Gruesome Injury halts United's Scrimmage with American - Washington Post Blatter blasts Unlimited Substitutions - L.A. Times American Star McBride a brief Hit Overseas - Dallas Morning News AU Player suffers Broken Leg - Washington Times Earthquakes face an Uphill Battle - San Jose Mercury News Parking Strategy for MLS Fans - OKC Daily Oklahoman
From the Daily Oklahoman: Does this mean the current stadium capacity is about 7,500 people? Or are there general admission areas that aren't mentioned here? Sachin
from what i recall, the place is suppose to seat ~8000 people... so 7500 could be it i think there had also been talk of selling standing room or grass seats or something
"Wantland Stadium's current capacity is about 10,000." http://www.thevistaonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/03/11/3e6e2f8fa01a3
Re: Re: 3/26/03: Strangest Tribe I had to witness something like that in high school as well. From the sound of it, both bones probably broke the skin. One of my friends had a stress fracture in his tibia, and thought it was shin splints, he took a tackle from the left side and his leg just crumpled, it was pretty gruesome, I know how those guys feel, it's hard to even play after something like that, I know why the called the game off.
Boy, Blatter's ticked off with the unlimited subs. I don't really have a problem with it, but my opinion doesn't really count. Anyone who does have a problem with it care to explain why?
from all accounts, it didn't sound like bad blood... and these guys are all athletes, part of being an athlete is dealing with injuries... your own and those of others both sides have to move on
Hey Hristo bashers, at least he was man enough to stick around after the game and face reporters and own up to his actions....oh wait.... scumbag.
I was thinking the same thing. While the two teams to seem to be pretty friendly towards one another, I'm guessing Mr. Stoichkov may sit this one out.
FWIW, the Mariners already cleared the benches with the Diamondbacks on March 10. And they also had players ejected from yesterday's spring-training game. So they take this sort of stuff seriously in America's other summer league.
Well, at the risk of actually discussing one of the articles posted... my objections to unlimited subs for friendlies aren't as strenuous as his objections, but as for matches that count... I like the three sub rule, because it allows for tactical changes and dealing with injuries, while making sure that, essentially, all the players have to be fully fit and that the team has to come into the match fully prepared. That makes for games that flow better than games with unlimited (or even lots of) substitutions.
Well, I could live with seven, but unlimited subs kind of makes a mockery of the term "full international." I mean, these games are still used to rank teams (whatever people may think of FIFA's ranking system), and to determine whether or not a player will be tied to a country. Either they're A internationals, and they should play by the standard rules, or they aren't.
Pro-Unlimited Subs Frankly I think the idea of limiting subs is preposterous. It's "tradition" at its highest. There really is no good reason for limiting substitutions, just excuses covering for history. If anyone thinks the game is strung out because of subs, consider instant subs for injured players. Consider having one check in point at midfield and any subs can come in at any dead ball opportunity. Give 5 seconds for the replaced player to head to the nearest sideline/endline and walk around back to his bench. Forcing injured players to stay in the game is just plain sick. Sub them out, let the doctor look at them, and if it's a problem leave them out. If it's not a problem, let them sub back in the game. That shouldn't be a coach's call. I remember talk about how NFL players used to play "both ways" and everyone played offense and defense. IMHO, it's a lot better with specialized players. The game is always good. I can just imagine how good the game would be with Bernie Kosar having to play linebacker as well as quarterback. Similarly, a player with a clearly strained muscle toughing it out because his team is out of subs. Or, a coach reluctant to take out a struggling player because it's his last sub and he's worrying about injuries. This is just silly stuff IMHO. If a soccer player is only good for 70 minutes, then sub him out. If a game goes 100+ minutes, it's just silly to think the game will not be decided on fitness levels rather than "skill" levels. I wonder how many goals are scored in the last 5 minutes of each half? I'd bet quite a few as tired defenders are forced to continue playing. The game has evolved. Originally it was kinda hard to insure that every team had 11 players, so one team with 15 players would be in a very advantageous position over one with 11 if there were unlimited subs. It made sense then. Now, it just doesn't. There have been rule changes too, and I'm certain things like "offsides" have illicited more negativity than unlimited subs. Frankly, I think the addition of the Offsides rule has helped the game not hurt it. Similarly, I think unlimited substitutions would help the game as well. -Digital
Hey Sepp, they're friendlies. They don't matter. They're used so national team managers get a feeling for what they have. But unlimited subs in all competitions would hurt the game.