Not true. Not true at all. But when I hear the commentators gushing over Sonora to the point of being over the top, I was forced to turn the Spanish broadcast back on, for a while. Just listening to those two, you would have though Sonora was the most successful team in the league. Not to be out done, enters The Great Commissioner Joshua Schaub. He said that the thing that convince Toronto to join the MASL, was Toronto's owners visiting Sonora for last year's Newman/Cooper Cup. Ummmm, you do know that the 9 TIME WORLD CHAMPION BALTIMORE BLAST, is still in business and doing better than any other club. I mean Baltimore has been doing indoor soccer for 37 years. That's the answer I think the new Toronto owners should have been directed to, if they were looking for an indoor soccer team to look up to. Winning the Newman/Cooper Cup was sweet for Baltimore, but I can't help but think that there were some owners, not liking life at that point; especially after last season bitter and divisive off season, that was also won by the BALTIMORE BLAST SHAME
<profane call for ending the commentary--mod>, Paul. Stop. Just stop. Every time the Blast lose, you <complain--Mod>. You <complain--Mod> about the officiating and La Disgrace (and then say you would never call Monterrey "La Disgrace.") and whatever else you can do to show what a fanboy you are. Just like you see what you want to see and read what you want to read, I think you heard what you want to hear. And ten years ago, they were drawing 7,400 a game. Now they're drawing 6,300 a game. In terms of an aging, angry fanboy fanbase playing in a decrepit arena? Yeah, they should have gone there to see that. Probably because they hate your owner and they hate fans like you. Shut up, Paul. Just shut up.
I agree. The commentators I felt were just fine and very good. I actually preferred the announcers they had in Sonora over the Baltimore announcing crew..and I am from Baltimore and a Blast fan. I believe this is a case you had an idea it was going to be bias and heard what you wanted. And this is where I start shaking my head at the angry old man yelling at a cloud. Ken, you LOVE to say how indoor soccer is on the decline and that we can't go back to the glory days. You even like to point out recent success of not so long ago is not sustainable. Yet here you are, using attendance from 10 years ago+ and comparing to today. Do we not remember that up until a month before the season started we weren't even in this league? Are you forgetting we still were at the top in average attendance? Are you trying to convince others (or yourself) Baltimore isn't the most stable franchise in all of indoor soccer? Come on man.. calm down. Again, name calling and cheap shots. Let facce facts, more bitterness comes from San Diego and the West Coast fans then any Baltimore fanboy. I agree, lots of Blast fans are over the top (Soccerman being one) and see no evil, hear no evil when it comes to Baltimore and the Blast. These are also the same minority of fans who most likely greet you with "hon" and talk with a Dundalk'ish accent ...aka a very small portion of the fan base that are missing brain cells. No larger than the clowns in Missouri or San Diego or Milwaukee or Chicago (etc etc) who blame all problems in life, sports, time and space on Ed Hale. Who cares? We know YOU hate Blast fans and Baltimore, but your attitude can even suggest you hate indoor soccer. I mean, all you do is bash it and anyone who even slightly suggests its popularity could raise. Between you and Sydney (and that freak show on facebook from SD) I don't know who has the bigger hard-on for hating on the Blast and their organization. As much as you seem to hate the "fanboys" who think the Blast have no faults, you act the same exact way just the opposite side. It's annoying. It's old. It's tiring. I don't think a man of your age should need to hear this but.... grow up and get over it.
Actually, everything IS Ed Hale's fault. Think about it. First, the Chiefs not getting to the Super Bowl. Ed did that just to torment the Comets ownership. Ed jacked up the price of beef in the grocery stores so more people would be forced to eat oysters, crabs and fish from the Chesapeake Bay Area. He rewrote all of Nicholas Cage's scripts the last 7 years and made them unbearable simply because Nick doesn't follow indoor soccer...especially the Blast. He designed the sagging pants look to help the sale of Hanes briefs of which he has a large stake in. It worked so well the company was able to sign Michael Jordan as their spokesperson. He threw the election to Trump because Clinton wouldn't promise to make viewing of professional indoor soccer (especially the Blast) mandatory. And finally, the entire Middle East mess. Yep, that was Ed.
I kind of disagree with that Scott. I don't think NSL2004 has a hate on for Baltimore. I think he has a love/hate relationship with the Blast. I look at it as a parent looks at the guy/girl who married their kid sometimes, you support them and help them out because you want them to succeed, however sometimes they do things that make you want to kill them. I don't want to speak on his behalf, just reading his posts on here for 15 years, that's my take. I'm actually amazed, no astounded, no flabbergasted that lunatic from SD on Facebook hasn't been on this board. Either nobody has told him or nobody talks to him. Its a blessing and a curse really,.............no it's a blessing. This is one wacky little community we have here on Planet Indoor.
Possibly Shelts, I'm going off of his more recent posts and not as far back as you do with him. I know he spends countless hours looking up videos and angles of the alleged handball that tied the game and tries to say Baltimore doesn't deserve the title. He also was at the forefront of trashing Ed Hale, and basically begging anyone who would listen to not allow the Blast back in the league. He does still attend nearly every Blast game and probably spends more money on Blast games then any other team in the league, but his actions have even drawn the ire of Mike Conway and other Blast in-house personal. It does make sense what you're saying, maybe he actually is the biggest Blast fan on earth and he's just chirping because he can't control himself from talking about his favorite team. And yes, lol it's a blessing. That guy couldn't hang here. The majority (definitely not all) of this forum actually has a brain that functions over kindergarten level and I don't believe "the SD lunatic" could deal with reasonable, well written responses to his bs. In his world, if you disagree with anything he says he just blocks you and kicks you from his group. I doubt he could handle not having the power to avoid intelligent conversations.
I thought I would post these photos since the league seems to fail to post images of the MASL championship trophies and awards.
That trophy is very sharp looking. Does anyone know what money the players get for winning the championship - if any extra at all, and so?
Money???????? In indoor soccer? Is this a team paying the players a championship bonus ir thw league? Money? Really?
Seriously. It's a legit question. Does the winning team get something extra, monetarily speaking? Ok, then how about their salaries. Are all players paid a flat salary or per game, which the latter would motivate the players through the playoffs to advance further? Or, is it just for sheer pride that drives the players?
Its an interesting question Venerable. Generally most professional leagues pay the players for the training camp, preseason and regular season games. The playoffs are usually set up with bonus structure based on team (always) and individual (sometimes) goals. MASL is not "most leagues" though.
Indoor soccer has had teams where players were not getting officially paid (recent examples such as Chicago Riot, Omaha Vipers, Wichita B52s, etc). Maybe some of these guys were getting paid under the table by family or friends, or funding themselves, living in a van down by the river, etc. It is shameful for any so-called professional sports league to allow this to happen. Not only for the negative effects on the unpaid players, possible lawsuits of unpaid wages, etc. It makes indoor soccer look unprofessional in the eyes of fans and potential sponsors, and has helped hold back the development of the sport (one of many reasons). Ken is right, ultimately there is not tons of enthusiasm for indoor soccer outside select cities and markets. Can the MASL reverse that trend? The MASL is slowly climbing out of the abyss, but there is a long way to go. Team and financial stability through league sponsors, advertising rights for the league, etc are the next logical step. Make sure players are paid and treated well, even at a more modest semi-pro level. Minimum pay of $3-400 per game (for those on game day rosters) plus a modest living stipend and health insurance is a reasonable goal.
I know for a fact that several years ago Harrisburg Heat players had sponsors to cover some of their cost , I am not sure what it exactly covered.
Wait. The rings are "valued at under $1000.00 each" as in $100/150 dollars or The rings are "valued at under $1000.00 each" as in $950/975 dollars A broad statement of fact that answers almost nothing.
$100,00 each They are made from 10K gold as of today this is the rings true value below Values Entered: Gold Weight: 32 grams (equals 20.58 DWT, also known as pennyweight) Purity: 10k Gold Price: $1284.20 / troy ounce Answer: Total gold value is $550.51. This doesn't mean you should expect to receive $550.51 from a buyer. This amount represents the current melt value using the live gold price. A collectors value is 2 x 3 times the gold price
I would doubt there are too many "collectors" looking for a Baltimore Blast MASL championship ring. I can think of two off of the top of my head.
Actually thats not true at all, I know several collectors that want them They are true ring collectors here in Baltimore and they try to collect rings from each championship won in maryland right down to the colleges. They are easy to display and dont take up a lot of space.