F that. Multiball. Every few minutes, add another ball. Once all the balls go in the net, the game is over.
What all do you say about first-to-five? In review: Three games with the higher seed hosting games one and three. The first team to get five points advances. IMO, where it went wrong was having the 10 minute extra time, ESPECIALLY in game 3. For those who weren't around, back then, MLS games that were tied after 90 had a 10-minute golden goal period with teams swapping sides halfway through. This also applied to game 3. Game 1. Columbus beats Chicago at home. Columbus leads 3-0. Game 2. Chicago wins and the series is tied 3-3. Game 3. Teams tie after 90. They played the 10 minute extra time and it was still tied. Because no teams had five points, they'd do a 30 minute golden goal, as was standard FIFA practice at that time. If still no scoring, they went to spot kicks. It was confusing as all hell because people like to keep things simple and didn't realize the 10 minute extra time applied before the 30 minute extra time would apply. The rest of it was entertaining. It was a hybrid of "best of 3" while accepting ties. It would have been a LOT more simple if ties were allowed to stand after 90 minutes. First to two wins over three games. If game one or two is tied after 90, game three is required. If game three ends in a tie after 90, go to extra 30, then spot kicks or shootout.
St. Louis CITY SC made five selections and completed two trades in the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft. CITY SC picked Orlando City and USMNT forward Niko Gioacchini, Inter Miami midfielder Indiana Vassilev, New England Revolution center back Jonathan Bell, FC Cincinnati left back John Nelson and New York Red Bulls forward Jake La Cava. Following the five Expansion Draft selections, CITY SC made two trades, as well. CITY SC acquired Houston captain and center back Tim Parker in exchange for $500,000 in General Allocation Money over two seasons, $250,000 in 2023 and $250,000 in 2024. Houston will retain $850,000 of Tim Parker’s club salary budget charge over two years, $425,000 in 2023 and $425,000 in 2024, and St. Louis will be responsible for the remainder above $425,000 in each season. St. Louis then selected La Cava and traded him to Inter Miami for $150,000 in 2023 GAM.
Personally I hated those systems because, as you pointed out, they were confusing as hell. And I hate the way ml$ keeps changing the playoff format every couple of years. Pick a plan and stay with it. Personally, I always liked the aggregate up though the conference finals. The lower seeded team at least got a home game—good for attendance and concession/merch sales (for the lower and higher seeded team); two matches instead of one meaning more TV revenue; and the higher-seeded team gets the second game and thus more fan support if it goes to extra time or penalties. Also, while on the subect of terminology—in MLB/NBA/NHL, why is it called a “best of 3/5/7” instead of “First to 2/3/4”? Sure, a “best of 7” means there could be 7 games, and sure, anyone can do the math. But it’s not common for the series to even go to seven games in the first place. If the goal is to win four games, why not call it what it is—“first to four?” You’d otherwise essentially use the same lingo—i.e. “the Astros are up 3 games to 2” or “the Astros win the first to four, 4 games to 2.”
Because it was five POINTS, not five games. In a sport with ties, things can get weird in a three-game series.
Um, not sure if you’re agreeing or disagreeing. I’m aware it was five points and didn’t say otherwise. But in the example Peter described, there are a lot of convolutions that make things confusing. Aggregate is straightforward and works in competitions all around the world. And “First to Four” > “Best of Seven” in other sports IMO.
IMO, the "first to five points" was confusing only because people are dopes. Fans: "What do we do if the third game is tied?" Answer: "We play the 10 minute OT, the same as every other damn game." Now, with that said, if the series was 4-1 and game three ended 3-3 after 90, there'd be no need for the extra 10. It'd be like if a football team scored the winning TD on the last play to win by three or if a baseball team is winning at home in the middle of the 9th...but MLS would still play that unnecessary 10 minutes. Of course, people need to keep things as simple as humanly possible because they're generally a bunch of idiots. How many articles get published about "How To Stream Event Without Cable" before the World Series, Super Bowl, State of the Union or whatever other giant event happens on OTA TV? (Answer: A lot.) For me, what's more confusing is the two-game series in the cases of aggregate goals being tied. Some leagues don't use away goals before the 30 minutes. Some do. Out of those that do, some go directly to the 30 minute extra time if tied and some use away goals first. I do think every team should get at least one home playoff game. Lamar had the right idea. Let the fans buy playoff tickets. "Priority sales for playoff games" makes a good incentive to buy season tickets if you know you have a better chance at a home game, even if it is three days after the last home game of the regular season.
NYCFC is free of baseball stadiums maybe Breaking News: New York City reached a deal to build a soccer stadium in Queens as part of a project that will include housing and a hotel. https://t.co/36yyRSe4V5— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 16, 2022
In NYC, the bribes alone could easily top what ldc cost. Then there's the no show jobs and protection money for the mob, the wildly over priced cement and steel from politically connected suppliers, the payoffs for union bosses to prevent strikes , etc., etc. 780 sounds like a bargain.
My national hobby org had their convention there a few years back. Two items stood out. The organizers got in trouble with one of the unions because one of their staffers moved a broom out of an aisle so they didn't trip over it. $20 hog dogs on the show cafe. And they weren't even good, I heard.
That kind of thing is true everywhere. Years ago, I was with a company that worked a lot of industrial shows, Trade association would book a convention center, customers would show up on the company dime, attend a couple seminars, walk to he vendor floor and then spend the next 2 1/2 days drinking and checking out the local strippers. Everybody knows the drill. The problem was always setup and teardown. The booth stuff comes in big packing crates that you aren't allowed to move six inches. You know your stuff is out on the loading dock but you can't touch it until some union guys get around to delivering it to your space. Then they have to come move the packing crates out. Don't you dare try and do it yourself. Same thing with teardown when you just want to get out of there. They'll come by when they bloody well feel like it. If you violate the rules a union official will file a formal complaint, the convention center people get involved, your company gets fined, it's insane. And no, you're not allowed to push a broom or run a vacuum in your booth. Big no no. And it's as true in Columbus as it is anywhere, except that in some places like Philly and Chicago, a couple union goons will come by and threaten you.
There is a rumor that Zardes is going to Austin. It’s not well-sourced, but considering how many ex-Crew players they keep signing, I could see it I guess.
Gareth Lagerway has taken the President & CEO job in Atlanta. That's a big pull for the Five Stripes. Eastern Conference on notice. https://www.sounderatheart.com/soun...h-lagerwey-leaves-sounders-for-atlanta-united https://www.atlutd.com/news/garth-lagerwey-named-president-ceo-of-atlanta-united-fc
🔺EXCLUSIVE: Inter Miami are close to signing Lionel Messi. The deal will make the 35-year-old the highest paid player in the history of the MLShttps://t.co/g2vmg4xzSV— Times Sport (@TimesSport) November 27, 2022
There are also rumors that Luis Suarez may end up at Inter Miami. Let's see if Ronaldo also ends up in MLS.
The same Inter Miami that, in May 2021, was hit with the following penalties for abusing the league's roster rules: https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-...e$22m-cap-hit-over-designated-player-dealings It's just so damned hard for me to continue to take MLS seriously. Legitimately , any Intern Miami team with Messi (not to mention Suarez) would have to field a roster made up of USL-quality players, because they won't have GAM laying around to buy down player salaries and thereby staff under the salary budget amount. We'll see if that happens.