Life comes at you fast. I can remember Valentine's Days of old. It doesn't seem like that long
ago I was passing along heart shaped candies to elementary school crushes. Now I'm looking at nine
different sublimely celebrated February 14ths with my wife of 3+ years. I am grateful for everyone
one of those moments because unfortunately this day is not a timeout from tragedy.
Chicago Fire original CJ Brown played in his last professional soccer game on October 23, 2010.
Both Brown and teammate Brian McBride had announced their retirements days earlier. Chicago was
already eliminated from the playoffs going into the game. Prior to kick-off the players knew it was
going to be only the second time in the club's history that the Fire did not make the playoffs.
The senior MLS Chicago Fire team may keep drawing but that doesn't mean other Chicago soccer
teams aren't pulling off victories. Follow me after the break for the latest on the Chicago Fire
PDL's run in the U.S. Open Cup tournament and this weekend's playoff schedule for the Chicago Fire
U-16 & U-18 Academy teams.
The Chicago soccer summer camp schedule is in full swing and if you have budding soccer stars at
home or just young children who are looking for something to check out this summer, here are three
top camps to take a look at. A quick summary is below and more information is after the break.
The Chicago Fire have teamed up with Youth Elite Soccer (Y.
The Chicago Fire set up the Wall of Honor in 2008 to honor the passionate fans that have helped
build the traditions of the club. Today on June 4th, 2011, the Wall of Honor will induct another
distinguished member, Al Hack.
June 4th Induction - Section 8 Chicago
"I am writing to let everyone know that the Chicago Fire will be honoring our dad/husband this
year by inducting him onto their Wall of Honor.
The best stories of Chicago soccer in the past couple of days are after the break. Victor Pineda
scores in Portugal, Jeff Crandall goes All-In with Jim Curtin, the deadlines for the Section 8
buses to Columbus & Kansas City are coming up, Fire Academy and PDL stories all after the
break.
Chicago Fire
Are YOU Going to KC?
The potentially biggest story of the day for Chicago soccer fans was the announcement that the
United Soccer League has entered into an agreement with the Major Indoor Soccer League to combine
forces for the 2011-2012 season. The Chicago Riot run by Chicago soccer legend Peter Wilt played in
the 2010-2011 MISL season.
As the title suggests, we have over 30 links covering everything from the upcoming Section 8
Watch Parties, the Fire practicing in the community, Chicago Red Stars news, FIFA bribery
allegations, MLS Cup in Los Angeles, and the list goes on. It's your latest Chicago Soccer
Smolderings.
Chicago Fire General News
Section 8 Watch Parties for May 2011
The Fire are out of town for two games in a row in the middle of May, but Section 8 Chicago has
planned some great watch parties to help meet your Fire (and beer) needs.
Manchester United vs. Chicago Fire tickets are on-sale to the general public, interview with
Chicago Fire Vice-President Emigdio Gamboa, midfielder Daniel Paladini at a local library, Fox's
Soccer Night in America, and much more Fire and Chicago soccer related links after the break.
Chicago Fire vs.
Yesterday's Chicago Soccer news today.
This edition: Chicago Fire vs. Sporting KC, USA vs. Argentina, Josip Mikulic, around the league,
and more!
Links after the break...
Chicago Fire vs. Sporting KC
Chicago Fire vs. Sporting KC - Player Ratings - Hot Time In Old Town
Player Ratings and highlights for the Chicago Fire home opener at Toyota Park vs.
Ante Cop's winner: The reaction says it all.I'm prone to doing things at the last minute like
anyone else. But the Chicago Riot's birth into the Major Indoor Soccer League was taking it a bit
far.
Starting a professional soccer team in a matter of weeks? Talk about a challenge! But the word
"impossible" never crossed my mind as I knew we had the right people running the ship.
We collect the top Chicago Soccer news of the last 24 hours in case you missed it.
Wednesday 2/23 - DLC makes more cuts, new trialist in town, hot Croatian rumor, the Fire miss
the playoffs before the season even starts, the team puts on a clinic, and Nyarko gives a training
update.
Details and links after the break.
Introducing a new Hot Time In Old Town daily segment - Chicago Soccer Smolderings. We revisit
some of the hottest stories of the last 24-48 hours and link to some other interesting items you
may have missed. If you only have a few minutes to stay up-to-date on the Chicago soccer, check
Chicago Soccer Smolderings: Dave Wilson's Daily Links after the break.
MLSSoccer.com has a great profile on Mundelein, IL native and University of Louisville alum
Charlie Campbell. Campbell, like any good Midwestern soccer player, grew up a Chicago Fire fan. He
even considers Patrick Nyarko and Baggio Husidic to be good friends. Now there is a twist in that
fandom as FC Dallas selected Campbell with the 35th overall pick of the 2011 MLS Draft.
There are a couple of good stories on the Chicago Fire, Section 8, and everything Chicago soccer
that should not be missed. Let's start with Guillermo Rivera of Fire Confidential with some quotes
from Frank Klopas. On the players taking part in the MLS SuperDraft Combine right now, Klopas had
this to say:
These players have been off for a few months so it's tough to judge guys on these games, we've
seen most of them before now so we're looking for the best fit based on who's available when we
pick.
The writers here have been enjoying a Holiday break but I assure you that research is being done
behind the scenes and big, bold plans for 2011 are coming together.
Speaking of big and bold plans, Guillermo Rivera at Fire Confidential has laid out a nice list
of them.
I turn to the Glasgow Evening Times to give you the latest update on the Freddie
Ljungberg/Celtic story.
The Chicago Riot of the Major Indoor Soccer League is hosting "Chicago Soccer Heritage Night" at 7
p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, for the team's game against the Baltimore Blast at the Odeum Sports and Expo
Center in Villa Park, Ill. The night is in honor to all those who have put Chicago soccer on the
map, including long-time Chicago Fire veteran C.
In what I hope will become a long running series here at Hot Time In Old Town, we introduce
'Giving Back to the Community'. Our first highlight is a special event in honor of Urban
Initiatives, a Chicago non-profit that encourages health and education through soccer. Chicago
soccer megafan Ben Burton will be a guest bartender at The Kinderhook Tap located at 800 S Oak Park
Avenue in Oak Park.
I had the chance to talk to Mike Magee when the Los Angeles Galaxy came to town in April. He is
as down to earth as any Midwestern can be. In fact, two good friends of his growing up lived down
the street from me and were a good friends of mine. I plan on publishing the results of interviews
I had with Magee and fellow Chicagoland native Michael Stephens when the Fire travel to LA but for
now the big news is Mike Magee ended up as the goalie in tonight's Los Angeles Galaxy's game
against the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Smolderings have been piling up high since we last posted an edition. The pile was so high,
it has to be split up into two so it won't start a fire. MLS scores from last night, soccer news
from around the globe and a bit of other sports bits are all after the jump. Chicago soccer news
will be smoldering away later today.
Awhile back I was scrolling through the Chicago Fire website and went to the 'Roster' page. I
went all the way to the bottom of the page and was greeted by the familiar sight of:
Alumni # POS Player Club Age NATL Previous Club No players to display.
I had seen this before but for whatever reason, it hit me a little harder this time.
The Chicago Riot entered Sunday's match with their backs to the wall. After a tough loss to the
Baltimore Blast on the marvelously executed Chicago Soccer Heritage Night (video and picture
evidence here), the Missouri Comets rolled into the Villa Park Odeum Center clinging to a half game
lead over the Riot for 4th place.
The Chicago Riot nearly notched another win Saturday night, valiantly fighting back after
falling in an early hole. Unfortunately, it was not enough, as the Riot ended up losing to the
Baltimore Blast 18-17. This puts the Riot's record to 2-8 on the season. A silver lining would be
the fact that the Riot scored a season-high 17 points against a Blast team that entered the game
with a league leading points against average and features the defensive giants of Mike Lookingland
and Pat Morris.
The Chicago Riot will look to revive their fading playoff hopes but they couldn't ask for a
tougher weekend opponent in the Baltimore Blast. The Riot and Blast will square off tonight at 6:35
pm CST in Baltimore and then both teams will fly into Chicago for a Sunday, January 30 match at the
Odeum Sport and Expo Center with a 7:00 pm CST kick-off time.
Chicago Riot sign Ptah Myers
The Chicago Riot have signed Ptah Myers. He is a 28 year-old midfielder who last played with the
Philadelphia KiXX. The Chicago Riot announced via press release that forward Zlatko Zebic has been
released. Myers is a great two way player who has amassed 73 goals, 33 assists, 168 points and 126
blocks in 160 games.
Krol to play for the Chicago Riot?
There are serious rumblings in the Chicago soccer community that Krzysztof Krol's days as a
soccer player in Chicago are not over just yet. The National Soccer League's indoor season is just
underway but I'm pretty sure they have rules against professionals. Peter Wilt also said there
would be a major announcement soon for the Riot.
For those who would like to revisit Chicago's long and distinguished soccer history the Chicago
Riot are conducting Chicago Soccer Heritage Night this coming Sunday at the Odeum in Villa Park.
The list of local soccer luminaries is one of the most impressive I can recall, managing to gather
members of the Fire, Sting, Power, Mustangs, Shoccers, Horizons, Red Stars, Cats, Vultures,
Stingers, and Storm all under one roof.
They Riot refuse to say so, but if you buy and wear one of these, I have to think it would
increase your chances of getting in front of the lines. Don't blame us if it doesn't happen
though.
It's with great pleasure that I unveil the first step in the next evolution of Hot Time In Old
Town. In the next month SB Nation will be undergoing a dramatic upgrade to our platform and our
editorial process. There will be much more detail to come but for now, the new logo below is just a
first taste of what is coming for Hot Time In Old Town.
Ben Mann over at Adidas PR asked me to post something up on HTIOT to help spread the word in the
Chicago Soccer Community about the opportunity to meet members of the Mexican National team. The
even is scheduled for tomorrow, May 29th from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM CST. The team will be on hand to
sign autographs and meet fans.
There are several good reads on Chicago Fire vs. Philadelphia Union, Jon Conway returning to his
Philly roots, some updates on non-Chicago soccer and a look at some sports stories across the
spectrum. It's gameday Chicago. Time to take three points from Philadelphia.
Chicago Fire
Training Notes : Pause Nears Return to Fitness and Conway Will Start In Goal - Fire
Confidential
Fire retain midfield, even if Pause is healthy - Chicago Fire Blog - ESPN Chicago
Marco Pappa es el Latino de la Jornada 9 | Chicago Fire Soccer Club
Academy Notes | Chicago Fire Soccer Club
Dealing With A Howler | Chicago Fire Soccer Club
Philadelphia vs Chicago Preview - Goal.
