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Building uncertainty

Posted 23 Dec 2009 at 10:30 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)

No, I'm not writing about my twin brother's new girlfriend, although here's what I do know: Everything she owns is the color pink, she hates soccer, and she loves Barry Bonds.

Sounds like fun, right?


Red
Bull Arena, the finest soccer stadium in the land, is set to open March 27th.

That being said, when is the massive marketing campaign to get the word out going to get in gear? Didn't the Red Bull organization forego any significant advertising last season in anticipation of wowing the public with an unbelievably spectacular launch of the venue? Four...
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The pyschological underpinnings of the Eurosnob

Posted 17 Dec 2009 at 03:36 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)

With Landon soon to be jettisoned off to Merseyside, the nauseating stench of Europoser douchebaggery is permeating across message boards everywhere. Without legitimizing such rationale, as my buddy Ethan pointed out, Pele didn't exactly play in Europe either.

I've always thought of Eurosnobs as insecure high schoolers. Way too worried about what other people think, ignoring and poking fun of others in a superficial attempt to "look cool", to people that really couldn't give a rat's ass about them in the first place.

But high schoolers also grow up. Many of...
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Officially Taffycakes

Posted 15 Dec 2009 at 08:36 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)

Almost, anyways.

Nick
Green, as usual, with the goods.

A press conference has been scheduled for noon tomorrow inside the ESPN Zone at LA Live, to announce a "major player announcement". And if that isn't enough of a giveaway, this post on Landon's Facebook all but confirms the speculation.

Quote:
"Back from Hawaii after a great vacation. Congrats to Alan Gordon and his wife, Sandy, on getting married! If I'm not back soon, Happy Holidays to all!!!"
Jolly good. Give 'em hell, LD.


Speaking of Facebook, the Washington Post recently...
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Taffycakes

Posted 09 Dec 2009 at 03:36 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)

Where's Landon going? This week, first according to Ives and now ESPN, the legitimate second source that can transform a rumor into a real possibility, Everton FC.

A few weeks ago, Club America was the rumored destination for Donovan, and now the Premiership is calling for his services.

Landon Donovan: England killer or Mexecutioner? He can either head on over to England, and avoid rough tackles from every thick-headed patriot looking to take him out of the World Cup, or he can travel to Mexico, where...

He's going somewhere, that's for sure. I refuse to...
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The off-season blues

Posted 07 Dec 2009 at 03:11 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)
Tags epl, mls, us soccer


Rooney, Terry and Lampard inside the World Cup trophy? Yeah, that's not arrogant.

So there's, what, four more months until the MLS season begins?

For the average die-hard MLS fan, the off-season is a tedious exercise in boredom, a seemingly endless waiting period until the new season kicks off.

(It doesn't help my team was a measly penalty kick or two away from winning the cup)

Not that the off-season isn't usually ripe with juicy...
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Re: The curious case of Devann Yao

Posted 03 Dec 2009 at 03:36 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)


It's all about the halfies with afros.


Ok, enough with the promotion and relegation debate already. I stopped reading Jimmy Conrad's mish-mash of crappy ideas after a few paragraphs, mainly because I wanted to save the brain cells.

Promotion and relegation in MLS is never, ever going to happen.

I say, let's talk about something worth discussing. If the derelicts are that concerned, they can all congregate inside Jamie Trecker's basement for all I care. ...
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Chivas USA announces Martin Vasquez as head coach

Posted 02 Dec 2009 at 03:32 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)
Tags chivas usa

Today at a press conference at the Home Depot Center, Chivas USA has introduced former assistant Martin Vasquez as their new head coach.

As the first Mexican-American coach in the club's history, management was high on his playing history with El Tri as well as several Mexican clubs, credentials that are sure to increase ticket sales.

Management was equally high when seriously contemplating the hiring of Steve Sampson, a move that would have easily gone down as the single most bone-headed coaching decision in MLS history, and a glaring reminder of how terrible Stephen...
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The Donovan Experiment

Posted 28 Nov 2009 at 02:58 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)

Ok, so I'm not exactly holding my breath about Landon Donovan and rumors of a possible loan move to Club America.

For an individual like Landon, who can be quite moody when he wants to be, I have my doubts. The Landon portrayed in the Beckham Experiment, the guy that felt "disrespected" by a early substitution in the second half of a Champions League match and never looked back, I'm not so sure. Then again, that same guy did a whole lot of growing up this past year, with the Confederations Cup run the crowning achievement of his transformation to a mentally tougher individual,...
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Good capitalism, bad capitalism and more

Posted 25 Nov 2009 at 06:28 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)

One of the issues Garb addressed at the Supporter's Summit was the desire to grow the supporter's culture in MLS, with the goal of increasing the size of supporter's groups 10% to 20% a year.

So how does the league help facilitate such growth? With a few exceptions, supporter's groups are organic by nature, consisting of individuals who aren't exactly anti-establishment but definitely not pro-status quo either. They live to push the boundaries, drink tasty beverages, light flares, drop f-bombs and have a good time in general, all of which contradicts the corporate vibe of the average...
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Victory in defeat

Posted 24 Nov 2009 at 03:17 PM by Mike Gray (Letters from Pibe)

It's Tuesday, and I'm still struggling to recover from MLS Cup. My voice is shot, and my hair more tangled than a bird's nest.

But was the trip worth the time and effort and hundreds of dollars in expenses? Despite my team going down and Seattle screwing up the away seating as if they didn't have the entire season to figure it out, most definitely.

The weekend's highlights include

-Getting an honest answer out of J.P. regarding the Martin Tyler situation. (And yeah, he ain't too happy about it)

-To quote Michael Scott, swag! I can't decide which...
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