Kofie Sarkodie, a former soccer player at the University of Akron was honored by SportsScience for his ‘Outstanding Reaction’ during a game earlier this year. During a game against D.C. United earlier this season, Sarkodie recorded two goal-line saves within seconds, displaying his outstanding reaction skills. Sarkodie, originally from Huber Heights, Ohio, has also won awards for Defender of the Year, Ironman of the Year and Play of the Year. Sarkodie currently plays for the Houston Dynamo of the MLS and has made appearances for the U!7, U20 and U23 USA National Teams.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/blog/post/2014/02/17/kofi-sarkodie-wins-outstanding-reaction-inaugural-espn-sport-science-awards

Social media has been on the upswing over the past decade, so it will come as no surprise to most that ‘Brazuca,’ the official football of the World Cup has it’s own personal Twitter account. The Twitter account will follow the ball as it travels around the world on it’s journey to the 2014 World Cup Finals. In addition to the social media account for the ball, every baby that was born on 12/3/2013 in Brazil won a free soccer ball, representing the Brazilian notion that “every Brazilian is born with a soccer ball at his or her feet.” The word ‘Brazuca’ is a Brazilian slang term that is often used to represent national pride.

You can follow the ball with the Twitter handle @brazuca.

http://gamedayr.com/sports/brazuca-2014-fifa-world-cup-match-ball-twitter-90830/#

Not only is 2014 a huge year for football players worldwide; two  manufacturers who make up 80% of the market for soccer products are starting to clash for the top position. Adidas, of Germany, and Nike, of the United States are battling for the title of “market leader in the supply of hi-tech boots and jerseys to fans.” Adidas, who has been designing boots since the 1950’s believes that football is their territory, and is hoping to curb the rise of Nike, who has overtaken Adidas in many other sports. For now, it seems as if the football manufacturing giants are even; Adidas designed the ball for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, while Nike won the bid to provide the uniform kits for 10 of the 32 teams, including host Brazil.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/10/us-soccer-world-cup-kit-idUSBREA290ID20140310

With the 25th hat-trick of his young career, Lionel Messi tied and broke the Barcelona all-time scoring record this past weekend. Messi’s record-breaking day led his team to a 7-0 win over Osasuna. His 371 goals with Barcelona put him ahead of Paulino Alcantara, who scored 369 goals in 357 caps for Barcelona during the years 1912-1927. Messi, at age 26, and with just over 400 appearances for the Spanish team, is sure to break many more records in the future.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/16/sport/football/barcelona-milan-messi/

Bruno Fernandes was a professional soccer goalie for Flamengo, one of Brazil’s successful football club until he became a convicted felon. Fernandes is convicted of kidnapping and brutally killing his girlfriend Eliza. It was reported that the two were fighting after she allegedly refused to get an abortion and gave birth to their son. The jury determined that Fernandes had ordered men to lure Eliza to have her killed, chopped into pieces and then fed to a group of rottweilers. He was sentenced to 22 years and three months in prison. But after serving 3 years behind bars Fernandes is getting a second chance at a professional soccer career. He signed a five-year contract with Montes Claros of the Campeonato Mineiro. The club’s president, Ville Mocellin says “We want to give an opportunity to the man Bruno, for him, it is a chance to return to play. To the club, he is an athlete who can strengthen the team and a way to invest in the social side.” As shocking as this sounds should athletes have a pass if they have great talent no matter what they are convicted of? Do you think it’s fair for Fernandes only to serve 3 years for killing his girlfriend and be able to return to his career? Was there corruption or bribery involved?

http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2014-03-15/brazilian-man-who-killed-pregnant-girlfriend-fed-her-to-dog-allowed-to-play-professional-soccer-again

The main title contenders  are Brazil, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Argentine, for this years World Cup. Many people who are fans of the game, believe that Brazil will win this World Cup given the young squad which includes star players such as Neymar, Hulk, Costa and Kaka. “We are playing at home, we have the fans on our side and a team which is competitive and has a lot of quality,” Scolari said. “We have everything that allows us to be the best team. That’s why I fully trust that we can make it to the final and be the champion” said coach Felipe Scolari. Brazil has played fantastic in the international friendlies. We will have to stay tuned to see who will arise as champions.

There has been speculation over where the MLS will expand for months.

David Beckham already confirmed he is bringing a club to Miami, and a few other spots remain for the sport to expand further. New York, Minneapolis, Atlanta and others have been thrown around as potential next steps for the MLS, but much of it remains speculation.

Atlanta seems like the logical next choice, as reported by NBC’s Pro Soccer Talk. MLS commissioner Don Garber seemed to let on that Atlanta would be the next progression, in his preseason Q-and-A session. He spoke highly of the Georgian city, and even said “We’re getting close” about a deal in Atlanta.

With its location geographically, population size and it being a hub for other sports teams, Atlanta makes a lot of sense. Ideally, the newest locations for franchises will be announced soon, and the anticipation can finally be put to rest.

Everyone wants to be the best, to be the one named in the record book. Landon Donovan could soon get that honor with the most goals in the MLS. The LA Galaxy striker needs one more to set the record at 135, and is currently tied with Jeff Cunningham.

Despite this impending glory, Donovan said, “To be honest, I don’t think about it until it’s brought up.” He followed up with, “Is it important? Yeah, it is. It means something to me. But I’ll be glad when it’s over, to be honest, so I can just get back to focusing,” according to MLSsoccer.com.

This humility in a player is immensely refreshing, whether genuine or not. So many players seem to lose their love for the games they play, competing for glory, fame and money rather than focusing on being the best they can for their team. Donovan seems to have the latter handled, and that is wonderful.

His record — when finally attained — will put him at a well-deserved position at the top.

One of the things that has interested me most in this class is learning how our nation has rejected soccer. It seems so utterly ridiculous to me, the way some accuse soccer of being a communist sport or “un-American” is just so extreme to me.

Growing up, I was an avid fan of football and not much else. While I was never introduced to soccer, I was never taught to reject it either. Soccer was a welcomed sport in my community, and it never occurred to me that there was no real national following of the sport. I didn’t think twice about it.

Coming to college, I had more exposure to people who were different than me, and I have noticed huge followings of soccer among students here. It has been so interesting to learn how, despite these huge pockets of fans, there hasn’t been much national interest in “the beautiful game.” It has been really eye-opening to see how vehemently “American” people in this country are, and how the unwillingness to accept other cultures — or even their sports — is so widespread.

I think this represents a pretty big flaw in our way of living, the fact that we are unwilling to accept things that are different from what we know. It would be wonderful progress to see soccer more integrated into American culture in the coming decades.

While soccer might not be America’s hottest sport, America’s top newspaper is counting down to the game’s biggest event: the World Cup. Leading up to the big kickoff in June, The New York Times is posting about news about the cup to count down.

A recent post notes the official run-through of one of the World Cup stadiums. The Arena da Amazônia, one of 12 World Cup venues, opened for the run-through Sunday. The stadium was the site of an accident last month that resulted in the death of a worker — one of many concerns about Brazil hosting the game. The most recent accident was not the only time a worker died during the construction.

I can’t help but wonder what these accidents say about the country’s competence of hosting the World Cup. Accidents happen, but with so many construction malfunctions leading to the tragic deaths of workers, one can’t help but be concerned about the practices of the country.

Hopefully, the World Cup will run much more smoothly than its stadium constructions have.