The man who led the charge of the re-formed New York Cosmos Paul Kemsley has resigned from the
organization. This is not a good sign for the struggling proposition.
And since the Cosmos have fallen out of the race for the 20th MLS team, guess who has emerged as
the man behind a new bid to bring a team to New York City.
Real Salt Lake has gone where no MLS team has gone before - The CONCACAF Champions League Final!
But what does it mean if they don't win it all? We will all be watching and cheering Apr 20 in
Mexico, and Apr 27 in Utah.
Real Salt Lake becomes the first MLS team to advance to the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions
League.
dN
Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com reports that JP Dellacamera will be the new voice of MLS on FSC!
"Defelcted!"
-And Adrian Healy (former road manager of Lush!
In a time when everything about American soccer is growing, we just finished the first round of the
new season in the English Premier League and the only 2 American players to see the field were both
goalkeepers. Feels like a step backwards doesn't it?
STORY OF THE DAY
The always amazing Steve Sirk has a great tribute to recently deceased Kirk Urso from the Columbus
Crew.
It rarely gets funnier than his in soccer: Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey yesterday, and then
last night on a bus parade around Madrid the billiant Sergio Ramos dropped the cup off the front of
the bus and the bus ran over it!!!! See it here via Spanish newspaper AS.
Their Words It had a lot to do with the history of both cities and both clubs. It's an inherent
situation. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson on his club's rivalry with Liverpool. Other
Sources Klinsmann's charge: Change soccer culture in U.S. - from The Sporting News's Brian Straus:
But Klinsmann was hired to do more than just win.
Monterrey are CONCACAF Champions! Huge congrats to them. They are deserving winners, having not
lost a single game in the tournament.
dN
Brian Mullen, midfielder for the Colorado Rapids, was given a 9 game suspension in addition to a 1
game red card suspension for the horrible tackle that severely broke the leg of Seattle winger
Steve Zakuani.
Jeff Crandall continues to roll out the hits on the Chicago Fire news. We give a sample of
articles on the Real Salt Lake vs. Monterrey game. There are a couple of more items of general
soccer interest after the break.
Real Salt Lake vs. Monterrey in CONCACAF Champions League
Salt Lake's Showtime Disappointment | Pitch Invasion
Real Salt Lake's defeat in the Concacaf Champions League final does not overshadow a step
forward for MLS in regional visibility - though the showtime element needs some work.
The next two weeks will be huge for RSL, MLS and the USA.
dN
RSL flew Sunday on a chartered flight to Monterrey.
dN
Brian Dunseth of The Original Winger is doing his secondary job and traveling with RSL to Mexico,
so he gives us some snap shots of the trip south and then of the first training session in
Monterrey.
Huzzah! Cudos! Hip Hip Hooray! (I am being forced to write this!) (Just kidding.) Brighton & Hove
Albion won promotion today from League One in England to the Championship Division for next season.
Huge congrats to them, and their great fans! Hooray Seagulls! Hooray beer!
Looney antics are set to return to England this week as Arsenal will sign retired former keeper
Jens Lehman to an emergency contract! YES! Just type his name into You Tube and enjoy the show.
The USA U17 team will play in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying Quarterfinals on Tuesday at 2pm
Central time. They will face El Salvador and the game can be seen live on ESPN3.com.
dN
Frank Dell'Apa of the Boston Globe reports on more problems for long time New England Revolution
star Shalrie Joseph.
Today was a brilliantly hideous day for Maurice Edu at Rangers as he scored a goal in the UEFA
Champions League against Valencia, then scored an own goal to tie the game! It ended 1-1.
dN
Wayne Rooney stands up and speaks. "I asked for assurances about the continued ability of the club
to attract the top players in the world.
After further calculations it looks as though Real Salt Lake is the 2nd team to qualify for the MLS
playoffs. KC can tie RSL, but RSL holds the first tie breaker (head to head play) and therefore is
in the playoffs! Congrats to them. They are the favorites in my book to repeat as MLS Cup winners.
Last night TFC did what few MLS have ever done (they are the third), get a point in Mexico. And
against Cruz Azul no less. While Columbus held serve by getting a late goal from Andres Mendoza to
beat Santos Laguna at home.
Buzz Carrick of 3rd Degree reports that MLS will expand team rosters from 26 to 30 players for next
season.
-Currently teams get 24 senior spots and 2 extras for more players from their own academy. No word
on exactly how new 30 will be designated.
-So will the salary cap be proportionally increased as well?
Chivas USA has TURNED DOWN the opportunity to add Benny Feilhaber to their team.
-That means that not only did he not fit their needs and salary cap, but they couldn't find someone
to give them good value to sign and trade him.
-What happens next? Philly has the next shot at him.
Jose Manuel "Chepo" De La Torre of Toluca is now officially the new head coach of the Mexican
national team.
-Brent Latham of The USA 10 Kit sees the hiring as a very "American" move by the FMF.
SCANDAL: BIDDING TO HOST WORLD CUP 2018 & 2022
Reuters tells us about the man behind the bribery investigation.
Still no power, so here is a quick survey of how the local newsapers are covering their team's
win or loss in Sunday's compelling Conference Final matchup. We'll start in Utah, where RSL
continues to enjoy strong local coverage from both the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. The
Trib sports section included a hard news report on the 3-1 defeat as well as an array of stories
in the days leading up to the match.
Not so good for Toronto coach Aron Winter and goalkeeper Stefan Frei. "We were humiliated," said
Winter. "When my first touch is getting the ball from the back of the net, that's not good," said
Frei.
