I took a look and didn't see this posted anywhere else. New US National Soccer Team Players' Association monthly: http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/rno/ I almost wish they had found another name besides "Round not Oval". No need for the American football reminder (unless I'm missing somthing here).
Just curious, is this the first time it's been online? ussoccerplayers.com seemed to pitch it as a new thing. So far it looks like they have some good articles. I don't really mind the name all that much. It was just a little nitpicky thing.
RNO has a proud history, although why USPlayers wanted to usurp it I can't imagine. Surely they know about all that. They used to be about it until internetsoccer.com started snapping up the writers. (not that I was ever a big J Hucherson fan.)
I do in fact know for a fact that J Hutcherson is a massive fan of Bill Archer. Oh, and thanks for reading RnO.
HAHAHAHA. Touche. Actually, I enjoyed his stuff immensely on RNO. Irreverent, witty, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may commentary. Something happened when he, and others, like Oliu, had to fit into a mold for TT's benefit. I thought that IS.com did a great disservice - or rather, TeamTalk did a great disservice when they bought out IS.com - when they scooped up Hucherson and company. IS homogenized and corporatized soccer writing in America and then, when they were done, fired everybody and left town. So instead of being a great incubator, they sort of became the abortionist.
thanks for the link. i give it a huge thumbs up. nice piece on agoos and what it's like to be a professional soccer player in the u.s. so different from other sports in the u.s. r playing soccer abroad. also a nice piece on the midnight riders. haven't explored the rest of the site yet but i intend to.
Internetsoccer.com sort of is USSoccerPlayers.com. Check it out: http://www.internetsoccer.com So I'm not sure that TeamTalk bought out IS.com. Looks like USSoccerPlayers.com did though. Perhaps that explains why now we have RNO there.
Since I work (or in Teamtalk's case, have worked) for most of these people, let me try to explain what I believe has happened. Teamtalk, Inc. (based out of Leeds) bought out Internetsoccer.com at some point when they were flush with cash. IS.com failed to generate enough revenue during Teamtalk's attempt to create a UK-wide radio network. That company shut its doors. RMG3 bought out Teamtalk's WUSA.com deal, creating a new company from the genesis of that. The U.S. National Players Association overtook the remaining rights (i.e. IS.com) after a period of time (and likely a sum of money) and now they operate what used to be IS.com. RnO was an independent weekly webzine under the guidance of J Hutcherson. He is now in the hierarchy at USNTPA. They wanted a different type of venture to appeal to the public in combination with their website. Hence, RnO becomes a monthly and joins USNTPA.
Thanks for the summary. TT borrowed something like $200 million and, among other things, paid a reported $10mm for IS.com, which struck me as an enormous sum. The owners probably couldn't sign the papers fast enough. I also known that, before they did, they took a swing at SoccerAmerica. Apparently the Berlings wanted too much, although in retrospect it might have been a better investment to acquire the name recognition. What surprised me then, and still puzzles me, is why they gave up after only 18 months. In business, most people don't just walk away from an investment of that kind that quickly unless they just run out of operating capital, which was hardly the case with TeamTalk. It's interesting that USNPA bought the IS imprimateur, but I can't believe the rights to a moribund website go for that much these days. Still and all, I'm glad to know that there is at least some connection between the new and the old RNO. Back in the old, old days (a couple years ago) the weekly RnO was one of my favorite internet stops.