Soccer Premier League

WEMBLEY, England (AP) -- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was banned from the bench for four games - two of them suspended - and fined $32,000 on Thursday for criticizing the fitness of referee Alan Wiley after a Premier League game.

Ferguson received the punishment when he appeared before a Football Association disciplinary panel at Wembley Stadium on a misconduct charge.

It's safe to say that hyperbole and armchair psychologists aren't solely the domain of American sportscasters.

Seemingly seconds after Chelsea captain John Terry headed home the eventual game-winner late in the second half Sunday vs. Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, the talking heads were speculating that the goal made up for his famous penalty kick miss in the 2008 Champions League final in Moscow.

Let's say, agree to disagree, though the 1-0 victory certainly was a strong statement for Chelsea, as it tries to end Manchester United's three-year stranglehold on the Premier League.

Sort of a weird situation that developed Saturday with U.S. teenage striker Jozy Altidore at his Premier League club team Hull City. Altidore wasn't in the lineup, nor was he even on the bench for the Tigers 0-0 draw with last-place Portsmouth.

Apparently Altidore was late to the KC Stadium and posted an apology on his Twitter page. What's weird, is on his actual page, the apology is no longer posted and the most recent tweet is encouraging Hull fans to make a lot of noise at the game.

All things considered, it's hard to read all that much into the situation. Altidore wouldn't be the first player in the history of professional soccer to be late for a match. It was a little distressing that the 19-year-old, who is fighting for a place in the starting XI, would risk being late and nullify any chance of seeing the field.

Fenway Sports Group, the sports marketing company owned by the Boston Red Sox, has expanded its media empire, entering into a sponsorship deal with Fulham FC, an English Premier League soccer club.

The company already has a number of similar partnerships in other sports, most famously with Roush Fenway Racing, the NASCAR racing team that features top drivers Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Might this be there most impressive partnership yet?

That's hard to say, but partnering with a side from the Premiership can't be a bad thing. The EPL might not register much here in the NFL-centric United States, but its the most popular and powerful professional sports league in the world, with club revenues for the 2007-08 season exceeding $3 billion.

Join FanHouse UK's J.P. Shaw as he hosts a live chat for Monday's English Premier League match between Fulham and Hull City.

The match holds special interest for an American audience, as it features a potential meeting between U.S. national team stars Jozy Altidore (Hull City, left) and Clint Dempsey (Fulham).

The match begins at 3 PM ET and will also be broadcast live on ESPN2.

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When is a beard more than a beard? When it's attached to the face of an international, metrosexual heartthrob who has one of the most recognizable visages on the globe.

Yes, America, it's time to beard it like David Beckham, as the English soccer star is going grizzly these days.

Update: Follow France vs. Ireland live blog.

Most of the intrigue that could have resulted from Monday's draw for the second-place playoffs for the final four 2010 World Cup berths from Europe was eliminated when it was decided the eight remaining nations would be broken up and seeded via their FIFA ranks near the end of the qualification process.

So instead of creating some possible Cinderella scenarios from smaller nations like Slovenia or Bosnia-Herzegovina would have a good chance to qualify for their first World Cup, the underdogs now face an uphill battle. This is no more the case than for the Republic of Ireland, which must played a wounded, yet still very dangerous France team next month.

While those of us in the United States have been focusing on the Balloon Boy, the folks on the other side of the pond have been obsessing about another balloon controversy: In a soccer game between Sunderland and Liverpool, Sunderland won 1-0 on a goal that bounced off a red balloon that had been thrown onto the field.

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Tottenham twice came from behind to earn a point at the Reebok Stadium but Harry Redknapp's team are still without a win in Bolton in 13 years.

The hosts put on an impressive performance and deserved the lead they picked up through Ricardo Gardner only to go in level at the break after Niko Kranjcar came up with his first goal for Spurs.

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Now that the Premier League is six weeks old, it has started to settle down and the "usual order" is starting to become more apparent.

The Big Four are at their normal end of the table, Europa League hopefuls such as Everton and Tottenham Hotspur are moving in the right direction and clubs such as Portsmouth and Hull City, who were expected to struggle against relegation are, predictably, doing just that.

Yet as well as wondering who is going to finish where this term, another equally intriguing question is also starting to take shape, namely: Who will be the Golden Boot winner this season?

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