photo credit: mwilkie
The Side: The New England Revolution won the 2007 US Open Cup, but other than
that one major trophy, they have never delivered any hardware to Robert Kraft, a man who likes to
win titles. Kraft is also a man who loves good coaching, and that is why he has employed Stevie
Nicol almost as long as he has Bill Belichick.
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On Wednesday, March 10, the New England Revolution embark on a 12 day pre-season excursion, with
the entire roster, including Taylor Twellman and
Matt Reis, making the trip. The
team will be operating out of Cary, N.C. and will face off against USL-2 side Charlotte Eagles and
the Revs' old U.
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The New England Revolution announced today, Feb. 22, that Senegalese central midfielder Niouky
Desire has signed a contract with Major League Soccer to play for the Revolution. He will occupy
one of the team's eight international roster spots. Per MLS and club policy, terms of the deal were
not released.
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ASN is pleased to announce a trio of new podcasts to our lineup.
The first is a short (60 seconds or less) ASN's Audio News Daily hosted by Jason Davis and Zach
Woosley of The American Soccer Show. This daily audio news update will be posted to ASN's home page
by 7am each weekday morning. It will be available to subscribers but can separately be subscribed
to as a stand-alone item.
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For fans of the New England Revolution this has been a pretty tough offseason. Reading a very
interesting interview with Steve Nicol at FoxSoccer.com made it very clear that there are some very
interesting hurdles to make it over this year.
- Paul Mariner: Hugely respected Assistant coach with vast experience and knowledge –
gone.
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MLS Daily 03 February @ 10:25 PM EDT
The Kansas City Wizards have traded forward Adam Cristman to D.C. United in exchange for an
international roster spot, the teams announced on Wednesday.
"We are pleased to have concluded a trade for Adam," said United general manager Dave Kasper. "He
is a hard working, athletic striker who will provide solid cover for us.
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MLS unveiled its 2010 schedule and we thought it worthwhile to take a look at some of the
business themes that emerged in the release.
1. National TV: One third of all games will be nationally televised on FSC, ESPN &
Telefutura. This includes at least 25 ESPN HD games and 30 FSC HD games.
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Match Fit USA 01 February @ 09:57 PM EDT
Steve Ralston, MLS original and New England Revolution great, has signed as NASL club AC St. Louis'
first player signing. Ralston's departure from the Revs, announced last week, came as a mild...
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Steve Ralston heads home to St. Louis
Earlier today, AC St. Louis of the new NASL announced the signing of Steve Ralston as a player
and assistant coach for their upcoming inaugural season. The former New England Revolution and MLS
original decided to leave the Revolution after a new contract could not be worked out.
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WVHooligan 30 January @ 10:14 AM EDT
Yesterday was full of news and one bit of news that came down was surely more surprising than
others. A little tweet on Twitter that said something along the lines of "Steve Ralston will not be
returning to the Revs this year." Of course I am paraphrasing that quote from Boston reporter Kyle
McCarthy.
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Photo by ISIphotos.com
Steve Ralston's eight-year career with the New England Revolution is over.
The veteran midfielder and team captain has decided not to return to the Revs for the 2010
season, passing on a chance to re-sign with the club for a ninth season.
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Â
Photo by ISIphotos.com
Steve Ralston's eight-year career with the New England Revolution is over.
The veteran midfielder and team captain has decided not to return to the Revs for the 2010
season, passing on a chance to re-sign with the club for a ninth season.
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Last week we took at look at various American soccer charity efforts especially those in Haiti.
The charitable efforts of professional sports leagues and teams are typically overlooked by their
fans, yet they are an important component of the community outreach programs in which almost all
leagues are involved.
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photo credit: Lance Shields
The Host: Michael Parkhurst, let me be the first to say "Happy Birthday!" Wait,
your birthday was yesterday? Geez, I'm so sorry. Well, we managed to get everyone together here at
our local Chili's, so we might as well (1) honor the soccer feats you have accomplished in the
last 26 years, and (2) "pepper in some flavor.
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After a report from George Tanner earlier today that the trade with the Revs was off it appears the
trade has been completed. The details:
Rapids get Wells Thompson and the rights to Jeff Larentowicz
Revolution get Cory Gibbs, the rights to Preston Burpo (who Bravo told me was out of contract this
offseason), a 3rd round pick in 2011, and allocation money
To me this deal hinges on two things.
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Kansas City's new digs, now under construction and set for a 2011 opening. It does look pretty
good, eh?
View full size photo »
For you MLS freaks here's a little something to chew on while wondering whether the new grounds
in Kansas City will really be open in 2011 as planned: (Hint: few things are as boringly
predictable as MLS stadiums taking longer than expected to erect and open.
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Goff had an update on the rumored Gibbs/Burpo - Thompson/
Larentowicz trade with the
Revs:
New England Revolution was preparing to trade midfielders Jeff
Larentowicz and Wells Thompson to the Colorado Rapids for goalkeeper
Preston Burpo and defender Cory Gibbs.
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MLS Daily 14 January @ 08:48 PM EDT
As is usually the case on the day of the MLS SuperDraft, several draft-day deals went down around
the league on Thursday, with three former members of the United States Men's National Team sent
packing to new destinations.First, the New England Revolution have sent the rights to defender
Chris Albright to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for the 31st- and 48th-overall selections in
today's SuperDraft.
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Chris Albright was traded from New England to New York on Thursday, in exchange for the Red Bulls'
second and third round picks. Albright has been with the Revs since 2008, making 27 appearances.
The Revolution get picks 31 and 48.
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WVHooligan 11 January @ 10:03 AM EDT
I was just passed this link from a reader which actually confirmed an email I got over the
weekend regarding a possible trade by Toronto FC. Soccer America is reporting that Toronto FC is
wanting to possibly trade up in this week's SuperDraft to get Canadian international and this
year's Hermann trophy winner Teal Bunbury.
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As we did during the MLS season and in the lead-up to the holidays, we are taking a quick look
at MLS ticket promotions in preparation for the 2010 season. This analysis is always somewhat
limited because certain teams (e.g. Toronto and Seattle) typically don't run discount ticket
promotions because of their strong sales.
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There was so much promise this past MLS Season for Red Bull NY after reaching their first MLS
Cup Final. Not only seeing them defeat the Houston Dynamo in the Goal Aggregate Quarterfinals and
the one goal victory in the semi-final at Real Salt Lake, but also qualifying for their first club
international tournament in the CONCACAF Champions League.
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2009 Recap: Yes, the Revs once again fell short of that elusive title. But,
they also once again competed with the best MLS had to offer despite suffering severe injuries and
incessant bad luck. My fave coach, Stevie Nicol, deserves props for getting NER (11-10-9) to the
playoffs without Twellman and Ralston for most of the way.
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As we said in our post on Monday, we will continue to look at MLS Holiday promotional efforts
this week. Below are some additional promotions. For more, click here.
In Houston, the Dynamo have added a wrinkle to the typical holiday deal by offering two seats
to their home opener and one Dynamo "tailgating" chair for $59.
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As we did during the regular season, we will also look at MLS promotional efforts during the
Winter. We start with some holiday deals offered around the league.
The Revs are offering a "holiday four pack" that includes tickets to four games (of your
choice), first choice of seat location before general sale, a wall calendar and holiday card all
for $68.
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The day of the big World Cup draw has arrived and ESPN has big plans to cover the event with
maximum fanfare. ESPN2 will provide three hours of coverage and will include usual suspects Harkes,
Lalas and more to break down the action. It is fairly remarkable that we have reached the stage
in American soccer where the World Cup draw rates a three hour presentation.
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WVHooligan 24 November @ 02:05 PM EDT
Could Bobby Convey be headed home to Philly? (Getty Images)
The speculation has begun for the Philadelphia Union and their expansion draft that takes place
tomorrow afternoon. The 15 clubs released their protected list last night and now the Union have a
full list of guys that they can get 10 players from.
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Landon Donovan was named the 2009 MLS Most Valuable Player on Thursday, and while it is tough to
argue against awarding the U.S. national team star for his performance this season, the MVP results
still raised a glaring question.
What about Shalrie Joseph?
It isn't a question so much about choosing between Joseph and Donovan, which is a subjective
debate that has supporters on both sides.
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Landon Donovan was named the 2009 MLS Most Valuable Player on Thursday, and while it is tough to
argue against awarding the U.S. national team star for his performance this season, the MVP results
still raised a glaring question.
What about Shalrie Joseph?
It isn't a question so much about choosing between Joseph and Donovan, which is a subjective
debate that has supporters on both sides.
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Not much of a surprise there. It was just announced on ESPNews.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is this is the first time that Landon Donovan, a five-time Honda
Player of the Year and two-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, has won the MLS award.
Said Donovan:
"Well, from a statistical standpoint it wasn't my best year, but what is important to
me, and I think the reason we're being recognized, is that our team was very good this
year.
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Today, we continue our series by launching an inquest into our first playoff team, the Revs. How
they managed to make the postseason, I'll Nicol know... erm... never know, but luckily we have
someone here to make sense of all things Beantown ball. For this one, I pass it over to former
American Soccer Daily colleague (and Holy Cross midfielder) Ryan O'Hanlon.
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WVHooligan 12 November @ 03:43 PM EDT
Omar Gonzalez was named Rookie of the Year today. (Getty Images)
Another season award came down today, this time it is the league's Rookie of the Year. For the
second straight year a LA Galaxy defender has won it as the honor went to Omar Gonzalez today.
Gonzalez helped a defense go from one of the worst in league history to one of the better ones
this season.
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The MLS playoffs resume on Friday with the Western Conference final, but the playoffs are
already over for the four teams eliminated this past weekend. How those teams respond to their
first-round exits, and how they deal with very important off-seasons, will determine if they are
back in the post-season in 2010.
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The MLS playoffs resume on Friday with the Western Conference final, but the playoffs are
already over for the four teams eliminated this past weekend. How those teams respond to their
first-round exits, and how they deal with very important off-seasons, will determine if they are
back in the post-season in 2010.
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Yesterday the first news from the MLS collective bargaining negotiations leaked out, courtesy of
Tripp Mickle. Sport Business Journal put the news behind the paywall, but thankfully Jason Davis
scaled it so I don't have to:
Though the league has proposed a salary cap increase, the players have labelled it a
"joke".
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WVHooligan 09 November @ 03:47 PM EDT
Shalrie Joseph lead the way for the Revs in 2009. (Getty Images)
Sometimes less is more, and in the case of the 2009 edition of the New England Revolution less
nearly became a lot. If you would have told me that the Revs would have lacked both Steve Ralston
and Taylor Twellman for the majority of the season and still made the playoffs this year I would
have called you crazy.
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The Fire came into the second leg down 2-1 in aggregate goals facing an opponent that they've faced
a huge number of times in the playoffs over the years, lately with good results. I could go on
about the challenges that the Revs faced this year, but frankly it's not worth the time. This Fire
team came into the playoffs in mediocre form, with rumors of trouble in the locker room and using a
patchwork lineup.
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This was brought to my attention in the play-by-play thread on Bigsoccer: Did you notice that MLS
has changed its rules for playoff yellow card suspensions? I'm not sure if this was put into place
this year or last year, but it definitely was not the case as of 2007. Two yellow cards in
consecutive games mean a suspension.
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The second participant in the MLS Eastern Conference Final will be determined tonight when the
New England Revolution faces the Chicago Fire in Game Two of their First Round playoff series.
New England will try to join Real Salt Lake in the East Final by building on its 2-1 victory in
Game One.
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