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More Table Talk, or, If Sacha Ran the Zoo
Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 05:52 PM by Dan Loney
Updated 21 Sep 2009 at 06:22 PM by Dan Loney (The Rapids still exist)
Updated 21 Sep 2009 at 06:22 PM by Dan Loney (The Rapids still exist)
Sacha Kljestan did the impossible over the weekend. He got me to cheer for Chivas USA making the playoffs. Hell, I hope they win MLS Cup now.
Wait! I can explain!
Sorry, another Rocky Horror reference. I should stop that.
In the rapid-fire interview FSC does, "Six Impossible Questions Before Halftime," Sacha Kljestan was asked, "What would you do if you were commissioner for a day?", and replied, "Establish a single table and get rid of the playoffs."
I'll never know what Peter Vagenas said to that same question, because I was too busy, as the kids say, rolling on the floor laughing.
That's the first thing Sacha would do, before giving MLS players raises? Wonder how Eddie Pope, the MLS Players Union, and Sacha's underpaid teammates reacted to that one - "Hey, thanks for the big help with the collective bargaining agreement."
But more to the point - according to those lovable scamps at Sports Club Stats, CUSA has almost exactly an equal chance of winning the Supporters Shield as they do of missing the playoffs altogether. So, in eighty-eight chances out of a hundred, this year Kljestan's team will be one of the seven direct beneficiaries of the system he decries.
I wonder how he will react? Will he gallantly decline the playoff chance, on the grounds that it's an affront to his football sensibilities?
And let's say CUSA has a few upsets, and rolls all the way to Seattle for a Miracle on 70% Sand, 30% Rubber. Is he going to refuse the medal? Let's see how sincere he is.
In fact, no, we need the Galaxy to win MLS Cup after all, now more than ever. Because I want to see Kljestan pull a Kanye on the medal stand. "Yo, Landon, I’m really happy for you, I’ll let you finish, but Columbus had one of the best seasons of all time. One of the best seasons of all time!" *staggers off drunk*
Except the Seattle crowd, unlike the Radio City Music Hall crowd, will give Sacha a standing ovation for interrupting.
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Eh, while we're here. Yeah, I think Columbus is back to being your rock-solid favorite for the Shield, if not the double. They've been really impressive the past couple of weeks - sure got the stink of that Cruz Azul trip out of the air. Yeah, I know MLSnet said they had one of (ninja edit) the hardest schedules left in the league, and that should give everyone a nice dose of false hope.
But every one of their competitors either was wildly disappointing this past weekend (New England, Seattle (EDIT - and the Raps)), has a killer schedule left (Los Angeles, CUSA (um, no, you actually don't want to face NYRB and the Quakes right now)), has serious-ass fixture congestion (Houston), or can't freaking in at home (Fire).
By the way, if the season were to end today, Columbus would play Chivas USA in the first round - and, presumably, would get a bye to the semifinal, since Kljestan would undoubtedly convince his teammates that the Crew are the season's rightful champions anyway.
Wait! I can explain!
Sorry, another Rocky Horror reference. I should stop that.
In the rapid-fire interview FSC does, "Six Impossible Questions Before Halftime," Sacha Kljestan was asked, "What would you do if you were commissioner for a day?", and replied, "Establish a single table and get rid of the playoffs."
I'll never know what Peter Vagenas said to that same question, because I was too busy, as the kids say, rolling on the floor laughing.
That's the first thing Sacha would do, before giving MLS players raises? Wonder how Eddie Pope, the MLS Players Union, and Sacha's underpaid teammates reacted to that one - "Hey, thanks for the big help with the collective bargaining agreement."
But more to the point - according to those lovable scamps at Sports Club Stats, CUSA has almost exactly an equal chance of winning the Supporters Shield as they do of missing the playoffs altogether. So, in eighty-eight chances out of a hundred, this year Kljestan's team will be one of the seven direct beneficiaries of the system he decries.
I wonder how he will react? Will he gallantly decline the playoff chance, on the grounds that it's an affront to his football sensibilities?
And let's say CUSA has a few upsets, and rolls all the way to Seattle for a Miracle on 70% Sand, 30% Rubber. Is he going to refuse the medal? Let's see how sincere he is.
In fact, no, we need the Galaxy to win MLS Cup after all, now more than ever. Because I want to see Kljestan pull a Kanye on the medal stand. "Yo, Landon, I’m really happy for you, I’ll let you finish, but Columbus had one of the best seasons of all time. One of the best seasons of all time!" *staggers off drunk*
Except the Seattle crowd, unlike the Radio City Music Hall crowd, will give Sacha a standing ovation for interrupting.
--------
Eh, while we're here. Yeah, I think Columbus is back to being your rock-solid favorite for the Shield, if not the double. They've been really impressive the past couple of weeks - sure got the stink of that Cruz Azul trip out of the air. Yeah, I know MLSnet said they had one of (ninja edit) the hardest schedules left in the league, and that should give everyone a nice dose of false hope.
But every one of their competitors either was wildly disappointing this past weekend (New England, Seattle (EDIT - and the Raps)), has a killer schedule left (Los Angeles, CUSA (um, no, you actually don't want to face NYRB and the Quakes right now)), has serious-ass fixture congestion (Houston), or can't freaking in at home (Fire).
By the way, if the season were to end today, Columbus would play Chivas USA in the first round - and, presumably, would get a bye to the semifinal, since Kljestan would undoubtedly convince his teammates that the Crew are the season's rightful champions anyway.
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Well if Sasha isn't going to Europe, maybe he figures he can pretend like it's Europe here.
I don't know, but god is he unlikable.Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 06:08 PM by Mike Gray 
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So, your thinking is that "commish for a day" would carry with it the power to write checks from other folks' bank accounts?
Well then, that is a good gig. but the hell with players too small paychecks, having access to the money of a bunch of rich guys, i'd think it would be the quick purchase of an island getaway, and some sweet loving.
I, also, love the way playoffs so devalue the regular season, making taking seriosly every game in a long season a quaint notion.Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 06:19 PM by mschofield
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How are Seattle and NE competitors to Columbus but Colorado isn't?
Other than the fact that they're Colorado I mean.
An excellent, excellent point - basically, I completely forgot to put them next to New England and Seattle in the disappointing weekend category. I had high hopes for them in the stretch run, too - and purposely didn't say so before the Quakes game, for fear of being accused of jinxing them. -D.
OK, glad we got that cleared up.
Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 06:20 PM by Jasonma
Updated 21 Sep 2009 at 08:02 PM by Jasonma -
I don't think there's a soccer fan in the world who takes seriously every game in a long season, whether the league decides who wins/loses the league by playoffs, single-table, or swimsuit competition. Almost by definition, fans care primarily about the games their teams are in and the games that affect their teams' fates. And single-table w/ pro-rel vs. playoffs don't really affect how much fans care about a particular game.Quote:Originally Posted by mschofield
I, also, love the way playoffs so devalue the regular season, making taking seriosly every game in a long season a quaint notion.
Sure, with playoffs, the results of some league games can seem less important. But in most twenty-team leagues, most years at least 10 teams aren't seriously worried about promotion or relegation for a good chunk of the season. Hard to get too psyched about those games if your team isn't involved.Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 07:18 PM by Grumpy in LA
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DL says: So, in eighty-eight chances out of a hundred, this year Kljestan's team will be one of the seven direct beneficiaries of the system he decries.
Is it perhaps possible that Klejstan simply feels this would be better for MLS in the long run, notwithstanding how it might affect his individual situation in any given year?
Isn't that MORE of a reason to interrupt the medal ceremony with a drunken rant, rather than LESS of one? I think so. -D.Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 07:26 PM by RegularGuy
Updated 21 Sep 2009 at 07:42 PM by Dan Loney -
What was the point of this post?
Why would Sacha need to stop caring about the current system if he prefers another?Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 08:27 PM by anazarn
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let's be real here, Danny ... using FSC's Six Impossible Questions Before Halftime as legitimate MLS player policy directives probably borders on using Jay Walking comments as legitimate commentary about the U.S. National Archives & Records Administration.Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 09:36 PM by Asprilla9
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Maybe Sacha is too busy enjoying his endorsement money and that hot piece of tail he's banging out to care what some internet nerds have to say about him not being the CBA Paladin you want him to be? Geeez the dude is a kid, lighten up.Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 09:54 PM by Lord Batu
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There is nothing that pisses me off more than this line of thinking, i guess all those NFL, MLB and NBA regular season games are also devalued, i mean look how bad their attendance is, why would people care when those teams are not even trying.Quote:Originally Posted by mschofield
I, also, love the way playoffs so devalue the regular season, making taking seriosly every game in a long season a quaint notion.
Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 10:39 PM by CLEATS
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Not to quibble, but Houston does not have fixture congestion from here on out. Houston has 6 competitive games before the playoffs (including an off weekend when the USNT will likely call up 2 or 3 of their best players) while Columbus has 8 games remaining. Columbus has a much more congested schedule than Houston. The biggest thing playing against Houston is that they have 2 more games played than Columbus but are equal on points.
Posted 21 Sep 2009 at 11:52 PM by Dre00
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