1. U.S. SOCCER: Bruce Arena's men face Haiti in Florida friendly
UNITED STATES VS. HAITI
Orange Bowl, Miami
Saturday, March 13
8 p.m. ET (pay-per-view, Direct TV)
HISTORY: The United States has a 5-6-3 all-time record against Haiti, dating back to their first meeting, a 3-2 win in Port-au-Prince in 1954. Their most recent clash was a 3-0 U.S. win in Miami in February of 2000. The two nations have not met in World Cup qualifying since 1969, but could face each other this summer if Haiti upsets Jamaica and the United States moves past the winner of the Grenada-Guyana series, which will be resolved Sunday.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: The political turmoil in Haiti casts a shadow over this match. The Haitian team, coached by former U.S. player and New England Revolution coach Fernando Clavijo, has made Miami its base of operations while players anxiously watch news reports from home.
"It means a lot for Haiti to do well -- there's no question about that," Clavijo said. "The game of soccer is a little thing to celebrate, and you have to have priorities, but it's always important for people to play well in World Cup qualifiers especially. The players want to do well even more than usual, and the Haitian fans truly appreciate it. You hear it a lot, but they are very much a soccer-mad people."
U.S. coach Bruce Arena told the Associated Press: "The crisis in Haiti occurred and that adds a little bit more excitement to the game but hopefully in a good way not a bad way."
U.S. ROSTER (by position):
Goalkeepers (2): Kevin Hartman (Los Angeles Galaxy), Jonny Walker (MetroStars).
Defenders (5): Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Dan Califf (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Dallas Burn), Ritchie Kotschau (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Pope (MetroStars).
Midfielders (7): Chris Armas (Chicago Fire), DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire), Bobby Convey (D.C. United), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Richard Mulrooney (San Jose Earthquakes), Pat Noonan (New England Revolution),Steve Ralston (New England Revolution), Tony Sanneh (Nuremberg/Germany)
Forwards (4): Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes), Jovan Kirovski (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ante Razov (Chicago Fire), John Wolyniec (MetroStars).
**************** Watch the USA vs Haiti *************
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USA vs. Haiti
Saturday, March 13 - 8 pm et
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