Nicol's worth is truly priceless By Bob Ryan Revs ride hot streak into showdown with Fire By Len Ziehm Fire squares off against surging Revolution By Kent McDill Different routes to playoff success By Joseph D'Hippolito So Close, So Very, Very Close & an Interview With A Trainee by Jim Dow
Beasley on Revs' radar: Fire midfielder's remarks not forgotten By Gus Martins Friday, November 14, 2003, Boston Herald http://sports.bostonherald.com/soccer/soccer.bg?articleid=64 Playoffs nothing new for Llamosa By Gus Martins/Revolution Notebook Friday, November 14, 2003, Boston Herald http://sports.bostonherald.com/soccer/soccer.bg?articleid=65
Revolution in Soccer - Sports Commentary By Bill Littlefield Friday, November 14, 2003, WBUR FM http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wbur/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=569070
No second chance this time around By Danny Pires, New Bedford Standard Times, 11/14/03 http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/11-03/11-14-03/c01sp680.htm
Bench brings out best in Revs for playoff run by Tim Bresnahan Top MLS rookies lead Chicago, New England into do-or-die semifinals by SI.com Wild Fire Continues to Roar by soccer365.com Revs face the test of Fire By Win Bates
Total War By Eric Wynalda "But consistency and fitness have been lingering problems for the Revolution. They have a tendency to collapse in the later stages of games and haven’t been able to consistently score goals without Taylor Twellman." Ah, Eric... have you watched the Revs in the last couple of months? Sunday, September 28th CLB 2, NE 3 Saturday, October 4th NE 4, DAL 1 Saturday, October 11th DC 0, NE 1 Saturday, October 18th NE 2, MET 1 Saturday, October 25th MET 2, NE 5 Saturday, November 1st NE 2, MET 0 Sunday, November 9th MET 1, NE 1 Revs 18, opponents 7 2 OT wins
I got to hand it to Waldo on how he addressed someone's lengthy tirade about the difference between a "coach" and a "manager." "You, sir know nothing about professional soccer." Arrogant? Sure. Correct? most likely. At least Waldo doesn't mince words and isn't one of these wafflers who twists like the weather vane. I just hope that he doesn't decide to become "controversial" just for the sake of stirring the pot. You know, like Onion Bag, going on a "commentary" that we need better development for young players in MLS and soccer stadiums for everyone... Tom
Not to knock Waldo, because he's easily my favorite MLSnet scribe right now (to be honest, the position goes uncontested), but he seems to suffer fram a strange malady suffered by the MLS press corps: they don't watch enough games. Time and time again I hear these guys make remarks that either never were factual (being just some BS smack replicated and repeated like algae in a stagnant pond - "the Revolution are a defensive team that rely solely on Taylor Twellman to score") or based on old information that has since lost any tenuous hold on validity ("the Revs can't hold a lead"). Fact is, they usually get it right when it comes to the Fire, DC, Metros, or Galaxy - or the team where the present temporary infatuation lies (today Columbus, tomorrow San Jose). Certain teams however, seem to be permanently off their radar screen. I've heard next to nothing all year about KC. I heard next to nothing about Colorado - until Spencer got hot and they had a goalkeeper controversy. The Revs were barely a blip on the radar screen until they made the playoffs. And Dallas, well... Fact is, it's ridiculous to me that none of these guys has highlighted the recent play of Cancella or Joseph. I know from what I've watched that these guys have been pretty much unmatched in the last 10-15 games. They can't avoid running highlights of these guys every week on MLS Wrap and MLSnet, but somehow they never quite seem to quite come into focus like the other guys (you know who they are...). I'm afraid at this point it's still a bit of a "good old buddy" network where a lot of information seems to come from the same old sources: ex-nat team players, particular GMs and coaches (and I think we know who they are), and Bruce Arena. Wynalda is the best of the bunch because he actually seems to make his own observations and form his own opinions. He'll also occasionally take an occasional different tack or just plain disagree with everyone else. But he, like the rest, just has to see more games.
I'll second Rodan on the "Not too knock Waldo, because he's easily my favorite MLSnet scribe write now." Keep in mind Wynalda probably only gets to see (live) the games that ESPN broadcasts. Beyond that, I'm sure he's part of the mainstream media grapevine, and many of his opinions reflect input from people he knows, whose judgement he trusts. If that's "still a bit of a "good old buddy network" where a lot of information seems to come from," that's ok with me. Wynalda is indeed one of the best of the bunch because he actually has the self-confidence to take his own slant and criticize what he believes needs to be changed for the bettering of MLS, and USA soccer. I have to admit that Eric has by far surpassed my expectations in his media capacity, especially in his writings if not his live TV work.