The most critical week soccer in the United States has faced in recent times has arrived, one with little upside and a potential scenario of disaster that no one much wants to think about.

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann faces an almost must-win situation Friday against Antigua & Barbuda. (Goal.com)No country in the world relies more on World Cup qualification to maintain national interest in soccer like the U.S. Ever since the U.S. reached the 1990 World Cup, its first in 40 years, qualifying hasn't been a problem. But it is now, and an unavoidable one at that.

Qualifying through the CONCACAF region that incorporates North and Central America and the Caribbean is arguably the easiest passage out of all the international confederations and should have provided little to concern head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and the team's followers.

Except that it has.

Poor road form, with a 0-0 draw in Guatemala followed by a shock defeat in Jamaica, means that with two games to go in CONCACAF's semifinal round, there is still everything to play for.

And, potentially, everything to lose.

Klinsmann's

A little bit of perspective is in order as opening night of the NHL season, originally set for Thursday, will feature darkened arenas across North America. That perspective comes from one of pro hockey's most popular players; a man who nearly called it quits over the summer because of something every parent fears.

Shane Doan signed a four-year deal to remain with the Phoenix Coyotes. (Getty Images)On July 6, Doan was with his wife in Edmonton to watch his son's hockey tournament when he got a call. The couple's 7-year-old daughter, Karys, had been bitten in the face by a dog on her grandparents' farm. She would need surgery. Shane and his wife, Andrea, got in the car and drove across Alberta in terror.

"I would never in a million years want any dad to have to go through that," Doan told Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Daily Republic.

Karys required bone reconstruction and 150 stitches to her face. She was in the hospital for six days.

According to McLellan's report, Doan thought of retiring.

"This changed everything for me," he said.

So while the rest of the

Usain Bolt has ended speculation about his track future by insisting he will defend all of his Olympic titles instead of switching to a new event.

Usain Bolt will go for a three-peat in the 100m, 200 and 4x100 relay at the Rio Olympics. (Reuters)Bolt, on a promotional tour in the Asia Pacific region, told reporters in New Zealand that he is determined to complete a "three-peat" in Rio de Janeiro in four years time by once again claiming gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4 x 100 relay.

"Rio is just to defend my titles to show the world the possibility that I can do it again," Bolt said. "It is all about going in and trying to defend my titles. I don't want to try any different event at Rio."

After dominating on the track in London this summer, just like he did in Beijing in 2008, it had been thought the 26-year-old may attempt a new challenge. His coach Glen Mills admitted he would like Bolt to move up in distance and try the 400 meters, while the athlete himself expressed an interest in the long jump.

But Bolt, who will turn 30 the day the Rio Olympics close, is

Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn has launched an audacious and ground-breaking bid to compete against male opponents at a World Cup event on November 21.

The 2010 downhill gold medalist in the Vancouver Games believes that squaring off against the best men's skiers in the world will boost the image of the women's tour, which she dominated again this past season to cement her place as world No.1.

Lindsey Vonn won a gold and a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics. (Getty)

Vonn has sent a letter seeking special dispensation to participate to veteran skiing official Gunter Hujara, who is race director of the event in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. If the idea is approved, Vonn would miss a women's World Cup event in Aspen, Colorado.

Vonn has long craved the chance to pit her talents against male racers and believes that in the future leading women skiers can compete against men on equal footing. Much of her training is done with men, and she claims to have beaten members of the Canadian national team during practice.

"I am just trying to push

American speedskater Simon Cho has been suspended and will likely face a lengthy ban from competition for taking part in an incredible sabotage plot that saw the Olympic bronze medalist deliberately tamper with a rival's skate to gain a competitive edge.

Simon Cho admitted he tampered with a Canadian rival's skates last year. (AP)Cho, 20, who won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games, now finds his career in tatters after confessing to having bent the skate of Canada's Olivier Jean at the World Short Track Championships in Warsaw, Poland in March last year.

U.S. Speedskating has decided to issue Cho a ban, despite his vehement assertions that his actions came as a result of orders from the U.S. team coach, South Korean Jae Su Chun.

"[We are] disappointed by [Cho's] actions," a spokesman said. "We do not, under any circumstances, support, condone or tolerate this behavior."

The American team shared a locker room with the Canadians at the Polish event, one of the most prestigious competitions in short-track speedskating. Cho says that he

A political ruckus has broken out over Mike Tyson's ban on traveling to New Zealand, with the country's government coming under fire for refusing to grant the former boxing champion a visa.

Mike Tyson talks about the debut of his one-man show "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth." (Reuters)Tyson's request to enter the country to headline the "Day of Champions," a series of motivational speeches, was turned down due to his 1992 conviction for raping beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington, even though he was initially granted an exemption.

But while protests from feminists spurred the decision to keep Tyson out, several notable New Zealand sports and cultural figures have criticized the ban, insisting he is a reformed character who deserves a second chance.

In a conversation with Yahoo! Sports, boxing trainer and former Olympic silver medalist Kevin Barry hit out at the politicians.

"It would have been a great opportunity for New Zealand boxing and the country as a whole," said Barry, who is now based in Las Vegas. "Tyson is a fascinating character and he is an example of

If his national team coach is to be believed, Robin Van Persie moved from Arsenal to Manchester United because he wanted people to be mean to him. If that indeed was the Dutchman's true motivation behind a switch that cost United a transfer fee of $38 million, he is going the wrong way about it.

Manchester United's Robin van Persie, top, celebrates with Wayne Rooney. (AP)In Champions League play Tuesday, Van Persie scored both goals as United survived a tricky away clash to beat Romanian champions CFR Cluj, a result that set the club on course to a likely spot in the knockout stage, even after only two of six group games.

While some have speculated on where Van Persie's mind was at when he chose to leave Arsenal, his soccer home of the previous six years, and join one of its English Premier League rivals, Netherlands head coach Louis Van Gaal revealed some of the 29-year-old's thought processes.

"Robin had several options of course, to stay, to go to Manchester or to go somewhere else," Van Gaal told Dutch television. "To me it seemed that his priority

For millions of NFL fans the refereeing lockout is already ancient history, with the right men in the middle having returned to police Sunday afternoons with an iron, and thankfully precise, fist.

Replacement officials rule Golden Tate scores the winning touchdown against Green Bay. (AP)Yet while that sorry epidemic of blown class and red-faced moments is a thing of the past, a Canadian man will always have cause to remember those few weeks of mayhem with nothing but fondness.

Gino DiFelice of Brantford, Ontario, turned a cheeky wager of $5 into the life-changing windfall of $725,254 when he correctly picked the outcome of 15 NFL games a week ago, with that 15th win coming courtesy of the highest-profile and most debated decision laid down by any of the stand-in refs.

When the substitute crew controversially ruled that the Seattle Seahawks' Golden Tate had scored a game-winning touchdown to beat the Green Bay Packers, DiFelice secured a payout big enough to fund a few referees' retirement plans.

As he collected his check from the Ontario gaming authority's