ProSoccerTalk’s daily soccer re-set

What we’re thinking, what we’re watching, what’s coming on the blog today and the RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day). Setting up your day in soccer:

Soccer birthdays: You will have no soccer birthdays today. And you will like it!

Big Important Story of the Day: Lots to cover here, so lean in close:

The international transfer window opens today in the United States and Canada, so it’s open season on news for incoming players. Stay tuned.

Also in our parts, all the minnows are gone in U.S. Open Cup competition. Three MLS sides eliminated the remaining lower-tier sides from the tournament. And abroad, in and around transfer talk, it’s all about the European Championship semifinals, which begin today with the All-Iberian clash, Spain vs. Portugal.

What we should all watch on TV:

Spain will try to contain Cristiano Ronaldo while Portugal tries to tamp down the those fabulous Spanish midfielders, all six of them – or however many they choose to deploy for today’s 2:45 p.m. ET contest (ESPN).

Ahead on the blog today*: All the befores and afters on the Portugal-Spain clash, plus our popular weekly Panic Quotient and anything you should know about on the transfer front.

RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day): Andrew Shue

Twitter daps:

NBA star Steve Nash ‏(@SteveNash) on today’s Showdown in New York: Tickets inside the fence and for the after party at http://stevenash.org/showdown Outside the fence and in the bleachers FREE. Who’s coming thru?!

U.S. Open Cup devotees from TheCup.us ‏(@usopencup): Since joining @MLS – @SoundersFC is 10-0-0 vs. fellow MLS teams in @USOpenCup play with 19 goals scored and 5 allowed.

PST background noise while blogging today:  Any Euro 2012 buildup I can find on the radio internets.

About the funny picture: A German fan embraces a wax replica (yes, sorry ladies … just a wax thingy) of Portugese soccer wonder boy Cristiano Ronaldo near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

We’ll leave you with this: Seattle is struggling in MLS, but U.S. Open Cup solves all that ills for this team. A 17-game U.S. Open Cup unbeaten streak – are you kidding me? That really is impressive stuff.

*Always subject to change; you know how it is