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<TABLE cellSpacing=9 cellPadding=0 width=730 align=center bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top><SPAN class=mdndate>Tuesday, September 5, 2006
</SPAN>
Paul Kennedy
Managing Editor
Soccer America
With Mike Woitalla & Bryan Alvarez
<SPAN class=mdnhead>TODAY'S EDITION</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>1. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>2. MLS: Mastroeni postgame taunts enrage Salt Lake owner</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>3. IRAQ CONFLICT: Soccer star kidnapped</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>4. YOUTH: U.S. teams suffer crushing defeats</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>5. OFF THE POST: Soccer mom pot bust</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>6. CORRECTION: From Monday's Daily</SPAN>
<DIV></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>1. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>"He went on to threaten that if he was forced to play, or if he was disciplined and financially punished for his breach of the rules, that he could score an own goal or get himself sent off, or make deliberate mistakes."
-- A statement by English Premier League club Chelsea on French defender William Gallas, who moved to Arsenal after feuding with Blues' boss Jose Mourinho. Gallas, who helped Chelsea win two league titles, denied that he threatened to score own goals. (AFP)
</SPAN></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>2. MLS: Mastroeni postgame taunts enrage Salt Lake owner</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>After the Colorado Rapids beat Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in an ill-tempered game, Colorado's Pablo Mastroeni taunted the Salt Lake crowd and made obscene gestures on what was a Youth Soccer Night that drew more than 17,000 fans to Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mastroeni's behavior also prompted a confrontation with Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts that was broken up by players.
Checketts released a statement that included: "I am both outraged and embarrassed that players in this league - especially a World Cup star like Pablo Mastroeni - would engage in obscene behavior towards our fans, and am dismayed that no one from the Colorado organization was present tonight to discourage such boorish behavior. ... I personally will provide video evidence and detailed accounts of what happened here to the league's highest levels, with the express intent of ensuring that incidents like this do not mar our competition or overshadow our role in this community."
Mastroeni has a long record of disciplinary problems. He has received 59 yellow cards and seven red cards since joining MLS in 1998. This season, he received five yellows and one red card in 13 games. At the 2006 World Cup, with the USA tied, 1-1, against eventual champion Italy and playing with a man advantage, Mastroeni was ejected for a two-footed studs up tackle shortly before halftime.
</SPAN></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>3. IRAQ CONFLICT: Soccer star kidnapped</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>Gunmen kidnapped Iraqi soccer star<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> Ghanim Khudheyir</SPAN> just days before he was due to sign a transfer to a Syrian club to escape the raging violence in his homeland.
The 22-year-old Khudheyir, a striker who helped Al Quwa Al Jawiya, the Iraqi Air Force club, win the first post-war championship in 2005, was taken from his home by gunmen in civilian clothes who claimed to be members of the Interior Ministry intelligence service.
Athletes and coaches have been targets in Iraq's mounting violence. Iraqi national team socer coach <SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Akram Salman</SPAN> fled to Iraqi Kurdistan earlier this year after receiving death threats. Khudheyir was just one of many Iraqi players who have hoped to use their soccer talents to earn transfers from the Irqai Super League to other Middle East countries.
</SPAN></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>4. YOUTH: U.S. teams suffer crushing defeats</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>Both the U.S. U-20 and U-17 national teams suffered embarrassing losses t
</SPAN>
Paul Kennedy
Managing Editor
Soccer America
With Mike Woitalla & Bryan Alvarez
<SPAN class=mdnhead>TODAY'S EDITION</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>1. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>2. MLS: Mastroeni postgame taunts enrage Salt Lake owner</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>3. IRAQ CONFLICT: Soccer star kidnapped</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>4. YOUTH: U.S. teams suffer crushing defeats</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>5. OFF THE POST: Soccer mom pot bust</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdnsub>6. CORRECTION: From Monday's Daily</SPAN>
<DIV></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>1. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>"He went on to threaten that if he was forced to play, or if he was disciplined and financially punished for his breach of the rules, that he could score an own goal or get himself sent off, or make deliberate mistakes."
-- A statement by English Premier League club Chelsea on French defender William Gallas, who moved to Arsenal after feuding with Blues' boss Jose Mourinho. Gallas, who helped Chelsea win two league titles, denied that he threatened to score own goals. (AFP)
</SPAN></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>2. MLS: Mastroeni postgame taunts enrage Salt Lake owner</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>After the Colorado Rapids beat Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in an ill-tempered game, Colorado's Pablo Mastroeni taunted the Salt Lake crowd and made obscene gestures on what was a Youth Soccer Night that drew more than 17,000 fans to Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mastroeni's behavior also prompted a confrontation with Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts that was broken up by players.
Checketts released a statement that included: "I am both outraged and embarrassed that players in this league - especially a World Cup star like Pablo Mastroeni - would engage in obscene behavior towards our fans, and am dismayed that no one from the Colorado organization was present tonight to discourage such boorish behavior. ... I personally will provide video evidence and detailed accounts of what happened here to the league's highest levels, with the express intent of ensuring that incidents like this do not mar our competition or overshadow our role in this community."
Mastroeni has a long record of disciplinary problems. He has received 59 yellow cards and seven red cards since joining MLS in 1998. This season, he received five yellows and one red card in 13 games. At the 2006 World Cup, with the USA tied, 1-1, against eventual champion Italy and playing with a man advantage, Mastroeni was ejected for a two-footed studs up tackle shortly before halftime.
</SPAN></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>3. IRAQ CONFLICT: Soccer star kidnapped</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>Gunmen kidnapped Iraqi soccer star<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> Ghanim Khudheyir</SPAN> just days before he was due to sign a transfer to a Syrian club to escape the raging violence in his homeland.
The 22-year-old Khudheyir, a striker who helped Al Quwa Al Jawiya, the Iraqi Air Force club, win the first post-war championship in 2005, was taken from his home by gunmen in civilian clothes who claimed to be members of the Interior Ministry intelligence service.
Athletes and coaches have been targets in Iraq's mounting violence. Iraqi national team socer coach <SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Akram Salman</SPAN> fled to Iraqi Kurdistan earlier this year after receiving death threats. Khudheyir was just one of many Iraqi players who have hoped to use their soccer talents to earn transfers from the Irqai Super League to other Middle East countries.
</SPAN></DIV><DIV align=left><SPAN class=mdnsub>4. YOUTH: U.S. teams suffer crushing defeats</SPAN>
<SPAN class=mdntext>Both the U.S. U-20 and U-17 national teams suffered embarrassing losses t