Surgery, Spanish majors, call to missions result from visits to Central American nation

The Nashville City Paper reported here about Escarleth Betancourt-Gutierrez, a 15-year-old Honduran girl, and her spinal surgery in Nashville courtesy of support from Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Dr. James Netterville, Dr. Greg Mencio, and Harpeth Hills Church of Christ:

Netterville discovered Escarleth’s condition two years ago and pulled strings to bring her to Nashville. Dr. Greg Mencio performed the spinal surgery for free and Netterville’s congregation donated the $5,000 for materials needed to perform the procedure.

Young members of the Harpeth Hills congregation have been inspired by their trips to Honduras, according to this report by proud grandfather Bailey McBride:

Savanna and her brother, Luke, have gone to Honduras since he was 16 and she was 13. They immediately made a connection with the children of Jovenes en Camino, an orphanage near Tegucigalpa. Through the years, they have strengthened their connections in Honduras. Both have studied Spanish in high school. Luke has recently returned from a Spanish immersion program in Costa Rica and will graduate from college with a Spanish major. Savanna will go to college this fall with five years of high school Spanish and plans to major in Spanish and prepare for a life of missions.

Photo: Escarleth Betancourt-Gutierrez and her mother (source: Vanderbilt Children's Hospital)

Labels: costa rica, faith, health, honduras, spanish

Tonight at LP Field in Nashville, international soccer fans will watch Guatemala play Honduras and the U.S. play Canada for two Olympic openings up for grabs. The winner of each game will advance to the championship game on Sunday, March 23. Both teams in the championship game will compete in Beijing in August.

The qualifiers started in Tampa and Los Angeles have been conducted by the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) since 1964. The last time the final round of qualifying games was held in the U.S. was in 2000.

According to this article in the Tennessean, "[o]nly 28,000 of the stadium's almost 69,000 seats will be open for fans to watch the U.S. play Canada and Guatemala play Honduras, and officials aren't expecting anything close to a sellout. A good turnout from the area's international and youth soccer communities is expected, however, because they represent the groups that most closely follow the sport nationwide."

March Madness and the Easter holiday are expected to keep some locals away, according to the Tennessean.

The Tennessean spoke with the coach of the Nashville Metros soccer team about the likelihood of Central American turnout this weekend:

Metros Coach Rico Laise, a native of Costa Rica, said Mexico's failure to advance to Nashville out of the original eight-team field would hurt attendance tonight, but Middle Tennesseans with ties to Guatemala and Honduras are likely to jump at a chance to be at LP Field.

"When a taste of home is available, they come out in droves," Laise said. "They are just thirsty for a taste of home and a taste of their culture.

The Tennessean also points out previous times that a U.S. national team has competed in LP Field, formerly known as Adelphia Coliseum - the 2004 women's team and the 2006 men's team played Canada and Morocco, respectively.

Ticket sales are expected to fall short of 15,000, which accompanied skepticism about Nashville from a former U.S. captain, quoted by the Tennessean:

"My initial reaction was like, 'Why there?' " said John Harkes, a former U.S. captain. "There has to be some reason behind it. Obviously it's not going to be the most supported event. It's not a real soccer-savvy market when you first think of it, though U.S. Soccer must have some ideas for why they are there."

Labels: events, guatemala, honduras, sports

Road to Beijing 2008 requires win in Nashville

Two spots up for grabs by eight neighboring American countries: USA, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama

Four teams will arrive in Nashville after field narrowed in L.A., Tampa

May 20 semis and May 23 finals here

Seats available from $18 to $65 for each doubleheader

Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and U.S. Soccer have announced that individual tickets for 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying in Los Angeles, Tampa and Nashville will go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 12 p.m. local time in each market.

The eight-team event, which includes national teams at the Under-23 age level, will be played as eight doubleheaders from March 11-23, 2008, and will send two finalists to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Group A, which includes the United States, Honduras, Cuba and Panama, will play at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. on March 11, 13 and 15. Group B features Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico facing off on March 12, 14 and 16 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. LP Field in Nashville will host the semifinals on Thursday, March 20, and the championship match and third-place game on Sunday, March 23.

Tickets priced from $18 to $65 for each of the eight doubleheaders in the tournament go on sale beginning Wednesday (January 30) at 12 p.m. local time in each venue through ussoccer.com, by phone at 813-287-8844 (Tampa), 213-480-3232 (Los Angeles) or 615-255-9600 (Nashville) and at local Ticketmaster ticket centers in the venue cities.

In Tampa and Los Angeles (where first round doubleheaders are scheduled), teams competing at those sites will have seats at every price level set aside for their fans, allowing supporters of the same country to sit together. Fans must order online to choose from this allotment.

In Nashville, where the participating teams won’t be known until several days before the semifinal round, seating until the end of the first round will be allocated (based on the local population) for U.S.A., Mexico, and mixed/neutral fan sections at each price level.

Series ticket sales will end on 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29, for fans looking to buy tickets to all three match dates in each venue.

The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team is led by head coach Peter Nowak, who is also an assistant on Bob Bradley’s staff with the full team. The team is currently holding a training camp that features top young professionals based both in the U.S. and abroad in Bradenton, Fla., through Feb. 3.

2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying

– Details –

Event: Eight-team qualifying event to decide two CONCACAF positions at 2008 Olympics
Dates: March 11-23, 2008
Venues: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.), The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.); LP Field (Nashville, Tenn.)
Teams: USA, Mexico, Canada; Cuba, Haiti; Guatemala, Honduras, Panama

– Schedule –

Group A (Tampa, Florida; Raymond James Stadium)
Date Home Visitor Kickoff (local)
March 11 Panama Honduras 5:30 p.m. ET
March 11 USA Cuba 8 p.m. ET

March 13 Honduras Cuba 5:30 p.m. ET
March 13 USA Panama 8 p.m. ET

March 15 Cuba Panama 4:30 p.m. ET
March 15 USA Honduras 7 p.m. ET

Group B (Carson, California; The Home Depot Center)
Date Home Visitor Kickoff (local)
March 12 Haiti Guatemala 5:30 p.m. PT
March 12 Canada Mexico 8 p.m. PT

March 14 Canada Haiti 5:30 p.m. PT
March 14 Mexico Guatemala 8 p.m. PT

March 16 Guatemala Canada 3:30 p.m. PT
March 16 Mexico Haiti 6 p.m. PT

Final Stage (Nashville, Tennessee; LP Field)
Date Matchup Kickoff (local)
March 20 Semifinal 1 * 5 p.m. CT
March 20 Semifinal 2 * 8 p.m. CT

March 23 Third-Place Match 1 p.m. CT
March 23 Final 4 p.m. CT

* Winner advances to 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

Source: USSoccer.com

Labels: cuba, events, guatemala, honduras, mexico, panama, sports