Schools Out ...

Finals are over (finally…well, I have to turn a paper in by tomorrow night, but it just needs to be proofed and it’s done) and I now have a little time before summer session starts to actually watch a little soccer. Man, has a bunch happened since I entered study hell.

Heck, where do I start? Ok, NY got themselves another Designated Player. I’ve always been a JPA fan so I can’t see how this won’t pay off for them. Heck, they already have the best record in the league-there’s a first. JPA should only help them on the pitch (which, as I always say, is what will eventually help things in the stands)

Ipswich is safe in the Championship for another season despite all the money problems at Portman Road. I have to laugh at the possibility of Leeds going down. I’ve always hated Leeds and this is…well, funny. Their fans didn’t help matters on Saturday. They should be docked points for their fans actions on Saturday. (See video...the quality isn’t the best, but you can see what the event looked like to traveling Town fans)

So, I actually got to see the SuperDuperClassico on Saturday night. Wow, Landon showed up to play. Nice one. Actually, I probably would have enjoyed the match as a neutral. One thing though, can someone please explain to me why LA (the home team) was wearing their road colors?

I commented on this before, but the Galaxy schedule is a joke. They’ve played 3 matches so far this season. It’ll be a couple weeks before they play another match. Then, they have all their matches jammed into the second half of the season (along with matches against Chelsea, Vancouver, and probably just about anyone willing to fork out a few bucks to have Beckham play. The good news is that they have 4 points from the 3 matches so far. I’m not going to hold my breath about the chances of making things happen this season. Heck, Yallop thinks the Open Cup is a cause of the team missing the playoffs last season…of course, I’ve always contended that if LA hadn’t won the Open Cup in ’06, they wouldn’t have won the MLS Cup…but what do I know?

Whose bright idea was it to have only last names on jerseys? Thankfully, it seems that matter has been resolved already.

Even one of my favorite writers isn’t he same. I never saw that one coming. All the best to Mike/Christine.

Well, that's all I can think of now. Hopefully I'll have more time this week to post.

Labels: Cobi Jones, Herculez Gomez, Ipswich Town, LA Galaxy, Open Cup

  ¶ 3:41 PM 3 Comments

  Crazy Turks

Labels: fans, YouTube

  ¶ 8:28 PM 2 Comments

  All systems go... The stadium looked good. Undersoil heating? That's not exactly a new concept. They've used it in England (and probably other places in Europe) for years. I enjoyed the game...but about 5 minutes after Kickoff, I had to mute the TV because, 1) my son was taking a nap and I didn't want him to wake and 2) I just could not stand listening to the drivel O'Brien and Foudy were spouting. Any chance they could just forget about commentators and leave us with just the crowd sounds?

Was that really EPL highlights at HT? Wow. Not one snide comment either. Times are changing.

Still, it was entertaining. Glad to see Herc get the first goal at the Dick. Yeah, LA got Cannon, but they gave up a lot to get him. I'm sure Herc will score a bucketful this season. I've always been a fan of his. Fun to see DC get one back late in the game. It was cold...but not that cold. Granted, I don't live in Colorado anymore. But those temps shouldn't be enough to keep that many ticket buyers away...oh yeah, it was on ABC, never mind. ;)

I'm so glad the season has started. Only an hour til we see what FSC will offer.

Labels: Colorado Rapids, Dave O'Brian, DC United, Herculez Gomez, Julie Foudy

  ¶ 8:54 PM 1 Comments

  D-Day (MLS Style) WooHoo!!! MLS season starts today. It's been a long winter (sure, it's still snowing here but it is Spring right?) of having to listen to Ipswich matches over the internet. The way Town have been performing, it's almost a good thing their season is almost over...mid-table obscurity, I guess it could be worse.

With the start of the season comes all the season preview pieces. Everyone is doing it. This season seems different. The media is all over the place...and it's almost all positive. Beckham, new stadiums, new team in a new country and those new TV deals all seem to have even mainstream hacks taking a closer look at the league/sport. I've a feeling there will be a lot of packed stadiums this weekend. My DVR is set and I'm ready to go.

MLS teams still have the same record against Mexican teams on the road. However, both DC and Houston put up great fights this week. Both the matches were exciting and what the Champs Cup needs. I just wish the seasons meshed better and we could something closer to UEFAs Champs League. Oh yeah, there's the SuperLiga. Um...after the battles we saw this week, do we really need the SuperLiga? Too bad CONCACAF runs the Champs Cup.

Oh Waldo, what have you done? Now, I have to admit, even before this was published, I have been agreeing with most of what Waldo's been saying of late. Yeah, every soccer fan in the country will agree with your comments about that Radio host. After 15 years of his little "Cloneopolis", you'd think he'd move on by now. About 10-15 years ago, I used to listen to Rome all the time. I always did disagree with his opinions on soccer. I'm certain it's all an act, Rome has entirely too many "takes" on soccer to not be actively following the sport. The reason I stopped listening to his show was because it really is too predictable. I'd check out ESPN.com, see what stories were in the news and know what he'd be saying during his show. Anyway, unfortunately, even Waldo's public apologies (Press Release, call into Rome's show) don't seem to be enough right now. He's not going to be enough. It seems he's not going to be in the booth for today's game. Foudy? See what you'd done Waldo. We-the MLS fans-now have to listen to her for 2 hours. Couldn't they have got Alan Hopkins to replace Waldo? Just had to ask. So, let me get this straight, Waldo insults a host and he's suspended, Rome insults a sport, those who play and follow it and he's applauded. Yeah, we've still got a long way to go. But, it's one more way the sport has got some media attention on the eve of the season, any publicity is good publicity...or, at least that's what they say. Of course, Rome knows how to play the sensational comment card.

Also, in the article about Waldo's suspension (thankfully it's only a suspension) there's this.

ESPN will add a superimposed graphic showing the offside line — like TV football's virtual first-and-10 line — and replays showing the speed of kicks. Off-air, the radar gun was tested during a recent game and found a Landon Donovan goal reached 92 mph.

ESPN asked to mike refs and goalies but didn't get the go-ahead for now. But it has the green light to ask permission for in-game talks on the sidelines, including with coaches.

To be honest. I don't have a problem with the "offside line" or the radar gun as long as they aren't cutting away from live action for too long. Putting a mike on the ref? I dunno. Maybe it'll work. However, those in-game interviews always suck. You can always tell the coach just wants to get the interruption over.

Actually, I'm more excited to see the coverage FSC are going to give the Chivas-Toronto match tonight. Pre AND post-game coverage. Now that's the right direction.

Now, I'm going away (I have a final exam in an hour anyway) and planning to relax and enjoy a could matches today and then tune into Sportscenter tonight to see if the new TV deal will actually get us some MLS highlights on there.

...and it's still three months until the Spice Crew arrive.

Labels: Champions Cup, ESPN, FSC, Ipswich Town, Jim Rome, Media, MLS, SuperLiga, Waldo

  ¶ 7:33 AM 0 Comments

  Just a quick 'hi'

Labels: Chicago Fire, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, US Soccer

  ¶ 10:55 PM 0 Comments