Manatee Season

It didn't take long for clueless Red Bull to sack Bruce Arena. Good new for the Revs as their rivals from New York will begin fresh yet again next year, stifling any chance of building a solid foundation. Sure, Bruce did a lot more sweating from his folds than coaching, but his replacement will be their fourth manager since Bob Bradley was erroneously sacked by Alexi Lalas just over two years ago.

Frankie Yallop has left LA Galaxy for re-expansion side San Jose Earthquakes, so there's speculation Arena would go there. That would be funny if it happened, but only expect that if LA can't nail down a high profile coach. I wouldn't hold you breath.

As a Revs fan, I can't help but feel responsible as my team most likely cost chubby his job. Responsibility is a good characteristic.

In other news, Micheal Parkhurst won MLS Defender of the Year. I didn't see that coming. Congratulations to Mike! I just hope this doesn't put too much of a spotlight on him from foreign clubs at a time he needs to concentrate on finishing out the playoffs. Coach Steve Nicol said it would take a lot of money for a team to swoop in and take Parkhurst away. We may see just how much money that is during the off season. My guess: over $3 million. Former MLS players are proving themselves all the time overseas. Parky's also extremely valuable to the Revs. I'm not sure a team would pay that much for him, but New England considers him way too valuable to let go without a major financial benefit. We'll just have to wait and see.

Sour Manboobs

Red Bull New York manager Bruce Arena seems a little cranky these days. After the recent 0-0 snorefest, the former national team gaffer was recently described as indifferent. The gist of the article laid some of the blame for New York's boring performance on the team he assembled: (click title to read more)

"The team is not a bad team. But it is, usually, a dull team. Quite similar, in fact, to the dull team assembled by former coach Bob Bradley."

The problem with that is he coaches the only team in MLS with two designated players: Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna. Granted, the latter of the two has been showing his age and gets pushed around more than Rob Stone did in middle school. However, Angel has been a revelation having the best scoring rate in the league and is a finalist for MVP. Arena has no one to blame for having a subpar attack but himself.

Arena also seemed to make matters worse with some slights at his star here:

"New England did a good job," said Arena during his press conference in the bowels of Giants Stadium. "I don't think Juan did a good job of showing for the ball and we told him that at halftime. I think Juan could have done a better job of making himself available as well as (fellow striker Francis) Doe."

Not a good way to talk about your star who took a modest pay cut to play on astroturf in front of 16,000 fans in a stadium that seats 70k+. Speaking of which, I love this baffling quote from our favorite manatee (source):

"I don't think an MLS Cup is going to fill up Giants Stadium," Arena said before the match. "We'll try to get one and see, but the day this team gets credibility is when it moves into a soccer stadium. If Yankee Stadium was a dump, nobody would be going there."

First off, RFK has sold over 30,000 seats to MLS Cup. If Giants Stadium's a dump, RFK's a cesspool in Little Italy after the Feast of San Gennaro. And Yankee Stadium's always been a dump. They play top level baseball in a major metropolitan area. They have history and people care about them when they aren't beating their wives (couldn't resist). There's a lot more keeping people away from the Meadowlands for soccer than the stadium. Try looking at your history of failure and your owners forcing out several sponsors when they took over. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Hopefully, Arena causes enough distraction and dissent during the week and the Revs can capitalize on Saturday. Although, sometimes things like an asshole coach can galvanize a locker room.

Either way, Manboobs better look in the mirror for answers before placing blame elsewhere. If not, he'll be mumbling over the game from the announcers booth for the opening of Red Bull Park instead of from the bench. In 2011.

Revs Superliga Bid Doubtful

Superliga, or "Super League" for those engaged in legal commerce in the United States, is an annual competition between MLS and FMF (Mexico) clubs. Last year was the inaugural competition, with eight teams playing in two group stages and four moving on to the semifinals.

Last year, despite some lame justification after the fact (Don Garber tried to say LA Galaxy "earned" their spot by being runners-up in the USOC over the two MLS Cup finalist, both which had much better regular seasons), the MLS participants were hand-picked. In essence, it was a dry run which Mexican side Pachuca won. All in all, it's a great idea which will provide some intriguing matchups in years to come during the summer grind. In short, it's something the Revs should want to be in and for Revs supporters, something they should be excited to go watch.

According to MLS commissioner Don Garber, the teams in next year's Superliga will consist of those with the four best regular season records in 2007. The Revolution finished comfortably in fourth, so that should mean qualification, right?
(click title to read more)
Not so fast. First off, Garber stated the qualification method in one or two announcements/press releases. In other words, this is by no means set in stone. In the great scheme of things, there aren't a heck of a lot of people in the media who listen to what comes out of MLS central and hold their feet to the fire. They can just as easily go back on their word if the right situation presented itself.

Enter the New England Revolution. They are the team with the worst record of those that supposedly qualified. They are also a team who has been accused in the past of dragging their feet when it comes to moving the game forward in America (i.e. lack of soccer specific stadium, fieldturf, no serious youth program, quarantining fans to one side, etc...). Also, the president of Kraft Soccer is Sunil Gulati. Gulati hold several other hats in the soccer world, including president of US Soccer. He was instrumental in creating Superliga and would need to make a decision which is not only best for the Revs, but for the competition.

The most likely scenario denying the Revs Superliga participation involves a team seeded lower than them winning MLS Cup. That's a very real possibility with every lower seed save Red Bull New York holding a 1-0 lead heading into the return legs this week. Last year, Chicago Fire were initially in Superliga (originally "justified" by winning the US Open Cup). That selection had everything to do with their soccer stadium, which would have been fine if they were just up front about it. However, the Mexican delegation justifiably raised a stink because the MLS Cup champions, Houston Dynamo, were left out. Since both teams were then owned by AEG, it was an easy switch. The same thing would likely happen this year if the champs were on the outside looking in. To be honest, the Revs would have no one to blame for that situation but themselves. They foolishly dropped at least three easy points in the last two games. If they had one extra point, they would have tied Houston, who they got the better of in head to head play for the tiebreaker.

MLS is serious about having a legitimate qualification process for Superliga. However, they often fail to ask those "what if?" questions. For example, the 2007 Western Conference trophy could go to the Kansas City Wizards (DOH!). Don Garber certainly had the best intentions when he said the top four regular season records will be in Superliga. However, someone forgot to ask him what would happen if the eighth seed ran the table. They could, and almost surely will, backtrack in this scenario. As a qualification process, I have no problem with that. I just have to ask why on Earth they went out and made the "top four" comments.

There's also a few other unlikely possibilities which would boot the Revs, but those would involve shenanigans of the highest order. I have a bet with a friend involving one such scenario. According to him, LA Galaxy will receive a bid based on the fact they made it to the finals of Superliga last year. They are desperate for ratings (it aired on one of the Univision-owned stations), and having David Beckham involved would be a huge boost. You could also throw Chicago and Blanco in that conversation, but they would definitely have to win it all to get in, in my opinion. On that bet, this is a soft reminder that I haven't forgotten about it. You know who you are.

If this were to occur, it would set the competition back a ways in legitimacy. You can't announce qualification standards and then completely throw it out the window for marketing purposes.

Any of the above scenarios can be negated if Sunil Gulati sticks up for the MLS side which employs him. He is probably the only one who can hold Garber to his word. For that to happen, others in the Revolution organization need to let owner Robert Kraft in on the benefits of hosting this event. These games can always be coupled with international doubleheaders. Sure, some fans will only be there for the other game, but playing a game that serves as a measuring stick for MLS's progress in front of an "international audience" wouldn't be a bad idea. Just a thought. It also wouldn't be horrible to offer some special events that aren't mostly doubleheaders with games that were already included in the season tickets package.

We'll concentrate more on this during the off season. I'm just giving those Revs fans who trust Don Garber and are excited about the team's Superliga participation a little heads up.

The Playoffs: Who I'm Rooting For

The MLS Cup Playoffs are upon us. Starting on Thursday night in Chicago, the regular season means little to nothing as the eight surviving teams enter a knockout competition for the only trophy that really matters in American soccer: MLS Cup. So, who am I cheering on in their respective series? It's pretty obvious I want the Revs to win, but here's a breakdown on who I want to win in the other pairings:
(click title to read more)

DC United - Chicago

If the Revs make it out of the first round, they will play the winner of this match up. This should be a no-brainer, as the Revs would be looking at a home game against the Fire if they were to win.

Not so fast. Chicago have been major twats over the last few seasons. They have also picked up Blanco, a player who's as infamous as any among US National Team supporters. Personally, I'm not as big a Blanco hater as many of my com padres. He adds personality to the games in which he plays in, and will be contributing to his MLS side for a lot longer than most people think. Also, the Fire finally, err, fired a-hole head coach Dave Sarachan, who was the target of much of my derision over the years. So, I don't hate Chicago as much as I used to.

From a competitive standpoint, Chicago is playing as good as anyone in MLS. This makes the "weaker opponent" argument a push. Sure, we handled them at home in May, but that was a long time ago. DC beat us twice at home this year, but that will also mean little in a one-off game.

Still, I would sure like to end Chicago's season at Gillette for a fourth straight year.

Who I'm rooting for: Chicago Fire



Chivas USA - Kansas City

I was looking forward to this, but it seems MLS usurped my steam. Due to the new playoff system, the "Western Conference Final" could involve a team from the East. Now, that's according to the schedule on MLS's official site. However, I think they anticipated this and quickly printed up championship t-shirts for the CDC-Houston game Saturday night. The playoff system needs a little tweaking to fix this exploit (and why does Chivas get to play a lower seed when their conference proved to be worse?), and I would love to see Kansas City win to make a change imperative. Also, while I'm on the subject, they need to make the semifinals a home and home series.

Anyhow, I'm indifferent on both of the teams from an emotional standpoint. Chivas doesn't offend me in the least. In fact, I would love to see them really tap into the Latino market and start drawing players from the local community. It can only help the US team in the long run. I guess one of the problems is the huge rent they pay to AEG each year, which leaves them with limited funds. As for KC, I'm not nearly the Jimmy Conrad mark that most Revolution fans are. Sure, he's a good guy off the pitch and I enjoy his show. However, on the field, I hate his guts when they play the Revs. I'll save my fan mail for when he retires.

Who I'm Rooting For: Kansas City



Houston - FC Dallas

The battle of Texas. Texas is a place that I dig how their citizens think... from afar. In my naval experience, the Texans who I served with who acted like "typical Texans" are insufferable and really tough to work with. I still have great friends from Texas, but few of them epitomize what us New Englanders picture when we think of the Lone Star State. In reality, they act more like the people on Friday Night Lights during the first season. NBC writers should be defenestrated for murdering that show. They turned it into one of those shows which don't last four seasons on Fox.

Seriously, this is an easy one for me. The FC Dallas fans are easy to get along with, we seem to find our way through their defense when we play them, and I do not want to play Houston again in the final, especially after they have consistently played some of the best soccer in MLS since June.

Who I'm Rooting For: FC Dallas

Revs Vortex / Revsreport

Here's a couple of good examples of web 2.0 being utilized to promote our local side:

The new Revs Vortex, which is a widget that you can add anywhere on the web. A good place is on your personal page (myspace, facebook, etc.), your homepage, or your blog. I tried placing it on one of the sidebars here, but there's already a lot there and it was severely impacting load times. I'll put it on my facebook page when I get around to making one. Installation is a piece of cake, unless you are from Jersey, a moron, or both.

This particular widget is run from the Revolution site and offers news and highlights from a slick interface:

http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/mediacenter/index.cfm?ac=vortex

Now here's what I'm talking about! A Revs fan, who I don't think I know, has a vlog (video blog (web log)) which expresses his opinions on the team. He seems to have posted one for every game here. This is the latest installment:



Pay him some youtube love when you get a chance.

Commies Won - Freedom Of Expression Nil

Nobody comes to Blue Blooded Journo for politics, and I mean nobody. In fact, a lot less soccer fans would stop by and a lot more wackos with their high horses on soapboxes would if I ever began spouting off my brand of politico. That's something I do my best to avoid. However, I'm making an exception this time after reading about what occurred at the friendly between RSL and the Chinese national team last night in Salt Lake City.

According to a first hand account on the Fire John Ellinger site, several RSL fans and Tibetan ex-pats were told to put away their ROC (Taiwan) and Tibetan flags. This was followed by someone who appeared to be a PRC political officer demanding the flags be removed and a Tienanmen Square protest banner be taken down. The game was actually stopped in the 60th minute with the Chinese team threatening to walk off the field. One fan was booted from the stadium and several people were asked to relinquish their flags to security even after they stopped waiving them.



I'm usually hard on RSL management, but I can't blame them for not seeing this coming. In my opinion, they were just reacting to a situation in which they were blindsided. If they did nothing, the Chinese team may have walked off the field and it could have created an international incident. However, this does raise some issues in regards to freedom of expression.

In this country, you have the right to speak your mind, but you don't have the right to be heard. In other words, you can't interrupt a funeral of a fallen soldier to yell "I'm happy he's dead" if you are a hippie and you can't walk on stage at a comedy club and preach the Bible just because you feel the audience needs saving. However, you do have the right to non-intrusively voice your political opinions, which is what occurred last night. In China, you absolutely can not speak out against the government. Even if it's in a social setting, voicing your opposition will result in you getting "taken away" by the police.

So why does China get a free pass on the world stage? Besides the normal grievances by Amnesty International, little is said about these basic human rights violations. The reason is that, although it still has an authoritative political regime, China has moved to a strong free market manufacturing-based economy. The world's largest economies rely on cheap goods from their country. In return, China does the right thing and reinvests it's surplus cash in foreign government bonds, thus stabilizing the world's currencies. If they hadn't done this, there would have been crippling inflation in China and erratic fluctuations in world markets. China has also allowed foreign corporations to take up shop in their country and participate in their growth. In other words, China has been a a good economic partner to the world and there is a symbiotic relationship which world leaders don't want to break up.

Politics and soccer are no strangers. Opposing fans will often use such issues to dig into their opponents. Mostly, it's done just to get a reaction and throw them off their game. Supporters, for the most part, do not have political agendas. They just hate their opponents on gameday. The most vivid example of this for American soccer fans would be the 2005 World Cup qualifier in Mexico. Their fans were very vicious with their "9/11" and "Osama" chants. There was enough animosity to fill three dump trucks, but that was all about riling up our players as opposed to advancing a political agenda.

However, there have been rivalries down the years which have had deep political roots. Rangers-Celtic, Barcelona-Real Madrid, and River Plate-Boca Juniors are some of the more famous ones. Opposing fans have had conflicting views on important issues and these rivalries have reached a boiling point resulting in bloodshed. To Americans, this is a foreign concept. The only thing like even remotely close to it in American sports would be the Canadiens-Maple Leafs rivalry a few decades back and that has mellowed out over the years.

Getting back to last night, protests have been an important part of American culture since the 60's. We in this country take pride in the fact we can voice our opinion as a group when we feel it is necessary. We also know the rules and often work within the system to ensure our voices are heard, yet no one will have their own civil liberties violated in the process. What went on last night wasn't large enough in scale to cause a disturbance. RSL has every right to remove anything they feel is offensive. However, a simple flag isn't offensive unless it's a symbol of hate. I guess the Chinese officials were taken aback by the fact they weren't allowed to take those fans into custody, which is surely what would have happened in their homeland. Sorry guys, that's not how we do things here.

Take this opportunity to educate yourself on the history of Taiwan and Tibet, as well as human rights violations in China. The 2008 Olympics are in Beijing and the world will be talking about these things soon enough. Just be sure they aren't trying to pull the wool over our eyes when they do.

Is There a Cure for the Off Week Blues?

There's a comforting nature to the MLS season. Just about every weekend, the Revs will be playing someone, somewhere. Sure, there's sometimes midweek games, which are an added bonus, but every weekend, you will find me in the Fort, or in front of the TV, cheering on the Revs.

This weekend, however, the Revs are off. This is undoubtedly a good thing for the Revolution. Between the call ups for the Gold Cup and the recent off-form of the Revs, a week off to recharge the batteries is EXACTLY what the doctor ordered.

But for their fans, there's a huge Revolution-shaped gap in our weekend plans. What the bloody blue blazes are we supposed to do with all this free time? I've put together a list of things that Revs fans can do to pass the time this weekend.

5) Watch Real Madrid versus Zaragosa (3 PM, GolTV. Six Months ago, David Beckham's coach promised that he would never play again for Real Madrid. The chairman basically called Beckham an overpaid fraud and said Beckham only signed with MLS because no REAL team would have him. Excuse me boys, would you guys like ketchup or A1 with your crow? Real Madrid win La Liga if they win their last two games, and it would be the biggest FU ever if Beckham (who has done all the right things lately, both on and off the pitch) leads them to a title before leaving.

4) Follow the Gold Cup (USA games on FSC, rest on Galavision/Telefutura). The North American country championship kicked off yesterday with two games, and the USA will have probably played their first game by the time you read this. The big 3 in CONCACAF (US, Mexico, and Costa Rica), may have just been joined by Canada, who defeated Costa Rica 2-1 yesterday.

3) Yard work and chores (Just kidding)

2) Root for Chivas USA (FSC 8 PM Saturday) Why? Because they're playing Chicago, who snapped a five game losing streak last weekend. Rooting for the Goats feels unnatural, but at least it's MLS on TV.

And the #1 thing to do to cure the Revs Off Week Blues?

1) DRINK HEAVILY. After all, we have five games to get ready for! (Doubleheader Tuesday Night, Tripleheader Saturday Night)

RSL Clown Cabal Fined Over Joseph Mention

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Real Salt Lake was fined $5000 for making these comments about attempting to aquire Shalrie Joseph. They were also fined $20,000 and lost a 2009 pick to FC Dallas for illegally hiring a goalkeeping coach!

Seriously, what the heck is going on in the Real Salt Lake front office? They have a very strong fan base by MLS standards, but how long will they continue to support a substandard team run by incompetents? They appear to be in a rebuilding year, which is very funny considering they were never good in the first place. It's more of a dismantling year. Whoever thought Freddy Adu was ready to put an MLS team on his back and lead them to glory should have their head examined. His presence has only negated their only other creative source on the team, Medhi Ballouchy. Then, they traded away their only true scoring threat in Jeff Cunningham. Dave Ellinger was kicked upstairs, but does that mean he'll still be doing the drafting?

And we only manged a draw to them last Saturday? Dear Lord.

Gillette Stadium: A Pain in the Grass

Over the last ten years, the teams occupying Gillette Stadium have tried every trick in the groundskeeping book short of sacrificing a live goat to keep the grass field at Gillette from turning into a sandbox worthy of a Cape Cod beach.(I'm sure if they thought that it would have helped, they would have done that too!). (click title to read more)

So late last year, after trying everything, they did the unthinkable. They tore up the grass field, and put in a blend of Field Turf.

"Unthinkable!" We thundered.

"A Moral Outrage!" We blustered.

"A defacement to the Beautiful Game!" We yelled.

"We'll never host a US game ever again!" We cried.

Some anonymous wag on a Revs forum board (that has absolutely nothing to do with the writer, honest), even changed his signature to read "If you can't smoke it, you shouldn't be playing soccer on it"

But did it matter? Nope. The Pointy Ball coach was tired of not only the horrid field conditions, but the insinuations that it was all a devious plot to give the Pointy Ball team an advantage.

So... fast forward to this season. We watch the revs, and are ready to collectively condemn the team the first time someone so much as gets a rug burn, never mind turf toe...

And it's really not that bad. In fact, It plays true, and with no hidden bounces. It turns out the team plays well on it.

And then, a couple weeks ago, the announcement that for six weeks, the good old grass days would be back.

It seems that the international teams of Bolivia, Ireland, and the various CONCACAF sides that make up the Gold Cup don't want to play on the fake stuff any more than we did when the announcement was made.

"Huzzah!" We yelled

"The good old days have returned" We shouted to the rafters.

The Beautiful Game is Beautiful again! We cried!

Unfortunately, the pain in the grass has returned. The field was already coming up in huge tufts Saturday night, and I lost track at 15 of the number of weird bounces that the ball took off the grass.

And worst yet, the Revs look lost playing on it.

Now, don't get me wrong, this is a highly sub-optimal sitaution. The grass is just laid out over the turf. But still.. if you can't keep grass for six weeks, you can't keep it at all.

So here's to the 16th coming and going, and the return of FieldTurf. (at least, until someone gets injured.)

How To Expand MLS

Depending on which day it is, MLS commissioner Don Garber will tell you different benchmarks and timetables for expansion, as well as which cities are in the lead. A few weeks back, he said there was no timetable, and threw out a few cities he felt were in the lead.(click title to read more)

"San Jose is at the top of the list," Garber told me. "Then Philadelphia and the Pacific Northwest. The good thing about expansion is there is no deadline."

Fantastic. The fact is, MLS is nearing the end of it's drive to build the league's infrastructure. They say they are stopping at either 16 or 18 teams to "take a breather" for a host of plausible reasons. Besides the grueling political struggles they have grown tired of, rapid expansion isn't wise both financially and from a quality of play standpoint. The problem is, this will leave huge gaps in the footprint MLS has in this country. Soccer United Marketing, the wider-reaching marketing arm of MLS, will also be left out of several key markets. The scramble to win the lottery for the last three spots, which will have everything to do with what the ownership will be and nothing to do with which markets will be best for the growth of soccer in the US, will leave some important markets out in the cold. (click title to read more)

The solution to this would require MLS to take another major step in developing the game in this country. That would be creating a second division. With a second division, it would make it easier to attract investors to MLS. They wouldn't be required to construct expensive stadiums, their expansion fee would be much less than the $15 million Toronto FC paid last year, and they would have the financial stability and marketing power which comes with being a part of MLS. From there, any expansion to the first division would come from existing teams in the second division. They would have to meet tougher stadium requirements, have successful attendance figures and financial results, and then pay another expansion fee for the "economic promotion" to the top flight.

The right time to launch something like this would be when MLS expands to 16 teams and then takes that breather Garber talked about. For the sake of argument, let's say that San Jose, Las Vegas, and Seattle get teams (completely random). MLS would still be out of large markets like Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Atlanta. The league has talked to investor groups in the past about having teams in those cities. Most of those groups need a lot of public assistance to build a suitable MLS stadium. A few USL-1 teams like Charleston and Atlanta have privately funded small soccer stadiums without affluent ownership groups. This would be much easier to accomplish than the prolonged political dances and backroom deals associated with building a 20-25k stadium.


USL

If this were to be successful, at least handful of USL-1 teams (and maybe a USL-2 team like Charlotte) would have to jump ship and become charter members of the new division. USL has a goal to be a competitor of MLS, but that's just not going to happen with SUM's monopoly on top flight soccer. USL could go on to form regional leagues like USL-2, which is based in the east. They do a great job in player development, and can continue to do so with the PDL and semi-pro leagues.

Absorbing those teams would be a little tricky. For those of you hoping for a quick death to MLS's single entity structure, it'll be a long time before that will come to an end. For this to work, the players would have to sign with the league. However, the ownership groups would probably have to remain separate. Current MLS owners probably don't want to absorb any more losses. Also, a prime target for this would be Montreal. They are actually set up as a non profit organization. Their new stadium is being funded partly by grants given to such groups. Jumping into a system set up like MLS would negate their status and could cost them millions. So, something would need to be worked out. In return for joining, those teams would get a disciplined cost structure in exchange for long term security.

USL teams I feel would make the initial switch to MLS: Rochester, Montreal, Atlanta, Charleston, Portland, Vancouver, Puerto Rico, and Carolina.


Relevancy

The key to pulling this off is to prevent the stigma that all it would be is a minor league. I'll go into the semantics of promotion/relegation later, but if that were to ever have a chance of happening, MLS-2 would need to be both economically viable and relevant. There's also the fact that most teams would never earn economic expansion to MLS-1, so there would be good cause to make this division prestigious enough to attract investors.

My idea for this would be quite revolutionary. After the initial one or two seasons (shakedown period), I would begin having the top two teams earning a place in the MLS Cup playoffs. The division would be immediately relevant and would reward the top two teams with a home game against one of the top two teams in MLS-1. It would also create a David and Goliath situation which is always interesting television.

Also, they could start running a league cup during the preseason in warmer weather cities. They could maybe expand that in future years and give the winner a place in Superliga. Throw in the usual rounds of US Open Cup action and all the MLS-2 teams would have some competitive games against the first division clubs and a chance to win some of the biggest trophies in American soccer.


Economic Expansion

So how would economic expansion into MLS-1 work? Well, the clubs would first have to get the approval from the league. Teams would first need to show superior fan support, have control over key revenue streams in their stadiums, and have set up both a reserve team which competes with MLS-1 sides and a youth pyramid structure with the potential to produce home grown players. Then they would need to pay a promotion fee, maybe over a number of years, and then they are in.

The key to this is that MLS-1 would be getting strong ownership groups, not someone with a bag of money unaware of what they are getting into. This kind of expansion would work well in expanding MLS-1 to 18, and then maybe 20 teams.


Second Division Setup

MLS has over a decade of experience keeping afloat a fledgling league, so it knows the tricks of the trade. This will come in handy during the first few years of MLS-2. For instance, there would have to be an unbalanced schedule to save money on travel costs. With a little luck, it could look something like this after a few years:

Philadelphia, Montreal Impact(USL-1), Rochester Raging Rhinos(USL-1), Carolina Railhawks (USL-1), Atlanta Silverbacks (USL-1), Charleston Battery (USL-1), Puerto Rico Islanders (USL-1), Portland Timbers (USL-1), Vancouver Whitecaps (USL-1), Phoenix, Milwaukee, Miami FC (USL-1)

(Assuming the three cities I mentioned earlier were already in MLS-1, I just threw in the USL teams I think would make the initial jump with some strong candidate cities.)


Promotion/Relegation?

If you look around the world, nearly every national league has a ladder system with promotion and relegation. For the most part, this was brought about because the supply of top fight capable clubs exceeded the demand when those leagues were formed over a century ago. It's nearly impossible to set something like that up from scratch here. Believe me, if they were forming the top flight in England today, it would look more like the NFL than the EPL. Financing would be easier and the owners would be assured to rake in gobbs of money without worrying about relegation. Granted, the ladder system is an important part of the footballing culture in those nations, but it was brought about in another time. For American soccer, you just couldn't relegate Red Bull New York to the USL to bring MLS to Puerto Rico. However, there are a few more modern examples of soccer leagues setting up pro/reg.

The best example of how to set up a second division is the way the Japan's J-League did it in 1999. Essentially, there was already a great number of serious amateur and semi-pro clubs in the country. The J-League invited the ones who qualified to form J-2 with immediate promotion and relegation. This allowed some of the smaller market clubs time to build and they are now mainstays in J-1. While this kind of setup would make things very interesting in MLS, I just don't see it happening without a successful second division already established. Even then, teams would still need to economically qualify for top flight status and probably pay a one-time promotion fee.


Other Benefits

Besides providing a breeding ground for future top flight clubs, a second division would benefit American soccer in many other important ways. First off, MLS-2 would be a heck of a lot more visible than USL-1 is right now. First division clubs would have better access to game footage and the scouting network which the league is currently building would be greatly enhanced. MLS-1 teams could loan out some of their younger players to MLS-2 teams and vice versa. There would also be more coaching positions in MLS for prospective managers to prove themselves.


Conclusion

The expansion sweepstakes are tough and could yield some peculiar results. There are just too many prospective markets where MLS could be successful. Why leave up to political circumstance which fans are blessed with teams? A second division would be the answer to enlarge MLS's footprint in the US and Canada. It's the next logical progression in establishing a world class infrastructure, anyway. When the mickey mouse antics of growing the league to 16 teams is finally accomplished, they should give this idea a shot.

Beckham Plays Stunningly - Is MLS In Trouble?

Yesterday marked the return of David Beckham to the England lineup against world powerhouse Brazil. Earning his national team spot by producing a run of good form to finish out his Real Madrid career, Beckham seems to have sealed his place for the important forthcoming Euro qualifiers. (click title to read more)

Should MLS be worried? After all, AEG put up big money to bring him to LA and every other team altered their ticket structure to account for his arrival. Heck, the league even drafted the schedule so everyone could get to see Old Spice. Andrew Hush wrote a brilliant piece sizing up the situation before yesterday's game. The last two lines are foreboding:

It remains to be seen whether 'David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy and England’ is a passing trend or something we have to become used to. After all, if he flops over the next five days in the red, white and blue, LA has nothing to worry about.

Well, it looks like they have something to worry about. As Hush's article points out, LA can refuse to let Beckham play in any friendlies unless they are on Fifa sanctioned dates. So, we here in New England who would like to catch a glimpse of the svelte soccertarian should have no fear. However, the upcoming Euro qualifiers will eat into the Galaxy's home schedule, which is already sparse during Beckham's first season. That has to be a hard pill to swallow for those who bought season tickets expecting to see him regularly. Most hit would be those who have had season tickets, and only endured the outrageous price hikes because the team signed Becks.

There's another scenario that LA has to worry about. If they fail to make the playoffs, Beckham will have 5 1/2 months off from MLS action. That's not a schedule conducive to a footballer getting prepared for the second biggest international competition in the world. He'll probably want a two month loan to an EPL side to stay sharp. That would probably conflict with the Galaxy's Asian trip scheduled during the offseason. The team would lose out on millions. If Beckham was prevented that opportunity, it would lead down a slippery slope leading to a disgruntled Beckham buying out his contract. AEG would recoup it's money, but the embarrassment for MLS would take years to recover from.

Alexi Lalas stated yesterday that a loan was out of the question. Of course, that's just Alexi trying to sound important. The decision won't be up to him. Beckham will choose his destiny. What he chooses is the question.

Landycakes Being Landycakes

According to this article, Landon Donovan is poised to turn down an invitation to grace the US national team's presence in Copa America later this month. Invitation? Since when did the captain of a team need an invitation? Any player with half a pair just needs his marching orders and he's off to play for his country. (click title to read more)

The reason he wants to stay (according to him) is that he's already going to the Gold Cup and his club team, the LA Galaxy need him. Hey Landon, you're team has needed you during the first six matches this season. They needed more than the five points you have delivered for them.

The real reason he doesn't want to go, besides the lack of testicular fortitude, is that he doesn't want his club team to be usurped from him by David Beckham. Here's a news flash for you: it's already Beck's team and he hasn't even stepped foot on an MLS pitch yet. Get over it.

The only thing that really pisses me off about all this is Landon Donovan is the captain of the US team. Supposedly, coach Bob Bradley will be bringing 10-12 players from the Gold Cup roster. This runs contrary to the belief he would be bringing a completely new B team to the event. In fact, some European based players are also willing to stick around, especially players like Jay DeMerit and Frank Simek, whose clubs were relegated and need to earn a place on the team. A team Landon Donovan has no business captaining. Even our boy Clint Dempsey wants to be on the Copa America team and his Fulham side will need him to stay up next year

If I were Bradley, I'd sit Donovan during the Gold Cup to teach him a lesson.

Jonathan Kraft On WEEI Log

I'll be logging the Jonathan Kraft interview on the WEEI Dale and Holly Show as it happens. Here it goes: (click title to read more)

- Jonathan Kraft exchanges shirt complements with Dale and Holley.

- Talks about Patriots Place being a "lifestyle center" which will be a first to the region.

- Patriots Place was the brainchild of Papa Kraft who wants to make Foxboro a "destination". Getting Bass Proshops was huge and will be the anchor. God help us. Didn't we fight the Civil War to banish rednecks from the area forever?

- Asked if the current situation is better than Boston would have been (for the Pats). JK was a little apprehensive because it would have been better from the start. However, this new project would never have happened.

- Not a direct relationship with the project and the sports teams save the medical centers that will be built.

- Now talking about the Pats museum. Can't they save that for tomorrow's interview with Bob Kraft? JK seems really into it if that matters for anything. Don Shula Steakhouse should be there right next to a monument to that blizzard game as suggested by Dale. John Smith kicked the winner in that one. That's soccer related, right?

- Holley asked how the Revs turned around. JK attributes it to Steve Nicol. "He's a real mucker in the mold of the old Bruins". I have to agree. SN would dive in front of a slapshot face first. JK also talked about how Nicol is superb with American players.

- JK likes how they don't have to scour the Earth for players. Dear Lord.

- JK talks about Beckham impact and explained the DP rule. Stressed how they are meant to not only add good players, but they had to add something else off the field. Claudio Reyna? Talks about how AEG owns Beck's image rights.

- Beckham game is almost sold out. I'm thinking that's the 30k number.

- Holley asked about Joseph situation and why the Celtic offers were rebuffed: SJ is too valuable to the team. Hey JK, then freakin pay him!

- Asked if it's better if Beckham coming or big clubs wanting MLS players. JK mentioned that the goal is for MLS to be a power. He mentioned that it's important for the US to compete for a World Cup before the league is taken seriously. He believes MLS is a second tier league. Someone should force him to watch some Argentine or French league games sometime.

- Asked when the normal players will start getting recognized on the streets of Boston. JK mentioned he overheard a lot of Revs talk at a youth tournament which is a huge change from 5-10 years ago.

- TV ratings: MLS is "holding it's own" on cable. Right there with NHL's. Aspiring to approach NBA's level. People want to watch soccer and JK thinks production value will help.

- Thinks MLS will be in 16 cities shortly. Talked about how ESPN2 Thursday night is important branding, especially with the out of market audience. Sort of dissed Direct Kick as unpopular and not many parents buy it for their kids. You think?

- Dale doesn't think Gillette is good for soccer. JK agrees and thinks SSS's add atmosphere. Gives a shot out to the "fan club" in The Fort. JK wants a SSS, and mentions they are working on one.

- JK would be happy to share a SSS with the Breakers (new women's team next year).

- He would also love to get a SSS next to public transportation.

- A number of other towns have approached them. They aren't going public with it because of the Patriots experience. Brian Bilello and the company that built Gillette are leading the charge.

- Krafts were "very close" to doing something with Liverpool a few years ago. The time just wasn't right for it. They are still open to something like that in the future.

- On youth development, he talked a lot about the structural setup for some reason. He mentioned Sunil Gulati and how MLS is absorbing some of the youth setups and JK mentioned the importance of that. A lot of rambling with no specifics.

- Dale asked about hosting the World Cup. JK said the soccer bigwigs are focused at getting it in the US in 2014 or 2018. Brazil may have something to say about that.

- Holley asked about the overhyped 2006 US team and why we should think things will be different. JK pointed out that we tied Italy. Fantastic point. I'm sold.

- Kids that can be great short stops and point guards can become soccer players instead! Good luck with that, man.


That's all for the interview. Not a lot of new information. It's reassuring they are somewhat actively working towards a SSS. Besides that, it was pretty generic.


Audio

Part 1
Part 2

Finishing Up On Local Announcers: DC United

After an emotional roller coaster of a day, I sat down to watch the Toronto-DC United match. This gave me an opportunity for some closure on my MLS local announcer critique I had done earlier. DC won the game 2-1, but they had to come back to do it. It also took reverting back to a 3-5-2 in the second half, something that one would figure was obvious given the success teams had with it against the expansion side vice lining up in a 4-4-2 and slugging it out. Anyway, here's my very unfairly biased critique of DC's announce team: (click title to read more)

First off, let me say I was emotionally drained going into this, so I had no tolerance for the typical trappings I despise about American soccer commentary. I had watched my favorite insignificant Football League side, Blackpool, win to go on to Wembley and possibly get promoted to the Championship. Why Blackpool? Well, that's the home of legendary wrestler and elasticface, Sir William Regal, that's why. I also played them extensively in Fifa '05. Their new digs look nice after moving out of "Generic Lower League 3". That's where the game told me they played, anyhow. Then, Manchester United lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup during extra time. Even though I favor United, I called that one perfectly in an e-mail read out on World Soccer Daily on Friday. What made it so painful was watching the game play out exactly as I had called it: boring play, few chances, Drogba with an extra time winner. Then, the good Lord made it up to me as the Red Sox demolished the Braves with Daisuke Matsusaka cruising to his sixth victory. Has any team worked pitchers like the current Sox lineup? Then again, one bad game in October and they're the 2001 Mariners. Needless to say, I was a little wiped heading into this one.

DC United

Announcers: Dave Johnson, Thomas Rongen

Dave Johnson is the "IT'S IN THE NET!!!" guy. To his credit, he made that call when Toronto scored. Rongen's a decent analysis, but his timing deteriorated as the game went on. So did Johnson's. When the game got heated, Rongen quizzed Johnson: "What does DC United stand for?". Johnson responded" "pride and, uh, passion?". Very weird moment which also caused some bile to rush up my esophagus. Their crew gets low grades for showing a montage of Moreno penalty kicks before he tied the all-time goals record. Granted, you would have to go back a few seasons to see him score a nice goal from the run of play in MLS, but he did have a nice one in the CCC. Show that one. All in all, they are a decent team by MLS standards. I just wasn't up for 90 minutes of standard MLS announcing this afternoon.

Calling the game: 7, Homerism: 8 (mostly for that stupid exchange)

Rank: 5


So the final tally looks like this:

1. Toronto FC
2. Chicago Fire
3. New England Revolution
4. Houston Dynamo
5. DC United
6. Kansas City
7. Red Bull New York
8. Chivas USA
9. FC Dallas
10. Real Salt Lake
11. Colorado Rapids
12. LA Galaxy
13. Columbus Crew


As the Revs game inches closer, I'm getting a little nervous. We're really going to find out if the team is for real, or just another middle of the pack team that just happened to go on a run to start the year. We'll find out in about two hours time.

Rating MLS Local Announcers

I watched the Toronto-Houston match last night on MLSnet which used the Houston telecast feed. It was the first game called by the Houston announcers I've caught in quite some time, and I think I've heard all the local announce teams this season so I've decided to rank them.

The criteria will be how well they call the game being played on the field, how much they gear their announcing towards the home side, and a completely subjective ranking by me. The final rank takes a lot more into account than the first two categories. And yes, I'm a biased Revolution supporter. (click title to see rankings)

So in no particular order:

Houston Dynamo

Announcers: Charlie Palillo, Glen Davis

Decent broadcast last night. Glen Davis, who hosts one of the best soccer radio shows in the country, provides color commentary that is very relevant to the play on the field. He can also break down plays in a concise manner. What I didn't like was the length of the advertising plugs Palillo was forced to read. God bless his soul, he tried to find good opportunities to squeeze them in, but if it takes 30 seconds to read them, the game will change from he starts to when he finishes. There was one such plug where he spoke over one or two legitimate scoring opportunities.

Calling the game: 7, Homerism: 5, Rank: 4


Kansas City

Announcers: Sean Wheelock, Brian Roberts

I was surprised when I heard how long Sean Wheelock has been at the announcing game. I first heard of him a few years ago through Fox Sports World (now Fox Soccer Channel). As it turns out, he's been calling Wizard games for quite some time. Of all the local announcers, he's the hands down leader in putting the game first. He calls the game in a similar fashion you would find on an EPL broadcast. The problem is that his voice is rather annoying and the gravity he exudes doesn't typically match the vibe emanating from the stands.

Calling the game: 10, Homerism: 1, Rank: 5


Columbus Crew

Announcers: Dwight Burgess, Dante Washington

Along with Brian Roberts and Robin Fraser, it's nice to see a former African-American player getting a broadcast gig without the media whores at MLS HQ embarrassing themselves with parallels to Jackie Robinson. That's about the only thing positive I can say about the Crew broadcast team. The game I watched was a home match against DC. They talked over the game, and what they were saying wasn't at all interesting or relevant.

Calling the game: 3, Homerism: 8, Rank: 12


Salt Lake City

Announcer: Bill Riley, Robin Fraser

Fraser doesn't fill the telecast wish superfluous banter, which is good. It's standard issue stuff from a FSN braodcast and pretty low key. Not a lot to hate, but not a lot to love.

Calling the game: 6, Homerism: 5, Rank: 9


Chicago Fire

Announcers: Kenn Tomasch, Kenny Stern

I remember catching a game of theirs a few years ago and was completely turned off by the homerism. They have changed their act in a big way. Both of the games I've watched them call were against the Revs. There was only a hint of bias and nearly equal time was spent on both teams.

Calling the game: 8, Homerism: 2, Rank: 2


LA Galaxy

Announcers: Jim Watson, Mark Rogandino

Rogandino's getting his chops in at FSC announcing lead-in's to EPL matches. I wish some of those announcers rubbed off on him. The broadcast talked over last Saturday's game and was riddled with inaccuracies. LA beat the Revs in the 2005 MLS Cup final. I really don't think the announcers knew that with the way they threw around superfluous stats.

Calling the game: 3, Homerism: 6, Rank: 11


Colorado Rapids

Typical FSN stuff. Something that really bothered me was the number of advertising plugs and graphics on the screen about other Colorado sports teams.

Calling the game: 5, Homerism: 6, Rank: 10


Red Bull New York

Announcers: JP Dellacamera, Shep Messing

I've already shared my thought on Messing here. The thing that makes this broadcast stand out is the team's voice quality. You can tell they are pros who have been at the announcing game for some time. I still think a lot of Messing's comments would be better served in the studio, but the broadcast is one of the better ones in MLS.

Calling the game: 6, Homerism: 7, Rank: 6


New England Revolution

Announcers: Brad Feldman, Greg Lalas

Make no mistake, Brad Feldman is our Homer. He's also quite a talented announcer who my not be limited to calling Revs games in the future. Greg Lalas does what some of the other color guys should do and that's keep his partner's home team bias in check. They make a great team. It's almost too good because the little inside jokes the two pals have spills into the telecast at times.

Calling the game: 8, Homerism: 8, Rank: 3


Chivas USA

Announcers: Christian Miles, Bernardo Osuna

It's tough playing the latino angle on the English broadcast. Chrisopher Sullivan is busy with the FSC game of the week, so that was an experience drain this season. Christian Miles is an odd choice given his inability to distinguish between Latvia and Lithuania on entire WC qualifier broadcasts. However, they do give the game proper respect. There's also something about Osuna's style that I love. He's in and out quickly with his comments, which is rare in MLS.

Calling the game: 7, Homerism: 7, Rank: 7

FC Dallas

Announcers: Brad Sham, Dave Dir

Dave Dir is a wealth of knowledge. It's a decent broadcast, but sometimes Brad Sham doesn't seem like he's all that into the game. The "Dave's Dir-ections" feature does make me chuckle whenever I hear it, though.

Calling The Game: 6, Homerism: 6, Rank: 8


Toronto FC

Announcers: Nigel Reed, Craig Forrest

The English play by play guy brings a touch of class to the broadcast. For awhile, I've thought that American announcers should call games like the do in England. I still do. However, this team makes me think that it may be the manner in which Englishmen approach speaking is better suited to calling soccer than the way Americans approach verbal communications. The Cannuck color guy is a bit of a homer, but overall it's probably the best in MLS.

Calling the game: 9, Homerism: 5, Rank: 1


DC United

Whoops! I haven't actually caught any of their telecasts this season. When I was stationed in Viginia, I caught them all the time on Comcast and loved the run of poor form they were experiencing. I also really enjoyed Thomas Rongen's color commentary when he was on. However, it wouldn't be fair to rank them here.

Rank: n/a


Final Rankings:

1. Toronto FC
2. Chicago Fire
3. New England Revolution
4. Houston Dynamo
5. Kansas City
6. Red Bull New York
7. Chivas USA
8. FC Dallas
9. Real Salt Lake
10. Colorado Rapids
11. LA Galaxy
12. Columbus Crew

Not ranked: DC United

Does New England's Success Add Up?

Roughly a fifth the way through the MLS season, the New England Revolution sit atop the MLS table for the first time. This makes me giddy. Granted, the teams sitting just below, Kansas City and New York, have a game in hand. Given the team's stellar run of results since the opener, it's tough to argue the case the team is not in MLS's elite. The team hasn't gotten off to this good of a start since 2005, the only year in the team's existence anyone could make the claim the Revs were "great". It's tough not to get elated with the Revs winning three out of four, with a tie on the road to a desperate team mixed in. However, this raises the question whether a team in MLS, a single entity league designed for parity, can even be considered great. (click title to read more)

The vibe going into the 2005 and 2007 seasons were very similar for the Revs. Both teams hadn't made any proven additions. Both teams didn't make any proven additions. Pre-season predictions often had both teams in the middle of the pack because nothing left gave the pundits any reason to be high on them. Both teams needed at least one rookie to become a full-time starter. In 2005, our defense looked very weak going in, but Micheal Parkhurst exceeded everyone's expectations and has been one of the best central defenders right out of the gate. This year, the Revs needed a competent strike partner for Taylor Twellman while Pat Noonan healed, and have got it from fourth round draft choice Adam Cristman.

Relying on players from the draft is risky. Just look at the picks from 2006. Not many are left, and Willie Sims is at best the team's fourth best striker. However, the Revolution have built their team almost entirely through the draft. This would give credence to the theory that Steve Nicol and Paul Mainer have an eye for talent, that they have made the required additions through the draft to make New England a superior MLS side. This would be the easy way to look at it:

(Revolution) - (Dempsey) + (Thompson + Cristman) = small point loss

If this is true, so is this:

(Real Salt Lake) + (Freddy Adu) + (Chris Seitz) = playoff team

This approach treats players like they are commodities who's value relies on where they play and who they play with. It doesn't take into account that players, especially young ones, are developing all the time. How much they progress depends heavily on good coaching. That is where the Revs have had an edge. They have a very good coaching staff that has taken a multi-year approach towards it's players.

Let's revisit those math equations. We'll give Nicol's staff a variable of 1.2 because their coaching helps the team, and Real Salt Lake's staff a 0.8 because John Ellinger was a twat and Jason Kreis is unproven. We'll also say that the original equations gave New England a schedule length adjusted 42 points and Salt Lake 40 points to make the playoffs (many preseason predictions went that way):

1.2[(Revolution) - (Dempsey) + (Thompson + Cristman)] = 50 points

Now, look at the change for RSL:

0.8[(Real Salt Lake) + (Freddy Adu) + (Chris Seitz)] = 32 points

That wouldn't be a bad prediction at this stage of the season, huh?

Although far from scientific, the coaching variable needs to be part of the equation. It's far more mathematically sound than the simple commodity method most people use in their preseason analysis. It's also better than the standard "we need time to gel" line that is often spouted off when a team gets off to a bad start. While often true, who do you think is responsible for getting the players to gel? That's right, the coach.

So the coaching is largely responsible for continual improvement of our home team despite no real proven acquisitions. However, there's one other major factor to take into account, and that's the quality of the league.

Going back to 2005, many of the teams were going backwards. There were also two expansion sides that had dreadful first seasons. It's hard to argue that DC, New York, Columbus, Chicago, and Kansas City started the 2005 season in better shape than their 2004 counterparts. In fact, many of those teams made offseason trades that destroyed their chemistry. The Revs finished 2004 strong, and built on the success of their young nucleus. You could say that Noonan, Twellman, and Dempsey all made the jump from "promising young talent" to legitimate allstars that year. The way the league is set up for parity, all it takes is a slight rise in quality coinciding with other teams taking a step back to propel you to the top. That's what I attribute the team's remarkable rise in form during the first half of 2005 to.

However, success in a league where everyone is somewhat equal makes you a target. From the summer of 2005 all the way through the start of the 2006 season, teams stepped it up when playing the Revs. They figured out that you could stack the box and play the counterattack with success. Just ask DC United about this. They had one of the best starts ever in 2006, but their record has been mediocre ever since.

So that brings us back to this season. Just how good is this team? Several years of playing together has yielded a cohesive unit. A few rookies have stepped up to contribute. Khano Smith entered the season on time without a broken leg and has solidified his starting position. Taylor Twellman is happy and has scored six goals in seven games. These are some of the reasons that make the Revs better than last year. However, the league is also much better, especially compared to 2005. Given that, the improvements the team have made aren't enough to consider them "great".

Looking forward, the Revs do have the most promising group of youngsters in their short history. With the coaching strengths I mentioned above, that will reap dividends in seasons to come. The current first team is in the upper echelon, but it's tough to say they are tops in MLS. We'll just have to wait and see.

MLS To Vegas? Hells Yes!

It was bound to happen. One of the unfortunate byproducts of David Beckham coming to the league is the amount of would-be investors, who know little about the game, popping up. In the past, MLS has taken the high road, claiming that expansion teams would only be awarded to ownership groups with a good business model and a plan to build an appropriate stadium.

However, that was before they had a lot of serious investors knocking on their door. Does the league office, made up almost exclusively of non-soccer guys, believe it's own hype? They already plan on charging much more for an expansion fee than the $10 million Toronto paid last year. Do they think that they are the reason the league is beginning to take off and all they need is some seed money from a handful of quick expansion fees to make soccer a major sport in the US? I hope not. There are many pitfalls in that approach, and I hope the bigwigs have the ability to turn down tens of millions of dollars to avoid the same trappings which doomed the NASL to failure.
(click title to read more)

However, my usual reaction didn't apply when I read this story. In short, they plan on building a retractable roof stadium somewhere near the Las Vegas strip, in conjunction with a casino, which would house a Las Vegas MLS franchise. I have no problem with this.



Other American sports don't want any part of Las Vegas. Gambling isn't accepted as a part of mainstream American culture. The owners in the other leagues won't let their colleague anywhere near the gambling, including owning horse tracks where you can't even bet on team sports. I'm not sure if this would be a problem given the single-entity nature of MLS's business model with our very own Bob Kraft, who also owns the Patriots. I doubt it, because he'd be separated from the operation of any casino built into a Las Vegas stadium. He may benefit from it's success, but not directly.

MLS commissioner Don Garber has no problem with Vegas, though. He seems all for the plan. The spokesman seems to be former US international Paul Caligiuri and Alan Rothenberg & son seem to be backing this effort. MLS would be the only professional sports team of note in a city that has been been adding permanent residents by the truckload as of late. It has the potential to represent the city well, if done right.

Besides, if you could only make one away trip a year, would it be to Las Vegas or Columbus? I thought so.

The league needs to careful when choosing expansion cities. If not, they will have rapid expansion, followed by huge losses when Beckham's star fades. They keep saying they will take a break from expanding at 16 teams. Besides the financial aspects, this is also a good idea because the US player pool just can't support a top flight league that has 32 teams, like the NFL has. I may go into this further in the future, but they should really think about building a second division in the next decade and then slowly economically promoting two provenly successful teams at a time. MLS needs to get a larger footprint in this country, but not at the expense of the league's financials or the quality of play.

In the meantime, they really need to get this deal done in Las Vegas. Dealer, I would like change for my tax return, please.

MLS Ugly

You can't say this round of MLS fixtures was easy on the eyes. Sloppy play and cards galore was the norm over the five games. Here's some random thoughts:


* 11, 8, 7, 11, 10. That's the total amount of shots on net in the games this round. I'm 100% against altering any rules to make soccer more exciting. However, I'm absolutely in favor of teams developing some offensive competency.

* Brian Ching started the game in New York on the bench. It had something to do with making sure the fieldturf didn't aggravate any longstanding injury concerns. If the Revs play Houston in the first round of the payoffs, I want to play the first leg at home. Houston managed only three shots on net despite a man advantage from the 36th minute. Yikes.

* Chicago, New York, and Dallas sit atop the table with seven points apiece. None of those teams scare me. However, I doubt many teams are scared of the Revs. This may be shaping up to be another year like 2004 where there was no clear "best team" and the flow of the season was quite mundane.

* Nico Colaluca has yet to see action in Colorado and the same can be said for Jose Cancela (although Pepe just joined the team ahead of week 2). It's way too early for a final verdict, but Steve Nicol could have been right with his evaluations on the two players after all.


I'll be back shortly with part 2 of my stadium series and Fantasy Soccer Bootroom.

Wynalda's Interviewers Want 16 Minutes

"John Mayes is a loser. I'm going to punch him in the face to show him how big a loser he is."

Pretty strong words, huh? Sounds like I'm pissed off, eh? Well, how about now:

"(Jokingly) John Mayes is a loser. I'm going to punch him in the face to show him how big a loser he is."

Big difference, wouldn't you say? No, I'm not some dirty old man that has a crush on Jessica Simpson who can't spell her boyfriend's name. Well, maybe I am, but that's not the point. The point is that when you write words, those words stand on their own. That's something the writer of the now infamous "Beers With Wynalda" interview didn't understand, and his partner seems clueless about even after the fact as evidenced here. This is my favorite part:

Truthfully, the only good thing to come out of that comment is the national attention the interview got as a result of it.) Rome knows Wynalda, and Rome knew, or should have known, that Wynalda was speaking in jest; it was a tongue in cheek comment that would not be taken literally by anyone, except perhaps by someone with insecurities. Rome, in his usual way, kicked Wynalda when he knew ESPN had Wynalda by the balls. But I beg my fellow soccer fans, do not let this sideshow for the other 80% get in the way of the rest of this epic interview.

At this point, I would like to address a couple of things. First, I am truly sorry that ESPN chose to suspend and fine Eric when he stood up to Rome. I wish it never happened. Actually, I’m even sorrier that ESPN doesn’t pay the same “respect” to Rome as they did to Wynalda. We all know Rome deserves it, but this is for another article. Suffice it to say that in this corporate world, ESPN did what other single-minded corporations do…bow to the “almighty dollar.”

No, Rome didn't know Wynalda was speaking in jest. He had no way of knowing. Adding "(jokingly)" or "(in jest)" is what you do to convey to your reader that the person being interviewed wasn't being serious. This is a technique used everywhere from the NY Times to Maxim Magazine. Acknowledging the fact that Wynalda was in fact joking now makes the situation worse. The interviewer came out and said everything was 100% on the record:

Nothing was fabricated within this sit down on March 24 in Tampa. In fact, the interview was recorded. Wynalda has been known to share his boisterous opinions on the air as was witnessed firsthand by many Americans during his coverage for ABC during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

When FFCinPCB sat down with Wynalda, it was unknown what direction the interview would take. However, questions were asked and answers were given in an honest straight-forward manner by Wynalda which lead the interview in the direction it ultimately went.

Now, if this is the case, Wynalda went on the record [in his comments] about Jim Rome and was serious about it. The friend of the interviewer says he was joking. If that's the case, then it needs to be specified.

So why wasn't it? The reason is American soccer fans take what Jim Rome says about the sport very personally. The interviewer took what Wynalda said in jest and thought "Hell Yah!". He then ran with it. Insinuating the comment was anything less than a complete slam on Rome would have diminished it's effect. The author just didn't take into account what that would mean to Wynalda if it ever got out beyond the tight-knit US soccer community.

It's too bad. The "Beers With" idea was a good concept. Good luck getting anyone important to ever do another one. This is what separates journalists from bloggers like myself. Granted, this blog may evolve and I may be doing interviews myself someday. If that ever were to happen, I would have a lot more to consider before I put digital pen to digital paper when publishing comments.


Odds and ends:

* Wells Thompson won the "best debut" poll by a landslide. There's a new poll up, so go vote.

* I'm redesigning my T-shirt shop to be more associated with this blog. I hope to have it back up and running this week.

* Juan Pablo Angel appears to be on his way to Red Bull New York. There's one more DP slot being used up. I believe a prerequisite for any Revolution DP signing is all the slots being filled on the teams with deep pockets so the Revs can't be outbidded. I'm hoping Man U win the league this year so Giggs and Scholes don't feel obligated to return and then they give MLS a shot. Both can still motor around the pitch.

Weekend MLS Observations

Well, no team has won their first two games. Granted, Kansas City has a chance next week when they face Chicago. However, few could have predicted the way the 2007 MLS season began.


* DC United are 0-2 after allowing a stunning four goals at home to KC. Their back line needs major work and they may have to adopt a "defense first" philosophy at least in the short term.

* Chicago was a man up from the sixth minute, yet they didn't make the Colorado keeper make a second save until deep into the second half. Pathetic. I may have been wrong in thinking Barrett, Mapp, and Rolfe would make a jump in form similar to several young Revolution players did in 2005. We'll see. They may begin to click just in time for Blanco to join the team and screw it all up. One can dream, can't he?

* Don't buy into any Red Bull hype until after another few nice results. FC Dallas finished a game in LA at midnight Thrursday night, had to fly cross-country, and then played in a cold monsoon this afternoon. Credit Arena for getting his club to play, but they were the only team who wanted to be there.

* Columbus looks much better already and Herron hasn't even settled in yet.

* Very impressed with Kansas City's performance, especially with the play of Sasha Victorine.

* Houston put Chivas back in their place. The Revs also showed their 2-0 victory over Toronto last week wasn't such a big deal.


That's it for now. I'll be back tomorrow with another installment of Fantasy Soccer Bootroom.