^{A nearly-full house at PPL Park watches the U.S. women's national team's 4-1 rout of China on Sunday. (Jonathan Tannenwald/Philly.com)} 

I admit up front that this post is a combination of fact and opinion, but I know you all well enough to believe that you will be able to properly separate the two.

As I walked out of the postgame interview area at PPL Park Sunday night, I took a moment to soak in the atmosphere created by the wall of fans who hoped to get one last glimpse of their heroes.

Instead of holding a formal press conference, coach Pia Sundhage and her players met with reporters on the field. There was nothing inherently wrong with this - in fact, it was quite convenient - but we ended up right next to the River End. The noise from the stands was racuous, and as high-pitched as you would expect from a throng comprised mainly of young girls and their parents. 

Passing through what remained of the sellout crowd on my way back to the press box, I thought to myself: 18,573 people make a great atmosphere at a soccer game, but they do not make a television ratings point.

You may not want to hear this, but it was as true last night as it has ever been. Soccer is a business, and it is as much the case on the women's side of the game as it is on the men's side of the game.

Indeed, soccer is not just a business in the United States. It is so all over the world, no matter how loudly people complain about it - and especially in countries where people ought to know better by now.

Soccer is a business in Manchester, Zurich, Barcelona and Dortmund, just as it is in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

The system does not always work the same in every country, but in general, one principle applies across the globe. You make money, and you spend it.

Some teams spend more than they have, in the hopes that they'll make enough to pay their debts off down the road. Sometimes they do, and they achieve great success; sometimes they don't, and they collapse.

Other teams claim to live within their means, and some of them really mean it. But I guarantee you that the so-called "means" of a well-managed Premier League club, even a relatively small one, include more money than you or I could dream of making in our lifetimes.

Why have I gone off on this rant? I think you know where I'm headed, but just in case you don't, here's the background.

Before Sunday's U.S.-China game, U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati met with reporters for a few minutes in the PPL Park press conference room. To no one's surprise, Gulati was asked to discuss the demise of Women's Professional Soccer.

As I was live-tweeting some of Gulati's remarks, I was asked for my thoughts on a comparison between MLS and/or U.S. Soccer potentially running a women's league, and the relationship between the National Basketball Association and the WNBA.

One of my Twitter followers wrote something to me that I suspect is believed across a reasonably wide swath of the women's soccer community, and perhaps the wider American soccer community too.

USSF should want a professional league here for women the same way they wanted a men's league. Even under the same group (MLS) ... Use WNBA style model. Stadiums and clubs are intact, create from there. Run through USSF. ... That's clearly the best model! Because IT WORKED. No women's professional league in the US has been as successful!

Although it is probably not smart to respond to a 280-word question with a 2,400-word blog post, it's too late for me to stop now. So here goes.

My answer to the aforementioned question is that MLS and U.S. Soccer do not have nearly the amount of money that the NBA does, and they won't for a long time.

If that kind of revenue does materialize some day, it will be as great a triumph as anything any U.S. national team has ever achieved on any field. But the community of women's soccer in the United States does not have the luxury of waiting for the future. It can only deal in the present, and the present is this:

Professional women's soccer does not make money.

Say it to yourself. Then say it again.

Get the point yet?

In addition, having covered the WNBA for a few years, and women's sports in general for a good while now, I feel pretty confident that I can accurately make another blunt assertion:

Just because something exists does not mean it works.

Yes, the WNBA is now in its 16th season. But over that time, the league has seen six teams fold and three teams relocate. Only two of the total of 21 franchises that have ever existed have averaged more than 10,000 fans per game in their histories, and two have averaged under 5,000 - including the one in the nation's third-largest media market.

I say that as someone who believes as strongly in the value of women's sports, both professional and amateur, as anyone you will ever meet. I have covered the WNBA in the past and have the utmost respect for the players and coaches who work hard to live out the dreams that they fully deserve to have.

So I mean no offense to anyone who follows the WNBA - most notably former Inquirer women's basketball beat writer Mel Greenberg, whom I consider a dear friend - when I say that the league does not work.

It exists, because the NBA helps subsidize it. NBA commissioner David Stern believes strongly that there should be a professional women's basketball league and that it should be under the NBA's brand. Stern knows that the NBA generates more than enough revenue to take a loss on operating the WNBA, so it happens.

Stern's philosophy is manifest by the fact that NBA pays for the WNBA's league-wide operations, including officiating and marketing. The NBA also negotiates the WNBA's national TV contract with ESPN. I suspect rather strongly that the negotiations are helped along by the fact that ESPN broadcasts NBA games.

I have no objection to any of that.

But if the NBA decided to stop the subsidy, I am fairly certain that the WNBA would cease to exist about as quickly as both the Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer did.

As I understand things, it costs approximately $2 million per year to operate a WNBA franchise. Expenses include an 11-player roster and a 34-game season which involves travel to all four corners of the United States. 

Even though a number of WNBA teams are owned independently - including some which share markets and arenas with NBA teams - the WNBA does not work economically, and I do not think it would be able to stand on its own financially.

You can certainly argue that soccer is not the same as basketball. The number of players on a roster is bigger; the numbers of teams competing and games in a season are smaller; and the scale of facilities is completely different.

But there is one major similarity. Just as no professional women's soccer league has proved self-sustainable in the United States, nor has any professional women's basketball league proved self-sustainable.

I pause here to make the point again that I am a sincere fan of women's sports, both of the individual and team varieties. I genuinely want to see professional women's sports succeed in this country. This includes soccer and basketball as well as better-established sports such as tennis and track and field.

I happen to most enjoy soccer and basketball among women's team sports, and I will be very happy if the day comes that professional women's leagues in those sports are financially self-sustainable.

But that is not the case right now, and anyone who cares about the state of women's sports can only afford to deal in the present.

At this point, I turn to some specific excerpts from Gulati's remarks yesterday.

Gulati was asked by Beau Dure of USA Today what role the U.S. Soccer Federation can play in helping to re-establish a professional women's soccer league in this country. Dure specifically asked what role the governing body could play in helping to reduce the administration costs for such a league, including reducing sanctioning fees.

After noting that the federation will be convening a meeting of multiple parties across the American soccer community to discuss the future of professional women's soccer within the next 30 to 45 days, Gulati said the following:

Let's not kid ourselves. The level of investment that is needed to run a professional league, whether it's on the men's side or the women's side, is enormous. And not an order of magnitude where sanctioning fees make any difference, frankly.

The budgets of MLS teams, or WPS teams, are far in excess of the sorts of numbers we're talking about for sanctioning fees or anything like that. So I think that's a red herring.

We have supported the leagues in recent ways. But to think that if this number is right for WUSA - and I don't know that it is, we don't have detailed financials - that $100 million was the level of investment over the three years of the league, to think that the federation - a non-profit governing body - would have the resources to make those sorts of investments is misplaced.

And the level of investment that MLS has made, which has probably got a different number of digits in it at this point - and successfully - only can be really made by the private sector.

That doesn't mean that we don't support the women's game. But those are the decisions that you have to make in a world of finite resources, and running the professional game has really been left to private entrepreneurs.

Gulati spoke those words having backed them up a few hours earlier, when he announced that U.S. Soccer will turn its under-17 and under-20 girls' national team head coaching positions into full-time jobs. The federation will also create a position that will oversee player development on the girls' side at all levels.

That's real money, not least when you consider the travel budgets those coaches will likely have at their disposal.

Gulati then revealed something that as far I know, no one in the press conference had ever heard before:

... that in order to help them [WPS] save costs at the league level, we would step in and help do the essential functions of a league office: scheduling, referee assignment, all those sorts of things. We talked about that 12 months ago - and to absorb the costs of that.

Gulati was asked what the response was from WPS.

I think it's safe to say that offer was not accepted.

I asked Gulati to respond to those in the public who have asked why MLS isn't stepping up right now.

My answer would be that's a question for [MLS] commissioner [Don] Garber. I can give you a lot of reasons. MLS has expended pretty rapidly over the [last] few years. Whether it's because of focus or economics, or whatever, I don't know.

Some teams have been involved. Obviously, AEG was involved.* D.C. United was involved, and the Revolution were involved in a couple of doubleheaders in some years. So whether it was the WUSA years or WPS, some MLS teams have been involved in different ways. But that's really a question for the commissioner, and the development of the league.

Seattle has obviously been involved this year, and Vancouver has been involved for a long time with women's soccer. So you've seen a number of MLS teams have been involved. Whether that leads to anything involving a fully-fledged women's league in the future, I don't know.

[* - Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Galaxy and part-owns the Houston Dynamo (and has in the past owned many other MLS teams), operated the Los Angeles Sol in WPS in 2009.]

I then asked Gulati for his personal opinion of when MLS will be at a point where it can financially sustain a professional women's league. His answer will, I suspect, resonate far beyond the women's soccer community.

I don't know how long they are away from being able to have an under-12 academy program that is fully-funded either. These are choices. So is it a women's pro league that requires a large investment, or is it an U-12 boys development program? Or is it more money for designated players? It's a central focus.

The only parallel we have is the NBA and the WNBA, and the NBA is far more mature in [its] overall development than when it started the WNBA, and even there you've seen a number of teams - most teams - now have independent ownership.

So I don't think that's necessarily the model. It may be, but it's not necessarily the model.

As Gulati's full-time job is teaching undergraduate economics at Columbia University, it should come as no surprise that he views soccer through an economist's lens: there is a scarcity of resources, so they should be allocated according to reasoned-out priorities.

But you do not have to be an Ivy League economics student (which I was not, before you ask) to get the idea.

MLS can run a women's league if it wants to, but it will have to sacrifice other things to do so. If Garber and his staff decide to allocate its resources differently, that is their choice, and they have the right to make that choice.

You may not like the choices that the league makes, but I suspect that a reasonably high percentage of the league's fans would not object to investment in either youth player development or increased salaries for marquee names. In fact, I suspect that said percentage is higher than the percentage that would like MLS to launch a women's league.

But even if a majority of MLS' fans are in favor of launching a women's league, the fan base does not constitute a democratic electorate (small-d, the demographics notwithstanding).

MLS is perfectly within its rights to allocate resources according to what it feels is the best way to grow itself and the sport of soccer, and if people want to complain about it they can go elsewhere.

(To Twitter, for example. Not that I could possibly think of anyone on there who ever disagrees with the way MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation are operated. Or who would like to see... okay, I'm digressing and I ought to stop.)

So I will conclude. I realize that I've dragged this post on for far too long, but it deals with a subject about which I care deeply and have cared deeply for many years.

Professional women's soccer is a great thing in theory, but in practice it does not work. The money simply is not there to make it self-sustainable. It has not been self-sustainable historically, and there is not much evidence at the moment that things are going to change soon.

You might not like to read that - I certainly wish it was not the case - but it is reality. And as has happened so often over the years, whether with women's soccer or men's soccer, people who care about the sport in this country are best served when they deal with things as they are, not as they want them to be.

Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: PPL Park, Chester, Pa.
Live video: ussoccer.com

Now that U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage has named her 18-player roster for the Olympics, it's time to see the squad take the field here at PPL Park.

Follow along for live updates throughout tonight from me and other reporters in the press box. 

I'll post the starting lineups when they are announced.

United States

Goalkeeper: Hope Solo
Defenders: Amy LePeilbet, Rachel Buehler, Christie Rampone, Kelley O'Hara
Midfielders: Shannon Boxx, Heather O'Reilly, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd
Forwards: Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach

Bench: GK Nicole Barnhart; Ds Heather Mitts, Becky Sauerbrunn; Ms Lauren Cheney, Meghan Klingenberg, Amy Rodriguez; F Sydney Leroux

China

Goalkeeper: Zhang Yue
Defenders: Zhou Gaouping, Li Jiayue, Wang Dongni, Zhao Hongli
Midfielders: Ren Guixin, Liu Shukun, Wang Xin, Han Peng
Forwards: Zhang Rui, Lou Jianui

Bench: GK Wang Fei; D Pang Fengu; Ms Zhou Feifei, Wang Lisi, Li Wen; Fs Ma Xiaoxu, Xu Yanlu

If you're on a mobile device, click here for the live updates console. 

Much earlier than many expected, U.S. women's national team head coach Pia Sundhage has made the cuts that have produced the 18-player roster for the upcoming Olympics in London.

Sundhage also named four alternates who can be used as injury replacements. The total of 22 players will travel to Sweden next month for a two-week training camp that will include games against Sweden on June 16 and defending World Cup champion Japan on June 18.

The roster is as follows:

Goalkeepers (2): Nicole Barnhart, Hope Solo

Defenders (6): Rachel Buehler, Amy LePeilbet, Heather Mitts, Kelley O'Hara, Christie Rampone, Becky Sauerbrunn

Midfielders (6): Shannon Boxx, Lauren Cheney, Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Megan Rapinoe

Forwards (4): Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach

Alternates: GK Jill Loyden, M Lori Lindsey, M Megan Klingenberg, F Christen Press

The U.S. Soccer Federation also announced Sunday that it has turned the head coaching positions for the under-17 and under-20 girls national teams into full-time jobs.

To go along with these positions, U.S. Soccer is going to hire "another full-time coach whose main focus will be on enhancing the player development environment for young players from coast to coast."

That person's duties will include:

scouting, running U.S. Soccer's National Training Centers, assisting coaching education opportunities, and liaising with U.S. Soccer's partners and constituents as it relates to developing players at the youngest National Teams.

Additionally, this coach will also oversee the U.S. Under-15 Girls' National Team program.

Sundhage and U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati will address the media before tonight's 7 p.m. game against China at PPL Park. I'll update this post with quotes afterward.

There have been a lot of questions asked in recent weeks about why no broadcast was set up for the U.S. women's national team's game against China Sunday night at PPL Park.

Well, you can throw those questions out.

The U.S. Soccer Federation has announced that the game will be streamed online free of charge at ussoccer.com. Fox Sports' Mark Rogondino will have the call. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

I haven't heard anything about public transportation options, and historically there haven't been shuttles from Chester Transportation Center for national team games. But it can be done if you really want to, via the 113 bus. It is a dual-route bus, so it will drop you at either 3rd Street and Highland Avenue or 3rd Street and Flower Street. The schedules are here.

If you have access to Google Maps data on your phone, you can get the bus schedule that way too.

The Major League Soccer Players Union delivered its semi-annual release of player salaries across the league on Friday afternoon.

Here are the Union's salary figures. All of the numbers are in U.S. dollars. The first number is base salary and the second is guaranteed compensation.

Freddy Adu: $400,000.00 / $519,000.00 ¹
Chris Albright: $55,000.00 / $55,000.00
Brian Carroll: $168,000.00 / $168,000.00
Keon Daniel: $55,000.00 / $59,410.00

Gabriel Farfan: $46,200.00 / $46,200.00
Michael Farfan: $57,200.00 / $94,700.00
Raymon Gaddis: $33,750.00 / $33,750.00
Gabriel Gomez: $275,000.00 / $294,702.50

Chase Harrison: $44,000.04 / $44,000.04
Kai Herdling: $94,002.00 / $94,002.00
Cristhian Hernandez: $52,500.00 / $54,375.00 ²
Chandler Hoffman: $65,000.00 / $91,000.00 ³

Antoine Hoppenot: $44,000.00 / $44,000.00
Greg Jordan: $44,000.00 / $44,000.00
Chris Konopka: $44,000.00 / $44,000.00
Michael Lahoud: $75,196.00 / $84,571.00

Porfirio Lopez: $120,000.00 / $125,087.50
Zac MacMath: $90,000.00 / $135,000.00 3
Josué Martinez: $65,000.00 / $71,062.50
Jack McInerney: $76,000.00 / $140,166.67 ³

Jimmy McLaughlin: $48,000.00 / $57,000.00 ²
Danny Mwanga: $250,000.00 / $356,250.00
Amobi Okugo: $90,000.00 / $173,000.00 ³
Lionard Pajoy: $180,000.00 / $195,000.00

Zach Pfeffer: $60,000.00 / $70,000.00 ²
Roger Torres: $116,160.00 / $119,285.00
Carlos Valdés: $268,000.00 / $268,000.00
Sheanon Williams: $85,000.00 / $90,500.00
Krystian Witkowski: $44,000.04 / $44,000.04

1 - Designated player
2 - Homegrown player, does not count against salary cap
3 - Generation Adidas player, does not count against salary cap

In total, the Union are paying out $3,045,008.08 in base salary and $3,615,062.25 in guaranteed compensation this year. 

It is worth noting that Mwanga graduated from Generation Adidas after last season, so the Union are on the hook for his entire salary. The best list I can find of players who remained in Generation Adidas from 2011 to 2012 is here. Thanks to the RSL Soapbox blog for compiling it.

Now for the analysis. First, here’s who got a pay raise since the last set of salary figures were published in September 2011. I’ll use guaranteed compensation as the measuring stick since it’s the higher figure:

Brian Carroll: $160,000.00 to $168,000.00
Keon Daniel: $46,410.00 to $59,410.00
Gabriel Farfan: $42,000.00 to $46,200.00
Michael Farfan: $79,500.00 to $94,700.00

Zac MacMath: $125,000 to $135,000
Jack McInerney: $135,416.67 to $140,666.67
Danny Mwanga: $226,250.00 to $356,250.00
Amobi Okugo: $168,000.00 to $173,000.00

Zach Pfeffer: $65,000.00 to $70,000.00
Roger Torres: $108,725.00 to $119,285.00
Carlos Valdés: $180,000.00 to $268,000.00
Sheanon Williams: $42,000.00 to $90,500.00

Here’s who got a pay cut:

Freddy Adu: $594,884.00 to $519,000

Although Danny Califf isn't listed as a member of the Union anymore, his salary increased from to $250,000 to $275,000.00 since last season.

Michael Lahoud, who came to Philadelphia in the Califf trade, saw his salary increase from $72,735.00 to $84,571.00 since last season.

How does the Union's overall payroll compare to those of the other 18 teams in MLS? Here's the answer, ranked by guaranteed compensation.

1. New York Red Bulls: $12,207,557.54 / $12,957,790.88
2. Los Angeles Galaxy: $10,759,071.00 / $12,632,386.49
3. Toronto FC: $6,939,109.00 / $8,250,852.39
4. Vancouver Whitecaps: $3,606,950.04 / $4,294,436.53

5. D.C. United: $3,518,598.20 / $4,188,579.33
6. Portland Timbers: $3,525,650.00 / $4,158,661.29
7. Seattle Sounders: $3,505,777.00 / $3,981,973.32
8. Philadelphia Union: $3,045,008.08 / $3,615,062.25

9. Real Salt Lake: $3,154,385.04 / $3,521,095.29
10. FC Dallas: $3,031,897.04 / $3,450,147.04
11. Colorado Rapids: $3,194,716.00 / $3,430,955.01
12. Columbus Crew: $2,890,734.00 / $3,325,609.00

13. New England Revolution: $2,852,018.00 / $3,262,613.54
14. Chivas USA: $2,618,728.04 / $3,233,054.18
15. Chicago Fire: $2,880,426.04 / $3,225,555.03
16. San Jose Earthquakes: $2,905,834.25 / $3,211,334.32

17. Sporting Kansas City: $2,794,657.00 / $3,120,874.37
18. Montréal Impact: $2,649,095.00 / $3,025,864.92
19. Houston Dynamo: $2,664,916.00 / $3,001,091.87

In addition to the team payrolls, MLS is paying a total of $111,600.00 to three pool goalkeepers that teams can sign on an emergency basis. Brian Rowe and Steve Spangler are earning 33,750.00 each in guaranteed compensation, and Chris Sharpe is earning 44,100.00.

There is also one outfield player who is apparently being paid despite not being on a team roster. Birahim Diop, who was waived by Sporting Kansas City on March 26, is due $74,250.00 in guaranteed compensation from a $70,000.00 base salary. 

The total amount of base salary paid out across Major League Soccer this year is $78,926,727.27. The total amount of guaranteed compensation paid out is $90,073,787.05.

Because it's always fun to look at who's making the big money, here are the top 20 salaries in MLS at the moment.

Note that this does not include the salary of the league's newest designated player, Montréal's Marco Di Vaio, because he hasn't officially joined the team yet. We probably won't find out how much the Impact's first DP is making until much later this year.

1. Thierry Henry, New York Red Bulls: $5,000,000.00 / $5,600,000.00
2. Rafael Márquez, New York Red Bulls: $4,600,000.00 / $4,600,000.00
3. David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy: $3,000,000.00 / $4,000,000.00 *
4. Robbie Keane, Los Angeels Galaxy: $2,917,241.00 / $3,417,242.75

5. Torsten Frings, Toronto FC: $2,000,000.00 / $2,413,666.67
6. Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy: $2,400,000.00 / $2,400,000.00
7. Julian de Guzman, Toronto FC: $1,863,996.00 / $1,910,746.00
8. Danny Koevermans, Toronto FC: $1,150,000.00 $1,563,323.33

9. Kris Boyd, Portland Timbers: $1,250,000.00 / $1,515,000.00
10. Eric Hassli, Vancouver Whitecaps: $550,000.00 / $790,000.00
11. Fredy Montero, Seattle Sounders: $600,000.00 / $756,000.00
12. David Ferreira, FC Dallas: $600,000.00 / $705,000.00

13. Dwayne DeRosario, D.C. United: $617,857.20 / $663,190.53
14. Juan Pablo Ángel, Chivas USA: $350,000.00 / $600,000.00
15. Shalrie Joseph, New England Revolution: $495,000.00 / $554,333.33
16. Branko Bošković, D.C. United: $409,167.00 / $545,367.00

17. Freddy Adu, Philadelphia Union: $400,000.00 / $519,000.00
18. Hamdi Salihi, D.C. United: $305,460.00 / $487,460.00
19. Javier Morales, Real Salt Lake: $425,000.00 / $477,500.00
20. Benny Feilhaber, New England Revolution: $400,000.00 / $446,000.00

* - Beckham took a significant pay cut from last year, when he made $5,500,000.08 in base salary and $6,500,000.04 in guaranteed compensation. He was the highest-paid player in MLS in 2011.

Ángel is the highest-paid player in MLS who is not a designated player, at least according to the league's official list of DPs.

I find it very interesting that there are five DPs who are outside the top 20 - and two of them are way outside it. They are, in order of guaranteed compensation:

24. Álvaro Saborío, Real Salt Lake: $350,000.00 / $405,625.00
27. Álvaro Fernández, Seattle Sounders: $300,000.00 / $366,666.67
71. Mauro Rosales, Seattle Sounders: $200,000.00 / $225,000.00
100. Diego Chará, Portland Timbers: $150,000.00 / $193,750.00
365. Fabián Castillo, FC Dallas: $50,000.00 / $56,250.00

At the very bottom of the salary scale, the lowest guaranteed compensation figure in the league is $33,750. A total of 41 players are earning that amount of money, including Philadelphia's Raymon Gaddis.

Other notable names at that salary level include Seattle's Michael Seamon, a product of Villanova University; and Ryan Meara, currently the New York Red Bulls' starting goalkeeper. 

For the statistics majors among you, here are the average, median and most common salaries across the league:

Average: $143,503.14 / $163,770.52
Median: $70,000.00 / $80,004.00
Most common: $44,000.00 / $80,002.00 

Finally, I thought it would be interesting to put together a list of salaries for all of the former Union players who are still in Major League Soccer. Here goes:

Danny Califf, Chivas USA: $275,000.00 / $275,000.00
Jordan Harvey, Vancouver Whitecaps: $100,000.00 / $100,000.00
Andrew Jacobson, FC Dallas: $87,500.00 / $100,000.00
Brad Knighton, Vancouver Whitecaps: $55,000.00  / $55,000.00

Sébastien Le Toux, Vancouver Whitecaps: $145,000.00 / $169,000.00
Justin Mapp, Montréal Impact: $210,000.00 / $218,333.33
Alejandro Moreno, Chivas USA: $185,000.00 / $195,000.00
Kyle Nakazawa, Los Angeles Galaxy: $51,150.00 / $51,150.00

Brian Perk, Los Angeles Galaxy: $76,000.00 / $110,100.00
Shea Salinas, San Jose Earthquakes: $82,000.00 / $87,975.08
Chris Seitz, FC Dallas: $75,000.00 / $75,000.00
Shavar Thomas, Montréal Impact: $80,000.00 / $94,666.67

I have put together a spreadsheet with all of the salary data for each player across the league, and I'm happy to share it with you. You can download it by clicking here.

Just do me a favor in return: follow me on Twitter and keep reading the blog. The best way to ensure the best mainstream media coverage of soccer in Philadelphia is to keep buying our newspapers and driving traffic to our website. I promise that if you all do, eventually it will be noticed and properly recognized.

The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Friday afternoon that Sunday night's women's national team game against China at PPL Park is sold out.

As there will not be any television broadcast or (as of now) live online stream of the game, hopefully you have tickets by now. If not, you'll have to follow me on Twitter for live game updates.

In other international news...

- Union defender Porfirio Lopez is on Costa Rica's roster for a friendly against Guatemala tonight, as well as the upcoming round of World Cup qualifiers. You can watch the Costa Rica-Guatemala game live (although only in Spanish) on ESPN3.com.

- Union midfielder Gabriel Gomez also has been called to Panama's national team for the upcoming round of World Cup qualifiers. Because MLS is taking a break during World Cup qualifying, Gomez won't miss any Union league games, though he will miss Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup game.

- U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has pared the 27-player training camp roster down to 23 for the upcoming series of three friendlies and two World Cup qualifiers. Forward Juan Agudelo, midfielders Danny Williams and Graham Zusi, and defender Alfredo Morales did not make the cut.

The schedule of upcoming games is as follows:

Saturday, May 26: vs. Scotland at Jacksonville, Fla. (8:00 p.m., NBC Sports Network/Galavisión)

Wednesday, May 30: vs. Brazil at Landover, Md. (8:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN3.com/TeleFutura)

Sunday, June 3: vs. Canada at Toronto (7:00 p.m., NBC Sports Network/Univision Deportes)

Friday, June 8: World Cup qualifier vs. Antigua & Barbuda at Tampa, Fla. (7:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN3/Galavisión)

Tuesday, June 12: World Cup qualifier vs. Guatemala at Guatemala City (10:00 p.m., Pay-per-view television and online via ustream.tv, more details here)

Some weeks, I have to stretch to find good games to feature. This time, it was pretty easy. Enjoy.

Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona

3:50 p.m. Friday (ESPN Deportes; ESPN3.com)

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola brings down the curtain on his glittering career with the Catalan giants in the Copa del Rey final. But this game, to be played at Madrid's Vicente Calderón Stadium, won't be a coronation. Athletic made the final of this year's Europa League, and the Basque club is second to Barcelona for most Copa del Rey titles.

Los Angeles Galaxy at Houston Dynamo

2:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC Sports Network)

Houston lost to Los Angeles in last year's MLS Cup final on the Galaxy's home turf. This year, the Dynamo get to host the season's only meeting between the two teams at their sparkling new BBVA Compass Stadium. David Beckham and company will face two big challenges: Houston midfield wizard Brad Davis, and the sizzling Texas sun.

England at Norway

2:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN3.com)

Newly appointed England manager Roy Hodgson officially takes over what is always one of the hottest seats in international soccer. With just weeks to go before the start of the European Championship, Hodgson faces a huge task: Turning one of soccer's perpetual underachievers into a team that can match the world's giants.

Scotland at United States

8 p.m. Saturday (NBC Sports Network; Galavision)

The countdown is on to the start of World Cup qualifying for the U.S. national team. This game, to be played at Jacksonville's EverBank Field, is the first of three friendlies for Jurgen Klinsmann's squad before the hard work starts in earnest on June 8.

Watch out for U.S. forward Herculez Gomez, whose goal-scoring prominence has rocketed him to stardom in Mexico's top league.

Cheltenham Town vs. Crewe Alexandra

10 a.m. Sunday (Fox Soccer Channel)

The glory of playing on a big stage isn't just reserved for Europe's big clubs. These two teams play in League Two, the fourth tier of English soccer's pyramid of leagues. They face off in a promotion playoff game at London's famed Wembley Stadium, and the winner gets to move up a division next season.

Crewe is led by striker Nick Powell, who scored 14 goals this season. Cheltenham goalkeeper Scott P. Brown anchored the fifth-stingiest defense in the league.

San Jose Earthquakes at Sporting Kansas City

4:30 p.m. Sunday (NBC Sports Network)

San Jose star striker Chris Wondolowski may be with the U.S. national team, but there will still be plenty of attacking talent across the field if so. Earthquakes forward Steven Lenhart has become one of MLS' most prominent pests, and gets great service from midfielders Tressor Moreno and Marvin Chavez.

Kansas City is led by the attacking trio of Kei Kamara, C.J. Sapong, and Penn Charter's Bobby Convey.

Brazil vs. United States

7:30 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN2; Univision)

The name on the front of the opponent's jersey says it all in this one. Brazil is bringing a young squad ahead of the Olympics, but at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., the five-time world champions are still likely to field stars Neymar (Santos) and Alexandre Pato (AC Milan).

For the U.S., this could be the first time Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey - who is recovering from a groin injury - play together in Klinsmann's 10-month tenure at the helm.

The draw for the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup is out, and the Philadelphia Union will be hitting the road if they beat Rochester at PPL Park next Tuesday.

The Union will face either D.C. United or the Richmond Kickers if they on Tuesday, June 5 if they advance to the fourth round. If it's D.C., it would be the second straight year that those two teams have met in the Open Cup.

And like last year, the game would be played at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md., not at RFK Stadium.

If Richmond upsets D.C. in the third round, the Union would travel to the Richmond City Stadium. It is a venue with quite a bit of history.

The stadium was opened in 1929 and seats around 22,000 people. The Kickers have played there since 1993, and the University of Richmond's football team played there from 1929 to 2009.

Richmond has hosted the U.S. men's national team twice, including a 1996 World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago, and it has hosted the U.S. women's national team three times.

That said, it's more than likely that the Union will be headed to the northern Washington exurbs for a second straight season. Last year, Philadelphia lost to D.C. on penalty kicks, 4-2, after regulation and extra time ended in a 2-2 draw.

Below you'll find all of the fourth-round Cup matchups. Times and venues can be found here. 

I had been under the impression that the competition is played in a straight bracket from the fourth round on, but I've been told there will be a draw for the fifth round.

That said, I suspect it's pretty likely that the Philly/Rochester-DC/Richmond winner will play the New England/Harrisburg-New York/Charleston winner. It would not happen if Harrisburg and Philadelphia advance, because affilated teams can't play against each other until it's absolutely necesray.

So as you read the list below, don't be surprised if the winner of matchup 3 plays the winner of matchup 4, and so on. It's not official, but it's not a coincidence that the order is the way it is.

1a. Philadelphia Union (MLS)/Rochester Rhinos (USL PRO) Winner at D.C. United (MLS)
1b. Philadelphia Union (MLS)/Rochester Rhinos (USL PRO) Winner at Richmond Kickers (USL PRO)

2a. New England Revolution (MLS) at New York Red Bulls (MLS)
2b. New England Revolution (MLS) at Charleston Battery (USL PRO)
2c. New York Red Bulls (MLS)/Charleston Battery (USL PRO) Winner at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL PRO)

3a. Columbus Crew (MLS)/Dayton Dutch Lions (USL PRO) Winner at Chicago Fire (MLS)
3b. Columbus Crew (MLS)/Dayton Dutch Lions (USL PRO) Winner at Michigan Bucks (PDL)

4a. Colorado Rapids (MLS)/Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) Winner at Sporting Kansas City (MLS)
4b. Colorado Rapids (MLS)/Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) Winner at Orlando City Soccer Club (USL PRO)

5a. Real Salt Lake (MLS)/Minnesota Stars FC (NASL) Winner at San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
5b. Fort Lauderdale Strikers (NASL) at Real Salt Lake (MLS)

6a. Houston Dynamo (MLS) at FC Dallas (MLS): FC Dallas Stadium; Frisco, Texas; 7:30 p.m. CT
6b. FC Dallas (MLS)/Charlotte Eagles (USL PRO) Winner at San Antonio Scorpions (NASL)
6c. Charlotte Eagles (USL PRO) at Houston Dynamo (MLS)

7a. Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)/Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) Winner at Portland Timbers (MLS)
7b. Cal FC (USASA) at Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)
7c. Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) vs. Cal FC (USASA), Venue TBD

8a. Chivas USA (MLS)/Ventura County Fusion (PDL) Winner at LA Galaxy (MLS)
8b. Chivas USA (MLS)/Ventura County Fusion (PDL) Winner at Carolina RailHawks (NASL)

The Philadelphia Union's first ever U.S. Open Cup home game will feature the only team outside of Major League Soccer that has won the tournament since MLS began in 1996.

Philadelphia will host the Rochester Rhinos, who lifted the cup in in 1999, in a third-round matchup. The game will take place at PPL Park on Tuesday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m.

The Rhinos beat the Brooklyn Italians, 3-0, in the second round of the toruament at Sahlen Stadium in Rochester.

(You may recall that Sahlen Stadium is where the Independence lost last year's Women's Professional Soccer championship game to the Western New York Flash.)

Elsewhere in Tuesday's second-round Cup action, the Harrisburg City Islanders beat the Long Island Rough Riders, 2-0, and Reading United gave up a 1-0 lead in a 2-1 loss at the Charleston Battery.

Here are summaries for all three games involving or relating to the local teams. Listed in parentheses after each team name is the league in which they play.

at Charleston Battery (USL PRO) 2, Reading United (PDL) 1

64' 1-0 Reading: Olutolani Ibikunle goal (Wynnewood, Pa./Wake Forest/St. Joe's Prep), Steve Neumann assist (New Hope, Pa./Georgetown/Council Rock North)
69' 1-1 Charleston: Dane Kelly goal, Navion Boyd assist
79' 2-1 Charleston: Nicki Patterson free kick, unassisted.

Former Union reserve Ryan Richter started for Charleston. Nicki Patterson, scorer of the winning goal, has 17 caps for Jamaica's national team.

Charleston's roster also includes former Temple University standout and Glenside, Pa., native Tony Donatelli, but he did not play.

The Battery will host the New York Red Bulls in the third round.

at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL PRO) 2, Long Island Rough Riders (PDL) 0

47' 1-0 Harrisburg: Yann Ekra goal, Morgan Langley assist
76' 2-0 Harrisburg: Brian Ombiji goal, Andrew Welker assist (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Seton Hall/Cumberland Valley H.S.)

Yes, that Morgan Langley is the same player who was on the Union's roster last year. 

There are video highlights of the game at the bottom of this post. There's also a clip of some antics from the City Islanders' suitably-named (and suitably loud, if small) supporters club, the Sons of the Susquehanna.

(Just a thought, though: since they're a minor-league affiliaie of the Union, couldn't someone get them some better goal celebration music?)

Harrisburg will host the New England Revolution (MLS) on Tuesday, May 29 at the Skyline Sports Complex.

at Rochester Rhinos 3, Brooklyn Italians 0

25' 1-0 Rochester: Thomas McManus goal, Troy Roberts assist
43' 2-0 Rochester: Connor Chinn goal, Troy Roberts assist
76' 3-0 Rochester: J.C. Banks goal, Graciano Brito and Masaki Hemmi assists.

A complete list of second round results and third round matchups can be found at TheCup.us. The draw for the fourth round is expected to take place Wednesday.

There are a few items from Tuesday night's action I'd like to highlight.

First, there were three upsets by division of the hierarchy.

The upset closest to us geographically took place in Bridgeville, Pa., outside Pittsburgh The USL PRO's Pittsburgh Riverhounds were upset at home, 1-0, by the PDL's Michigan Bucks thanks to a 90th-minute penalty kick.

The biggest upset happened in Wilmington, N.C. Cal FC - a fifth-tier, U.S. Adult Soccer Association team based in Thousand Oaks, Calif. - traveled all the way across the country and blew out the USL PRO's Wilmington Hammerheads, 4-0. Adding to the intrigue, Cal FC is coached by former U.S. national team star and current Fox Soccer Channel analyst Eric Wynalda.

Finally, out in Fullerton, Calif., the PDL's Ventura County Fusion took down the USL PRO's Los Angeles Blues, 3-1 in extra time.

Now for the other big news item. Two MLS clubs bought hosting rights to third round games from second-division NASL clubs who were originally scheduled to host. The Seattle Sounders will now host the Atlanta Silverbacks, and Real Salt Lake will now host the Minnesota Stars.

When this year's draw and bid hosting rules were originally unveiled, the idea was to stop MLS teams from buying out lower-division teams' home games. This was meant to make the tournament more fair, and capture some of the emotions that cup soccer generates by making big teams play on the road.

In both of these cases, there are mitigating circumstances. Atlanta has a league game in Edmonton four days after the Cup game in Seattle, so they can make one big road trip. Real Salt Lake's director of media relations has repeatedly tweeted about the high cost of round-trip travel from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis on short notice.

Most importantly, the bidding rules do allow teams to reach their own agreements about hosting games after the draw is conducted.

I hope that at some point the rules will be tightened up. It would also help teams reduce travel costs if rounds of the tournament were spaced two weeks apart instead of one.

On the whole, though, the idealist in me would like to see MLS teams honor the principle of a fairly-contested cup competition.