Leave it to a Fire fan to ignore the fact that Chicago has played 17% more games than either NE or Dallas. Chicago has averaged 1.67 goals per game, while NE and Dallas have averaged 1.78 goals per game. So I think it's fair to say that thus far in the season, NE and Dallas have more potent offenses than Chicago.
Results below: Right now, it is 2-2 in East Rutherford and 1-1 in Foxboro, which means that we are at 4,997. Three goals away!! EDIT: and as I type that, the Metros score again, 3-2. TWO GOALS AWAY!!
No more goals tonight, but we are at 4,998. RSL-Chivas is the early game on 8/8. Jason Kreis for the milestone anyone?
A fantasy they've been engaged in for a month. I've been treated to enough "we're leading the league" bunkum to fill an entire season.
Finally, MLS has taken notice I guess all my pimping of this has paid off. They should've at least given me a plug though, since I did email them about it in addition to all this posting. Here's what they list as the landmark goals: The previous landmark goals: 1,000: Sept. 14, 1997 -- Columbus's Thomas Dooley versus Kansas City (Mike Ammann), 82nd minute 2,000: July 3, 1999 -- Kansas City's Alex Burnbury versus Tampa Bay (Scott Garlick), 16th minute 3,000: May 9, 2001 -- Los Angeles's Sasha Victorine versus Tampa Bay (Scott Garlick), 3rd minute 4,000: June 25, 2003 -- Colorado's Mark Chung versus Los Angeles (Kevin Hartman), 12th minute (Garlick in goal for Colorado) My date for the last one should be 2003, so the only one we differ on is 3,000. The total was at 2,907 going into 2001, and it turns out I was using the 93rd goal of 2000 instead of 2001. Amateur mistake, I know.
Fact of the matter is, the Fire, while playing a tougher and more demanding schedule than Dallas or NE up to this point (and being the only team to beat both) are leading the league in points. When the dust settles this probably won't be the case. If you break it down statistically, you can make an argument another way, but points per game don't count, it's total points when the final whistle blows. For now, however, Chicago and NE are tops in the league. Good thing we've got plenty of Grown Ass Fragile Man material to work with.
"More demanding schedule" is not a fact. It's an opinion--a debatable one, given how few home ganes FC Dallas have had. The Sagarin ratings, for instance, rate NE's schedule so far as a 2.04 to Chicago's 2.00, to Dallas's 1.99. A statistically insignificant difference. The team whose schedule they claim the hardest (2.19)--and who they rate above Chicago (above Dallas, too, interestingly)--is DC United. (Sagarin finds Chicago's to have been the 8th hardest schedule in the league). "Leading the league on points" is a fact-- a fact that can be used to mislead. Barring cancelled games, they're the same thing. And if there were cancelled games affecting the playoff seedings and they didn't address the uneven number of games, there'd probably be a riot. Chicago also finished "tied for the lead on points" in 2001, but Miami were given the 1 seed on one fewer game played (because of the head-to-head record), anyway, and that's the only time the issue hasn't been moot. Gotta admit, though, Peter Wilt's a pretty good PR guy. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/mls05.htm
This is the most amazing thing to me from that article: "Amazingly, FC Dallas goalkeeper Scott Garlick has been on the field when the 2,000th, 3,000th and 4,000th goals were scored. He was beaten for goals No. 2,000 and 3,000, while his Colorado Rapids scored goal 4,000. " If he is there for #5000 I think the fix is in. Waco Joe
In the month of July Dallas (sans GAFM) went 1-3-1 and Chicago went 3-1-1. Giving you the benefit of the doubt Dallas went 4-1-0 and Chicago went 4-1-1 in June. Care to revise your bull**** statement? I will spare you the attempt to explain away who has the better record against the top four teams in the league and who has played more games against them this far into the season.
Way I figure it, we have 1.6ppg without Eddie Johnson (including May 28, which we won without him). Chicago is 1.7 ppg this season (I'm not gonna deduct point because dyou happened to go on a hot streak when he went down). Considering how many more home games you've played, we compare pretty well. I like how, to get that data, you pulled from the Sagarin ratings--without bothering to debate their conclusions. You choose not to acnkowledge that we've played 7 of our last 10 on the road (and 6 home games versus 13 road games total), inconvenient as that is to your analysis. Just like it's inconvenient to look at how many games in hand others have on you.
You speak of "games in hand" like it is 100% advantageous to the Fire. The truth of the matter is that the Fire have played two more league games than Dallas and one non-league game in the same time period (technically two non-league games with the OC). The Fire should be a bit more worn out, but in June and July they still bettered FCDs winning percentage.
Posting a cartoon on a subject that you don't fully understand (otherwise you might have been a little more hesitant to use it), and now this...you're intellect is stunning.
We went from "points per game don't matter, we're at the top of the table" to "the extra games hurt us." I found that pretty funny, as the two statements are complete contradictions in terms--how can the extra games hurt you if the worst you can do is get zero points from them, and points per game don't matter You've argued yourself into a cul de sac. Look, you just don't have the best record. It's pretty good, but not the best. Just accept it and move on. You throw in the top-4 record (which you'd never have had if I hadn't served it up on a plate) arbitrarily (why not top 3? Top 5?), and you throw out the home versus away equally arbitrarily. To believe what you're arguing means you have to disbelieve in the entire concept of evidence.
Did I say they hurt the Fire? No. I questioned your reasoning that playing more games in a shorter time span is advantageous to the Fire. You jumped to your own conclusions on that one. You should put said conslusions down on a large piece of plastic (a "mat" if you will) and sell it as a branded product. It could work out for you, really. So now you're blaming me because you tee'd up a subject for me, and I used a site you provided to make a statement you can't reasonably defend? That must be some kind of Dallas logic there. Pot, nice to meet you kettle.
Hmm, of course the Sagarin ratings factored that in. Along with the the home/away, and the rest of the schedule in general. Whereas, you picked one category, and completely ignored the rest of it. Draw from that your own conclusions, just as you already have.
Andy Williams got the 5,000th goal. It's only fitting that the guy who's played for six teams gets the milestone.