Wow, this is horrible. It's especially horrible for the Storm as we only got to play one game against either team and, to judge by their records, those were wins for the taking. I hope that all games played against those teams won't count for the standings. Also, does this mean that KC is automatically in the play-offs since they've now won the West by default?
When the MISL gives you lemons.... Personally, i think this is a very good move for the MISL. And i think it'll be a positive for the near future because: 1. They get rid of 2 shady owners and 2 weak clubs. If you can't get an owner to put up a performance bond, then the MISL never should have allowed the club to play in the first place. Ditto with not having an arena lease. 2. Milwaukee, St. Louis, Chicago, and Kansas City would make a nice compact division. Not a lot of distance between the clubs; cuts down on travel costs. 3. When they pencil in the makeup games, St. Louis and Philadelphia can get more weekend home games since the NHL season is practically cancelled. Their arenas have some open dates now. When the MISL gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Misl will announce this week that the league will have a single 7 team table for the rest of the season with the top 4 teams making the playoffs. There will also be an expansion draft this week with the results announced on Thursday.I think the league will be alot stronger with the Sockers players spread out among the league, not sure if there is any interest in the Tigres players.It will be interesting to see where Victor Nogueira winds up,there are rumors that he might wind up back in Miwaukee or possibly Chicago.
During the Storm broadcast tonight, they said that the league will basically be a single table with the top 4 teams in the playoffs.
Sad to see such storied franchise as the Sockers go out of existence. Probably a good move for the league to have seven strong franchises instead of them subsidizing two weak ones. Hopefully Carolina will be a shot in the arm for the league next year as well.
This is, simply put, a joke. The league's season is in chaos because they failed to address these issues in the offseason. Picture from the perspective of a prospective team owner, a prospective sponsor or the media. How is anyone supposed to take this league seriously when we get halfway into the season and suddenly disperse two teams? Would you buy a team? Sponsor it? Support it?
More telling is why did they go into the season this way? For the league to continue they need to finish this season on some sort of high note. What if any legal recourse does the league have here?
Call me nutty, but if I'm running a sports league, rule number one would be that any team owner who wants to participate in my league would have to put up enough money at the start of the season to actually finish the season. All operating expenses that are necessary to complete a whole season would have to be paid in advance. Even if that means that the league would "operate" the team if an owner pulls out half-way through. And if the team has to fold in the off-season, then so be it. But at least there'd be the off-season to seek new owners. The league wouldn't be doing patch, patch, patch DURING the season. Seems like a no-brainer to me. The MISL went through this crap in the 80s when the Cosmos folded during the 1984-1985 season and the New York Express folded during 1986-1987. Anyone in the league's front office studying history with the aim of not repeating it? Guess not.
Two teams suspend operations Maybe the STORM can petition the League to award them the victory for the match on 3 December. Teams last season were awarded retroactive victories versus Monterrey. Otherwise, this is going to be a killer trivia question (and guess who will get around to asking it?). Marco Lopez and Genoni Martinez will wind up somewhere. Erich Geyer goes back on the short list of quality coaches available to a foundering team. Victor Nogueira will retire. Hi, nutty. It might interest you to know that a previous business incarnation of the {new} Major Indoor Soccer League operated two complete franchises for two complete seasons (in the mid 1990s). Those teams were pretty decrepit, but they played the entire seasons, and quite a few people acquired the sort of soccer business acumen not easily obtained nowadays.
I have information that the Wave may be folding soon... The Wave United (A-League) has already basically been abandoned and the Wave indoor team is losing money at a rapid rate. If they can't increase profits the owner is going to pull the plug. It would be bad for soccer in Wisconsin if there was no pro soccer being played here any more. Wave players and former players make up a large part of the coaching environment here, and without their input I think that the overall quality of the soccer, which is surprisingly good, will diminish. I suspect that if the Wave, one of the more long-standing indoor teams, is in trouble than the other MISL teams can't be doing that well either.
How do they turn things around? What needs to be done to turn things around? I guess the biggest thing would be able to go through a season without losing any teams. That might the first step they need to take. Like it was mentioned before, I'm sure losing two teams in the middle of the season doesn't encourage would be investors or sponsors to get involved. They are probably looking at other indoor leagues to get involved with.
Re: How do they turn things around? maybe make money????? these aren't owners with deep pockets... they need to see return on their investment this league is going under and going under fast
The Blast make money. 5 figures last year, 6 this. According to their owner they are the only team in the league making money. They make money because they: 1) control spending 2) market like crazy 3) have played every year for the last 25 in the same arena (different leagues, different names, but always there) 4) try to hire local talent which means many ex-players are now coaches for local high schools and colleges By current projections they should recover all the money they've lost up until now by 2097. The other teams just need to get owners who are willing to loose money for 20+ years. Blast owner said his biggest concern was having teams to play against. Sounds like he's right to be concerned.
I'd think it also helps, at least indirectly, that the Blast's owner also owns a bank that employs a few of the players (and staff, I think). That tends to inspire a bit of stability in the franchise.
Beau, you beat me to the post. It's also been pointed out that this is how they can get around the salary cap by providing additional income. And like you pointed out they can keep their better players longer.
Hey, I was a Blastkid back in my early teens, so I'm not hatin'. I just find it a bit hard to beleive that they will make 6 figures of profit this season. Maybe back in 1982 when they sold the Civic Center out every weekend and it was the winter sporting event for B'more. But now??? 2097 is a long, long way away. I'm assuming that was a typo, right?
The MISL's biggest problem is that they think that they're a nationwide league. As a result, you've got too many teams making long and expensive road trips. Without San Diego in the league next year, do you really think that the owner of the new team in Stockton, CA, is really all that eager to have Kansas City as his nearest rival? They pay their players almost nothing, and yet, they still lose money hand over fist because they're trying to support a major league travel budget on minor-league hockey attendances. As a result, they are having a hard time finding investors. Their best bet would be truly emulate minor-league hockey and focus on making themselves a regional league or a collection of regional leagues. More investors would be eager to invest in a team in San Diego if they knew that their team would only have to travel to LA, Stockton, Phoenix, Fresno, and the like. Likewise, a league made up of Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and so on would probably still have a team in Wichita.
If you were implying that they're buying winning teams to the detriment of the rest of the league I'd have to say you should check your facts. 3 championships in 25 years and a current last place in the standings hardly make them the New York Yankees of indoor soccer. No typo. Just a guess. Loose millions for 20 years. When you finally turn a profit the climate is such that even a $100,000 profit is questioned. Let's just say it'll take a long time. I'm not sure how you correct this problem. The league is down to seven teams. Split it and you'll be playing the same team every week.