Men (minus 2) report to camp; Women get a new deal and talk about the other football

Today starts the almost month long men's training camp in California. However, two of the 30 players called will not make it due to injury.

Columbus Crew defender Chad Marshall and Houston midfielder Ricardo Clark have both be ruled out of the camp. Marshall is dealing with tendonitis in his left knee, while Clark has an ankle injury. Coach Bruce Arena as decided not to replace them in camp.

Marshall and Clark are the second set of two to miss this camp due to injury. Just a week ago Arena announced that midfielder Chris Klein and goalkeeper Zach Wells would be added to the roster as replacements for midfielder Justin Mapp and goalkeeper Johnny Walker, who were also both ruled out.

Over on the Women's national side, they have signed a new contract. This agreement goes through 2012 and includes the next two FIFA Women’s World Cups and the next two Olympic Women’s Soccer Tournaments.

U.S. Women’s Captain Kristine Lilly said this of the contract:
“It is wonderful to have the contract signed and behind us. This is an important year for the team as we begin focusing first on qualifying for the next Women’s World Cup and then winning a world championship in China in 2007. Our focus and goals have always been to be the best and that means winning world championships. We know that staying on top of the world is important in continuing to strengthen and grow women’s sports in the United States, which is part of our mission.”

The women are currently in camp training ahead of the four nations cup in China, which starts on January 18th.

No information was released about the deal, but speculation is the players had to take a cut in pay due to the decrease in attendance and television audience for the sport. Let's hope that in 6 years they will get a huge raise.

Finally, US Soccer put out an odd, all be it interesting, press release concerning four players on the women's team. These four players are either Longhorns or Trojans. Anyway, they ask the ladies their opinions on who is going to win tonight's Rose Bowl and take home college football's national title.

I think the strange part is when they ask them about meeting football players on campus. Their answers just seem a little bizarre to me.

Amy Rodriguez (Trojan)
On Campus Brush with Matt Leinart: “I’ve seen Matt in the training room a few times. One time he was getting treatment on his knee and he had a ball of athletic tape in his hand. He went to shoot it in the garbage can and he missed. And I said, ‘You play quarterback?’ He laughed.”

Meagan Holmes (Trojan)
On Campus Brush with Reggie Bush: “Reggie came up to me at a party once and started talking to me like he knew me, but I had never talked to him before and haven’t spoken to him since.”

Stephanie Logterman (Longhorn)
On Campus Brush with Vince Young: “I was in the training room and was wearing some Nike running shoes that he liked. He said, ‘Girl, I like your shoes, where’d ya get them?’ I said, ‘Oh, they are team-issued.’ Not a very good response, I know. I wish I could have come up with something better.”

Kasey Moore (Longhorn)
On Campus Brush with Vince Young: “Every time he’s in the dining hall, you cannot say a word to him because he’s ALWAYS on his cell phone. I have no idea who he’s talking to, but my friends and I always wonder. Then one time we were in weight room and he finished doing the bench press and I had to throw a few more plates on there before I went. Okay, I could probably barely bench the bar itself. That dude is ripped.”