Countdown '05

Days until kickoff: 35

Countdown '05

Days until kickoff: 40

Today's News from MLS...

...and my opinions, of course (though not as much as usual).

Djorkaeff's MLS adventure With France occupying the number 2 spot in the current FIFA world rankings, I find it interesting that a Frenchman has signed with an MLS team.

CD Chivas USA coming together

Meet Michael Parkhurst: A brief interview with the Revs 2005 top draft pick

Schmid: Sorting out MLS rosters

Galaxy sign Costa Rican Umaña

MetroStars sign Youri Djorkaeff

Trecker: Valderrama, Nowak, Djorkaeff

Revs sign Brazilian midfielder 'Cassio'

Countdown '05

Days until kickoff: 42

News and Views

The Cheap Seats: Doffing my derby Lalas makes an interesting point:

Basically, the European leagues are gradually becoming more like the U.S. leagues -- one team, one city....Now, MLS is going the other way. It's just established its first intra-city derby -- or, I should probably say, Chivas USA owner Jorge Vergara has established the league's first intra-city derby.

Hmm...I never thought of it that way, although that is certainly an interesting point.

See, choice breeds competition. That's simple antitrust economics. And mark my words, those two Chivas-Galaxy matches are going to be the most competitive games in MLS next season. Because, for the first time, the players will not only be playing for their team or their salary, but also for serious bragging rights.

Lalas may be right. A good sports rivalry can be a very good thing: the games are more exciting, the fans are more passionate, and both teams can expect good crowds when playing each other. Who knows? It may even spark more interest in MLS and in soccer. However, I do have my doubts. After all, Lalas is forgetting one other part of the economics issue: is one city fully capable of supporting two MLS teams? I guess that only time will tell, and, besides, it's not like I'm a part of the decision-making process!

Fox Sports World Officially Changes To "Fox Soccer Channel" Whoo-hoo! A TV network in the USA that is dedicated solely to soccer!
For the official news: Welcome to Fox Soccer Channel!

Roundup: More good news from Crew

Friedel retires from U.S. national team

Ask the GM: Elliott on stadium, players

MLS News and Views

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and I'm blogging on MLS. I have to get my soccer "fix" to get me through a night of watching a bunch of guys who wear a bunch of pads and stop playing every few seconds to catch their breaths and think about what they're going to do next. I prefer soccer, with its nonstop action and focus on skill. So yeah. Here is today's MLS news.

Soccer stadium dream gaining serious steam Basically, Houston wants an MLS team. Seriously, I really do hope they get one. I think that MLS growth (or, as is the case this year, a return to where MLS once was) is a good thing. Of course, I'll be rooting against them whenever they play my Crew, but still. While I'm on the subject, I still think that Rochester needs to go MLS, but that's another issue for another time. (I think I've blogged on it before, so feel free to dig through my archives if you so desire.)

Team-by-team preseason schedules

Razov's era with Fire comes to an end via trade

Kick Start Like the article itself says, it is a look at the FC Dallas preseason.

Views: The Clean Sheet: Vegas, baby!

This is Tino Palace's 2005 predictions. My favorite quote:

Dema Kovalenko yellow cards: 234
Yellow cards he thinks were warranted: 0
Yellow cards any player ever has thought were warranted: 0

I know it's a grammatically incorrect statement, but ain't that the truth!

However, Palace's predicting abilities break down with this statement:

Columbus Crew: 20/1
* Ante helps, but can they put last year's monumental collapse behind them?

OK, so maybe I'm a little biased. Come to think of it, I'm probably more than a little biased. Palace's incorrect prediction aside, he does have some interesing, amusing predictions.

Sidebar

The links in the sidebar have been updated.

MLS News and Views

Yes, your absent blogger has returned...again. I haven't even been keeping up with MLS pre-season news, let alone been blogging about it, but I'll try to stick with commenting on articles that are pretty recent.

The Clean Sheet: Add some Spice? Basically, this is an open letter from Palace to Victoria Beckham, asking her to get her husband (David Beckham) to play in MLS. My thoughts: RRRRiiiigggghhhhhttttttttt. One of the world's top players in MLS? Maybe MLS will one day achieve that status, but until then, dream on, Palace.

All lines are now open I can't believe that Connolly references both the Super Bowl and Major League Baseball in this article. This is an MLS column at MLSnet.com, for crying out loud! Rant aside, Connolly makes some interesting predictions for this season. If I remember, I will go back and read this column at the end of the season to compare what he predicted with what actually happened.

Pope added to Real defensive unit Pope is a good, steady, solid, veteran defender; he should be able to add a lot of experience to Real.

Rapids Sign Beckerman, Trembly and Cullen to Multi-Year Deals

L.A. rookies expected to sit, learn

Camping season opens for Metros

Adu Wants To Start Making Bigger, Stronger Impact In Second Season Why do I continue to blog on Adu, you ask? Well, if I knew the answer to that question, I would tell you! He is a decent player overall, though I still think that he has been way over-hyped.