Speaking of bad mistakes, the Journal says that Marco is suspended for Thursday's match. I don't think that's right. Ed what;'s the deal?
Marco is suspended for that match because he has 35 caution points which put him over the milestone of 11 points beyond his first suspension. Stats as of Sept. 15th, 2002.
Hell, I thought he was suspended. According to MLS rules he should have been. Apparently the reading of the rule is somewhat more complicated than what I had read in the past. Get a grip Ken.
Etch wasn't listed last week as being on the warning list for the 32-point suspension, but he is listed as having 35 points. This must mean he has already served his suspension and the yellow on Saturday was a 3-point card. Dave
Nope. Etch's last card was the 1-0 loss to the Metros, and he played in the next game against SJ. My only thought: Maybe his suspension didn't come at 21, but at 25. If he was at 20, then got a five-point card, he'd only be at 10 points since his last suspension. RS
I was thinking that, too, Freestyle, so I've gone to the source. Marco is listed on MLSNet's stat page as having 9 cautions and 35 points, but the match reports only show 8. Etch's cards: 3/23 4/6 4/27 6/29 7/20 (Suspended for next game) --------- 7/31 8/25 9/14 I'm stumped. Dave
That's pretty much my thought now, too. So very, very confused. Please help us, Steven, Ed or Diceson... RS
No worries ... According to MLS rules, a player is suspended and fined $1,000 each time he acquires 11 caution points after he has surpassed the original 21 that gets you your first suspension. But, Etcheverry was suspended on 25 points originally, the product of an administrative yellow he received postgame from the league. So, according to the team and league, his next suspension wouldn't come until he hits 36, rather than 32. He is currently at 35. Note: This is how the rule reads: ... Players accumulating 21 penalty points shall be suspended one game and fined. Players are suspended an additional game and fined $1,000 after the accumulation of an additional 11 points and each 11 points thereafter. For what it's worth, United leads the league in cards with 72 (68 yellow, 4 red). United opponents have been shown 63 cards (61 yellow, 2 red), per league stats at mlsnet.com. ECM
Yes but how did we get "fuzzy math" in our favor? Especially after the Reyes fiasco earlier in the season.
It's nice to see the card situation break in our favor for a change. After losing Reyes those games early in the season, it's taken a while for things to swing back our way. Anyway, I'm not complaining. Marco is a big game player. He seems to turn it up a notch when the rubber is hitting the road, so I want to see him in there on Thursday.