USL founder and president Francisco Marcos was awarded the U.S. Soccer Werner Fricker Builder Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has worked tirelessly in furthering the interest of the sport of soccer. The award is designed to honor those who have created or fostered programs that will outlast their own active involvement in the sport and that establish a lasting legacy in the history and structure of soccer in the United States. Marcos played administrative roles with NASL clubs Philadelphia Atoms, Tampa Bay Rowdies, the Dallas Tornado and the Calgary Boomers. Just over a …

Before playing a game for the New York Red Bulls, goalkeeper Nick Rimando was traded to Real Salt Lake in exchange for future considerations. Rimando, who had played two seasons with the Miami Fusions and five with D.C. United, came to the Red Bulls by way of Salt Lake, which needed him back after keeper Scott Garlick announced his retirement. (Rimando initial arrival at Salt Lake was part of the Freddy Adu trade.) Rimando was acquired by the Red Bulls from Real Salt Lake on Feb. 9. But New York had also signed former Dutch international keeper Ronald …

The U.S. under-23 national team tied Japanese club Rosso Kumamoto in the second and final game of the team's stay in japan. UCLA's Sal Zizzo set up New England Revolution draft pick Adam Cristman for a pair of goals before Rosso Kumamoto, which is a third-tier JFL team, came back with goals in the 82nd and 83rd minutes. GAME SUMMARY: Feb. 23 in Kumamoto Rosso Kumamoto (Japan) 2 U.S. under-23 national team 2. Goals: Miyazaki 82, Suzuki 83; Cristman 46, 57. Rosso Kumamoto -- Kobayahsi (Futori, 87), Suzuki, Yano (Ootaki, 46), Morikawa, Ichimura (Kawano, 46), Yamamoto, Yoshii, …

MONDAY, Feb. 26 SETANTA SPORTS USA England STOKE CITY-BARNSLEY (live), 2:30 pm. TUESDAY, Feb. 27 FOX SOCCER CHANNEL England READING-MANCHESTER UTD., 5th Round Replay (live), 3 pm. FOX SPORTS EN ESPANOL England READING-MANCHESTER UTD., 5th Round Replay (live), 3 pm. Copa Libertadores BANFIELD-EL NACIONAL (live), 5 pm. Copa Libertadores GREMIO-CUCUTA (live), 7 pm. Copa Libertadores TOLUCA-BOLIVAR (live), 9:30 pm. WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28 FOX SOCCER CHANNEL England BLACKBURN-ARSENAL, 5th Round Reply (live), 3 pm. Italy LAZIO-CATANIA (delay), 5 pm. CONCACAF Champions Cup MARQUENSE-PACHUCA, Quarterfinals, 2nd Leg (live), 7 …

Chelsea won the first trophy of the English season when it beat London rival Arsenal, 2-1, in Sunday's League Cup final marred by an ugly brawl that saw three players sent off near the end of the game. Teenager Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead in the 12th minute, but Chelsea star Didier Drogba responded with the tying goal in the 20th minute and the winner six minutes from time. Arsenal captain Kolo Toure and teammate Emmanuel Adebayor and Chelsea substitute John Obi Mikel were sent off. The incident started when Toure and Mikel tussled, and players from …

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHT/NEWS SHOWS A TODO GOAL (Goals from around the world) Gol TV Monday, 1 pm ET. FOX SOCCER SHOW Fox Soccer Channel Monday-Sunday, 10 pm ET SKY SPORTS NEWS Fox Soccer Channel Monday-Sunday, 7 pm ETFOX SPORTS NOTICIAS Fox Sports en Espanol Monday-Friday, 2 pm ET GOL TV NEWS Gol TV Monday-Friday, 9 pm ET LEAGUE HIGHLIGHT SHOWS ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE REVIEW Fox Soccer Channel Monday 6 pm ET. SPAIN: OLE LA LIGA Gol TV Monday, 8 pm ET. ITALY: CIAO …

The last American left in European action was knocked out on Thursday when Brad Friedel's Blackburn Rovers could only tie Bayer Leverkusen, 0-0, and fell, 3-2, on aggregate in the round of 32 of the UEFA Cup. Defending champion Sevilla advanced to the final 16 with a 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest thanks to Alexander Kerzhakov's goal and a 3-0 victory on aggregate. The 2005 champion, CSKA Moscow, wasn't so fortunate. Maccabi Haifa beat the Russian club, 1-0, on Argentine striker Roberto Colautti's goal, the only goal of the two-leg series. Other former champions to fall were Ajax …

The USL and Turner Broadcasting will provide exclusive online video streaming of USL First Division matches for the next three seasons. The matches, unavailable on traditional broadcast or cable television stations, will be available on the new broadband channel USL Live at www.USLLive.com, launching early April. Fans will be able to watch USL First Division matches live or on-demand on a per-event basis or with a monthly all-event pass or season-long pass. Package pricing and the event schedule will be announced at a later date.

The British public can post petitions directly on Prime Minister Tony Blair's official Web site thanks to a program established three months ago. More than 4,000 petitions have been posted, drawing 3 million e-mailed protest signatures. The petitions have ranged from objections to new taxes on drivers (1.8 million signed) to a request that Blair, who is leaving office this summer, juggle ice cream while performing a headstand (3,700 signatures). About 50 of the petitions pertain to soccer. Here's a sampling: * Expel Scotland from The Union for failing to support England in the World Cup (14 …

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor Less than a month into preseason, Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger is questioning his latest experiment with a 3-5-2 formation, and Toronto supremo Mo Johnston axed three trialists for stinking up the place while mentioning more than a few of the bodies still on the roster weren't doing much better. This is good. Volatility at any stage of the season, even preseason, livens up the often staid world of Major League Soccer. NEW ADU. One beneficiary of RSL playing five in midfield would be, of course, Freddy Adu, as the additional support …

Reading's 23-year-old American midfielder Bobby Convey will miss the remainder of the English Premier League season in order to undergo surgery on a knee that has bothered him since last summer's World Cup. ''[Convey] doesn't feel right with it,'' Reading coach Steve Coppell said. ''I have no doubt that he could have played on to the end of the season. But we don't want him coming back in preseason and him saying 'It still doesn't feel right.' Now we have the opportunity to do something about it and hopefully correct it.'' Convey, who played 90 minutes for the …

Using the same philosophy that allowed Americans Frankie Simek and Danny Karbassiyoon to get first-team appearances with the Gunners two years ago, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger plans on sticking with youngsters against Chelsea in the first all-London League Cup final on Sunday at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium (TV: Setanta Sports USA, live, 9 am ET). Wenger has used the League Cup, the least prestigious of the four competitions in which Arsenal is engaged, as a testing ground for his youngsters, and the Frenchman sees no point in changing after the young Gunners knocked off Liverpool and Tottenham en route to …

U.S. women's national team head coach Greg Ryan named 20 players to the roster for the 2007 Algarve Cup, being held March 7-14 in the Algarve region of Portugal. Shannon Boxx, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, will return to international competition for the first time in 10 months. She had major knee surgery last July. Four other regulars who did not travel to China in January for the Four Nations Tournament return to the U.S. team: forwards Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach, midfielder Aly Wagner and defender Christie Rampone. Three '06 collegians were picked -- Heather O'Reilly, India …

After a week dominated by news of an altercation that rekindled the image of English soccer stars as out-of-control boozers, Liverpool stunned defending champion Barcelona, 2-1, Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 series. Liverpool's goalscorers were Craig Bellamy and John-Arne Riise, who were at the center of the controversy surrounding the Reds' stay in the Portuguese resort of Vale do Lobo. Bellamy, who allegedly threatened to attack Riise with a golf club while drunk after a night on the town in Vale do Lobo, celebrated his goal against Barca with an imaginary golf swing. …

The U.S. U-23 men's national team played to a 0-0 tie with Japan's under-23 national team in the Kirin Challenge Cup, its first international match under new head coach Bob Bradley. The Japanese were twice denied on shots by Sota Hirayama and Koki Mizuno off the woodwork. Chris Seitz, signed by Real Salt Lake out of the University of Maryland, was outstanding in the U.S. goal with several key saves on other shots. Half the players Bradley used spent last fall in the collegiate ranks. The game drew more than 14,000 fans at Kumamoto's KKWing Stadium, where …