The "Thoughts That Don't Require Their Own Thread" Thread XII

FieldTurf's newest surface has been installed at @GilletteStadium, debuting when the #NERevs host Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. https://t.co/T12ee6eKYi

— Jeff Lemieux (@jeff_lemieux) May 9, 2017

 

MLS reveals strategic plan to improve TV ratings in US
Christopher Harris
5/11/2017
World Soccer Talk (http://worldsoccertalk.com)

Want better TV ratings in MLS? Buy Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela, and if Bob Kraft tries to stop you tell him too bad.

— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) May 12, 2017

 

Why would Bob Kraft try to stop that? He has no problem with other teams spending money on big-name players (one more visiting team star to pimp out like Beckham). Just don't ask him to buy someone similar.

Delamea is our best example of a good player who we were able to get under the radar who was cheap and relatively unknown. But the problem with a "moneyball" approach is that you have to work twice as hard and do more with less. The Revs have the second part down pat with the "less" part, but the last time anyone thought of them in the same sentence as "more" was when Joe-Max played for us.

 

The comments on that article are a good read unto themselves.

 

I dunno, there were some worthwhile commets, but when people start saying fings like "Oi! Y'need to have promotion/relegation, uvver-woise you won't be a proppa foo'baw league," I'm going to tune out. I also saw a name I haven't seen sicne the days of the NAS list. He was arguing that they should hold MLS Cup in August, so not to interfere with the NFL. Sigh.

 

862987347037650945 is not a valid tweet id

 

Phoenix Rising FC feeling “extremely confident” about MLS expansion bid
May 12, 2017, 10:44PM EDT
Jose Romero

 

Crew fan 1: Ah walk'd past yer house yesserday, bout noontahm. Ah peaked in the winda, and yew and the missus were goin at it hammer an tongs!
Crew fan 2: Jokes on yew, Clem, I weren't even home!

 

Thanks for that. Though I was shocked, shocked I say, to hear that some media members who follow the team could possibly think that the team is held back by the head coach's lack of tactical acumen, and that they also believe that when the only staff members who can look at possible new players are the GM and first team coaches, that could make it more difficult to find players that fit the needs of the squad, thus making seem like the club is a couple of years behind where it should be in terms of getting new players to make needed improvements.

 

Two Revs, and two more eventual Revs, make the MLS Top 10 list of "Fastest to 10 goals":

How does Golden Boot leader Nikolic stack up among all-time best starts?
May 19, 2017, 1:39PM EDT
Charles Boehm

 

Three more eventual Revs: Gio, El Tanque, and Big Mama.

 

"He’s hiding in plain sight here in Cambridge. In London, it’s a different story.” https://t.co/VQv1oeuEej

— Scout Cambridge (@ScoutCambridge) May 22, 2017

 

The author is right but I hate lazy articles like that which complain but don't offer a solution.

OK, if it's the structure of MLS that's the problem, then what about the structure is making viewers not tune in? Too many games? Too many teams make the playoffs? Spring to fall schedule? Something else? What incentive should the league use to lure and retain casual viewers?

If you cover MLS for a living don't simply provide an unsubstantiated opinion, offer your hypothesis and then get specific with data supporting your strategy to fix it.

 

That's a good story about Mariner. I'll have to keep my eye towards Cambridge for him (from my hilltop residence in Somerville).

 

Rhode Island Reds is a good name for a team. Wasn't there an AHL team with that name many years ago? Also, who knew Paul had his own team? he's gotta show them how to score some goals and maybe they'd win some games....

 

The current Hartford Wolfpack team went by Rhode Island Reds from 1976-77.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_Reds

 

I went to a few of their games. I remember Rick Middleton playing for them or it may have been the Providence Reds at that time

 

They used to be a Rangers farm team, so Middleton played for them, as well as Eddie Giacomin and a bunch of others from that era.