12 of those 25 matches will feature CUSA. Fwiw, here's all the local market OTA affiliates for TF, and I assume none of these went away when they rebranded to Unimas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Telefutura_affiliates
surprised RSL games don't get more TV love... and TFC is the only team to not get a nationally broadcasted game?
They'll be nationally broadcasted in Canada, just like Montreal and Vancouver will. Of course, after this past season, I'm not sure I'd want to subject national audiences to TFC. We can't have hospitals being flooded with people who've tried to gouge out their eyes with anything they could find nearby.
True, but the '11 season ended almost a full two weeks earlier than the '12 season did. So the turnaround time is still quicker.
More or less a confirmation that Livestrong will host the ASG http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/08/4000774/visit-suggests-that-sporting-will.html
It says on the website that the 3rd week is "Rivalry Week", featuring Seattle-Portland for the Cascadia Cup, RSL-Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Cup, and Toronto-Montreal. Wait, Toronto-Montreal? What about Toronto's deep Trillium Cup rivalry with Columbus? Ha! I kid. No one gives a sh*t about the Trillium Cup. I see that the Crew's "rivarly week" game is against San Jose. Another team that would probably rather be playing someone else (the Galaxy is paired against CUSA). ------RM
Colorado @ Salt Lake on Mar. 16th. That's a lousy thing to do to travelling Rapids fans. St. Patrick's Day in SLC of all places?
Just for the record, the schedule was released as early as mid-December in the league's early years. In recent years, it has been as late as mid-February (when the league kicked off in early April).
At 514 miles away, they are our closest opponent! Though, yeah, this whole rivalry bid is sort of sad. We get no special cup because we don't care who you are... we just want to beat you at a reasonable level.
Why do the Red Bulls have 19 nationally televised games? Did they win something? It's annoying seeing more of the Red Bull logo in the seats than people. Anyway I can't wait for our rivalry with the Crew. We run that shit. That's right Columbus.. you know... F*ck your stadium.. or something... whatever.
Columbus traded their televised games to New York for an unspecified amount of allocation money, per league rules.
It's all about TV ratings. New York, Los Angeles and championship teams has been the successful strategy of sports leagues in the U.S. for the last 30 years. Don't act so shocked.
Portland has too many games on ESPN/2 and NBC given their performance last year. I appreciate their fanbase and atmosphere, but televising quality should be more important than televising full stadiums. Most soccer fans watch for the soccer, not to watch the fans. And they might turn it around with Porter, but that's putting the cart before the horse. No reason Por deserves 5 games on the three biggest networks while SKC gets 2. Not until they actually show they're a top team. Both DCU and Hou deserve games on the 3 bigger networks before Por.
I have no problem rewarding the Por fanbase. Give them a game or two on the 3 bigger networks. Show them some appreciation. But at the same time the actual players and coaches on teams like SKC, Hou and DCU who performed on the field last year, and DCU really impressed after DeRo went down deserve more appreciation for what they actually accomplished. I'd personally rather watch SKC vs DCU/Hou than Por vs whoever just because their stadium is full.
Right, well, I made a specific effort to watch Portland home games last season because I could be certain that the atmosphere would be great. Not to stir the pot, but the schedule-makers are more likely to be looking for guaranteed entertainment, and while the teams you mention certainly had better records than Portland, I watched more than a few horrible games where a team went about grinding out a good result. We pretty much know what a DC game at RFK looks like, about what ratings it will get, etc. And honestly, I can't get enough of seeing the beautiful stadiums in Houston and Kansas City. But I have yet to watch a Timbers game where the crowd alone wasn't enough to grab my attention. MLS knows that atmosphere is a huge differentiator between what it offers and other American sports products, so it's wholly unsurprising that they're making a heavy bet on Jeld-Wen Stadium. They can be absolutely assured of compelling visuals, no matter what else happens. Having watched a lot of sports in the midwest, I know that the ECMB alarms will be sounded, and I do wish there were more SKC games on national networks, because I like their stadium, their fans, and their team. But outside of soccer, my favorite teams are small-market, flyover country teams, and I know perfectly well that there's just not enough interest in our games-- even when we are good-- to draw heavy national attention, compared with much bigger markets. "Fair" doesn't matter. If I don't like it, I can get Center Ice or whatever.