2013 Gold Cup: USMNT crush Belize

On Tuesday, the United States opened up their Gold Cup against Belize. The USMNT were clearly the better team, crushing their opponents by a score of 6-1. San Jose Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski scored a first half hat trick as the Americans controlled a majority of the game. The only worrisome moment for the USA was when Belize scored off of a set piece. Other than that, the US looked very sharp and should be set for a deep run in the tournament.

The USMNT play on Saturday vs. Cuba on 3:30 EST on FOX. They lead the group with Costa Rica (both have 3 points), while Belize and Cuba will play each other to get their first points of the tournament. Check out the highlights below:

Soccer/Football Transfers: Gomez to Fiorentina; Villa to Atletico Madrid

In the world of club soccer/football, 2 pretty big moves happened today. Two huge teams offloaded out of form strikers to some surprising teams.

In Germany, recent UCL winners transfered striker Mario Gomez to Italian club Fiorentina. Gomez, who has been riding the bench thanks to Mario Mandzukic, wanted more playing time elsewhere and has gotten it.  Overall, this move seems like a win-win, with Gomez probably getting good playing time at a decent team in Italy, while this move gives new coach Pep Guardiola more money to spend on other big name players.

Meanwhile, in Spain, Guardiola's old club FC Barcelona moved one of his former star forwards in David Villa. The scorer never regained his starting place in the squad after a horrific leg injury, and Barca looked to move him for some money. And since Radamel Falcao left to AS Monaco, Atleti needed a new striker. Villa should be a good fit for them, and now FCB have a clear pathway for Neymar to get a lot of playing time. One could say this move was a bit of a surprise, as many expected Arsenal to be able to snatch up his services.

What are your thoughts on these latest transfer events? Let us know in the comments.

Wimbledon 2013: King Murray... Pt. 2

Sorry for the hiatus, everyone! We were busy with work and school, and didn't have much time to be able to write about all of the crazy sports going on lately. But fear not, we are back, and should hopefully be able to pump out at least 1 post per day. Starting... now!

By now, everyone has known about Andy Murray and him being the best chance for a British man to win Wimbledon for the first time in a million years. He was considered the next great hope after Fred Perry won the last one for the Brits.

Well now, we can finally confirm that he your new Wimbledon champion, and has lifted the Wimbledon monkey off of the United Kingdom's back. He has ended their drought by defeating world No.1 Novak Djokovic by a score of 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. And although the score shows a straight sets victory for Andy, it wasn't that at all. This match could have easily gone 5 sets, and in my opinion, should have gone 5 sets. Andy just happened to raise his game at the right time a little better than Novak did.

It was nothing short of a battle, however. It took Murray 4 championship points just to close out Djokovic. And as hard as Novak fought, he just wasn't good enough today.

So after Andy's most coveted win, he now has his 2nd major title. In 2013, Djokovic has 1 (Australian Open), Rafa Nadal has 1 (French Open), and now Andy has 1 (Wimbledon). Only the U.S. Open is left. Does this mean it's Federer's time? The big 4 all won a major last year. I could see it happening again this year.

Congratulations, Andy! Enjoy the title.

Getty Images

2013 Confederations Cup: Standings after Match 1

In case you didn't know, the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil is underway, as it began on Saturday with the hosts (Brazil) thrashing Japan, 3-0.

The tournament was then followed by a tightly contested game of Mexico losing to Italy, 1-2, and Spain defeating Uruguay 2-1.

Today, the final first round match between Nigeria and Tahiti ended with a big scoreline of 6-1 in Nigeria's favor.

The Confederations Cup works like this: it is held at the site of the next World Cup (2014 will be held in Brazil), and it features all of the FIFA confederation championship winners (6 of them), the previous World Cup winner, and the host nation. In this instance, Spain was the WC winner, Brazil was the host, and the other teams represented the other confederations.

So, after round 1, here are the group standings:

GROUP A:

1. Brazil (3 points)

2. Italy (3 points)

3. Mexico (0 points)

4. Japan (0 points)

GROUP B:

1. Nigeria (3 points)

2. Spain (3 points)

3. Uruguay (0 points)

4. Tahiti (0 points)

The next matches will be held on Wednesday on ESPN, and it will feature all of group A starting at 3:00 EST.

Photo via fansided

U.S. Open: Just-in Time

At the 2012 Ryder Cup, many would argue that Justin Rose's match vs. Phil Mickelson in Sunday Singles propelled the Europeans to a historic comeback. Rose made putt after putt, and eventually took down Phil to gain a crucial point.

Flash forward to Sunday of the 2013 U.S. Open, and we are in a similar situation. Rose and Mickelson were dueling it out to see who put this amazing trophy on their resume. After some wild play by Phil and some steady play by Justin, it was JR who came out on top. Phil needed a birdie to get into a Monday playoff, but a wild tee shot pretty much negated his chances, and Justin claimed the trophy.

Rose shot an even par 70 at the tough but fair Merion course, while Phil the thrill shot a 74 to lose by 2. Justin became the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin. At 32 years of age, it is very possible that this won't be his only major title.

So to quickly recap, we've had two major winners who have, up until now, had somewhat disappointing careers: Adam Scott and Justin Rose. But since they now are major champions, the proverbial money is now off of their backs. That's got to mean someone who is long overdue is going to win the Open Championship, right? Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, and Dustin Johnson look like good odds right about now...

Anyways,

Congrats Justin!

Photo via pgatour.com