Let me first start out by saying a thing or two about yesterday's European Champion's League Final, won by Barcelona, 2-0, over Manchester United. As a Liverpool fan, there's nothing better than seeing Man U lose. Barcelona was clearly the better team yesterday and deserved the win. Now, I'm not going to give you a break-down of the match, what I do want to mention is the news this made in America. I was amazed on my way home from my "real job" when I flipped on a National Sports show and they were talking about it! The game had just ended and they gave an instant score. Now the conversation was only for 5 minutes or so, but the fact it was even being discussed was pretty cool. Now, they didn't mention any of the particulars, because, quite frankly, I doubt any of them knew any of the players, but at least they gave a score.
So at the top of the hour I flip over to the local all news channel for the National news and what was their last story? You got it, the score of the Barca/ManU game! Again, wow! They even went to a live update from a reporter in Rome! Now I'm not saying soccer (football) has become mainstream, but at least the big events are now being mentioned. It's a start.
The 95th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Kicks Off June 9th
The oldest single elimination tournament in the United States is set to begin with 16 matches on June 9th. Over 126 teams, from MLS pros to Sunday afternoon amateur "beer leagues" have dwindled down to the field of 40. In that group of 40, 16 are amateur teams, 16 are from the United Soccer Leagues 1st and 2nd divisions and 8 are from Major League Soccer. The first and second rounds field the 32 amatuer and USL sides. MLS joins the tourney in the 3rd round. The 2nd round is set to begin on June 16th. After the 2nd round, the remaining 8 winners will be drawn against the MLS sides which will kick off on June 30th. Quarterfinals are set for July 7th, Semi's on July 21st/22nd and the final will take place on September 2nd. Like the F.A. Cup in England, the U.S. Open Cup allows "regular joes" that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go up against paid professionals in a win or go home tournament with a chance to be crowned U.S. Champions. The winning team gets $100,000 while the runner-up cashes in $50,000. Each team from their respective division who advances the farthest gets a $10,000 bonus. Also, the winning team claims one of the 4 slots alloted to the United States in the 2011 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. DC United won last season's U.S. Open Cup, 2-1, over the Charleston Battery of USL-1.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Champion's League Shaping Up
Teams are filling up the available slots for next season's CONCACAF Champion's League. The CCL for short, replaced the CONCACAF Champion's Cup this past season and the first edition was deemed a success and officials at CONCACAF are building for the future.
In this past season's first edition, even though it was an all-Mexican final between Atlanta and Cruz Azul (won by Atlante, 2-0 aggregate), there were many surpises which made the tournament fun to watch.
This season, CONCACAF has set the bar higher and more quality clubs will qualify. They are not increasing the number of participants, just getting strickter on stadiums, roads, hotels, field conditions, etc. Which is why Belize was knocked out this season. They do not, nor could not, get a stadium "up to par" so to speak, so Honduras was granted a 3rd team to participate.
Those who are in...
From North America: The United States (MLS) gets four entries. Two advance to the group stage and the other two begin in the knockout preliminary - which begins July 28th. The Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo are in the group stage. New York Red Bulls and DC United will have to win their home-and-home preliminary round matches to get to the group stage.
Mexico also receives four entrants - two to the group and two in the preliminary. CD Toluca is in the group stage and Cruz Azul is in the prelim-round. The other two slots are still TBD.
Canada gets one slot and, so far, Toronto FC leads the Nutrilite Canadian Championship with 6 points from two wins, both 1-0 wins at home over the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Others that are in include: Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica), AD Isidro Metapan (El Salvador), CSD Comunicaciones (Guatemala), CD Marathon, Olimpia and Real Espana (Honduras), CD Arabe Unido (Panama), W Connection and San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad) and the Puerto Rico Islanders.
5 more slots from Central America are still up for grabs. One each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and Nicaragua. Nicaragua is in the same boat as Belize, if their stadium fails, which is due to be inspected next week, then Panama will get a third entrant.
In this past season's first edition, even though it was an all-Mexican final between Atlanta and Cruz Azul (won by Atlante, 2-0 aggregate), there were many surpises which made the tournament fun to watch.
This season, CONCACAF has set the bar higher and more quality clubs will qualify. They are not increasing the number of participants, just getting strickter on stadiums, roads, hotels, field conditions, etc. Which is why Belize was knocked out this season. They do not, nor could not, get a stadium "up to par" so to speak, so Honduras was granted a 3rd team to participate.
Those who are in...
From North America: The United States (MLS) gets four entries. Two advance to the group stage and the other two begin in the knockout preliminary - which begins July 28th. The Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo are in the group stage. New York Red Bulls and DC United will have to win their home-and-home preliminary round matches to get to the group stage.
Mexico also receives four entrants - two to the group and two in the preliminary. CD Toluca is in the group stage and Cruz Azul is in the prelim-round. The other two slots are still TBD.
Canada gets one slot and, so far, Toronto FC leads the Nutrilite Canadian Championship with 6 points from two wins, both 1-0 wins at home over the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Others that are in include: Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica), AD Isidro Metapan (El Salvador), CSD Comunicaciones (Guatemala), CD Marathon, Olimpia and Real Espana (Honduras), CD Arabe Unido (Panama), W Connection and San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad) and the Puerto Rico Islanders.
5 more slots from Central America are still up for grabs. One each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and Nicaragua. Nicaragua is in the same boat as Belize, if their stadium fails, which is due to be inspected next week, then Panama will get a third entrant.
Monday, May 11, 2009
MLS Welcomes the Union
It's not that kind of Union, but the league's 16th franchise, set to kick off next season (2010) in Philadelphia, announced their name, colors and logo this morning.
The Philadelphia Union.
When you first hear (or read or see it) you may think what I initially thought...how lame. But upon further review, I have to give the franchise a lot of credit. They put some thought into this decision.
We all know (or should know) that Philadelphia was the birthplace of the United States and a lot of that history has gone into the name and logo.
First off, the name...Union. It represents the union of the 13 original colonies. The circle is a symbol which represents unity. The 13 stars on the logo are for the 13 colonies. The Navy and Gold colors were the colors worn by the American Continental Army at the outbreak of the Revolution. The rattlesnake comes from Ben Franklin's political cartoons during the 1750's. Finally, the words "Jungite aut Perite" is Latin and translates roughly to "Join us or Die" which Ben Franklin displayed with the rattlesnake to stress the importance of colonial unity.
For more on the announcement click here:
http://philadelphiaunion.com/
For a view of the logo and more info about it, click here:
http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/philadelphia/
Thanks to Major League Soccer and the Philadelphia Union for the info.
The Philadelphia Union.
When you first hear (or read or see it) you may think what I initially thought...how lame. But upon further review, I have to give the franchise a lot of credit. They put some thought into this decision.
We all know (or should know) that Philadelphia was the birthplace of the United States and a lot of that history has gone into the name and logo.
First off, the name...Union. It represents the union of the 13 original colonies. The circle is a symbol which represents unity. The 13 stars on the logo are for the 13 colonies. The Navy and Gold colors were the colors worn by the American Continental Army at the outbreak of the Revolution. The rattlesnake comes from Ben Franklin's political cartoons during the 1750's. Finally, the words "Jungite aut Perite" is Latin and translates roughly to "Join us or Die" which Ben Franklin displayed with the rattlesnake to stress the importance of colonial unity.
For more on the announcement click here:
http://philadelphiaunion.com/
For a view of the logo and more info about it, click here:
http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/philadelphia/
Thanks to Major League Soccer and the Philadelphia Union for the info.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
MLS Review
I can't believe it! We're only in the first week of May and the Major League Soccer season is 1/4 of the way through. Is it just me or does time really fly as you get older? Anywho...
Most clubs have played 7 or 8 games, a few have only played 6 - MLS has a 30 game regular season. Still, it's a point in the season where some clubs are pulling away, some are still trying to tweak themselves and put a win streak together and others really need to pull it together or kiss this year bye-bye.
Chivas USA are a bit of a surprise to me. They are 6-1-1 for a league leading 19 points. I knew Chivas would be a good squad this year, but they have stormed out of the gate. Goalkeeper Zach Thornton can be credited with some of the glory. He has a 0.38 goals against average and has recorded 5 shutouts. Chivas is winning, but not one player is in the top 10 of MLS scoring leaders. If Chivas can find a "go-to" scorer, look out.
A couple of other surprises are the starts by DC United (3-1-3), who many picked to finish dead last in the East, and Toronto FC (3-2-3). TFC's fans deserve a winner and this could be the year they get into the playoffs.
The only undefeated team is Chicago (2-0-5), thanks in part to Brian McBride. The former National Team Striker is leading the league with 5 goals in 7 games. McBride's teammate, Marco Pappa, has 3 goals and 2 assists.
On the flip side, the defending champs, Columbus Crew, are off to their worst start ever and the worst start by a defending champ ever, 0-2-5. Same with the New York red Bulls - who played Columbus in the final. The Red Bulls are 1-5-2 and are changing their roster weekly.
Seattle Sounders FC are off to one of the best starts ever by an expansion team (4-2-1) thanks to goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Keller is a stone wall between the posts and still looks like he may have a shot at a 4th World Cup next summer.
Speaking of expansion, next season Philadelphia joins the league and on Monday, May 11th, at 11:30 AM EDT (strange time in my book), Philly will unveil the team's nickname, colors and ticket packages. They already have deposits for about 6,000 season tickets.
Finally, a few words about attendance. So far, MLS is averaging 14,796 fans per game - which is a tad lower than what the league would like, but not bad. Too many people want to compare soccer in America with the NFL and that's just insane. Even in Europe, most clubs average anywhere from 15 to 20,000. Only the "super clubs" (Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal) get 50 or 60,000. So as far as people going to games, they are. Seattle leads the league with an average crowd of 29,664. Second is Toronto with 20,180 (which is a sell-out). Third is the L.A. Galaxy at 19,761, followed by Houston (16,085), Chivas USA (14,839) and DC United (14,289). At the bottom are FC Dallas (9,747) - though Dallas is 1-5-1 and winning will turn that around, but it's going to be a long year in Dallas - and Kansas City (9,231). Though, the capacity for soccer at Community American Ballpark is only 10,385, so it' almost a sellout every night.
This Saturday, you can check out the following matches on TV:
7 PM EDT on Fox Soccer Channel - Columbus Crew vs. Kansas City Wizards
9 PM EDT on ESPN2 - Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas (The Texas Derby!)
Most clubs have played 7 or 8 games, a few have only played 6 - MLS has a 30 game regular season. Still, it's a point in the season where some clubs are pulling away, some are still trying to tweak themselves and put a win streak together and others really need to pull it together or kiss this year bye-bye.
Chivas USA are a bit of a surprise to me. They are 6-1-1 for a league leading 19 points. I knew Chivas would be a good squad this year, but they have stormed out of the gate. Goalkeeper Zach Thornton can be credited with some of the glory. He has a 0.38 goals against average and has recorded 5 shutouts. Chivas is winning, but not one player is in the top 10 of MLS scoring leaders. If Chivas can find a "go-to" scorer, look out.
A couple of other surprises are the starts by DC United (3-1-3), who many picked to finish dead last in the East, and Toronto FC (3-2-3). TFC's fans deserve a winner and this could be the year they get into the playoffs.
The only undefeated team is Chicago (2-0-5), thanks in part to Brian McBride. The former National Team Striker is leading the league with 5 goals in 7 games. McBride's teammate, Marco Pappa, has 3 goals and 2 assists.
On the flip side, the defending champs, Columbus Crew, are off to their worst start ever and the worst start by a defending champ ever, 0-2-5. Same with the New York red Bulls - who played Columbus in the final. The Red Bulls are 1-5-2 and are changing their roster weekly.
Seattle Sounders FC are off to one of the best starts ever by an expansion team (4-2-1) thanks to goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Keller is a stone wall between the posts and still looks like he may have a shot at a 4th World Cup next summer.
Speaking of expansion, next season Philadelphia joins the league and on Monday, May 11th, at 11:30 AM EDT (strange time in my book), Philly will unveil the team's nickname, colors and ticket packages. They already have deposits for about 6,000 season tickets.
Finally, a few words about attendance. So far, MLS is averaging 14,796 fans per game - which is a tad lower than what the league would like, but not bad. Too many people want to compare soccer in America with the NFL and that's just insane. Even in Europe, most clubs average anywhere from 15 to 20,000. Only the "super clubs" (Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal) get 50 or 60,000. So as far as people going to games, they are. Seattle leads the league with an average crowd of 29,664. Second is Toronto with 20,180 (which is a sell-out). Third is the L.A. Galaxy at 19,761, followed by Houston (16,085), Chivas USA (14,839) and DC United (14,289). At the bottom are FC Dallas (9,747) - though Dallas is 1-5-1 and winning will turn that around, but it's going to be a long year in Dallas - and Kansas City (9,231). Though, the capacity for soccer at Community American Ballpark is only 10,385, so it' almost a sellout every night.
This Saturday, you can check out the following matches on TV:
7 PM EDT on Fox Soccer Channel - Columbus Crew vs. Kansas City Wizards
9 PM EDT on ESPN2 - Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas (The Texas Derby!)
Monday, May 4, 2009
Good to be Back
Let me start by stating, as the title suggests, it's good to be back. For those of you new to the site, my goal is to inform the populous about soccer in America and CONCACAF - our region of the globe - focussing on the U.S. National Team, Major League Soccer, the U.S. Open Cup and other competitions involving U.S. based clubs. Of course, I will also have "takes" on the the bigger events such as the World Cup, Regional Championships and the Champion's League Final. As far as coverage of the English Premier League, Budesliga, La Liga, etc, there are plenty of sites out there that focus specifically on those leagues. I'll have links up in a few days.
It's a busy summer for the U.S. National Team and I look forward to informing you, perhaps educating you a bit about the sport (there's more to it than just kicking and running) and maybe making you chuckle every now and then. Until then...
It's a busy summer for the U.S. National Team and I look forward to informing you, perhaps educating you a bit about the sport (there's more to it than just kicking and running) and maybe making you chuckle every now and then. Until then...
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