Gotta say I'm pretty happy with AC StL's geographical group. It'll be great to have extra home games against the defending champs, the Whitecaps, and another marquee team, the Timbers. Minnesota could turn into a nice rivalry, too. The only thing that would make it better now is if our other extra games are against Montreal. We know two of the pairings now - Minnesota-PR and Portland-CPB - so it's possible.
For teams trying to actually sell tickets this year, it's less "getting a jump" and more "stop the bleeding".
Clearly Portland released before they were supposed to. Teams Portland is playing four times: Vancouver, St. Louis, MN (all as expected), plus Crystal Palace Baltimore. That's an out-of-conference game for them, which suggests they don't sweat that sort of thing so much. I'm hoping USSF isn't depriving any team of doubles on its shortest road trip in the country, so this suggests the version of the regions where CPB and Carolina get to be in the same region. That in turn would imply (though not definitively) most of the rest of the scheduling: Carolina/CPB/Rochester/Montreal is a region and TB/Miami/Austin/PR is the third. Carolina's probably playing TB extra (second-shortest trip for each, and shortest out-of-region for both as well) and StL probably plays Austin (same reason), leaving Vancouver/Montreal (I'd have guessed that one, for the Canadian fans' sake) and Rochester/Miami.
So far, only Portland and Crystal Palace Baltimore's schedules are out. There's more to come, people.
Folks, please direct all schedule-related discussion to this thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1324174 Thanx!
update A lot player signings going on out there in NASL land. And Minnesota fans still don't like their name.
Here's another article about the Edmonton club. I found it interesting that they will not have a tie to the Whitecaps. So I guess the speculation can start on where / if they will put a NASL / D2 team. I'm also very impressed with the hiring of Dwight Lodeweges as the coach. What great coaching background he has. Also, I remember when he played back in the first NASL and MISL. I think he's by far the best of the recent coaching hires. http://www.theprovince.com/sports/soccer+returns+Edmonton/2545051/story.html
It's going to be hell of bizarre when FCTB (hehehe TB, as in Tuberculosis! I lol'd) visits Portland and we have two clubs with the same green. We've strayed away from the yellow the last couple years, but still, it'll be weird. we have never had that problem. Did Tampa not manage a kit sponsor? Portland just got a new one, Solar World, international Renewable Energy Corp based out of Germany.
Darn. I was liking the unis with the Toyota logo. You'd think Toyota would want to keep up the brand promotions, what with all the issues they're having. Was it a Timbers' decision? Or a Toyota decision?
Damn floormats on jerseys. *hmph* Seriously, that's too bad, imho. Toyota is a major company, even if it's really just a PDX/SWWA consortium of dealerships sponsoring (?). I've never heard of this new sponsor. The kits look OK, but I liked the Toyota logo. When I lived in Pittsburgh, or Riverhounds had Toyota for a season, and thosae kits looked sharp.
Don't tell me they're blaming the playoff loss to Vancouver on floor mats. I don't think recalling the jersey is the fix.