Thierry Henry to Join Steve Nash in Charity Soccer Game Tonight in New York

David J. Warner — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:50:00 EST

Filed under: NBA Media Watch, New York, Soccer, MLS, European Soccer

Hey, New York Red Bulls supporters, want to get a preview of the next star striker your team will sign within about two years?

Barcelona forward Thierry Henry is schedule to join his pal Steve Nash and other NBA stars in a charity soccer match tonight in New York City. "The Showdown in Chinatown" will also feature Red Bulls midfielder Claudio Reyna, former Liverpool star Robbie Fowler, and NBA players Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa.

Nash put the game together to raise money for his foundation, but he got a welcome boost for his cause from Henry, thanks to France's dismal early exit from EURO 2008.

The 8-on-8 friendly kicks off at 5:30 p.m. tonight in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Admission is free, though I suspect Nash will gladly accept your donations.

(H/T: Goal)

Thierry Henry to Join Steve Nash in Charity Soccer Game Tonight in New York originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Nash, MLS Franchise Owner?

Tom Ziller — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Suns, MLS

Via BallHype, The World's Beautiful Game passes on news of Steve Nash's recent business trip to Montreal with the commissioner of Major League Soccer to talk Canadian expansion. From a press release on the matter:

Steve, who comes from a soccer family (his brother plays for the Whitecaps), and Jeff, who was part of Canada's National and Olympic soccer team programs as a teenager, are investors in Women's Professional Soccer and could be part of an ownership group for future MLS expansion into Canada.

(Emphasis mine.) Paired with last week's consideration of the depths of soccer's relationship with modern pro basketball, it got me thinking about the modern two-sport star. Kobe has tried to mimic MJ's career, yes? But instead of baseball, Kobe Bean has a soccer jones. It'd be pretty awesome to see him to a brief break from the NBA to try out for the Galaxy, yes? (I'm sure Lakers fans disagree.)

As a fan of both sports, this sort of professional cross-pollination looks terrific. Such a team would get off to a great start, surely, as Nash is a golden Canadian hero. As FanHouse soccer expert David J. Warner notes, Montreal's a terrific soccer city, hosting the very successful Montreal Impact of the United Soccer League. The Impact just opened a new 13,000-seat stadium with a near sell-out, and there's rumor/discussion Montreal's owners would like to move up to the MLS in future expansion.

Nash could be involved in the fund raising there (the MLS expansion fee is something like $40 million), or he could be involved in the promotion of the USL's Vancouver team, the Whitecaps. (British Columbia is Nash's base of operations.) The Whitecaps are in the process of building a new soccer stadium of their own near Vancouver's downtown.

(Again, David Warner's expertise was vital for this post.)

Steve Nash, MLS Franchise Owner? originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sun, 25 May 2008 11:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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