Gold Cup Hiccup

Just a thing or two to throw out ahead of the Gold Cup.

On the practical level, Jeff Carlisle turned in his usual good work with his previews of tomorrow's games for ESPN.

But the one item that really caught my eye appeared at the bottom of a San Diego Union-Tribune article previewing the Gold Cup semis:

“It was just one of those days,” U.S. forward Taylor Twellman said after missing several easy chances in front of the net against Panama. “But we won, so who really cares?”

Someone call Twellman's mother. We need someone to seize his ear and yank him to the kitchen table for a stern talking to.

Who cares? WHO CARES?!

I'll tell you who cares, young man. About a third of the number of people showing in the Nielsens for U.S. Soccer games, that's who! You're paid to score goals, son. If I had an accountant doing his job as poorly as you did against Panama, he'd lose my business...and I'll warrant the business of many others as well.

Shape up, youngster.

Open Cup Play-In: Lest We Forget (+ Salary talk)

In what must be a first since Roma FC made a run last year, a major media outlet - the LA Times - acknowledged the existence of the U.S. Open Cup...even if it only came after a report on the MLS Players' Union squabbling with the league front office (interesting piece, by the way; loathe as I am to admit it, Gazidis makes a decent case, especially about the second jobs; still, that's chump change.)

In any case, the blogoverse did its bit to pump the game as well, especially the LA locals like Dan Loney and Luis Bueno. And, natch, MLSnet.com produced a preview. There's some good stuff in there about personnel 'n' such, though only Ives Galarcep (so far) is saying fucking-new-guy (FNG) Juan Pablo Angel will play.

Anyway, calling this one seems like a mug's game, what with all the line-up wackiness. Bueno made the decent point that LA has enjoyed a lay-off and that rest could point to the possibility they'll field a stronger side. Maybe that was in the back of my mind when I picked LA to win over on the Real Salt Lake Offside's predictions league. Not to be nasty about it, but I won't be pulling for 'em. Go Bulls...just this once.

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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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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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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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(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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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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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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The Day in MLS Previews

Just a couple this time around.

Frank Dell'Appa looked forward at the New England Revolution's 2007 for ESPN. Not to dump on Frank, whom I generally like, but....yawn...oh...excuse me.

A second piece, which came from Ian Plenderleith at USSoccerplayers.com was quite a bit more fun, if a bit less informative. He wrote a short, sad-sack preview for each the teams in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the voice of a permanently disgruntled fan.

I have to say, I resemble far too many of those characters in there.

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The Day in Previews

As we get closer to the kick-off, I know I won't be the only one churning out previews for the 2007 season. On a personal level, I get such a geeky little thrill out of reading previews; I view this as the wholesome side of my gambling impulses - e.g. being "hep" to what will happen before it does, which is the essence of gambling, right? (And I'm lousy at it). So...I'll be passing on previews of the season as they roll in and, assuming not too many get made per week, I'll try to do the same thing with the week's action during the season.

And, don't worry, I won't bore you with preambles in future installments.

Because we're still a ways off, there's not a whole hell of a lot out there. But the presence of Jeff Carlisle's preview for the Los Angeles Galaxy hints that ESPN appears ready to start churning them out. For the record, he sees good things happening in LA this year - and, damn my eyes, I do too. Carlisle dubs a return to the playoffs as "certain" and he expects the club expects a championship; I'm on board with the former for sure, though not the latter.

Elsewhere - and, to be honest - yesterday, a site called Vasco USA previewed the Eastern Conference. I'll give you the author's rankings, but you'll have to visit his place to see his reasoning. Assuming, he's listing them in order (and I think he is), here's what he's seeing:

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

In case you're wondering, I'm on board with DC at #1 (though I'm not happy about it), Columbus in the playoffs, and Chicago out of them; I'm working on the rest.

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2007 Season Previews: COMING SOON

Out of a desire to kick my own ass for absolutely no financial compensation, I’m embarking on my third or fourth (lost track) attempt to handicap each and every one of Major League Soccer’s (MLS), now, 13 teams. I think I’ve succeeded on one occasion, with all the others petering out once the season got underway.

There’s a good chance that will happen again this year. My “project outline” was built on the assumption that I’d spend two days on each team - the first stewing on the data, the second writing up the conclusions - but a quick count of days remaining till the regular season tells me that 26 days starting tomorrow pushes the “wrap date” to April 8 - e.g. the second day into the season. That may yet suffice, but, regardless of success or failure here, I expect this project to take up a lot of my blogging time. So, expect things to get thin ‘round here.

(NOTE: A curious side-note to that: my traffic count didn’t suffer even though I took yesterday off. As it turns out, a lot of my traffic comes through Google searches, which speaks to the advantages of babbling non-stop about damn near everything.)

In any case, I’m kicking off this project starting tomorrow. Just to avoid thinking about such things, I’ll work through the teams alphabetically. That makes the Chicago Fire the first subject....great...right as they’re wooing a major acquisition...like that won’t muddle any assumptions...

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