Well, it looks like the NuRock v TOA saga is continuing, but only a little bit, while the USL-1
meetings are being held in Beaverton, OR this week. With the following teams certainly there -
Rochester, Portland, Tampa Bay, Puerto Rico, FC New York, Cleveland and Austin. The TOA clubs, may
or may not be Vancouver, [.
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Having a full day off I thought I would share the links that are out there of interest to Sounders
fans and those that read the site, as well as a recap of the Sounders FC weekly radio show on 710
ESPN. First TOA v NuRock is getting to a boiling point. Yep, hints of [...]
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Just getting this out there, no time for extensive thoughts. 24thMinute and CBC on Vancouver and
Montreal pulling out of USL. Inside MN Soccer on the fuller situation. The TOA is clearly now the
2nd tier of the sport. Not just due to market size, but also due to the quality of the
organizations involved.
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Recently Steve Clare over at Prost Amerika interviewed Jeremy St Louis of Fox Soccer. It is a far
ranging interview covering national teams (particularly the issues facing Canada), MLS, Sounders,
the EPL and the upcoming World Cup. There were a few semi-precious stones in there, that you might
just miss.
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While I have been focusing on the issues that are facing the lower tiers of the American soccer
system recently, please let's all remember that our issues here are not as bad as in other places.
In Scotland the Old Firm are constantly making noise about leaving the SPL and SFA for the
supposedly greener patches [.
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While I have been focusing on the issues that are facing the lower tiers of the American soccer
system recently, please let's all remember that our issues here are not as bad as in other places.
In Scotland the Old Firm are constantly making noise about leaving the SPL and SFA for the
supposedly greener patches [.
Click to continue reading...
Man U is no stranger to hearing those words, but this competition takes place on the balance sheet
and not on the pitch.
That's right, Forbes has just released their annual list of the world's most valuable sports
franchises and at the top of the list is a proper football club, Manchester United.
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In what I see as a move with more financial impact than on-field impact, AC Milan are courting
another superstar whose best days are behind him, but who is still capable of packing a commercial
punch. The latest move is to be a loan deal for LA Galaxy star David Beckham. Beckham's season is
over [...
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Check out Martin Rogers' October 20th piece on yahoo.com called, "The price for keeping soccer
recession-proof."
In his article, Martin contends that the economic downturn may prove to be perfect tonic for many
of the leagues as they enter negotiations for television deals. Many big TV sponsors are closing
their checkbooks so the networks are looking at sure bets.
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As the global financial crises mounts, UEFA is suggesting that they will use their considerable
clout - in the form of UEFA tournaments - to force responsibility on to clubs in each of the
participating organizations.
Currently, the only financial requirements for clubs entering UEFA competitions is that they do not
owe money to other clubs and that they pay their staff.
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What started out as my personal joke - putting the letters "USA" over the "AIG"
which adorns Manchester United's shirts - has now turned in to a newly piqued interest in the
business of soccer.
Fresh on the heals of the AIG collapse last month (among others), financial markets the world over
have been losing enormous volumes of value and the impact of the global credit crunch is starting
to show itself in the FA.
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Before last night's exciting finale of an otherwise hot and cold 2008 SuperLiga tournament,
officials had been talking up the "one million dollar purse" quite a bit.
Of course in most American professional sports, one million dollars is a drop in the bucket, but
(sadly) to the average MLS team, that's no small chunk of change.
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If you're like me, then you not only love sports, but the business of sports. As we head toward the
Beijing Olympics, this weeks' Economist has a fascinating section on sports business.
I'll be plucking bits and pieces from this section over the next week or so but to start, I'll
share the latest chart to make you all wish you'd taken up golf as a kid - but aside from that, it
also lists the other 10 highest earners in sport.
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