Hey @TimbersFC fans, I am currently and will be speaking with Eddie Johnson and we will work 2gether to help him @ThinkTaylorORG #noworries

A Tweet from Taylor Twellman and a real classy thing to do and say.

Unlike last season, which saw a complete upheaval of the Philadelphia Union's local broadcasting situation as the team moved the majority of its telecasts from the Live Well Network to the much more prominent Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Network, the television schedule released by the team this morning contains no surprises.

Not to be out-shown by the atrocious work being done in the press box, both the United States and Panama turned in embarrassingly poor performances in what was, by far, the least attractive game of soccer in the Klinsmann era. Graham Zusi grabbed the game's only goal in the 9th minute, lashing home a cross that the US was lucky to see bounce off the back of hapless striker Teal Bunbury's leg inside the Panamanian area.

Taylor Twellman's efforts to create more awareness of how serious concussions can be are well documented. We've seen him on TV, Twitter, Facebook and other forms of media, but perhaps no action has more potential than the creation of ThinkTaylor.org.
ThinkTaylor is the culmination of Twellman's efforts.

Taylor Twellman's efforts to create more awareness of how serious concussions can be are well documented. We've seen him on TV, Twitter, Facebook and other forms of media, but perhaps no action has more potential than the creation of ThinkTaylor.org.
ThinkTaylor is the culmination of Twellman's efforts.

The MLS SuperDraft was held on Thursday and broadcast live on ESPN2. After two hours of televised coverage, the feed switched to ESPN3.com. Adrian Healey manned the desk while Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman handled much of the commentary heavy lifting and despite some hiccups, the broadcast was generally well done.

The last time the Revs had a top 3 pick in the draft, they took a 21-year-old named Taylor Twellman in 2002.

Ten years later, Jay Heaps and Co. hope that they landed a similar talent in Kelyn Rowe, who was selected with the third pick in Thursday's SuperDraft in Kansas City.

Rowe, a creative midfielder out of UCLA, will be be counted upon to revitalize an attack that was nearly non-existent for many stretches last season.

The day has finally arrived. Coaches, General Managers, Owners, and PR battalions all across Major League Soccer have descended upon Kansas City in hopes of landing the next big name in American soccer. This year's draft has a particularly heightened importance and buzz around New England, given the Revolution's #3 overall pick in this afternoon's draft, and with several holes to fill, it's clear that the 2012 MLS Super Draft has huge implications on the birth of the new Revs regime.

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 12, 2011) US Soccer Players -- After a grueling invitation-only three-day combine in Florida, young players with professional dreams will be chosen by needy teams anxious to find the next Taylor Twellman, Steve Zakuani, or Geoff Cameron. It's Major League Soccer's SuperDraft, a reprieve for those that can't abide a couple of months without MLS soccer.

After Twitter's recent compilation of Twitter Stories, the good folks at MLSsoccer.com took a moment to reflect on the tremendous impact this social medium has had on Major League Soccer and the American soccer experience. We posted a few of our favorites to the site in December, which you can see here.

With all the MLS SuperDraft chatter that this the next Taylor Twellman and that player being the next Steve Ralston it helps me think about hopeful visions of the future. In sports the Draft, the Minors and Academies give eternal hope that any player can become the next big thing.

The New England Revolution today announced the additions of three members to new head coach Jay Heaps' staff. Jay Miller joins Heaps as his primary assistant, while former Revolution defender Nick Downing was named strength and conditioning coach and Scott Emmens was hired as the team's equipment manager.

Rajko Lekic scored the the game-winner in a memorable match against Sporting K.C. on April 23rd (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com).

Let's face it: 2011 wasn't particularly kind to the New England Revolution. And that's probably putting it lightly.

Nevertheless, the year wasn't entirely devoid of hope or optimism.

Philadelphia Union

Kerith Gabriel reports that the Philadelphia Union will announce a "blockbuster deal" with Panamanian international Gabriel Gomez. Gabriel says that Gomez is the "the same box-to-box defender/midfielder that was a beast in Panama's 2-0 win over the United States in the group stage of this summer's Gold Cup.

Changeover at ESPN and Arlo White being hired to be the new voice NBC Sports soccer coverage has raised some interesting discussions on just what exactly makes for a good television announcer in Major League Soccer coverage. Debates over what matters, how credibility is earned and why an accent can make a difference have all been waged.

Their Words We are thankful to all the organizations, players and fans who showed their unwavering support for WPS during this process, and look forward to further strengthening our role as a leader in the women's game. from Women's Professional Soccer's official statement. Other Sources Taylor Twellman speaks out about concussion awareness - from USA Today's Mike Foss: "waking up each day with the same headache for three years.

Photo of Taylor Twellman at Union's 2011 home opener by Earl Gardner.

Philadelphia Union

Deportivo Saprissa president Juan Carlos Rojas has confirmed in an interview with a Costa Rican radio station that the Union has been in contact with the club about Josue Martinez, saying "I would not go into much detail but there has been interest from Philadelphia [in Martinez].

Photo of Taylor Twellman at Union's 2011 home opener by Earl Gardner.

Philadelphia Union

Deportivo Saprissa president Juan Carlos Rojas has confirmed in an interview with a Costa Rican radio station that the Union has been in contact with the club about Josue Martinez, saying "I would not go into much detail but there has been interest from Philadelphia [in Martinez].

2011 Philadelphia Union color commentator Taylor Twellman has officially left the team's broadcast team. The former New England Revolution star striker thanked the team's fans for making him "feel like family" during his year with the Union.

Twellman was reported as the next ESPN lead soccer analyst by Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl because John Harkes' ESPN contract was not renewed.

MLS Reserves: Interview With Taylor Twellman

Our friends at MLS Reserves have a very interesting interview with Taylor Twellman up today. Read it!

Taylor Twellman has had an incredible soccer journey. His scoring accolades served him well in college and led him to what proved to be a remarkable professional career that was cut short due to injury. Soccer fans are now finding him to be a real personality in the world of broadcasting. Putting in time with the Philadelphia Union and finding roles with ESPN has shown the soccer world something that is often lost in broadcasting: a candid, educated approach that brings honesty to the table.

Taylor Twellman has had an incredible soccer journey. His scoring accolades served him well in college and led him to what proved to be a remarkable professional career that was cut short due to injury. Soccer fans are now finding him to be a real personality in the world of broadcasting. Putting in time with the Philadelphia Union and finding roles with ESPN has shown the soccer world something that is often lost in broadcasting: a candid, educated approach that brings honesty to the table.

Updated with press release from today. This is now official. Statements from Sigi and Boss.

Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Terry Boss suffered a concussion against Manchester United in the infamous friendly and a few weeks later another while suiting up for the Puerto Rico National Team.

Even though Major League Soccer has entered the off season, we plan to continue our weekly "Monday After" post looking at business stories from the weekend and items that we didn't cover in the past week. We'll start with the newest player in soccer broadcasting, the over-the-air broadcast network FOX, which is touting its dynamic 1.

Le Toux's turkey cupcake. (Photo: Courtesy of Sebastien Le Toux)

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us at the Philly Soccer Page. Here are a few more holiday messages from the Philly soccer community:

Sebastien Le Toux: "Happy turkey day everybody!

Le Toux's turkey cupcake. (Photo: Courtesy of Sebastien Le Toux)

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us at the Philly Soccer Page. Here are a few more holiday messages from the Philly soccer community:

Sebastien Le Toux: "Happy turkey day everybody!

STARTERS
I know I'm not on their radar and definitely not hot enough to make the grade, but it is this bearded Midwestern boy's dream of someday knowing the fine women of Kickette!
dN
John Harkes has been replaced by Taylor Twellman as they TV commentator at ESPN for USA and MLS games.

Sepp Blatter has gotten himself in hot water for recent comments, but the FIFA president steered clear of controversy when talking about Major League Soccer.

In an interview with Fox Soccer, Blatter addressed the MLS schedule, maintaining his position that it would be better if the league aligned itself with the European calendar as opposed to continuing the March-to-November schedule.

Monday ESPN announced former U.S. national team member and D.C. United player John Harkes has been replaced in the analyst booth by Taylor Twellman.
The network said Monday "we informed John Harkes that ESPN will not renew his contract." ESPN also said it "is leaving the door open to John working with the company in the future on other soccer properties.

Don't think you're getting away from our MLS Cup fracas that easy. #1 - I was not there. This guy was. He has some thoughts. It did in fact rain in LA. That did happen. #2 - There has been some rearranging of the deck furniture at ESPN. John Harkes was told his contract was not being renewed. Into the void steps Taylor Twellman.

Before we delve into the MLS off season, here are some business notes from MLS Cup and the entire soccer weekend. We'll start with the MLS Cup overnight rating, which was reported by SBJ on Twitter as a .8. To put that number in perspective, the .8 is double the 2010 rating but slightly less than the 2009 rating.

In a move that releases a collective, "Hoorah!" from most American soccer fans I know, Grant Wahl reports over at SI.com that ESPN will not bring back John Harkes for color commentary in 2012. Harkes has been a consistent lightning rod ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl is reporting that Philadelphia Union color commentator Taylor Twellman is set to be promoted to lead ESPN soccer analyst, as John Harkes will not have his contract renewed with the company.

Harkes has long been a target of criticism from US Soccer fans for what has been seen as a career spent interjecting himself into story lines and less than stellar analysis on air.

In what comes as little surprise Grant Wahl reports that NBC Sports is pursuing Arlo White as their primary play-by-play man for their first season covering MLS and the United States national team. NBC isn't stupid and, like Sounders fans, feels that Arlo is one of the best voices in soccer right now.

Now that we've had a few days to examine things from every angle and formulate responsible judgments, I feel the time has come for a measured and well thought-out reaction to the Jay Heaps hiring. And no, it's not an unintelligible exclamation of frustration.

I still have plenty of reservations about Jay's lack of experience, and also about his leadership style.

There was no blood, no bruise, not even a bump. Not a sprain, no strain, no fracture and no break. Yet the injury was scarier than the time I had managed to get a rusty fishing hook nearly through my right thumb. Two weeks later, the symptoms have finally subsided, but the grim possibilities of future problems remain.

As Revolution president Brian Bilello's self-imposed 7 day deadline approaches, we here at The Bent Musket wanted to take a look at a few of the "serious" names on the short list of possible candidates. With Paul Mariner re-upping his contract with Toronto FC (amazingly, Mariner re-signed almost IMMEDIATELY after meeting with the Revs) New England was left with only a few truly solid choices that made sense, followed by quite a few question marks.

As Revolution president Brian Bilello's self-imposed 7 day deadline approaches, we here at The Bent Musket wanted to take a look at a few of the "serious" names on the short list of possible candidates. With Paul Mariner re-upping his contract with Toronto FC (amazingly, Mariner re-signed almost IMMEDIATELY after meeting with the Revs) New England was left with only a few truly solid choices that made sense, followed by quite a few question marks.

When the New England Revolution announced that they were "parting ways" with Steve Nicol a couple weeks back, speculation on his impending replacement began almost immediately. The organization assured the public that the search was going to start right away, and by all accounts it has. Names have been tossed around, rumors have swirled, but at the end of the day, we still aren't sure.

The scenario tonight is simple. If the Union lose or draw, they are eliminated. If the Union win by 1 goal, we will have extra time. If the Union win by 2 goals, they will advance to the Eastern Conference Final this Sunday at Kansas City. Eastern Conference Semifinal. Leg 2. Kickoff at Robertson Stadium is scheduled for 8:30 PM ET.