This last week I had to re-locate back to Europe for a few months and I'm gonna miss the MLS playoffs, and they don't cover MLS here. I can get scores and rather bland analysis of what's going on through MLSnet and SJearthquakes but I want some real analysis of how we're doing in the run-up to the Cup. From reading the Revs-Quakes in-game thread, I got the distinct impression that we didn't come out looking too good and were lucky to go in nil-nil at the half but then we poached a goal against the run of play and solidified, in a game where we were missing Robinson in back and Cerritos up front. Ching scored, but how was he looking? From the thread, DeRosario looked good but conclusions on Rico were mixed, and Mullan was his usual excellent self, and Onstad and the post saved our hide. Anybody wanna correct me? Anybody wanna let me know what kinda shape we're in, how we're looking down the stretch? Robinson was out with suspension so he'll be back. How's Cerritos's health? What about Ching's health? Anybody wanna keep me posted? The last I got to see of the Quakes was the Chivas game. The benefit of being in Europe and missing out on the fun at home is the soccer I've got here. This weekend got tix to see Croatia-Sweden WC qualifier, that should be a blast.
We have not been as crisp the last couple games. I won't go as far as to say we have been lucky but I am concerned that the run to the Cup Final is not automatic.
If you have a good computer and good internet hookup (not dialup) you can watch the games on MLSnet.......I've seen most of the season and I'm in Japan, so they sure as hell don't show games here. Don't watch live though because the feed goes in and out....wait about 6 to 8 hours and you can catch them.
As another Quakes fan based overseas, and roughly in the same time zone as fc koshigaya is, I'll vouch for what he says. Granted, in Japan and Australia, the time difference to follow the team's games might be somewhat better than it might be in Europe (last weekend's game, for example, I was able to catch live at 9:30 a.m. Melbourne time on a Sunday). All you need is a good 'puter, a good connection, and the passion and commitment in your heart to continue to follow the team. Not a problem for me.
Even with a less-good hookup, there are some freebie utilities that will let you download the stream as a file, and play it back at your leisure. It's the only way I can watch anything from the MLS website (despite a DSL connection that's normally capable of at least 1.2Mbits/sec download). The videos are all fairly mediocre quality (fairly low res/relatively low bitrate), so you don't need much of a computer to view them.
And failing all of that, a dial-up connection will still allow you to access an audio webcast, as I have to rely on nearly 100 per cent of the time.