CHICAGO FIRE TO PLAY THREE GAMES THIS WEEK
The Fire continue a stretch of six games in 13 days as they play at D.C. United in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tuesday, July 8, and then return to TOYOTA PARK to face Toronto FC in MLS action on Saturday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m.
The week gets started tomorrow, Tuesday, July 8, with a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal game against D.C. United at the Maryland Soccer Complex in Germantown, Md. Kickoff for the game is 6:30 p.m. CT. The Fire advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory over Cleveland City last Tuesday at TOYOTA PARK. The winner of this game plays the winner of the New England-Crystal Palace Baltimore match which is also tomorrow. That game will be played Aug. 12 at a site to be determined. The final of the tournament is set for Aug. 26.
Chicago (6-5-3, 21 pts.) then hosts Toronto FC (6-5-3, 21 pts.) in the first of two regular season meetings Saturday, July 12, at TOYOTA PARK. The game is the first of three of four games at home for the Fire who just finished playing a stretch of six of nine on the road. The Fire come into the game looking to win for the first time since May 25 at New York. The club has gone 0-3-2 in the last 5 games and has tied its last 2 games including a 2-2 draw at Columbus. Toronto FC lost their last MLS game on June 28 to New England 2-1. The game will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel, and can be heard on Chicagoland radio station WRTO 1200-AM (Spanish). Tickets for the game are available by calling 800.MLS.FIRE, by logging onto chicago-fire.com, Ticketmaster outlets or by visiting the TOYOTA PARK Box Office.
The final game of the week takes place Sunday, July 13, when the Fire Reserves take on Toronto FC's reserves. That game is scheduled to kickoff at 10 a.m. at the TOYOTA PARK practice field.
BLANCO BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT SET FOR SATURDAY
Saturday's game vs. Toronto FC is "Blanco Bobblehead Night". The first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive a free Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bobblehead, courtesy of American Airlines.
GRASSROOT SOCCER UNITED DRIBBLE TO HIT TOYOTA PARK SATURDAY
This fall, Grassroot Soccer Inc. co-founder and ambassador Ethan Zohn will embark on the first-ever GRSU Dribble (2008), from Boston, MA, to Washington, D.C. - dribbling a soccer ball the entire route. The Dribble 2008 is a fundraising and promotional effort that marks the official launch of Grassroot Soccer UNITED, an international youth movement to end HIV/AIDS in Africa (www.grassrootsoccerunited.org. Zohn, who was the winner of Survivor: Africa, will be at TOYOTA PARK Saturday to raise awareness of his program. He will hold a clinic for underprivileged children Saturday and will also be part of the halftime festivities.
BLANCO NOMINATED IN THREE CATEGORIES AT PREMIOS DEPORTES AWARDS PROGRAM...
On July 14th, Cuauhtémoc Blanco will attend the prestigious Premios Deportes program at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California at 8:30 p.m. CT. The program will be broadcast as a two-hour sports and entertainment television special on Univision, honoring the 2007 Latino athletes of the year for their excellence in sports and their impact on the Hispanic community. Blanco has been nominated in the categories of 2007 North American Mid-fielder of the Year, Soccer Player of the Year, and Male Athlete of the Year. The event and will air on Univision on July 20th.
...AND FOR AN ESPY
Cuauhtémoc Blanco is among the six nominees for the 2008 ESPY Award for Best MLS Player. Blanco joins fellow nominees Luciano Emilio (D.C. United), Matt Reis (New England Revolution), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls) and the 2007 award-winner, Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy) as finalists for the annual award. The 16th Annual ESPY Awards, hosted by Justin Timberlake, will take place on Wednesday, July 16, at the new Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, and will be televised on ESPN and ESPN HD, on Sunday, July 20, at 8:00 p.m. CT. Fans are encouraged to place their votes for Blanco at www.ESPYS.tv or on their mobile phones at www.espn.mobi. Online voting continues through Saturday, July 12, at 10:59 p.m. CT.
FIRE ACADEMY U18s AT ACADMEY NATIONAL FINALS
The Fire U-18s are in Los Angeles to play in the academy national finals at The Home Depot Center July 11-18...they open play on July 12th at 11:00 a.m. against the Baltimore Bays; Game 2 is July 14th against the Colorado Rush at 11:00 a.m. and Game 3 is Wednesday July 16th against FC Westchester. The Championship, as well as all "placement" games are on the 18th. The championship match will be televised live on ESPN 2. The complete schedule can be found on
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_7274496.html
...the Fire U-17s are the MLS Cup in Denver and play their last group stage game Monday, July 7...the team split its first two games in group play.
FAN VOTING FOR 2008 MLS ALL-STAR GAME RESULTS
Online voting for the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game has ended and the votes have been counted. Cuauhtémoc Blanco received 7.6% of all fan votes for the midfielder position, 2nd most in that category behind Galaxy midfielder David Beckham (10.96%). Blanco is 3rd overall in fan votes with 3.19%, behind Beckham (4.79%) and Landon Donovan (3.61%). Fan voting comprises 25% of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each hold 25% of the vote to combine for the remaining 75%. The MLS All-Star First XI will be announced on July 10, and the All-Star Reserves and Commissioner's Selections will be announced on Tuesday, July 15.
