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Every Saturday morning at 9:20am anticipation and excitement begins to build for a team of twelve 2 ½ -3 ½ year olds, affectionately known as Cottontails. The toddlers enter

the soccer field with smiles and laughs finding time to high five their coach as they kick away. Today is a big day for the Cottontail’s. It’s the fifth week of class which marks the start of a new found independence for the young soccer players. They have spent the past four weeks with their parent/guardian building their motor, listening and social skills and are now

confident enough to play soccer games free from the assistance of their parent/guardian. Through the direc-

tion of the coach, class begins with the parents/guardians happily standing off to the side as they watch their youngsters explore their new found freedom. Although the games are kept simple to encourage achievement, they are filled with creativity and fun. The coach encourages imagination as they take journeys to space, the jungle, the ocean and many other places. During the game “flying gumballs”, one Cottontail discovers the power of his kick…“Coach, Coach! I did it! I made the gumball fly in the sky!” he says with a huge smile on his face. The coach smiles, “Awesome job, I knew you could do it!” As class comes to an end, the coach can’t help but smile and reflect on how many of the Cotton-

tails came in the first week hiding behind their parent/guardian. In only a few weeks, many of the young soccer players have gained self confidence and trust in their coach. After

each kid receives two stamps, one for good listening and the other for participation, the sweaty Cottontail’s huddle together and yell “1, 2, 3 GO TEAM!”

Lil’ Kickers is a national child development program for children ages 18 months to 9 years. To sign up for a free trial class or to find out more informa-tion about Lil’ Kickers please call or email us!

708-410-1302 - lilkickers@chicagosportszone.com

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Soccer superstar David Beckham admitted he was shown a red card at a kids’ game in Los AngelesThe former England captain, whose first World Cup infamously ended with a dismissal against Argentina, said he was ordered away from the sidelines after protesting a referee’s decision to send off one of the young players.The Galaxy midfielder, 36, said he was forced to stand outside the park and only returned when a game involving his nine-year-old son, Romeo, was set to kick off.Beckham recounted the story while back in London during an appearance on ITV’s “The Jonathan Ross Show,” which will be screened Saturday.

“I was watching the kids play the other day, it was the younger kids of Romeo’s club, and there was a penalty given,” he said on the talk show. “And the kids are seven years old and he sent the kid off. And I was like, ‘Come on, he’s seven, referee, you can’t send him off.’”

Beckham said his protest backfired, adding, “He looked at me and was like, ‘Yes, I can.’ And he came over and gave me a red card. He told me to get out of the park. For real. The gate was only 20 yards away and I waited and went back in when my son’s game was on.”

John Terry was dumped as England captain on Friday while awaiting trial for racial abuse, but the Chelsea defender will remain eligible to play for the national team at the European Championship.

With the trial delayed this week until after Euro 2012, the English Football Association said executives went over coach Fabio Capello’s head and stripped Terry of the captaincy “until the allegations against him are resolved.’’

Terry is the first top footballer in England to be charged with such a racially aggravated public order offense after prosecutors found there was enough evidence to prove he hurled abuse at Queens Park Rangers defender Anton

Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October.“(The board) collectively decided it is in the interests of all parties that John has the responsibilities of captaincy removed at this time,’’ the FA said. “This decision has been taken due to the higher profile nature of the England

captaincy, on and off the pitch, and the additional demands and requirements expected of the captain leading into and during a tournament.

“The FA board can confirm that he has not been excluded from the squad.’’Terry, who denies the criminal charge, did not publicly comment after being sacked by telephone by FA chairman Da-

vid Bernstein.In an usual move, Capello was not consulted about the decision to dump Terry, unlike in 2010 when he lost the captaincy ahead of the World Cup over allegations he had an affair with the former girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge.The FA said Capello “understands that the FA Board has authority to make this decision’’ but insisted that he is free to select Terry’s successor.After Terry was accused of abusing Ferdinand, Capello said at the time that he could continue as captain because he was “innocent until proven guilty.’’But Capello and the FA had expected the 31-year-old Terry’s trial would take place before the European Championship in Ukraine and Poland.A judge on Wednesday, however, delayed the trial until July 9, a week after the Euro 2012 final, after Chelsea said it would be difficult for players to testify during the Premier League season.“This decision (to sack Terry) in no way infers any suggestion of guilt in relation to the charge made against John Terry,’’ the FA said.Although Terry has lost the England captaincy, Chelsea said he will continue to captain the Premier League club.“I don’t agree with (the FA’s decision),’’ Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said Friday. “John will continue to be our captain. It (the trial) doesn’t compromise on my decision-making. It obviously compromises on the FA’s decision-making.’’Stoke manager Tony Pulis also believes the FA made the wrong decision.“We wouldn’t treat anyone differently in this football club until they were proven guilty,’’ he said. “You have to be proven guilty first.’’But British sports minister Hugh Robertson supported the FA’s decision.“It would have been impossible for John Terry to have continued as captain with this charge over his head,’’ he said.Terry, who has played 72 times for England since his debut in 2003, was stripped of the captaincy for the first time almost two years ago to the day.Anton Ferdinand’s brother, Rio, was given the captaincy then, but Terry was reinstated last March, with Capello saying that “one year’s punishment is enough.’’Terry’s position was thrown into doubt just six months later when he allegedly shouted abuse at Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea’s 1-0 loss at QPR. The FA’s own investigation was put on hold when the police probe began.England’s next match is a friendly against the Netherlands on Feb. 29 at Wembley Stadium, with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is in line to take over as England skipper.Vice captain Rio Ferdinand said Friday he does not want the job again “after the last episode’’ - being dropped from the role without being spoken to first.“I’ve been England captain before for a brief period. It was taken away from me so I just want to concentrate on playing for Manchester United,’’ Ferdinand told the BBC.Terry will miss Sunday’s match against Ferdinand’s United due to a knee injury.English football had appeared to have eradicated the racism problems that blighted the game in the 1970s and 80s, but this season has been marred by a series of allegations.Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is completing an eight-match ban for repeatedly racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a match in October.And a United fan was charged Friday for shouting racist abuse at Stoke players during a match on Tuesday.

Terry removed as England captain over racism case

Beckham tossed from kids’ soccer game

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Greek league leader Panathinaikos lost 1-0 at Levadiakos on Saturday, giving defending champion Olympiakos a chance to narrow its five-point gap with the Athens club.

Substitute Paschalis Melissas headed in a cross from Vangelis Koutso-poulos to beat goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis in the 83rd minute, a minute after going on at Levadia Municipal Stadium.Olympiakos travels to Thessaloniki on Sunday to take on third-placed PAOK.

In other matches, Giannena won 2-1 in Kerkyra, and OFI beat Ergotelis 1-0 in a derby on Crete.“This was a tough game,’’ Panathinaikos coach Jesualdo Ferreira said.“We should have attacked more in the second half, but we were too pas-sive and they took their chances.’’

Panathinaikos, missing top league scorer Sebastian Leto with a knee injury, had an early chance through Cleyton, whose goal-bound free kick was pushed over the bar in an athletic save from Dimitris Kyriakidis in the 7th.

Levadiakos improved in the second half and should have taken the lead in the 57th when Argentine midfielder Lucas Favalli had a shot cleared off the line by Panathinaikos’ stopper Costas Katsouranis.

The match was interrupted for three minutes after Panathinaikos fans threw flares onto the track surrounding the pitch.

Police also reported clashes in central Greece before the match, between traveling Panathinaikos fans and residents at a Gypsy camp near the city of Thebes.

Greek leader Panathinaikossuffers away loss

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Zambia reached its first African Cup of Nations semifinals in 16 years after a clinical 3-0 win over struggling 10-man Sudan on Satur-day.Defender Stophira Sunzu headed in from a free kick in the 15th minute and Christopher Katongo made it 2-0 in the 66th when he scored from the rebound after his penalty was saved.Substitute James Chamanga sealed Zambia’s domi- nance in the 86th with a curling shot from the edge of the area that went in off the post.Sudan’s hopes of an upset at a near-deserted Estadio de Bata slipped away when defender Saifeldin Ali Idris was sent off in the 65th for a reckless foul on Rainford Kalaba that led to Katongo’s spot kick.Zambia will play the winner of Sunday’s Ghana-Tunisia game in the semis back in Bata on Wednesday.Two-time finalist Zambia controlled the first quarterfinal throughout to make the last four for the first time since 1996. Sudan struggled in its biggest game in 42 years and first trip to the latter stages since it won the title in 1970.The Sudanese had already been forced into two first-half substitutions because of injury before Ali Idris went for his second bookable offense 20 minutes into the second half.Zambia could have won by an even bigger mar- gin as Sudan goalkeeper Akram El Hadi Sa-lem - who had a busy night - dived full length to his right to save a stoppage-time effort that appeared destined for the net.Sunzu rose high at the near post to beat Akram for the opener after a free kick out wide from Isaac Chansa.Katongo hit his right-footed penalty straight at Akram, who save it one-handed, but the Zambia captain followed up to poke home with his left foot for 2-0.Chamanga’s goal was the pick of the three as he controlled neatly and sent a curling right-footed effort toward the far corner that was too good for Akram.Midfielder Katongo troubled the Sudan defense time and again and Akram was also lucky not to be punished when he thrust out a boot into the Zambian captain’s midriff after another surge forward in the last 20.Even with 11 men, Sudan struggled to match the Zambians in the first half in Bata, where the teams played out the first knockout match in front of just a tiny sprinkling of fans inside the 37,000-seat stadium. Swaths of empty red and blue seats stood out starkly.Both sets of players and officials observed a minute’s silence before kickoff in a mark of respect for the more than 70 people killed at a football riot in Egypt this week.

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-Real Madrid edged crosstown rival Getafe 1-0 thanks to Sergio Ramos’ early header on Saturday, putting extra pressure on second-place Barcelona to keep pace with the Spanish league leader.Madrid’s eighth straight away victory in league play gave it a 10-point cushion over the defending champions ahead of their game against the in-form Real Sociedad later.Madrid dominated possession, but Getafe- the only team to beat Barcelona in any competition this season - held firm in defense to keep alive its options until the final whistle.The referee ignored Getafe’s calls for a late penalty kick after Madrid defender Pepe clearly blocked Diego Cas-tro’s shot with his arm before collapsing to the ground as if knocked unconscious.

Real Madrid edges Getafe 1-0 in Spain

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The Argentine Football Assocation has called off a third-divi-sion match, fearing an outbreak of violence in a game between the club Nueva Chicago and rival General Lamadrid.AFA suspended the game scheduled for Wednesday after the

death on Tuesday of Nueva Chicago fan Aldo Barralda. Barralda was stabbed on Jan. 18 in a fight between rival hooligan gangs associated with Nueva Chicago. The hospital San-tojanni said Barralda died of a lung infection.Violence is endemic in football in Argentina. The non-profit group Let’s Save Football says 260 fans have died in football-related violence since 1924. More than a dozen fans have died of football-related violence in the past two years.

The president of the Korea Football Asso-ciation (KFA) has denied reports of corrup-tion in the organization.Cho Chung-yeon said Friday that the KFA had not constructed slush funds or carried out any accounting irregularities.The KFA was criticized for paying a former employee 150 million won ($134,000) last month after he had threatened to go pub-lic with claims that related to his firing in December for alleged attempts to embezzle money using the KFA’s corporate credit card reward points.The KFA council, completed Friday, recom-mended the money be returned, the former official investigated and the KFA become more transparent.Cho promised to improve the KFA’s accounting procedures and manage-ment system.

Violence fears promptArgentine cancellation

Korea soccer chief denies corruption

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A court in northeastern Brazil has ruled workers building a World Cup stadium in Recife must end their strike.The court said on Thursday it considered illegal the strike started by nearly 2,000 workers more than a week ago.The workers want higher salaries, but the court ruled that the offer made by their employers was fair and should have been accepted.The court said in a statement that the employer is entitled to withdraw payment from the workers for the days they didn’t work.Other World Cup venues have been hit by workers’ strikes since stadium construction began, including at Maracana. Workers in the city of Salvador went on strike Wednesday.

Flamengo has fired coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo following disputes with club directors and players.President Patricia Amorim said on Thursday it made the decision after listening to the “opinion of play-ers and fans.’’Luxemburgo reportedly was at odds with club directors and with the team’s top star, two-time world player of the year Ronaldinho.Local media reported before Flamengo’s victory over Real Potosi in the Copa Libertadores on Wednes-day that Flamengo had already hired former South Africa coach Joel Santana, but Amorim said a new coach was not yet signed.The 59-year-old Luxemburgo was with Flamengo since 2010 and won the Rio championship in 2011. He previously coached Real Madrid and Brazil.

Brazil court orders end to strike at WCup stadium

Flamengo fires coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo

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