McLeish Out in Scotland; Henry Out for Barcelona

Two breaking news pieces:

Alex McLeish has quit as Scotland manager. McLeish was in line for a job at Birmingham in the Premier League, and reportedly the Scottish FA scuttled that opportunity, apparently to McLeish's chagrin.

and...

Thierry Henry's aching back and sore groin will keep him on the sidelines today as Barcelona travels to Lyon in the Champions League.

More on McLeish from Granite City, Dave Hill, and Caught Offside.

Live Blogging: Fox Football Fone-In, part II

• They've got a poll going tonight on whether Italy should shut down Serie A this weekend in light of last weekend's tragic shooting at the Lazio-Juventus game. More analysis in the morning on the shattered state of Italian soccer, but right now, those polled don't want to shut it down. It's 7-3 now; and most are saying there would be mayhem in the streets if the games were off. Poll ended up 8-7 in favor of no.
  
• Here we go again, trying to drag MLS and American football into a conversation about creating a global brand around soccer here. Why would any club in Europe be interested in a North America-Europe version of the Champions League? Bulletin: Europe doesn't need North America to sell is football; doing just fine boys. Is anyone in Europe wondering about the L.A. Galaxy and David Beckham's injuries? MLS is fun, but as Stephen just said, it's a third-tier league. Kudos to American fans to want to equate their league and clubs with the best Europe has, but they're not there yet.
• Mr. Gullitt: Welcome to the MLS SuperDraft. Huh? I want to see his face.
  
• Rogers is convinced Landon Donovan is headed back to San Jose to the new MLS franchise. Adds: Donovan won't get another sniff from a European club. "He's blown his chances." Donovan, meanwhile, was not called up for Saturday's friendly against South Africa.
  
• Tim Cahill's bicycle kick was better than Taylor Twellman's.
• Alex McLeish leaving Scotland for the Premiership? Discuss.
• Dreadful discussion about the bottom of the Premiership table Derby bashing is passe.