Soccer, sports and politics (R)

Now that Klein is gone, maybe it is not as bad of an insult?

 

And where are all those Bolivians now?

There are zero in MLS or in a top league in Europe.

Instead there are 79 Brazilians and Argentinians in MLS.

That's quite an upgrade.

 

Shit happens. Boise State used to matter in the mid-2000s. Not anymore.

I've felt this way since USC had to share a title with Alabama in 1978 despiote beating Bama in Tuscaloosa (Charles White, 199 yds), and the draw is expanding next season, I think.

TLR. Liberty is a joke and this needs to be resiricted to REAL programs.

That said, I have advocated for an all-conference champs playoff (11) plus five at large to cover the SEC teams that are better than most conference champs. 16 team draw, perfect.

 

It's still rare that we take a perfectly good foreign game and ruin in with McDonald's Playoffs and All-Star games and a draft.

No, that's not her. She's a sole model. I saw a video where it seemed like somebody told her to use racial slurs on them (them was not in the frame, so no way to know). She was supposed to pass on that request.

 

No wonder my connection is so bad today.

Who knew that Hell freezing over would have an effect on the Internet?

 

You're too late. I posted it a page or so ago last night.

 

Adding four more teams doesn't mean a mediocre Big Ten team is deserving. It's not likely that both will be good enough in the same year for this to be an issue. Like now. Michigan isn't going to win this, because they're not good enough. Ohio state wasn't, either. They all look good until somebody drops 50 on 'em in the cfp. Take one Big Ten team and tell 'em to get their weight up if they want two.

That said, cfb makes too much of rivalries. I don't care about Michigan v. Ohio state or USC v. Notre Dame. Rivalries are for alums. I care about championships. Pageantry and tradition be damned, we need a clear path to a natty for everyone in the division, which would be winning your conference title.

We have to learn to celebrate championship games and not prioritize Games We Care About. I'd stop these stupid bowl games for teams that don't qualify for the playoff, too.

You have chosen to make a tournament of your championship. It was inevitable. If you want the reg season to be all that, you need a single table.

 

Strangely enough, 3rd stringer Cardale Jones was exactly what Ohio State needed to beat Bama in 2014 (the last time they even won a natty, lol, and 2002 before that). A 250 lb QB looking for someone to hit.

 

The NFL has 32 teams. When you were a child they had 16, 26 or 28, depending on your age. There were mild shenanigans BITD because there were three divisions in each conference and not all divisions had the same number of teams.

 

I would have been more impressed with your powers of prognostication if you'd made those picks on Friday.

 

One of the more improbable bball finishes you'll see

Yale had a 5 point lead on Vermont with 3.8 seconds left. They lost. Here’s how. Absolute insanity. pic.twitter.com/52z3UiOklb

— Mike McAllister (@McAllisterMike1) December 3, 2023

 

Well, that's true of the professional college sports in general.

 

Send the College Football Playoff committee results backs to the state legislatures

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 3, 2023

 

Yeah, so would I!

The only one I would have gotten wrong was Alabama beating Georgia. I would have chosen Georgia there. Bama winning may have been what got Texas in over FSU as well- maybe FSU squeaks past them if the Horns' win over Bama doesn't look so impressive. Washington over Oregon wouldn't have been that difficult for me to say, and Michigan and Texas winning were easy calls. A final four of Georgia, Michigan, Washington and Texas.

I know plenty of people who called Bama, but only as fans- not with any commentary that could sway me. The one guy I know who is a sports guru is a huge Bama fan as well. He thinks Bama isn't the same team that lost to Texas, and he thought Milroe's maturity would make up the difference against Georgia. He also believes Texas is the second-best team in this playoff behind Alabama.

Michigan being undefeated just doesn't say anything. We've all seen this from the Big Ten before- more often than not they're not quite prepared because their schedules are so lacking. The Wolverines may win it all, but they'll have to do that before I really respect them again as a program. They're a season away from being bullied by the likes of TCU. Why should anyone automatically think they're worthy now?

I do feel cool that I called Texas third and not fourth. They get the bye of sorts by playing Washington instead of Bama again or Michigan. IMO, in terms of battle testedness and preparedness, this is Alabama, Texas, Michigan and Washington

 

Saban's gonna run circles around Jim Hairballs & they know it

The Michigan football watch party was NOT happy about Alabama getting the No. 4 spot over Florida State 👀 pic.twitter.com/r4Sj4nBwmc

— The Silver Bulletin (@tSilverBulletin) December 3, 2023

 

Indeed.

I was told that MLS is (snicket) improving, year, after year.

If this was in fact the case, could we not expect that most teams now would be better than teams from generation ago?

And yet, you admit that this isn't the case, so where's the improvement in MLS?

 

Yeah, that applause is light and polite. They want a championship more than they want to earn a championship. That's common among fans of programs that walk around with a big name but don't have a lot of success. "Just let us have one some kinda way, please, can we dodge the SEC and just sneak in the back door? Please?".

Suppose FSU had jumped both Bama and Georgia. The 2023 champ would be forever branded as The Team That Won The Year The SEC Champ Was Left Out. Michigan's obviously willing to wear that qualifier. Texas, having beaten Alabama early, doesn't have to. Can't say about Washington, but they probably just need to be happy to be there.

 

Gee, I wonder why

Ron Rivera says he’s disappointed in how wide the gap seems between Washington and good teams like Dallas and Miami

— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) December 3, 2023

 

Man City and its 115 violations that have yet to be punished while Everton were docked 20 points says hi!!

Your point stands but the EPL is messed up in its own way.

 

Clearly that's not the case.

MLS salaries:

2013 - 14 MLS players made $500k+ per year.

2023 - 27 make $2 million+
2023 - 54 make more than $1.5 million
2023 - 99 make $1 million+
2023 - 214 make $600k+

Up until 2007 - no designated players.

2013 - 33 designated players
2023 - 79 designated players

2013 - 33 players from Brazil and Argentina
2023 - 79 players from Brazil and Argentina

2013 - 144 foreign player slots
2023 - 232 foreign player slots

2013 - average age of Americans turning pro, around 21
2023 - average age of Americans turning pro, around 18

If look at the make up of USL Championship rosters today, American college grads, Central American and Caribbean players, they look remarkably similar to MLS rosters 10 or 15 years ago.

 

From Capology.

MLS salaries compared to other top leagues (Saudi Pro not available)

Average Payroll

England1 $115,032,500
Spain $63,694,620
Germany1 $57,990,600
Italy $55,367,928
France $43,417,200
England2 $21,522,708
Turkey $20,342,988
Brazil $17,704,750
MLS $14,378,726
Germany2 $12,787,800
Portugal $12,525,000
Mexico $10,758,056
Netherlands $10,204,200
Belgium $9,136,116
Scotland $8,544,167
Switzerland $7,533,000
Austria $6,845,400
Argentina $5,519,500

Median Payroll

England1 $93,742,500I
Italy $35,494,200
Germany1 $34,322,400
Spain $31,039,200
France $23,279,400
England2 $15,380,625
Brazil $14,635,0002
Turkey $13,915,000
MLS $13,251,000
Germany2 $9,579,600
Mexico $9,092,500
Switzerland $7,020,000
Netherlands $5,940,000
Portugal $5,616,000
Belgium $5,398,089
Austria $4,698,000
Argentina $4,970,000
Scotland $3,551,875