CHICAGO FIRE TO TAKE ON KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Chicago Fire (7-5-4, 25 pts.) return to the road as they play at Kansas City (5-5-6, 21 pts.) in the second of three regular season meetings this Sunday, July 27 (My50, 7 p.m.). The Fire dropped a 1-0 decision to the Wizards at TOYOTA PARK in the first meeting of the season on April 20. The final regular season meeting is Oct. 5 at Kansas City. The Fire are in third place in the Eastern Conference going into the All-Star break which is ahead of last season's 4-8-4 record at the break. The Fire lead the all-time series against Kansas City 19-9-4, which includes a 6-7-3 record at Kansas City.
BLANCO TRAVELS TO TORONTO FOR PEPSI MLS ALL-STAR GAME VERSUS WEST HAM UNITED
Cuauhtémoc Blanco has been chosen to the league's All-Star First XI that will take on English Premier League club West Ham United on Thursday, July 24 at BMO Field in Toronto (6 p.m. CT, ESPN, Telefutura and CBC Sports). The First XI received the most votes at their respective positions from 4 groups - fans, players, media and coaches/general managers. Blanco received the 3rd-highest total votes behind only a pair of Los Angeles Galaxy players - Landon Donovan and David Beckham.
ALL-STAR VIEWING PARTY WITH THE FIRE
The Fire will host a viewing party for the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game this Thursday, July 24 at Small Bar (2049 W. Division, Chicago) starting at 5:30pm. Small Bar will offer beer specials for Fire fans, while the Fire will provide food and giveaway items. The game kickoffs at 6:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN and Telefutura.
COMMUNITY SOCCER SERIES TUESDAY AT ADDAMS PARK
The Fire will partner with the IYSA and the Chicago Park District tomorrow, July 22, to hold a Community Soccer Series Clinic for 150 children at Addams Park, 1301 W. 14th St., Chicago, from 12:00-2:00 p.m. Youth players from SV Hamburg, U.S. National Team, U15 players from the Fire Academy and Cuauhtémoc Blanco's Academy will be on hand to help demonstrate skills. Fire defender Dasan Robinson and midfielder Stephen King will also be in attendance for the clinic signing autographs.
FIRE ACADEMY TO PARTICIPATE IN WORLD SPORT CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL CUP
The Fire Academy will join teams from Germany, Mexico and Nigeria at the World Sport Chicago International Cup from July 24-27 at TOYOTA PARK and Flames Field at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Teams to participate in the tournament are: three-time International Cup champions Hamburg SV from Germany, the Boys U15 U.S. National team, Sockers FC from Palatine, Ill., 36 Lion from Nigeria, and Centro de Formación Cuauhtémoc Blanco from Mexico. The International Cup is co-presented and organized by Illinois Youth Soccer. For a complete schedule visit: IYSA.org.
FIRE ACADEMY FINISHES FIRST SEASON
The Fire Academy teams have completed their first season in the U.S. Development Academy League this week. The Fire U16 team finished third in the league, with five players named to the Mid-America Starting XI: Goalkeeper Charles Lyon, defender Jorge Flores, midfielders Victor Pineda and Emanuel Guzman, as well as forward Marco Gutierrez. The U18 finished first in the Mid-America Division and placed 6th at Nationals, held in Los Angeles last week. The U18 squad saw two players named to the Mid-America Starting XI: defender Kyle McCrudden, midfielder Ian Christianson.
JIMMY BUFFETT COMING TO TOYOTA PARK JULY 24 & 26
Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band are in town for two Chicagoland appearances at TOYOTA PARK on Thursday, July 24th and Saturday, July 26th, as part of THE YEAR OF STILL HERE Tour 2008. Prime tickets are still available through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com or 312.559.1212) or the PARK Ticket Office (open M-F from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.).
