1/6/05: Joe Morgan and Soccer House... both successful depsite their utter stupidity

[jmeissen0]

Soccer Star enters Draft - UCLA Daily Bruin (http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=31338)

Wizards focus on re-signing Veterans - K.C. Star (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/10575549.htm)

Real getting US Star Mathis - Deseret News (http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600102824,00.html)

Missed Goal could spur Sport's use of Replay - Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/soc/2980035) (screw that)

In 2005, DC will beget Champs and Chumps - Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51539-2005Jan5.html)

USSF asks Union for Arbitration - AP (http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/sports_story.asp?intID=38358102) (please make note of what the USSF is not allowing, it's a big one)

[Len]

[QUOTE=jmeissen0
USSF asks Union for Arbitration - AP (http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/sports_story.asp?intID=38358102) (please make note of what the USSF is not allowing, it's a big one)[/QUOTE]

You know, I really thought that at the last minute there would be some sort of compromise - just enough to get through WCQ. I thought that as the games got closer, both sides would realize how much is at stake....

But now....

[texgator]

You know, I really thought that at the last minute there would be some sort of compromise - just enough to get through WCQ. I thought that as the games got closer, both sides would realize how much is at stake....

But now....
But now what??? Puhleeeeaassseeeee.......this is just posturing. This is how these things go. Neither side will say anything in the public that will show any sign of weakness or a willingness to cooperate.....if they do they lose all leverage. Labor negotiations are all about who gives in first. The first to compromise is the one that always loses. So both sides play "tough guy" for as long as they can......its a complicated game of chicken, really.

[GersMan]

But now what??? Puhleeeeaassseeeee.......this is just posturing. This is how these things go. Neither side will say anything in the public that will show any sign of weakness or a willingness to cooperate.....if they do they lose all leverage. Labor negotiations are all about who gives in first. The first to compromise is the one that always loses. So both sides play "tough guy" for as long as they can......its a complicated game of chicken, really.

Is all of this accentuated by the fact that many American players don't make that much money, especially compared to their counterparts from overseas?

I ask because I can't recall any top soccer nation having this difficulty, and I wonder if for those players, what is paid by the national team is almost an afterthought compared to their club wages.

[Mattbro]

You have to think the Fed has more to lose in this dispute than the players, don't you? I mean, the consequences for the USSF if we failed to qualify for WC06 would be catastrophic. Not to mention for SUM. I'm surprised that Anschutz and Hunt haven't been on the phone to the Fed to tell them to knock it off.

[texgator]

You have to think the Fed has more to lose in this dispute than the players, don't you?
From a money perspective yes....but its damn hard telling a player that he has to forego his dream of playing for his country in a World Cup because of a few dollars. The players have a lot to lose from an emotional standpoint.
I'm surprised that Anschutz and Hunt haven't been on the phone to the Fed to tell them to knock it off.
And who's to say they haven't? But as businessmen they understand the labor/management conflict very well. They know not to say anything publicly....and they also know that they might fact their own labor struggle somewhere down the line with many of these same players and will want USSF on their side.

[garbaggio]

But now what??? Puhleeeeaassseeeee.......this is just posturing. This is how these things go. Neither side will say anything in the public that will show any sign of weakness or a willingness to cooperate.....if they do they lose all leverage. Labor negotiations are all about who gives in first. The first to compromise is the one that always loses. So both sides play "tough guy" for as long as they can......its a complicated game of chicken, really.

It probably is posturing but it's a serious increase in the level of brinkmanship displayed so far. And the more intractable and stubborn people become, the harder it is to reach an agreement acceptable to both sides.

The story makes me considerably more pessimistic.

[Mattbro]

It probably is posturing but it's a serious increase in the level of brinkmanship displayed so far. And the more intractable and stubborn people become, the harder it is to reach an agreement acceptable to both sides.

The story makes me considerably more pessimistic.

I agree with this part. It is sickening to see that they can't sit down and work this out like responsible adults.

[cdin]

In 2005, DC will beget Champs and Chumps - Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51539-2005Jan5.html)

D.C. United repeated as MLS champions, giving Washington two championship teams in the same year! United's triumph was all the more remarkable considering it had to play its games on the asphalt in Parking Lot 8 at RFK because the Washington Nationals got it barred from the RFK playing field for fear it would chew it up with its incessant running around like dogs chasing their own tails. As a result of being forced into the nether lands of the parking lot, United needed to revise its marketing strategy when its normal legion of fans, the "Barra Brava," felt slighted by being consigned to Lot 8 and began calling themselves the "Brara Brava" and began supporting the Mystics instead. United finally turned to bench-warmer Freddy Adu, and asked him to rescue the team. Adu played every minute of every game and responded with an MLS-record 39 goals. At the ceremony honoring the champions (this year held in an underground parking garage at Staples in Chevy Chase) Adu thanked Frank Robinson for making this all possible, and wished Peter Nowak well in his new career as a toll collector on the Dulles Greenway.



Does this guy ever give up? I doubt that Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, or Michael Owen would score 39 goals. Plus if Adu was scoring at that rate there would be no way he would play every minute of every game. First, he would be called up to the National team and probably miss a few games. Second, there is a good chance that he would get bought before the end of the season.

[texgator]

Does this guy ever give up?
The better question is, will you people ever get the joke?

[SoccerPrime]

Great article on Mathis's return to America and joining RSL
http://www.sltrib.com/realsaltlake/ci_2511196

[Stan Collins]

Does this guy ever give up? I doubt that Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, or Michael Owen would score 39 goals. Plus if Adu was scoring at that rate there would be no way he would play every minute of every game. First, he would be called up to the National team and probably miss a few games. Second, there is a good chance that he would get bought before the end of the season. I must admit to begrudging admiration. When it comes to hatchet jobs, most of the ones soccer gets these days are from third-rate hacks or Frank Deford (whose criticisms still look third-rate hacky when discussing US Soccer, even thoguh the guy can write quite well).

But when it comes to insults, this was a Rembrandt. The hyperbolic sarcasm-that-isn't-really-sarcasm tack is almost always the best way to tar an opponent without letting anything stick to you when they come back at you. You can always say later, "Oh, you didn't get the joke." Far and away better than when DeFord seriously suggested that soccer will never take off here because "America doesn't accept cultural imports." (Two words Frank: Monty Python. Two more: Bruce Lee).

And he managed to throw more smears into a few sentences than most of those hacks can get into a whole column.

I had always thought the amount of attention he agve to Adu before the season started was from the perspective of someone who does not like the sport, and could sense the self-satisfaction from him was coming the moment Adu did anything less than take the game by storm and convert the masses. You could actually hear the "You're not playing Adu enough for me to pronounce soccer finally and permanently dead!" gears turning in his head when he complained about Adu's playing time. (The real shame of it was that Wilbon, a much fairer guy to our sport, bought into that gunk, and didn't even write one of the "at least DC has a winner" column he often has in the past.)

[Etienne_72772]

From the Mathis RSL article posted above:
"Mathis will play forward with MLS's all-time leading scorer Jason Kreis, and have a more-than-capable midfielder to pass him the ball in Andy Williams."

Is this called "damning with faint praise"? I dunno--it just doesn't seem all that enthusiastic.

[purojogo]

This might be a bit old for many of you, so forgive me if it's an old issue.... but i think it's relevant to the problem at hand....
Galarcep's MLS mailbag
Ives Galarcep
ESPN Soccernet.com
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=320611&cc=5901
(what follows are all quotes, so do not attribute them to me) :

" The players really disgust me. As a member of the US Air Force/USAFR since 1989 I find the idea of players whining over money to represent their country in a sport is ridiculous. For God's sake they get to play a game for a living, and by the way which hard working American wouldn't be delighted with a 38% increase? The greed and selfishness of these guys is almost unbelievable and I will be spreading the word amongst my fellow soccer loving troops about their appalling behavior. I can't explain how good it feels when your team wins a match...even if you are in a hostile environment. For those couple of hours and for a good while after, it's like you are home and all is normal. In addition, they have the nerve to say replacement players would be traitors. Hardly, the real treachery here is from a bunch of guys who are unwilling to represent their homeland in a sport while thousands of their fellow citizens are putting their lives on the line.

--G.D.

As with many fans, G.D. has lost sight of the fact that the players never did strike, as the USSF would have people believe. The players were effectively locked out of the January national camp as a pre-emptive move, a maneuver done in advance of what the federation perceived as the strong likelihood of a strike. Members of the military should feel free to play the "do it for your country" card considering the sacrifices they are making these days (and it should be noted that GD does not offer his name or rank in the letter). However regular soccer fans should really drop the guilt-tripping, over-idealized notion that the players should just be happy to play for the nation's colors. While it is clearly an honor to play for your national team it still isn't a requirement and unfair treatment by the USSF, whether perceived or real, could lead to the mass retirement of several key American players from national team duty. Soccer powers the world over have seen several stars retire from national team duty rather than continue to juggle the responsibilities between club and country. Despite the increased depth in American soccer talent, the U.S. national team still isn't deep enough to afford losing key players. "

[Stan Collins]

Missed Goal could spur Sport's use of Replay - Houston Chronicle (screw that)

Derek Rae on ESPN.com made a good point: why go for something hi-tech that might slow down the game when a couple of specifically goal-line judges would probably get these kinds of decisions right 99% of the time?

[Len]

But now what??? Puhleeeeaassseeeee.......this is just posturing....

Gee, texgator, you think?

It probably is posturing but it's a serious increase in the level of brinkmanship displayed so far. And the more intractable and stubborn people become, the harder it is to reach an agreement acceptable to both sides.

The story makes me considerably more pessimistic.

That's my point. I never really gave it much thought, but I'm just not as comfortable about it being resolved soon.

[texgator]

That's my point. I never really gave it much thought, but I'm just not as comfortable about it being resolved soon.
But you agree its just posturing?? I don't get it....how do you figure they are any further apart then they've ever been? Listen, one side makes a statement, the other has to counter...that's how it works. The base issue is still the same.......the divide is still the same. All this other stuff is just 'playin' the game'.

[Len]

But you agree its just posturing?? I don't get it....how do you figure they are any further apart then they've ever been? Listen, one side makes a statement, the other has to counter...that's how it works. The base issue is still the same.......the divide is still the same. All this other stuff is just 'playin' the game'.

I guess I've not really paid that much attention to this until now. I read about, thought about how unfortunate it is, the bad timing (WCQ, not to mention the whole NHL thing), and then just went on my merry way. I understand the posturing. But as even yourself said, the first one to compromise is the loser, and what concerns me is the fear that this will become more of a 'winner/loser' battle than what's best for the game......and maybe I'm just being naive - won't be the first time. Maybe 'what's best for the game' has already been dismissed.

Then again, I may have no idea what I'm talking about......won't be the first time for that, either.

[Detective40oz]

While it is clearly an honor to play for your national team it still isn't a requirement

You just killed your own arguement there...you are right it isn't a requirement for them to play for the national team, so if they don't like the money and exposure they receive from a call up then just refuse to show up..but don't hold all players with dreams of playing for the national team back with some kind of strike or posture where either you are against us or with us. That's fine if a player makes his own decision that he doesn't feel he is being fairly compensated for showing up to a national team camp and game....but it shouldn't be a requirement for the whole player pool to be involved in this "Group think" approach.

[Pbourgeacq]

USSF asks Union for Arbitration - AP (http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/sports_story.asp?intID=38358102)

... management, which asked the union Wednesday to accept binding arbitration for a new contract. ...

... Players, who were given until 3 p.m. EST Monday to accept arbitration, are likely to reject the proposal, in which the USSF specified rules that each side must "strictly adhere to."

...The USSF proposal calls for a four-year contract only and would allow an arbitrator from the American Arbitration Association to select either side's proposal, with no compromise allowed.

Players and management could propose non-economic changes from the deal that expired in December 2002, but none that changes "the economic relationship between the parties." The economic changes would be "limited to the dollar amounts and dates only" of the payment schedule, not to changing the structure itself.

"We believe that our offer is a strong one that's good for the players (and) the sport of soccer in the U.S. long-term," USSF president Bob Contiguglia said in a statement.


Thus far, I've been leaning toward the Federation in this dispute because I like the idea of pumping the bulk of the money into youth and stadium programs.

I have to wonder, however, how strong the Federation REALLY believes their offer is, given the fact that they are putting restrictions on what the players can propose to the arbitrator. Either that or they don't have much confidence in the arbitrator's ability to come to a fair decision. Why put any limitations on what's proposed? If the players choose to ask for something too outlandish or unreasonable, the arbitrator will just side with USSF. Something seems odd about this "arbitration request".