Union

I’m sure it’s already been said, but it sure is great to have a Thorne back in our side.

And LeTwitter lives! Seba is online! If you aren’t already following Sebastien Le Toux on Twitter… something angry and French. Come on, do it!

Michael Bullock reviews Sheanon Williams’ meteoric rise from the Harrisburg City Islanders to a constant presence on the Philadelphia Union.

MLS

Major League Soccer Talk has the Union in the second tier of their playoff contender grid.

The Revolution hope to have new signing Monsef Zerka in the fold before facing the Union this weekend.

This is a list of every MLS player in the Eastern Conference with a Twitter account. Clearly, the best name is a battle to the death between Jalil “NigerianFuture” Anibaba and Ryan “SHAQALDINHO” Richter. CAN YOU GUESS WHO I’M VOTING FOR?

MLS announced there will be no rules changes to try and lower the number of tie games in the league. Good job, MLS. Scoring a goal in soccer is hard. Stopping the other team from scoring is hard. If you can’t appreciate that a beautiful game can end in a tie (and that it can be a good result) then you probably think Sportscenter has gotten much better since they stopped showing highlights and let former players blather on about their glory days for an hour. Leave me alone.

Independence

A-Rod is getting the star coverage as the Independence prep for their title belt showdown with the WNY Flash.

Amy’s alma mater wishes her good luck before the big match.

In case you needed reminding about how good the Independence are: 3 of the top awards for the 2011 season went to your home team, including Paul Riley repeating as coach of the year.

Elsewhere

Blackburn FC, a real team, is paying $3.2 million for FC Dallas foul machine George John. In real money. That you can spend. On things in Dallas. Like a plane flight to somewhere else.

Goal.com checks out the new NBC broadcast agreement for MLS and tries to figure out how it fits in with the other deals the league has running.

In positive news, Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel’s father was found alive after being kidnapped. Mikel played on Saturday, although I’m sure his thoughts were elsewhere. So glad this ended well.

Another list: This time it’s every country represented by only one player in the English Premier League. Can that be right? Is Robert Huth the only German in the EPL?

Brian Phillips gives a not-at-all succinct story of FIFA’s past and continuing corruption. Surprise! It’s all about the Blatta, baybay!

While The Big Lead is often cringe-worthy, Ty Duffy does a great job with his weekly soccer round-ups.

The Shin Guardian interviewed USWNT defender Ali Krieger. I’m guessing this was a short one. “Are you awesome?” “Yup!” “Knew it!” But seriously, read the interview. Women’s soccer on the club level is superb all over the globe. Time to wake up to it, America. Or else I guarantee Paul Riley will sub your ass out.