Raging Bull All Grown Up And Leading The English
by Jeré Longman (Profile/Interview | New York Times - June 3)
The life and times of Wayne Rooney, England’s star and star-crossed forward, can be floridly traced in the body art of his tattoos. more details | go to article

U.S. Roster Soap Opera Settled On Daytime TV
by George Vecsey (Commentary | New York Times - May 27)
The call came after 2 in the morning, but DaMarcus Beasley was not asleep. His roommate, Oguchi Onyewu, gave him hugs and handshakes, and that was how Beasley knew he was going to the World Cup again. more details | go to article

The Future In The U.S. Plays It Footloose
by Rob Hughes (Commentary | New York Times - May 26)
Saturday morning at Flushing Meadows Park in New York City. Children of all ages and backgrounds are at play on scores of soccer fields. Their diversity and their joy with a ball is as evident here as it is likely to be missing when the U.S. squad takes the field against England at the World Cup two weeks from now. more details | go to article

Final Cuts For U.S. World Cup Roster
by Jeré Longman (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 26)
The emerging forwards Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez, once considered long shots, were named to the United States’ World Cup team Wednesday, while the veteran striker Brian Ching did not make the final 23-man roster. more details | go to article

Self-Assured Beasley Glad To Have Another Chance
by Jeré Longman (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 25)
It seemed the most innocuous of plays, a short corner played from Landon Donovan to DaMarcus Beasley at the Confederations Cup last June. Except the ball rolled under Beasley’s foot and was whooshed downfield by Brazil for a searing counterattack goal. more details | go to article

The Real World Cup Prize? Broadcast Rights
by Eric Pfanner (Analysis | New York Times - May 24)
In less than three weeks, 32 soccer teams from around the world will square off for the chance to lift the World Cup trophy in South Africa. Thirty-one of them will go home empty-handed. more details | go to article

U.S. Goalies' Reach Extends Across Atlantic
by Jack Bell (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 24)
When Tim Howard was 6 or 8, his career path was already being MapQuested by a coach who perhaps did not know about tactics but did understand proportion. more details | go to article

Decision Time For Bradley And U.S.
by Jeré Longman (Blog Entry | New York Times - May 24)
The United States will face a Czech Republic team in transition in a friendly here on Tuesday night. more details | go to article

Bocanegra Says He Is Ready To Play
by Jeré Longman (Blog Entry | New York Times - May 23)
Defender Carlos Bocanegra, the captain of the United States soccer team, said Sunday that he felt healthy enough to play in exhibition matches Tuesday and Saturday after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia earlier this month. more details | go to article

South Africa Pushes To Make The Cup Its Own
by Celia W. Dugger (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 23)
The official mascot of Africa’s first World Cup — a stuffed leopard with spiked green hair — was made in China. The official World Cup anthem, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” was written by the Colombian pop star Shakira. The official restaurant? McDonald’s. more details | go to article

Altidore Hopes To Assert Himself After Year Of Worrying About Others
by Jeré Longman (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 23)
It was night in England on Jan. 12, just before his bedtime, when Jozy Altidore began to get the troubling news that an earthquake had struck Haiti, birthplace of his parents, home to more than two dozen relatives. more details | go to article

Hernia Surgery For Bocanegra
by Jeré Longman (Blog Entry | New York Times - May 22)
Carlos Bocanegra, the United States captain, recently underwent hernia surgery after being injured with his French club team, Coach Bob Bradley said Saturday. more details | go to article

Altidore And Life In The Fast Lane
by Jack Bell (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 21)
Jozy Altidore will be wearing the same new, flashy, lightweight soccer cleats, his in garish yellow, as Lionel Messi and David Villa in next month’s World Cup. He has joined a worldwide advertising campaign for Adidas with two of the game’s big stars. It is fast company. more details | go to article

Creative Feet Of Texas Key For U.S. In S. Africa
by Jeré Longman (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 20)
He prefers bass fishing in the United States to carp fishing in England. Otherwise, Clint Dempsey, a young man from East Texas, is quite comfortable in southwest London. more details | go to article

For The 2 Koreas, Joint Appearance At World Cup Turns Sour
by Jean H. Lee (Analysis | New York Times - May 20)
With both North and South Korea in the World Cup for the first time, many on this war-divided peninsula were hoping that sports could cross the border and unite people. more details | go to article