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Is It Racists To Call Kraft Cheap?

This post is also at bluebloodedjourno.com. Please update your links.


Probably not. However, the cabal of tight-pursed MLS team owners, led by Robert Kraft, blocked a potentially decent salary cap raise. According to David J. Warner at AOL Sports, the league was poised to raise the cap much more than the $200,000 bump it got. The new cap will be $2.3 million, excluding LA Galaxy of course. Well, they'll follow it until they get permission to break it.

Kraft was particularly called out in the article, citing his NFL team's salary :

"Let's start with Robert Kraft, a billionaire who owns both the New England Patriots and New England Revolution and pays Tom Brady two and a half times what he pays the entire Revolution roster. "

That's actually not a very valid point when considering the way Kraft used to pay his Patriots players before this season. He was quite stingy compared to teams like the Redskins or the Cowboys and will continue that philosophy in the future. So, compared to other NFL owners, he is rather cheap.

The problem is, even non-squad NFL players earn a great wage. There is a distortion when you compare the top tier American players and their designated player counterparts. Going even further down the pecking order, MLS journeymen make around $100,000 a season when they could be making three times as much in places like Norway or the second tier league in England.

The article addresses a potential labor dispute looming in 2009, when the current agreement expires:

"Major League Soccer is setting itself up for a massive labor dispute -- one in which its players might decide to head for Europe en masse, without the approval of their bosses, much like locked out NHL players did in 2004. If that happens, it could force FIFA to get involved. Do these billionaire cheapskates really want let Sepp Blatter, already one of the least popular FIFA bosses in recent memory, to have a legal and binding impact on their fledgling business"

I have to disagree with that assessment. The pay scale for reserve and development players is absurdy low. However, so is the pay for most minor league players in baseball. The league could easily reclassify such players to avoid any legal recourse from the union. Also, the collective "mainstream" American sports community would laugh it's butt off during a MLS player strike. Then again, so would I.

MLS owners should have raised the cap to at least $2.5 million to get pay more competitive with foreign leagues. With the added exposure MLS got with Beckham's arrival, comes more interest in players from richer leagues. To keep our players, they need to be paid more. Period.

Switching To Wordpress

Just to let everyone know, this blog is in the process of switching over to a new domain. I've spent a lot of time tweaking the template and I'm in the process of putting as much from this blog onto that one. We'll still be posting here for awhile, though. If you get a chance, tell me what you think of the new site:

bluebloodedjourno.com

Nicol Makes $175,000 A Year

Thanks to Frank Dell'Apa, we finally know what MLS coaches make. Revolution coach Stevie Nicol makes $175,000 a year. A few years ago, that made him the highest paid person on the team. Now, it puts him behind Twellman ($350k-ish) and Joseph (Tellman-like pay).

The worrisome aspect of this to Nicol backers, like myself, is how other MLS coaches are outpacing him. I wake up in cold sweats to the idea of him going over to Red Bull. If they were willing to pay Arena $600,000 (and buy him out for $1.2 mil to fire him), then they would be willing to give Nicol at least a 300% pay raise.

I hope Bob Kraft takes notice of these new numbers and doesn't have a memory too short to remember what the Revolution were like pre-Nicol.

Dorman's Going Home, Riley Leaves In Expansion Draft

Looks as thought Andy Dorman will be headed back to England to ply his trade where he grew up. The 2006 Midnight Riders man of the year faded during this past season, eventually losing his starting spot to Wells Thompson. I wish him well, and hope to see him work his way to the Premiership. With the lousy pay he's been receiving in MLS, karma dictates he'll get his payday. He leaves behind a younger brother, Richy, who's a standout for the Boston University soccer team, Andy's alma mater.

James Riley was San Jose's selection in the expansion draft last Wednesday. Riley has been an on again, off again starter all over the field during his three year stint with the Revs. Although mostly a left defender, Riley offered coverage and depth at central and right defense, as well as some time at left midfield and holding mid. He's a very intelligent player and person, and I hope he becomes a full time starter for San Jose.

With Avery John's future uncertain, this leaves some holes to fill for New England. Hopefully, Amaechi Igwe becomes the stud he's supposed to be and takes over left defense. Granted, he may be better suited in a 4-4-2 as he played forward in his one year in college with much success. He could always beat out Khano Smith for left midfield, but coach Steve Nicol is insistent on keeping that area of the field their glaring weakness.

Speaking of which, the coaches are scouting in Argentina before watching the college tournaments and playoffs. To his credit, Nicol has had an eye for picking players out of college. However, he's yet to bring in a skillful player which could provide the service to take the Revs over the top. You can't find one of those in college.

Revsblogger's Expansion Draft Rant

Well, the list is out, thanks to Goff over at The Washington Post:

Exposed
Byrne, Bryan
Dorman, Andy
Flood, Gary
Franchino, Joe
Gonzalez, Miguel
Helton, Kyle
John, Avery
Knighton, Brad
Leonard, Marshall
Loftus, Chris
Mansally, Abdoulie
Nyassi, Sainey
Riley, James
Sims, Willie
Warren, Doug

Protected
Reis, Matt
Heaps, Jay
Parkhurst, Michael
Thompson, Wells
Larentowicz, Jeff
Joseph, Shalrie
Smith, Khano
Ralston, Steve
Noonan, Pat
Twellman, Taylor
Cristman, Adam

This is about what I expected. I was slightly worried that Wells hadn't done enough during the year to get himself protected, but he went and did just that. Good job to all of our protected guys.

A name I was slightly surprised to see on the list, although he didn't perform great, was Andy Dorman. He is going to go. Period. He may not have worked out for the Revs, but at the very least San Jose will need a quality center mid, and that is what Andy provides. I fully expect to see him go in the draft.

Note to FO: fight to keep Gary Flood. The guy is pure gold, and while he is still unproven he can and probably will prove to be a good, long-term quality center defensive mid like Shalrie and Jeff before him.

Another note to FO: Jose Cancela is unprotected. Anyone smell a bit like nostalgia?

Later.

Revsblogger's Recap

As I was flying home from D.C. last night with a fellow rider, I was asking myself some questions about this team.

After the initial, selfish, "Who are you to make my $400 investment a loss?!" question and the inevitable, "How can you keep on making yourself feel this bad?" question, I realized that there are quite a few things on the horizon for our beloved yet slightly aimless team.


Let's start off with the negatives, it's easier when we all feel bad:

• After scoring to make it 1-nil, our coach decided to go defensive, something that hasn't worked in the past and will never work if you want to win championships. Three goals from four postseason games? That is not playing to win.
• Michael Parkhurst to Fulham. As an Arsenal fan, I could care less because we will still beat them any day of the week but as a Revs fan I would be devastated by this loss. Parky brings so much cohesion and balance to the back that it would be killer if we lost him. Hopefully it is just a rumor.
• Paul Mariner. Frankie D said in the Globe this morning that he may be off to Red Bull to fill their coaching void. Again, devastating.
  
• Steve Nicol. Now, do not get me wrong, he is the best coach in MLS, the best coach I've seen for the Revs and the best chance for us to be successful in the league. I do think that a change in mindset is required. No back on this team (except for Parkhurst, if he's still on the roster) can play like he and the Liverpool back four did in the 80's. Period. The way we are going to win games is if we push our team forward, fill the box and play the game with attacking spirit. This loss illustrates that resting the weight of victory on our backs and defensive mids almost guarantees a collapse.
• Jimmy Eat World.
  
• Philadelphia. What bastards they are. The Sons of Ben showed up and, in our section, cheered for Dynamo to win it. Cheered their non-existent team on. Cheered and cheered against us. And then pelted us with bottles, cans, flags, and other assorted hard goods. If they are allowed in the league they would quite easily be my most hated supporter's group (if you want to call a bunch of classless hooligans without a team a supporter's group). I will personally never forget what they did and how they acted.
• The Texan Army. You want to fly the American flag upside-down, go home. Bastards.

So, a whole bunch of negatives. Who needs a drink?

There were, however, plenty of positives to take from the game:

• What a great game. Honestly, I think that if MLS had to deal with another Revolution overtime game in it's premier competition, we would have lost a lot of fans. It sucks that we lost, but I can't tell you how awesome it is that the game was a classic.
  
• Great presentation. If you're going to hold a final, take notes, because they did it right this year. Everywhere we went in RFK, it was well-organized, well-thought and -planned out, and it was just a really fun experience.
• The March. Epic. Absolutely epic. A good 400-500 people marching in, screaming and singing at the top of their lungs. The priceless images I remember were when we crossed the street with about a quarter mile of traffic backed up and people goggling at us as we passed. The other one was when we were going in our side and marching past the thousands of passive supporters who were noticeably stunned at our group. Epic.
• I shook Don Garber's hand, and passed him a Revolution song sheet so he could sing along with us. I think I may have called him Steve. Damn Magic Hat.
  
• Bobby Kraft. Way to turn a complete U about how he's handling this team. Out of nowhere, he scrubs Gillette for our playoff games, he pays for 200 people to go enjoy the game and then shows up wearing a Rider's scarf. What a great guy.
• For the first time I felt like I was part of something huge. Sitting next to Connie and all the visiting TFC fans (who are pure class, great people, I love Canada now), they were loving the atmosphere. There were FC Dallas guys with us. Crew supporters. Basically, everyone we don't hate was there with us, supporting us.
  
• Kind of a spin-off of the last bullet point, I just had the funny feeling that during the course of the season, MLS grew and matured massively. Great players play in this league, great fans come out to see games that their teams have nothing to do with, and it just felt so much bigger than before. This cup had the largest attendance since 2002 at home, which says a lot because both teams were at the very least a very long car trip and hotel stay away. 40,000 in a cup final at a neutral site? I'll take it.
• The train into D.C. post-game. Packed full with Revo fans, people at the stops couldn't board. It was like a massive, shame-filled, tear-greased sardine can. Awesome.
• THE POPULARITY OF THE GAME THAT SEEMS TO HAVE COME OUT OF NOWHERE. I was in BWI for a good six hours before getting on my flight home and man, it was sweet. Everyone seemed to know what my shirt was about, everyone knew the score, I got a good deal of "Bad luck, eh?"'s and a few "We'll take them next year!"'s. I was stunned.
  
• Ricardo, Anthony and Jiminez, three Dynamo fans who I was hanging out with in the airport. Really good people, we had a few laughs about our teams and it was as civil as I could have imagined a meeting like that going down. Hope more like them populate Texan Army someday.
  

And that's it, really. Another season ended with a loss, which is becoming almost as routine as the Fire's season ending at Gillette. What can you do? You can write angry letters, read Steve Ralston's post game comments with a you-deserve-to-feel-like-this smirk on your face, or you can hang back and say there's always next year. The offseason begins now, and I fully expect that Bob being at the game and feeling our pain will make sure that a lot of money and time and care goes into rebuilding this team. It seems like this is going to be the year that a few people are going to jump ship out of grief or frustration, and good players will be given deals that we can't meet. I do hope that the front office takes a little time to make the little moves that will help this team to win. We are good, we just need a new mentality and a few new players to replace the holes.

Here are some keys I am looking at for the offseason:

• Khano had a very solid postseason and a fantastic game. I do not expect him to get replaced.
• I see a DP move, possibly a #10 CAM but more likely a defender, because
  
• I see Parkhurst bidding farewell.
• I think Nicol will stay on and I think that Mariner will leave to establish himself as a head coach, whether it be at Red Bull or somewhere else (hopefully Seattle, which would be a nice place for him and his last name).
• Wells Thompson will be our right winger next season, possibly splitting time with Ralston if he becomes ineffective. Wells had a great season and it is tough to remember that it was his first professional year.
• Depending on offseason moves, I suspect that an interleague trade involving Dorman will be in the cards. Andy has flashes of brilliance, but as long as Nicol remains head I think that his ineffectiveness last season will end his Revolution career.
• Shalrie Joseph will stay in town.
• Apparently the Revs have opened up lines of communication between them and a notable supporter's group. I want flags, smoke bombs and confetti. That is what I want for the Fort next year.

Who knows what will happen next year, but I suspect that the FO will work hard this offseason. I think that the league's growth this year has been incredible and I think that it will show in Kraft's bank account. That will show up on the pitch in some way, and we may have a cup-winner next year.

Bottom line. We make home in Boston. I'm not throwing myself off of a bridge, I'm too used to this feeling. We lost, in full time, we're done, the season is over. Moving right along.

Me and Chowda will try to get you all the news from the offseason. I think everyone owes Jimmy a whole lot of thanks for his devotion this season, and here's to next year!

Talk to you all later.

Devastated: Revs Fall Again in Final

This is a tough post to write. After such losses in the past, I would hide myself from anyone or anything that would mention the game in any way. This time, instead of a self-imposed blackout, I'll try and face the result and expound on what I think went wrong.

First of all, congratulations to Houston. They took the game from the Revs in the second half. Sure, the first goal was created by a cross that was going nowhere until Avery John headed it into open space which sent the New England defense scrambling. However, the second goal was a perfectly executed header by Dwayne De Rosario. With the way the Revs came out in the second half, those chances were going to present themselves for Dynamo and they seized the opportunity.

Did anyone really doubt the second half was going to play out the way it did? The Revs were surely going to stay tight in the back and let Houston press the advantage. The problem with that is, you need one of your three attacking players to trap and control the clearances. The Revs haven't had someone who can effectively counterattack an over committed midfield since Clint Dempsey left, something I'll address in a later post. At times in the first half, the Revs were running their opponents off the pitch. They needed to capitalize on the chances they had to put Houston away, but they failed to do so.

The Revs are a team in a league where they are basically equal with most of the teams. It was 50/50 in every game in the playoffs. Yesterday, their luck just ran out.

On the positive side, The Phoenix Landing was packed for the game and I only recognized maybe 10% of the people there. Here's hoping the Revs have a lot of afternoon away games next year, because they'll be happy to have us before it turns into hip hop thugster electric boogaloo at night.

Shipping Off To Boston

Well, today's the big day. I'm heading up to Boston to watch the game at The Phoenix Landing. There should be a decent crowd there to cheer on the Revs as they go for their first championship.

Prediction? For Houston: pain.




The Revs will will 3-0. That's what I predict. Too many people base predictions off how teams match up (i.e. 1-0 for a close defensive game, 3-2 for a close offensive game). I find those people unimaginative and gutless. I say the game will be closely contested, but the Revs will get some lucky bounces. Besides, who else is predicting that? I'll be a genius when it happens.

COME ON YOU REVS! TAKE THE CUP HOME!

Revolinks - 11/17

As I watch the US National Team play in Johannesburg, I can't help but think of the irony in the LA Galaxy's latest uniform change. South Africa's kits are in the same color scheme as LA's old ones. Alexi Lalas wanted a more "worldly" look to his club, so he went with what Real Madrid would be wearing in 07-08. Correct me if wrong, but wasn't the musical mega-gathering which recorded "We Are The World" called "USA For Africa"? It doesn't get more worldly than that. But hey, every team in the entire sporting world will eventually convert to red or blue because that's what focus groups usually come up with as their favorite colors.

As for the MLS Cup, both teams look ready. Ching may still get a late run out, but I highly doubt it. Jaqua wasn't suspended, nor were they going to suspend anyone the Thursday before a championship game.

This will be one of the last "Revolinks" before the preseason camp gets underweigh. I highly doubt it will be a daily feature next season due to the time it takes up, but I'll try to make sure it's there 3-4 times a week.



Boston Globe Finalists looked within
Kraft is going for perfect attendance
Boston Herald Twellman: Legacy Time
Tops in middle
ESPN A healthy Joseph could be the difference
De Rosario regaining his old spark
Expect another nail-biter in this year's MLS Cup
Goal.com MLS Cup Preview: Houston - New England
Fan v. Fan: New England v. Houston
Cape Cod Times MLS Cup notes: Revs downplay rematch with Dynamo
Globe and Mail De Rosario has become a real Dynamo
Houston Chronicle DYNAMO NOTES: Jaqua has D.C. ties
Soccer New England Revs Ready To Roll
RevsNet 2007 MLS Cup coverage: The (added) pressure to win
New England Soccer News REVVED UP & READY
Center Holds It My MLS Cup Pick…Drumroll, Por Favor
WVHooligan MLS Cup Preview




Clown of the Day

Today's CLOD goes to KOMO in Seattle for preempting MLS Cup tomorrow morning to meet FCC regulations. If every other station in the country found a way to show the game, why can't you? I'm sure covering that mentally ill mom who dropped her baby while using it as a human shield against military shipments qualifies as children's programming (seriously, why was that baby eating beef jerky?). Oh wait, you didn't cover that. Showing crackpots like that might diminish your political agenda. Speaking of which, I wonder who George Stephanopoulos has on his show during that time? I'm guessing it won't be Barney the Dinosaur. With an expansion side announced just this week, you would figure something would be arranged to air the showcase game for the league coming to town in 2009. Nah.

Garber Gabba Jibber Jabba

Don Garber just got finished with his anuual "state of MLS" address. There's probably better coverage elsewhere, but a few things stuck out to me:

* MLS is willing to field a fifteen team league in 2009.

* Part of the "founding priciples" of MLS was to have two teams in New York. Huh?

* St. Louis is the front runner to get the sixteenth team.

* No word on the progress of the Revs stadium hunt. Probably Kraft telling Don to keep his yammer shut.

* I think they tweaked the playoff format with the top three, not two, teams in each conference getting bids regardless of record versus teams in the other conference.

* The first few questions from the press were given by Transformers. Not the coherent cartoon versions, the movie abomination versions.

Q&A With A Pair Of Dynamo Diehards

I frequent a Celtics blog/message board/megasite called, imaginatively enough, CelticsBlog. One of the very cool features they have is before most games, they exchange a quick five questions with an opposing team's independent blog. I'm seriously contemplating doing that next season. I thought I would try it out for the MLS Cup. So, I separately asked two Dynamo fans, CeltTexan and Martek, to answer some questions about the upcoming contest. What I got back far exceed my expectations:



Jimmy Chowda: Much has been made about Brian Ching's injury. Some say Nate Jaqua is almost interchangeable with Ching. Is there anything Ching has done over the past few seasons that Jaqua is unlikely to provide?


CeltTexan: Yes of course, I have yet to see Jaqua sprint his ass off for 47 yards to get cranium to cross right after the opposing team has scored. Ching does this type of thing.

Martek: The main thing that Chingy brings to the game that Jaqua does not is
winning big game experience. It helps that Jaqua has played in a Cup final. However, Ching was the man last year. You Revs guys do not need me to recite the particulars of the Flyin' Hawaiian's performance in the '06 final. But suffice to say that Chingy, especially with the way he was playing recently, was on track to repeat that very performance. At the very least, he is an attacker that brings instant respect. Now, that being said, Dynamo has played with so many different lineups this season through national team call-ups, SuperLiga (Hopefully, you guys will be a part of that next year as well. THAT was fun.) etc. that losing a player of Ching's caliber may not be as devastating as it might otherwise be. I've said it before, Dynamo losing Ching is not as devastating to Dynamo as the Revs losing Twellman would be. The team's depth is incredible and has carried Dynamo for long stretches this season. Dynamo has played many, many games this year and met with a great deal of success without Ching, and they are very confident they can do so again. And confidence is so frequently the key in as a free-flowing a game as soccer is. Jaqua and Ngwenya played extremely well as a tandem many times this season (Find the goal they combined to score against Kansas City in early September at Robertson. A thing of beauty.) I have no doubt they'll do so again if Ching can't go.



Jimmy Chowda: Because I watch most Houston games on the low res MLS internet service, I often confuse Mullen, Waibel, Mulrooney, Cochrane, and Davis while on the field. To me, they are a well-oiled, yet visually homogenized unit. Are there any glaring differences in their play that a Revs fan can look for to distinguish between those players on Sunday?


Martek: There is plenty. Let's look at this one by one.

Brian Mullen and Craig Waibel. Quite simply, Dynamo's attack relies on excellent center service from the wings. You will see Mully pairing with his road roommate Waibel along the right and Wade Barrett mixing with Brad Davis on the left. Mullan and Waibel work exceedingly well together, much better than any other paring Houston has tried on that side. They just flow up and down the field. Mully, though, you'll notice because of his work rate and speed. Other midfielders may match him in speed up the flank from time to time, but as idiot Wynalda even noticed at one point this season, the thing about Mullen is that in any collision, he's the first one back to his feet and at full speed. As for Waibel, you will rarely see a more canny defensive performer. His positioning is always right on, which is necessary as they make defenders faster.

Barrett/Davis. Not for nothing is Barrett the captain of this team. He has the whole defense playing with a high work rate, with excellent and canny positioning and play. Barrett is a shorter guy, a little like Celtic's former captain Neil Lennon. You'll go the whole game without realizing he's there except for the fact that you've noticed that the other team never came at the goal from that side. As for Davis, another tireless worker and easily the best at centers and free kicks. Deadly with the left foot.

Brian Mulrooney. For more on Mulrooney, check out an excellent piece on the Houston Chronicle today at www.chron.com/sports/soccer. I couldn't put it better myself except to say that we've hardly missed Ricardo Clark. Rico is faster than Brian, but other than that, both are among the best.

Let, see, who am I missing? Ryan Cochrane. Cochrane and Eddie Robinson in the center are mostly interchangeable. Robinson is a better player than Cochrane, though I have several friends who swear by Ryan, I do not. His positioning is not as dead on as center mate ER, but he has excellent physical skills and smarts.


CeltTexan: Mully is everything a U.S. Coach dreams up when teaching young players how to be an effective, textbook right mid. He will never stop running and always tracks back to cover his right back.

Davis on the other wing is a pure lefty with a little more craftiness on the ball. He does not cover the distance Mullan does but is with DeRo when dead balls are taken. Tremendous Free Kick taker.

Waibel looks, when head is shaved and yet with scruff, like one of the founders of the AB (Aryan Brotherhood if not known) and he plays like a hard man who keeps it simple in the tackle and pass. He is the most distinguished of 'em all from the stands.

Mulrooney is Mr. Utility and will cause confusion for other teams as he can play anywhere across the mid or outside backs.

Cochrane, well he is paired with Robinson at the center backs and he is an odd player in that he gets so much trust placed on him by Coach Dom and does earn his paycheck at defense. The one glaring problem for him is that he get's caught ball watching a lot and out of the well oiled unit you speak of he would be the one cylinder not firing with the others every now and then.



Jimmy Chowda: Khano Smith is frustrating for us to watch, but has scored some spectacular goals in the past. Normally, that's the type of opposing player who would scare me. What will your emotions be when you see a crossing pass to Smith in space on Sunday?


Martek: Scared as usual, and then hoping that Eddie Robinson or Captain Wademerica will swoop in to save me as they have all year!


CeltTexan: Smith is the one X factor man that you guys have now that Dempsey has gone to Fulham. Ralston is a meat and potato middie and Joseph plays a deep lying midfield role, both bring their A game each week but scouting them is easier, we know how they will approach their role. From our point of view, Smith is the one that has to be forced to run 18 to 18 over the 90 minutes. He must be forced to defend more than given the option to attack. It was his run and then very clever cutting ball to Twellman that got y'all on the board in last year's Cup Final. I've watched him all year and he has the goods to be a tremendous presence in our league. When talking of him it is where a Houston die hard like me knows we really could use Ricardo Clark to keep pace with Smith and give him no looks.



Jimmy Chowda: Barring injuries, do you expect any substitutions to make an impact for the Dynamo?


CeltTexan: Stuie Holden has been tremendous off the bench. He is a local Houston product that has great technical ability and a riflemen's mentality outta midfield. Patrick Ianni could also be used to clog the middle in the center late on if we are looking to protect a lead. He is a second year defender that has very good technical ability and can actually play a Stopper position right in front of the back 4.


Martek: Stuart Holden, Stuart Holden and Stuart Holden. He started the center part of the year when Brad Davis was hurt. He is a great worker, possesses a deadly right foot and is sneaky quick. If you guys see Holden getting into the game, you should be concerned.



Jimmy Chowda: If you could take one Revolution player and slip him into Houston's best XI, who would it be and how would you play that unit tactically?


Martek: Well, other than Taylor Twellman, who is the obvious answer because of his knack for producing clutch goals, I would choose Shalrie Joseph. His skills at shutting down an opposing attack and delivering deadly passes the other way make me as a Dynamo supporter more than a little concerned. As much as I like Richard Mulrooney and as much total faith as I have in Ricardo Clark (who is not available of course for doing the right/wrong thing to Carlos Ruiz), Shalrie is a weapon who would blend seamlessly into the Dynamo midfield. He would spring De Rosario and, joined by Robinson/Cochrane behind him, would completely close down the central part of the field. This is my early thinking for next year's fantasy team!


CeltTexan: Easy, Parkhurst. Defender of the Year. Pair him with the man who should have at the least shared the honor in Eddie Robinson and I would go to war with that centerback paring any day of the week.



I would like to thank both CeltTexan and Martek for their time. Martek attached these kind words to his answers:

"And Jimmy Chowda, thanks for the chance to post these thoughts on your very fine blog. I think Dynamo and Rev supporters go into Sunday with total respect and on Monday we both will go into the offseason looking forward to another great year in 2008."

Revolinks - 11/16

Forget to take the MLS Cup survey over at Climbing The Ladder? I did until I went looking for links this morning. Ching went for a light jog yesterday. Houston's still hoping he can play in some capacity Sunday morning. Speaking of Houston, a neat little feature will be up shortly. Check back for it. Here's the links:


Boston Globe Part and parcel, Revolution ready
Dynamo can be cut down to size
Boston Herald Calm and collected Revs head to D.C.
SouthCoastToday.com A bonus for giddy New England sports fans: the Revs
MLSnet Revs are relaxed and ready to go
The Rebublican Heaps, Revolution show their strength
USA Today Revs aren't dwelling on 2006 MLS Cup loss
Houston Chronicle Same teams, but same outcome?
Soccer Y Futbol Video: Dynamo update: Ching has 'light jog'
ESPN MLS Cup scouting breakdown
Center Holds It MLS Cup Preview: The Revs’ O versus Houston’s (Formidable) D
Dan Loney Says It All Broncos v. Bills
Soccer New England Midfield the Key to MLS Cup
Gloucester Daily Times New England's unknown superstar Twellman is spotlight as Revs go for title


I can't think of a good CLOD today, so I'll just post a live weather map for DC. It will update on it's own, so there's something you can follow over the next two days. It's supposed to be partly cloudy and 45 degrees at kickoff, ten degrees lower than the average. This is after raining on and off throughout the night, so the pitch may be a little slick.

MLS Cup Key Matchup #2

The next key matchup involves how well New England's central midfielders can contain Houston's attacking midfield.



Players Involved

New England: Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz

Houston: Dwayne De Rosario, Brad Davis, Bian Mullen.


Although Houston lines up in a 4-4-2 formation, De Rosario often plays ahead of Mulrooney and shoulders most of the attacking responsibility from the center of the pitch. This formation also allows wide midfielders, Davis and Mullen, to bring the ball in from the wings in an attacking posture. When this attack is clicking, it has been known to produce a non-stop barrage on the opposing goal. When it isn't, attacking players can become isolated and ineffective.

Tasked with controlling this part of the pitch for the Revs are Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz. Joseph has been known to shut down key attacking midfielders in the past. Such examples have been Amado Guevara, Christian Gomez, and most recently, Blanco. The last on that list may have been more of a result of Jeff Larentowicz. Larentowicz has really made great strides this year and has become one of the best holding midfielders in MLS.

Houston maintained the pressure on the Revs in last year's cup, especially in the first half. Larentowicz looked like he was playing very nervous at times, something I don't expect from him this time out. At this point last year, Daniel Hernandez was edging out Larentowicz for that last midfield spot for much of the final months in the season. He had only been playing in spurts, and he was giving the Dynamo attack way too much space in the final. For this game, Larentowicz comes in as a seasoned starter and a true leader on the field. That may be the difference is stopping Houston's assault in it's tracks.

Without Brian Ching in the lineup, a Houston goal likely won't be coming from garbage in front of net. To score, they will need to create opportunities from the midfield. If Joseph and Larentowicz can shut down DeRo from the start, the Revs can finally take the initiative in a final. Conversely, Houston could see this and bunker down themselves.

If Houston wins this battle, we'll see a repeat of last year's encounter until the first goal is scored. That's something Revs fans, and neutrals alike, are hoping doesn't happen.

Revolinks - 11/15

No update on Ching's condition since Tuesday. It looks as though Houston's getting ready to play without him. In today's links, I highly recommend Jim Dow's column on RevsNet. He brings a certain sophistication to his prose not often found on the web:


Boston Globe John gets down and (not) dirty
Boston Herald Revs’ Thompson sheds rookie tag
Goal.com Give & Go: New England's Khano Smith
MLSnet With Ching ailing, Jaqua prepares
Refocused Revs laud stingy defense
Soccer New England Revs Healthy Heading into Final
RevsNet Can One Flash Of Brilliance Bring Home the Bacon? Plus An Interview With Paul Mariner
Soccer365 Thompson Confident With Revs Win
Houston Chronicle Waibel is so tough ...
Center Holds It MLS Cup Preview: The Battle of Midfield
Climbing The Ladder Take The MLS Cup Survey
Dan Loney Says It All Sweet Revenge



Clown of the Day

Today's CLOD goes to West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand for first denying being in a fight, then admitting in court he threw the first punch during a brawl outside a nightclub a few weeks back. By brawl, I mean his posse beat down someone he thought was eying his bling. Replace nightclub with strip joint, and you've got a Pacman Jones incident sans the gunshot wound to the spine. Some people say freedom, some say movies. I think violent celebrity entourages are our finest export.

Revs Offer Free Bus Ride To MLS Cup

Check out this offer: Free Bus Trip

If you are able, I recommend going. The bus lets off near a subway stop, so you can stay wherever you want in DC overnight. You'll likely return to Gillette Stadium a little after midnight Monday morning.

If you can't free up enough time in your schedule, you can watch the game from inside the Fidelity Clubhouse at Gillette Stadium for free: Free Viewing

These are both great deals. Bravo Zulu to the Krafts for making these offers!

2007: New England Sports Heaven

Remember "Dot Com Guilt"? It was a media-created condition to describe the handful of people who needed therapy because they couldn't cope with the financial windfall they received from the technology bubble during the late 90's. Although the vast majority of people who jumped tax brackets during that time either went on to tackle new challenges or retired happily, Dot Com Guilt was a serious condition for a few irrational people. Now, a new version of Dot Com Guilt is manifesting itself in widespread fashion up here in the Kingdom of Kennedy. Although this time, the victims couldn't be happier.

The parallels are striking. For the longest time, we in New England had been conditioned to hope for the best, but to know failure is lurking around every corner. Every year, there was always one team a little better and a little smarter. If a local side was lucky enough to approach the promise land, the cheering masses would have their hopes dashed, usually in painfully dramatic fashion.

The 2001 Patriots started to change things and the 2004 Red Sox dispelled absurd assertions of being cursed (if the definition of "cursed" is "stuck with incompetent management", I'll concede we were cursed). However, the Patriots seemed to win every game by half a point during the three of four years and the Sox's 2004 run was nothing short of miraculous. In other words, watching our teams was a nail-biting, irregular heart beating, turning pale experience. Even though this region had experienced championships for the first time in a decade and a half, we had the feelings of hopelessness from a few years earlier fresh in our minds. We were very grateful for what our teams had delivered to us and seemed almost embarrassed by all the "best sports city" monikers offered up to Boston by the national media.

Prior to all this happening, I had the fortunate experience to have rooted for one truly great team in my lifetime: the Boston Celtics of the mid 80's. They were something every other local team had never been: dominant. The Patriots were never dominant in their three Super Bowls run and the 2004 Sox certainly weren't. The problem with the Celtics was they ran into other dominant teams, namely the Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, and maybe even the early 80's Sixers. When the Celts played these teams, you never felt "safe".

"Safe" is something I had never felt while watching my local sides. I could only imagine what fans for teams like MJ's Bulls, Jimmie Johnson's Cowboys (was there ever a safer pattern than the Aikman to Irvin sideline route?), and the deplorable 99-00 Yankees felt like while watching them play. I had watched with envy as those teams demolished opponents with impunity and wondered what it would be like to be a fan of a team that you just knew would win.

Well, now I know and it feels great! A little empty, but still great. The Patriots are just like those first two Chelsea teams under Moreno, but they are playing in a sport where might can demolish an opponent nearly every time out. In soccer, a bad bounce can lose you a 1-0 game while outshooting an opponent 25-2. That happens at least five time a year in the EPL. American football is a whole different animal. The Pats are dominating and it took ten absolutely rotten calls for the second best team in the league to lose to them by only four points at home. The Red Sox worked pitchers all year, which won them anywhere from two to ten extra games and did the reverse to divisional opponents. They went into the post season and stepped up every time they had to. That was exciting enough, but no way nearly as emotional as when they used to fail. I could envision success when guys like Lowell and Youkilis stepped into the batters box, and then they delivered. Again, unfamiliar territory for me. Maybe a once in a lifetime feeling. Now, the Celtics are getting into the act courtesy of a gift trade with our favorite GM, Kevin McHale, to bring Kevin Garnett to Boston. You watch them and you just realize how much better they are than their opponents. They don't need to rise up to win games. They are just taking them from their opposition because they are better.

So there's the backdrop of where the major New England sports scene is at in November, 2007. Now you can see why I feel like we've been given a load of wealth out of nowhere and don't know what to do with it. There's an uneasy backdrop to that feeling, as if we are undeserving of all this sports glory. There's definitely some truth to that, as no one is deserving of such riches without building at least some of it on their own. New Englanders were passionate losers for so long, building a somewhat maniacal fanbase that may or may not have brought players to our teams. More realistically, it attracted competent owners and GM's to our teams which made the right decisions which won the championships. They saw the payoff for being successful, and have now built juggernauts to keep our teams rolling. In that sense, I guess we can feel responsible. However, when we watch the Patriots run it up on the rest of the league, or watch Sox fans outnumber the home team's, there is a sense of guilt. It's the feeling of guilt one gets when they cheat and get away with it in poker. Winning the game may still feel good, but not nearly as good as when you don't know the outcome ahead of time.

Surprisingly enough, the Revolution have actually benefited from the New England sports success. Sure, all of this has buried the Revs in the media throughout the year. Then again, you have to be above ground to get buried. However, amidst all the mainstream sports hoopla, the Revs are getting more coverage than they did for the past two MLS Cups. The reason: for the first time, the outcome does matter on the New England sports landscape.

How can this be? Well, it's rather simple. If the Revs win, the region will be home to yet another champion. It's something to pile on the heap of evidence when we talk about great eras in American sports history. It's something to add to the smack talk when we nab yet another franchise player from Minnesota, Johann Santana, in a few months. If the Revs lose, they would have lost three straight finals. That would somewhat tarnish the image the area has right now. Sure, the soccer haters will dismiss it, but they are becoming less and less prevalent in the local media. Many more writers and radio hosts are at least becoming open to soccer, in the same way they are open to hockey. Sure, they'll never cover it extensively, but they do acknowledge that a championship holds some importance to a portion of the population. As the Revs continue to have successful seasons, more and more people have at least turned an eye to them.

People will be watching on Sunday just because they know what a championship would mean and what a loss would mean. A lot of these people are indifferent towards soccer and MLS, but they know a championship game is important. If this weren't their third straight final, I'm not sure the Revs would be getting the hype, or even the acknowledgment, it is getting up here. The region will be watching on Sunday with a good deal of pride and a lot of faith.

As well as a little guilt.

Revolinks - 11/14

Yesterday was the day that both MLS Cup teams provided representatives for a tele-press conference call (or something like that). Stevie Nicol, Shalrie Joseph, and Pat Noonan confirmed that Matt Reis indeed has a sense of humor. Compelling stuff. Houston's reps, Dominic Kinnear and Dwayne De Rosario, provided even less compelling answers to the series of inane questions provided by the soccer media. We'll know soccer has "made it" when there's real jerks in the media who ask tough, inappropriate questions. Until then, we'll have to live with the notion that most who cover soccer are good people who form a symbiotic relationship with the teams and leagues they cover due to the low level of coverage allotted by their publishers. Here's the links:


Boston Globe Just one goal has eluded Twellman
Boston Herald 4th time a charm?
ESPN Revs will feel at home at RFK Stadium
Cape Cod Times No DP, no problem for Revs
Soccer New England OPINION: Twellman, Revs Are Thing of Beauty
Associated Press 2006 MVP Ching doubtful for Dynamo for Sunday’s MLS Cup
The Canadian Press Canadians Onstad, De Rosario will play major roles in Sunday's MLS Cup
Houston Chronicle Ching doubtful but hopes he can play in MLS Cup
Dynamo dismiss award snubs
Soccer365.com Parkhurst: 100% Focused on MLS Cup
USA Today Revolution enjoy relaxed practice before title game with Houston
Goal.com Walsh: Designated for Success
Center Holds It Revs v. Dynamo: First Preview of Four (on the Way to Brainwashing); The ‘Keepers
RevsNet 2007 MLS Cup coverage: It's not 2006 anymore
Yahoo Sports Another banner season in New England?



Clown Of The Day

Today's CLOD goes to the new ownership group in Seattle for not really knowing how Barcelona is set up or how to mold a MLS franchise in that image, but taking a good five minutes out of the press conference to fumble through a convoluted business plan. They were also so bold as to go into the kind of tactics the team would employ. Attacking, of course!

MLS Cup Key Matchup #1

Alright, I'll start with the one that keeps me awake at night. The one that gives me a rotten feeling in my stomach every time I think about it. The one that penetrates my very soul... Am I getting too melodramatic? Sorry. For the record, I've dreamed about MLS Cup the last two nights, both teams winning once. Anyhow, the key matchup I'm talking about is New England's left flank versus Houston's right side.


Players Involved:

New England: Khano Smith(LM), Avery John(LD)

Houston: Brian Mullen (RM), Craig Waibel (RD)


There are two potentially scary elements in this matchup: 1.) Khano Smith has been known to be the Bermuda Triangle for offensive-minded passes and 2.) Avery John could commit some early fouls, be warned either verbally or with a yellow card, and then give Houston's right flank way too much space to operate.

The first part, if it holds true, could be the difference as to which team has the run of possession throughout the entire game. If Khano is able to make deep, dangerous runs down the left side, Houston has to compensate. That will open up the middle a lot more for the Revs attack. If Waibel stuffs him on every attempt, the Houston defense can really put the clamps on Twellman, Noonan, and Ralston making scoring opportunities sparse.

Khano looked awful in the first leg at New York. Dane Richards used his speed to run rings around Smith, who looked like he was going through the motions. Hopefully, that won't be the case on Sunday. Khano has scored some of the most brilliant goals in team history. He needs to be a factor in this game. In that game in New York, the Red Bulls completely underplayed him which had a severe impact on New England's offense. Houston will try and stop him with Craig Waibel, who is a competent defender. If Ryan Cochrane and Richard Mulrooney need to help contain Smith, holes will open up for Ralston and company to create serious scoring opportunities as opposed to dumping in crosses to Twellman and hoping for the best.

The second part of the matchup depends greatly on how well Brian Mullen can generate space away from Avery John when he makes deep runs. John has been a lock down defender when he has bodied up to his mark. When he has to play an attacking player running at him, he has been known to slide tackle way too aggressively (see 2006 World Cup). As long as Khano holds his own ahead of him, Joseph and Larentowicz will be able to neutralize the Houston attack up the that wing. John will be needed elsewhere in the box before the game is over, so he'll need to prevent himself from being carded early on to shut down the Houston right flank.

We'll see how this plays out. If Houston dominates this side of the field, it'll be a long, nervous lunchtime for Revs fans.

Should Jaqua Be Suspended?

No.

That's my answer at least. Even as I watched the game, I thought the foul was borderline red. In other words, not something which would warrant an ejection during an important playoff game. However, that hasn't stopped others from insinuating differently, and there appears to be a disciplinary meeting on Thursday to review the play.

Here's a video of the foul (1:27):




The replay looked bad from that angle, but it was a bang-bang play and I highly doubt Jaqua wanted to hurt Jack Jewsbury. It looks to me like the contact was initiated first, and then Jaqua followed through. Then again, I'm not a referee and I never want to be one. I just don't want to have reverse lasik and spine removal surgery.

Others have sounded off on this topic. Today's version of "In The Net" covered it extensively with host Brad Feldman and guests Greg Lalas, Glenn Davis, and more offering their opinions on the subject. Check here for the podcast. There should also be a link to it in the right sidebar on this blog.

Revolinks - 11/13

So, the Seattle expansion's a done deal and Drew Carey's one of the owners. They should do a Seattle coffe snob version of The Price Is Right. Everyone in the audience can boo until "A NEW CAR!!!!" is confirmed to be a hybrid. Seattle will play at Qwest Field for at least a few seasons. On the bad side, it's a huge NFL stadium with fieldturf. On the good side, the partial roof is much better at trapping noise than stadiums like Gillette and Giant. Hopefully, they can add another team with them in 2009 so they don't have to drop back to 30 games again due to an odd number of teams. Here's the links:


Boston Globe Revolution played their cards right
Keeper of faith, Reis emerged
Soccer New England OPINION: Twellman, Revs Are Thing of Beauty
ESPN Dynamo's depth shines against the Wizards
Dynamo and Revs are models of stability
New York Sun MLS Needs an Immediate Dose of 'Sexy Soccer'
SI.com Dynamo-Revs is a mouth-watering MLS Cup rematch
Houston Chronicle Coach helps in building a Dynamo tradition
DCenters US v SA viewing in DC during MLS Cup weekend
Fox Sport's John Q Public Public Knowledge


Clown Of The Day

Today's CLOD goes to whoever decided to kickoff MLS Cup a little after 12:00 on Sunday. Except for games in Toronto, were there any games played that early this year? I know they are trying to get the jump on NFL games, but it's going to be a bit embarrassing getting smashed in the ratings by the three main NFL pregame shows. It would suck to be waking up in the league's newest city, Seattle, and tuning in at 11:00 only to realize the game is almost over. Does heroine from the night before even wear off by then? They really need to move the game to Saturday night in the future.

Revsblogger's Pregame: Begin!

What's the deal with all this talk about a rematch?

I heard Houston v. New England, but this is no rematch. Face facts, people. For one thing, the game is taking place at 12 noon. Sheesh.

Besides kick-off time, it seems that Danny Hernandez, Joey Franchino and Clint Dempsey will all be out of this 2006 MLS Cup. And, in a stunning development, the Revs have announced that they are backing out of contracts with all rookies, because they are not supposed to have signed them yet.

In all seriousness, though, this MLS Cup could be shaping up to provide us with the most interesting pre-game assessment madness that the league has ever seen. I fully expect ESPN to mention the match during the week three times, once in passing to Boston success, and then twice more whilst talking about the match.

The game itself is shaping up to be a very even matchup of teams determined to come away with the trophy. Houston is coming off of a 2-nil win against a solid team in KC, and the Revs followed their most successful training session of the year with the bicycle-kick win over a red-hot Chicago.

This game will be very different from the one played last year. For one, the Revolution defense has held in situations it is known for failing in. One needed not look any further than the spectacular play of Avery John on Thursday to see how determined this defense was in not giving up the late goal to a team very capable of scoring. It was their best display as a unit this season, and they are very much the reason why we are going to D.C. in the first place. Reis continued his stellar postseason performance with quite a few difficult saves. It is still hard to believe that in three postseason games this year we have, I believe, 10 shots on goal to the Fire and Red Bull's 16, yet we have scored twice and they have scored none at all. Matt Reis has been a solid regular-season performer over the years, but his postseason play has been as amazing as Tom Brady's.

And Twellman, while not amazing on his feet, showed his ability to still get in the right place at the right time in order to get the job done. We all know what happened, we have all seen the replays, and you can clearly see that he made a split-second decision, that it was the only way a striker his size was going to get a shot off against Pause. His soccer smarts will definitely be tested on Sunday.

Twellman could not be entered into a conversation in THIS game without mentioning Brian Ching. The man has been a stand-up guy, and it is going to be a huge loss for Houston if he cannot play. While I cannot say I like him (see 2006 MLS Cup equalizer), he has a smaller mouth which tends to run off less than others, and I can only imagine that not getting to play is killing him worse than it is his team. Ching has been very much like Taylor over the last couple of seasons, not too great on his feet, but with great soccer smarts that puts him into good positions to capitalize on poor defending. Last year it was our death. This year, regardless of if Ching plays, the defense will not collapse as it had last year.

While one battle will be raging on the pitch it seems as if another one will be brewing in the stands. D.C. fans effectively declared war on the Revolution and are joining Dynamo in their hatred of us. I would be concerned about this development, but I remembered that they're rather sore about being spanked. Power to them, I say, they can boo me and my team all I want, but I'll be smiling, sitting in THEIR home ground watching MY TEAM play in the Cup Final.

More when we get closer to match day.

Ching Doubtful For MLS Cup Final

As reported by the Houston Chronicle, Brian Ching will likely miss the championship game with a calf strain he suffered during Saturday night's 2-0 win over Kansas City.

"At this point, it seems unlikely (that Ching will play)," team trainer Bruce Morgan said late Sunday. "But I don't want to rule it out as a possibility.

"We're trying to be as optimistic as possible. It's a significant muscle injury, but I'd like to believe there's still a possibility that he might be available for selection come Sunday, as unlikely as that appears at this time."

This will likely result in Joseph Ngwenya getting the selection at forward next to Nate Jaqua. Ngwenya, who joined Houston this spring in a swap with the Columbus Crew for Alejandro Moreno, has scored six times while working mostly off the bench and substituting for Ching during US call ups and injuries. Ngwenya is a threat, but much less of one than Ching who has given the Revolution fits in the past.

Nate Jaqua has also been a thorn in the Revs' side while at Chicago, but wound up in Houston after a July trade with LA Galaxy. Alexi Lalas traded for him at the start of the season to be a target forward for David Beckham. Of course, Lalas needed to make his five transactions per month quota to receive a brokerage discount, and traded him to Houston before Beckham even stepped on an MLS pitch. Jaqua has also scored six goals for Houston this year.

It has yet to be seen what this strike partnership can do in an important game. They have had some success this year, but they don't have a ton of minutes playing together. With the lack of open space the Revolution scheme has allowed opponents as of late, they may be relied upon to create goals on their own. For Revolution fans, that may be a bit of relief as they have scored mostly amidst the chaos of a Dynamo midfield rush.

More on the Ching injury situation as it develops.

Revolinks - 11/12

Happy "Day After Veteran's Day Sleep Late Day"! As a veteran, you can thank me with money, beer, or both. It's also the Monday of MLS Cup Week and Official Expansion City Announcement Eve. Man, no wonder the banks are closed today. Here's the links:


Boston Globe Revolution played their cards right
Globe and Mail Millson: MLS Cup rematch
The Sun Chronicle Revs at peak for rematch
RevsNet "GOLAO" DE TWELLMAN DITOU O RESULTADO
Climbing The Ladder History of the MLS All Time Table (Plus Current Edition)
RevolutionSoccer.net Ralston One Game from History
Soccer Y Futbol Ching doubtful for Cup; impact on Dynamo
Houston Chronicle Ching likely to miss Dynamo's MLS final
WVHooligan Monday Morning Free Kicks: Dynamo and Revs To Battle Again
Goal.com The Monday MLS Breakdown: It All Comes Down to Philosophy
Fifa.com Déjà vu in MLS
Metrowest Daily News Revs get ready for another title shot

I'm slowly developing a method to gather the links. In the process, I'm figuring out which blogs I've overlooked in the links section of the sidebar. Baby steps.


Clown of the Day

Today's CLOD goes to the entire footballing institution of the nation of Italy. How many more have to be stabbed, beaten, or killed before you wake up and get control? England received a five year ban from European competition to clean up their deplorable situation. Maybe it's time to do the same to Italy. Can anyone ensure the safety of foreign supporters in that country? Can anyone even sort of promise they will only be assaulted?

The problem is, Italy doesn't have the resources to do what Great Britain did from a security standpoint. It would probably take a modern-day Mussolini to install such an infrastructure in that country at the expense of another segment of Italian society.

MLS Cup Poll

Last week's poll has closed and it appears most of you thought DC United have been bigger chokers than the home side since 2004. That's who I voted for. Unless the Revs give up a two goal lead in the final, I'd still go with them a week from now, too. The final tally was DC United: 61%, Revolution: 39%

This week's poll asks your MLS Cup Final prediction.

Clown Of The Day / Revolinks

Clown of the Day (CLOD) - A self-explanatory award given to a worthy recipient in the soccer world. Original concept developed by those who came before me in the engine room onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

The first CLOD goes to Jair Marrufo, the ref in last night's Western Conference Final for allowing violent play to go on because of the impact cards would have on the championship game a week later. Oh, and before the hate mail flies, this is today's CLOD. It didn't exist two days ago.


Revolinks:

Boston Globe Houston, We Have An MLS Cup Rematch
Wells may help end drought
Boston Herald Revs Ride Along On Twellman's Bike
Center Holds It Jair Maruffo Is a Fraud
Climbing The Ladder HOU vs NE: Best Method For Predicting the MLS Cup Winner?
Soccer y Fútbol Dynamo are MLS Cup-bound ... again (w/ video)
Final: Dynamo 2, Wizards 0 (w/ video)
Down The Byline Wizards Bow Out of the Playoffs
Seattle Times Champion Dynamo returns to final
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Another title for Beantown?
MLSnet Dynamo rout Wizards, return to Cup
Dynamo defense rules the day


Like the format? Nice and concise in my opinion. More sources to be added as I find them. If you are writing or blogging about the Revs or MLS Cup, let me know and we'll exchange links.

MLS Cup Rematch

Houston won tonight to set up a rematch with the Revs for the MLS Cup Final next Sunday. Here's my initial thoughts:

* Not a soul mentioned the irony of KC playing in this game. Not a soul (see previous post).

* Houston were clearly the better team on the night. They dominated for stretches, especially in the first half.

* A lot of Houston's success was due to Kansas City's inability to control the ball. Their first and second touches were atrocious. Luckily for Revs fans, that's one of our strong suits.

* So is defending set pieces. The first half goal made KC look like they were stuck in rough surf. And drowning.

* If indeed Brian Ching tore his calf, I feel for him. He's a stand up guy, and that injury is a bitch. Huge break for the Revs if true, but it's still bad to see.

* The ref was lenient with cards like on Thursday, but there was one challenge by Mullen (or was it Barrett? I always confuse them) from behind that was clearly a yellow, maybe worse. Shortly afterwards, the ref called a yellow on Marinelli for getting his legs tangled and fouling from behind. Yes, that's a cardable offense, but the foul from the Houston player was also cardable, yet much more egregious. I'd love to know what his yellow card status was going into the game.

* New England will have a tough time breaking down Houston's defense, but they can if players besides Taylor Twellman step up. Thompson and Smith are going to need to be dangerous.

* If no one steps up for the Revs, this game will be a mirror image of 2006. New England will defend better than KC, and they sure as heck will control the ball better. This has logjam written all over it if there isn't a first half goal.


So there it is. The Revolution have their work cut out for them. Funny enough, they are going into this one from a less prestigious position than the previous two. They will be slight underdogs, especially if Ching is alright. However, they will be in much better shape physically than those games. In 2005, they went in beaten up and exhausted. In 2006, Clint Dempsey had to come off the bench due to injury. This was after he put the team on his back from September on. There's no excuses this time. Here's hoping the team does the business this time around.

MLS Cup Week: Blogging Our Arses Off

The Blue Blooded Journo Blog is committed to ramp up coverage in order to provide the reader one of the best resources for the upcoming MLS Cup Final in a week's time. The usual opinion will be offered up by myself, Jimmy Chowda, as well as some of the past contributors. Links will be provided to all things MLS Cup, especially from the blogosphere, or as they call it over at ThroughBall.com, the "Soccersphere". I like that name. I wonder if it's copyrighted?

Speaking of links, I'll be using the increased coverage to try out a number of formats and ideas for next season. I have a number of people who want to contribute, but we have to get organized and develop a system before this thing is taken to the next level.

In case you were wondering what will happen to this blog during the off season, there's big plans in the works. The "20 People Who Rocked The Fort" contest will relaunch, as well as a potentially hilarious series I won't announce yet. If you want to cover a team no one's ever heard of, playing in a country most US Americans can't find on a map, Blue Blooded Journo is willing to adopt one or two teams during in the off season in a tongue and cheek manner. There's also the potential move to wordpress to provide a cleaner presentation and a fan resource/database. Stay tuned.

So, I hope you enjoy MLS Cup week at the Blue Blooded Journo Blog, and continue to visit during the off season.

Let's Go Wiz-zids, Embarrass MLS HQ!

I need something to keep me warm tonight. It sure as heck isn't going to be the oil heating system at my house. It's a tad mind boggling that the elected representatives of the most oil dependent people in the country are usually the ones to block any sort of oil exploration when it comes to a vote in DC. Oh, but the Senate just ratified a UN Treaty which will effectively allows Chinese companies to drill a few miles off the shore of Florida. It's OK, though. NBC logos are green this week and The Today Show flies people around the globe to lecture us on our carbon footprints.

But I digress. The absurdly high heating bill (not including electricity) has caused me to look for alternative sources of warmth. There's an outside chance I'll be warming myself to the Fox Soccer Channel broadcast of the Houston - Kansas City match tonight. The Wizards have a chance to truly embarrass MLS and their complete lack of foresight. Kansas City, the fifth place team from the Eastern Conference, could actually win the Western Conference championship. If that were to happen, I'm putting the trophy presentation on loop and turning off the furnace. I'll be set for weeks.

FATCOC. That was the watchstanding principles mnemonic I learned while I was a reactor operator with the Navy. The "A" stood for anticipation. It basically meant asking "what if" whenever conditions changed and to know all the possible ramifications resulting from systematic anomalies. MLS may have seen this possibility and took their chances, but that really tweaks my sensibilities. Then again, I spent a decade in a community where there was no room for such carelessness, and you couldn't put a positive spin on poor planning with a press release.

Many journalists have justified changing, or abolishing, the playoff system based on boring play or DC choking once again. Guess what, soccer is hit or miss when it comes to excitement. You can't artificially generate non-stop action. Tweak it all you want, there's just no way you can use outside forces to create the 1982 World Cup semifinal classic. Games like that will happen regardless of the setup.

As for abolishing the playoffs, that's definitely not happening. What should happen, and to credit MLS is happening, is getting the word out on the importance of the Supporters Shield. The winner of the league's top record gets a spot in the international competitions MLS is invited to. They now have a trophy celebration at the winner's home ground (as opposed to handing it to the head car parker like Columbus did a few years back). They seem to be leaning towards a home and home schedule when the league gets big enough, which will help to legitimize the Shield from a competition standpoint. These are important steps. What MLS needs to continue to do is promote that trophy so it becomes much, much more important than, say, the one they hand out to the team that has the best record in the NHL. To point out it's level of prestige, I can't even remember it's name (President's Trophy, maybe?).

For those that hope the league "comes around" to the way the rest of the world crowns their champions, give it up. As long as sports like baseball and football have expanded their playoffs and reaped the rewards of more teams being in the hunt for longer into the season, MLS will chase that red dragon. And I don't blame them. Look, winning the Supporters Shield is actually a greater accomplishment. You need to win out in a league where everyone is basically equal. It shows you were the best team over the course of six months. Winning MLS Cup, conversely, is actually a tougher task. It's hard enough to win back to back games in MLS, much less four. Both have merit, but the playoffs are much more exciting which is why they'll never go away.

Getting back to the lack of foresight which lead to the set of circumstances surrounding tonight's game, that problem can be fixed. Oodles of journalists, bloggers, and internet commandos have offered up their resolutions. Why should I be any different?

If I were to make changes, it would start with renaming the first round the quarterfinals, and the next round the semifinals. MLS HQ got a woody from the DC United - New England Eastern Conference Final in 2004. The problem is, they thought the playoff system "created" that game. That's not how it works. Yes, the playoffs add the importance which makes those games exciting, but classics happen on the field, not at the Board of Governors' meeting. What's to say that game in 2004 wouldn't have happened if the two rounds leading up to MLS Cup had the same number of games? Nothing. Either team could have taken a lead into RFK that night or it could have taken place a week earlier. Which leads me to my next change: make the playoffs make sense.

Since Taylor Twellman's fantastic bicycle kick, there's been a little buzz about the Revs in the New England sports scene (given the state of other teams in the area, that's actually quite a leap forward). This buzz has lead to commentators and sports fans actually looking at the MLS playoffs a little more closely. When a lot of people have done that, both on the radio and through anecdotal evidence, they have all gotten confused with the setup. Typically, you'll get the soccer-haters saying something like "just another reason to hate that sport". Those who make that conclusion can pack sand, and I'm someone who actually understands why most Americans can't get with the sport. However, the mass confusion over the setup is what bothers me.

MLS made a marked improvement in their playoff format by having the top eight teams league-wide make it instead of four from each conference. They need to be commended for that. Going into the last two weeks, five teams were fighting for two spots and four were still alive on the last weekend. However, the playoffs themselves need to make sense not just for the fans, but for the teams that compete in them.

They should either have the first round one game or the second round two games. I'm fine with having MLS Cup as one game. That's the annual big game and the only real shot the league has at hyping it's product. If they went to two games per round, I would make it so the lower seed hosts on a weekday (Wednesday or Thursday) and then the higher seed hosts on the weekend. They could rework the ESPN deal to cover two games on both weekend nights (how's that for buzz?). The higher seeds would benefit from a better attendance draw, and the colder weather teams could play during the day before temperatures drop into the 20's like it did at Gillette on Thursday. Having this setup would also shorten the playoffs by one week, allowing for more scheduling versatility which will be needed as MLS clubs take a more serious attitude towards international competitions.

In the meantime, get rid of the "conference final" moniker. Tonight, it's a misnomer. No one takes that glassware seriously, anyhow. Unfortunately, MLS would get away with it as long as Houston wins.

From a competition standpoint, both teams will have just as good a chance at beating the Revs as the Revs have in beating them. However, there's one important fact to consider: Missouri sports teams have been New England's bitches when it comes to championship games since the 70's and they have been the unfortunate losers in these landmark titles:

1957: Boston Celtics defeat St. Louis Hawks to win their first NBA title.

1970: Boston Bruins defeat St. Louis Blues to win their first Stanley Cup in 29 years.

2002: New England Patriots defeat St. Louis Rams 20-17 to win Super Bowl XXXVI, their first ever.

2004: Boston Red Sox sweep St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series in 86 years.


In other words, we need to play Kansas City in the final before they move across the border to Kansas next season. The Missouri Mojo (momojo) is still intact as long as they played their home games at Arrowhead this season.

So now there's two big reasons I want Kansas City to win tonight. As the cheerleaders at my high school used to chant: Let's Go Wiz-zids!

Twellman's Goal

Here's the goal that sent the Revs to the MLS Cup Finals:



No explanation needed. Simply incredible.

Props to Adrian over at Politics & Soccer for finding the clip.

On To The Finals!

I guess we deserved it a little more than Chicago. One gleaming shot in an otherwise empty scrum. A boring, stereotypically incompetent MLS game overtaken by one glorious goal by the likely hero, Taylor Twellman.

It has to be pointed out: four straight years. Four straight years where the Fire have met their demise. Four straight years that the Fire have ended their season by losing to the Revs at Gillette Stadium. Man, they must hate us.

Especially the twenty or so people who represted Section 8. Hey, next time you belittle our fanbase, send more than 22 people to represent you. Then again, RBNY said there would be over a hundred when they sent about sixty. I should have known better.

I guess this is the alcohol talking, but who cares? The Revs have a birth in the championship game and have two extra days to prepare for it. The Fort was hopping and the team took it home.

I need to sleep before some important meetings tomorrow. To the Midnight Riders, to Rev Army, to my boy Rob from New Hampshire, to the people who hooked me up right before game time, to Fran who was erroneously ejected, to the people who splurged for category 1 (Category 2 and 3 were sparse tonight), to everyone who doubted this team:

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!!!!!!

Much more in the lead up to MLS Cup!

Tonight's The Night

Tonight's the night. The night we find out if the 2007 incarnation of the New England Revolution has the moxy it's predecessors had in the playoffs. The night we see if they have that certain, oh I don't know, je ne sais quoi to defeat the Chicago Fire and end their season for the fourth straight year. The night we cheer the boys on from The Fort in frigged temperatures. The night the team mans up to Blanco's bobos and stops their unbeaten streak in it's tracks. The night NBC pats itself on the back for proclaiming Al Gore's movie 100% factual.

OK, so I'm dvr'n the last part and won't get to it until next week. The other stuff in that opening paragraph has me freakin pumped. This is what MLS, in it's current format, is all about. Take away the complete waste of time the last nine months were. Going into training camp, we all knew who the best eight teams were. Maybe Colorado had a say and anyone who bought into LA's hype would have yelped, but not the rest of us. We all knew there would be eight teams in the playoffs capable of beating the other seven. And we all knew Chicago and New England would meet up again, ready for another round of foul and stall.

So now it comes down to tonight. To the winners: a trip to MLS Cup with more than enough time to rest their tired carcasses. To the losers: ten extra days to work on their Halo 3 rankings (no one still golfs, right?).

The matchup isn't that hard to break down. New England will attempt to control the middle of the field with Joseph and Larentowicz while looking for holes to pace through balls to their forwards and wings. Chicago will answer with the muscle of Chris Armas, and Blanco will try to go around the Revs' big boys and launch quick strike attacks.

I can see this one being a grind. However, both Chicago and New England have been known to pack the box if they grab a quick lead. The timing of the first goal, if there is a first goal, will mean everything for the neutrals. However, Chicago relied on quick counterattacks against DC United. The Revs probably won't commit as many players forward as DC did. I can't predict how this game will go, but I'm not alone in thinking this one will be rough and low scoring.

Chicago has made a remarkable run up to this point. They haven't lost since a game in New York at the beginning of September. That was also the last time they played on an artificial surface. Seeing how New England has played nearly every game on the fake stuff for over a month, that could be an intangible. Their timing could be off at the start of the game, and the Revs could capitalize on that advantage. Another bonus for New England is obviously the home field.

Chicago counters with an extra two days off. The Revs also played in inclement weather on Saturday which wears you down. The Fire have to be more fit physically. I would have expected MLS to have seen this unfair setup when ESPN told them what the schedule would be. Then again, I expect my dog to piss on the pee mat, but I gave up being disappointed when it doesn't happen.

So this one, like any matchup possible for the Revs in the MLS playoffs, is a tossup. The Revs have a chance at a bit of history by making three straight finals. They already have made six straight conference finals which is a nice little achievement. But they don't hand out rings for making it there. The Revs are still chasing their elusive first MLS Cup championship. It comes down to the last two games. The first in less than 24 hours. Get down to the stadium after work. It's gonna be a cracker.


Previews

Revolutionsoccer.net
Brad Feldman Breaks It Down Even More
Center Holds It
USA Today
Goal.com
The Sports Network
Boston Herald
Boston Globe
ESPN
Chicago Tribune

ECF: Q&A With Myself

As the Eastern Conference Final quickly approaches, there's numerous questions floating around my head. Who better to answer them than myself:


Q: Why do Revolution fans hate the Chicago Fire so much?

A: That's a fascinating question which would require a 20-part series to answer fully. Since you asked, I'll keep this as concise as possible.

To be honest, the current level of hatred is far less than it was a year ago. At that time, Shalrie Joseph was suspended for the deciding playoff match after MLS, for some reason, went back and punished him for elbowing a player who thought Shalrie wanted to give him a piggyback ride. The suspicion was that weasley manager Dave Sarachan was the one who asked for the review. This was after a suspension was levied against Clint Dempsey a few months earlier in similar fashion. To complicate matters, Chad Barrett wasn't suspended for shoving Jay Heaps to the ground after the whistle that August, because the referee (the same for all three incidents) gave him a yellow card which gave him immunity from a punishment review. So, we felt cheated by MLS and pissed off at the Chicago manager going into that match. There's other issues about Sarachan that I won't go into here, because that's all in the past.

Today, Chicago has a new, less irritating manager. However, they did pick up aging Mexican sensation Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who's the bane of many US Soccer supporters. I'm not as big a Blanco hater as others, but when he starts looking to draw fouls by the bushel on Thursday, the vitriol will flow. All in all, the fact that we have ended their season for three straight years, they aren't as hated as they could be.

Q: So, why do so many people hate Blanco?

A: There's a number of reasons. The main one is he plays with incredible fire on the field and has killed the US in the past. His current incarnation relies on his guile (diving) more than his athleticism, and people don't like some of his simulation antics.

Q: His face got wicked rubbery. Did he have reverse botox or something?

A: No. Every time you go into extreme agony, you make a face that puts a ton of tension on the skin, especially the cheaks. The same is true when you fake extreme agony. Seasons of pretending he got shot in the thigh from a hunting rifle every twenty minutes has taken a toll on Blanco's face. The craters were just an added benefit as I hear he's been used to get those playdough stains out from the Fire's romper room floor.

Q: Is it OK to have a crush on Chris Rolfe if you are a 14 year old girl?

A: Strange question given the source. No, it's not OK. He'll be starting for Real Madrid really soon, according to Fire fans, so hold your affections until then.


Q: What's with Fire fans? Are they the best fans in the league or the worst?

A: Depends on your point of view. From both perspectives, DC has them beat in fan support and in random degenerates looking to start trouble and then running under mommy's coat. I'd also put Toronto ahead of them in the fan support category.

Chicago's got great support by MLS standards. Do they have annoying fans on BigSoccer that are unable to comprehend the loose etiquette standards? Yup. In fact, they've probably got the most. That's just the cyber world, though. Who cares. They'll probably have a good-sized group there on Thursday night. How many show up will vastly depend on the number of people trained at Whopper-board in the Chicagoland area. Critical job skills are scarce these days and Lord be damned if there's a shortage of flame-broiled goodness due to missing fast food operators.

Q: How will the Revolution score against that Fire defense?

A: The Fire defense has been tight as of late, but they broke down in the second half against DC, allowing two goals. It'll probably be another low-scoring affair. The Revs will need to convert two of the six or seven chances they get.

Q: Will there be a large crowd for the game?

A: Unlikely. ESPN was banking on DC United advancing, not Chicago. New England hasn't been known to draw large crowds for weeknight games, and I doubt a four day sales effort will yield a large crowd. Expect around 10,000.

Q: Why would someone go watch a game in 40 degree weather instead of on tv?

A: The ESPN2 broadcast makes you feel sorry for/uncomfortable about soccer in America. Avoid it at all costs. The cold air is also great for your eyebrows, spleen, and Alzheimer's.