DC United v. Dinamo Houston PRE-Match Thread

1.) HDNet has the contract for a certain amount of MLS games. Part of the contract is NO ONE else can air them.
2.) CSN and DC are now in talks bargaining a deal to have at least 20 games on for the season (which means a total of 28 matches of the 32 willbe on some cable program)
3.) CSN never had this game listed.

I would suspect to see CSN's schedule go up sometime either next week or shortly thereafter. Doug Hicks was kind enough to get back to me with my persistent questions about the CSN contract.

 

I agree with that.

These pre-game threads have become a waste of time.

 

So we're all agreed then?

One pre-match thread, and one pre-match thread ABOUT the pre-match thread?

 

I got it from the Washington Post by e-mail as a promotion on April 13.

Looks like they shut down the buy-one-get on free orders: https://secure.mlsnet.com/MLS/dcu/tickets/2006/discounts/washington_post/

 

Oh, come on. Moderating strictness has gone up and down on these threads quite a bit over the years. Things are actually pretty loose right now. I deleted three or four trolling posts and the responses. I left all the internal banter. So don't give me some load of crap about restricting these threads completely to "serious" discussion. If you think that then you obviously haven't even read this thread. Some of you people who most vociferously accuse me of being overbearing really should look in the mirror. Frankly, this incessant axe grinding is old.

I apologize for distracting from this thread.

 

I love a good conspiracy theory.

 

Ahhh....the rebellion is growing....and the overlord has switched to wine-coolers!



~worm~

Oh.. on topic...

If we can control the midfield we have this. I hope Ben will have a 3 day beard going.

 

Hey, dont worry about them. You keep doing what your doing. I have no problem with the way these threads are going.

PS Im not an ass kisser.

 

No! Ben shaved for USA v. Jamaica and was MOTM! The clean-shaven Ben is the better Ben.

 

because i read the thread differently, doesn't mean i haven't read it. the axe grinding is old because you are completely unwilling to seriously entertain any criticism, constructive or not.

i think, and have always thought, you are a poor moderator, you do not listen to the folks on your board and never let the community determine its own standards. i think that's what moderators ought to do, not try to determine themselves. i appreciate you have a particular style and point of view and as much as it vexes me i do respect that you have a style and aren't going to change.

but as long as i think things can improve i'll continue to weigh in with criticism. you need to separate this from an attack on you, its not. its an attempt to improve the board. some people agree with me and others don't.

you are controversial, some people like your style, others don't. but as long as you have that style i'll continue to criticize it, whether or not you like it. the reason you try and attack me instead of present a position is you know i speak for a portion of this group.

many, many people bitch and moan to me about your style but for some reason i'm often the only voice that speaks up. i think you are a bully on this board and you push people until they push back. your little scare tactics don't impress me.

i'm not going to apologize. you can bin my posts, post your self-serving defenses that tell me what to think or whine to huss. i'm not going anywhere.

 

Mission accomplished, I've ignored what you posted.

 

No doubt about that one, besides the Kyle Martino look doesn't suit Benny at all

 

Yeah, there's more to this than Serioux vs. O'Rourke. Inter Toronto (get used to it) will be made up almost entirely of Canadians, with four SI slots for NON-Canucks. It's safe to assume that DeRo and Serioux--and probably Onstadt--will find their way to Toronto. And if Chris Carrieri isn't Canadian, he should be. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see Mark Watson back in the league.

On the pre-match threads, gotta say it's been a treat the last year or so to not have to slog through all those one-off predictions to find out whether Brad Davis's ears have grown any bigger since the last match, or whether Jaime is talking to Freddie this week. Except Todd's--for some reason, I miss seeing him predict that the other team will win every week.

 

Yes, but don't we need a "pre-match thread: implications" thread?

On a less serious note, who besides me thinks that watching Ben Olsen and Brian Ching going 110% to impress BA will make this match a bit more than interesting? Not that Ben ever gives much less than 110%, but Arena basically said he will be watching MLS games for the next couple of weeks to try and define his final 23-man roster.

So Ching and Olsen are really playing a game within a game - the one at hand and the one to get Arena's (hopefully positive) attention.

My .02 (of course I pulled these from the "give a penny, take a penny dish" so take them for what they are worth).

 

Clyde Simms is out for tomorrow's match - toe injury.

 

Olsen should stay clean shaven..and keep shooting from distance. They're going in for Benni..don't stop shooting.

 

We were talking about this today. Benny still has something to prove, as does Ching. Goff's article appears to indicate that with sustained effort Benny will make the team. Sadly, Ching's Nats form has been nothing like his league form. I don't think he's going to Germany.

Tomorrow's game is going to have some fireworks. I'm really looking forward to it. I just wish I could watch it on TV when I get home. Oh well.

 

I think we can control the midfield with DeRo out. They still have a good group, but I think we have multiple options that will make Clark do a lot of work.

My concern is Ching. We have been weak against big strikers the last few years, and Ching is the biggest and baddest in the league with McHead scoring goals for Fulham now. If he gets any service at all, we need to mark tightly or he will score one from the air.

 

I'm guessing cutting off service is game plans A, B, and C. What other offense do they have? Moreno the Lesser running on to Ching flickons? Maybe Boz and Epren will just tagteam Ching all match, never giving him more than a foot of space while on United's half of the field.

 

Whoop his ass Bobby.

 

I think that Brad Davis and Brian Ching are two of the more underrated players in the league.

Hopefully United's midfield steps up and shuts down their production, because even a forward as good as Ching is in MLS can't do a thing without service.

 

Without question. Didn't Davis lead the league in assists for a lot of 2004?

And Ching is badass in MLS. People bag on his Nats form, but unlike, say, Taylor Twellman, Ching has actually scored a meaningful goal for the USMNT.

 

Agree and agree.

Brad Davis has had a number of very good seasons and still doesn't get much pub for it.

Ching is also definitely badass in MLS. That's why he has more than double the goals of anyone else at this point.

Just for reference, Davis' break out year was last year when he finished with 8 assists despite playing a career-low amount of games (18). 6 of those assists were in the first two months of the season.