On Wednesday night, bloggers from all over the SB Nation network came together to participate in
a live MLS Mock Draft. Merwin Mixdorf and I represented your very own Hot Time In Old Town and
played the role of Frank Klopas & company. Merwin is more familiar with the leading players in the
draft so I let him lead the way.
The MLS Combine is nearly here as it will kick off later today down in Florida. The SuperDraft
itself is a mere six days away and it seems like we're only just getting started here with all of
this. Its been a busy week for me here with work and other draft related items. On Tuesday I helped
provide commentary for SBNation's live mock draft.
I wasn't going to bother with the "news" that the New York Cosmos organization paraded a virtual
Eric Cantona as Director of Soccer, but enough people have asked for my take that I agreed to
discuss it. Specifically I was asked, if Seattle fans are supposed to be plastic, than what does
that make Cosmos fans?
Over the last month and a half I've been trying to sleep off the depression and exhaustion I've
accumulated since who knows when. A few of the things bothering me were recent, relevant, and
tangible - the demise of the Chicago Red Stars, the Qatar World Cup fiasco, the total lack of
sunshine, the crappy writing in the soccersphere.
The MLS Combine is rolling along, in Florida and while I was unable to attend to provide first
hand coverage, there are plenty of journalist and bloggers enjoying the annual showcase of new
potential talent. So for this week's Monday Morning Centre Back, I'm going to provide a link
round-up of all the news I could find from this weekend's events in Florida.
Thursday was the MLS SuperDraft, and as we did last year, we thought we would take a look at
some of the business aspects of the proceedings. Before we explore the broadcast, a couple of
notes on some of the coverage of the event. The Twitterverse was exploding with coverage of the
draft. Journalists, fans, teams, players, bloggers and others drove the draft coverage to the top
of the Twitter lists of trends.
Roll up! Roll up! The NUFCblog awayday is here! Well, not actually yet but it could be! The plan
for this very first ever NUFCblog awayday is to get as many bloggers as possible to go to an away
game and basically just have an ace time. If you are interested please read on... The plan [...]
Join a whole buttload of writers & reporters from all over the Philly soccer scene tomorrow,
January 4th at 12 noon for a rollicking live chat! Participants will include esteemed contributors
from MLSsoccer.com, CSNphilly.com, the Daily News, Philly.com, the Philly Soccer Page, and
hopefully...you! PUT will also be joining the fun, provided certain bloggers can [.
The MLS draft won't officially take place until Jan. 13, but tonight you'll get a sneak peek. SB
Nation will be conducting our first ever MLS Mock SuperDraft tonight at 6 p.m. (Pacific) with 18
different bloggers playing the roles of various general managers. In addition to each of the teams
being represented, WV Hooligan's Drew Epperley will provide commentary and insight into each
pick.
MLS Mock Draft: SB Nation Projects The First Two Rounds, Live
t 9 p.m. Eastern, 19 bloggers will congregate online to conduct what is believed to be the first
ever live MLS mock draft. The 18 teams will be represented by bloggers who know their teams well,
presumably better than any one national pundit possibly could.
MLS Mock Draft: SB Nation Projects The First Two Rounds, Live Tonight at 8:00 PM
Our own Tweed Thornton will be taking part in the SB Nation MLS Mock Draft tonight at 8:00 PM
CST. Tune in to watch team bloggers from around the MLS/SB network make their picks and give their
explanations for why they picked who they did.
Good afternoon all! A few things of note, from this past week, to discuss, so let's get it
started:
The MLS Superdraft takes place next week and the candidates are down at the South Florida Combine,
playing some games and trying to impress. Not knowing anything about those guys, I was very
interested in the Overall Rankings list, from Pro Player Pipeline, of all the players on offer.
Sitting and fiddling with the code for this site this evening, in the back of my mind was a
familiar old concern. What if I make an absolute hash of something on here mess it all up. It has
happened before, and there are no words that can accurately describe that heart-in-the-throat
sinking feeling that comes with the knowledge that something has gone horribly wrong which
frantically pressing "Control" and "Z" can't rectify.
Does a "Goodbye, Blue Monday" joke work following a draw like yesterday's? Not really? Drat. Oh
well, on with the show.
There was absolutely nothing, not even nothing. And then there was
this great big bang. And that's where all this crap came from...
* It's charts and chalkboards over at OYB, as with the continuing lack of tangible
results Liverpool bloggers everywhere are left to pick at any positive signs and hope it all comes
together damn soon.
First of all we have Official Confirmation that the Sounders will be hosting a preseason
Cascadia Summit which includes matches between the three teams. The matches are as follows:
Fri. March 4th: Sounders vs Timbers @ 7:30 pm
Sat. March 5th: Timbers vs. Whitecaps @ 5 pm
Sun.
By now you may have heard about how the USSF refused to sanction the NASL as the men's Division
II league in the United States in 2011. Kind of like how changing the MLS schedule is off the
table. Funny how that happens. For a truncated history of the NASL split from USL, wikipedia is as
good a place as any to bring you up to speed.
Time to hang out the shingle for anyone interested in writing about their favorite Serie A club or
players. If you think you've got what it takes to be a football (soccer) writer and would like an
opportunity to prove it, send a email with all your particulars to, owngoalnetwork[at]live[dot]ca
You can also reach us by using our contact form HERE Finally, I've noticed after migrating.
This is the start of a new series both here at World Cup Blog and over at The Offside, in which
I will be talking to our bloggers from around the world about their thoughts on big upcoming
matches. Today, I talked to Aidan Williams from Japan World Cup Blog and Jack Spencer from
Australia World Cup Blog about Sunday's Asian Cup final, where one of those two sides will be
crowned champions of Asia.
