Preseason Notes: Steve Davis' Facts of Life

If the headline confuses you, just understand that is intended as a pointless and inscutable pun on The Facts of Life, an allusion to Steve Davis' "you take the good and take the bad" look ahead to Major League Soccer's 2007. It's a pretty good read top to bottom, and I like that he leads with the SuperLiga, suggesting that's the best of the good developments going into the season. But the most eye-catching bit comes at the very end, with his fifth "bad" point:

"5. The league has discussed individual match bonuses for winning teams as another method to elevate competitiveness and decrease the irrelevancy factor of the average MLS encounter. Yet here comes another season with no action on this matter."

So, is this an idea whose time has come? I certainly wouldn't hurt, at least till missing the playoffs is harder than making them. Put this space down as "fer it," though I'd like to see some numbers before roundly endorsing any ol' plan.

In other news...

Red Bull New York
If you followed the bouncing Nick Rimando, you know now that he signed for the Red Bulls. Whether or not this was a good move - is Rimando cover for the cover of Ronald Wattereus? Who will be the first team guy? - it at least spares DC United the embarrassment of releasing and re-signing two players in the same preseason. Returning to the question posed between the dashes, competition for positions is good and all, but...dang, there can be too much of a good thing.

Real Salt Lake
One of the best items I read today was the Deseret News' blowout preview of RSL's season ahead. This one covers durn near everything, from where specific players will play, how they'll line up, the Adu effect, etc. Good, good stuff for getting to know RSL as they try to break their playoff duck.

For what it's worth, RSL, at least one person outside the Salt Lake City area wants to see you mangle the living shit out of that duck.

Um, General
I take no responsibility for the format, which takes me away from a team-by-team breakdown, but still have to applaud MLSnet.com for following even the most modest of preseason warm-ups for MLS teams. A lot of teams played in preseason scrimmages this past weekend, most of them picking on the kids (U-17s or one college side or another); in a game between grown-ups (no offense, kids!), DC United knocked a buttload of goals past the Columbus Crew. In better news still, new forward signing Luciano Emilio had a hand in a few of them.

But the best news of all is that the preseason is under way.