Marta, Marta, Marta

Marta the magician is coming to Los Angeles.

It makes simple sense to me. Brazilians like LA. A bunch of them live near Venice Beach, well, pretty much any of the beach communities have a Brazilian cafe, club or restaurant where they like to congregate.

There's so many of them around, that it might be hard for Marta to learn English - she won't need to use it in her off hours if she lives in one of the communities where a lot of them gather. One Brazilian player told me once that in LA, he speaks more Spanish than English.

Marta speaks Swedish from her years of playing there, but I'm not sure she'll get to practice that as much.

Will skirts take the field?

Frankly, I understand why it's considered derogatory to refer to a woman as a "skirt" - I mean, would people reduce men to a piece of clothing? No one called a guy a necktie, even if only guys wear that.

But I think the skirts in the video look both cute and comfortable. In general, I don't understand why women's teams have to look like they're wearing handed-down uniforms of the men's team. A little style and originality is great to see.

On the other hand, anything looking too costumey or cheerleaderish is likely to be avoided by teams. I wonder if any of the WPS squads will go for a unique uniform look.

Who, what, where

WPS Player Allocations – U.S. Women’s National Team



WPS Team
Players Listed in Alphabetical Order

Bay Area: Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler, Leslie Osborne

Boston Breakers: Angela Hucles, Kristine Lilly, Heather Mitts

Chicago Red Stars: Carli Lloyd,Kate Markgraf,Lindsay Tarpley

Los Angeles: Shannon Boxx, Stephanie Cox, Aly Wagner

Sky Blue FC: Natasha Kai, Heather O’Reilly, Christie Rampone

St. Louis; Lori Chalupny, Tina Ellertson, Hope Solo

Washington Freedom: Ali Krieger, Abby Wambach, Cat Whitehill

I guess what surprises me most are the names that are missing from this list. I don't know if they're not considered national team, haven't agreed on a WPS contract, are planning on going abroad, or have decided to retire from pro soccer.

Obviously, I'm not talking about the college players. I don't expect young women to leave school when the pro league hasn't proven a stable career option.

I mean players like Kacey White (who is on the current post-Olympic tour) Briana Scurry, India Trotter, Jenny Branam, and Amy Lepeilbet.

These players and others were either on the national team recently or knocking on the door, and I'm curious as to when they'll get allocated.

Still, I think the international players that are brought in may eventually make the biggest impact on the league. Which players would you most like to see go where?

Goodbye, whoever you never were

One of the original investors in the WPSL is getting out of the game. AEG never even named the women's team, which is now moving to Orange County. Scott French has the info in the second half of his AOL soccer column.

Soccer and Celebrities

Celebritydom isn't usually associated with soccer players in the U.S. One notable exception is David Beckham, obviously, but another is Mia Hamm. Following her retirement, Mia focused mostly on her life with husband Nomar Garciaparra, especially after having twins.

However, there've been signs recently that Mia is looking to get more involved with soccer again. Mia was on the small selection committee that appointed Pia Sundhage to the USWNT coaching position.

Mia is also headlining a Celebrity Soccer Challenge this weekend for a children's charity.

I'll be there - I'm curious to get Mia's thoughts on the team these days. Also, if she's planning further involvement with the new pro league, Women's Professional Soccer. Yep, that's her image in the logo. I've never gotten anyone in MLS to admit whose foot is on their logo.