4/26/05: Yeah, I've been craving burgers, too. Furburgers.

[cdin]

Guzan's First Tastes of MLS Have Been Bitter – LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/galaxy/la-sp-soccol26apr26,1,3464542.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-soccer-gal)

The Sound Guy Sounds Off: Um, Soccer Anyone? - WOAI (http://www.woai.com/spurs/story.aspx?content_id=B9F3528E-F270-43DA-AA1E-33D33601D62F) (San Antonio Soccer Stuff)

MLS Officials: United Played on Irregular Field – Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501267.html)

Questions regarding Metros' D multiply – North Jersey Herald News (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMzcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2ODUyMDMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2) by Ives Galarcep

100% Soccer: Saturday's passionate crowd was nice to see - Carson Daily Breeze (http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/articles/1511612.html)

Right in the middle – Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/articles/2005/04/26/right_in_the_middle/)

Rangers keeper Waterreus still has MLS on mind – Tribalfootball.com (http://www.tribalfootball.com/april/scotnews3260405.html)

Preki Is Fighting Time and Tide – NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/26/sports/soccer/26soccer.html)

An American in ... Eindhoven – USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/world/2005-04-25-beasley-eindhoven_x.htm)

[Knave]

Years ago Tom Presthus, who'd just moved onto the Crew, had a comment about Thomas Rongen's coaching. To paraphrase, he said "Thomas Rongen has an uncanny ability to say exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time." I was reminded of that today when I read the article from Grahame Jones, the one that features this quote about Brad Guzan:
"It's going to be tough for us to continue to tell him that we feel that he's still a goalkeeper that can perform for us."
What a horrible thing to say of Guzan. Perhaps that's what you think. Maybe that's what you confide to your assistant coaches. But to say that to the press!

I don't know if Rongen's an idiot or an assh'le or just a reckless fool, but that's not something a coach should be saying publically about his players.

And, frankly, the comments are particularly ill-placed coming after the game against the Galaxy. Guzan happened to play very well in that game. None of the goals were his fault. If Rongen wants to take somebody to task in the newspapers then perhaps he should bitch to Grahame Jones about the Chivas defense - you know, those guys who routinely abandoned Guzan to the wolves.

People wondered why we hated Rongen so much when he was with DC United. Here's an example of one of the many reasons.

[Brrca Fan redded]

How do I get the e/m address for this ESPN moron Nwulu dude. I would like to send an e/m and tell him how I feel about him, ESPN and NFL.

[jmeissen0]

Harked, two others chosen for Hall - Chicago Daily Herald (http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/sportsstory.asp?id=41396) (warning, written by McPickle)

Football, Golf would welcome MLS-luring Financial Agreement - San Antonio Express News (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA042605.1D.mls.reax.21393ec77.html)

Sounders fall in Final Exhibition despite absence of Adu - Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sounders/2002253224_sounders26.html)

[rojojova]

So most of the press coming out of San Antonio in regards to the Alamo Dome proposal has been negative towards MLS, huh?
Has there been any support in the Local SA media?

[Mattbro]

What a horrible thing to say of Guzan. Perhaps that's what you think. Maybe that's what you confide to your assistant coaches. But to say that to the press!

I don't know if Rongen's an idiot or an assh'le or just a reckless fool, but that's not something a coach should be saying publically about his players.

And, frankly, the comments are particularly ill-placed coming after the game against the Galaxy. Guzan happened to play very well in that game. None of the goals were his fault. If Rongen wants to take somebody to task in the newspapers then perhaps he should bitch to Grahame Jones about the Chivas defense - you know, those guys who routinely abandoned Guzan to the wolves.

People wondered why we hated Rongen so much when he was with DC United. Here's an example of one of the many reasons.

Yes, but......... you just quoted the one negative sentence in a whole paragraph full of sympathetic and supportive comments from Rongen, so that wasn't very fair.

[Stan Collins]

So most of the press coming out of San Antonio in regards to the Alamo Dome proposal has been negative towards MLS, huh?
Has there been any support in the Local SA media?

There was one I posted in yesterday's thread:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/columnists/stories/MYSA042505.07B.Anglin.20256f6a7.html

Most of the critical pieces are from folks who had a economic take on the AlamoDome, rather than that WOAI hatchet job on the sport itself.

[Mattbro]

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I actually enjoyed the WOAI article - pretty entertaining. Something is fishy though - that dude is either very circumspect (he got all of the names right, including the spelling, plus mentioned a lot of little details that non-soccer fans probably wouldn't pick up on at first), or he actually knows quite a bit about the sport and was feigning ignorance.

[Bigrose30]

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I actually enjoyed the WOAI article - pretty entertaining. Something is fishy though - that dude is either very circumspect (he got all of the names right, including the spelling, plus mentioned a lot of little details that non-soccer fans probably wouldn't pick up on at first), or he actually knows quite a bit about the sport and was feigning ignorance.


Agreed. That's exactly what I thought as well.

[irvine]

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I actually enjoyed the WOAI article - pretty entertaining. Something is fishy though - that dude is either very circumspect (he got all of the names right, including the spelling, plus mentioned a lot of little details that non-soccer fans probably wouldn't pick up on at first), or he actually knows quite a bit about the sport and was feigning ignorance.

That's just good reporting. It only seems fishy in this debased era of "journalism."

[Mattbro]

That's just good reporting. It only seems fishy in this debased era of "journalism."

Well if that's the case, I can't call it a hatchet job. At least he has enough respect for the sport to get all the details right.

[Ronaldo's Idol]

Well if that's the case, I can't call it a hatchet job. At least he has enough respect for the sport to get all the details right.


You know, you really have to wonder if you can ever convert a guy like that into a fan. I saw that Chelsea-Arsenal game and it was a great game, lots of possession quick passing and some good fast paced action as well.

If actually scoring is all he cares about, and isn't impressed by quick one touch passing in tight spaces or tough aerial battles or screaming 30-40 yd. shots, then soccer isn't for him. At least high quality soccer where scoring isn't so easy to do. I can see why he's a basketball fan.

Luckily, the US is a big enough country with enough people that there are plenty of soccer fans out there. I'm betting well over a million who would love to watch that Chelsea-Arsenal game and would enjoy it despite the lack of goals. So MLS has hope...

[OldFanatic]

The Sound Guy Sounds Off: Um, Soccer Anyone? - WOAI (http://www.woai.com/spurs/story.aspx?content_id=B9F3528E-F270-43DA-AA1E-33D33601D62F)(San Antonio Soccer Stuff)

God, what a waste of time that was! I want the precious time of my life wasted reading this garbage refunded back to me.

[okcomputer]

So most of the press coming out of San Antonio in regards to the Alamo Dome proposal has been negative towards MLS, huh?
Has there been any support in the Local SA media?

Its been amazing the difference in support between SLC and San Antonio.

[OldFanatic]

How do I get the e/m address for this ESPN moron Nwulu dude. I would like to send an e/m and tell him how I feel about him, ESPN and NFL.

Don't look now, but his email address, work phone number, and home phone number are in the link below:

http://www.ncta.com/guidebook_pdfs/ESPN.pdf

There is a different phone number here:

http://www.mathcounts.org/webarticles/articlefiles/621-ESPN2Announcement.pdf

I don't want to post any of this info in this post. It's all there.

Apparently this is the same retard who made a tounge-in-cheek statement: "Indoor soccer has massive substitutions, end-to-end action and more goals (than regular soccer). So, it's exciting."

There is a post about him right here:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4703291&postcount=9

[mace]

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I actually enjoyed the WOAI article - pretty entertaining. Something is fishy though - that dude is either very circumspect (he got all of the names right, including the spelling, plus mentioned a lot of little details that non-soccer fans probably wouldn't pick up on at first), or he actually knows quite a bit about the sport and was feigning ignorance.

I did not think there was any value to the WOAI article. My impression was that the author was completely ignorant of what he was writing about, which I guess may be entertaining to those who are also ignorant.

What "little details" did you pick up on that made you think he might know quite a bit about soccer?

Just curious,

Mace

[Ikari]

The WOAI article reminds me of a comment I'd heard once:
A 1-0 scoreline in baseball is a pitcher's duel. A highly defensive game. Very intense.
A 1-0 scoreline in soccer is boring.

Oh well, can't convert them all.

[Geneva]

Really good article in USA Today about Beasley & I also liked the one in the Carson Daily Breeze about the Galaxy game. New information, well written, both of them.

Thanks as always for posting these links.

[mpruitt]

True or not DMB takes a little dig at MLS.
"It was never America. It was always Europe because that's where real soccer is played," Beasley says. "There's so much passion, so much love for the sport. Here people have PSV tattoos on their chest and arms and necks. You'll never see that in MLS — ever.

"A person who has a Chicago Fire tattoo? Here they cry and they can't function when we lose. It will mess up somebody's day. It's so deep in their blood growing up with their club. That's what I wanted to be a part of."

[Michael CM1]

There was one I posted in yesterday's thread:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/columnists/stories/MYSA042505.07B.Anglin.20256f6a7.html

Most of the critical pieces are from folks who had a economic take on the AlamoDome, rather than that WOAI hatchet job on the sport itself.

Have you ever noticed that when someone slams a sport all they ever do is break it down into the simplest terms? Sports writers are rarely ones for critical thinking it seems:

Baseball: hit a ball, run 360 feet and end up back where you were
Football: 22 people hitting each other as hard as they can going back and forth on a cow pasture
Basketball: freakishly tall people running back and forth putting a pumpkin in a basket
Hockey: toothless foreigners slamming into each other on skates
NASCAR racing: rednecks making left turns all day
Golf: whack the ball, get in a cart, whack the ball...
Tennis: hit the ball over a net hard, repeat

As you can see any sport sounds dumb when you break it down into simple terms. The main reason a lot of these people hate the sport is because it hasn't been on TV much until recently and many areas don't have a team to follow. With the growth of the league, this will change (slowly). OK, the rant is over.