Honduran fan as well as South Florida soccer historian Robert Scorca gives us a great foundation regarding one of the pillars of our footballing history.
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Part IV: NASL is Gone, What's Next
By Robert Scorca - The Fort Lauderdale Strikers moved to Minnesota because there was no suitable indoor facility here. Click to continue reading...

Colorado Caribous 1978 jersey. Can't wait to see this brought back!

"Party Like It's 1979″, says the usually stone cold sober Kenn Tomasch. "The future of American soccer appears to be the past of American soccer."

Kenn writes this because news broke today that the breakaway second-tier league made-up of nine former USL and new clubs may use the North American Soccer League name for itself, after Miami FC put in two trademark claims.

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The future of American soccer appears to be the past of American soccer.

It's being reported that the new breakaway league consisting of several former USL clubs has registered the name North American Soccer League, apparently with the intent of using it at launch next spring.

There are those of us old enough to remember the original NASL (if you're not, go here).

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The TOA already made news today with the announcement that they've added Tampa Bay and Baltimore to their league roster, and while that's pretty big in the world of second division soccer, something...

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According to the Whitecaps website the TOA League is now 11 teams strong!

The addition of Tampa Bay and Baltimore brings the new league to nine teams, as they join the owners of the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, St. Louis Soccer United and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

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Just when we were beginning to wonder if this TOA league would really get off the ground with just seven clubs they go and add two more. Yup, now they are up to nine as Inside Minnesota Soccer has learned they have snatched two prime USL teams away with Tampa Bay rejoining the group and now a new addition in Crystal Palace Baltimore.

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Miami FC Registered Two NASL Trademark Claims on 11.16.2009
According to a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office records, North American Soccer League, LCC in Delaware filed two trademark claims on November 16th, 2009. They claims were marked c/o Miami FC 501 Brickell Key Drive, Suite 407 Miami FLORIDA 33131
As we know Miami FC is part of the TOA "Breakaway" second division that today was joined by the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Crystal Palace Baltimore. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday's announcement of a breakaway league from USL-1 had a great symbolic significance. It seems after many false starts and false hopes, outdoor soccer may finally be coming home to St Louis.

November 10th, 2009 could very well be remembered for future generations as the day Soccer came home.

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I am a pretentious soccer writer, and a lazy one at that, which means I like my football news monumental and easily digestible.
In Europe, for example, things are easy; Big Four team cheats, post. Club has really stupid, flamboyantly dressed owner, post. Accusations of bungs, massively indebted teams, bouts of hilarity as Old Europe slouches toward American-style marketing techniques (crappyproduct. Click to continue reading...

I realize that the last official football match to take place at Giants Stadium was almost two weeks ago between the Red Bulls and Toronto FC, but I still figured I'd throw my two cents in on what was once a football mecca in this country. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the Meadowlands is very mixed feelings.

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The late 1980's were a transformative time for USA soccer. While the NASL had begun the sharp decline that would eventually result in its collapse, a new generation of talented young American players began to emerge. Click to continue reading...

Got this from over at Hillcrest Road, and figured I'd pass it on cause it's pretty cool. The Wiz(ards) are one of 3 soccer teams nominated in the poll on the ESPN blog, Uni Watch, for the worst soccer uniforms. While the Wiz(ards) have plenty of potential nominees (as seen by the photo below), it's the 96-97 jerseys that are nominated in this competition. Click to continue reading...

NEW YORK RED BULLS VS. TORONTO FC
Giants Stadium - Saturday, 7:30PM EST
TV: GOL-TV - RADIO: The Fan 590

In the wacky world of North American soccer football there are very few historical sites. While we will stop short of comparing East Rutherford, New Jersey's Giants Stadium to the likes of the San Siro, Nou Camp or Wembley, you have to admit it has played a large concrete role in the continent's footy story. Click to continue reading...

Could Preki be on the move after this season? (Getty Images)

I must say today has been full of good stuff. From MLS playoff scenarios to U-17 World Cup rosters to other items it has been a full day. Needless to say if you have missed some of these items you are in luck as I have saved some of the best links of the day to discuss here tonight.

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FC Dallas has announced the next inductee into the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame at Pizza Hut Park and it's the late Jim Benedek, former Dallas Tornado player and SMU head coach. Benedek was the first soccer coach at SMU, was a member of the 68 Olympic team & US National Team, and played six season in the NASL. Click to continue reading...

My first trip to the Sweetwater Bar and Grille was after a Minnesota Thunder game back in (I believe) 2004. Saeed Ghasemi, the owner of the Sweetwater had worked out a deal with a relative who happened to be the owner of the Minnesota Thunder. The Sweetwater had become the post game party location for the Thunder.

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My first trip to the Sweetwater Bar and Grille was after a Minnesota Thunder game back in (I believe) 2004. Saeed Ghasemi, the owner of the Sweetwater had worked out a deal with a relative who happened to be the owner of the Minnesota Thunder. The Sweetwater had become the post game party location for the Thunder.

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As we mentioned in a previous post MiamiSoccerFan.com finally released the letter that was sent to David Beckham.
It reads as follows:

Dear Mr. Beckham,
We want to tell you about our dream.
We dream of a Major League Soccer team in South Florida.
We ask you to consider Miami / Ft Lauderdale for expansion as the 20th team of Major League Soccer.

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Don Garber will address the "Leaders in Football" conference

Over the next two days, many of soccer's most influential executives from around the world will meet in London, England for the annual "Leaders in Football" conference. Included in that group are three representatives from the United States: Don Garber, MLS Commissioner and CEO; Sunil Gulati, USSF President; and Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG.

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David Fellerath has been covering the Carolina Railhawks this season for the Triangle Offense. He's done some nice work but none better than an extremling revealing and candid interview with RailHawks president Brian Wellman. Wellman is also co-owner of the Carolina Railhawks along with his brother Selby who is the spokesman for the Team Owners Association (TOA).

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David Fellerath has been covering the Carolina RailHawks this season for the Triangle Offense. He's done some nice work but none better than an extremely revealing and candid interview with RailHawks president Brian Wellman. Wellman is also co-owner of the Carolina RailHawks along with his brother Selby who is the spokesman for the Team Owners Association (TOA).

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Head over to ESPN Soccernet and read a nice piece about one-time Rowdies midfielder, Hugo Perez. The article is by Jeff Carlisle and details the career of one of the better US national team players of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Before Claudio Reyna and Landon Donovan, there was Hugo.
He played just two seasons with Tampa Bay and unfortunately his career coincided with the dark years after the collapse of the NASL. Click to continue reading...

... First and foremost, if you haven't already, go here and download the latest edition of the Fighting Talker Podcast, featuring our conversation with current GolTV lead color commentator and former DC United and Miami head coach Ray Hudson. Hudson talks about La Liga, the Bundesliga, his playing days at Newcastle and in the NASL, and gives us his thoughts on the potential future of MLS in South Florida. Click to continue reading...

I didn't expect the Richard Whittall post to get the play it did, engendering considerable traffic, a long response from Whittall, and a wildly entertaining BA Duane & Bill Archer blood feud in the comments. It was like unlocking a secret area in a video game.
Naturally, I was interested in the response to my handiwork. Click to continue reading...

Background: You knew I couldn't resist, didn't you? I have not hesitated to criticize MLS, Becks, the Gals, and Alexi Lalas in the past. The Beckham Experiment has failed. The hypothesis was gravely flawed. The fallout will be crushing. MLS always said they would be different than the NASL.

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September 27, 1993 - Ken Fogarty is voted the APSL Coach of the Year after taking the Tampa Bay Rowdies from a 4-11 start to a final 12-12 regular season record. He had to battle injuries on his squad throughout the season and the absence for much of the season of 1992's team and league leading scorer Jean Harbor. Click to continue reading...

CHICAGO FIRE VS. TORONTO FC
Toyota Park - Saturday, 8:30PM EST
TV: Rogers Sportsnet
Well if it wasn't bad enough that NASL nostalgia has brought back Sounders, Timbers, Earthquakes, Whitecaps and no doubt Cosmos, Chicago Fire has decided to make Saturday's game an anniversary celebration of Soccer Bowl 1984! Click to continue reading...

There is a scene in an otherwise exceptional documentary, The History of Football, that discusses the formation of Major League Soccer following the 1994 World Cup. A smug Clive Toye pops up to tell us how MLS "may never be as successful as the NASL, because they didn't have the money we had," but in the very next sentence bemoans MLS's "tremendous advantage" wrought from a generation of kids grew up watching the North American Soccer League. Click to continue reading...

Beef never dies, it just goes on hiatus. Don't believe me? Double click the pic. Click to continue reading...

Both Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles spent time with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Villa featured prominently in the 1983 NASL side alongside among others, Brian Kidd, Nene Cubillias and Ray Hudson. Villa was such a hero among Argentine fans, I can still hear the cries of "Villa!" from the stands at Lockhart Stadium over a quarter century later.

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Colin Jose, the preeminent historian of the sport in North America joins us on the podcast. This show is a must listen for anyone interested in the evolution of the game in North America. Soccer history in the US/Canada did not begin in the late 1980s, and the sport is not a new one in this part of the world, as has been argued by some.

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It is our great honor to be afforded the opportunity to speak with the top historian of the game in N. America, the one and only Colin Jose on the MLS Talk Podcast. The interview will take place tomorrow and will cover the following subjects.

- Canadian Football "Soccer" from the late 1800s to World War II

- The American Soccer League's Golden Years 1919-1933

- The NASL

- The US in the 1930, 34 and 50 World Cups.

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Seattle Sounders burst in through the saloon doors in March, chewing lazily on tobacco as they stood proud in front of the regulars and declared their intention to take Major League Soccer by storm.

The old boys weren't pleased, but had to respect the Sounders' testicular fortitude. Columbus Crew scowled from a bar stool with MLS Cup perched on the counter.

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A few sources have stated that the TOA (Team Owners Association) is meeting with MLS this week and both groups are trying to make some deal that might create every promotion/relegation lovers wet dream... MLS2. I must point out that no one has come forward and confirmed this news yet. I bring it to you only for the sake of argument and will leave the breaking story (if in fact this meeting took place) to the actual journalists. Click to continue reading...

You know what, there are some really interesting tidbits in this MLSnet preview. Whoever did it deserved more pub than "MLSnet staff." (Hopefully it wasn't the same guy who put a pick of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado up on the home page for this game; Kennedy was red-carded in the semifinal.)
Is anyone else the tiniest bit suspicious about the "We hate each other. Click to continue reading...