I already wrote-up all the games I caught - and intend to catch - this weekend (RSL v. Houston; LA v. New England; Columbus v. Chicago), but still feel compelled to kick around the results I caught through the highlights. Obviously, these will be big-picture, even half-blind, opinions but some of those results really caught the eye.
On with it - and do feel free to fill in the ample blanks I'll leave in the comments.
FC Dallas 1-1 KC Wizards
Just when you think the Wizards had forced a flip to send Dallas tumbling to the basement, Abe Thompson makes a late, great run to the back-post, heads in a goal, and - pow! - tie game. Up to that point, the tale was a familiar one for Dallas: Kenny Cooper against the world. Even given that, KC is showing some signs of life...unlike Dallas' attendance.
Again, it's a holiday and I'm entertaining, so this will be short.
A good, if slightly weird, game out Columbus way, wasn't it? The Chicago Fire, a team that really stunk up June, came out flying against the Columbus Crew, shutting them down inside their half, pressuring every ball and, yes, knocking in two well-taken goals before 20 minutes were gone (maybe....don't hold me to the time). Before the first half ended, however, Columbus scrapped one back and, when all was said and done with a couple absurdly close call thrown in, the Crew forced the draw. The most interesting angle in this one comes with which players showed up. Chicago's Justin Mapp played a wonderful first half, making the kinds of runs and passes we came to expect from the once-(now?) up-and-comer. Given Mapp's season, this seemed to come out of nowhere. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, the Crew's Robbie Rogers - e.g. this year's Golden Boy - remained something like invisible up to the game's final 15....click here to read more...
I'm entertaining this 4th of July weekend, like I lot of you I expect, so this and subsequent write-ups will have to be brief...probably a good thing given my capacity for blabbing.
What to say about this one, but Ho-ly CRAP, did the LA Galaxy suck every possible thing in every possible way in the first half. They didn't even look like professionals out there; one blond-shag-sporting player looked so out of place that it looked as if he walked out of the stands to join the team (OK, no, that's not technically a shag Abel Xavier is sporting, but what the hell do you call that...thing on his head?). Given that, you can almost forgive the New England Revolution for nodding off in the second half, thereby nearly allowing a draw.
Straight to the talking points: LA Galaxy 1. Dude, Xavier freakin' sucks.
Yeah, this is about as novel as saying grass is green, but Xavier somehow slipped under his own lowly standards last night. He made New England's Adam Cristman look world-class...need...click here to read more...
"I can't wait for the 15th of July, when we can sign some players and make a very competitive team," said Osorio. "Because at the moment, I think all of our players have had the chance to shine and stake a claim and a lot of them refuse to do that."
Okay, but, you did wait for the 15th of July.
I guess I don't want to say that teams shouldn't have a chance to improve, or correct mistakes during the season. But I blame DC United for doing too good a job of it in 1996, and then again in 2004. You can also blame DC United for turning Supporters Shields into first-round exits the past two years. People think they can write off the first three months of the season and contend for the championship, and that's the reason we get New England and Houston every year. The big moves Houston made last year were Nate Jaqua and Joseph Ngwenya. The big moves Los Angeles made last year were Much More Widely Covered. Which team didn't embarrass itself?
You read something like this, and of course, you immediately think it's just Jason Kreis running off at the mouth again like there's money in it:
[quote]Chris Wingert was red carded and ejected following a scuffle with Corey Ashe in the 90th minute -- a decision that brought a shower of debris from the stands to the turf at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Tempers became further inflamed when referee Mark Geiger brought the match to an end after four minutes of added time. RSL argued the allotted added time should have run 4-1/2 minutes instead of four.
The time added on and Wingert's red card pushed Kreis to his boiling point and the second-year RSL coach exchanged heated words with the referee before heading off the field. He was unhappy following the game with what he perceived as a lack of consistency from the referee and the linesmen.
And it was more than bullets the Houston Dynamo dodged tonight: what about the late altercation that saw Real Salt Lake's Chris Wingert get sent off while the two Houston players involved in the fracas got...well, let's just say they got the rough equivalent of the extension of extra time to account for that incident.
Does this mean RSL got screwed? Nah. Getting back to the bullets fired by RSL, it's fair to say the Utah club failed to aim where they could inflict maximal damage. They put plenty on frame, but kept aiming for Houston's Onstad-lined vest...must be something like kevlar...then again, I'm guessing there's also a meaningful connection between RSL's (is it?) league-leading number of shots taken and their meager return on goals.
OK, I'm done with bullet analogies, but the big take-away from tonight's presentation of MLS Primetime is this: it's rare to see a club get so close to a win - and, lest we forget,...click here to read more...
What with the Galaxy playing a good team on the Fourth (i.e., one from east of the Mississippi), tonight's game might easily be How the West Was Won, at least in week 15.
The Royals are playing, and here's all you need to know about Salt Lake this year:
4 0 4 14 6
1 6 0 4 13
Wins, draws, losses, goals for, goals against. One line is home, one line is away. SEE IF YOU CAN GUESS WHICH IS WHICH. Someday, some team will have the bright idea of making visiting teams play on molten lava. Until October, though, we have Rice-Eccles Stadium, the last unconquered home field in MLS this season. (Beemoe Field was violated this week, and by a USL team, even. Technically, that's not an MLS loss, but that's like saying Vietnam wasn't technically a war.)
So the only question is, will the Dynamo get the point, or lose outright? Tough call. The Dynamo were all set to do to the West what DC United is doing in the East - clawing its way out of the grave to terrorize the neighborhood....click here to read more...
After a comparatively dynamite roll-call for Week 13, we’re back down to the old normal. Can’t say I mind, not least because it’s clarified the big picture a little bit. If 2007 was the Year of the Tiers - or that’s what I called them - let’s call 2008 the Year of the Cluster. More on that later: here are the somewhat reduced, but sincerely appreciated, pundits on this week’s panel:
Just a little more in-depth than The Wire, which you should take a look at by clicking on the "News" link at the top of your BigSoccer screen.
FC Dallas: Big man Kenny Cooper's suitor was uncovered after an unknown European squad tabled a $1 million bid. That club - according to Buzz Carrick over at 3rd Degree - would be Rosenborg, the Norwegian powerhouses that once was the home of American fullback Robbie Russell. The move wouldn't exactly be a bad one for Cooper as Rosenborg has hit some trying times (finishing 5th last year - they've won 20 league titles) and are in need of a proven target man. Cooper isn't exactly proven on the international level, but with Rosenborg's success in developing "big striker" talent (Steffen Iversen, Sigurd Rushfeldt, Jon Carew), Cooper could be a steal for them. It's going to take a little more than $1 million however.
What an impressive result in last night's Copa Libertadores final. As much of a fan that I am of the Champions League, the Libertadores--well, it's nuts.
It was all in Flu's corner--as one player remarked, LDU Quito couldn't bring altitude with them to Brazil. With a spot in the World Club Cup at stake, I'll leave the result unsaid and let people comment......click here to read more...
The US Women's Soccer team took Norway apart at the seams yesterday, winning 4-0 in a country where they've never won before, getting the goals from four different players.
The women look ready to do some damage at the Olympics.
While we're on the subject, here's a great look at the US WOMEN'S TEAM that Pia Sundhage is taking to Beijing by the increasingly indispensable Lindsey Dolich.
I know most of you don't follow the ladies too closely - to each his own and all that - but when you feel like checking in and seeing what's up, Dolich is where to go. She's currently doing some of the best soccer writing - regardless of gender - in the US today.
See, there's a contest if you vote, and maybe I'll win....er, I mean, I'm voting ironically. I'm still cool.
I've long been mystified as to why they even bother to count these - they should just pick the guys who (1) are having the best seasons, (2) are willing to show up, and/or (3) could use the bonus money from their contracts. I've also thought they should only pick single guys, because, well:
"Good news, honey! We're spending a weekend in Columbus!"
"I want a divorce."
(Yes, I know it's in Canada this year. Yay, passport hassles.)
GOALKEEPER (select one)
Kneejerk pick: Bouna Coundoul. Hey, look at how the Rapids have been doing without him.
Sensible pick: Matt Reis. He's nominated for an ESPY, you know.
Guy who actually has the best GAA in the league, still: Jon Busch
The All-Star Game sucks so let's inflict the worst possible team on MLS pick: Zach Wells, despite Steve Cronin, because there's no place to write in Tony Caig
First of all, Mark Hughes has to be standing on something. From all the times I've seen him play in games, in highlights, João Alves de Assis Silva looks about 6'3", 6'4". (Note: program height is 6'3") Hughes is 5'10".
Now, the £18m that's reported to be Jo's fee to CSKA Moscow is more than double what MLS got for Altidore from Villarreal. That's pretty impressive. Only one Brazil cap to his name; maybe he'd have more, but it seems he and Dunga don't see eye-to-eye these days.
So why the price difference? Is it the two-year European pedigree?...click here to read more...
As of this morning, Crystal Palace USA has a better record in the Open Cup than Chivas USA, both this season and all-time.
Even the most diehard New York hater perusing the Red Bulls boards last night and today must have thought, "Man, this isn't funny anymore. There but for the wrath of God go I." If you haven't perused the Red Bulls boards, the reaction is pretty much this:
That's one unhappy anthropomorphic taxicab right there.
When the GOOD option is "We don't care about the US Open Cup, and since we're not allowed to boycott it we'll effectively throw the games," you know something is broken. I was 6-2, my best prediction record since World Cup 1998 when I had France, Brazil, Holland, and the Philippines in the semifinals. (What? Three out of four, that's pretty good.) But one of the two was a game that...hm, let me check my metaphor file....
[quote=AHF4FCD;15083255]I think you are wrong on that one. He will coach in the World Cup. Yeah, you can write that one down. There isn't really an opportunity to "fail" (unless it's by not qualifying) up until that point. And they...
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[quote=Bootsy Collins;15066969]I gave my opinion on this to Ives a few days ago, when he asked whether DC fans "would be able to get enough votes in to get Emilio into the lineup." I told him that some DC fans would rather him not...
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[quote=Since1974;15082469]You'll start to notice the reports are getting more onto "here's the score and what happened" and less about digging into certain players, attack philosophies and the like. I think the Quakes are falling off the...
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[quote=Stan Collins;15083063]That's a complete crock. People have been whining about unexciting regular season games for years. (Somehow the whines always start up around late June or early July and last until about mid-September, but that's...
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It depends on which end of the stadium, and which slab of concrete, you mean. The stadium was designed with a slab of concrete for bands, etc, at the south end, and only a few seats above it (with the possibility of mounting temporary bleachers on...
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[quote=lawrenceterp;15078967]Why do you have 5 Champions League matches? Isn't it 6 which would already give us the record? It apparently is, and yes that would. They only list 5 on the schedule page at dcunited.com, but it seems you're right. 45...
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[quote=Crew1994;15081827]Talked to some of La Turbina at the half. Seems they were being quiet the first half out of protest b/c some people were saying that their chanting/cheering wasn't wanted/appreciated in the corner.
Who has had an undefeated season in the premiership? Arsene is going to buy 5 ronaldos with the 90 trillion arsenal get for adebayor. So, while you'll have fun no doubt, is there really a difference between ending the season 15 or 9 points behind...
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[quote=Woodrow;15082083]Mmmm, yes... The Red Bulls have had a similiarly mediocre record in past seasons, that is nothing new. What seems different is that they have played some good soccer, winning games and playing some of the top teams in the...
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I'm down with the athletic however i'm surprised at the other choices.
FC Liberty maybe?? or something else that Ben Franklin may be known for.
Philadelphia lightning.... ok its been a long day at work.
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[quote=CommonSense;15082873]Well said, but I also think getting paid TV contracts from multiple outlets was also a huge turning point for the league. One that has resulted in increased visibility both at home and abroad, making professional soccer a...
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We spoke to the owner at the Englander after the game and told him that we would becoming back for road games and would like the Englander to be our "official" viewing location. He said he will pencil us in for that room so we can get it....
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[quote=ArsenalGooner;15082767]Since this is more about overall club strategy compared to wild speculation about specific players I thought this could deserve it's own thread.
It does look like this is being discussed in the transfer...
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I think the Adebayor pursuit is hoping that he could become the next Forlan. But, now that the vote of no confidence appears to have ended in Laporta's favor so now maybe sensible transfers would comeback.
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In un'intervista rilasciata alla Gazzetta di Parma, Luca Cigarini (22) ha parlato della situazione che sta vivendo: vicino all'Atalanta, ma legato a Parma. "Ancora non ho deciso – ha...
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And it was more than bullets the Houston Dynamo dodged tonight: what about the late altercation that saw Real Salt Lake's Chris Wingert get sent off while the two Houston players involved in the fracas got...well, let's just say they got the rough equivalent of the extension of extra time to account for that incident.
After a comparatively dynamite roll-call for Week 13, we’re back down to the old normal. Can’t say I mind, not least because it’s clarified the big picture a little bit. If 2007 was the 
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