Dear Seattle, it's been quite a year for you all up there. After all, an expansion team is not supposed to do what you all did. I have to give you "props' big-time! Seriously, out of the box the Seattle fans came out and supported a well-designed and well-staffed team, hammering all MLS attendance records.

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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...

A nice piece from Whittall today on the digital media transition, with an intelligent critique of the Clay Shirky article I linked to a while ago:

And this where Shirkly's article bugs me: while he's right in seeing present circumstances for what they are, he ends the article the way many of these articles tend to, with the realization that the medium for journalists has to be replaced and "who knows what will replace it, only time and innovation will tell!

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The Conference Championships are now upon us, and I must say: "Could we have asked for anything more?" After all, these two games have more storylines than a Tarantino film (and they could end up being as violent). But, before I further tease this week's monumental matchups, I want to first take a look back at last week's amazing results.

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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...

Normally, we try not to give rank stupidity a link, for obvious reasons.
In this case though, if I did not, people would claim I was making it up.
So here you go:
MY LINK OF THE YEAR.
I am forever indebted to BS loyalist "evangel" for passing along this article which, I admit, I read several times because I couldn't believe that it was not a parody. Click to continue reading...

USWNT beats Germany in Germany. From Melissa:

The crazy phsychic voodoo communication between Solo and Chalupny can probably be attributed to their season together with the Saint Louis Athletica. It was a bit eerie at times.

I'm Fake Sigi and I approve this message. Click to continue reading...

Well, more suffering for fans at Qwest. It's beyond a cliché to say that MLS referring is subpar, but there were two hugely controversial calls that will soon be reverberating over the interwebs. First is Onstad getting off with just a yellow. It's hard to see how that's not a red, and the Montero yellow is also mystifying.

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Salt Lake v. Chivas USA
Salt Lake OWES the Eastern Conference. And oh by the way, they've been playing better than anyone actually in the Eastern Conference. They didn't back in to the playoffs either, like last year's Western Conference champs. This isn't out of the realm of possibility. Click to continue reading...

Well, it looks like I made a mistake on my other blog. It's true. I'm Richard Whittall.

Although it sure was nice for the little kids to beat up on the big kids for once, even though those big kids will come back later with semi-automatic rifles and Teflon vests.
Fake Sigi ou—I mean, have a nice day.

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Russian champions Rubin Kazan beat Barcelona 2-1 at Camp Nou. Liverpool lose 1-2 to Lyon at Anfield. Arsenal concede a late equalizer against AZ Alkmaar, 1-1. Dynamo Kiev (who's ever heard of them? Or right, one of the most important clubs in the development of modern football) draw 2-2 with Inter Milan. Click to continue reading...

Week 32 (10/21)

Last Week's Ranking in Parenthesis...

1. Columbus (1): They will still likely win the Shield despite their rocky loss @ DCU.Â
2. Chivas USA (2): The Goats are the only team who can pass CMB, so they sit @ #2.

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Like many fans around the nation, Sounders Fans will be raising the number 9 in support. Tonight at viewing parties (including the George & Dragon Fundraiser with Sigi and Chris Henderson) during the 9th minute, as well as at the final home match v FC Dallas. The idea originated with the ECS, but they do [. Click to continue reading...

In fiddling with the syncing abilities of NetNewsWire, I started looking at Google Reader's recommendations and noted that it provided a bit of data on how many people follow certain blogs.
So, being the pedantic nerd I am, I decided to check out the numbers for some of my "favorite" blogs. Click to continue reading...

Week 30 (10/07)

Last Week's Ranking in Parenthesis...

1. Columbus (1): The Crew finally lost @ home, but still lead the race for the Shield.
2. Chivas USA (3): Preki's Goats got a huge W @ RFK and have the most games left.

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Ah, Columbus Ohio land of great sushi? While this is a home coming for Sigi, Ezra and Brad. It is also in ways a homecoming for myself. While I did not travel, I have some Ohio roots, but more importantly my MLS roots are with the Crew and Brian McBride. During MLS [...] Click to continue reading...

Well that was a real kick in the balls.

After dominating Saprissa for 91 minutes, holding a 1-0 lead for most of that, the Crew gave up a stoppage time goal and settled for a 1-1 draw with the Costa Ricans in last night's Champions League match.

To say that Columbus "gave up" the late goal is a little bit of a misnomer, because in actuality Saprissa stole it, fouling no less than two Crew players while trying frantically to get the ball into the net.

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Week 29 (09/30)

Last Week's Ranking in Parenthesis...

1. Columbus (1): The Crew blanked the Gals and took another step toward the Shield.
2. Houston (2): Houston had a bye last week, so they will not be moving this week.

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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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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...

Much of this is old news, but I wanted to share just in case you missed it.

Cobi Jones marries his long time girlfriend.

Day on the Links charity golf tournament. Chris Klein all but accuses Eddie Lewis' group of cheating.

Mauricio Cienfuegos "interning" with Sigi Schmidt in Seattle.

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With this winter quickly approaching now that we are in the fall season it seems only fitting to really start the discussion on what will certainly be the number one topic all off season in Major League Soccer, the CBA negotiations. The big one comes down to the great wage debate.

I bring it up today because of a link I found late last night over on one of my favorite sites, Pitch Invasion.

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Richard Whittall over at Pitch Invasion draws an interesting conclusion from the salary cap debate that's been going on, characterizing yours truly, among others, as American Exceptionalists:

For the former group—let's call them MLS Exceptionalists (includes Dan Loney, Fake Sigi and Bill Archer)—MLS should be the embodiment of an exceptional American Soccer identity.

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Big Story

Flying in the face of traditional cross-border political alignments, the debate about MLS salary caps heating up in the soccoblogosphere this weekend seems to have Canadians playing the role of Whiggish free-marketers on the one hand, and Americans playing protectionist, Tory nationalists on the other.

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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...

Week 27 (09/16)

Last Week's Ranking in Parenthesis...

1. Columbus (2): The Crew are on top after a clutch victory over last week's #1.Â
2. Houston (1): I am betting the Dynamo bounce back this week vs.

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Week 26 (09/09)

Last Week's Ranking in Parenthesis...Â

1. Houston (1):Â Due to some terrible scheduling, only 6 teams played last week.Â
2. Columbus (2): So, this entire Week 26 Power Rankings is an exercise in futility.

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Well, technically, you never "promised" anything. Or maybe you did.
Yeah, you kinda did. And now you're re-directing http://wewintrophies.com to DC United's homepage and hoping no one will remember.
Now imagine you're the random guy off the street. The guy who doesn't care about soccer. Click to continue reading...

I'm sorry I had to do that to you. I'm sorry I had to devour your very soul in the span of just a few seconds. It's only a game, I know, but it was one I had to win. Sure, the US Open Cup means nothing to me, but to Seattle fans, we're now Champions (!) and in the Champions League (!). And honestly, that buys me as many years of commuting from Manhattan Beach as I could want. Click to continue reading...

Week 25 (09/02)

Last Week's Ranking in Parenthesis...Â

1. Houston (2): HOU lost and doesn't really deserve to rise, but CMB must fall. Â
2. Columbus (1):Â The Crew lost to the Red Bulls.

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Steve Zakuani makes a strong case for ROY. (Getty Images)

Last night in the links and thoughts we discussed the MVP race that is heating up, tonight we shall take a look into an even tougher Rookie of the Year race. We all know how deep this year's rookie class is and right now we could make a serious case for about five or six guys.

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Another week is in the books for Major League Soccer. We could have easily seen a new leader in the clubhouse after the way things started off last week but by the end of it Houston remained on top with their win over Chicago.

Don't look now though because Houston has some serious company behind them in the Supporter's Shield race in Columbus and even LA or Chicago.

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MLS continued poor play in CONCACAF continued this week. While DC United advanced, they added a record where in ten preliminary round matches against teams largely from poorer leagues, MLS is win less.

Those of us who watch football from around the globe do not rate MLS highly as a league.

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"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while." -Anonymous
Kenny Cooper leaves and FC Dallas scores 6 goals. I doubt any bookie laid odds on that, but if they did and there was someone crazy enough to bet it, they are a happy gambler today. A great result for FC Dallas, but the real test is Thursday as the mighty Houston Dynamo come to town. Click to continue reading...

Seattle lost 4-0 to San Jose. San Jose!
Not the birthday present I was looking for -- though a midseason friendly with Barcelona will help a little.
But seriously, did they forget they had an MLS game on the schedule? How do you lose 4-0 to a last-place team in the Western Conference. Click to continue reading...