Reis is staying with the Revs

I've explained it a million times that I'm not an MLS fan anymore. I used to be when I was kid and I didn't realize there was a whole other (better) world of club soccer out there. Plus, I went to a bunch of games at Foxboro Stadium and Gillette Stadium when the New England Revolution were great but couldn't get over the hump and win an MLS Cup.

That pointless introduction was to segue to the news that Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis signed a new contract with the team.

Reis has set team records for games by a goalkeeper (188), wins (75), saves (757) and shutouts (50). He appeared in 14 games last season, after being sidelined until June following preseason shoulder and knee operations. He then had a season-ending ankle injury in October.

The 35-year-old has made two appearances with the U.S. national team, in exhibition wins over Canada in 2006 and Denmark the following year.

I wish him good luck and health and better results for the Revolution next year (I paid just enough attention last season to know that they were awful).

Good news for all the soccer loving ladies out there (other than my gf)

Don't worry, we're not going to become TMZ or Perez Hilton but I thought this bit of soccer news from off the pitch was too juicy to pass up: Landon Donovan has filed for divorce from actress Bianca Kajlich.

It might be because I just posted about him the other day (not getting loaned to Europe this season) or I recently started following him on Twitter but I feel like LandyCakes is everywhere I look at the moment. Kinda creepy.

Being alone around the holidays is rough though so hopefully some U.S. men's national team groupies can be there for our boy if he needs anything.

Donovan, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy, cited irreconcilable differences for the split with Kajlich after nearly three years of marriage.

Kajlich currently stars in the CBS comedy "Rules of Engagement."

They were married on New Year's Eve 2006 and have no children together. He states the couple separated in October 2009.

In a statement, the former couple says, "We remain the closest of friends and will always be important parts of each others lives."

Can't say I have ever seen Kajlich mostly because I'm opposed to watching any sitcom on CBS until I'm at least 50 but from the looks of a quick Google search, she appears to be hot but hey, you can do better than a C-list TV star.

Barcelona: US-bound in summer of 2011

Not that you need anymore reason to look forward to next summer already but you have a little more incentive since it was announced that Barcelona is hitting the United States for three stops in 2011.

The only bad news for people in New England (ie. most of our readers) is that they're not coming to Gillette Stadium. Nope, they'll play Manchester United on July 30 in Landover, MD. They take on AC Milan August 3 in Miami and conclude their visit with a match against Club America (the Mexican club) in Dallas on August 6.

The Spanish club also said it will play preseason games in Munich, Germany and Split, Croatia.

The club hopes the six-date tour, which includes three matches in Europe before the team departs for the U.S., will net Barcelona $8.1 million. Matches are being arranged in conjunction with Major League Soccer's Soccer United Marketing and the Creative Artists Agency.

Contracts for venues and opponents have not been finalized.

Barcelona toured the U.S. as part its preseason preparations in 2008 and 2009.

Now comes the only bad part.

The Blaugrana are likely to be missing star forward Lionel Messi, right back Daniel Alves and midfielder Javier Mascherano because of the Copa America in Argentina, which ends July 24. Messi and Mascherano are regulars on Argentina's national team and Daniel Alves on Brazil's.

Robbie Findley, headed to the UK

Interesting news dropping today that U.S. men's national team striker Robbie Findley has inked a 2.5 year deal with England's Nottingham Forest (a League Championship team), assuming he secures a British work permit.

The 25-year-old Findley was a free agent after leaving Real Salt Lake at the end of the Major League Soccer season.

"We had a lot of competition in the race to sign Robbie and there's no doubt that we had to work very, very hard to try and convince him this was the right place to come," Forest manager Billy Davies said.

"It's a great challenge for him and a great challenge for us as well but there's no doubt that he can score goals and, more importantly, with the pace he's got he can be a real handful."

Findley has no goals in 11 appearances for the U.S. national team and started three matches at the World Cup in June.

Forest (7-4-9) is eighth in the Championship, four points shy of the promotion playoff berths.

The club, which is based in central England, won the European Champions Cup in 1979 and 1980.

If you followed our World Cup 2010 coverage, you'll know that Shimer and I are not huge Findley fans. Yes he's fast but his foot skills and general knowledge of the game both appear to be lagging behind.

However, as always, I am pleased to hear that he's pushing himself out of the MLS bubble and giving it a go in the UK (albeit one level below the EPL). If you need a League Championship team to root for, I think we found a solid candidate.

Findley could be joined in England by World Cup teammate Edson Buddle, who has been on trial at Premier League club Birmingham. The Los Angeles Galaxy forward's hopes of securing a transfer depend on how successful Birmingham is in pursuit of its preferred striking options.

"He has gone back (to the U.S.) and we will keep the door open," Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said Thursday. "We are not in the position to make any offers at the moment because we are looking to try and bring a more-experienced player into the club. We've not closed the door. He did OK."

This is van der sar's swan song

I have to give Edwin Van der Sar his due credit: when I saw him playing for Fulham in the winter/spring of 2005, I figured he was close to wrapping up his EPL career.

Not so much. He took the unusual path of bouncing from Fulham to Manchester United and he's been a respectable goalkeeper on the much bigger stage.

Today, United coach Sir Alex Ferguson said that he thinks this is Van der Sar's final professional season.

The 40-year-old Dutchman has featured 19 times this season, helping United reach the Premier League summit and the Champions League knockout phase.

But Ferguson said Thursday that "we are planning for this being his last season.''

Van der Sar has won three Premier League titles and the Champions League since arriving in 2005 from Fulham and has a contract until the end of this season.

There could still be a coaching role for Van der Sar at United in the future.
Ferguson says that "We have not discussed it, but Edwin is a player who would be of interest in terms of his knowledge and standing in the game.''

No Donovan in Europe this season

Landon Donovan has to be the most exhausted player from the U.S. men's national team. It was a long grind of a year for Donovan: from a loan with Everton last winter, to the World Cup 2010 and back to his club team the LA Galaxy in the MLS.

He rightly deserves a break and it came today in the form of no loan to Europe this winter.

On the surface, it looks bad and we were the bloggers who demanded for Donovan to stay in Everton when he was playing the best soccer of his life. He did not but we can't argue with his personal results for the U.S. team in a successful run in South Africa. However, at this time it doesn't do his body any good to grind it down more.

Donovan scored two goals in 13 matches during a loan to Everton from last January to March, helping the Toffees beat Chelsea and Manchester United, and draw against Arsenal. Everton manager David Moyes appeared open to having the 28-year-old return.

"While I enjoyed my time at Everton last season and still appreciate all the support their fans have given me, I feel that it is important to continue to rest and recover this offseason as opposed to going on loan," Donovan said in a statement Tuesday. "I never considered being loaned to a club other than Everton, but I have been playing nearly nonstop for the past two years and I believe that this decision will allow me to perform at my best for the Galaxy and the national team throughout the upcoming year."

Donovan spent the early part of 2009 on loan to Bayern Munich, then rejoined the Galaxy. After a summer in which he played for the U.S. at the Confederations Cup, he returned to the Galaxy, took a short break, then joined Everton. That started a 10-month stretch that included the World Cup, where he had three goals for the Americans, including a stoppage-time score against Algeria that advanced the U.S. to the knockout phase.

Donovan said during the MLS playoffs last month that overcoming the mental fatigue was more challenging than dealing with the physical. Despite missing time for the World Cup, Donovan scored seven goals for the Galaxy and led MLS with 16 assists.

"We think (it's) in the best interest of the club and the player that Landon continues his postseason break and begins preparations for what will be a challenging year in 2011 at both the domestic and international levels," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said.

Donovan and all other veterans were bypassed for the U.S. training camp ahead of a Jan. 22 exhibition against Chile. He likely will rejoin the national team for a contemplated March 26 home exhibition against Argentina.

If you're not employed by an MLS team, good luck finding a name you recognize for the next U.S. friendly

The U.S. training camp roster for their friendly against Chile on January 22 in Carson, California was named today and I must say, it's a random one.

Los Angeles Galaxy defenders A.J. DeLaGarza and Sean Franklin were among 12 players with no international experience selected Tuesday for a U.S. national team training camp ahead of the Americans' exhibition against Chile.

Six of the 24 players on the roster for the Jan. 22 game at Carson, Calif., have played just one game for the national team, all in the second half of 2011. Orebro midfielder Alejandro Bedoya is the senior player on the roster with six international appearances.

Others with no international experience include goalkeepers Dominic Cervi of Glasgow Celtic, Sean Johnson of Chicago, Matt Pickens of Colorado and Anthony Wallace of Colorado; defender Zach Loyd of Dallas, Ryan Miller of Sweden's Halmstads; midfielders Eric Alexander of Dallas and Jeff Larentowicz of Colorado; and Chivas USA forward Justin Braun and San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski.

Among those with just one appearance are defenders Omar Gonzalez of Los Angeles and Tim Ream of New York; midfielders Brek Shea of Dallas and Mikkel Diskerud of Norway's Stabaek; and forward Juan Agudelo of New York and Teal Bunbury of Kansas City.

San Jose midfielder Bobby Convey, a member of the 2006 U.S. World Cup roster who revived his career in 2010, was among the veterans not picked.

Twenty of the players are from Major League Soccer and three from Scandinavian teams on winter break. Players are scheduled to report to the Home Depot Center on Jan. 4. The average age is just over 23, and veterans will be mixed in later in the spring as the U.S. prepares for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The U.S. is likely to host Argentina on March 26 at a site still being negotiation and probably will play another match three days later.

"We have some younger players that we think, with time, can grow into important roles with our national team," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "We also understand going forward that it's an opportunity to at least begin the process of looking at some under-23 players, players that will be able to play for our Olympic team in qualifying. We really tried to focus on players that have not been in January camps so that we could see what some of these new faces are all about and get to see them in this situation."

The roster:
Goalkeepers: Dominic Cervi (Glasgow Celtic, Scotland), Sean Johnson (Chicago), Matt Pickens (Colorado), Nick Rimando (Salt Lake)

Defenders: A.J. DeLaGarza (Los Angeles), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), Ugo Ihemelu (Dallas), Zach Loyd (Dallas), Ryan Miller (Halmstads, Sweden), Tim Ream (New York), Anthony Wallace (Colorado), Marvell Wynne (Colorado)

Midfielders: Eric Alexander (Dallas), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro, Sweden), Sam Cronin (San Jose), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabaek, Norway), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado), Dax McCarty (D.C.), Brek Shea (Dallas)

Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York), Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Teal Bunbury (Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose)

Bedoya is the former Boston College star that Shimer wrote about this past summer. He's a young player to keep an eye out for. For once, I like Bob Bradley's thinking for this camp. It's the obvious time to bring in a bunch of new names and see what they can do. No matter what, a few are bound to stick out that they didn't know much about previously.