The MLS is certainly unique among major U.S. sports - it is the only draft in which a team
passes on a player because he needs to establish residency. But such is the reason why MLS fans
love the MLS - it is unique in both the world of soccer and the American sports world. And the
draft is another unique aspect; it is an event dedicated to the selection of what are essentially
late blooming players who went to college, an oddity in Europe but an essential part of the
American soccer landscape.
On January 12, 2011, the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer announced a four year, $12
million dollar deal with Mexican food conglomerate Bimbo. While the notion of prominent uniform
advertisements is foreign in most American sports, MLS has embraced such sponsorships as an
important source of revenue.
A few years ago, a friend invited me to see a documentary on the New York Cosmos. I must admit. I
found the movie, Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos to be quite
entertaining. It was a cinderella story of an American soccer club that appeared out of nowhere,
did the unthinkable by signing the best player in the world and then crashed out of existence in a
larger-than-life fashion.
From The Americano
Mid-July 2011.
What is the significance of this date?
That's when training camps for the 2011-12 NFL season would open. For the first time since 1987
however, the National Football League may experience a work stoppage due to the expiration of their
Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association.
Few things differentiate the business Major League Soccer from the other major American sports
than the availability of the teams' jersey fronts to potential sponsors. Over the last few years,
major companies such as Best Buy and VW have paid significant dollars to put their names on the
uniforms of the teams of MLS.
Financial planning website, Mint.com, (why they're all of a sudden doing this we dunno) posted this
fascinating graphic comparing American soccer's salaries, budgets, etc with other American
sports.
The contrast, in graphic form, is well.... graphic.
Thoughts, anyone?
Support the Movement.
With the United States government issuing a travel warning, and even planning to help Americans
leave Egypt, it is highly unlikely that the two national teams face off in Cairo on February 9th.
While the level of violence in this revolution is relatively low for a nation with such a large
population, there is still violence.
"Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us...we know we are approaching the greatest of
mysteries." -Carl Sagan
There has always been a connection between MLS and the Cosmos, ever since the league was founded
and began to establish itself as an entity that wouldn't disappear from the American sports
landscape, people have speculated about connecting easily the most famous American club name with
the top domestic league.
Fox Soccer Channel is planning on serving up a different taste of football on Super Bowl Sunday
for viewers in the United States. Instead of the pigskin variety, Fox Soccer Channel will show the
massive game between Chelsea and Liverpool live on Sunday, February 6, with a twist.
Originating from the Fox NFL Sunday set in Los Angeles, Fox will host a special hour-long
pre-game show hosted by Christian Miles alongside analysts Eric Wynalda, Warren Barton, Keith
Costigan and Kyle Martino exploring the long link between American and world football.
Ned Dishman - Getty Images
First pick Omar Salgado -- a bit of a stretch or clever stuff from the expansion Vancouver
Whitecaps?
View full size photo ยป
I did a mock draft for SI.
The MLS drafts are finally over. After over a month of players being picked, picks being
declined, picks being traded, and picks being digested, there will be no more MLS drafts until the
Montreal Expansion Draft at the end of this year. To recap, we've seen:
- The Vancouver and Portland Expansion draft, where teams had 10 protected players but had to
submit a list of unprotected players to the two expansion clubs.
