Durante  el marco del segundo Congreso Mundial  del deporte, la presencia de Ana de Frantz quien es Vicepresidenta de Comité  Olímpico  Internacional  y medallista en Montreal 1976, fue decisiva para hablar de los avances de las mujeres en el deporte en general indicando que ha sido un trabajo duro pero que  cada día vemos a mas mujeres interesadas por el deporte tanto en la practica como el seguimiento del deporte internacional.

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Montreal inches closer to a MLS expansion bid.

By now we've all seen the lovely quote from MLS commissioner Don Garber yesterday about future league expansion.

"We've had productive conversations with Montreal to be our 19th team," said Garber.

With all the issues going on with the USL/TOA crap you have to think that Montreal owner Joey Saputo is trying to figure out the best way to get his club into the top-tier league instead of a new breakaway league.

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Via telephone conference call yesterday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber gave his annual "State of the League Address" in which he covered all manner of issues related to Major League Soccer and took...

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Let's talk about Don Garber's remarks from yesterday. First, expansion:

"We've had productive conversations with Montreal to be our 19th team," Garber said. "We have not put a timetable as to when that team would join the league if we're able to reach agreement with them. We do not have any active discussions going on of note for the 20th team and certainly don't have any timetable for the 20th team.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

MLS Commissioner Don Garber gave his annual State of the League Address on Monday and covered a wide range of topics, from expansion to the Collective Bargaining Agreement to the Designated Player rule.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

MLS Commissioner Don Garber gave his annual State of the League Address on Monday and covered a wide range of topics, from expansion to the Collective Bargaining Agreement to the Designated Player rule.

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Garber sees growth in MLS. (Getty Images)

I've spent a good portion of the day collecting my thoughts on a couple subjects and then it happen to be the same day that MLS commish Don Garber had his State of the League address. Yeah, let's just say some of his comments just made my head go nuts (and your's too judging by some emails).

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I'll be honest, I can't seem to get much done today because of this news about the TOA group starting their own league. We knew this news would probably come down eventually in one form or another but I honestly didn't expect it to consume me as much as it is.

If you aren't reading a couple sites like The Kartik Report or Inside Minnesota Soccer for news on this matter then you are certainly missing out.

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On Friday, following Columbus' poor showing at the gate for the second leg of their first round playoff series with Real Salt Lake, I argued that the Crew should be moved to Montreal. The reaction...

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This post is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Or not. It was supposed to be, but apparently I failed. Maybe the Crew really should be moved... Another playoff run, another Columbus disappointment, and...

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Perhaps not remembering what happened to Duane the last time someone wanted to move the Columbus Crew, Jason Davis over at MatchFit USA decides he wants to take a crack at getting rid of the team everyone loves to hate now that they win a lot.

Last night, only 10,109 could be bothered to watch the men in yellow go down to Real Salt Lake.

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Yesterday out at the Nike headquarters in Oregon the USL first division owners got together for a little meeting. It turns out the group does know how to play some hardball with the other group of owners known as the TOA who are planning to start their own league.

The USL called it a new era for the league, especially the first division.

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Just a quick update on the big USL vs TOA grudge match that none of us bought a ticket for, but are being forced to watch anyway.
Some stuff was said, and then unsaid, bluffs are being made, and called, and everybody's kind of confused, and now they're circling the lawyers, and the league meeting is this week. Click to continue reading...

...and I like it!
Following my weird and wacky vision for a new kind of MLS, which garnered some suprisingly positive reactions, the Canadian Stretford End is pushing the idea for an interim Canadian Soccer League (no, not that CSL) now that Vancouver and Montreal, the two USL-1 finalists, are homeless. Click to continue reading...

There isn't much tonight for the evening links and thoughts. Got some USL-TOA talk and a brief thought about Kevin Payne's fine from the league earlier today.

But first there we gotta go back into the TOA-USL talk that we've been going around and around with for the last few weeks. Reports tonight suggest the TOA and their clubs could very well soon be forming their own league, even as soon as TOMORROW.

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With talks at a stand-still between the Team Owners Association and Nurock Soccer Holdings, new owners of USL, the chances of a breakaway league led by numerous USL 1 clubs next year is looking more and more likely. Vancouver and Montreal became the latest teams to reportedly sever ties with USL this week, and are part of the group looking to start a new league.

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With talks at a stand-still between the Team Owners Association and Nurock Soccer Holdings, new owners of USL, the chances of a breakaway league led by numerous USL 1 clubs next year is looking more and more likely. Vancouver and Montreal became the latest teams to reportedly sever ties with USL this week, and are part of the group looking to start a new league.

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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. Click to continue reading...

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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Now here's something interesting. United Soccer League's CEO Nick Papadakis told a Canadian radio station that "the negotiations are finished" and Vancouver and Montreal are out of the league for 2010. Neither club has issued a statement though so perhaps this is just a hardball tactic on the part of the honchos at USL 1. Click to continue reading...

This was my favorite goal of the week in any league. Montreal dominated Vancouver at home in the USL Championship on Saturday and this goal from Joey Gjertsen was the one that just killed. His finishing was certainly on-point but respect has to go out to Roberto Brown --yes, that Roberto Brown-- for the outrageous assist because that sh*t was just ridonk.

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It's weird to say that its been another quick week for me here but it has, this week has flown by. Tonight's links and thoughts may end up being a quickie. I had some things planned for the day and for the week for that matter but I never got around to some of them. Blame it on time getting away from me and my normal day job.

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There is a delicious sense of the absurd in the way Don Garber has gone about his MLS business in the last few days, almost like a Steven Colbert satirizing the moronic "ideas" market of the Blatter/Warner contingent in order to expose football's upper echelon time-wasters for what they are.
First, we had Garber telling European clubs that MLS could be a model for wage sharing on the continent, the equivalent of asking the Germans to slow down on the Autobahn or the French to "clean up those unions so everything can run better in the country and there'd be less strikes and stuff. Click to continue reading...

TORONTO - Pistolas FC officially announced their entry today, into the Toronto-Mississauga Cup scheduled for Saturday, October 24th, 2009.
After days of speculation and trying to meet the minimum roster numbers, the team has assembled a cast they feel is quite capable of playing a high octane, competitive brand of soccer. Click to continue reading...

The United States - Honduras game is closed-circuit only at 10pm. MLS on Fox Soccer Channel: Columbus - New England at 7:30pm. USL-1 championship first-leg on Fox Soccer: Vanoucver - Montreal at 7:30pm. CONCACAF World Cup qualifying: Mexico - El Salvador on Telemundo at 6pm and Costa Rico - Trinidad & Tobago on GolTV at 10pm. Click to continue reading...

USL President Tim Holt.

Boy I get back into town and starting seeing more USL headlines today. According to reports (thanks to Inside Minnesota Soccer), the USSF is meeting today with USL officials and TOA officials regarding the ongoing situation with the recent sale of the USL.

Apparently Tim Holt the president of USL sent letters to players for three clubs, the Carolina Railhawks, the Minnesota Thunder and Miami FC.

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IMS is still working on getting a copy of the letter that USL President Tim Holt sent to players who where under contract with the Carolina Railhawks, Minnesota Thunder and Miami FC Blues but have still not been able to get the original document.

Tim Holt of USL was emailed and called for a comment and did not return either message.

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IMS is still working on getting a copy of the letter that USL President Tim Holt sent to players who where under contract with the Carolina Railhawks, Minnesota Thunder and Miami FC Blues but have still not been able to get the original document.

Tim Holt of USL was emailed and called for a comment and did not return either message.

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Our tiny little corner of the World Wide Web is all a titter because the USL office has emailed players under contract to Miami FC, Carolina, and Minnesota that their contracts have been voided. This information was broken by Brian Quarstad at Inside Minnesota Soccer.
It seems that these three ring leaders of the TOA group have not paid their fees for the 2010 season by the September 1st deadline. Click to continue reading...

Inside Minnesota Soccer had learned that United Soccer League President Tim Holt has released the players from USL-1 teams, Minnesota, Carolina and Miami FC from their contracts. In an email on Friday and addressed to all players from the 3-teams they were told that they were being released from their contracts.

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Inside Minnesota Soccer had learned that United Soccer League President Tim Holt has released the players from USL-1 teams Minnesota, Carolina and Miami FC from their contracts. In an email on Friday and addressed to all players from the 3 teams they were told that they were being released from their contracts.

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Major League Soccer

I am an advocate of playoffs in American football. I do not believe the solutions often advocated by European oriented fans of balanced schedules, single table and no playoff competitions are practical or logical in North America.

Playoffs build a brand and build excitement.

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I decided to take a week off after Miami FC's season ended. But now I'm back and as promised here is some more Miami MLS info. I'll start off with an anonymous comment made on the last post written by Burrito below. It states that David Beckham is interested in starting an MLS team in Miami.

A source said: "Beckham does not want to go into management when his playing career ends and is now focused on owning a club.

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It wasn't as exhilarating as last year, when the Islanders scored 3 goals at home (the last on the 119′, in overtime) to win the series 3-2 on aggregate; but the Islanders duplicated the feat: To knock out the Rochester Rhinos of the USL Playoffs.

After losing 2-1 to the Rhinos last Thursday in the away leg of the 2009 USL Quarter Finals, the Islanders won 4-1 in the return leg in Bayamón to win the quarterfinal match up with a 5-3 aggregate, and eliminate the Rhinos from the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row.

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It wasn't as exhilarating as last year, when the Islanders scored 3 goals at home (the last one on the 119′ in overtime) to win the 2008 Semi-Final match up 3-2 on aggregate; but the Islanders duplicated the same feat this year: to knock out the Rochester Rhinos of the USL Playoffs.

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