OK, after taking this week off to mostly just troll other blogs and not comment too much on MLS or soccer in general after letting last week's loss sink in, I do have some thoughts on a rash of topics:
(But before I begin, I have to tell you my favorite lines from anyone about events so far this week. Click to continue reading...

That's what Wizards President Robb Heineman posted tonight over on Bigsoccer. Heineman said that "Unless the world falls apart, we will break ground this year." So while news hasn't really been forth coming in regards to what's going on with either the Legends deal or a potential deal on the Missouri side, it appears that things are definitely very close. Click to continue reading...

Regular readers will remember that in my last post on the salary cap, I referenced a BA Duane article in which he talked about the split in the owners group:

With Portland and Vancouver coming into the league in 2011 and Philly next year the new wave MLS clubs (along with the larger of the original markets) could start gain more power.

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The thought a few weeks ago that the Wizards were going to the Legends or bust for their permanent home, but Robb Heineman has posted to the contrary last night on Bigsoccer. While the Legends site appears to still be leader, Heineman says that more needs to be done by the state of Kansas to ensure the stadium gets built there. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday I posted about the US U17 team training in KC in their preparations for the U17 World Cup and how there was likely to be a game while the they were here. Today on Bigsoccer, Robb posted again saying that the game would be Tuesday out at Swope Park.
I've gotten some more information on the game. Click to continue reading...

It turns out that Don Garbers' big speech to the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge which Dan - well, EVISCERATED? SLAPPED AROUND? POOPED ON? - OK, wrote about yesterday was just the warmup act.
Like the un-legendary Tom Dreesen, who made a fortune being the warmup act for Frank Sinatra, our Beloved Commissioner worked the audience, allowing the waiters to clear the dishes and the patrons to make a quick run to the johns so that no one would miss a second of the featured act:
Jack Warner. Click to continue reading...

The Wizards are still working with the state of Kansas to get the approval of the state government to get the STAR Bond extension approved. Robb Heineman has been spending plenty of time lately in Topeka talking up the project to the state government. The team is now looking for fans to contact the state of Kansas and their legislators to talk up the development. Click to continue reading...

Via BigSoccer, Tom Anselmi touched on the growth prospects of MLS in a radio interview. Of interest to my salary cap readers, he's pretty happy with the current level of play in MLS, and he sees it rising slowly over the course of 10-15 years, although not to a Top 3 level. He also talked about needing to continue to control costs. Click to continue reading...

Anyway, next year's home openers are out, and for the third year in a row, Toronto gets to go down to Columbus. And it's a big deal, because Toronto fans don't want to go, and the Crew fans don't want them there and Columbus is great and all but really it sucks and we're not rivals anyway but your front office wants us to play you and it's this bizarre dance of teacher teacher she touched me first, no, she did she did. Click to continue reading...

Surprisingly little has been written about the National Soccer Hall of Fame closing its doors to the public, although Michael Lewis is sad and Dan Loney thinks the United States Soccer Federation should take the blame. There have also been wild proposals on BigSoccer to move the Hall to New York's new stadium or some such place. Click to continue reading...

Help me name this car
Recently I bought my first new car, a bright blue 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring. It replaced my old Honda Accord, which I had named Otto the Auto. My new Hyundai currently lacks a clever name, which is why I come to you, clever denizens of Bigsoccer for help naming my new car. Click to continue reading...

Take it for what it's worth, but Yahoo has Bryan Namoff on the way out (I'd imagine after the season's over) to the Greek league. As Namoff has become the absolute stalwart of the defense, the team would have a hard time replacing him. However, for Bryan, you'd have to understand the move to make one real payday.

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1. "One 100% heterosexual ass-tap, administered by Steve Parkin (Hull City's first-team coach), propelled Jozy Altidore into the Premier League arena for the first time. That's how we do things in England..." [@ BigSoccer]...

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If you've been listening to Bill Simmons' BS Report podcast lately (and you should be - most of the time it's really good), you know that he's been slowly and quietly coming around to the idea of soccer. Now that he's gone to the USA/Mexico match at Azteca and written an ESPN.com story about how cool it all was, I think we can embrace him as one of ours.

Click to continue reading...

A good week for many former Wizards, as Stephen Armstrong and Ryan Pore both scored multiple goals this past week, Eddie Johnson seems to have gotten himself a place as a sub on Fulham's bench, and Khari Stephenson is trying to add another cup winner's medal to his 2004 US Open Cup medal. More of the European leagues are kicking off. Click to continue reading...

Kevin Payne and Tom Soehn face increasing questions about their handling of United's different competitions.
Here in Washington, August is a month of certainties:

• The weather will turn its most hot and humid
• The Redskins will open training camp to overkill media coverage (WHAT ARE THEY EATING?

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So, yeah, it was great seeing Idiot FC get it's still-beating heart ripped out in stoppage time by Frankie Hejduk and Jason Garey. Even though I'm not coaching out there anymore, it warmed my heart.
A couple days ago B.A. Duane published the letter TFC supporters sent to Crew GM Mark McCullers back in April (hey, another page view! Click to continue reading...

Grant Wahl's extraordinary book The Beckham Experiment was finally released today.
Amazon.com: The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America: Grant Wahl: Books Amazon.com: The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America: Grant Wahl: Books
Amazon. Click to continue reading...

Exclusive BigSoccer GoldCup content by Yellow Card Journalism.
Photos by Andy Mead/YCJ and Scott Bales/YCJ
more after the jump Click to continue reading...

The Wizards season is now half over with their 15th league game last Saturday night against Houston. I wrote a break down of the first half of the season over on Bigsoccer that I'll repost here. The Wizards are 5-6-4 for a total of 19 points. This is one point behind last year's pace at this time (5-5-5). Click to continue reading...

(Beeg trouble for moose and squirrel.)

So...anything happen while I was gone?

No, seriously. They just got word of V-J Day where I was for the past week.

So let's catch up:

• The US made an amazing run in the Confederations Cup. Yes, I know, they got into the semis on a technicality, but they beat Spain and had Brazil (BRAZIL) on the ropes.

Click to continue reading...

Just caught word that the Sons of Ben are in the final vote for their scarf for next season. Plenty of quality designs to pick from. It makes me wish more clubs supporters got this involved like they do.

Note you must be logged into BigSoccer to vote.

Below are a couple that are pretty nice!

Click to continue reading...

by John Wahl Who we are: John ("Wahleyed" for my infrequent BigSoccer and Colorado Soccer Now posts) and Erin Wahl. Class VI members since October 2008. Executive Summary: • Tina's a wonderful organizer • Rapids Supporters are welcoming, fun and... Click to continue reading...

Some links to feed your mouse with 1. David Beckham to follow Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea. Hmm, Becks has no loyalty, so yeah, I could see that... [@ BigSoccer] 2. Ribery, Villa or Aguero (or all three)? How Chelsea should...

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Remember this story showing a hacked WorldSoccerShop.com Philadelphia Union Logo? Well there appears to be more to it.
We were sent the email below yesterday from a reputable source with Columbus news media.
Since computer hacking is a federal crime carrying stiff penalties we have decided to redact the name of the man until such time that he is named elsewhere or formally charged. Click to continue reading...

Philadelphia Union's Sons of Ben appeal to the anti-establishment sports fan.
"MLS is like the Punk Rock of American sports."
Prophetic words.
Something tells us that when former MLSR contributor Jade1MLS (her BigSoccer nom de plume) wrote that many probably questioned where she was coming from. Click to continue reading...

CNBC has an interesting post by their "Sports Business Reporter" regarding the proposed "Lingerie Football League" which, while it's certainly worth noting for those among you who have an interest in seeing comely young ladies smashing into each other while wearing their unmentionables - and let he who is without sin among us cast the first stone - there really wouldn't be much of an excuse to mention it on BigSoccer except for this:
THE WRITER SAYS THAT AMONG THE POTENTIAL OWNERS are two MLS team investor/operators. Click to continue reading...

NOTE: This was originally, and accidentally, posted on my own personal BigSoccer blog, which I typically don't use. So if you feel like you've read this before - you just might have.
Referees running club or international matches organized by UEFA will have the power to suspend and/or abandon matches due to racist taunts or other "outside interference," UEFA's Executive Committee stated today. Click to continue reading...

Really Stupid Commentary, Part I
So because I'm apparently completely inept with a computer - I keep telling everyone, but they don't believe me - I spent the day unable to log on to BigSoccer.
So instead, in between dealing with the contractor who showed up at the house 1) with an incredibly hot mid-20's female "helper" in the tightest pants I've ever seen in my life and 2) stinking of booze, I looked at some other soccer websites. Click to continue reading...

Yeah, the last time I wrote about Cohen, I got bucket loads of hits and comments, so, in the words of Whitesnake, Here We Go Again...
Actually, I'm not bringing up Cohen again for personal gain, or for the benefit of BigSoccer. It's not my site. I'm just a Limey guest on here. Click to continue reading...

Boy, when it rains, it pours. After a week off to heal up and get the squad that was last year's MLS Cup champs back to full strength, another piece of the puzzle will be missing at least for this week and possibly more time after that. It seems starting keeper Will Hesmer suffered a knee injury during the Crew's 1-1 draw against Colorado two weeks ago.

Click to continue reading...

Hola Miami FC Fans!
(Click on highlighted words if you don't know the meaning of the word)
Some of you carnales might remember "The Burrito Report" back in the days of the Miami Fusion on Bigsoccer (Burrito has since been banned from Bigsoccer with a Red Cards... pinches putos!) and on the South Florida strikers forum (Now the Miami FC supporters forum). Click to continue reading...

I saw the other day on Bigsoccer that someone started an "Is Bruce Arena the worst coach in MLS?" thread. Could Allen Hopkins be behind it? Doubtful, but it's almost what he's suggesting here.

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This one's official. U.S. Soccer is launching the U.S. Soccer Supporters Club. For a $49.95 annual fee, supporters get priority access for World Cup tickets, some ticket pre-sale opportunities, national team yearbooks, discounts at U.S. Soccer's store and a few more benefits.
First reaction here -- call Neil Buethe at U. Click to continue reading...

I'm having a hard time figuring out whether New York RedBulls fans are, on the whole relieved or saddened by COMMISSIONER DON GARBER'S UNEQUIVOCAL DENIAL of the rumor about the team being sold.
On the one hand, a lot of fans have never been particularly comfortable with the whole "Corporate/Energy Drink" angle, and while there are some out there who turned their back on the team the day the Austrian caffeine vendor took over, by and large most of the locals were able to hold their nose through the Metrostars-to-RedBull transition and continute to support the side. Click to continue reading...