Week 4: Big Wrap Before the End

Since I’m waiting on tonight’s game before knocking out the usual power rankings and things of that sort, I built on that break with tradition by reading as widely as possible on the past weekend’s action. I’ll pass on links for further reading and what commentary as occurs to me on Saturday’s and Sunday’s games below and will try to make the big picture coherent come tomorrow. And, as I like doing, I’ll mark the games I watched in their entirety with an asterisk.

Needless to say, it was kind of a wacky weekend - a notion captured in a series of more general wraps from MSM outlets and a few blogs. Before going to the individual games, here are some general wraps of Week 4 in Major League Soccer:

- Dan Loney looks at how the "champs of April" of seasons past ended up.
- Ives Galarcep sees an early trend of a "deeper, stronger" East.
- A general wrap of the week's action appeared on USA Soccer Spot.
- Ditto on Who Ate All the Cupcakes, who took some time after Saturday's game to catch his breath and take stock.
- WVHooligan weighed in with a pair: one a Saturday wrap, the other a mirror-image look to Galarcep's at the seemingly weaker West.

Turning now, to the games:

Toronto FC 0 - 1 Kansas City Wizards
As nearly everyone pointed out, BMO Field rocked for Toronto’s first-ever game; damn shame they rocked to a stale, painful tune - e.g. no goals, another loss, and so on. Still, giving up one goals instead of three or four must feel something like progress. The big news out of this one was Eddie Johnson’s (EJ) ongoing rehabilitation - even if that one needs a big asterisk given the teams against which he’s scored. Another concern is word of a hamstring “tweak” to Carlos Marinelli, who has been dang impressive so far. For all I see Kansas City near the top of the East, what applies to EJ applies to KC: it’s hard to put much stock in that 3-1-0- record when two wins came against Toronto and the other against a decidedly wobbly DC United.
Further reading:
-MLSnet.com match report
- Kansas City Star - report, which notes Marinelli's hamstring
- The Toronto Star's main report has it all, from talk of stumbles in singing the U.S. anthem, to holding up the game, to an overall ebullient opening day. That's seconded by another atmosphere piece.
- Down the Byline turned in a tidy match report on behalf of the blogoverse.

Columbus Crew 1 - 0 DC United
Dude - and I mean that on two levels. One “dude” goes to DC - as in, “Dude, what the hell is up with your team?” The second is more of a happy surprise - as in, “Dude, those three ties suddenly look pretty killer, seeing as you’re undefeated and all.” Put another way, three ties look a hell of a lot better rounded out with a win - which says “hard to beat, yet just dangerous enough,” as opposed, “can’t fucking score with a blind, randy octogenarian on ecstasy,” which is a possible message sent by three draws and a loss. Three loses on three games sends a message, too, and it’s something like the one sent by a person with two advanced degrees in engineering answering a question about what she does for a living by answering, “I work graveyard at 7-11.” In all seriousness, DC fans must feel about as low as possible after this one - and not because they lost to the Crew, who has really shown some positive signs this year; it’s more to do with things going wrong on both ends of the field, as opposed to only the defense.
Further reading:
- I plugged a lot of links into the summary/(blind) analysis I did for the Crew Offside, so you'll find several good bits over there.
- DCenters weighed in with a worried pair of offerings: one a debriefing, the other a considered explanation of why firing DC head coach Tom Soehn isn't justified. For the record, he is/they are right; it's only three games!
- Quarter Volley says plenty by writing less.
- Steve Goff over at the Soccer Insider turned in a pair of post-match pieces, one extended quotes from Tom Soehn, the other a series of quotes from DC personnel; on the second one, the points of interest come in the comments.

LA Galaxy 3 - 1 Chivas USA*
I found a great, one-paragraph on this game on USA Soccer Spot (link above). Here’s that:

"The Galaxy made the most of their chances and deserved their win. Chivas looked the better team much of the match but were missing something in the final third. Besides, Goalkeeping played a part with Joe Cannon saving several shots destined to reach the back of the net while Brad Guzan's mistake gave LA an easy first goal and his continued lack of confidence showed with tentative movement the rest of the match."

The reads, roughly, like the game I watched. Apart from a rickety opening ten minutes, Chivas commanded two-thirds of the field for two-thirds of the game; if you sat down an uninterested party to watch ten randomly selected minutes and didn’t show them the score, I’m guessing they’d tell you Chivas looked like the better team. But better possession and passing aside, LA played the sharper soccer when and where it counted and Galaxy ‘keeper Joe Cannon made it stand. My take-away from this: LA isn’t as bad as many have assumed, while Chivas isn’t as good; with the latter, especially, think of the games they’ve won (Toronto, Real Salt Lake) and think again.
Further reading:
- MLSnet.com match report
- LA Soccer News match report
- LA Times, match report, in which I learned of Guevara's meltdown, which I only just registered when watching the game.
- There's a great glimpse into the fevered mind of a Chivas fan posted on the Chivas Offside.
- Whereas on the LA Galaxy Offside, things look pretty sunny - especially where Donovan and Cannon are concerned.

FC Dallas 0 - 1 New England Revolution
This one proves very hard to sort out from the Quick Kick highlights and match reports, the latter of which, especially, speak of the game in contrary terms. The one thing everyone agrees on is that Dallas was visibly tired when they needed energy most - e.g. toward the game’s end, when they needed to press for an equalizer. That suggests this may not tell us as much about Dallas as one might think; there’s also much being made of Carlos Ruiz’s scoring rut, but his apparent hamstring issues leaves that one on the table as well - at least as I see it. On the other side of the field, I can’t shake the feeling New England is worse than their record. They didn’t sound all that impressive here, which matches games I’ve seen from Columbus to their opener against Chicago. But one who really is impressing? Taylor Twellman. That guy is playing his skin off. Fantastic stuff - well, for the right kind of people anyway.
Further reading:
- MLSnet.com match report, which notes the horrid attendance and Twellman's 14 goals from 12 games haul against FCD.
- Dallas Soccer News match report, hits on Dallas' fatigue.
- Dallas Morning News match report
- Boston Globe match report, plus a bonus feature on Twellman and general player notes.
- Boston Herald match report
- FC Dallas Updates features informative bullets for the discerning FCD fan.

Houston Dynamo 0 - 1 Chicago Fire*
Holy shit, this one was hard to watch. I spent half the time chasing my three-year-old all over the apartment and it still felt like an eternal midfield scrum. Credit Chris Rolfe for a well-taken goal - likely as not, it will be a goal of the week contender based on this week’s somewhat thin offerings - and credit Chicago with what looks like a formidably solid defensive shape. I mean, holy hell, these guys are hard to score on. When they face Red Bull later this season, the intensity of the boredom might be such that it stops time. Making it worse, with both teams doing so well, we’ll all feel compelled to watch the thing. As for Houston, what can I say? They’re off. I followed a link to my site from a BigSoccer message board, the author of which seemed to be jabbing me for calling Houston a paper tiger. The more I weigh that judgment, the more I feel I may have overstated the case. But they’re not doing much right now, either. So, Houston’s somewhere between paper tiger and good team; I can’t say where, but they need to win at some point or their quality on paper becomes academic.
Further reading:
- MLSnet.com match report
- Chicagoland Soccer match report
- Windy City Soccer match report - for my money, the best I've read
- Chicago Tribune match report, the first to remind me that Houston has scored only once in 2007.
- Houston Chronicle match report
- Chicago Offside, who admits his team won ugly
- WVHooligan, after watching the game, wondered briefly if Houston sucks.

And, again, I'm spent.

Open Cup: A Proposal to Canales' Laudable Gripe

I think Andrea Canales' frustration with how Major League Soccer (MLS) and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) have permanently back-burnered the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has made the rounds by now (seeing as I found it on du Nord, I'm confident that it has).

Taking it as a given, then, that folks have read Canales' piece (if not, here you go), I'll go straight to my proposal for bringing this tournament to (back to? nah) deserved prominence - and if you've heard this one before, please politely sit on your hands:

Make the U.S. Open Cup a short, sharp preseason tournament for MLS - all levels of club soccer in the U.S. really.

That's not to say this will be simple, but I think there's a lot to recommend this. First, this would capture the undivided attention of U.S. soccer fans in the depths of their off-season jones. Second, even if they're players show up fat, between vying for a real trophy and getting ready for the MLS (or USL) season, they'll have ample motivation to shape up fast. And while it would lengthen the season, it would help in the middle with fixture congestion.

The tricky piece to all this will be the qualifying rounds; for instance, do teams qualify for this early spring tournament in the previous season or do they - especially professional and amateur teams from our nation's frozen North - find places to play where they can (in front of, well, nobody)? The tournament finals, on the other hand, would be a breeze: once you get down to the final 16, make it a formal tournament in one venue and make hosting this all-at-once tournament as big of a deal as possible. Getting back to qualifying, I'd lean toward, effectively, bookending the MLS/USL seasons with Open Cup play - the preliminary rounds would happen after the season and, after a winter break, would start up again in the spring.

Anyway, that's what occurs to me. Or you can go with the plan Canales fed Chicago Fire coach Dave Sarachan: make winning the U.S. Open Cup a way into the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, possibly at the expense of the Supporters' Shield (DISCLOSURE: I don't count the Shield for anything personally; you either have the playoffs or you don't; that's just a bias of mine). But I like my idea better - not least because it means more soccer, more often.

ON A RELATED NOTE: Andrea Canales strikes again, this time with a look at the difficulties of moving to a split season with a summer break. The god-awful weather around some of this year's openers, especially, gave MLS honchos serious pause about pushing closer to winter on either end of the calendar. And they've got a point. Going back to the above, though, that's why I'd go with qualifying across the country in the fall and hosting a one-spot tournament in a warmer clime during the spring.

But the most reassursing thing I've read all week came with the signs that MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Co. continue to think about these sorts of things. Here's to hoping the Open Cup doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

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See Paul Allen. Run, Southampton. RUN!!

Having watched Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen run the local NBA sports franchise from a front-row seat of sorts, I have some advice for the citizens, supporters, and owners of England's Southampton in the wake of speculation that he may purchase that club: Run. For the LOVE OF GOD, run.

By way of rough translation, if the pro basketball in the States featured promotion/relegation, and if it were possible to plumb the depths of regional, non-conference play, the Portland Trailblazers would be doing it. They'd be two years away from scratching at the basement door to the friggin' Continental Basketball Association right around now.

Think about it.

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Dude. The Bruce Is a Dick!

Now, I know this is old, old news to the soccer-watching world and, for the record, I like the man just fine. But every so often something I read or see reminds me of just how big a dick Red Bull head coach Bruce Arena can be. Observe:

"ESPNsoccernet (Kristian Dyer): After the World Cup, you made some critical comments about the MLS and its affect on the national team. This led to a spat of words from the league headquarters and apparent bad blood. Now with a partial season under your belt in the league and an offseason, have there been any sentiments of negativity towards you, within the league?"

"[Bruce Arena]: Anyone that attended my last press conference with the national team knows that I didn't have any bad words against MLS. For some reason, somebody began a campaign that was actually very inaccurate. I did not have any bad words against MLS and I would ask anyone to prove that."

Good Lord, man. This was not the "vast, right-wing conspiracy," but people filling in blanks, and in an entirely defensible way, based on this quote:

"And the way for us to get our players to get better is: We do need to get more of our younger talented players in Europe," said Arena, who won two of the first three titles in MLS with D.C. United. "We need them in a year-round soccer environment. We need them playing in more intense games to help develop them mentally, as well as soccerwise."

Yeah, a closer reading suggests he's bashing college and youth development in the States more than MLS - and that's hardly rare in the many spaces that talk about soccer. But it's not surprising people read that as a slur on Major League Soccer, as plenty seem to have done. His response to the "Brooklyn boy" question is equally precious.

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Week 4 Picks

Curse my duplicity! Had I stuck with the pick I sent over to the Real Salt Lake Offside, I would not only have pegged the damn score, but would be sitting pretty on a 10-11 record. Instead, I called a tie (well, fuck you too Hunter Freeman) and now look the fool with a 9-12 mark. Well, may as well do some more damage while I’m here. And, seeing as I don’t feel like finding the ground rules again, I’ll just note the most significant of them: I don’t call specific scores, just the results.

Oh, and I posted a more considered preview (e.g. high-falutin’) for Write On Sports and, thanks to my day “job” with The Crew Offside, I elaborated on the particulars of that game in that space. Moving on....

Toronto FC v. Kansas City Wizards (preview)
Watching TFC play thus far recalls a dogfight matching a shih tzu puppy against an adult bull terrier on a cocktail of crank and steroids. With my stomach barely holding as is, TFC needs any kind of positive from their home opener - a goal will do - or I don’t think I’ll be able to bring myself to continue watching them. Seriously, though, can you see them winning this? The shih tzu gets the once-over twice...or even thrice. WIZARDS WIN.

Columbus Crew v. DC United (preview)
On one level, DC’s panic-prone defense seems just the remedy for the Crew, who needed assists from Shalrie Joseph’s hand and the hole in James Riley’s foot to score for the first time last week. On another, the Crew defense hardly inspired confidence against the Revs either. As such, I’m seeing a fretful, perhaps even high-scoring, affair - and seeing how that favors the visitors, Columbus gets the worst of it: DC WINS.

Los Angeles Galaxy v. Chivas USA (preview)
Ah, the SuperClasico. I almost hate the league for filling this weekend with so many viewing options. Expectations seem pretty high for this one, though I’m a little dubious as to why. LA’s been pretty punchless thus far and Chivas has struggled against defensively stout outfits, a description I believe applies to LA. This call will leave everyone about as satisfied as I expect the game will: A DRAW - though I’m pulling for a Chivas win.

FC Dallas v. New England Revolution (type faster, you interns)
Dang me, this stuff is hard, y’all. Put it this way: New England may have the tools, but they were more opportunist than good against a wobbly Columbus without being opportunist enough. Going the other way, they’ve got enough holes and FC Dallas has the players to exploit them - especially at home: FC DALLAS WINS.

Houston Dynamo v. Chicago Fire (type faster, you interns)
There are two kinds of heavyweight fights: a Mike-Tyson-style beat-down that ends before it starts or those god-awful affairs featuring to big, sweaty dudes throwing slow, heavy punches between extended grapples (factually, there are more kinds of heavyweight fights, but bear with me). This game has the words “labored” and “1-0” written all over it. I’m going to say HOUSTON WINS, but that’s only because I predicted a bad year for the Fire and a good one for the Dynamo.

Real Salt Lake v. Colorado Rapids (OK, it's a Monday game)
Will my wife leave me if I watch four games in one weekend? Will she threaten to? You may find out Tuesday morning ‘cause I’m damned curious about this game and mainly to see Colorado, in whom I still possess a kind of half-absurd faith. But for reasons for which I cannot account, I think John Ellinger picks up a reprieve on this one as the Rapids’ road woes bite again: REAL SALT LAKE WINS - and the doubting time begins (or maybe continues) in Colorado.

FCD 0 - 1 RBNY: Observations from a Glimpse

Having watched, literally, ten sporadic minutes of this game, what comes below hardly counts as Gospel. But a couple things do occur to me about the little I did see:

- Without knowing much about what came before, Red Bull killed last night's game - by which I mean they controlled the final 10 minutes - as well as any Major League Soccer (MLS) team I have ever observed. Either Dallas was that bad, or Red Bull was that good and confident in keeping possession, hitting 'em where they ain't, etc.

- Hunter Freeman? Hunter Freeman? Wow.

- And still, no one has scored on Red Bull; that's 360 minutes. Who saw that coming? It looks like Real Salt Lake (RSL) gets the first crack at it...and I assume you're thinking what I'm thinking (well...maybe; one could assume I mean RSL is hardly the team to breach the Red Bull goal; alternately, they could remember that it was RSL that ended DC United's streak last season.

- On the other side of the ball, what does this 1-0 loss mean to FC Dallas? In the little I saw of the game, the Texas team looked less coherent and composed. But, given how the Bulls looked - or how Dallas made them look; again, I can't speak to firmly to that - it's entirely possible there are worse results. Put another way, there's still more to learn about Dallas.

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Primetime: ESPN Doin' Good, Records, Pick

I like the way ESPN has hyped the Primetime Thursday matches. And it's not so much on TV - I know nothing; I only watch the games and generally know when they're on - as to how they handle them on their site. Every week, they've done a "special" preview, all of them written by Jeff Carlisle so far. And, in my estimation, he's done really solid work on these: he frames them well as well as highlighting players and storylines to watch. Check out the latest and see if you don't agree.

I did, however, note a weird comment in his "stories to follow" segment:

"2. Are the Hoops legit?"

"While New York's early success has made people take notice, Dallas' record of 2-1-1 might qualify as a bigger surprise. When [Dallas coach Steve] Morrow opted to dismantle the side put together by predecessor Colin Clarke, it was thought that the slew of new faces would take time to gel. But FCD has fashioned a solid start to the season, despite playing three of their first four games on the road. And while Dallas has been outplayed at times, it has still managed to get some good results.

In fairness, I think I know where he's going here - e.g. it's surprising because all the changes Morrow made in the off-season and the starting road-trip. But it goes down a little sideways because the absence of commentary on the fact that Dallas has a history of starting well: for instance, in 2006 and 2005 they started 3-0-1, and they weren't too shabby in 2004 either (2-0-2). The point is, Dallas doesn't have a problem with their starts; it's the endings that kill them (and get their players suspended, etc).

Also, for the record, Red Bull New York can make their way into the league history books if they can keep FC Dallas from scoring for 75 minutes - so that's kinda cool.

At any rate, this should be a good game, maybe even a great one - and there are previews out there (MLSnet.com (LINK) and Ian Plenderleith offered some good details as well).

Finally, time to name (guess?) the winner ahead of kick-off. This is a tough one, one of the toughest of the season so far. In spite of what I said for my entry in the predictions league run by Ian on the Real Salt Lake Offside (where I called a 1-0 win to RBNY), I'm making a DRAW the official call for this space.

On the other hand, since I failed to make an entry in this space for last night's game, my thoroughly accurate prediction in that league will stand for this space (for all those calls, scroll down to my second comment - the one that comes after my realization that I suck at predcitions). And that takes my total for the year to 9-11...getting better...

Kljestan's Defense...sort of...

Having made a bit of a deal out of this yesterday, I feel somewhat obliged to wrap up the tale of Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan's two-game suspension and modest fine. Kljestan made himself available and offered, not so much a defense for, as an explanation of the incident:

"I was just tired in my brain, like just not thinking at the time. It's just a play where you think, `Oh I want to slow down the play, I want to prevent a counterattack' and you just don't think for a second and you just try to make the tackle or a foul or just poke the ball out of bounds."

"I jumped from the wrong angle and I got his foot underneath me, so it ended up looking pretty dirty when I meant no maliciousness or any intent to hurt anybody."

So...damn...nice...

Anyway, I'm still dubious on the size of the punishment, as well as the irksome impression that this play wouldn't have been reviewed at all except for the injury. That's probably what's making this so hard to digest. The thing is, if the league wants to crack down on a behavior, the existence of an injury shouldn't be necessary. Put more directly, an injury shouldn't be the trigger for review; the tackle should be the trigger and the injury an aggravating factor. There's just this sloppy, central-planning mind-set in setting this ruling that makes me feel like the process operates on a cart-before-the-horse basis.

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I Can Pull for Pachuca

Sports Illustrated reported this morning that CF Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup by beating CD Chivas de Guadalajara on PKs. The way I see it, when a Major League Soccer (MLS) club failed in this year's tourney, Pachuca became my second choice. It could have been the free admission ploy that won me over.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to pulling for Pachuca (which reads dirtier each time I type it) in the World Club Championship this December.

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MLS Snobbery: Confirmed

I don't think there's a clearer sign that I've lost interest in following the club game around the world, than the decision I made yesterday.

For reasons not worth discussing, I happened to be at home, which made sitting down to take in the Champions' Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Chelsea easy enough (result - for the curious). And yet I arranged my day to see the Kansas City Wizards take on Toronto FC. Moreover, I found that plenty interesting and don't remotely regret my choice.

It's a curious path I'm on with regard to Liverpool, who was once "my team," and the EPL in general: I spent one season (late 1990s; couldn't say when) drinking a shot of gin for every goal Liverpool scored (the famous 4-3 fight back against Newcastle was the closest I've come before or since to getting cut off); when I saw Liverpool win the League Cup in 2001, the relief was such that I felt some tickling of nausea. Fast forward to (was it?) the 2005 Champions' Cup victory, the one where Liverpool looked all but dead against Barcelona before a dizzying 5-10 minute spell got them right back in it - I didn't see even one of those goals, but stuck around for the PKs that decided. And it was merely OK.

That takes the story to yesterday. If I ever doubted my interest in the EPL has ended, I don't any more. And don't interpret this as self-congratulation because I'm not proud of this or anything - more surprised, I suppose, given the years spent going to a smoky bar every weekend to catch the Premier League. And Lord knows I'm not claiming Major League Soccer is in any way superior. It's closer to the truth to acknowledge that as irrelevant. Put another way, I don't know how this happens; I only know that it can.

KC 3 - 0 TFC: Some Thoughts

Between my time-zone of choice (PST) and Major League Soccer's game-bookers, I caught this one in pieces; I still have yet to see Eddie Johnson's opening goal (whoops! till now...thanks quick kicks!). Here are some brief observations based on what I saw, starting with the Toronto FC side of things:

- Dude, Toronto FC is in for one long motherfucker of a year. Till this team improves defensively, it might be advisable to place an asterisk next to these wins and keep a separate ledger for the goals they allow.

- On the same subject, Toronto glumly demonstrated last night that simply packing 10 players behind the ball - as they appeared to be doing after KC's first goal - isn't sufficient; they still have to be organized.

- On the other end, Alecko Eskandarian came close enough that I believe Toronto capable of scoring - and almost expect that will happen this weekend. If it doesn't, holy crap...I don't know if I can watch this team. Too painful...

- Speaking of bright spots for Toronto, Carl Robinson doesn't look half bad. He's no All-Star at this point, but he's showing signs.

- Think of what the recent trades must feel like for Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite - and this goes double for Wynne, who left the team everyone's talking about right now. The only comparable experience that comes to me would be getting picked early when the captains divvy up teams - y'know, like they used to do in gym class or on the playground - only to be shipped to the crappy side to help for the sake of closer balance.

From the KC side:

- I have read, and have probably written as well, that Eddie Johnson should concentrate on getting back to form with a club team before he gets a shot with the national team again; based on the past two performances I saw, EJ is making progress.

- And a big part of that, last night at least, came courtesy of Carlos Marinelli. He delivers a pretty good ball and looks like a good find for the Wizards.

- Hartman showed on at least one occasion the importance of having a good 'keeper; his near-post stop on one of Eskandarian's attempts was impressive.

- Sadly, though, the jury has to stay out on this Wizards team - and probably through the weekend. Given not just last night, but Toronto's season as a whole, betting on the Canadian team to win seems like a brave call.

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Suspensions: Herron...Kljestan?!

Major League Soccer (MLS) disciplined Columbus Crew forward Andy Herron this morning to the tune of a four-game suspension and a $3,000 fine. Seeing as I already wrote about this in another space, I'll send persons interested in reading about it to that space (short version: Herron got off light, but I'm still OK with it).

Seeing as a suspension of some sort was a given with Herron, that's done and dusted. But something in the same press release has me thinking a bit:

"The disciplinary committee also suspended Chivas USA defender Sacha Kljestan two games and fined him $1,000 for a serious foul play."

[SNIP]

"In the Kljestan incident, although the referee saw the incident and exercised his on-field judgment not to award a red card, a serious injury to Williams resulted. In this circumstance, the committee reviewed the play and concluded that the challenge was an unequivocal red card offense and egregious. Therefore, the committee decided to suspend Kljestan two MLS Regular Season games and fine him $1,000."

Those interested in a second look can find video to all of these incidents. My video feed is boned, so I'm currently unable to review the Kljestan "incident," but this still strikes me as harsh. I'm OK with the fine - I'd even be comfortable if they doubled it so long as they withdrew the suspension, or keep the fine and suspend him for one game, as if it had been a red card - but that's a pretty stiff punishment for a bad foul in the run of play. And it was a bad foul, no question. I like Andy Williams plenty and respect him more (especially how huge a mensch he is for even playing given everything) and this is definitely tragic. But I don't think the simple existence of the injury has a role in setting the punishment.


UPDATE I entirely accept the possibility that my take on the Kjlestan incident doesn't make sense - and if I find out Sacha didn't visit Andy in the hospital (barring accidents of travel, etc.) I'll rescind the statement entirely. In any case, a couple other people weighed in on this, so I thought I'd link to them: Ives Galarcep and Steve Goff, though with the latter, I'm pointing more toward the comments.

Fans Crowning Saviors

""In America too many people are in a hurry to anoint the 'American Pelé.' We saw that to some extent with Bobby [Convey]."
- Kevin Payne, DC United GM, ESPN, 4.22.07 (LINK)

If that statement applies to Convey, think of what it meant to Freddy Adu (who's already getting called out (hat-tip: Offside Rules) and accused of failing to notice the existence of his right foot) or what it means now to Josmer Altidore.

Being the cautious sort (except when it comes to making miles-off-target predictions), I do try not to go in for this. And, in the fantasy space that is my head, I somehow believe I don't. Taking a more realistic line, though, I'll assume I do - and that takes one to the next question: Why? Why is it so easy to get sucked into hype, whether it's about a player or this year's hot-shit team (think DC United)? More specifically, what's the dominant impulse that allows it - the fan or the amateur scout?

I can only answer the last one for myself: it's the amateur scout for me and the impulse grows from nothing more than wanting to seem "wise" (as in, "in the know"; this is why I dub Houston "paper tigers" after just three games). I came across a great example of the "fan impulse" today; an admirably excited Chivas fan already expects Maykel Galindo's player of the week honors to translate to player of the year. Personally, I think Galindo's doing great and wish him the best with that...but I'm not counting on it based on him making Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC look foolish.

The most remarkable thing is how quickly it strikes: for instance, Juan Pablo Angel has just arrived and, before he's kicked a ball in MLS, he's already the missing piece that will make Red Bull New York overnight contenders (for example); a muted version of the same mania struck DC fans when Fred was signed - damn shame about the defense rendering all that irrelevant.

Where am I going with this? I'm not 100% sure. It's just a peculiar thing, that's all. But on a fairly simple level, it's just kind of fun getting sucked in. But there's also something about waking up without immediately assuming that every freakin' day is Christmas that keeps one grounded. On the flipside of that metaphor, I imagine that the players we all hype would appreciate not feeling as if they spoiled Christmas every time they leave the field without sending fans into orgasm.

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Herron's Elbow: Well...We're Waiting (+ Video)

One of the "great" talking points of Major League Soccer's (MLS) Week 3 was almost certainly the elbow Columbus forward Andy Herron planted on New England defender Jay Heaps' head. It turns out this shot left Heaps with a concussion plus a happy flutter of butterflies where his memory of the end of the first half, halftime, and the early parts of the second half should be.

That's an ugly scene, no doubt, but the questions central to this with the words "suspension" on nearly everyone's tongue (though nothing showing, as yet, on MLSnet.com's discipline report) are intent and self-defense - e.g. was Herron swinging "to kill" and was he retaliating? And some interesting answers to these points have shown up here and there as the week progresses.

USSoccerplayers.com scribe Ian Plenderleith opened the defense by noting something the Greek Chorus in the announcing booth might have missed:

"...as any viewer could see from the 15 or so replays of the incident, the not-so-angelic Heaps clearly does something in the back to Herron at below camera level as the ball is played, and that is what Herron responded to. Not that this mitigates Herron's disgraceful violent conduct, but it puts the incident in a context that the commentators for some reason ignored. Fortunately, Heaps was not badly injured."

I can't say I noticed the thing Heaps did; as I saw it, Herron looked to be checking over his shoulder to make sure it was indeed Heaps behind him. Then again, I've got a three-year-old distracting me through it all and am thus willing to admit I misread the thing.

Still, thank God for Youtube, right? Judge for yourself:



After watching that, I have to admit, Herron sure does look like he's reacting. But look at the man's face when he swings: there's a scowl brimming with intent. And that brings up another defense I came across today, this one straight from Herron himself, that appeared in the solid Hunt Park Insider. Even as the author, Steve Sirk, points out that "upon seeing the replay, Andy's explanation falls short on many levels", here's what he had to say:

"'I saw the ball coming, and I looked back, and I didn't see nobody,' [Herron] explained. 'So when I jumped up, you are gonna try to protect yourself in case someone comes in and tries to push you. It didn't feel like I hit someone, but everyone says I did. He's shorter than me, so he probably hit my elbow. They said it probably seems pretty bad. I talked to him at the end of the game and said "You scream at me and you kick me and I tell you everything, but I am not going to elbow you for dirty, man." It was just the motion of the play. I told him sorry, but then I was thinking "should I?" because I don't even remember hitting him. I am going to check out the replay, and they say it might cause me some problems, but hopefully the league will look at it and see it the right way.'"

I don't think that story will carry Herron's case very far either. But the bulk of Sirk's argument - and he in no way defends Herron's elbow, specifically or generally - is that the referee lost control of the game, creating an atmosphere where players take such things into their own hands.

For what it's worth, I think Herron is toast - hardly a bold prediction, but there it is. Put another way, there's a reason no one outright defends Herron; and it's possible he'll lose a person or two with his comments to Sirk, smacking as they do of dishonesty. But what of the mitigating factors - e.g. a "Wild West" environment and a series of missed calls? What kind of suspension would you hand down? Me? I'd go with six to eight weeks, with one of those awarded for talking crap to the media.

What irks me about the wait, though, is a sneaking impression that the league is waiting to hand down sentence for the same reason government bodies release bad news late on Friday: they're not comfortable with their decision and want the fewest possible people to notice. Still, it's not that there's nothing to consider.

Week 3: Mess o' Match Wraps, Power Rankings, Video

Holy crap did I read (or skim) a crapload of soccer crap today. Crap, crap, crap - by which I intend to express my amazement and appreciation that there's so much good content out there as opposed to commenting on the content itself.

At any rate, I'll start with the general stuff and work my way down to individual game reports. The idea is to get as many perspectives as humanly possible and to add that to what I mentioned in my Week 3 power-rankings. Before ceasing to talk about me, though, I may as well flag the weekly summary I sent over to Write On Sports (who could use more contributors, by the way); I led that piece with my one-man effort to sow doubt in the Houston Dynamo camp. I think they're another team laboring under too-great expectations this season (all y'all know the other one).

Enough about me, though. Let's see what everyone else had to say about Week 3.

General
Since they started the trend, I'll link to ESPN's power rankings first; unlike me, they had the guts to place Red Bull New York first. A couple blogs chucked out power rankings as well: Luis Bueno turned in a tidy effort for Sideline Views (and matched my top three on the way, while avoiding my peculiar attachment to Colorado) while Who Ate All the Cupcakes made the Herculean effort of comparing all 13 MLS teams to professional wrestlers. I can only applaud.

Others, both professional and amateur, went for regular wrap-ups of the weekend's action: Soccer America turned in their usual pair of wraps, one a general summary, the other a barebones data dump of goals, cards, and (the motherfrickin' sorry) attendance. Ian Plenderleith, of USSoccerplayers.com also touched on the (sorry, sorry) attendance, but he also added more good stuff about some dodgy officiating and those wonderful quotes that athletes often give when pressed for answers. Mike H of My Soccer Blog rounds out the summary category with a comprehensive offering of his own.

Dan Loney, who seems to have fallen between my two categories out of spite, has to float between them for the sin of writing (quite well, actually) about only two of Week 3's games.

Finally, before turning to the games themselves, let's plunk a video compilation of Week 3 goals to recharge your batteries (courtesy of Climbing the Ladder, of course.



Back to it now, in the order in which they surprised me...

FC Dallas 3 - 1 Colorado Rapids
If you want "just the facts," it's hard to beat MLSnet.com's traditional match reports. But I learned so much from the labors of others: Bill Urban's nice perspective piece on just how much Colorado and Dallas hate one another is a good starting point. But this one contained some lovely details: there's FC Rocky's appreciation for Jovan Kirovski's goal in spite of the handball that made it possible, as well as Dallas coach Steve Morrow's righteous frustration that his team gave up the goal, handball or no. Ramon Nunez gets some nice love from the Dallas Soccer News who flags that his first on the day is up for goal of the week as well as telling the inspiring story behind his start - Dax McArty picks up some kisses in that one too. Meanwhile, fans out Colorado way take a different view of Nunez.

My favorite detail from this game, though, comes from a passage in the Denver Post's write-up on this game. And I flag this for two reasons: one, because it gets to my theory that Brandon Prideaux is the weak spot on the Rapids' back line; two, because it says, "That guy looked like a doofus" without saying it explicitly:

"In the 29th minute, Nuñez took a pass from Dax McCarty and dribbled around Brandon Prideaux at the top of the goalkeeper's box, causing Prideaux to fall while trying to change directions, before placing a shot inside the left post from 12 yards out."

Red Bull New York 1 - 0 Houston Dynamo
I think the best piece of coverage I saw on this game showed up in the Houston Chronicle in the form of the third paragraph quote from coach Dominic Kinnear: it shows he gets the scope of the problem.

But the big story here is the essential shock of writing "the first-place Red Bulls" - as Ives Galarcep pointed out on his blog. Pieces in other spaces point out that this isn't so much a surprise, between the play of kids like Dane Richards and Josmer Altidore, or even the team's defensive solidity. Martha, who writes for the Red Bull Offside, throws many of the players much love (though emphatically not John Wolyniec, who should be OK seeing as he picked up some love from Red Bull Rising, who turned in a very impressive review), but I also want to thank her personally, for using the word "bitches" in a way that makes me feel more comfortable expressing myself in a similar manner.

Really, hard as it is to get one's head around the idea of the New York area having a team to brag about, it's kind of fun at the same time....even if you know that somewhere down the line, they'll absolutely implode in a totally unpredictable way.

Chivas USA 4 - 0 Real Salt Lake
It's the magnitude of this one that shocks: this one could have been still uglier and it left a few RSL fans wondering whether their guys stopped trying. Oddly, pundits, even Chivas players, found time to pick at their performance in the rout. As I see it, Chivas took their foot off the gas a bit, but, by the 75th minute, they stomped their foot on RSL's neck so damn hard that I expect the latter's recovery from this trauma to continue for a couple of weeks; so, no, I don't get the complaints.

The best thing I read about this game, though, the referee broached the subject of the "towel rule" - as in asking whether RSL wanted to throw it in:

""It's worse when the game is in extra time and you get asked if you want the full extra time," RSL coach John Ellinger. "How would you feel?"

After that, it's equal parts joy and pain: the "pain" comes from the seriously unfortunate injury to Andy Williams and a budding, perhaps media-inspired, goalkeeping controversy that grows from Nick Rimando's second dodgy performance; the only thing to make this worse is the fact Rimando may hold onto the job due to "back-up" Chris Seitz's likely absence this summer. The "joy" side is pretty obvious: Ante Razov's 100th goal in MLS; LA Soccer News cranked out a pretty good sidebar on Razov "the man."

Chicago Fire 2 - 1 Kansas City Wizards
Good God. It's like a disease, all this typing, so I have to stop (and start on this earlier next week). So, quickly as I can, here are some resources from the game that surprised me the least this weekend - and I stand by what I've said in a couple places now; there's something ominous about Chicago, even if no one in the Chicago area seems terribly interested in seeing it.

- Luis Arroyave: good stuff on Barrett, Rolfe, and Armas.
- ChicagoLand Soccer News turned in a good, general report.
- As did Windy City Soccer LINK
- The Kansas City Star's report flagged some key stuff about how Chicago played Eddie Johnson, so that should interest a coach or two.
- Down the Byline, a site I don't cite enough, turned in a good report from a KC perspective.

So, yeah, I petered out a bit toward the end. Hope it was good for someone out there ('cause I'm spent).

Week 3: Power Rankings & Picks Tally

With my urge to make this wrap a total, permanent-floating resource the threat of sprawl is both a real and present danger. You have been warned.

In all seriousness, beyond an effort to make the information contained herein consistent, the only addition I’m making is posting the standings. Knowing that Major League Soccer (MLS) will continually update their standings as the season progresses, I wanted a series of archived roadmaps to show how we got there from here; you’ll find that at the very bottom of the page, after the power rankings. One last caveat and I’ll lay off the editorial business: due to the crappy highlight service from this week, I’m having to operate on strictly second-hand knowledge for a few calls in the power rankings - and some others besides. I can’t say I like this state of affairs, but it is what it is. So take that into consideration as you read what follows.

Let’s begin with my record on calling the games: it currently stands at 8-11 (it builds up from here...and, shit!). As much as I’d like to blame my self-imposed punishment for calling a specific score in the Crew/Revs draw, the reality is I wouldn’t have been over .500 anyway. Thing is, I didn’t know the Rapids hadn’t notched a regular-season win in Dallas since before 9/11 till after the game.

Before turning to the power rankings, let’s look at some interesting talking points from Week 3. In no particular order:

- I’m smashing the games together a bit at this point, but, assuming I remember it correctly (a midfield clip of an opposition player’s foot in the center of the field?) I share Clint Mathis’ apparent puzzlement at getting sent off.

- And what the hell is Red Bull New York doing in first place? What the hell are they doing looking so good in doing it?

- On the other side of the coin, I think Houston is a paper tiger, or something like. Put another way, they’ll have to get their game back on track before I rate them anything close to #1.

- Loath to admit it as I may be, Chicago possesses an ominous kind of solidity.

- Is there a hotter seat in the league than the one on which Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger now sits precariously?

- OK, all of you - the hype-merchants to the early acolytes - you win: Josmer Altidore does look pretty good. I’m not sold yet, but I’m starting to buy it.

- On the other side of the hype coin, Freddy Adu is overrated. He will remain overrated till he discovers what is plain as day to everyone else: Freddy does, in fact, have a right foot.

- Speaking of players, Dane Richards looks about as exciting as anyone in MLS right now.

Right, moving on now to the power rankings, I’ll note last week’s ranking in parentheses immediately after this week’s ranking...and, yeah, I suspect I’ll fluctuate more than most and, yeah, I can barely justify any of these, but it’s what I’m seeing. And, as with last week, to let visitors to the site know the extent to which I’m working by direct observation, here’s a key: “@” means I watched their most recent performance in its entireity; “$” means I caught it through Quick Kicks, which provides extended highlights; “&” means I watched only the rump highlights available through MLSnet.com. And, finally, if I leave it blank, that means I saw the score, maybe read a match report...but, in general, I prefer banging out these reviews having read as little of others’ thinking as possible.

On with it now, fer reals:

1. (7) Chicago Fire
What can I say? Maybe I read too much into their sleep-inducing performance against the Rapids in Week 2; maybe I’m reading too much into this last game (which I didn’t see, not even in highlights...you bastards). But, as noted above, the Fire just appears solid, like they’ll be simultaneously hard to beat and sufficiently confident on offense to have a good season. Still, I’ve got to make watching a(nother) full game for this team a priority; I’m flying on impression here.

2. (8) Red Bull New York(@)
The only thing keeping Red Bull out of the top spot is, oh, 11 years of league history. Put another way, habit makes it hard for me to place them even this high. But with the way Richards runs at defenses, how confident, smart, and powerful Altidore looked as a lone forward, and how solid Red Bull seemed all over the field, they’re looking like something pretty close to the best team in the league right now.

3. (3) Chivas USA (@)
Even as the quality of the opposition does matter - and you’ll see how I rate Real Salt Lake (RSL) below - Chivas ran over the Utah team like a three-trailer semi. Those four goals could have been six, even seven and, courtesy of a penalty call that didn’t come (on Sacha Kljestan late in the game), it really should have been five. The rout of RSL only served to make the loss to Houston look unluckier. Preki has started really well.

4. (2) Colorado Rapids (&)
Whenever I mention not being able to justify a call on power rankings or previews, the Rapids are usually in the back of my mind. There’s just something I like about this team and it renders me dubious about moving them much based on one result. The fact the players believe they outplayed Dallas this weekend somehow deepens my belief. Another loss, though, and I’ll have to re-think things - especially if they show the same vulnerability on the road from past seasons.

5. (4) New England Revolution (@)
While last Thursday’s game against the Crew tipped ever-so-slightly in the latter’s favor, the reality is that the Revs came within a blown trap of leaving Crew stadium with all three points. Problems off the field and injuries aside, this team seems ready to play for each other. So long as they (OK, Twellman) can keep scoring, New England’s hard enough to beat that they should do fine.

6. (1) Houston Dynamo (@)
Call this one an “accumulation foul.” To this point, Houston has turned in two good halves in MLS regular season games; that’s two out of possible six. They looked, frankly, awful against Red Bull and nothing can excuse that. It may be we’ve discovered the limits to coach Dominic Kinnear’s half-time oratory. Until Dwayne DeRosario gets back on track and Ching can go a full 90, the champs won’t live up to last year.

7. (9) FC Dallas (&)
This was the toughest call of this week; and, again, I can’t explain why I plunked the team FC Dallas beat four spots above them in the table. Put my reticence down to long bitter experience with rating Dallas clubs too highly. Still, count Ramon Nunez’s goal in the run of play my Goal of the Week for Week 3 - and Bouna Coundoul’s spazzy freakout after conceding on the free kick...priceless.

8. (10) Columbus Crew (@)
I’ll say it flat-out: Columbus looks better to me than its record - which, to be fair about it, kinda sucks. Because W’s count for more than T’s, though, the Crew find themselves on the wrong side of this ledger. But Columbus looks better playing the game than they have for the past couple seasons, so call the omens promising.

9. (6) Kansas City Wizards
Two consecutive losses - one in U.S. Open Cup play against RSL and, now, last weekend’s loss to Chicago - raises the question of how much KC owed their impressive opening win to DC ham-footed defense. With Chicago “flying high” (honestly, with them looking like MLS’s answer to the Arsenal teams that earned that club the “boring, boring” label, I can only type that phrase in scare quotes), it’s the loss to RSL that really has me questioning this team’s real-world quality. I couldn’t watch this one, but the score gives the impression that the goal they managed falls firmly in consolation territory.

10. (5) DC United (idle)
I dropped these guys further based as much on KC’s rough week as anything. For all that, they have nowhere to go from here but up. But a win next week against Columbus is the only immediate remedy - and I’m not sure they’ll get it.

11. (11) Los Angeles Galaxy (idle)
More or less ditto from DC’s situation. They’ll move up when they move themselves up; till then, I’m not sure they can score.

12. (13) Toronto FC (idle)
The only team, at least from where I sit, who improved by idling over Week 3. And that’s thanks to....

13. (12) Real Salt Lake (@)
It’s not every day one sees a rout - especially in MLS. But this one was a “rout-plus,” just a thorough, even humiliating, domination by a club that should be roughly an equal. Even at their best in Saturday’s game, RSL never looked much like scoring; they merely looked confused. All in all, RSL’s off to such a shaky start that I expect I’ll be checking MLSnet.com to look for John Ellinger’s jump/push out of the hot seat.

And now, the final piece of the weekly wrap up - well, at least till more comes later today (including my write-up for Write On Sports; I like my feature this time) - the MLS standings after Week 3. This is my first shot at this concept, so forgive the ugliness. And, for complete, current listings, here’s a link to the official standings:

Eastern Conference:
1. Red Bull New York: 7 pts. (2-0-1: 4 GF, 0 GA, +4; home, 2-0-0; away, 0-0-1)
2. Chicago Fire: 7 pts. (2-0-1: 4 GF, 2 GA, +2; home, 2-0-0; away, 0-0-1)
3. New England Revs: 4 pts. (1-1-1: 6 GF, 3 GA, +3; home, 1-0-0; away, 0-1-1)
4. Kansas City Wiz: 3 pts. (1-1-0: 5 GF, 4 GA, +1; home, 0-0-0; away, 1-1-0)
5. Columbus Crew: 3 pts. (0-0-3: 2 GF, 2 GA, 0; home, 0-0-2; away, 0-0-1)
6. DC United: 0 pts. (0-2-0: 3 GF, 6 GA, -3; home, 0-1-0; away, 0-1-0)
7. Toronto FC: 0 pts. (0-2-0: 0 GF, 6 GA, -6; home, 0-0-0; away, 0-2-0)

Western Conference
1. FC Dallas: 7 pts. (2-1-1: 7 GF, 7 GA, 0; home, 1-0-0; away, 1-1-1)
2. Chivas USA: 6 pts. (2-1-0: 6 GF, 1 GA; +5; home, 2-0-0; away, 0-1-0)
3. Houston Dynamo: 4 pts. (1-1-1: 1 GF, 1 GA, 0; home, 1-0-1; away, 0-1-0)
4. Colorado Rapids: 4 pts. (1-1-1: 4 GF, 5 GA, -1; home 1-0-1; away, 0-1-0)
5. Real Salt Lake: 2 pts. (0-1-2: 2 GF, 6 GA, -4; home, 0-0-2; away, 0-1-0)
6. Los Angeles Galaxy: 1 pt. (0-1-1: 1 GF, 2 GA, -1; home, 0-1-0; away, 0-0-1)

Good GAWD! My fingers hurt.

Week 3 Picks: Mine + Others'

With Columbus v. New England already in the books - and with me taking a self-imposed hit (an own goal?) on the call - my prognosticatin' tally stands at 6-9. Clearly, it's time for improvement. With the ground rules already announced, let's turn to the rest of Week 3's action beginning with a roll of everyone else's:

- USSoccerplayers.com's Ian Plenderleith (nice counter on Herron's elbow to boot)
- Red Card's Luis Arroyave, who gets props for the phrase "Arroyave's Lock of the Week" (goes to Chivas over Real Salt Lake for the record)
- The nice kids at Sideline Views throw in their two... well, since there's two of them making calls, I suppose that makes it their four cents
- Who Ate All the Cupcakes weighs in with picks.
- WVHooligan (whose page I finally added to the blogroll) LINK

Oh, and I made some predictions here, but we'll ignore those for the purposes of my overall "score"...besides, I screwed up the New England call there as well. And don't say I'm cheating either; this is kind of like running two fantasy sports teams at once.

Now, seriously, moving on to my picks:

Red Bull New York v. Houston Dynamo (MLS preview)
HOUSTON WINS - With both teams more or less healthy - the only thing that raises an eyebrow for me is Craig Waibel showing as "questionable" for Houston - this one will serve as New York's first test in 2007 against league heavyweights. I'm thinking they'll fail it, though not by much.

Chicago Fire v. Kansas City Wizards (MLS preview)
CHICAGO WINS - We'll see just how far the Wizards "good vibes" go in overcoming the Wizards horrid history in Chicago (a mighty, mighty 1-11-1). A surly belief that the Fire is overrated has me pulling against them, frankly, but I think they're tough enough to prick, though not burst, KC's bubble.

Chivas USA v. Real Salt Lake (MLS preview
CHIVAS WINS - With everyone else going for Chivas, I almost used this game as a means to pick up a point on the pack...then I came to my senses. Take all those near-misses Chivas fired at Houston and apply them to RSL's occasionally jittery defense and this one adds up too easily. Still, looking forward to this game...

FC Dallas v. Colorado Rapids (MLS preview)
RAPIDS WIN - (Picking up the ellipses left above)...though not nearly as much as this one, which makes it a real pisser that I don't know where to find Telefutura on my cable dial. I know about the Rapids' long-time road, um, "issues," but between the the Colorado's team's general improvement and how deeply their dug into Dallas' skin, I'm thinking they're good for a tough win. Add FC Dallas' wafer-thin defense to the mix and I'm thinking the Frisco home-opener won't be a happy one.

That's it. We'll see how I did Monday.

TEAM NEWS: Happy (RBNY), Enthusiastic (KC), Worried (DC)

Right, one last odds-n-ends post before getting to the weekend's picks.

DC's Defense
A funny thing happened on the way to writing my post on the possibility that DC's defensive problems could be mental; I had intended to end that one with a recommendation that the back three sit around a bong before game-time to calm their nerves. I forgot to go that way - though I stand by the recommendation (whether or not it helps one's game, it does wonders for the jitters).

While I'm busying myself with an anti-D.A.R.E. crusade, the problems with DC's defense other outlets are examining the problem - MLSnet.com for instance. But over on DCenters, they've actually done well to elevate this discussion. Moreover, they raised a very salient answer to my point about why DC is defending so much worse today than they did during their "wunder-run" last May and June: they're running a subtly different system. I guess my rejoinder there would be to point out that the defensive issues started under the previous regime, not just this season.

Anyway, we're not going to solve this today; I'm just sayin'. Whatever ails 'em, it's got to suck for DC fans.

KC Moxie
It's weird how one game transformed the Wizards from last year's also-rans into a team to watch in 2007, but the perception is definitely out there. And whatever is going on, it's pretty clear the Wizards players have bought into it, even with the U.S. Open Cup loss in the calculus (they shrugged off that one). We'll see how that works for them...and, in case you're wondering, I hope it does (though not to the exclusion of the New England Revolution and, to be honest, the Columbus Crew).

Red Bull's Happy Fan(s?)

"
(knock on wood) this looks like a fun season with some real soccer being played, and now angel will be roaming around up front helping to distribute the ball and take a few shots himself. looks like new york has a club to start bragging about. sure feels good."
- grant, Injury Time, 4.19.07 (LINK)

Looks like at least one Red Bull fan likes what he sees so far. I get the impression a lot of people are kind of high on this bunch.

SWAP-MEET: Roads in, and out, of TFC

Even with the trading frenzy seeming to pick up pace, all roads seem to run either to, or from, Toronto.

Conor Casey
In his latest manuever, "Mad" Mo Johnston seems to have finally come to grips with the number of strikers he was signing. I'm still not seeing "official word" on MLSnet.com, but have seen enough reports about striker Conor Casey heading to the Colorado Rapids that it seems safe to call it done. With one interested source reporting that Casey is already in Colorado and could suit up for Sunday's game against FC Dallas, it seems my question about who could partner Herculez Gomez up top for Colorado may have an answer. Then again, given his overall playing time this year, maybe not...

Anyone looking for a reason for the move, MLS Underground looks to have provided: sounds like Casey is from Colorado.

Richard Mulrooney
The trade that sent Richard Mulrooney from Toronto FC to the Houston Dynamo could very well count as the sucker-punch trade of the season so far: it's arrival went relatively unnoticed, but it carries the potential to tilt the odds in one party's favor. The Houston Chronicle does a one-two on this story: one article vaguely mentions Mulrooney providing "immediate help" to the Dynamo, without getting much into how; fortunately, Chronicle pundit Glenn Davis picks up the ball and explains that Mulrooney can provide cover all over in midfield, perhaps start at right back - just generally provide more flexibility to Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear.

Yeah, this strikes me as a decent signing.

One last thing to add here: Marvell Wynne has got to be the nicest professional athlete on the planet. I wish luck to anyone who's not only super-nice, but who also worries about his mom when making career moves.

(########)

JUNK-DRAWER: It Is What It Is.

I've been trying - and failing - to come up with a feature heading for posts that will contain the random crap that isn't quite team news, that isn't quite trades, and isn't quite game reports. It's more to do with the various junk and silliness that one finds associated with the game; it's the stuff that isn't "news," but that one hears about anyway...things like nude pictures of David Beckham (with a pasted schlong....I'm still not following this story either mentally or literally, but I digress).

Anyway, the title "Junk Drawer" just came to me; this is the place I'll put anything I find interesting, but for which I can't figure out a proper home.

Getting to it:

- Amazingly, people are still getting mileage out of Logan Pause's one-and-only goal in Major League Soccer (MLS)...and I guess I just joined the party. Still, there's something Pause said about scoring that I - who have scored off my knee, my back, even my ankle - can relate to:

"There wasn't a whole lot of celebration going on, mainly because I didn't know what the heck I was doing. It was kind of an eye-opener. Like, 'Did my shot just go in?'"

- Dario Sala, having served 3 games of his 6-game suspension, admitted to MLSnet.com that he's driving his wife batty skulking around the house. This is just my guess, but I'm thinking he's going to get the starting job back with FC Dallas' seventh game.

- I have to credit du Nord for this one: how the hell was DC defender Bobby Boswell talked into dressing as a "sexy tiger?" Looks like Halloween came early and picked up a chemical-imbalance with its arrival. Get back on the pitch, son, your team needs defense. On the upside, this takes me back to Liverpool's "Spice Boys" days; damn they were more fun to watch back then...

(#########)

CONCACAF Champs' Cup: I Am Nativist Scum

After following the CONCACAF Champions' Cup closely so long as Major League Soccer's participation lasted, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I don't even know when the first leg of the final took place.

When I found a blog post on the first leg of the final, though - and it was an in-game post that looks to have captured the events fairly well - I at least took the time to read it. So that takes away a bit of my Yanqui self-loathing, though not all....

In any case, that report reveals that CF Pachuca forced a 2-2 tie in CD Chivas de Guadalajara's home, Estadio Jalisco and gives them the advantage in the series as it heads back to Pachuca.

Whichever team makes it, I'm likely as not to pull for them in the World Club Cup, just as I would have pulled for any MLS team - even LA - that made it...unless, they played Liverpool...

(########)

Another Crew Draw: Wraps, Mine & Others'

I wrote a collossal wrap-up for last night's 2-2 draw between the Columbus Crew and the New England Revolution over on The Offside (LINK). As such, I won't get into details in this space, at least not about the Crew. For a fairly thorough look at the game from their side, interested parties should check out that piece...and, as I usually do, I wrote that before reading anyone else's work, so all errors and idiocies contained therein are entirely my own. I'll chuck out a bunch of links at the bottom; and, for the record, the one behing the "2-2 draw" above is MLSnet.com's official match report.

I'll touch quickly on the Revolution's game, but want to note something up front: while I did predict the draw last night, I got full of myself and named a specific score. As such, I'm counting this a blown call to punish my hubris. So, here I sit at 6-9 for the season; we're talking LA Galaxy bad.

Now, here are some quick thoughts on the game:

- A familiar Taylor Twellman showed up last night: he buried a beauty from range (that he really should have never been made available to him), but missed the silver-platter set up delivered by Pat Noonan late in the game; he scores that, the Revs win over a conference rival and perceptions go crazy.

- Speaking of Noonan, the manner in which he used his head when his body didn't totally cooperate - e.g. he looked a bit tentative out there, if not outright constrained - really impressed me. Even in his limited state, he provided two sterling opportunities that teammates failed to finish.

- What the hell happened to James Riley last night? Even with Twellman missing, the win could have come through surer defending or, failing that, competent trapping. Bad one, James.

- In Riley's defense, it's possible he got caught napping. The Revs got into a great, positive rhythm in the second half and, by the 85th minute, looked to be cruising home. The breakdown is still inexcusable - especially on the individual level - but it's also fairly easy to comprehend.

- That left side is proving problematic - or, put another way, is it possible Khano Smith's golden outing against Toronto FC had more to do with the opposition than him? His replacement, Wells Thompson, showed nice aggression, but he was also clumsy/spazzy. Seeing as he's a rookie, I'll over look it for now. But Revs coach Steve Nicol ought to be open to options (Miguel Gonzalez, Amaechi Igwe, especially Arsene Oka) in that position.

- That first half? Friggin' nightmare. New England looked scrambled and stupid far too often; they couldn't connect passes, etc. It's a small wonder Nicol was pissed.

Now, on to the links, and I've only read the first one:

The New England Revolution Offside LINK - short, sweet and primarily concerned with Andy Herron's elbow.
The Boston Globe LINK
The Boston Herald LINK
Columbus Dispatch LINK
Sensory Overload LINK - looks to be a live-blogging run-down; should be interesting.
Hunt Park Insider dang...not up yet...maybe later, maybe next week...

Crew v. NE: Cramming for Primetime (Picks)

Sorry for the very, very late entry, but I've got to put down my marker for tonight's league game between the Columbus Crew and the New England Revolution, which will play in Columbus.

There's always the official preview, those stats-laden beasts that say so much while sounding as much like an accountant's ledger as anything. Someone, please, slip some hallucinogens into the coffee at Major Leauge Soccer (MLS) HQ...

ESPN, for their part, carried MLS's water as promised and posted a nicely-written hit of hype by the ever-sharp Jeff Carlisle; plenty of good stuff in there from players to watch to tactical business. Carlisle also had the tact (or professional motivation) to gloss over the likelihood that this could be a snoozer; whichever it was, it didn't apply to USSoccerplayers.com's Ian Plenderleith, who takes a somewhat more hopeful tack in looking at tonight's action:

"This week, I just don't think it feasible for a team to play a third successive 0-0 game. Please. Remember, there are people out there watching."

Too right, Ian, but don't hold your breath. At least that's what I've come up with for my two contributions to the previewing game. In my capacity as a Columbus Crew beat writer for The Offside I turned in a somewhat sprawling and justifiably Crew-focused preview; it contains my thoughts on what the Ohio team needs to do to break their duck. I may be wrong - hell, I probably am wrong - but I think the enthusiasm is evident at the least. Still, I don't think the Crew will score tonight, a charge I repeated in a general preview of Week 3's action for Write On Sports.

Seeing as I finagled time off to watch this game, I sincerely hope I'm wrong. I don't so much care who wins, so long as someone does something to make the time off and money I plan on drinking worthwhile.

The fact that I blew the call on last night's game - I picked KC (dammit) - takes my predictions record to an increasingly feeble 6-8. In the hopes of improving on that, I'm making what Plenderleith dubbed "a coward's forecast" and calling this one a scoreless draw.

Prove me wrong, you assholes.

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SWAP-MEET: Toronto's Trade Madness (bit o' Revs)

For today's trades all roads lead to Toronto FC (TFC) - it's only the other end, and what people think about it, that provides something to ponder. Looking at this by personnel...

Marvell Wynne
"Sources" let this one slip first thing this morning - at least for those of us on PST. But the reporter running down all the details was Ives Galarcep, who fleshed out that first link in an article for North Jersey...um...whatever it's called.

Naturally, reactions followed fairly quickly with the reaction in Mudville at losing Wynne ranging from grumpily disappointed to dubious yet trusting. It wasn't till some time later in the day that I came across the first reaction that matched mine: yeah, Wynne's got great speed and the oft-dreaded "potential," but can the man defend? I mean, what's killing Toronto right now? Defense, right? As such, this passage (which comes out of that last link) strikes me as the thing to watch:

"The No. 1 pick of the 2006 MLS Draft, Wynne is mad fast and extremely athletic. But as his dismal display in the season-opener at Columbus demonstrated, he has not progressed to the point where he can contribute to a team seriously considering a run at the MLS Cup. He simply couldn't keep attackers in front of him, and the Red Bull were lucky the Crew didn't score on any of the three times Wynne was totally undressed."

In his write-up for his blog, Galarcep touches on that same theme, though in a later offering, he also dubs Wynne "a solid right back." Sports Illustrated's new(-ish) MLS-guy mentions the same kind of qualms. We shall see, we shall see...

Richard Mulrooney
The "later offering" noted above touches on yet another TFC trade: the one that looks to have sent midfielder Richard Mulrooney to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for Kevin "Bobcat" Goldthwaite. Galarcep notes that Mulrooney wasn't happy in Canada, which one imagines kind of forced TFC coach Mo Johnston's hand. Still, as someone who thought Mulrooney was a hell of an acquisition for TFC, I have to wonder about how much they gave up - and that's even weighing the team's need for defenders. Tough spot, no doubt. And, incidentally, Houston just got that little bit harder to beat...dammit.

Daniele Dichio
I'm seriously, I've looked up the spelling of that name half a dozen times now and think that's accurate. But the important thing here is that an article in an outlet called Slam! Sports channels TFC midfielder Carl Robinson to say a bit about Dichio's upside:

"'Danny will be a massive asset to our club,' Robinson said. 'He has caused havoc on the pitch for years over in England. He's a big lad and there's not many aerials he's not going to win.'"

Footnote on Revs
Finally, the Boston Globe reports today that the New England Revolution are actively pursuing a foreign player or - god forbid - or two (gasp!). Frankly, I think the team's front office only just realized the publicity potential of talking about chasing foreign acquisitions and they're going through the motions. As a few have noted, the transfer window is closed till summer.

TEAM NEWS: Yallop, Joseph, TFC

It's kind of a grab-bag out there today, so let's just dig in and throw out some bullet points:

- A couple spaces note (keying off a Soccer New England piece I have yet to read) note that the New England Revolution's Shalrie Joseph is mulling a hold out to protest the stall in his salary negotiations. Seriously, all I can say here is...dang...

- Ahead of this weekend's coolly-anticipated meeting between the Kansas City Wizards and the Chicago Fire, it's worth noting that Chicago sorta, kinda owns this series: we're talking 17-7-4 all-time and, apropos to this weekend's tilt, they hold a 11-1-1 edge in Chicago.

- That the Los Angeles Galaxy's slow start to 2007 has warmed Frank Yallop's seat received mention in a couple places today. Now, personally, I think the Galaxy front office would have to be eating crack to make this move, but we're talking about the dumber Lalas here.

- I know the words "good" and "column" seldom appear together when discussing Fox Soccer's Jamie Trecker (for the record, I like the guy just fine), but I thought he wrote a great perspective piece on how Toronto FC looks these days. Then again, given how similarly it reads to what I wrote about Toronto, I don't have much choice.

Hat-Tip: Great Week 2 Wrap

One quick thing to pass on: Red Bull Rising concocted one of the sharpest wraps of Major League Soccer's Week 2 that I've yet read in any space. Just a great approach to the subject.

Anyway, I like to commend good work.

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DC's Defense - Is It Mental?

Since last Saturday's excruciating loss to the Kansas City Wizards much has been made of DC United's defensive problems - a recent article in the Washington Times which discusses formations, trades, and the like, is the only the trigger for what's on my mind. Here's that:

I don't think DC's problems are formation or personnel, and I mean the latter both literally and explicitly. By that I mean they have players capable of defending and defending well - remember all those 1-0 wins DC's defense gutted out last May and June? - but, for whatever reason, they're not up to it any more.

I read in another space that Eddie Johnson is talking to a sports shrink. Maybe that's what a guy like Facundo Erpen needs (he types after dubbing him a "full-time liability" earlier in the week).

Whatever DC does, they'll want to do soon. And the problems are unquestionably there. But maybe a little mental conditioning will provide a quicker path to success than finding new players or trying new formations. Just a thought.

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Open Cup Part I: KC v. RSL (+ pick)

Don't know about the rest of the soccer blogging world, but the preliminary play-in rounds for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup kind of snuck up on me.

No matter. In case you haven't heard or read, Major League Soccer's (MLS) participation begins tonight when the Kansas City Wizards travel to Salt Lake City to take on Real Salt Lake (RSL); after the Open Cup tie, it appears that the RSL reserves will take on the national team of Fiji, an event RSL's official site believes fans will enjoy (I'd probably enjoy this about as much as I enjoyed my one and only real-life freakshow...shudder...).

A fair amount of material can be found out there about what to expect in terms of starting line-ups. For instance, the Wizards plan to tap some players down the bench to build their starting line-up, courtesy of a cee-razy, travel-heavy April; the official word from the Wizards' camp is that the team is up for it. We shall see, we shall see...

The big news on the other side of the ball is that 2007 fourth-round pick Chris Seitz will start in goal for RSL. The same article suggests RSL coach John Ellinger may rest a couple more starters.

And, thus, the 2007 U.S. Open Cup opens under a familiar cloud, with teams taking it "seriously," but not completely. Sigh.

Oh, and I think this one will end with a Wizards win. There's just something about RSL that makes me think they're not up for it.

Crew & TFC: Who Scores First Goal of '07

A look at the current standings in Major League Soccer reveals that only two teams in the league have yet to score a goal: the Columbus Crew and Toronto FC.

The question is, which player for each respective team will score their team's first goal of 2007? The stakes for Toronto are higher still: who will score the first regular-season goal in Toronto franchise history?

I set up a contest for the Crew's mystery man in my space on The Offside and will give the winner of that the prize of kitsch assuming he/she is interested (see rules for participation, such as they are, over there). For the record, the example I posted there - "Joseph Ngwenya, v. DC United, 4/28" - stands as my actual guess on this; for convoluted reasons (the quality of New England's defense, probably some wishful thinking), I can't see Columbus scoring on New England (and I ruled out Open Cup goals for purposes of the contest).

I won't be offering a prize on the Toronto thing (hell, I'm not really offering one on the Columbus thing either), but I am curious and invite any guesses y'all may want to make: who will score the first regular-season goal in Toronto FC history? I'm just looking for names on this and here's my stab at it: Edson Buddle. Personally, I think Alecko Eskandarian has looked more dangerous, but I'm picturing this scenario where Buddle picks up the first off a rebound.

Anyone else want to make the attempt? Here are the rosters for Columbus and Toronto to help whittle down the candidates.

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Week 2 Wraps: Mine & Everyone's (I found)

I've already regaled visitors to this site with my power rankings in the wake of Major League Soccer's Week 2. Today, though, I'm passing on more crap from me and the sterling observations of many other pundits.

Before getting to others' work, I wrote up another set up observations for Week 2, this one focused on the individual games. I added a feature element to that effort, this one my prediction that Toronto FC will reprise Chivas USA's 2005 season; at best, I peg them for Real Salt Lake '05, or perhaps a Columbus Crew '06. Anyway, you'll find more thoughts on the past weekend's games along with some notes on trends. Hope people like it.

Moving on, now, to the marvellous contributions of my fellow seers, both professional and amateur...

Seeings as they're the trend-setters, let's start with ESPN's power rankings. (Quibbles: Chicago 2nd? You sure about that? Otherwise, I like that they had the nerve to drop DC farther than I did....I"m starting to question that one.) Also on ESPN's site, Steve Davis did a nice big-concept look at Week 2's games; seriously, the guy did well with the format...wish I thought of it.

ESPN's final contribution comes from Jen Chang's blog, which provides some sharp notes on Eddie Johnson, and the woeful defenses of Toronto FC and DC United.

Elsewhere on the Web, Ian Plenderleith of USSoccerplayers.com got nicely big-picture-y with his weekend wrap, noting nice details like respectable attendance figures, a boost in goals between Week 2 and Week 1, and, best of all, a nice round-up of comments made by players and coaches upon losing. Mike H, of My Soccer Blog, "did the double" with two contributions: one a general wrap and the other power-ranking of his own (Quibble: KC? At #1? Ya think? Dallas seems a bit high too, but I like the gutsy call on Red Bull; please don't interpret these as me claiming to know better, 'cause I don't; I'm just talking here.)

Finally, MLS Underground pulled together a very smart overview of Week 2 talking points. Good stuff, all, that will make all of us so collectively intellingent that we ought to run the dang country.

UPDATE: I'll add similar items to this list as I find them; and if you've written something in the same vein, by all means, chuck it in the comments.

WVHooligan just posted his Week 2 power rankings. Enjoy.

SWAP-MEET: Angel, Schelotto, even Bryan Byrne

With the international window now closed, it could be this will constitute the final big wrap on trades for the 2007 season - unless, that is, Mo Johnston pulls off a swap or two to bolster a Toronto FC defense that's proved porous as tripe.

Dichio to TFC
While we're on the subject, it looks like Johnston did manage at least one more acquisition, when he picked up Daniel Dichio from the lower reaches of English club soccer (and, for some reason, I first read of this in the Boston Globe). Thanks to his connection to a Yank through marriage, Dichio will count as neither a designated player (crap, I hope not) or a Senior International.

Red Bull's Angel
But the biggest news of the day surrounds the signing of Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel by Red Bull New York - if you read MLS Underground, you'll get the impression this was a HUGE signing, at least from the Red Bull point of view. For reasons I can neither explain nor justify, I'm constitutionally unable to dub Angel the missing puzzle piece that will make Red Bull bonafide contenders. But, for all that, he's closer to how I'd like to see the league use the designated-player rule in the A. B. era (that's "After Beckham"): find a need on the roster and fill it with the best player you can afford/bargain for. On that level, I like this signing - a lot even - and hope it pans out.

At any rate, there's more about Angel in the Blogo-verse than you can shake a stick at, so here are some favories: USSoccerplayers.com pulled together some nice details about pay and such, while Ives Galarcep offered perspective on the signing closer to my comfort zone (no disrespect to the Underground, which truly is a bang-up site):

"All of a sudden the Red Bulls go from being painfully thin at forward to having three very solid options after Clint Mathis served notice on Sunday that he was back and ready to be his old goal-scoring self."

So he's jumping a bit on the Mathis bandwagon (I called shotgun on that ride, but I'll make room).

Columbus: Snag or a Fish
Yeah, I should post this on The Offside, but I've got other plans for that space.

Sports Illustrated has got off the fence and declared Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus-bound, so why's the Crew front office still holding off? Can't say for sure, but it may be they just want to cut the ribbon when the time comes. What I can say for sure is that the locals (see bottom; OK, I've done it too) are already busy figuring where and how to play their new toy.

Odds, Ends, Rumors
- No disrespect intended to Bryan Byrne, who signed with the New England Revolution late last week (maybe...by which I mean he signed, but I can't recall when I saw the story), but he's coming up as kind of an after-thought with all these other trade shenanigans going on. Hope he does well for the team I still call my own.

- The Zinedine Zidane rumors will not die - they only seem to get stronger, in fact. If the talk about him joining Beckham at the Galaxy hold true, it will make official what has heretofore only been an impression: the Galaxy is actively trying to revive the NASL model.

- Finally, Greg Lalas pulled all the designated-player odds-and-ends into a nice big bow (SMMMOOOCHHH!)

TEAM TALK: DeRo's Wallet, Revs Midfield Muscle

(Yeah, I know there's some overlap between this concept and, say, trade news, which will appear below. Such things will work out one day.)

Couple quick/half-ass-ish items to drop today.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Dynamo have yet to make midfielder Dwayne DeRosario feel sufficiently loved in the pay department. That could prove a distraction as the season goes on - though, of course, DeRosario states that it won't.

Speaking of players disgruntled over pay, Shalrie Joseph picked up a feature in the Boston Globe along with fellow midfielder Khano Smith. Both made their 2007 season debuts with New England this past weekend and both showed well, Smith on offense and Joseph in controlling the middle of the park and the flow of the game. This isn't so surprising, as everyone points out, given the opposition.

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Your One-Stop, Goal-of-the-Week Source

With an enormous hat-tip to scaryice, the Lord of all Downloads (or is it uploads? I know not; I only know I must worship the unknown, the ineffable) and author of Climbing the Ladder, here is your source material for deciding on your candidate for Major League Soccer's Goal of the Week for Week 2.



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MLS Week 2: What I Saw + Power Rankings

Just to keep current on my predictive powers, the guesses I posted Friday translated into a 3-3 result for the weekend, which takes my total to 6-7 on the season. Hey, I'll take it.

Moving on, now, to two things I know for sure:

- MLSLIVE.tv is fucking killer. It’s like the TiVo I can’t afford, but with a few more glitches. Sure my feed crapped out last night just before Chicago’s equalizer versus Colorado, but it was solid up till then and worked very well through some other games. But it also allowed me to skip and jump through the snooze-fest that was Columbus v. Real Salt Lake.

- If you don’t care about the knowing the score going in (I did, but now I know), forget the highlights you can find on the Video/Audio tab on MLSnet.com. Go straight to the Quick Kicks site. There, you’ll get better, more thorough highlights, you can expand the screen, pick and choose as opposed to watching the entire reel, etc. etc.

Seriously, MLS has worked friggin’ miracles in terms of making video content available online. If you demand more, you’ve either totally forgotten what things looked like just five years ago, or you’re just impossible to please...and thank God I’m not married to you because it wouldn’t end well.

Seeing as they’re all the rage, I’m joining the power rankings herd; this being my first edition, there are no previous weeks to track; and I’m going heavily on current form (with DC United standing as the exception). You’ll notice some entries are longer than others, which is a function of how much of my thinking came from direct observation. To be clear on how closely I observed the action, notes marked with a "@" come from games I watched (more or less) whole; "$" means I watched the “Quick Kicks” highlights, while "&" means I saw the rump highlights that come through the Video/Audio tab. Finally, for the record, I haven't read a stitch of anyone else's work in making this list...I love comparing notes, but want it to be an honest enterprise from my end.

Here goes:

1. Houston Dynamo ($): There’s a stink of luck about this team, but, like their famous win last year against DC United - the one that featured Ching’s “wunder-bike” - Houston seemed to give up a lot of ground to Chivas before scrapping for the winner. And a team can build a championship on that....God knows we shouldn’t have to watch it, but... Also, I can’t say when it happened in the game, but I would have sent off Eddie Robinson for one foul. Can’t wait for the next chapter in this series.

2. Colorado Rapids (@): What can I say? I’m starting to think these guys are fer real. How different might Sunday’s game have been? One Roberto Brown tackle - and it was pretty bad - and this intriguing game sputtered to the wrong kind of chess match. Boring, boring, boring. For all that, the Rapids showed some promising signs: good patience, good movement, fairly intelligent passing; teams are not going to get a lot through the Rapids center - they play hard there and foul a bit harder. One other note: I learned a couple things about Herculez Gomez against Chicago: 1) like the announcer said, that guy really needs to work on his left foot - he’ll be quite effective if he can deliver a cross from the line; he’s looking like a steal right now, what with being tied with Cunningham and Taylor Twellman at the top of the scorer’s chart (any others?). And, if you haven’t seen Gomez’ goal, that’s your goal of the week.

3. Chivas USA ($): One half the participants in what looked like the clear game of the week, Chivas looked to have seriously threatened Houston’s goal throughout the game. Perhaps the fact that the Quick Kicks highlight reel once read Chivas USA 1, Houston Dynamo 0 says something about how close Chivas came, not to mention how often. Still, they lost and on a good goal from Brian Ching. All in all, though, if Chicago is the semi-stretch I got right in preseason, early indications tell me that Chivas might be the one I got most wrong.

4. New England Revolution ($): Twellman took both his goals so very well, didn’t he? Even if Toronto’s (anonymous for me) defender totally blew the marking on T-n-T’s second goal, putting that away as he did still took some doing given how deep he was. Good as Twellman was, the happier signs came with the supporting cast: Steve Ralston looked three years younger than he is; Dorman buzzes around to nice effect, Adam Cristman showed some sharpness in setting up Twellman’s first and drawing the penalty, and, call me a sucker, but I think I see something fairly special in Wells Thompson; did the Nicol draft-day genius work again?

5. DC United(&): Holy ugly shit. Can we call Facundo Erpen a full-time liability now? Judging by the way his teammates glared at him after that first goal, I’m thinking the thought crossed their minds. The funny thing: Joshua Gros, one of the guys who looked to be shooting the sharpest daggers Erpen’s way, his stumble produced Kansas City’s second. Put another way, this was a painful, team collapse. So what’s going on with DC? They pulled themselves back in - and Luciano Emilio’s goal was a peach, especially the way he controlled the ball in; Christian Gomez’ struck me as fluky - only to repeat the two-goal collapse in the second half. Who’d a-thunk the overwhelming preseason favorites would start 0-2-0? And this one was at home and after resting up. I’m still pegging them high - maybe higher than I ought - but one more loss and the crisis in confidence becomes a straight-up crisis. And they’ll drop a mile on this chart at least.

6. Whoopin’ and Hollerin’ in KC (&): Eddie Johnson: Player of the Week. I never thought I’d write that phrase again, but I don’t know how one avoids it - not unless Twellman gets it (and he’s probably in with a shout for Goal of the Week too). It was very hard to judge this game from the puny highlights alone, but this was an interesting win - and I suspect it was less comprehensive than it looked on the scoreboard. Still, Kansas City + a reborn Johnson spells trouble for the rest of the league. This is a bit of a soft ranking for them; can’t wait for their next game.

7. Chicago Fire (@): These guys deserve the lion’s share of the blame for rendering Sunday’s contest borderline unwatchable - and I couldn’t fast-forward through this one, ‘cause I caught it live. The quality of their equalizer - Rolfe, I think, to Barrett, who managed a tidy, five-hole finish on Bouna Coundoul - somewhat made up for the tedium that came before...but only somewhat. They labored to very little effect to that point and turned in the most undeserving result I’ve seen so far this year - though I have to confess I didn’t see their win against the Revs. I’m thinking I pegged this team correctly in my preview.

8. Red Bull New York (&): Anyone else tempted to chalk up this win to Clint Mathis? No? Didn’t think so. Still, good to see the man in position to score the kind of tap-in amateurs like to do on the pool table: slam that fucker home, right? Frankly, I never thought I’d name three Red Bulls as having scored goals in one game unless one of them was an own goal. The opening header, which I assume came from Josmer Altidore (couldn’t rightly say; as I said, I haven't read a thing) stood as the peach of the bunch, though Dave Van Den Bergh’s clean-up goal looked all right as well. For all that, I’m not really surprised they beat up on Dallas, a team that must be dead-tired this morning.

9. FC Dallas (&): The nightmare of being on the wrong side of a 3-0 scoreline aside, I’m guessing Dallas is pleased to have four points from nine on this devilish opening road trip. At least they looked all right against LA, right? Well, so long as you stress the “all right,” that is. Put another way, I’m not surprised a team knocked three goals past FCD; I’m just surprised it was Red Bull. That defense remains too serious a concern to ignore.

10. Columbus Crew (@): Watching the Crew work the ball out of defense and through the midfield is pretty impressive. Schmid has his side playing quite well all things considered: the whole team moves off the ball well, the players get their heads up and, generally, make smart passes. This holds up to the top of the opposition’s penalty area then...then...I’m not quite sure what happens, but I know it bears a strong resemblance to nothing. Swear to God, these guys are a quality striker away, but that’s a major hurdle at this point. Based on the first two games of the season, Jason Garey ain’t it. In fact, he was pretty awful on Saturday, but the team played some clever balls in - especially Grabavoy. But a win feels farther away this week than it did last.

11. LA Galaxy (@): I made more extended observations on LA (and Dallas for that matter) after the Thursday night game. If these guys’ defense doesn’t hold together, they’re in for a LONG season with the way their offense is playing.

12. Real Salt Lake (@): How lonely did Jeff Cunningham and Mehdi Ballouchy look versus Columbus? I counted at least two occasions where his teammates sent Cunningham the ball deep in Columbus’ half and, for the life of me, they left him there to score on his own; the support never came or it came late. Apart from him, only Ballouchy looked active or effective. Having missed the line-ups, I wasn’t sure Freddy Adu was out there till a good distance into the game. At least RSL’s defense looked better - though, given Columbus’ final third offense, it didn’t take much.

13. Toronto FC ($): Consciously or not - and I think it’s the latter - these guys seem built on a dangerous premise: having their offense score more than their leaky defense lets in. This works for Brazil, but with Toronto’s offensive output relying on long-range bombs from Alecko Eskandarian and Edson Buddle stumbling into the penalty area, it’s clearly time for Plan B - which really, really ought to include playing 8 guys in front of their goal till they get the defense sorted out. Will these guys be Chivas ’05 bad? I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility.

MLS Week 2 Previews: Early Doors

With my predictive record standing at 3-4, it's time to wade into the picks for Major League Soccer's second week (ground rules and a handy list of all the games).

Though it feels too early to establish meaningful story-lines words like "Joe-mentum" and phrases like "stopping the rot" tempt my typing fingers today and will only entice more if say, the Columbus Crew builds on last week's promise by winning, or if DC comes out limp for their home opener. And, you'll notice, I subtly introduced those trends while pretending not to....clearly, I'm not to be trusted. At any rate, I suspect most the results will render such loose insinuations silly by the end of the day Sunday, especially with what I view as an upset kicking off the weekend's action. The only thing more erratic than preseason results are early season ones.

Let's get to it:

Real Salt Lake v. Columbus Crew (preview)
Draw - Unglamorous, I know. I liked what I saw of the Crew's defense in Week 1, though they'll have more to deal with in Jeff Cunningham at the very least. What will bite the Crew here is their own difficulty scoring. That said, I don't see a second scoreless game. Looking forward to this one.

New England Revolution v. Toronto FC (preview)
Revs Win - The one thing I expect the Revs to do well this year is defend. But seeing how close they came against a Chicago defense much further along than Toronto's, I can't see them failing to score here. Toronto, on the other hand, I can see failing to score till May, especially with Ronnie O'Brien still out. Then again, maybe those Brit players have more in the tank they showed last week...nah.

DC United v. Kansas City Wizards (preview) (FSC)
Draw - This one is a pure gut-call. While I can't see the roster than KC fielded in a friendly against the USL Div 1 Seattle Sounders (see "KC Wizards" section in preview) holding off DC's attack on 4 days out of 5, the Wizards out-of-the-gate enthusiasm will make this that fifth game. They'll fight like demons for a positive start and catch DC playing patiently complacent. Don't worry, DC fans; your side will snap out of it...just not yet.

Houston Dynamo v. Chivas USA (preview)
Houston wins - I see Ricard Clark listed as "probable," but, with respect to a 30-game season, I'd give him another week. I don't see that happening, but think Houston can pip Chivas without him. Not that it will be easy. Chivas will make the home side sweat, but Houston's defense will hold firm...it better, at least, or power-rankings across the Blogo-verse will need updating.

Colorado Rapids v. Chicago Fire (preview)
Rapids Win - In a game ripe for having too much read into it, Sunday's first game pits MLS's Week 1 surprise against the league's hottest player, Justin Mapp. Colorado's swagger carries them through and me and everyone else continues asking the question "is Colorado for real?"

Red Bull New York v. FC Dallas (preview not yet available)
Draw - Since my doubts about Dallas just won't leave me, I'll file my tempered expectations for their performance in this game to road-weariness. On the Red Bull side of the ball, this should be that punchless team's best chance to score; the more I consider Dallas' late-game defense last night, the more desperate it looked. But if Red Bull does score, Dallas has the guys to get it back. For some reason, though, I'm seeing a goalless draw here.

To tie a neat bow on this effort, let's rate the games another way: I'm going with Rapids v. Fire for the best (shit....did I just type that?); DC v. KC for the most intriguing story-line; and Red Bull v. FCD for the worst. Let's see if I can improve on that 3-4 record.

LAG 1 - 2 FCD: Glad to be 3-4

I blew the call, but still count myself happy with FC Dallas' road win over the Los Angeles Galaxy; between the Revolution fan-dom and the general bitter taste left by the 2005 season, I dislike the Galaxy enough that I'd rather see them lose than be correct.

While I didn't see the entire game - I caught the 20 opening minutes as well as the final 20 - I saw enough to give me a thing or two to watch for in future. In general terms, Dallas impressed by establishing control early in the game; they had the better rhythm and looked more coordinated going forward. Even through this happy period, however, their defense looked more scrappy than effective - especially by the end of the game when LA really climbed on them. They held firm enough, though, which raises the question of whether they can grow together as the season progresses. If that green bunch gets in sync, Dallas becomes a very different team.

On the other side of the field, LA's offensive sputter raises some questions of their own. But the most remarkable piece was the healthy edge and near-miss quality to their attack; even when Dallas had the game in hand, LA looked sharp enough to sneak in a goal against the run of play. Moreover, that final, 15-minute flurry showed a team about a half-step off scoring, with Robbie Findley especially coming close (till he finally scored the consolation) while I was watching.

Taken together, the larger question for the Western Conference puzzle is which gels quickest: FC Dallas' defense or LA's offense. That won't necessarily determine the title or anything, but it will impact the big picture plenty. It looked like a decent game. Good stuff for a featured event. Don't know about the announced attendance...looks a little high for what I saw.

Match reports from MLSnet.com: LINK and LINK.

KC News: Marinelli, Stadium, and Other Miracles

As a general rule, it seems like once something gets posted on MLSnet.com, it's really real. Now that it's clearly, totally safe, may as well announce that the Kansas City Wizards have bagged the guy who looks to be the playmaker so many believe that team needs (myself included): Carlos Marinelli.

The effect of the word "Argentine" is a funny thing, conjuring as it does world-class players possessed of breathtaking skill and steely toughness. And Marinelli's club career - which includes Boca Juniors, a brief spell with England's Middlesbrough, and Italy's Torino FC - only deepens the mystique; for some reason, the thought is that KC went out and got themselves a brand-new Christian Gomez (though, not, for reasons unknown, the next Lucio Filomeno).

And then I read this (from Down the Byline):

"The new Wizards player got 45 minutes in the reserve game against Evansville last Saturday night and looked very good at times. The only thing that looks to be lacking right now is some match fitness as he had his hands on his knees during the game against Evansville, trying to catch his breath. If he plays this weekend, I would assume it would be as a late game sub."

It's totally unfair to Marinelli, but that somehow bursts the bubble. I dunno; it's like I expect the guy to crawl out of an action-figure box, ready to play anytime, anywhere, just because he's Argentine.

In any case, MLS Underground posted an item of their own today and some of the comments (see mick, LM72, anonymous and the unofficial Boca Juniors scout, juan; love that guy). I hope for the sake of KC fans he works out all right (seriously; I don't begrudge any team in the league good players; anything that helps the average MLS game counts as a plus in my book).

If you check the link for Down the Byline, you'll notice some chatter about the KC organization getting serious about stadium building. Having no special knowledge of the Kansas City area (I've never been that I can remember), I can't add much to that discussion, but as a long-time observer of MLS, I can say this: can anyone friggin' believe there's still a team in Kansas City? I'm still recovering from the shock that they didn't collapse during contraction. That's not to say I don't wish them luck, but still...

New SI Feature for MLS

Maybe this happened when my back was turned, but I really liked Sports Illustrated's latest Major League Soccer (MLS) feature: Free Kick. It's nothing enormously special - just a highlight wrap of the weekend's games - but it's kinda magical the way it keeps on going; you think you've reached the end and...there's more!

In any case, it reads like it's going to be a regular feature, so keep your eyes peeled. I liked it anyway.

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LA v. FCD: Pop & Media Notes

Having already placed my marker on tonight's game (MLS Underground and Dan Loney also anted - and the latter righteously acknowledged the passing of the mighty, mighty Kurt Vonnegut) seems like there's nothing to do but wait for the thing to start. Fortunately, the Web has provided as we idly twiddle our thumbs.

FC Dallas Updates posted a surprisingly engaging behind-the-scenes look at how ESPN stage-managed tonight's pony-show; based on what I'm reading there, I'm expecting those intros that should recall player intros from the NFL. I only hope they don't hold the camera on the players too long...so embarrassing.

Another item, this one from MLS Zone, reports that the losing American Idol contestant who says he humped Paula Abdul will sing the anthem tonight (that's him, right? If not, forgive me; I've only seen William Hung, or whatever that dude's name was who couldn't sing...and got famous for it....God Bless America!!).

With these two enticements, I'm definitely tuning in tonight.

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George Bush!? At a Dynamo Game!?

Seriously, I had to read the article - which actually talks about forward Robbie Findley's impressive debut - more than once to figure out they were talking about Bush the Elder. Explains why they didn't clear out the stands and all human life for 50 miles around as normally happens when the sitting president goes anywhere...

At the same time, you gotta wonder why Bush Sr. was in Houston. A good bit of me wonders if it isn't something to do with Houston's stadium plans (way to go, My Soccer Blog, for that post). Bush Sr. is, after all, a heavily-wired man...and, to think, there he was at a Dynamo game...

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Pick for Thursday: Gals v. Hoops

I'm batting .500 at this early point in the season (3-3; and ground rules under which I operate) and hope to improve to a winning record with a correct all on tomorrow night's game between the Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas. (ground rules posted ahead of the first weekend's results.)

Here's what I'm seeing for that one:

Los Angeles Galaxy v. FC Dallas (preview)
LA Wins - Look, if the Galaxy can't score on Dallas' green D with a place-holder 'keeper, it's going to take something more than Beckham to show them the way. Obviously, I think they'll do it - if only once - not least because the history of humiliation Dallas has in the City of Angels. Do note the injuries, though, 'cause they're (potentially) significant for both sides.

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My "Second XI": One Jeff Answers Another

This week's edition of Jeff Bradley's Starting XI, which he called "The First Day of School," contained some great talking points from Major League Soccer's (MLS) opening weekend. They aren't all winners, but what fun would it be if they were. Today being a slow news day, it seems a good one for making a (one-way) conversation out of Bradley's list.

Read Bradley's side of the points and, below, I'll excerpt Bradley's talking points (with all respect) and offer considered replies. Play along if you like:

11) Parity is real: Over time, especially the last two years? Definitely. Based on opening weekend? Mmmm. As much as I'm tempted to argue the point, Kevin McGeehan's piece on roster depth across MLS (great read, by the way) makes me think Bradley has it right, even if he didn't mention the reason. Put another way, this seems more a function of roster-size than parity; the league's starting elevens are not created equal, but it's nearly impossible to keep that group together. Tough one. Good start.

OK. Ten to go...

10) Cunningham underrated: True, though this is what happens when one kisses giant photos of himself. Me, I think Cunningham is fantastic and that he should be marketed relentlessly, but that's a personal thing.

9) Gaven's age: Bradley points out it's 20 - don't suppose that can be disputed. But the "work-in-progress" argument adds up. He's progressing better than Kyle Martino.

8) Chicago's loud fans: Maybe; I've never seen it live. 8,000 fans each made noise enough for two in last year's U.S. Open Cup final - and that came through the TV.

7) Guzan "on his way": Yep. I liked him from the get-go, even through the "Burpo hiatus." He'll get better.

6) Rapids' Cooke best crosser: He's awful damn good, but best crosser? Mmmm....OK.

5) Revs "might" need change: "Might?" They need health, depth, money, star-power...change is only the beginning.

4) RBNY needs striker: They have Cleetus! (who, by his own admission, doesn't see himself in that role).

3) Announcers slip/suck: He refers to missing a goal during a game as inexcusable. Yep. You wouldn't take friends like that to a game if you gave a shit about it. And that's what announcers are, right? Temporary friends to help you feel like less of a douche bag for sitting by yourself on the couch on Saturday.

2) Toronto will be competitive: FINALLY! I can outright disagree! I think they're going to suck. Maybe not Chivas-USA-2005 bad, but they may as well unroll that pee-stained futon in the cellar. It's just a feeling I've got.

1) MLSLIVE.tv is krunk: Oh, it better be. It better be.

Hm. General agreement on, let's see, all of them but #2. Damn. Should have titled this "One Jeff Echoes Another." Honestly, it read bolder before...maybe we're all sheep?

Week 1 Review with a Bonus called "Richard"

I don't often crap my pants laughing, but something I read today on Goal.com tickled the right (wrong?) spot, which made me come close.

One of the pundits, in what looks to be a moment of accidental brilliance brought on by an automatic censor on his blogging software, came up with a perfect nickname for Dick's Sporting Goods Park: "The Richard." Holy crap. It's perfect.

(I can explailn why if anyone wants, but I think said perfection is both manifest and comes on at least two, and possibly three, levels.)

For the record, the rest of the post is a smart, good, bad, and ugly wrap of the opening weekend. It's worth a gander as well.

But that name....can't we all adopt it? PLEEAASSSEEEE??

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Coleman Sacked; Open Arms Await Deuce

If you read MLS Underground's short post on the Fulham FC's sacking of Chris Coleman, you'll get to the answer that immediately follows for the Americans on the roster - to wit, "Is it safe?" (That site's "take," which comes at the end, is pricelessly worded.)

The same post points out that none of Fulham's Yanqui delegation has the worries of Clint "Deuce" Dempsey. The other two seem safe enough: Brian McBride would onlystruggle if he's forced to move, but that's due to age; where Bocanegra is concerned one gets the feeling he'd get picked up somewhere, a step down in divisions if nowhere else. But Dempsey doesn't seem to have caught on. And, courtesy of a piece in Soccer New England (hat-tip: du Nord), one wonders whether he ever will. Here's the arresting passage:

"First, the whole process of making the move to England was not easy. Dempsey is a family man for whom transferring overseas must have come hard, given his preference in his early career to surround himself with relatives."

There's more in there - and more that ain't credible psycho-babble, too - but Deuce has long seemed like a confidence player. His willingness to try things - one slick move here, a diving header there - made his game. And it's not that people haven't noticed a certain gun-shyness to his game (I cut him slack, but I'm the type to); think back to those 2007 U.S. Men's games and think to yourself whether he's the same player; I suspect the majority of fans would say no.

Perhaps the way this unfolds will continue the "go-abroad, son" debate that surrounds promising, young American bucks like Dempsey and Landon Donovan. First, should Dempsey come back if Fulham drops him? More important, if Dempsey does come back how many will brand him a failure? How many teams will want him? Will we all roll our eyes and give the next guy named "Clint" extra scrutiny before falling for him?

Stay tuned. Sounds like this one's just starting.

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Call Up Burciaga? Hell, Yeah! Wait...what?

For reasons better not elaborated upon, I kind of assumed that the Kansas City Wizards' Jose Burciaga Jr. couldn't play for the U.S. Men's National team (Yanquis). (Had I taken the time to read his official profile, I would have known about his past with some of the U.S. Youth teams, but, well, I didn't, so I didn't.)

MLSnet.com's piece from earlier this week on Burciaga's continuing aspirations with the Yanquis, had me whooping seconds to the motion. After all, if it weren't for Burciaga leading with the scoring, KC would have been even worse in 2006. As such, my first impulse was to assume the Yanqui coach Bob Bradley, as well as Bruce Arena before him, were simply crazy; seems like our team needs a steady (skillful?) left back about as badly as anything but a reliable goal-scorer.

The thing is, in my head, Burciaga's great - and, upon discovering he's eligible, I would have started the bandwagon to get him a spot (yeah, I know...Bornstein, but still...). But that same article passed on some criticisms on Burciaga's defensive game that escaped my notice:

"Although the lightning-bolt drives on goal and pinpoint crosses from set pieces that emanate from his thunderous left boot are well known, it's the sometime lapses on the defensive end that can cause coaches to yearn for improvement."

It's funny what you miss when you're not watching for it. Duly noted.

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Previews (Week 2), Missionary Work, Cursing Thursdays

I may have mentioned this before, though I hadn't originally intended on doing so, but in my effort to keep any vaguely interested visitors to Write On Sports up to date on Major League Soccer (MLS), I'm plugging in two articles a week over there. One will be weekly previews; Week 2's previews went up this morning. These are just barebones accounts of fixtures, some notes on players to watch, along with the time and place of the game and national TV listings when those apply. So, if you need (another; I know these are widely available) one-stop round-up of this stuff, it's there.

I linked to a weekly wrap yesterday, but not before realizing I can do these better (possibly a whole lot better now that I've bit the bullet and tried MLSLive.TV; here's to hoping I didn't buy a lemon). Without boring you with how I arrived at this, a weekly summary offers a space to lead with a feature-esque "story of the week" followed by more concise (OK, and better) game summaries. (NOTE: I really respect how well Soccer America's people handle these; I hope to do as well in soon.)

At any rate, I like to think of my Write On Sports efforts as missionary work, my walk among the heathen if you will. And the people who run that site are good, flexible folk, so that helps.

Finally, I mention "cursing Thursdays" for two reasons. One, it compels me to crank out those previews well before I've psychically prepared; I mean, I'm still catching up from the past weekend. Second, don't league honchos know that some of have interests outside soccer (and limited access to TiVo? shit...I don't even know if I typed that properly)? What about The Office and My Name Is Earl? Yeah, yeah, summer's coming along with weeks of reruns and reality TV filler, but...dang...can't a guy take a night off with the missus? Do they want me to get divorced?

(Psst...don't tell the wife, but that Thursday game does look a bit alluring...)

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"Famous Freds"

Yeah, this is the only Fred that mattered on Saturday.

The second I saw ABC's mysterious and baffling "Famous Freds" segment pasted over the live action, I thought sure I'd see acres of ridicule and rage on the following day. Didn't, though, so perhaps that's burning up BigSoccer message boards (didn't check...don't care enough). Only Bill Urban seemed to think this worth mentioning and he included it in his fine, fine wrap-up of Major League Soccer's Week 1.

For those who missed it, this came after the introduction of DC United's new Brazilian Fred during Saturday's game against the Colorado Rapids; it featured a full-screen images (i.e. viewers couldn't see, which continued underneath) and involved Dave O'Brien leading with, "let's look at some other 'famous Freds' out there." And, you think to yourself, "Oh, interesting; maybe they'll show a history of famous Freds in soccer." No, tragically. Instead you get a shot of (no offense to Polish nationals who may visit) "Fred "with-Polish-surname-who-played-in-the-NFL," Fred Flintstone, Right Said Fred (of "Too Sexy for My Shirt" fame/infamy), and, possibly - the fever/nausea was kicking in here (not related to broadcast) - Freddie Mercury, he who possesses the most epic voice of all time.

Suffice to say it was so shockingly tacky and misplaced that I thought I heard the shame in Dave O'Brien's voice upon starting the segment - though that may have only been wishful thinking. Then again, there was a perverse, "screw-you" genius to the moment as well, sort of ESPN saying to soccer fans, "Yeah, we're putting on more soccer, but we'll put this pile of shit up here to to prove we're not your playthings." (Cue maniacal laughter.)

Oddly, I'd respect them for that.

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Attendance and Expectations

I was too lazy/inattentive to flag the posts/articles in question, but I didn't mind what I saw for "announced" attendance on Major League Soccer's opening weekend (thanks Soccer America for thinking to post such items). It's hardly ideal, of course, but on a weekend of butt-ass cold temperatures across so many venues, I'm plenty happy to see no numbers in the quadruple-digits.

Having followed this league through many discouraging years - not to mention the horrifying slippage in Colorado late last year - quadruple digits stands as my mental red line. Perhaps the day will come when that line will be redrawn - though that's unlikely till Colorado Mark 2006's don't occur - but, for now, a one-day low of 13,782 (Columbus) "announced" fans seems cause for celebration...though, hopefully, that market will improve in coming weeks.

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Shhh...The Cancela Trade

I just finished commenting on the Colorado Rapids' acquisition of Uruguayan midfielder Jose Cancela from Toronto FC on another site - one with the motive to be more interested in the trade than me. At the same time, I kinda get the lack of urgency - after all, Cancela's hardly a designated player kind of guy; he's actually more like some square peg in this league.

By the same token, it's not the fact of this trade that gets my brain buzzing so much as the ample "whys?" invovled. Why did Toronto FC, a team that, based on Saturday's second half, is totally lacking in midfield creativity (or at least that's what I keep on reading) trade a fairly creative player? Yeah, there's the knock on his defending, but if he does enough to fix a crucial shortcoming, or provide depth for the same, why not keep him around?

From Colorado's perspective what do you do with the guy - specifically after Saturday's opener where things seemed to work well. Does he start for this team? As noted in yesterday's wrap, I didn't think much of Jovan Kirovski - don't know why anyone would at this point (though, in all honesty, I keep waiting; prove me wrong, dammit!) - so is he there to pressure him? It's not like the Rapids don't have two of MLS's premier holding midfielders in Kyle Beckerman and Pablo Mastroeni, so a defense-shy guy like Cancela could work with either of them.

Just a fascinating trade....

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Week 1 Match Reports

Write On Sports posted my match reports for Major League Soccer's opening weekend. A few of them are second-hand, but I thought there was some value in providing a one-stop summary of a given weekend's action - e.g. who scored, who won, etc. I'm still learning brevity and style when it comes to these so forgive the clunky, straigh-laced feel of the thing.

But it's there for posterity.

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Game-by-Game: Notes on MLS Week 1

My schedule is all f-ed up for reasons I won't get into (OK, OK, if you must know, a puking, shitting plague afflicted my household and lasted the entire weekend; this was a powerful, powerful bug), which threw off how I intended to handle posting/submitting content on the action. That "submitting content" has to do with the round-up piece I sent to Write On Sports, which I'll link to when it appears. Assuming things go according to plan, I'll be doing a more polished/formal set of game summaries for Write On Sports and will post more speculative (OK, silly, loosey-goosey) stuff on this site.

And one big thing: I'm not going to watch every game this year and would LOVE to have people fill in blanks, or even call me on what I post, for a fuller discussion of the games. Every little bit helps.

I'll start with some general comments before getting to the game-by-game thoughts on the weekend's action - mainly things to keep an eye on for the future. But before getting to that, time to check in with how my picks panned out: 3-3 - not too shabby, though I would have done better had I gone with more ties. OK, some more general comments:

- It was weird seeing an ESPN broadcast without Eric Wynalda - and a bit disappointing as well.

- Say what you like about Max Bretos - personally, I love the guy and think about half of everything he says is tongue-in-cheek - but he pulled off a poised, intelligent interview with MLS Commissioner Don Garber. He sounded prepared, aware, and showed he's more than the clown-prince of American soccer broadcasters.

- Finally, it is nice to finally have something concrete to bat around, y'know? Real, actual results and player performances in games that count? Still, it's going to be hard to figure out which games to watch each week.

Moving on, now, to specifics:

Colorado Rapids 2 - 1 DC United (report)
I'm still recovering at how lopsided this game was - at least in the first half: Colorado really took the game to DC, especially down the flanks. And is it time to finally dub Facundo Erpen a liability? It's either that, or Herculez Gomez is just that good - and I'm not there yet. Terry Cooke also had a hell of a game, as did Kyle Beckerman. Greg Vanney looked quite poised out left; the entire Colorado defense did until Luciano Emilio snuck in that late goal. But you know who was fairly absent? Jovan Kirovski. When does that experiment get dubbed a failure? That didn't matter in the end 'cause DC either came out flat, or the Rapids just outplayed them.

Columbus Crew 0 - 0 Red Bull New York (report)
It's a shame it's not permissable to dub a team turning in the better performance a "win" when it comes to prognosticating; if that were the case, I'd dub my call for a Columbus win "within bounds" and bump my record for predictions to 4-2. For my money, Columbus played the better game once they got on track (I expand on this a bit in a post for The Offside - though I have to confess that, by the time the Columbus game was on, the plague had struck, I was dizzy, and frequently concentrating on one puking kid). Even Red Bull had control for much of the first half, the doubts about their ability to score found some justification. The brighter spots for the Crew came with the "Two G's" - Eddie Gaven and Ned Grabavoy. While it's significant that Columbus couldn't get a telling foot, or head, on the ball, they should find some optimism in the fact that they created clear openings.

Chivas USA 2 - 0 Toronto FC (report)
I didn't see all of this one, but the parts I did see featured one-way traffic - all of it going Chivas' direction. The biggest problem for the expansion side came with the fact that every attack seemed to falter the minute the ball crossed the center stripe. Chivas hardly looked picture-book perfect, but they looked a damn sight better than Toronto. Still, Kljestan scored a nice enough goal.

Chicago Fire 1 - 0 New England Revolution (report)
Seriously, go to the highlights page on MLSnet.com and check out the saves Matt Pickens made to preserve the win for the Fire. Twellman seemed to have done pretty well, as did Dorman so maybe there is some hope for the Revs this year.

Real Salt Lake 2 - 2 FC Dallas (report)
It's too early to say for which team this result was most predictive: on the one hand, you get the sense that Dallas is continuing to live on that weird credit that carries them through the regular season, only to desert them in the playoffs; on the other, you wonder if Real Salt Lake is doomed to eternal fits of screwing up. And, love him or hate him (I'm in the former), how about Jeff Cunningham running over to kiss the giant picture of himself after scoring his first? Say what you will, the guy produces; if nothing else, he's the current goals leader, right?

Houston Dynamo 0 - 0 Los Angeles Galaxy (report)
Something I read last night told me this was a seriously dull game, though the highlights showed a thing or two of interest. Still, those guys seemed to have watched the actual game and I didn't, so who am I to say? The one thing that did stand out? Landon Donovan bursting through a seam and almost beating Pat Onstad with a left-footed shot. Based on the highlights that looked like the prettiest move of the game.

A(n Unsupported) Wrap of Previews

It was only as I read MLS Underground's power-rankings that a notion finally cemented itself in my head: for all the conventional wisdom heading into the season - e.g. DC United will be killer; Landon Donovan and Nate Jaqua will eat up Beckham's crosses; Toronto FC will suck at the back; etc. - there are some wildly divergent opinions floating around about how a few of the clubs will pan out.

I can't prove these by linking to examples - or, more accurately, I won't because I'm...so...damn...sleepy, but these are the ones that come to me now:

- Toronto FC: In spite of a nearly univeral belief their defense will suck (though, out of curiosity, how many have actually seen the relative mystery players in action), I've seen these guys both in and out of the playoffs for picks.

- New England Revolution: They'll either survive Dempsey's departure and Joseph's frustration or they won't - never both.

- Chicago Fire: Of all the teams in the league, I think the take on these guys swings the widest. No one has them winning - due mainly to DC - but I'm seeing a lot of late stuff thinking Chicago will do all right. For some reason, I think they're going to suck.

- Columbus Crew: Similar to the Fire, but they occupy a range similar to Toronto's: no one expects greatness, but most opine they'll be respectable - with the exception of the few predicting outright failure; though, for the record, more predict outright failure for Toronto.

Moving West now...

- FC Dallas: Another team picking up late, favorable notice. Gets me wondering if this is down to the two South Americans they signed; seems like that's calling a horse without seeing it on a tip from a stranger. Then again, that's no less rational than my call on FCD.

- Colorado Rapids: Not a big swing, to be honest, but this team seems to have a lot of people guessing.

Los Angeles Galaxy, kinda: I'd say LA gets inside this group, but only just. While most people agree they're overloaded in terms of games, I suspect a majority thinks they'll be a live threat if they reach the playoffs; it's whether they reach the playoffs where people tend to split.

As for the rest, I think they look like so: DC United - league's best, let's hope they blow it; Chivas USA - generally bad with a scattered few predicting glory; Houston - generally viewed as the league's "second team"; Real Salt Lake - only the optimists see them as playoff-bound; Kansas City Wizards - I could be the only one who thinks they'll break their playoff curse; Red Bull New York - kind of the mirror-image of Chivas; viewed as generally competent with a few predicting outright failure.

And, I'm spent. Have a good weekend.

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MLS Week 1 Picks: The Giddy Days

When the World Cup ended last summer, I spent the remainder of Major League Soccer's (MLS) 2006 season cranking out massive, linked-to-the gills previews each week (example). I still don't know why I did this. I mean, speculation is fun and all, but it's not news, really. In any case, all I really want to do is see how I do at picking wins/losses/draws. And, for the first time in my soccer punditry history, I'm getting in here at Day One so I can keep track of a record. Super.

Just a note or two (or, shit, five?) to pass on before starting (and I won't do this again - though I may link to this to remind people of the ground rules):

- I'll throw out a link to MLSnet.com's previews for each game; perhaps in the future, I'll throw in all the game previews I find during the week, but I'm not about to promise as much. With the establishment of the Thursday game, I'm guessing I'll have to post that game early in order to get the links to MLSnet.com's previews posted.
- I don't do specific scores and, no, I can't be taunted into doing them. I see it this way: it's the points a given team compiles that count; goal differential, goals-for, etc. all that matters, but only in case of a tie-breaker. Getting the main piece correct, just like getting the win, is what really matters.
- Because I'm wired the way I am, I can't resist saying something with each pick, but it'll be vague. I'm putting up the links to the MLSnet.com previews precisely because I don't want to say everything.
- And, because it's so danged important, I'll certainly link to soccertv.com's weekly run-down of U.S. games with each and every preview. (LINK)
- And home team always come first for me.

All right. Let's get into it. It's Week 1, the one time of the year when teams are, in the truest sense, equal. And just like at the horse track, the teams are itching to bust out of the gates and run. I figure this intense enthusiasm peters out by, oh, the eighth or tenth week, before many of the teams fade - much like in the Belmont Stakes, the race that separates the horses from the ponies. So enjoy the giddy days while they last, 'cause we all know what happened to Barbaro's leg.

Colorado Rapids v. DC United (preview)
Rapids Win. I've written this a few times now, with most versions calling for a DC win; they've had plenty of time to recover since Tuesday and they're already acclimiated to altitude. But there's just something telling me the Dick will find a happy opening.

Real Salt Lake v. FC Dallas (preview)
RSL Wins - It's not a good sign that Dallas starts the season with their depth in defense already compromised by injury; there's also that suspension.

Columbus Crew v. Red Bull New York (preview)
Crew Wins - Red Bull's problems with scoring bite them here, while Columbus' new-look offense shines.
(I produced a write-up for my space on The Offside for this game, so may as well pass that on.)

Chicago Fire v. New England Revolution (preview)
Fire Wins. I cheated a bit on this one, mainly by reading about the Revs' brutal injury woes. The Fire ain't great, but they're good enough for a stripped-down Revs side. (And, for the record, the attempt to shed my Revs' loyalties isn't working as I hoped/thought it would; turns out it's more ingrained. I'm really anxious about this one and hope like anything I've got this one wrong.)

Chivas USA v. Toronto FC (preview)
Chivas Wins. - The suspicion that Toronto is still building the team points me toward a Chivas win. Home field clinches it. Still, looking forward to watching this one.

Houston Dynamo v. Los Angeles Galaxy (preview)
LA Wins. - It's nice they've got the game at home and all, but Dynamo playerrs will be lucky to be able to stand, never mind run for the full 90, after last night's exertions.

Champs' Cup: I'd rather be happy than proud

It was my intention to turn out a more formal wrap-up of the participation of Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs in this year’s edition of the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup (CCC). But the 4 a.m. puking wake-up call my three-year-old turned in left me a little too scrambled to produce a grand narrative. So, here are some random thoughts as they come to me.

Before digging into this, I may as well mention that I missed a good chunk - the good chunk from the sound of it - of the second half. I saw Brian Mullan give Houston the 3-2 advantage on aggregate, but didn’t see anything after that till the overtime.

- Obviously, it’s over - American participation in the CCC, along with a shot at seeing an MLS team in the World Club Cup, that is. Dammit. Pleasing as it was to see the incredible fight Houston put into last night’s game, I’d rather be happy today than proud. I take this as a healthy sign. The ol’ college try doesn’t satisfy any more. The displays put on by both clubs tell me MLS clubs are good enough to win these series - and against the best teams in the region.

- How shitty was Houston’s start? One goal conceded on sloppy, sloppy defending, the other by what looked to me like a valid PK. For all that, Houston settled tolerably as the first half wore on. They at least stopped the rout.

- Credit Wade Barrett for a good patch of that, who, so long as I was watching, defended wonderfully; based on the things I saw, he’s my man of the match - just relentless and constructive in throwing himself in front of everything and playing out of tight spaces.

- If not Barrett, Mullan should get MVP. That dude ripped it up on the right, scoring, crossing, defending. Damn shame it didn’t go into a winning effort.

- I didn’t think the ref blew the call on Pachuca’s second penalty (the first was a no-brainer; ball went one way and Craig Waibel clearly made contact); more precisely, I think it was a harsh call given that it was on the edge of the area. I would have been more charitable. Then again, it looked like Brian Ching lost the ball out of bounds on the run that set up Mullan’s goal - and the ref was astute enough to notice the defender flopped as if shot when Ching so much as looked in his general direction. So, cosmically, I suppose things worked out. Still....

- The one thing I got most wrong in the run-up to the game was Houston’s stamina and the affects of the considerable altitude. Sure, Eddie Robinson looked rubber-legged drunk by the second overtime, but Houston had enough in the tank to survive Pachuca’s onslaught. Moreover....

- How painful was Brian Ching’s miss in the first overtime - y’know, the one that came just minutes before Christian Gimenez’s winner game-winner? Add to that Dwayne DeRosario’s point-blank header off Mullan’s cross (hmm...maybe he does get man-of-the-match) and the most incredible thing about this series was how close Houston came under the circumstances. Still, given the course of the game, one almost has to assume they’d surrender a goal only minutes after scoring. Dammit.

- As hard as they fought, the fact remains Houston let in five goals last night. Yeah, two of them were penalties, but those came through very intense pressure. The main thing is, you’re just not going to win many doing that.

- OK, final pick: Brian Mullan gets man-of-the-match.

So, like I said, I can’t claim to be happy, so I don’t care so much about being proud. MLS clubs still did really well this year. There’s no question in my mind that Mexican clubs won’t take these guys lightly in future meetings and tournaments. We’ll get that win on Mexican soil before too long.

Right. That’s all I’ve got.

Here’s the official match report.

Houston v. Pachuca Primer

With the "other" semifinal of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup taking place tonight, some previews are appearing in expected places. MLSnet.com, of course, turned in a basic preview, but the key detail I found in there was state of the weather. (For the record, it sounds very pleasant.)

The Houston Chronicle one-upped, or rather two-upped the official site with a trio of previews: one on the players' mindset heading into the game; another on the notion of Houston "flying the flag" for Major League Soccer (which that bastard Troy Perkins dropped in the Guadalajara mud...I'm kidding!; don't kill me!); and a third that compares both clubs in payroll and top-flight status - after which it declares them not so much different - and also stands as the first place I read about Pachuca charging no admission to the game. Damn. That's cool.

Those were good, but the best item I read all day came from Glenn Davis - and, for the record, out of the Chronicle. Davis, you see, did some scouting on Pachuca and gives the readers, who will become viewers tonight (FSC, 6:30 p.m. where I am), something to look for on the other side of the ball. So, yeah, between the scouting and tactical talk, Davis' turned in the best piece of the day, this one.

He wasn't alone - for instance, Sideline Views and LA Soccer News turned in pieces that touch on tactics - and I'm going to join in here with big-picture strategery of my own:

Nearly everyone worries about the first 20 minutes or so, while I'm more preoccupied with the final 20. That's not to say I don't think Pachuca won't jump on Houston from the starting whistle - they probably will and, what's more, their recent performances (5-0 over Veracruz) suggest they're good for it. But I also think I saw DC's legs desert them toward the end of Tuesday's game and suspect the same will happen to Houston. As such, if I were coaching Houston, I'd have my team attack when they have the ball and press when they don't over the opening 45 minutes. The idea is to build on the goal differential or, failing that, keep Pachuca buried in their end and anxious about the result. And, to borrow a good idea from (I think) Davis, I'd line up in a 4-5-1, with Brian Ching alone up top.

Keep the subs handy for the second half and make all of them defensive in nature, though not necessarily outright defenders; if you're feeling jiggy or have only a one-goal lead, sub Paul Dalglish for Ching at the half to use as a quick-hit counter option. But, overall, the idea is to force Pachuca to come at you and make them feel rushed.

Anyway, that's what I'd do. And, again, I don't say this but once or twice a year, but here it is: Go Houston!

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(Final) Day in Previews (Sort of)

With the actual season snuggling up close and giving us the eye, it seems it's time to stop tending to the foreplay - e.g. the season previews. As much as I enjoy them, these will be the last batch of previews I post that don't speak exclusively to the games on tap for the coming weekend. From here to November, it's games, games, the time between games, and more games. And that will be good.

I will, however, be chucking out predictions on a weekly basis; that's just the way I am. (In a related note: does anyone know how to make PayPal work for a gambling pool...or is that illegal?).

By way of fond farewell, I'm going to throw a few, final efforts from people around the Blog-iverse. Climbing the Ladder turned in a Western Conference preview, to match the rundown of the East posted a day earlier. I may not agree with scaryice's calls, but know he wrapped his head around the questions before posting them; so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he got more right than me.

Another blog, Ben Olsen's Beard is taking a fresh approach to the preseason pundit's game: he's reviewing the teams as if the league operates on a single table. If you check the sidebar on his site, you can see where he is in the process (yikes - he posted the 9th-place team, Red Bull, just today; two days to go, man).

USSoccerplayers.com produced another "roundtable," this one looking at some big-picture issues like SuperLiga and how MLS scouts players. But they fit in this space because the four pundits at the table close with their predictions for 2007. I think only the first of the four is serious, and he ignores the question of who wins MLS Cup, but those are all good stabs (if a little safe).

But, to wrap this up proper, the best prognosticating item I've seen is Sports Illustrated's list of 13 players to watch in 2007. It's not so much the names you'd expect - Claudio Reyna, Amado Guevara, Christian Gomez, etc. - that make this worthwhile, as the names you don't: Jose Cancela, Jason Garey, Jose Burciaga Jr. I think Greg Lalas is on to something with most of these.

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Armas over Cobi

If you're following Major League Soccer (MLS) closely enough, you probably know by now that the Chicago Fire's Chris Armas has said that 2007 will be his final season. I've always liked Armas as a player, not least because he's got to be one of the unluckiest s.o.b's on the planet (see: World Cup, 2002, 2006; injury). The way he's handling his retirement only makes me like him more.

As I've said before, I like Cobi fine and respect his contributions to the game, blah, blah, blah. But there's something - I dunno - self-important about announcing one's retirement a year in advance; there's a sense of determining his own significance in this, something like having the bride and groom go with you when you purchase their wedding gift. Then again, with so many people willing to roll with Cobi's plan, it's possible I've got a personal problem.

Anyway, this is more about props for Armas than bagging on Cobi. I read elsewhere that Armas wants to coach. Go get 'em, tiger.

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The Dick: Porn and Perception

Do note that's a colon between the words "dick" and "porn" in the title, and not a comma. That's a significant difference.

As the giddiness thickens around Major League Soccer (MLS) in anticipation of opening day, it's congealing a little more in Denver. Naturally, this has something to do with the opening of the Colorado Rapids' brand-new Dick's Sporting Goods Park - a.k.a. the Dick (and I still can't believe the folks at Dick's, who seem bright enough to run a successful business, are surprised at how readily fans abuse this name). MLSnet.com celebrates the Dick in an online feature today, which isn't surprising, but the copy contained therein is something:

"Fans can be forgiven for failing to recognize one of the newest Rapids(I never thought this would happen to me), even with the concourse's 360-degree sightlines (he smiled as he grabbed her thighs roughly, pushing up her impossibly tight, short skirt) and a video scoreboard visible from streets a quarter-mile outside the entire complex (a gasp escaped her lips without her wishing it; her head swimmed as she felt his calloused hands pulling at her thong). The goal came early enough in the evening that most were still walking around wide-eyed, (the buttons on her loose blouse sprinkled to the floor, the white beads sprawling beneath them as they sprawled on the butcher block) taking in the unique new soccer-specific stadium, brilliantly lit on the edge of the prairie, the sun falling behind the Rocky Mountains west of the luxury boxes, the huge field made intimate (they climaxed together, he with grunts that muffled against her heaving chest)by the 18,000 closely enclosed seats."

Obviously, it's a fascinating read.

More interesting, though, were a pair of articles on the complex that came out earlier in the week - notably in examining the differences between ready perception and reality in sports facilities. The first of these, an article from The Denver Post devoted to the many ways revenue flows to the Rapids' stadium, throws out figure after figure; it reads more like an annual report than a feature. One item in particular caught my eye, well enough, in fact, that I remembered it when reading something in another article.

Here's that first item:

"Kroenke Sports also will make money off the 24 lighted practice fields surrounding the stadium. The $17 million fields are already 85 percent sold out for the next five years for use by local soccer, lacrosse and rugby leagues, according to the company, which also owns the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets."

That raises the question as to what prompted a local high school coach to make the following statement in another space:

"They are building this awesome complex but no teams will be based out of there and you have to pay to use the facilities (i.e. for a tournament) from what I understand,' [Brighton High School soccer coach J] Doehring said. 'We don’t even have a field big enough to hold any team over U15 in the city besides the high school field. There will be huge expanses of open grass with no one to play on it unless you have the funding.'"

I'm not trying to say that Coach Doehring is an idiot (not even implying it, to be honest), but this touches on one of my long-time fascinations. Clearly people, and not just soccer people, are paying for these fields; there are downtown areas across the country that would kill (I think) for 85 occupancy rates in their business district. This hardly means the Dick will be a raging, fully-erect success, or that it will necessarily do all the things that proponents of these facilities say the will. But anyone reading only the second article would think this is a problem, mainly because there's nothing in that piece about how field rentals are selling. And a local high school coach seems a credible enough source, not least because he's a likely client.

Doehring's escape clause - "unless they have the funding" - speaks to something else; that whole arrangement would appear to limit access to the park and to those with means and that does suck a bit. But that two-article exchange says something about how perceptions get built and reinforced.

Day in Previews

With only - what? - three days to go till "First Kick" the previews truly are coming quick-and-heavy, from all over the place, and in all kinds of formats.

In one of the most noted items of the day, The New York Times, a.k.a. The Paper of Record, deigned to notice our little league. Moreover, they managed a concise, yet birds-eye summary of the league's status, which they dubbed somewhere between healthy and poised to take off.

The, um, Denver Post did something similar, albeit with different emphases - and that's the paper of record in some parts, ain't it?

Turning to other MSM outlets, Utah's Deseret News knocked out a pair of season previews for each conference. I'll let you click-through for the details, but here's their big picture take: East: 1. DC United; 2. Chicago Fire; 3. New England Revolution; 4. Red Bull New York; 5. Columbus Crew; 6. Kansas City Wizards; 7. Toronto FC. West: 1. Houston Dynamo; 2. Los Angeles Galaxy; 3. Real Salt Lake (homers); 4. Colorado Rapids; 5. FC Dallas; 6. Chivas USA.

My comrades-in-blog are keeping busy as well. Climbing the Ladder turned in a tidy Eastern Conference preview; I mean no disrespect by not typing out his rankings, but I'd have to do that two more times, so will pass for now. The biggest shock on this one is how highly scaryice rates Chicago. A preview for the West should appear in that space tomorrow. I came across another pair of conference previews (East and West) through the Rapids blog on The Offside, which linked to a new-to-me site titled, USA Soccer Spot. He makes some bold-n-spicy calls in there (FC Dallas, a legitimate contender! gasp!!), but that will only make this call sweeter if he nails it.

And, for those of you wondering why I'm doing all these previews, that's kind of the answer: someone will get these calls correct. If I read enough of them, I can find out who and make him (or her) give up their secrets.

Last, but by no means least, the Kin of Fish posted his predictions and, in a move I rather admire, he does so very, very briefly. Maybe Mr. Fishkin and I can arrange some kind of verbiage swap, like they're talking about doing with carbon-emissions....'cause, Lord, do I like to jabber. In any case, Fishkin makes up in boldness what he lacks in blabbing: he declares a repeat for Houston and says they'll top DC in the final.

All for today.

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DC Loses: What I, and All Y'all, Saw

Here's what I saw, with the commentary of some sharp thinkers helpfully sprinkled in the text:

- CD Chivas de Guadalajara was not a better team last night. I thought that applied to the first leg if only on a player-to-player level, but, till they tired around the 75th minute, DC looked pretty damn good. And they owned the first half.

- DC looked best working the ball up the field, though they looked more comfortable once the ball left the defense (Facundo Erpen's corner of it in particular; still good for a shocker, that guy). But DC worked the ball well, they found openings, and, for fair chunks of the first half, had Chivas pinned in their own end. The final breakthrough eluded them - notably when the ball came down the wing for Clyde Simms, who as Steve Goff points out, is ill-used at that position - at least until it didn't...

- ...speaking of which, there are a lot of adjectives I'd apply to Jaime Moreno's standing bicycle - clever, inspired if I'm in an expansive mood - but "spectacular?" "High-light reel?" It wasn't that good. But the way it came showed Luciano Emilio's quality, who, as at least one smart guy pointed out, was smothered for much of the game. The take-away is that Emilio is the kind of striker you want on your team, one who can hurt the opposition the one time he slips free.

- Not a few noticed DC's defense getting stretched from time-to-time, especially when what I read as serious fatigue set in (take notice Houston; the lungs will burn more still 3,000 more feet above sea level). The best comment I saw on this, from USSoccerplayer.com's Ian Plenderleith, puts it best:

It wasn't another 5-0 hiding like the one this club suffered at Pumas two years ago in the same competition, and at least the MLS team took the game to the home side and caused them a few jitters by taking a 1-0 lead. Jaime Moreno's brilliantly improvised overhead kick wasn't enough, thanks to the kind of elementary defensive errors that can, at times, be a United specialty."

- I bolded that part because I think DC survived most of these. The crucial, second goal was a pure gaffe, of course, but Perkins kept the score close on at least three, if not four, other occasions; when Moreno said the loss wasn't Perkins' fault he wasn't kidding. And, in spite of what Max Bretos or Christopher Sullivan said, I don't think Bobby Boswell "lost his mark" on the first Chivas goal either (and I disagree with Goff's assertion in the Washington Post's main write-up that this was an "easy goal"; Bautista had to adjust to get the shot around a sliding defender); Erpen got beat around the corner and Boswell moved to cover, which seemed sensible enough. What I'm getting at is that there were more gaffes that could have bit DC; that should be a worrying sign for them. Perkins' thing was an awful, and as I see it uncharacteristic, fluke. The other was a fairly routine break-down. But, as DCenters pointed out, DC only became really lose at the back toward the end. The point is, they'll make mistakes, but they do cover pretty well when they do.

- Turning to a perennial obsession in these competitions, I think it's fair to say DC's approach to the game and wholly competent execution opened some eyes south of the border. Based on stray comments I'm seeing, Chivas knew they had to fight for lsat night's win; more to the point, they appreciate that they got a little lucky.

- I think the favorite thing I read about this game all week appeared in the comments on The DCenters first impressions post; it was written by a Matt W:

"I'm looking forward to SuperLiga competition. And I'm a little let down that we have nothing but domestic league competition for the next three months. This must be how Celtic and Rangers fans feel."

Don't get me wrong, because I love Matt W's moxie and I also believe DC will do well this year, but the folly of that statement returns to the defensive issues I suspect DC will continue to have. The lesson for the rest of the league in last night's game is this: be patient with DC; they will make mistakes at the back, especially when you force them.

All in all, I was sad to see DC drop this game. I still believe they have a better shot at winning it all than Houston (though I can't wait to write the "We're all Houston fans today" post if they do win), but it just wasn't meant to be. Perkins' major gaffe and the earlier, back-breaking goal aside (as if those can be merrily excused), DC played a very good game and they look like they'll be a handful this year. And they have every right to return home with heads held high.

In Praise of Blanco

As someone who has long been cool to the idea of the Chicago Fire, or any Major League Soccer (MLS) club, signing Cuauhtemoc Blanco, it seems fair to look at the question from the other side...or at least to let other do it.

The coverage, even outside Chicago, suggests this counts as the second-biggest off-season signing for the league. The New York Sun's Paul Gardner certainly touches this line, if he doesn't go beyond it, in his lead. But he goes one further here:

"Beckham is the ultimate expression of the glamour, riches, and global appeal of modern show-sport. Blanco brings something much more limited but of great value: He represents Mexican soccer. To many Mexicans — and not just to supporters of his Mexican team Club America — he represents even more: He represents Mexico.

That's a bold statement, of course, and there's no harm in hoping it proves accurate. Gardner also shows little patience for my pet theory - e.g. that the physicality combined with the often-inconsistent refereeing in MLS, will knock Blanco off his game. And that's a big question given that Blanco will be States-side for either two and three years at $2 million per annum (the length of the contract seems unknown, though Blanco explain the discrepancy well enough in a Q & A with a Chicago paper; that it is, effectively, a two-and-a-half year contract explains the earlier discrepancy).

Hmm...this isn't unfolding quite as I'd intended. Suffice to say that if you read the articles behind all those links, you'll see signs of a Blanco that looks to be here to play and win. He could work out, after all, I suppose. Blanco getting butts in seats would be a good thing - especially Mexican butts, because that's revenue and attention that has heretofore gone untapped.

Two more things before leaving this alone: Soccer America threw something together that puts Blanco in context with regard to the Fire team he'll join. Good stuff. But the best item of the day comes with a quote that appeared in ChicagoLand Soccer News' write-up on the signing:

"“Soccer is getting better in this America,” Blanco said. “The U.S. National Team is good.”

Who said that, now?

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Expand SuperLiga? Elitism OK?

A little blurb of an item in the Kansas City Star mentions something that about the Mexican Primera/MLS SuperLiga slipped by me - though clearly not everyone - in recent announcements:

“Next year, we’ll expand to probably eight Mexico and eight U.S. teams,” [Doug Quinn, the president of Soccer United Marketing], told The Kansas City Star. “It’s not going to be an invitational; it’s going to be qualifying. You qualify in and you make it, just like Champions League.”

Geez...y'think? I'm a bit uneasy about this one seeing as it's already so dang easy to get into the post-season in Major League Soccer (MLS). Do we really need to do this in yet another competition. I mean, there are currently 13 teams in MLS and 18 in the Mexican Primera. Coming from the camp that thinks eight MLS teams in the post-season is too many (though, I have to confess, I also don't want to see it changed; let the league expand), this just seems to set the bar too low - especially with this guy boasting about the fact that teams will have to qualify.

Then again, someone out there, Kevin McGeehan from USSoccerplayers.com wondered if something larger and long-term might not be in the works:

"The SuperLiga is untenable without teams like the Galaxy involved, [which, if they failed to qualify would happen], which means that the Galaxy must always be involved in the tournament. Short of importing Italian referees, the only way to do this is to allow all MLS teams to enter the tournament every year. MLS can't do that without allowing all Mexican teams to enter as well, which might be the beginning of a joint American-Mexican league."

Now, that I'd be OK with. I already play that on FIFA 2004.

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Big, Nasty DCU v. Chivas Primer (Late Edition)

"This game is not a measuring stick," [Chivas coach Jose Manuel "Chepo"] De la Torre told reporters. "It's life or death. Win or you're out. I can't underestimate anything."
- LA Soccer News, 4.2.2007, (LINK)

Well, that's certainly nice to see. If that doesn't get you riled for tonight's CONCACAF Champions' Cup (CCC) semifinal second leg between Mexico's CD Chivas de Guadalajara and Major League Soccer's DC United, well, you're probably a basketball fan...not that there's anything wrong with that. And that only continues LA Soccer News' bang-up coverage of the CCC semifinals, which I camed across through Sideline Views. The best nugget in all that: one plausible reason why Chivas fared so badly against San Luis in the Mexican Primera this past weekend: they rested four "key players." There's also this tasty quote feast to savor from Sideline Views.

Moving north across the Rio Grande, the Hexagonal Blog provides some crucial background for what you'll be watching tonight, most crucially, this:

"Aggregate goals in home-and-away series, no away goals, 30-minute extra time if tied on aggregate after 90 minutes of second leg and penalties if necessary."

Personally, I think I'd forgotten the part in bold. Beyond the bare-bones backgrounder, Howard Hamilton (who writes the Hex Blog) turned in a preview of for tonight's game. Like a lot of people - the Washington Post's Steve Goff - he sees a close, but unhappy ending; Goff's post, for what it's worth, contains a slew of predictions from across the board.

As for my prediction, I'm going to play it half-safe. First, I don't think DC will win, which is kind of a shame because I think they have a better chance of winning the final if they can get past Chivas; and that's acknowledging the two-goal lead Houston carries into the second leg (more later - as in another day). The degree by which DC loses will depend on whether Chivas manages an early goal; my greatest fear is that I'll get myself all cozy and tipsy, only to have DC surrender a goal in the first 15 minutes. If they survive the first half, though, I suspect I'll inch toward believing; if DC can take this to penalties, I'd like to think it's either team's game.

Anyway, there are tons of round-ups/previews around the blog-overse. Here's a short list:

DCenters: (LINK) - decent look at tactics, notably the idea that pretty ain't important.
ESPN: (LINK) - I know that if I kiss Jeff Carlisle's ass any more than I have, I'll have to propose, but he's got good stuff there for both games, including players to watch; the Kelly Gray observation is a big one.
Washington Post (LINK) - Goff's formal effort is long on the history between club teams from Mexico and the U.S. - and we don't come out looking good there. Still, there's always the first time, right?
Washington Times (LINK) - This one reads not a little like the Post's content, but appears here for this wonderful quote from Ben Olsen, in which he picks up bonus points for using the word "special" precisely up to the limit of nausea, while simultaneously looking down his nose (and past his beard) at the rest of MLS:

""It's a tough task. But why not us? This team can do it. I think this is a special team and special teams can go down there and win. We've yet to prove that we are that special team. Hopefully this year we can start separating ourselves from some other teams in MLS in these competitions."

In any case, I'll only say this a few times a year, but here it is: Go DC!

Game First - Second Day

I posted a quietly favorable review of Major League Soccer's Game First initiatives, but there's a few items out there today taking the opposite tack: quietly disgruntled, I suppose. And there's certainly some good stuff in there - though not all of it.

David, the guy who runs the Chivas USA section on The Offside, posted a two-parter on the initiatives, with the first reading less favorably than the second. The heart of the complaint turns mainly on the idea of emphaszing, and paying, foreign talent at the expense of paying the up-and-coming locals. Part two ain't all sunshine, notably regarding the fair point that the league should have been doing stuff like this long ago. D, from DCenters chucked in a good rebuttal to Part I, especially on what developmental players earn - though all parties agree that's a pittance.

As I said in my post, though, there's a bit of good news in the form of paying the bonuses during the season. As you'll see below, I see baby steps as a good way to start.

But my favorite shredding of the day came from Jay Hutcherson over on USSoccerplayers.com. He levels all the big-picture gripes I keep in the back of my head as I watch the league grow, as well as answering to some of the sillier solutions - notably, a split season, any I've floated in the past, though only as far as it took me to figure the difficulty of selling the sport to an American audience. And he also touches on a favorite of mine: MLS's attempt to charge "major league" prices a bit prematurely. Make it cheap, gentlemen. Make it cheap.

My answer to all these, especially Hutcherson's points, with which I by and large agree, is this: it's very difficult for any organization to say something like "Wow. All that shit that came before? Forget it. What the hell were we thinking?" That's not to say they shouldn't change so much as it's an attempt to recognize that the league has certain goals in mind and it's pursuing them in a way that makes some form of sense. Put another way, these points of view can be defended pretty readily - even if the majority of us don't think they add up (and, let's face it; some of them don't). But the take-away for me is MLS is adapting - slowly, to be sure, but the trends are pretty good all in all.

So, I think I'm still hanging around quiet favorability. But it's the criticism that brings those incremental changes, so let's keep 'em coming.

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Day in Previews: Revs Backline; RSL Sort of...

Close readers of this space might have noticed that I have ignored MLSnet.com's rash of previews. It's not that I don't like them, so much as I've got no time to read them. I did, however, come across a few 'round the blogosphere.

To begin, Blue Blooded Journo, who is conceivably no longer talking to me since my defection, posted what looks like a Part I preview for the New England Revolution; the focus here being on defense in the fullest meaning of that word.

The MLS Zone pushes into the Major League Soccer's (MLS) Eastern Conference today starting with new-boys Toronto FC.

Finally, Jacob Hart from AYL Soccer took an ecumenical, if random approach by offering notes from around the league. Don't let that throw you, though, 'cause there's some good talking points in there - notably the bold and spicy comments about FC Dallas.

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(W)Revs Wrap: The Divorce

A few weeks ago, I volunteered to cover the Columbus Crew for The Offside. At the time, I assumed I would drop coverage of the Portland Timbers (others doing it better anyway) and that I’d follow the Crew on The Offside, while continuing to cover the New England Revolution in this space. The assumption added up all the way up to the beginning of the regular season, at which point I realized I had obligated myself to watch two games involving the same two teams every week; and I just couldn't do it.

More than anything else, it was the issue of fighting my entire household to watch, not only those two games, but some of the more interesting match-ups that crop up on a weekly basis (for instance, Colorado v. DC this weekend), that pointed toward a fateful decision: I’m no longer going to cover the Revolution in this space,. In all honesty, I think two games per week is more than fair in a one-TV household. Moreover, the more this site and The Offside feel like a job, the less I’ll enjoy either of them, not to mention the stuff I do for Write On Sports - especially seeing as I'm not getting paid for any of them. So, something had to give and that something was the coverage of New England.

This site will continue, though, with a focus on MLS in general, as well as the U.S. Men’s National Team. I’ll chuck in USL Division 1 stuff whenever I actually see a Timbers game, but, otherwise, that should do it. The one thing that will remain the same from previous announcements is that I won’t be linking back and forth between this site and the Crew material on The Offside. That was just a pain in the ass when I did it for the Revs. Hopefully, what I'm doing will be interesting enough for people to check both spaces from time to time.

As you can see, I’ve already made changes at the top of the page. And, in the cases where I knew they referred to me as such, I contacted bloggers who linked to me in the sidebar as a New England Revolution blog to inform them of this change. If I didn’t contact you, you have my apologies.

On a personal note, I’ll kind of miss the idea of having “a team,” even though my affection for the Revolution continued as more of a habit once I left the Boston area. That MLS continually considers planting a team in the Pacific Northwest only reinforces the reality that I don’t really have a home team; if and when a team arrives anywhere near my neighborhood (we’re talking the entire Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Canada corridor), I’d be shocked, frankly, if I didn’t immediately adopt it. Given that, becoming a “free agent” only makes sense.

It also didn’t hurt that I like the Crew well enough and on a number of levels. To begin, there’s my sense they’ll do well this year and nothing gets me interested as much as seeing if a hunch of mine pans out (my choice of Liverpool as an EPL team grew exclusively from this). My Ohio roots also played a role and a lingering connection to the state remains; my wife and I even briefly discussed returning to Ohio (long story), which got the Crew on my brain before all this happened. If you think for a second I hadn’t concocted elaborate fantasies of road trips, etc. well...let’s just say they got pretty advanced and involved.

In any case, so long New England - and good luck this year. To that rookie class, especially. I’ve got a good feeling about a few of them. And, for what it’s worth, y’all should have let Shalrie Joseph go or paid him more. You haven’t heard the last of that one...

Day in Previews: Hat-Tip to MLS Zone

Sure, you can turn to your MSM outlets and read all about reasons to be optimistic about the Columbus Crew's chances this year (short answer: like a good salsa, they've finally melded). Or you could continue to perpetuate ESPN's strangle-hold on the soccer market by reading their previews for the Houston Dynamo (issues w/ depth, intensity), the Colorado Rapids (yeah, they've made some decent-looking additions, but what about chemistry?), and DC United (assholes are going to win the league unless Facundo Erpen throws away too much).

Or you could turn to the guy who runs MLS Zone and read his previews of the entire Western Conference. Assuming I'm not a sucker and he's not the soccer equivalent of an "astroturf" blog, he's just some other guy like me with too much time on his hands, but who sacrificed eating and hygiene to crank out these previews. Knowing how tiring that can be (shit...I gave up didn't I?), I feel obliged to acknowledge his labors. Here they are:

Los Angeles Galaxy
Real Salt Lake
Colorado Rapids
Chivas USA
Houston Dynamo
FC Dallas

My God! I feel so righteous just posting those. Guess I'll, um, read them now.

In all seriousness, I do know how hard it can be to maintain focus on this, so good work TJ (that's the dude who posted all them previews). And I did read them.

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Blanco to Sign with Fire (Hmmm...)

A couple few outlets tell me that the legendary and notorious Mexican forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco will join the Chicago Fire sometime in the middle of summer.

I haven't gotten over my original reservations about this one, but it looks like Chicago ignored my thoughts. And this doesn't move me to reconsider what I think of their chances for 2007. I do, however, see one considerable positive in this: it ought to be damned interesting to watch.

Regardless of what I think, Blanco's in town getting a physical and it sounds like he'll meet with fans later tonight...no doubt to glower at the Yanquis. Between now and the next set of pictures, there's nothing better to pass on than this wonderful post from The Offside's Chicago Fire blog. In case it's not obvious, it's the photo that makes me so happy.

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Carolina Cup: Go Marquee with This!

"The MLS teams are coming here and playing their best players the entire tournament," said Charleston Battery president Nigel Cooper. "That says a lot for the tournament. Just about every team in the league called wanting to play in the tournament this year."
- MLSnet.com, 4.1.2007 LINK

Just to throw something out there, the league needs to figure a way to make the Carolina Cup the preseason televised tournament. Sure, a nod should go to the Pioneer Cup, which celebrates the great Lamar, but, if Major League Soccer (MLS) can get one preseason event on a nationally-televised broadcast of any kind, it should be the Carolina Challenge Cup.

They don't need to change how they handle invites - though the more democratic they can be between each successive year, the better - but this one should be formalized into a kind of nationwide foreplay for us soccer-starved geeks.

Oh, and as the article points out, Houston won this year. Let's hope that translates tolerably well to the second leg of their Champions' Cup tie against Pachuca. For the record, I would have much preferred seeing them working on altitude puppy training...

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Game First: Some Thoughts

In a media rollout that read a bit like an advertisement for efforts already under way, Major League Soccer (MLS) announced the "Game First" initiatives today.

The best news I'm seeing in there includes:

"Re-investment of transfer fees (MLS clubs now receive two-thirds of the fees earned when one of their players is transferred. That money can be used in a number of ways to improve the team's on-field product.)"

Even if this can't all be spent on players - see the "Dempsey situation" - it's good to see the clubs get a bigger piece of the pie.

"MLS has hired a full-time consultant based in South America to assist MLS teams in scouting and acquiring players from that talent-laden region."

About damn time.

"MLS has established guidelines for field maintenance, including...The pattern of directional cuts, so as to assist fans and referees better view offside decisions."

Ah. Suddenly the talk about the grass makes some sense.

"During the past few years, more bonuses for starts and wins have been incorporated into player contracts. In 2007, those bonuses will be paid once every two weeks instead of in one sum at the end of the year as in the past."

The muted cheering you hear comes from every player who has ever regularly cracked the senior roster as a developmental player...how these guys are supposed to play a full 90 on a stomach full of ramen noodles I never understood.

Finally, there's the good stuff we've heard before about the Youth Development program, qualifying for the SuperLiga, the playoffs, and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup all of which strike me as changes for the good between 2006 and 2007. So, no, it didn't quite justify a press rollout, seeing as little of it constitutes "fresh" news, but I can't think of any other way to highlight the good stuff.

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Pair of Conference Previews: Who Finishes Where?

If anyone was wondering what happened to the rest of the team-by-team season previews, the answer is that they took a back seat to the pair of Conference previews I spent much of the weekend compiling - that is, when I wasn't swinging two birthday parties for my kids.

They're posted over on Write On Sports, one for the Eastern Conference and one for the Western Conference. For what it's worth, I'm proud of some of the calls I made. But here, as a teaser, I'll list the rankings for each conference:

Eastern Conference
1. DC United
2. Columbus Crew
3. Red Bull New York
4. Kansas City Wizards
5. New England Revolution
6. Toronto FC
7. Chicago Fire

Western Conference
1. Colorado Rapids
2. Houston Dynamo
3. Los Angeles Galaxy
4. Real Salt Lake
5. FC Dallas
6. Chivas USA

If that's enough to make you curious about my reasoning (the calls for Columbus and Colorado should do the trick), follow the link and dump on or praise them as you feel moved to do.

Or just drop a comment here.

And, yes, I'm positively giddy about the season started. A normal person would be embarrassed at being so giddy about a sports season.

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