Sideline Shindig

This Thursday was probably one of the best nights of the Hammerheads season as far as home games. The only other games that came close were back in May against Charleston(the first home win) and Pittsburgh(a 5-1 win at home). Why was it such a good night. Well, to put a ninety minute story into a few words, the Hammerheads won...3-1...against the league leading team Orlando. Tonight Wilmington Hammerheads FC played Sacramento Republic FC for the second time this season. The first time was just last Wednesday when Sacremento got a 2-0 victory at home. In the first half, Sacramento had way more chances than the Hammerheads. A couple of those chances were extremely close to goals, but, through a combination of Sacremento' s lack of accuracy and Brad Stuver' s great saving ability, nothing went in. The second half was the Hamerhead's turn to get extremely close to scoring. Throughout the entire game both teams kept interrupting each other's plays, and neit

What an eventful week this has been for Wilmington Hammerheads FC! The title race in this league is extremely close, and several teams are sitting just a few points away from each other. This means that every game for a team that hasn't yet earned a spot in the playoffs is crucial and could be the difference between making it or not. This week the Hammerheads, who are in serious need of points, had three matches in the span of five days. That kind of schedule is brutal, especially with every game having such high stakes. Considering the circumstances, all the games were sure to be exciting. There's been lots of action off the field too. The Hammerheads utilized two new loans. Corben Bone is from Philadelphia Union and Mark-Anthony Kaye is from Toronto FC. That's not all. At the beginning of the week, it was announced that long time head coach David Irving stepped down . For as long as I've known the Hammerheads existed (and actually for about as long as I'v

Barclays Premier League 14/15 Preview by Brandon Addeo It is time to embark on this journey once more, the 9 month 38 game marathon known as the Barclays Premier Legue. After 3 months of impatiently wating, football fans from around the world can rejoice as we are now less than 24 hours away from that first kickoff. All the action, drama, excitement of the beautiful game are nearly back with us once more. The finest league in the world starts its 2014-2015 season on August 16th, a date which couldn't come soon enough. Glorty will be had by some, despair by other. Underdogs will challenges the stron, and new stars will emerge. As always, this year's title race looks just as contested as ever. Anything can happen in the BPL, but let's look at the league going into the season. Candidates for the Top 4 : Arsenal - The North London club (and also my favorite club) look to be strong contenders this season. All personal bias aside, the Gunners truly look better goin

Rissy Santos Luiz FC- Preaseason Premier League Fantasy Manager Chronicles from the desk of Coach Blackman I have a bad history with fantasy manager. I build a squad every season. It is inevitably terrible, and I eventually give up. This year, I plan on changing that… Well, my team will probably still be terrible, but I won’t give up.   Why won’t I give up? I’ll be posting a weekly update of my team here!  Why do my teams usually fail miserably? Maybe it has a little to do with the fact that I have no real method of choosing players. I just scroll down the list and pick the names I like. The plan was to be a little more methodical this year…It didn’t happen exactly that way. I was less impulsive than I usually am, but I was still rather impulsive.  I chose multiple players from Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man City because I believe one of those teams will win. Well…in Arsenal’s case I believe the team will do well for a significant amount of the season. (No offense Gun

Why Sacramento Republic FC will win the USL PRO Championship By Richard Bauer The first year club know as Sacramento Republic FC is a contender and it has the results to verify this statement. They have a Coach with MLS credentials who has proven his voice is in control of the players. They have a pipeline into 2 MLS squads that have provided the right blend of youth and experience into a squad of solid professionals. They have a first division home field advantage in a third division league. They have a belief. A belief that they can compete with any team in the league for 90 minutes and get the winning result. Sacramento Republic FC is just different. And, in this case, different is good. So, why will they win the title this year?  Depth and a strategic foundation. The unknown factors I could not predict when I saw Sacramento Republic FC play its first preseason game oh so many months ago now. These two keys are carrying this squad to a 3 rd place spot in the USL

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching Wilmington Hammerheads FC battle Dayton Dutch Lions FC. I love soccer and I love the Hammerheads, but that doesn't mean every game is enjoyable to watch. This game, however, was very entertaining.  From the first second, it was very fast paced and filled with action. Both teams were really pressing, and it was clear the match wouldn’t be goalless. The first goal finally came in the eighteenth minute from number twenty three of the Dutch Lions. I personally wasn’t fazed by that goal because the Hammerheads were playing so dynamically I was sure they’d be able to at least equalize, which Cody Arnoux did only six minutes later.  The pace of the game really never did slow down after that. This season is coming to an end. The playoffs are coming up, and every team is giving these last few games all they can. This match was a reflection of that. There were several chances and lots of realistic shots. It was nerve-racking because

#ThanksLD Our tribute to one of the best of our time   Let’s be honest. The Landon Donovan article has been written. Many times over by more qualified people. No middle ground exists for Landon in the soccer expert world. It’s either the highest praise or the hindsight 20/20 point of view. Love him or hate him type deal. Personally, I love the guy for everything that he is and represents. When his name is mentioned in US Soccer lore it should be for all the things he did accomplish. Not the resume, the stats, or the titles. Just for the example of what he did and that it’s possible to produce world soccer talent in America. I know because I saw it with my own eyes. He is The Blueprint for American soccer. The player he became is what he was going to be if he stayed in the major professional league in the United States or if he had been on a European squad for the last 10+ years. He was a super athlete who changed and grew with the times. He was egotistically confident,