Real Salt Lake claims CCL Group Stage berth

November 24, 2009

Real Salt Lake will join the Columbus Crew in the Group Stage of next season’s CONCACAF Champions League, earning the second spot in the main phase of the continental club championship with its victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup final.

Sunday’s 5-4 victory on penalties after a 1-1 draw marked the first time in the 14-year history of Major League Soccer that a team with a losing record in the MLS regular season has won the title. The Galaxy will play in the Preliminary Round along with the Seattle Sounders, which clinched its berth in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory September 2 against D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup.

Columbus, which will face Toluca in the quarterfinals of the this season’s Champions League in March, claimed its spot in next year’s Group Stage by finishing with the best record in the MLS regular season.

Twenty berths remain to be decided for the 2010-2011 Champions League, six in the Group Stage. Mexico will determine its first two entrants with the conclusion of the Apertura Liguilla in December.

The winners of the autumn tournaments in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama will be assured of at least Preliminary Round berths with the remainder of the spots to be chosen early next year.

Real Salt Lake, in its fifth year of existence, is only the second expansion team to win the MLS Cup and will be the ninth different team from the U.S. league to play in the Champions League since its inception.

SEATTLE

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Tags: autumn, berth, CCL, COLUMBUS, columbus crew, concacaf, concacaf champions league, continental club, Costa Rica, d c united, D.C., existence, expansion team, group stage, Guatemala, Honduras, inception, liguilla, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, Major League Soccer, Mexico, mls cup, Panama, quarterfinals, real salt lake, remainder, Seattle, seattle sounders, U.S. Open, victory

The Boyfriend Blazer, Are You a Fan??

August 27, 2009

One of this seasons biggest trends is the ‘boyfriend blazer’ but will you be purchasing one?

I certainly am! I think this item should be a staple in all womens wardrobes this autumn.

The jacket can be worn to make a dress look more edgy or a pair of leggings and t-shirt look smarter.

Two WAGs that shares my view are Louise Redknapp who is often spotted in a casual t-shirt with heels and black blazer and Alex Curran who has been spotted wearing a really nice one with a dress.

The ‘boyfriend’ trend doesn’t just involve blazers, you can also get boyfriend jeans and cardigans. Just make sure your other half doesn’t mistake them for their own clothing!

So what do you think, will you be investing in a boyfriend blazer like Alex Curran and Louise Redknapp??

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Tags: alex curran, autumn, blazer, jeans, leggings, louise redknapp, staple, t shirt, WAGS

Serie A: Lega Calcio accepting media rights bids

July 14, 2009

Serie A governing body, Lega Calcio has officially started accepting bids for the media rights of the Italian top flight football league.

Lega Calcio which is working in conjunction with the Infront Sports & Media agency, as noted by sportbusiness.com, will be accepting bids for the domestic television rights on behalf of the Lega Nazionale Professionisti (LNP) tender for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

The tender was previously authorized by the Italian Anti-trust Authority and the Italian Communication Authority.

As a result, four pay television packages and one free-to-air package are being offered as part of the tender.

A deadline of July 27 has been set, giving interested broadcasters just two weeks to submit their best offers.

Non-exclusive domestic rights that include the Coppa Italia and Super Coppa will be addressed during the fourth quarter of the current year, with an international tender planned for the Autumn months.

By: Abhimanyu Rajput