Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Tyler Miller shines in return trip to Rio Tinto Stadium SoundersFC MLS Countdown: Howard anxious for Rapids debut Soccer America CHI 2, CLB 1: Fire into Open Cup quarters MLSsoccer Rumor: Antonio Di Natale turns down New York Red Bulls offer no one knew he had Once A Metro CONCACAF Champions League schedule announced MLSsoccer The Week in LA Galaxy: The slide continues 442
Heard yesterday on 104.3 Denver sports that Howard was too busy to do a radio spot with them, so 104.3 drive time show is done with rapids coverage. I'm done with 104.3.
Parity is failing Major League Soccer Brotherly Game Carl Craig: the man with the punk past leading Minnesota United into MLS The Guardian BeINsports Soccer Headlines beINSports MLS game scores 1 million viewers for first time since 2008 World Soccer Talk How Tim Howard’s salary compares to other MLS goalkeepers’ Denver Post Live Construction Orlando's soccer stadium Feed
How Tim Howard’s salary compares to other MLS goalkeepers’ Denver Post View attachment 80704 Is Howard worth that much? How impressed with the other 'Keepers have you been? IT seems like a very strong position across the MLS.
Good question. Right now, Colorado is top of the league; fewest goals allowed; fewest losses; and tied with Dallas for most wins. If there's a weakness, it's scoring - there's only five teams with fewer goals. I guess the "Is Howard worth that much?" question will be answered by how many tickets, and jerseys, he sells.
the rapids already have the best goals against record in MLS this year, having only given up 11 goals in 16 games, tops in MLS; scoring has been their weakness, having just 19 in 16 games, one of the lowest in MLS their starting goalie, Zac McMath, must be royally pissed at being relegated to the bench when he has been a big part for their great defensive record even if the rapids sell out every game (their average is under 15 000 in a + 18 000 seat stadium), the increased revenue will not pay for his 1/2 season salary of $1.25 mill- and really- did the rapids need a new aged goalie in order to increase their home attendance and improve their defence? nothing creates more buzz for a team and increases attendance/revenue than a top goal scorer, like drogba in montreal and giovinco at TFC have done IMO, the Rapids would have done more to increase their chances of winning the MLS Cup by adding a significant goal scorer
So were they providing much coverage in the first place, or is this just some handy excuse to drop what little they bothered with?
Everyone seems to be missing a big component of the Howard signing. Its no coincidence that in yesterday's press conference Tim Hinchey called out Transamerica and its rep and pretty much stated that the Howard deal wouldn't have gotten done if it wasn't for their sponsorship and that their sponsorship wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Howard. Given that it was a 4 year sponsorship renewal to start this season and Howard will be here for half this season and 3 others you can see how they went together. If the numbers floated for both the sponsorship and Howard's salary are accurate he's essentially already paid for himself. Every other sponsorship, media hit, jersey sale, and ticket is gravy. Trust me, here in Denver you're seeing and hearing about the Rapids more this season than you have in all the time since the MLS Cup win wore off combined. That's what the Howard deal was about.
Wanted to single out this stats-heavy article. Basically it argues MLS is not keeping up with the explosion of soccer interest in this country. Suggests loosening the traditional emphasis on parity as a way to regain viewers.
Sounds like when the Nuggets got Iverson a decade ago. The team wasn't any better, but it got plenty of attention.
They want MLS to go full blast like NASL of the past. That would be a suicide for the 21yrs old league.
Parker: East fights to be 'least worst' ESPN FC Reno 1868 FC, San Jose Earthquakes Agree to Two-Year Affiliation KTVN Colorado Rapids' Tim Howard ready for MLS return: 'I just want to get out there' The Guardian Chicago Fire Soccer Club and Gilberto Mutually Terminate Contract Chicago Fire I must say Fire played a fluid football last night and they looked awesome . On Gilberto it was a bad idea to have him on board again after TFC . Youtube TV needs a lot of work , they're not MLSlive yet.
M More to that point, i see this as more of a branding move than a ticket sales move. if they can start to really develop an identity, the benefits will be reaped years after any one player has left.
Ugh, why. That author could have taken some time in the MLS: Commish section and written a much better article. Two lines in particular stand out: No that's not what parity means. Parity is each team has equal resources to win a championship and how they use them decides who has the best chance. Yes that's one way to think about it. A very bad way though.
Yep, there's been talk of the Rapids having a new focus on having at least 1 U.S. Nat (Jones, Howard) and 1 European Nat (such as Gashi or Doyle) on the team at all times. For most of its history between Balboa and Pablo (and Casey) the Rapids have had a U.S. Nat but their international nat success has been limited.
Yeah, that's what the Revs thought when they signed Jermaine Jones. He's the face of the franchise, the most recognizable player since Alexi Lalas and singlehandedly delivered them to another MLS Cup final. Worht every penny in the long run, right? Oh. Never mind.
Not that I want to kick NE when they're down, if for no other reason than I consider @patfan1 a friend, but I'd argue that the Rapids have already done more to build around Jones and Howard for more than just one season to sustain this movement than the Revs did when they signed Jones. Gashi, Doyle, and Pappa all on long term deals. Younger players like Sjoberg and Azira. Howard on a long-term deal, etc.
I wasn't focusing on the sloppy wording. I found the graphs remarkable. I don't spend much time in the commish section myself. It appears to be focused on pro/rel, changing to a winter league schedule, changing the rules of soccer, abolishing the draft, and other highly practical ideas. You think this is where the author should get his advice?
People were already talking about the Nuggets before AI showed up. It was drafting Carmelo and changing the teams colors (and having a winning team worth getting excited about for a change) that moved the needle for the Nuggets.