Espn Deportes

In soccer-mad Mexico, there's no bigger sporting event than the quadrennial World Cup. Which makes the selection of the World Cup team Mexico's second-biggest sporting event. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. "You don't know if it will ever be repeated." Never mind that it already has been repeated for Ochoa, who has been to one World Cup and is the closest thing Mexico has to a sure bet for this year's 23-man team. But for the other 50 or so players with a realistic shot at representing Mexico in South Africa this summer, the next few months will be an anxious time.

When: 8. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN Deportes. Records: Chivas USA 3-5, Fire 2-2-2. Record vs. Fire (2011): 0-1-1. Update: Chivas USA and embattled Coach Robin Fraser head into their fifth home match of the season still looking for their first score at the Home Depot Center. And this time Chivas will be challenged by a short-handed Chicago team that has lost defender Jalil Anibaba and Coach Frank Klopas to one-game suspensions for a post-match scuffle following last week's 2-1 loss to Seattle.

ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language sister station of ESPN, begins its game coverage of Major League Soccer with tonight's match involving Chivas USA and the Galaxy at 7 -- and three studio shows that will be broadcast live from the Home Depot Center. The studio shows are Cronometro, considered a Spanish "Pardon the Interruption," from 5 to 5:30 p.m.

It's just past 8 on a sparkling morning, and John Laslett is sitting in a corner booth of a darkened English pub in Santa Monica, sipping tea and watching soccer on a small television hung from the ceiling. "I love to get up Sunday morning and do this," he says. "This is kind of a ritual. " It's not just any soccer that will draw the UCLA history professor emeritus out of bed. It has to be the English Premier League -- and not just because the British expat is homesick. "The Premier League is a really fun league to watch," he says.

Not long ago, Lucas Bongarra, a former college soccer player and now coach, was watching ESPN2 when a promo came on for ESPN Deportes. He switched. And stayed. "I now can watch 'SportsCenter' in Spanish," said an almost jubilant Bongarra, 30, who grew up in Buenos Aires and now lives in West Hollywood. "It's the same format as the 'SportsCenter' on ESPN, only it's in Spanish." He doesn't deny that he is hooked.

Group D: GERMANY VS. SERBIA Where: Pretoria. Time: 4:30 a.m. PDT. TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5, KDLD-FM/KDLE-FM 103.1. The buzz: Germany's 4-0 domination of Australia stamped it as the tournament's best team in the early going, but the relaxed Germans could have more than just the Serbians to contend with Friday. Heavy rains damaged the pitch in Port Elizabeth, preventing either team from practicing at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

GROUP G: PORTUGAL VS. NORTH KOREA Where: Capetown. Time: 4:30 a.m. PDT. TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5, KDLD-FM/KDLE-FM 103.1. The buzz: Cristiano Ronaldo's scoreless streak in international play — which dates to a 2009 match against Finland — was extended in Portugal's 0-0 draw with Ivory Coast, while North Korea gave Brazil a surprisingly tough match in its opener. And these teams have a memorable World Cup history.

at New England, 4 p.m. PDT, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes Site -- Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. Radio -- 690. Records -- Chivas USA 8-9-6; Revolution 11-7-5. Record vs. Revolution -- 0-1-0. Update -- Coming off consecutive victories over Toronto, Chivas USA is in third place in the Western Conference and faces a New England team that is in a mini-slump. The Revolution has gone 1-3-2 in MLS play since winning the SuperLiga tournament and has dropped from first place to third in the Eastern Conference.

Galaxy tonight VS. SEATTLE When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: 570 (English), 1330 (Spanish). Records: Galaxy 10-1-3, Sounders 4-7-3. Update: The Galaxy came back from Major League Soccer's three-week break with a 0-0 tie against Toronto; the return of forwards Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle may provide an offensive spark for a team that hasn't scored a goal in regular-season play since June 5. Originally scheduled for local television, this game was picked up nationally as interest in Donovan grew during the World Cup. — Laura Myers

The brash and controversial Miami Hurricanes of the 1980s, the taunting, end-zone-celebrating villains of college football from that decade, are the subject of a new documentary called "The U," a film by director Billy Corben, which is part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series. The documentary is scheduled to be televised at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12, following the presentation of the Heisman Trophy. "Whether you're a lover or hater of the Hurricanes, it's a fun two hours," Corben said during a conference call this week.

Galaxy tonight VS. SEATTLE When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: 570 (English), 1330 (Spanish). Records: Galaxy 10-1-3, Sounders 4-7-3. Update: The Galaxy came back from Major League Soccer's three-week break with a 0-0 tie against Toronto; the return of forwards Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle may provide an offensive spark for a team that hasn't scored a goal in regular-season play since June 5. Originally scheduled for local television, this game was picked up nationally as interest in Donovan grew during the World Cup. — Laura Myers

QUARTERFINALS: ARGENTINA VS. GERMANY Where: Cape Town. Time: 7 a.m. PDT. TV: ABC, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5, KDLD-FM/KDLE-FM 103.1, KSPN-AM 710. The buzz: There is no love lost between these longtime rivals. In the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals, after Germany beat Argentina on penalty kicks, the teams brawled on the pitch. Argentina comes into this one with the better record at this World Cup, having won all four of its matches by a combined score of 10-2.

At 5:30 a.m., even before her first cup of coffee, research director/data wrangler Eleanor McDonnell Feit stumbles from her bed to the computer. On her desktop Wednesday morning were the results of a night's worth of computer crunching on a fresh mountain of data about the 2010 FIFA World Cup. "Sometimes it gives an error message, and that's bad," said Feit, who didn't care who won Tuesday's tense Spain vs. Portugal match. Instead, Feit, director of research at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Interactive Media Initiative, and her colleagues care whether the research model they devised to predict ESPN online-viewership patterns worked.

ROUND OF 16: NETHERLANDS VS. SLOVAKIA Where: Durban. Time: 7 a.m. PDT. TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5 and KDLD-FM 103.1. The Argentines and the Germans have thrown down the gauntlet. Now the question is whether the Dutch can pick it up and also reach the quarterfinals. It will take a victory over upstart Slovakia, which charged into the knockout round, ousting world champion Italy along the way, behind three goals by forward Robert Vitteck.