The 2011 MLS season saw two teams tied for last place across the league, the New England Revolution and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Because of this, I got to thinking about how the off-season has been approached by these two clubs and how they compare so far heading into the 2012 season.

To start, both clubs parted ways with their head coaches, although Vancouver did so before the end of the season, and both hired on new ones.

Unlike many other bowl games, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is about more than just football. On Friday, the teams UCLA and Illinois visited Glide Memorial Church & Kitchen and St. Anthony's Dining Room in San Francisco.

L to R: Sean Sheller, Kai Maiava, Jordan James, Jake Brendel, Brett Hundley, Jay Barlow, Kola Awe and Mike Harris

As six-year volunteer Joan Holland said, "To us these folks are not homeless, they're our guests and we are not a soup kitchen.

The more time I spend on a college campus, the more I realize that true education comes from not only gaining theoretical experience through classroom lectures and assignments, but from gaining practical experience in that desired field.
Whether it be from internship opportunities to interviewing professionals, getting your hands dirty by experiencing it yourself is the truest form of development.

No matter how good a coach you may be, your success will ultimately come down to your players on the field.
Especially in professional sports, ownership groups with itchy trigger fingers seem to think that a quick firing can present a quick fix for a team in disarray. That has been brought to the forefront in the National Football League (NFL) here in the United States, and in the English Premier League (EPL).

Colorado announced this afternoon that Managing Director Jeff Plush is leaving the club. Depending on which report or rumor you believe Plush either resigned (ESPN), amicably split (press release), or was fired (poster's inside sources). Regardless the Rapids will now need to find a new Managing Director and a new Head Coach.

Photo courtesty of Creighton Sports Information

Duke's Andrew Wenger and Creighton's Ethan Finlay have had standout seasons, and they headline the list of Hermann Trophy semifinalists released by the NSCAA on Sunday.

The two strikers were the only repeat semifinalists from last year for the Hermann Trophy -- college soccer's top individual award -- out of a list of 15 players that also includes South Florida forward Dom Dwyer, North Carolina forward Billy Schuler and Maryland striker Casey Townsend.

Every year at the Development Academy Showcases, scouts from all over the world come to get a look at some of the country's most talented players. There were more than 300 scouts from Major League Soccer teams, colleges and foreign clubs at the 2010 Winter Showcase in Phoenix, Ariz. U.S. Soccer employs its own armada of scouts, with a total of 65 being used throughout the country to help identify and mentor the top youth talent.

So much promise....

At some point you just have to feel sorry for a coach.... regardless of team affiliation. The execution time is quickly approaching with bated breath and grim reaper fingerprints. This is the time where Roman Abramovich gets itchy on the trigger finger, picks up a cell phone from Moscow and calls the front office of Chelsea Football Club to let them know that Chelsea will no longer be requiring the service of Andre Villas-Boas.

Hey look, it's Krazy George! Cracked.com ran an article titled "5 Sports Fans Who Ruined Sports" and coming in at number 4 was Krazy George. What did Krazy George ruin? Apparently the sanity of head coaches of most sporting teams.
According to the article Krazy George invented "The Wave" at a 1981 American League championship game between the New York Yankees and Oakland A's.

Will this be the year that Marta will be dethroned as FIFA's women's world player of the year? The Brazilian striker has won the award for the past five years and was among the 10 players nominated for the 2011 award.

The United States has three players on the list all of whom played for the WNT at last summer's Women's World Cup in Germany.

The Rooney Rule: Andrew Palmer's Story Think Football.

During the NFL's journey to England last week when the Chicago Bears faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley, the English FA had a chance to consult with NFL officials regarding "The Rooney Rule" nad how it has affected the game of American Football.

FIFA and France Football have announced the names of the players and coaches on the short lists for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Coach of the Year for the Women's Football and three U.S. players have made the list of 10: Abby Wambach, Hope Solo and Alex Morgan.
U.

photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com

U.S. Soccer has named Caleb Porter and Tab Ramos as head coaches of its U-23 and U-20 men's national teams.

Porter will coach the U-23 team and lead it through qualifying for the the 2012 Olympic games in London. Porter is to remain as head coach of Akron University, and will coach both the Zips and U.

I started thinking about this question again in the wake of some recent comments by Dennis Bergkamp about what's going on at Arsenal. He stated his views about tactics, a need for a true goal scorer, and Patrick Vieira. Naturally, this led a few writers to wonder if Bergkamp would be a good future manager at Arsenal.

Early last month, senior executives from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), the League Managers' Association, the Football Association (FA), the Football League and the Premier League met with Cyrus Mehri, an American lawyer who, along with the late Johnnie Cochran and a labor economist, Janice Madden, drafted and successfully petitioned the National Football League (NFL) to adopt the "Rooney Rule," the requirement that NFL teams interview at least one minority candidate for any head-coaching vacancy.

The head coach for the Rapids All-Time Team is Gary Smith.
How Joined: Hired as a liaison for the Arsenal Academy.
Years In Colorado: 2008 through present
There have been 6 total head coaches in Colorado's history, but there were only two under consideration for this spot, Glenn 'Mooch' Myernick and Gary Smith.

With the possible absence of both teams' playmakers, the personnel and tactics chosen by coaches Sigi Schmid and Frank Klopas are particularly important factors for the U.S. Open Cup final (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer.)
Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America reports on the coaches and teams that will be on display in tonight's US Open Cup Final.

STARTERS
Landon Donovan is OUT of the upcoming USA friendlies with a thigh muscle injury. Edson Buddle has been called in to take his place.
dN
Montreal's big splashy first MLS signing is a centerback who has barely played a game since the middle of 2006 - 28 year old Colombian Nelson Rivas.

This morning the Illinoss Piasa a professional club playing in the PASL-Pro league announced their coaching staff via their Facebook team page (currently the official team website says "Website Coming Soon"):
'We are proud to announce the coaching staff for 2011-2012. Joe Reiniger and Justin McMillian wil be co-head coaches, with Elvir Kafedzic as their assistant coach!

Much has been made of Sporting Kansas City's newly-constructed LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. I won't repeat what has already been written it's a beautiful facility. From a communications perspective, I was particularly impressed with the club's post-match media setup. Inside a glass-enclosed press room, commentary from both head coaches is delivered to an an adjoining membership lounge via surround sound.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

BY ADAM SERRANO

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF. –Always his analytic yet positive self, Jurgen Klinsmann spoke to a group of reporters during a group interview in Los Angeles and outlined his plans for the U.S. National team.

It might not be the big-name player everyone was hoping to get, but the Seattle Sounders have added at least one new player before the Sept. 15 MLS roster deadline. The Sounders traded a third-round pick in the 2012 draft to move into the Chicago Fire's No. 4 spot in the Allocation Order and picked Sammy Ochoa, who was here on trial earlier this year and played for Sigi Schmid on the U.

A pair of former MLS players are now looking to lead local Virginia colleges to the top. Clint Peay and George Celnovatch each spent time with MLS club D.C. United and are now head coaches at...
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Michael Lewis writes about the challenges facing Richie Williams in getting a coaching job in Major League Soccer.
Williams has certainly paid his dues as both a player and assistant coach in both college soccer and in MLS.
Before I go any further, I should make it clear that I do not represent Richie Williams.

Jason Davis writes how Bob Bradley continues to blaze trails for the American soccer coach.
Don't cry for Bob Bradley. Despite losing his job as the head coach of the United States National Team rather unceremoniously just a week and a half ago, Bradley is already in the mix for another position.

Albertin Montoya has been named head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team. The former FC Gold Pride head coach that won the 2010 WPS title and a long-time youth coach will lead the team into CONCACAF Qualifying for the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, which will be held from Sept.

Steve Swanson has been named head coach of the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team. The long-time head coach at the University of Virginia will lead the team into CONCACAF Qualifying for the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which will be held in Uzbekistan from August 18-September 8.
Swanson will work under the guidance of U.

Whenever you follow multiple different professional sports, you inevitably start to notice the unique aspects of each of them. For instance, I remember Martin writing a while back about how odd it would be for an NBA basketball fan to endure various different international breaks during the middle of the regular season.

It is not uncommon to make a coaching change following a World Cup - in looking at the past 2010 FIFA World Cup, the only two managers who had also managed in the previous 2006 FIFA World Cup were that tournament's two finalists - Marcello Lippi (Italy) and Raymond Domanech (France).
Both Lippi and Domanech saw their teams slump badly in the following tournament, not being able to move on from the group stages.

(It was either that or "Deutsch Treat." Did I choose wisely?)

I've written before about Jürgen Klinsmann's reputation outstripping his actual resume, but the time for all that talk is over now that Klinsmann is, officially, the 35th head man in the history of the US National Team.

TUKWILA, Wash. - Of all the things to get into an argument about, Sigi Schmid and John Spencer jousted over set pieces.

In the week following the first meeting between these two teams - a 1-1 draw in Seattle in May - free kicks played a central role in the war of words between the Seattle and Portland head coaches.

By FRANCO PANIZO

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. men's national team will face Panama in the Gold Cup once again.

After playing to a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes, Panama defeated El Salvador, 5-3, on penalty kicks in a crazy second game of Sunday night's quarterfinals doubleheader at RFK Stadium.

Minnesota Stars 1-1 FC Edmonton

If you listened to the head coaches of FC Edmonton and the NSC Minnesota Stars after the 1-1 draw on Saturday night at the NSC Stadium in Blaine, MN., you might think you they talking about two different games. Each coach felt their team was outplayed in the first half, and each was unhappy about their first half performance.

Vancouver sports fans have a lot on their plate right now. Now, we all love soccer, but how distracted from a regular season match would we be if one of our sports teams was in the Finals of another sport? Probably a bit. That isn't the only issue facing Vancouver Whitecaps supporters. The Canadian National Team is competing in the Gold Cup, and despite the 2-nil loss the the United States should still advance from the Group Stage, but they have a match down in Tampa and some of their supporters and Whitecaps supporters crossover.

Yesterday there was quite the shake up in Vancouver and Chicago as both teams fired their respective head coaches. Looking through the various forums and discussions across the web in regards to said sackings, I noticed how the Whitecaps fans and Fire fans were nearly polar opposites on the day's events where one group was largely angry and the other jubilant, respectively.

This episode is led by Megan and Kirsten as they wonder about the Vancouver Whitecaps' and Chicago Fire's decisions to fire their head coaches, and they question Koke's resolve after the ex-Dynamo striker decided to call it quits in Houston after five weeks. Kirsten wonders why Andrew Oliver was dismissed from the U-17 national team (made up completely of Bradenton players) ahead of the U-17 World Cup.

Ex-Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson.
de los Cobos is out of a job after Fire axe.
We're barely a third of the way through the season but already poor form is drawing consequences. Two head coaches were let go from their positions yesterday as their clubs seek an immediate turnaround in fortunes.

Yesterday was certainly an eventful Memorial Day for many MLS fans as two teams decided to ditch their respective head coaches. Our friendly neighbors to the north, the Vancouver Whitecaps, bid adieu to their long time USL coach Teitur Thordarson and the Chicago Fire opted to seek out a different direction than where Carlos de los Cobos was taking the team.

So fuck the critics. The game last weekend? Pure awesome. Brad Evans is now a cyborg, but don't tell anyone b/c he scored two goals and MLS typically does not permit robotic entrants into its competitions. The child molester look was Sigibot's idea, though, not mine. It's like he's channelling Eric Denton out there.

Coaches are not on the pitch playing the game but they are a huge factor in the final result. A soccer game is two forty-five minute halves and what adjustments are made at half-time can determine the final outcome of the game.
Bagga Wilks of Futbolr writes in his blog of how the top managers in Europe influenced matches this past weekend.