand, including a first-half breakaway and a reflex save in the final minute of play. Andy Cole's 69th minute strike was the difference in the game. Blackburn's first cup trophy in 74 years also earned them a spot in next …

New England will host the 2002 MLS championship game at CMGI Field on Oct. 20. D.C. United will host the 2002 MLS All-Star game at RFK Stadium on Aug. 3. Two of the previous six MLS Cups have been played in New EnglandGs former home -- Foxboro Stadium. The Revolution begins its CMGI Field era May 11 when it hosts the Dallas Burn. The Kraft Family, owners of the Revolution and NFLGs New England Patriots, own and operate CMGI Field. It is a 68,000-seat, open-air facility with natural grass. MLS CUP HISTORY (1996-2001) 2001 -- Columbus (Ohio) Crew Stadium (San …

Ground-breaking ceremonies take place Tuesday for the sports complex in Carson, Calif., that will include the U.S. Soccer national training center and the Los Angeles Galaxy stadium. The complex on the California State-Dominguez Hills (CSDH) campus is a 85-acre, $120 million development bank-rolled mainly by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). The project entails renovating some CSDH facilities plus construction of: = A 27,000-seat soccer stadium -- the new home of the Los Angeles Galaxy. = Offices and facilities to serve as the new permanent training home of the U.S. Soccer Federation. = A 13,000-seat tennis stadium and 36 tennis courts …