It gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of a brand-new eBook today entitled What The World Cup Means To Me. The free eBook, published by EPL Talk sister site World Cup Buzz, features stories from some of the top 21 soccer writers and personalities around the world including Soccernomics author Simon Kuper, GolTV's Phil Schoen, This Is American Soccer's Adam Spangler, NASL's Kartik Krishnaiyer, The Offside's Daryl Grove and many others.

The premise of the book is simple. It features stories about what the World Cup means to each of the contributors. The beauty of the question is that the World Cup means something different for everyone. For many soccer fans, it means their first introduction to the sport. For others, it means much more. Rather than steal anyone's thunder, I encourage you to download the free eBook, read the 35 pages for yourself and then share your feedback regarding the eBook on World Cup Buzz.

I'm also encouraging you to share your own stories of what the World Cup means to you. Just visit www.WorldCupBuzz.com/sharemystory and share your personal story there.

The World Cup holds a special place in the hearts of soccer fans worldwide. What does it mean to you? What does it mean to people like Misha Sher, BBC's Tim Vickery, Setanta's Paul Dempsey, Football 365's John Nicholson, Peter Lupson (author of Thank God For Football) and the other personalities featured in the eBook. Download it today to find out.

The release of What the World Cup Means to Me marks the beginning of the EPL Talk Network's coverage of the 2010 World Cup. More details will be released shortly, but we have a lot in store for you over the coming days and weeks and throughout the tournament. If you haven't done so already, be sure to visit World Cup Buzz on a daily basis moving forward, follow World Cup Buzz on Twitter and visit the World Cup Buzz fan page on Facebook.

Special thanks to all 21 contributors for taking valuable time out of their day to share their stories. And last, but not least, thank you to Aram Gumusyan for designing the eBook and banner.

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In many ways, Phil Schoen is the voice of GolTV. The experienced soccer commentator is one of the most knowledgeable men in the United States on the topic of world soccer.

Kartik Krishnaiyer recently had a chance to sit down with Schoen to ask his opinion on several topics, including:

• what does MLS need to do to address the fact that many younger players are paid more in the USL than MLS,
• is it a better model for MLS to sign players from the CONCACAF region than European players such as Ljungberg and Beckham,
• what does Barcelona and Brightstar need to do differently for soccer to succeed in South Florida, and
• what are the advantages for Miami Barca playing at Florida International University, and his thoughts on the field turf there.

Watch the video interview, broken into four segments, here:

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GolTV commentator Ray Hudson was recently interviewed by Kartik Krishnaiyer of Major League Soccer Talk. The former DC United and Miami Fusion coach had much to say about the possibility of a MLS team returning to South Florida.

Hudson answered questions on several topics including:

• his thoughts on the Miami Barca deal and what Barcelona represents,
• how the fanbase in South Florida will take to a new MLS team,
• a trip down memory lane with the APSL Fort Lauderdale Strikers,
• the memories at DC United and Miami Fusion that stick out in Hudson's mind, and
• what lessons MLS and US Soccer can take from Doug Hamilton about how to make soccer a better product.

Watch the Ray Hudson video interview now:

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If you want to watch more of Ray Hudson, visit La Liga Talk for another exclusive interview as well as behind the scenes footage of the Geordie alongside fellow GolTV commentator Phil Schoen.

In the meantime, keep on returning to Major League Soccer Talk this week for more exclusive interviews and videos.

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Recently fellow colleague Kartik Krishnaiyer and I took a trip down to GolTV studios in Miami to interview three of the best football commentators in the United States: Ray Hudson, Phil Schoen and Lindsey Dean.

All this week on Major League Soccer Talk we'll be bringing you a different exclusive video interview each day as well as a video sneak peek at the future home of Miami FCB at Florida International University. The video interviews will feature Ray Hudson and Phil Schoen.

In this interview with Dean, he discusses:

• where he sees Major League Soccer going regarding signing foreign players and over expansion,
• how the single entity structure has deterred MLS clubs from being successful in the Champions League compared to USL clubs,
• his thoughts on Bob Bradley and how he's done thus far with the national squad,
• how the fact that less and less US players are playing in Major League Soccer affects the national team, and
• whether more Mexican players playing in the Mexican league and for the US national squad is a growing or not.

Enjoy the interview below and feel free to post your comments.

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American Soccer, GolTV's weekly news and highlights show, aired its last show tonight, at least in its current incarnation.

The show, which is arguably the best US-produced soccer show on television, is seeking a sponsor. Up until recently, US Navy sponsored the show, but now that their sponsorship has ended, it's hard to justify the show continuing unless it's making money for the network.

The shame of the matter is that the show is remarkable and fully deserves a top name sponsor, more so than some of the other soccer-related programs out there that are poorly produced. American Soccer is quality. From the production quality to the hosts (Phil Schoen, Julian Gonzalez and Kelly O'Donnell), the show is enjoyable and informative.

Let's hope that a sponsor is found soon. Otherwise, what other program is out there that covers U.S. soccer-related news from the World Cup to Major League Soccer to even youth soccer?

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Ray Hudson is a playing, coaching and broadcasting figure who has few equals in the United States today. As a seven year member of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL, Hudson played alongside such legends of the game as Nene Cubillias, Gerd Mueller and George Best. Later he played several for the Strikers of the APSL and went on to manage the MLS' Miami Fusion and DC United. Living in Fort Lauderdale, Hudson now commentates on Internationals, Bundesliga, and La Liga matches for Miami based GOL TV. The interview with host Kartik Krishnaiyer discusses Hudson's career from the time he touched down on American soil in 1977 right through today when he calls matches for GOL TV.

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