| Some soccer 'hoist-ery'
It would have been the U.S.'s greatest soccer win ever. But still, it's not the World Cup. Tonight, the Fire begins its quest for the oldest soccer trophy in the United States. And sure, the history of the U.S. Open Cup is nice - but wouldn't the Fire's players rather have the big check that comes with the ongoing SuperLiga Tournament? Or maybe the MLS Cup for winning their own league? And as long as we're asking, wouldn't it be easier if soccer just had something like a World Series or a Super Bowl? It seems like these guys have more trophies than a Little League banquet. "I guess there is a lot to keep track of, but I don't think it's very hard for us," Fire forward Chris Rolfe said. "I think for the players and the fans who have gotten used to the schedule and all of the different tournaments, it's just part of the game.
Rieflin eager to guide SC squad
Academic Magnet's Alex Rieflin spent the week preparing for the last game of his high school soccer career, the third annual Clash of the Carolinas at Blackbaud Stadium today. The Clash of the Carolinas pits South Carolina's best high school players against North Carolina's best in an all-star contest that is the only interstate prep soccer rivalry of its kind in the nation. The girls have battled to a pair of ties, while the boys have each claimed a victory. Rieflin played goalie for the Raptors, logging 3,700 minutes in the net while surrendering only 34 goals in four years. In his senior season, he allowed 10 goals in helping the Raptors reach the Class A state championship game, losing to Christ Church 2-0. It meant a lot to Rieflin to make the South Carolina squad, along with two good friends —Wando's Ralph Lundy Jr.
More on Sue Bird's shoes worn to raise cancer awareness
Last fall, soccer Olympian Michelle French of Kent was diagnosed with "Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma and Schelorsis of the Mediastinum", a Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Training to be part of the new Women's Professional Soccer league, she started to feel a shortness of breath and dizzy, learning of the cancer upon examination. The Roughriders blog quotes French describing the tumor as, "a mass the size of a lemon, with the feeling of an eraser. . . The mass is wrapped around my Superior Vena Cava which pumps/drains blood from the upper part of my body... The doctor hasn't seen this type of case for about 6 years....I told him "go big, or go home right!?". It's always nice to be a rare case study..... "I'm totally, completely, absolutely ready to kill this bugger and get back to my amazing teams! As the saying goes: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!!!!".
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