I’m pretty sure that Aluko was mentioned at the beginning when she was offsides. I watched most of it online and she was getting involved, but just not producing anything major. Her name was mentioned a decent amount of times on the video stream.

I agree that Aluko was getting involved. In fact, early on, she was probably the most involved of all of England’s attacking players. She never got loose for a shot. She was dangerous wide a few times and sent crosses in, although once, the ref ruled that the ball had just crossed the line before she crossed it. Several times in the first half, she came well back in the English half to get the ball. A few times she tried to make a go by herself, occasionally ill-advised, but overall she played okay. Carney played well and scored and Smith scored a goal as well. Germany really took advantage of England pressing forward later in the match to try to catch up and their counterattacks were lethal, several times going two on two against the English defense. Germany just has too much and if you get behind them, it’s nearly impossible. Eni did end up tied for 2nd in goals scored with several players at 3, well behind Grings total of 6.

As far as the unprotected list, I really don’t know why they can’t release it. We’re going to pretty much be able to figure it out anyway. I guess they’re trying not to hurt feelings, but let’s get real here. Washington’s list has apparently leaked out anyhow.

WPS won’t be releasing the protected/unprotected lists to the public??? That stinks! The Wikipedia editor side of me is highly disgruntled.
….Being a member of the media, you wouldn’t happen to get things the public doesn’t get, would you Tom?

The Euro final result disappoints (and somewhat worries) me. I hate seeing teams get way too dominant (Germany WNT, Brazil MNT, etc.), I was really hoping for England to win, or at least force PKs. Looking at the scoreline, I might have even been okay with a loss by one goal. But this? I mean, what’s Germany’s winning %? It seems the only times they lose are in the Algarve and the quarterfinals of the Olympics - which doesn’t bode well for our WNT for 2011 (or the coming friendly for that matter).

Germany isn’t that much better, it’s just that the real final of the tournament was the semifinal between Germany and Norway. The bracket shaped up with the best teams on one side, and some upsets greatly diluted England’s side off the draw. Even with a second-place finish, I don’t think many would say England is UEFA’s second-best team.

As for the protected list for Athletica, it seems that the league doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, which is silly too me. Apparently even the players won’t know, and the players deserve to know where they stand. And just because you’re not protected doesn’t mean you’re unloved. There are realities that professional athletes can appreciate.

As for whether I get told things as a member of the media, the answer is yes, I do. Will I be told the protected list? Probably not. Sometimes I’m told things with the express restriction that I can’t publish them. (This is the classic case of “off the record,” which is different from “not for attribution.”) Other times I’m not. If I’m told something relevant and it’s not off the record, I pass it along.

Tom, having been a sports editor the two previous years at Brevard College in North Carolina, I just wanted to say we do appreciate all the information that you do provide for us and that I atleast for one appreciate the line that you occasionally have to walk.