So what did I spend today doing? Bringing the rest of you up to snuff. First I had to correct Wilt on when Columbus Crew Stadium was built and how much it cost in his "Top 20 MLS Stadia" post (it was completed in 1999 at a reported cost of around $27 million [Ed. Although Wikipedia says $28.5 mil]). Click to continue reading...

Will we see more of Conor Casey with the US National Team? (Getty Images)

Good evening folks, I hope everyone is having a good day. Now that we are in the evening it is time once again for some links and thoughts. I only have two items tonight and really only one link.

My first thought of the night centers around the US Men's National team and their upcoming friendlies this month in Europe.

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Empty stands were a common sight at Pizza Hut Park this year. (Getty Images)

I hope everyone is getting use to the longer days again after the time change this weekend. Nothing like getting darker a bit earlier again here but that's just how it goes. I have a few goodies to discuss tonight leading off with a big time look at something former Chicago Fire GM Peter Wilt sent Alexi Lalas a few years back.

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Last night, the Chicago Fire made their latest induction into the club's Ring of Fire, which acknowledges heroes of the team's history. Added last night was Chris Armas, joining Bob Bradley, Piotr Nowak, Lubos Kubik, Frank Klopas and Pitch Invasion's own Peter Wilt in the Ring. Despite the pouring rain all night, Fire supporters, including myself, stayed in the stands to recognise Chris at an excellent half-time ceremony, midway through a critical game that eventually saw the Fire reach the MLS playoffs after a 1-0 win over Chivas USA.

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Not the most intense game, but the Fire got the "W" and that is what counts! Playoff bound!

Wish I could have seen the halftime event where Chris Armas was named to the Fire's Hall of Fame, the "Ring of Fire". Thankfully Peter Wilt, the Fire's former GM and member of the "Ring of Fire", was posting some great pics on his Twitter feed!

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Peter Wilt started his soccer management career with the Milwaukee Wave as director of marketing in 1987. 22 years later he has found himself back where it all started after working with the Chicago Power, Continental Indoor Soccer League, Minnesota Thunder, Chicago Fire, Milwaukee Professional Soccer and the Chicago Red Stars.

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Peter Wilt started his soccer management career with the Milwaukee Wave as director of marketing in 1987. 22 years later he has found himself back where it all started after working with the Chicago Power, Continental Indoor Soccer League, Minnesota Thunder, Chicago Fire, Milwaukee Professional Soccer and the Chicago Red Stars.

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McHenry, Ill., native Peter Wilt officially was introduced by the Milwaukee Wave as the team's new president and CEO on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Wilt still will maintain several roles with the Chicago Red Stars, where he had been the team's president and CEO.
Here are some useful links:
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New boss wants Wave to reach out
• OnMilwaukee. Click to continue reading...

Peter Wilt's commute just got a lot shorter. The longtime soccer executive and Whitefish Bay...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Click to continue reading...

• Chicago Red Stars president and CEO Peter Wilt is joining the Milwaukee Wave of the National Indoor Soccer League in a similar capacity. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first posted the news Tuesday morning. The McHenry, Ill., native and former Chicago Fire general manager will be introduced at a press conference Wednesday, and official information will be available at ChicagoRedStars. Click to continue reading...

An open letter to Andrew Hauptman, Chairman and Owner of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club, by Tom Dunmore, Vice-Chairman of Section 8 Chicago and member of the WB05 supporters' group.

Dear Andrew,

Twelve years ago today, as you know, a soccer club was born in Chicago.

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Tonight's links and thoughts are brought to you by the letter N...as in naked. Okay I know that was a bit cheesy but seeing the naked athlete photos today all over really well leaves someone like me at a loss for words.

If you haven't by now seen the group of DC United players baring it all for ESPN Magazine's photo shoot you should do yourself a favor (I guess?

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Mouthpiece Sports:

MOUTHPIECESPORTS is a safe place for athletes to speak directly to their fans without the interruption of editing or twisting their words. We bring you the athletes like you've never seen them before -- off the field, off the court, when they're just like you and me.

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Over at Women's Soccer USA, Jen Striker reports that Peter Wilt is out at Chicago Red Stars. It was pretty obvious from his ESPN Soccernet interview that he was looking to go somewhere else, but I was a bit surprised at how Striker characterized the departure:

According to Chicago sources, Marcia McDermott has completed her boardroom takeover of the Red Stars by forcing out Peter Wilt and assuming his position in the organization.

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Hard to know what to make, exactly, of this somewhat disturbing picture of David Beckham hacking his way around the local links:
I'm no Tim Gunn but I think I'm on pretty safe ground when I comment that 34 year old international style icons out in public doing the skateboarder thing or whatever the hell this is supposed to be really ought to know better. Click to continue reading...

In case you have missed anything, here are some recent links with Chicago pro soccer mention:
WPS expansion draft
• John Howell, Bleacher Report: Red Stars lose two subs to Philadelphia in WPS first expansion draft
• Beau Dure, USA Today: Philly looks strong in WPS expansion draft
• Jeff Kassouf, The Equalizer: Grading the WPS expansion draft
Chicago Fire player development
• L. Click to continue reading...

At least, that's what Wendy Parker would have you believe. Besides her article on Pitch Invasion, she's slagged me off on her twitter account, soccer news aggregator site, and even her Atlanta Soccer News site. The basic premise is the same, but it seems Wendy got increasingly worked up as she plotted, wrote, and then basked in the afterglow of the article that was largely written in response to me. Click to continue reading...

Just a few bits and pieces tonight. I've gotten a couple thoughts on some club's playoff chances along with some info on Blanco's future in the Windy City and some thoughts on an interesting interview with Peter Wilt.

First up the playoff talk. Most of you know I mention Sportsclubstats.com when I talk about playoff chances for each club.

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As some of you know, Peter Wilt has been on a guest blogging run at Pitch Invasion, my favorite site to leech from. At the end of last week, Wilt submitted his report card on the first WPS season. Those of you who've already read it can probably guess what I'm going to focus on. Overall, there's a lot of encouraging stuff in his report, although it's clear the league is not yet profitable for the owners. Click to continue reading...

Amos Magee

I've known Portland Timbers Director of Soccer Development and Assistant Coach Amos Magee for 15 years. He played for me both with the A-League Minnesota Thunder and several times as a call up with the Chicago Fire. Amos was one of the most tenacious and savvy players I've ever known.

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I really enjoyed Chicago Red Stars' CEO Peter Wilt's post on Pitch Invasion the other day. Titled Grading WPS in Year One, he takes a hard look at 8 aspects of the just-finished inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer. These include attendance, fan experience, marketing and operations, and quality of play. Click to continue reading...

Editor's Note: Chicago Red Stars President and CEO Peter Wilt returns for his third weekly column on Pitch Invasion, pulling no punches as he grades the first season of the league his own team plays in.

Sunday's Women's Professional Soccer All-Star victory over Swedish powerhouse Umea ended WPS' first season and that makes this a good time to reflect on the inaugural year and analyze WPS' progress.

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Peter Wilt, the former President and CEO of MLS' Chicago Fire, wrote a great article recently outlining his 'soccer management philosophy'.
1. FANS ARE IN CHARGE.
2. WE ALL SELL
3. TARGET THE SALES AND MARKETING EFFORTS
4. BUILD A GOOD STAFF
5. BE A GOOD LISTENER
6. Click to continue reading...

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Official web site
dN
American Jose Fransisco Torres and his team Pachuca had a much better time on Matchday 2 (Tuesday) beating Metapan 5-0.
dN
Group Stage - Matchday 2
Some Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
DC United v Toluca - 7pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Cruz Azul v Columbus Crew - 9pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Arabe Unido v Houston Dynamo - broadcast delayed to Thursday at 7pm Central on FSC
MLS
Official League Web Site
dN
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Real Salt Lake v Chivas USA - 9pm Central on Direct Kick
dN
I made a guest appearance this week on the excellent podcast United Mania. Click to continue reading...

Chicago Red Stars meet their fans

Editor's Note: Chicago Red Stars President and CEO Peter Wilt returns for his second column on Pitch Invasion, considering the critical role good customer service plays in winning fans in American soccer.

One of the basic tenets of the soccer management philosophy I discussed last week was the importance of providing good customer service.

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Peter Wilt

Editor's note: We write about the supporter experience a lot here at Pitch Invasion, but what's the view like from the other side of the fence? We've invited Peter Wilt, the President and CEO of the Chicago Red Stars of WPS and former President and CEO of MLS' Chicago Fire to write a weekly column on his experiences as an executive in American soccer and on the business of the sport.

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Chicago Red Stars player Cristiane battles 9 year old soccer player Renae Blevins to see who is the ultimate soccer juggler. This is simply too amazing not to post.... Seriously Peter Wilt: Where did you find this girl?

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Seriously, female Sounders fans. You've watched me meticulously analyze the ramifications of WPS putting it's players in various shades of pink. You've observed me taking on Peter Wilt for having his players judge a car show on Fathers day. You've seen me suggest that the Sirens of Soccer are perhaps a bit too over-sexualized in the media. Click to continue reading...

Does soccer need more 'danger' to sell in the United States to the right demographic?

Comments made by former MLS Commissioner Doug Logan to the Oregonian in this regard made waves recently. "Soccer audiences at their best have got to be a little dangerous," Logan said. "It's three guys with a beer cursing at the guy on the field.

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On this date in MLS history, June 24, 1997, Peter Wilt was named the first general manager of the Chicago Fire. CLICK HERE to read my most recent MLS history post about the Chicago Red Stars president at Examiner.com.
~ Charlie Corr
MLS Examiner at Examiner.com
SlideTackles.net creator and editor Click to continue reading...

While we're all anticipating Confederations Cup semifinal...boy, typing that feels weird. What next? "Now that Freddy Adu has realized his potential...."
Anyway. Probably lost in the excitement was this interview with Peter Wilt that Paul Demko conducted and posted at DuNord. It's not JUST about WPS, you crybabies - some interesting stuff about the Fire's salad days, the Minnesota Thunder, Toyota Park, attendance - I'll give you a little taste, though. Click to continue reading...

We mark our 75th ever show today with an announcement that we will be covering MLS and USL like never before, with weekly features and locker room interviews. Rod Underwood, coach of the Cleveland City Stars joins us to preview his teams home opener Friday night on FSC versus Rochester. We also speak with Ignacio Rodriguez about Miami FC's strong start to the season.

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Chicago hosts Sky Blue FC on Sunday; game televised on FSC
Just how good is this brand-new Chicago Red Stars squad? Now is the opportunity for Chicagoans to get a firsthand look as the Red Stars (1-0-1) host Sky Blue FC (0-1-1) in Women's Professional Soccer play this Saturday at Toyota Park (5 p. Click to continue reading...

No they're not an MLS team but a loyal MLSR reader and passionate Red Stars fan, feels they should get some love and so he sent along what came in his season ticket package for the Chicago Women's Professional Soccer club, Chicago Red Stars.

Lots of people showing off their MLS season tickets but no love for the WPS.

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Red Stars of Women's Professional Soccer held their first-ever media day (a week later than originally scheduled). The team is coming off a 1-0-1 road trip in its inaugural season, and now the Red Stars can call Toyota Park their home base for the next five matches. Chicago hosts Sky Blue FC this Sunday (5 p. Click to continue reading...