A couple things happened in Timbaland (or, um, Portland, Oregon). The Portland Timbers added a pair of players with interesting-for-the-A-League pedigrees: Yuri Morales and Mike Chabala. Judging from the write-up, the Timbers also completely friggin’ collapsed toward the end of last night’s game against Virginia Beach. On the positive side, Morales set up the Timbers’ lone goal (scored by Luke “Krispy” Kreamalmeyer...who also missed a penalty). Yuri, Mike, welcome to the team. Now, get ready for next year ‘cause this one’s over.
Turning to MLS, it’s Friday, which, of course, means previews. Before getting into that, though, there’s been scattered talk about the coming TV deal for the league. A Columbus Dispatch article snuck it in at the bottom and quoted some tall talk from MLS Commissioner, Don Garber:
""ABC, ESPN, Univision, Fox, HDNet. It’s going to be a game-changer, in terms of respect for our game."
Hmmm...
Whatever the TV deal amounts to, I’m seeing MLS games where I’ve never seen them before - e.g. Fox Soccer Channel. Guess who’s carrying this weekend’s game between the New England Revolution and Kansas City Wizards? Are they jumping the announcement?
Since that’s the one on the tube, I’ll start the previews there. As always, home team appears first and the official previews are embedded:
Kansas City Wizards v. New England Revolution
Both teams look about as threatening as wet kittens, which makes this one hard to call. On the one hand, it’s in KC and the Revs aren’t much on the road. On the other hand, KC’s carrying a one stray-dog-ugly streak into this game. With all due respect to Kyle McCarthy, I can’t bring myself to call this a draw - mainly because something’s got to give for one of these teams. So, leading with the “chin” of assuming one team or another is “due,” I’m going to call this a win for the home team (KC) and, hopefully, a wake-up call for my New England.
FC Dallas v. Colorado Rapids
Even with half their offensive starters MIA - Ronnie O’Brien, Carlos Ruiz, Roberto Mina - FC Dallas still tops the West. So, are these cats for real? The performance they turned in against Chicago a while back tells me yes, as does the many, many different players who have covered for the usual suspects by scoring goals when it matters. Throw Colorado’s road record into the mix and one has to call this a win for Dallas.
Houston Dynamo v. Red Bull New York
Someone pointed out that Red Bull’s three-game win-streak came against some of the league’s, ahem, lesser lights. True, but given that Red Bull can reasonably be dumped into the same rotten barrel, it seems fair to wonder whether this doesn’t mean they’ve got their hands on the rim and are pulling toward daylight. We’ll have to wait to see whether this second proposition holds true, because playing Houston away - especially a Houston team pissed off about a loss on Wednesday - provides a sterner test than Red Bull can handle. Houston’s just a better team and will win it.
Chicago Fire v. Columbus Crew
I need some kind of symbol to denote a long-shot pick that I’m really feeling will pan out. Kind of along the lines of a “Lock of the Week,” but not lifted directly from an old Simpsons episode. Whatever I come up with, this one is this week’s: Columbus wins away. Don’t ask me why, I’m just feeling this one.
Real Salt Lake v. DC United
Ah, ha ha hhaaaa, haaa, HHHAAAA!! Whoa, nelly. Hee-hee-hee-hee. Anyway, yeah, DC United win, but God love RSL.
Before wrapping for today, thought I’d pass on a tid-bit or three. Earlier in the week, Marc Connolly wrote an interesting piece on the rhythm of the MLS season; I think he’s pretty close, most of all on the start of the season. But there’s also some good background. Finally, Frank Dell’Appa looks at Clint Dempsey’s future - oddly, without seeming to know more than I suspect, e.g. that Dempsey’s is likely to leave after the ’06 season, though where to is anyone’s guess. I’ve got one thing to add, though. Dempsey strikes me as a “junk bond” kind of player, by which I mean he could go either way: he’ll either be a relatively low-cost, high, if not very high, return player, or he’ll suffer a sulking implosion. I don’t generally get this latter vibe from Dempsey, who’s got passion to spare and, seemingly, the respect of his teammates. But, every so often...I don’t know. It’s a sense thing, I guess.
But Dempsey's departure was as close to a given as anything in U.S. Soccer. Just ahead of his previews, Kyle McCarthy named another player expected to move overseas: Pablo Mastroeni. I hadn’t heard that one, but would love to see it and figure he’ll show well.
Well, that’s it for this week’s magic. If I can rouse myself Sunday night after barbecuing - and all that often entails - I’ll chat about the results.
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