17 September 03

2003 Women's World Cup begins this weekend
Games begin Saturday, and the US women kick off their defense of the World Cup title this Sunday, September 21 against Sweden live on ABC at 11:30 am CT. For the full television schedule, see http://www.keepernotes.com/tvsked.html. More than 300,000 tickets have been sold for the 3-week event. For more info on the US team, see http://www.ussoccer.com/home/default.sps.

Join Houston soccer fans next Thursday, September 25 at Brian O'Neill's in the Village to watch the US v Nigeria match. Game begins at 6:25 pm. During the game, you can get a 12" pizza with one topping and a pitcher of domestic beer for just $12. For more info, see http://www.brianoneills.com. Beginning next Thursday, you can enter the HWSA/Brian O'Neill's World Cup raffle to win authentic World Cup merchandise and Brian O'Neill's gift certificates. $1 per entry. All proceeds benefit HWSA.

Relive World Cup 99 on ESPN Classic tonight
Tonight at 8 pm CT, ESPN Classic combines the original ABC telecast of the landmark 1999 Women's World Cup final with exclusive interviews of six participants from the game -- Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, Briana Scurry and Joy Fawcett.

Sad news for women's professional soccer
Monday, September 15: The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) announced that it is suspending operations effective immediately. The decision was made by the league's Board of Governors as a result of insufficient revenue to support a fourth year of play. For more info, see http://www.wusa.com/press_room/383744.html and
http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=43253&itype=113&iCategoryID=0.

MLS this week
Thursday, 6:30 pm on ESPN2: Colorado Rapids (Joe Cannon, Pablo Mastroeni) at New England (Joe-Max Moore, Rusty Pierce)
Saturday, 9 pm on Fox Sports World (tape delay): Columbus Crew (Brian McBride, Nelson Akwari) at MetroStars (Clint Mathis, Eddie Pope)

NCAA soccer around town
Friday
Alabama at Rice, 7 pm
Sam Houston State at TSU, 7 pm
Texas Tech at SF Austin, 7 pm

Saturday
Alabama at Sam Houston State, 7 pm

Sunday
Northwestern State at Rice, 1 pm

Glenn Davis' Sunday Soccer Hour
Every Sunday at 5 pm, 90.1 FM's "Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis" features live interviews, coverage of local events, and opinions. Call-ins welcome: 713-526-5738. Missed the show? You can access it at http://www.kpftarchive.org.

HWSA clinic
Women's soccer skills clinic on Saturday, October 18, 9 am at Wilson Elementary in Montrose. $5 per person. Minimum age 16. All skill levels welcome. RSVP to the keeper. Details and map link online at http://www.hwsa.org/clinics.htm.

Houstonians FC seeking volunteers
The Houstonians competitive youth program has recently transitioned from a city-run operation to a non-profit corporation thanks to the continued support of Fiesta Mart. However, volunteers are needed to keep this urban program strong. If you're interested in volunteering, contact Clyde Leuchtag at clyde@leuchtag.com or 713-755-8265.