Ah the never ending fun of MLS expansion talk. Â Because no league can have an odd number of teams,
speculation over who will be the 20th MLS team is always a source of debate and discussion for U.S.
soccer fans. ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.
In 2011, after Seattle and Philly and Portland and Vancouver and Montreal and the wave that came
before them (yes, San Jose counts) and all of the talk of candidates and fees and ownership groups
and stadium plans and color schemes and whether names should be "historical" (since 1975!
"Although talks this week about a roof for the proposed stadium moved from retractable to fixed to
reduce the cost, the Vikings would prefer a moving roof because [owner Zigi] Wilf wants to get a
Major League Soccer franchise. None of the 18 MLS teams plays in a fixed-roof stadium."
Welcome to The Weekly Five. Each week I address a topic by presenting a list of five
examples that support, oppose or simply relate to the subject.
Last week I looked at what the Premiership could learn from MLS. This time around I'm gonna
investigate the flipside of that very same coin; what is it that MLS could learn from the
Premiership?
EQUILIBRIUM AT QUARTER MARK Justin Braun destroyed New York with a hat-trick.
Week nine marked the quarter mark of this 36-game MLS season. There's still a long way to go, but
what's the early analysis? This league is very, very close.
With no one team outright dominating and few falling too far behind, it's fair to say that
everything is still up for grabs.
*** Zinedine Zidane claims, in interview with sports daily L'Equip, that he backed Qatar's
2022 World Cup bid to help grow the sport in the Middle East. Zidane denied that his involvement
was purely for the money. In fact, he claimed to have received no personal benefit at all,
stating that the millions of Euros he received were distributed entirely to charities, such as the
Zinedine Zidane Tahitian Beach House Foundation, and the Zinedine Zidane Center for the
Furtherance of his Personal Automobile Collection.
TORONTO, Ont. TSN has acquired the broadcast rights for Major League Soccer previously held by CBC
and Rogers Sportsnet, sources say. The public broadcaster and Sportsnet have been carrying Toronto
FC games and league championship matches since the team was formed in 2007, but the national
package has now been purchased by CTV/ TSN.
NEW YORK Wayne Rooney's younger brother John has signed with Major League Soccer and will be
eligible for selection at next week's draft. The 20-year-old forward will be at the MLS combine of
prospects from Jan. 7-11 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. MLS spokesman Will Kuhns said Tuesday that Rooney
has already signed a contract [.
SEATTLE, Wa. — English star midfielder Davis Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy will visit the
Seattle Sounders on March 15 in the opening game of the 2011 Major League Soccer season, the
US-based league said Monday. The 16th MLS season will feature a record 18 clubs, with expansion
teams in Portland and Vancouver, which [.
PORTLAND, Ore.  — The Portland Timbers have acquired goaltender Troy Perkins from D.C. United
for goaltender Steve Cronin. The Timbers, who join Major League Soccer as an expansion team next
year, will also send D.C. United allocation money as part of the trade announced Friday. United
will retain a portion of Perkins' salary budget for [.
What ties together NCAA Division I Soccer, the recent Galaxy/Red Bull game, and the future of MLS
as a nationwide league? It's all impacted by Title IX. Title IX is that rarely criticized federal
law from 1972 that seems at first glance so worthy of vocal praise. But in reality, Title IX will
prevent MLS from expanding into the Southeast or at least make such growth extremely difficult.
Two things happened recently that got me thinking about the growth of MLS. For the first time in
its history, Major League Soccer passed the 4 million person mark in its regular season attendance.
Teams also started preparing for season ticket renewals and the announced price hikes didn't go
over well with some fans.
Two weeks or so ago, I started to write a piece on the new New York Cosmos and their "efforts" to
this point in their nascent existence. In light of the release of their Umbro line of gear (which I
posted about at the time) and because so much of what they've done to this point seemed...shady, I
intended to tear the Cosmos apart as a fake team scamming the world in a bid to sell jerseys.
The Portland Timbers, USSF Division 2 version, were knocked out of the playoffs last night by the
Vancouver Whitecaps when they won 1-0 but lost the two-legged series 1-2 on aggregate. While the
Whitecaps will continue on in search of one final second division title, the Timbers have played
their last game as a minor league outfit.
Today MLS commissioner Don Garber held his State of the League address. Two of the main topics were
were the schedule for the 2012 season and the league's 20th franchise.
In regards to the schedule, Garber said that the league will not expand the number of games played.
There will be 34 games for each team next season, which means we've seen the end of the balanced
schedule.
Today Don Garber spoke on the State of the League in a conference call that was streamed on
MLSsoccer.com. There was plenty of interesting information coming out of the conference, and at
least one thing that makes you just shake your head thanks to Paul Gardner. Some of the key points
for me at least are below:
- Garber announced in the next 30-40 days there would be more jersey sponsorship announcements,
with KC's announcement tomorrow, one would think that when Omar Bravo walks out in the new jersey
there will be a sponsor on the front of the jersey.
How's your French? Merde? Better ask for Rosetta Stone for Christmas then because if you really
want to know what's what with the Impact you're going to need to read and listen to a lot of it.
But if you are like me and only speak French after a bottle & a half of Bordeaux (and poorly even
then) you can check out the latest episode of the SoccerPlus podcast because it features an
English-language interview with Montreal coach Jessie Marsch.
Should the Impact place their maiden MLS voyage in the hands of the elderly? One Montreal writer
dares to brave the icy, Italian-flavored waters of the DP dilema and what it could mean for the
2012 expansion side if they dare to splash the cash on a slew of Azzurri players old enough to get
birthday shout-outs from Willard Scott.
November 2, 2011 (New York, NY) - There has been a buyout at The New York Cosmos and
management changes have taken place in various areas of our organization.
The Frenchist thing you'll see all day this side of a Gauloises at a Jean K Jean stand-up set.
Also, start your Seba-to-Quebec trade conspiracies right...about...now.
This may be a LONG way from reality but damn, just think of the road trips? Every supporters group
and it's mother will be out to recreate The Hangover without missing kick off. If this happens
somebody's gonna get pregnant.
I don't know about y'all but I better tighten up my French game before next season if I'm going
have any clue WTF is going on in Montreal. The Impact just released their new, MLS-ready logo and I
feel like I just watched an exchange student's final project for a design class. No idea what half
of that was about.
You know you are a baller if you give interviews on a golf course and you are not a player in the
PGA. Check out The Don getting all Big Willy and talking expansion, the D.C. stadium saga and
various other messageboardy topics in between working on his short game. Play on boss.
Half-naked flesh, leather-clad Italian guys and beats: are these Vancouver Whitecaps videos
promoting a soccer team or a discotheque? I don't care either way as I have a thing for both but if
it is a nightclub I need to know the dress code. I refuse to dance in any establishment that will
not let you in wearing sneakers; you only dance in church shoes at wedding receptions.
How about a quick, informal straw poll in the comments: has Bryan Adams aged well? I'm inclined to
say "yes" because he looks like my friend Doug and if I say "no" I am also saying in way that Doug
has not aged well and then I'll have to deal with that. But you guys don't know Doug so use your
words and make your own call.
Now this is interesting. According to SoccerAmerica -remember SoccerAmerica?-- the current
iteration of the New York Cosmos front office is getting blowed up. Paul Gardner's latest,
quasi-bizarrely written treatise for the old-school footie mag throws forth a tale of upheaval
around the MLS expansion pretenders and leaves you with more questions than answers.
Y'all seen then stadium proposal in Detroit? Looks crazy but if they can pull it off more power to
them because I actually think The Mitten would be a better spot for an MLS club than The Wang. Not
nearly as fun of a roadtrip -mojitos and beaches top all- but a better home for a soccer team.
Not even 24 hours after crowning its champion, MLS was back to business by requiring its clubs
to list its protected players for the expansion draft. The expansion draft is just one of several
drafts taking place this offseason for MLS, and the unprotected list for this draft has some
interesting names.
Steve Goff of Soccer Insider has acquired the rules for this year's expansion draft for Portland
and Vancouver. Teams can protect 11 players and can lose up to 2. Once a player i selected from a
given team, that player can place one previously unprotected player onto the protected list. For
all the details, click here.
For those that missed it, Omaha's mayor is trying to get his city into the MLS expansion talks. Jim
Suttle cites the cities United Football League team's attendance as a reason Omaha should be
considered for MLS expansion. The Nighthawks have averaged 23,000 for their first two games, both
sell outs, at Rosenblatt Stadium.
If you missed this news earlier in the week, a San Antonio entry will join the NASL in 2012. We've
chronicled the efforts of the Texas city to get a professional club in this space, specifically in
reference to the supporters group The Crocketteers, and though it's not MLS, it's good to see a
team finally arrive on the scene there.
Weekend fare. Not a tour really, but a question and answer session on the Timbers stadium
renovations with the ongoing work in the background. Video courtesy of Steeplechase3k on Twitter.
