Pan-Pacific Challenge
A number of people have flagged a Los Angeles Times article that contained some surprisingly harsh
comments about the recently-concluded Pan-Pacific Challenge (PPC) from Major League Soccer (MLS)
Commissioner Don "The Don" Garber. Now, we all know the field sucked (seriously, I looked like the
blue crap I once played on in Moscow, Idaho's [.
Well all right. My first pirate-inspired headline. So...how bad was the Houston Dynamo's loss to
Gamba Osaka? First, there's the score to consider: any time your bunch gives up six goals, you
couldn't have had a good night. I don't think Pat Onstad can remember the last time he let in
six...assuming it [.
So, as I'm sitting here, seeing Gamba Osaka go up 2-1 on a fairly sharp-looking Houston Dynamo, I'm
thinking to myself, "He looks fast, strong, has a good brain in his head, finishes well....is Bare
(you'll have to imagine the accent over the 'e') worth designated-player money?" And I'm watching,
thinking to myself, "Yeah.
Was that a first half to savor or who? Houston was everything the Los Angeles Galaxy was not.Â
While LA looked collectively confused, even panicked, not only did Houston look sharp and organized
collectively, every player on orange looked comfortable and switched on to their roles. I gave up
watching around the 80th minute, but [.
It's only three minutes into the Houston Dynamo v. Sydney FC game, but I have to say, thank God.Â
At least Houston looks like a professional team...you know where I'm going with this....
Which is to say, it feels nice to feel something other than shame... A much-improved second half by
the Los Angeles Galaxy, though I always wonder how much of that has to do with one team as much as
the other - e.g. did Gamba Osaka lay back a little bit? I can't answer that, [...]
That, my friends, is rust, leg-locked, bumbling rust. No nice way to say this, the Los Angeles
Galaxy looks like crap. Surrendering possession like the French surrendered half their country,
miscuing one pass after the next like a drunk on the tenth round, and defending like....holy shit,
the right words elude me.
I finally made my way over to MLSnet.com's official propaganda page for the Pan-Pacific Tournament
(kicks off tonight; check ESPN's listings for times and channel...it's in there...and all times
are, helpfully, GMT). Can't say I regretted avoiding it until now: even the news/headline section
overflows with the usual airy features and quote-filled pap about [.
It's possible Steve Davis said it best in the preview of the Pan-Pacific Challenge (PPC) he wrote
for ESPN: "While the PPC isn't the UEFA Champions League, it is a sign that the beginning of the
MLS season is inching closer, and the fact that some international sides are tagging along for the
ride at least [.
I can neither put into words nor really believe how excited I am about the Pan-Pacific Challenge. I
need several more hobbies, clearly.
As a lot of people seem to be finding out, soccertv.com went "ad" again yesterday (e.g. it looks
like poop and tells the reader nothing, but where to buy stuff). That led quite a few people back
to a couple old items I posted on soccertv.com's future. Trouble is, neither post really offered
much information.
