In the first step to the end of the MISL Ed Hale has informed players today by phone 08/07/08 that the league is not returning and they are supposed to be out of their apartments by the end of August.
Are we sure that Hale is asking all players to vacate their apartments? Maybe he's just giving one the boot. You know, so that the Blast will have a place to play when demolition of 1st Mariner Arena and construction of the new facility begins. Any goal scored from beyond the La-Z-Boy recliner is worth 2 points... goals which are shot from the guest bedroom at the end of the hall and banked off of the coffee table are 3-pointers. MISL: Major Indoor Sub-Let. We're not looking for fans... we're looking for room-mates.
Interesting. That sounds more than procedural. I wonder if the divide between the owners who wanted to do X, Y and Z and the owners who wanted to do A, B and C was too big to bridge. Huh.
I can confirm that Ed Hale has spent today calling players. May be the end of the line for the Blast.
Is this something they have to do, blow the whole thing up so they can start fresh (new league, new teams, new structure), or do you think it's really over?
So, in one of the earlier posts somewhere, Ed was the guy who brought the whole "fold the league" thing to a vote as best as I can tell in order to re-org the league. And as of two weeks ago reporters were writing articles about how he might want to build his own arena. Now things don't appear to be going his way in the re-org, so he says heck w/ it and folds the team - the one team that we keep hearing makes money. Well that just sucks. Also reminds me of when Cleveland pulled out of the MISL when they were making money. You know, if the team was already profitable, I doubt that the new structure that Ed doesn't like would make the team unprofitable - I mean how VERY different could it be? Is he just mad? Hopefully cooler heads prevail.....
Either that, or the majority plan would kill the league altogether in the long run. I say give me a week to talk to them, and make me the commissioner. I haven't been laughed at in a long time. Seriously, I wonder if/when the details of all of this will stream down the pike?
This doesn't sound good at all. Poor Bomp is out of commission for awhile and he can call up Ed Hale to get the low-down. I doubt Ed would ask players to get out of the apartments (who knew they housed the players in the off-season anyways?) unless he really thought this thing was done. I think the double whammy of the arena going down the tubes and the league bickering amoungst itself as to how to restart might be the end. Unless the new salary cap is so low, so down market that they are all being cut.
Educated guess based on things people are telling me: there are two factions who disagree about the direction and details of whateverleagueitis going forward. Mr. Hale has decided that the gulf between what he and whichever teams agree with him and another owner and the teams that agree with him is too big to bridge and so he and the Blast won't be a part of it, apparently. Doesn't mean the Blast are done, necessarily. But it would be so apropos for indoor soccer for there to be, say, 10-15 teams or something and not have them all in the same league because no one could agree on how many games to play and how to do the playoffs and everything else.
I guess they could be done with the WhateverSoccerLeague and go with someone else or start their own thing. But with the arena uncertainty, maybe Mr. Hale just figures "Screw it. It was a good run, and we went out on top." That's just speculation.
If all is true, it is a just a shame...what more can you say...I'm sure some are laughing, and loving it...but...I thought we all wanted this sport to be around...Baltimore was the cornerstone of pro indoor for the past 4 or 5 years at least. That lose, no matter what league still goes, is a great lose for the "world of indoor soccer". I guess anyone would figure that the PASL-Pro has halted announcements b/c of the possibility that more former MISL teams might jump. If that is the case, so be it. I hope it is professional. Matt
All I know is that I'm getting flippin' antsy. I'm ready for some indoor soccer! Crap. I keep forgetting that St. Louis doesn't have a team.
I hope your right. We're all writing off the Blast who have been a keystone franchise based off of one post about how Ed Hale has asked some players to leave apartments. Kenn, you raise a good point. This would be very indoor-socceresque if we saw a fracture across the few teams that wanted to play into two camps.
Healy is one of the biggest liars in the WORLD. They ripped everyone off again this summer by holding camps, etc under the Blast name when technicaly the team doesn't exist at all. My source is "100% accurate" and financially tied into the biggest star on the former Blast team. When Hale askes them to move out he is saying it's over.
Milwaukee kicked all their guys out of the apartments last month... Doesn't mean anything other than teams are trying to cut costs... But if PJ Wakefield is being kicked out it must be over, whatever, I will wait for the official announcement... I find it hard to believe...
Guys being kicked out of apartments doesn't really mean much. All the players are free agents, and teams could very well just be kicking out everyone until things get sorted out. I have a feeling though that many of the players will just move on. What I am concerned about though is that we have yet to have any announcements, rumors of disagreements are swirling around and we have the arena situation. ~CurryMan
milwaukee has Boy Scouts Nights posted for Dec. 31st 2008 and March 15 2009. So, at least Milwaukee has a plan for the 08-09 season
Shelts - "your"!!!!! From you - the constant lamenter of modern day education..... I'm just rippin for fun.