Yeah, a better scoreboard would be nice. Two would be overkill IMHO, though I'm hoping for "Athletic" myself, just because I like the idea having all the teams run by a given organization to have the same/similar names. Though I'm more interested in what they're going to call the new league itself.
Just got crazier today. In the middle of the Gen Mtgs of the USL (in Tampa, FL) the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the USL2 Crystal Palace Baltimore clubs announce they are leaving the USL for the TOA league, bringing the St Louis allied new league to 9 (or 8) teams. http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/fr...1/tampa-bay-baltimore-join-new-soccer-league/ Of course, USL then released a statement that they are basically goiing to sue... http://usl1.uslsoccer.com/home/383511.html The fun continues.
Why would USL make those statements publicly? If they would lose their suit, they've pretty much set up TOA to counter sue for defamation. I don't get it.
That's not really true; I don't think anything USL said, even if false, would be defamatory. Honestly, this probably isn't a big deal. Nothing in USL's release should have shocked the TOA. It would have known about any contracts the clubs had and assuredly has lawyers (hello, Cooper!) capable of anticipating a potential tortious interference claim. USL will sue of course. But if the TOA is serious, it knew this was going to happen -- it either has defenses at the ready or pocket deeps enough to settle.
"TOA is tortuously interfering" "TOA has made several misleading statements" Here's two defaming statements. You cannot say someone has unethical business practices unless you can back it up.
You think a lawsuit would definitely prevent the league from starting on time? I would say most likely yes but not 100% for sure.
All I can say is if that's the legal theory you're going to hang your hat on, then good luck to you. That's a really good question and one I don't think we can answer quite yet. Though there is certainly one way to guarantee an April start: write a big enough check to make USL go away.
If that's true do Cooper and the other owners have that kind of money and even if they do are they willing to part with it? Plus USL may want to go ahead with lawsuit to keep their league intact plus to have bragging rights over the breakaway group.
I'm not hanging my hat on that. Just pointing out that saying it publicly was a stupid move IF you are going to sue. Look like the good guy, not a whining name-caller. Why create ANY grounds to be counter sued. Pure ego induced stupidity.
Yeah, that USL press release seemed like it was rushed out to win the media/blog momentum battle. TOA has seemed much more deliberate about their strategy, which is probably a big part of why they're winning. It reminds me of the way McCain and Obama campaigned. One side was content to "lose" the occasional 24-hour news cycle to win the long-term war; the other jumped from gimmick to gimmick (surprise VP announcement, suspending the campaign, etc.) without much sense of a larger strategy. (Before the hornets stir: I'm not saying anything about either candidate's politics, just the way they campaigned. And the TOA/USL analogy ends there as far as I'm concerned.)
I know it's still early, and Wikipedia has to be taken with a grain of salt as well, but has anybody seen the new NASL and USL-1 pages yet? NASL has the nine teams we know about, while USL-1 is down to six. And Coop's the spokesman for the new league. Just thought I'd put that out there. Seems like a good start so far for the TOA/NASL. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Soccer_League http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USL_First_Division
I'm one of the people who's worked on the "new NASL" wiki page, and in general I can say most of the stuff that goes on there is stuff I found in the USL forum first. Most of us Wiki editors are very careful to source everything we can to reliable e-newspaper articles and/or press releases, and we've also made note to include that nothing about the new NASL is set in stone.
SiberianThunderT, nice job. Looking at that map, NASL needs some more western teams. The bane of minor league soccer.
Actually, looking at that map and noticing that MLS states are darkened, one comes to realize that the new NASL would complete the MLS nicely.
I agree with SportBilly, but adding teams to bigger cities within the borders of the 8 (not counting Vancouver) would be a better idea. Such as: Nashville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Milwaukee or Detroit.
I agree with this. One of the banes is travel costs. The NASL (and USL in whatever form it takes) should forego the national footprint until a more fiscally reasonable time.
Dave, that was exactly what I was getting at! So what if it's just half of the US (and a few Canuck cities), it would help the new league form into a solid entity.
I wouldn't worry about it, since there aren't a whole lot of big markets left out West anyway. LA, the Bay area, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Vancouver all have teams already. What's left? San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, I guess? Maybe Orange County? Point is, the bulk of future expansion for NASL, USL, or MLS will, by necessity, focus on the Midwest, the Great Lakes, and the Southeast. That's where the void is: Atlanta and St. Louis obviously, but also Detroit, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Orlando, Nashville, Memphis, etc.
The problem that smaller sports in this country have is the massive gap in the west. Between the Mississippi and the coast, you only have a handful of viable markets. Texas is fine, there are a lot of options there and Missouri has two. But outside of Denver, Salt Lake City, what jumps out at you. OKlahoma City maybe. Omaha, er not so much. Boise if you could through some teams together in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. So focus should be on the two main areas. The larger eastern half of the country and the Pacific Coast. If a team from one region travels to the other let them knock out a couple games like they used to when there were three teams in the Northwest. I still have no idea where this leave the Islanders.
just an update for anyone that may not be following the NASL threads in the USL section.. Rochester Rhinos just jumped from to the NASL today. http://www.rhinossoccer.com/news.php?id=1233 The hits just keep on coming.. the most outspoken club against the TOA early on is now joining them in the NASL. Next up? Puerto Rico?
