Gillette to show foreign flair by Gus Martins from the Globe's Day or night, their voices carry By Bill Griffith: "Robert Kraft and son Jonathan will be named ''Sports Industrialists of the Year'' tomorrow by The Sports Business Daily. The Krafts are being recognized for the on- and off-field successes of their franchises (Patriots, Revolution), opening the NFL's first new privately financed facility (Gillette Stadium), aggressively and creatively marketing their operations, and their contributions to league and community affairs." This one was deleted along with the temporary Revs forum so I'll repost it: CyberSoccer recently did a great interview with former Midnight Rider's Man of The Year Dan Calichman. Captain Dan talks about the past, present, and future of American soccer by Dan Loney Don't forget to watch the NCAA Championship final today, UCLA vs. Stanford (featuring Jamie Twellman, Taylor's little brother) at 4:30 PM on ESPN2. UCLA, Stanford to meet in College Cup final by Ed Bazan
Speaking of Twellman, here are some tidbits courtesy of the likes of Soccer America and Ussocceruk: Taylor Twellman is not asking for the league max, and claims press reports suggesting that are blatantly false. In other words, FDA's talking our his arse again, or more accurately, Twellman's agent Craig Sheron is doing so for FDA. Apparently a base salary (excluding bonuses and incentives) of $100,000 has been offered... sounds about right to me... Two MLS clubs have expressed interest in Joe-Max Moore, Chicago and Metro. However, it's unlikely either could afford him unless he changes his reported desire for a fixed 3-year contract at the league maximum.... AP Chacon is working out a new contract to a salary lower than his $160,000. My guess, he's donig so to make himself more palatable to cash-strapped clubs. I.e., he's not re-working his contract to stay with the Revs, but rather, to make him more attractive in a trade... Revs did not pick up the options on two players (names not disclosed,) but have apparently renegotiated them or are in the process of doing so... Manchester United decided to pass on coming to Foxboro because they could "not come to terms on an agreement" with stadium and club officials in an appropriate amount of time, this from a MU club representative... Just FYI, Evan
I must say that reading Martins is far more like reading a news piece as opposed to the combination of rumor and ethics lectures on offer in many FDA columns. Certainly the caution on Serna and the tantalizing notion of Big Phil prowling the Foxboro sidelines in search of revenge for WC 02 are bait to warm the winter's nap. Does Joe Max look a tad more interesting as an option now? JIM DOW
Serna, Rooney and Chacon Judging by the opinions of BS posters (whatever that's worth), Chacon's value has dropped like a rock. for example, on the DCU board, one poster was saying that for DCU to give up a 4th round pick for Chacon and Rooney would be obscenely generous, while another said he might kill himself if that happened. A more thoughtful person wrote at length why Chacon would be a bad fit - but by his logic, Chacon would be a bad fit almost anywhere. Nobody wants Rooney. Again, FWIW, Martins makes Serna's remaining with the team much less of a sure thing than has been reported to date. Everything supposedly depends on his conditioning long-term, but the draft is a month away. Shouldn't we expect that on 1/17, the roster will be exactly what it is today?
Right now, with the roster size still not confirmed by the league we need 1.) a backup keeper, 2.) quality at left midfield, 3.) at least three proven MLS forwards, and better four, 4.) possible upgrade at left fullback. At the same time we have dropped Sommer, Asad and Fuller and are possibly shopping Rooney and APC. Serna is a question mark. If we add up all the salaries of the above, where are we? Maybe $750,000 (Sommer, Rooney, APC 150; Serna 250, Fuller & Asad 50). So if those folks go and we are not left with any holdover salary obligations (which may be optimistic) we have to get upgrade replacements AND raises for Hernandez, Twellman, Kante, Brown and some others. It seems to me that this is an almost impossible task at the present cap and that in the interest of improving quality across the league the cap must be raised significantly. I don't envy the Revs bootroom braintrust here. JIM DOW
My guess is the two Revs there talking about are Rooney and APC. It's hard to imagine any of the others on the roster that they would be trying to get to take a pay cut. I guess that it could be asked Llamosa. His well used body doesn't seem to be able to allow him to avoid injuries. I agree with Jon, we could see the current roster still in place on 1/17.
s.a. had this to say about the upcoming "tentative" u.s. schedule for 2003 the fact that they have it listed relatively specifically (date, opp, and venue) and gulati says its "more than a rumor" gives one a bit more than "hope" that this will happen....a friday date seems a bit wierd (maybe an error). and remember to boo "the boss" if you're a man u. fan and if you happen to go to the concert on the date they were supposed to be here.
Personally, if it is true, I'm delighted that Bruce Springsteen is a bigger attraction than ManU. That is the best news I've had for a week or two. JIM DOW
Am i naive or what?....i don't buy nike products, but popped into niketown on newbury last sat. to see what the "soccer section" looked like. and what the heck do i find when i get there? here's a quiz (T/F) on what was there: 1. No women's nat team merchandise 2. 2 "away" men's team rep's 3. No nike sponsored mls team merch 4. like, 30 home & away man u jerseys, 15 man u warp ups, 10 man u jackets, man u hats...man u, man u, man u... ...let me guess, you're not suprised that you answered "T" to all....AND you're right on every account. my god, is it really too much to ask this company to show a little more support in the store for this sport? er, the american version of the sport?
Last time I was in there (early fall), they had no soccer stuff at all. It's hard to complain too much, given that they've improved their stock.