Some News for Mon Mar 22, 2010

WHO KNEW?

I bet you don't know about this!

So did you get your new USA blue jersey yet? The one with the cool-ass sash across the chest. I love this shirt.




















Have you heard about the secret surprise on the inside of the shirt?

If you turn the kit inside out and look right where the US Soccer badge is sewn on you will see something very very cool! The coiled snake and initials DOTM for Don't Tread On Me are stenciled on the shirt - right over your heart! How frickin' cool is that?? Here, check it out:















(Click for a much larger image)

Big thanks to Jake in New Jersey for taking a picture of that image for me!

STARTERS

The Philadelphia Union has crossed the 10,000 threshold for season tickets sold. That puts them a long way behind were the last 2 new teams (Toronto & Seattle) were at this time in their history. But it's still a decent number.

dN

Eddie Johnson got his 2nd goal for Aris this weekend, but again Freddy Adu did not play.

dN

Sounds like the real reason Robinho didn't show up in New Jersey with his Santos teammates is because they cant afford to pay him his ludicrous wages - $12.5 Million this season.

MLS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

Three important things to know about the new deal:
-players did not get the full free agency that they were seeking
-the new minimum salary is $40,000
-the new salary cap is $2.55 million

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This new deal is for 5 years.

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I also want to extrapolate on something I have heard and read several times now since the new deal was finalized. The players were consistently praised for their high intelligence and knowledge of the leagues day to day workings and old collective bargaining agreement. So does this speak highly of the fact that most of the MLS players are college graduates? Something to consider.

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I suggest going back and listening to the official press conference announcing the new deal. My favorite "character" is the federal mediator George Cohen. He has a way with a phrase. Download or listen here.

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Here are words on the subject of the new deal from several of our favorite writers:
-Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
-Jeff Carlisle of ESPN Soccernet.
-Ron Blum of the Associated Press.
-Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.
-Beau Dure of USA Today.
-Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com
-Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times.
-Simon Evans of Reuters.
-James Edward of the Deseret News.
-Brian Straus of Fanhouse USA.
-Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com

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And finally, the Huffington Post finds a real future for this fantastic game in America, and the league we all believe in.

TWITTERVERSE/FACEBOOKING

Two Twitter messages from New York centerback Mike Petke after the opening of Red Bull Arena: 1) What a game; atmosphere;win; and hangover. Now we get ready for the season opener. 2) Everyone in attendance made it the greatest atmosphere i have ever been apart of.

WHY?

Last Friday night Fox Soccer Channel showed a 2010 MLS Season Preview Show, and I must say that that may have been the worst 30 minutes of soccer coverage I have ever seen. The whole thing looked like it was produced for an 8th grade class project. The video quality was piss poor and use of any graphics was almost zero. Not to mention the complete lack of energy from the editing and the host Mark Rogandino. Then we get to the information provided: not only was there very little, but a good portion of it was just plain old wrong. As an example, when they listed who had left Chicago this offseason they didn't mention Chris Rolfe and Gonzalo Segares, while finding space to mention three guys who no one who follows MLS has ever heard of ( and who definitely not on any teams roster anywhere in the world). Then when they got to DC United they listed Gonzalo Peralto, Marcello Gallardo and Josh Gros! Are you kidding me, they all left 2 years ago. How about Santiago Hirsig being listed as a new incoming player for KC this season. I forced myself to give up at that point or else somebody's dog would have paid the price. Seriously though, did they recycle last years show without any proof reading at all? This kind of horrible production is what FSC has always given MLS, and I think its about time they knocked this bullshit off. And I can't believe that anyone involved in that show took pride in their finished product.

MLS WEEK 1 MATCHES & SCORES

-Thu Mar 25
Seattle Sounders v Philadelphia Union - 8:30pm Central on ESPN2
-Fri Mar 26
Chivas USA v Colorado Rapids - 9:30pm Central on Direct Kick
-Sat Mar 27
Columbus Crew v Toronto FC - 3pm Central on Direct Kick
FC Dallas v Houston Dynamo - 3pm Central on Telefutura
New York Red Bulls v Chicago Fire - 6pm Central on ESPN
Kansas City Wizards v DC United - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
San Jose Earthquakes v Real Salt Lake - 8pm Central on FSC
LA Galaxy v New England Revolution - 10pm Central on FSC

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

Team roster compliance deadline is Wed Mar 26 at 4pm central. Each team has 24 spots.

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Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated gives us the only Eastern Conference preview you really need to read.

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Big Apple Soccer has a video interviews with Red Bulls forward Macoumba Kandji and centerback Tim Ream.

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John Kass of the Chicago Tribune talks to Fire forward Brian McBride and previews the upcoming season.

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Gareth Wheeler of the Toronto Sun writes that TFC has no more excuses now that the new collective bargaining agreement is in place.

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Noah Davis of Goal.com talks to Dallas fullback Heath Pearce about his 2 long season in Germany and now starting a full season in MLS.

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Glenn Davis of Fox Sports Houston with a few words on the new labor deal, and then asks the important question on the Dynamo season ahead.

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Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports on a knee injury to Dynamo forward Cam Weaver who was having a very good preseason.

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Luis Bueno of the Press Enterprise on Landon Donovan's return to MLS.

STORY OF THE DAY

Colorado Rapids midfielder Jamie Smith writes his own column for STV Sports. He tells us all about the preseason and other insights on the game in America. His fantastic Scottish sense of humor shines through. Great job by Smith. Can't wait for more!

RED BULL ARENA GRAND OPENING

The Red Bulls kicked off their first game in the new stadium with a friendly against Santos of Brazil which they won 3-1.

dN

SF of the MLS Insider gives us this gorgeous shot from the game:














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And our Friend in Futbol Mark Fishkin shares his personal snapshots from the big night!

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Even the crankiest man in the American soccer scene Paul Gardern at Soccer America didn't have much bad to say about the opening of the new stadium.

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Jack Bell of the New York Times on opening night.

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George Vecsey of the NY Times declares that with Red Bull Arena open New York is now perfect!

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Big Apple Soccer talks to German legend Franz Beckenbauer who took in opening night.

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The Newark Star Ledger reports on other new projects starting around Red Bull Arena.

MLS STADIUM BUILDING

The Delaware County Daily News with the latest on the new Philly stadium.

MLS RUMORS

Soccer By Ives is reporting that Chicago may be about to dump goalkeeper Jon Busch.

dN

And was Carey Talley released by Chivas USA?

MLS PRESEASON GAMES

DC won the Carolina Challenge Cup.

In the final weekend before the season begins NY, KC, New England, Houston & Dallas got wins, while San Jose & LA got ties, and Chivas USA and Columbus lost.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Mar 19
Kansas City Wizards 2-0 AC St Louis (USSF D2)
-Sat Mar 20
New York Red Bulls 3-1 Santos (Brazil)
Match report by Michael Lewis of Big Apple soccer.
FC Dallas 2-1 Columbus Crew - Pioneer Cup - to honor Lamar Hunt
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Portland Timbers (USSF D2)
Carolina RailHawks 1-2 New England
Chivas USA 1-3 Houston Dynamo
-Sun Mar 21
LA Galaxy 0-0 CD Aguila (El Salvador)

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The Carolina Challenge Cup ended this weekend:
-Sat Mar 13
Real Salt Lake 1-2 DC United
Charleston Battery (USL2) 0-0 Toronto FC
-Wed Mar 17
Charleston Battery (USL2) 1-3 Real Salt Lake
DC United 1-0 Toronto FC
-Sat Mar 20
Charleston Battery (USL2) 0-2 DC United
Real Salt Lake 1-0 Toronto FC
Standings:
9 DC United
6 Real Salt Lake
1 Toronto FC (-2 GD)
1 Charleston Battery (-4 GD)

dN

Interesting Note: 5 of the last 6 Carolina Challenge Cup champions has gone on to win either MLS Supporter Shield or MLS Cup that season. (Thanks to Big G for that interesting factoid)

NSC MINNESOTA STARS

My team signed the amazingly named Two Boys Gumede!

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Adam Spangler of This Is American Soccer on an audacious plan to bring more soccer to New York City.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune with a feature article on Clint Dempsey!

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Paul Doyle of the Observer tells Clint Dempsey's story too, but in the way most of us USA readers already know about, but its told pretty well here.

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Jared Jeffrey made the subs bench for the first time at Mainz.

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Jozy Altidore missed Hull City's embarrassing loss at Portsmouth due to a hamstring strain.

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Jay DeMerit was out with a back injury as they lost 3-1 at Cardiff City.

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Ricardo Clark was on the bench yet again for Eintracht Frankfurt, but has still not played.

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Arch Bell of Yanks Abroad introduces us to Eugene Starikov a Ukrainian-American on loan from Zenit to Tom Tomsk in the top Russian division.

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Yanks Abroad also talks to Hunter Freeman at Start in Norway about a new season partnering at centerback with fellow American Clarence Goodson.

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And finally, YA reports that former Blackburn and TFC striker Johann Smith has signed with Kalmar in Sweden.

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Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - came on as a sub in the 52nd minute but they lost 1-2 at home to Manchester City.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - went the distance and dre 2-2 at home to Wolverhampton.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - played the entire match as usual and tied Aston Villa 2-2 on the road.
Tim Howard - Everton - played all 90 and won at home 2-0 over Bolton.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - played the whole match but lost 2-0 at Arsenal.

ENGLAND - League One
Jon-Paul Pittman - Wycombe - came on as a sub in the 83rd minute and they drew 2-2 at home with Exeter City.

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - played the whole game as they throttled Toulouse 4-1.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach - played the entire match and got a Yellow Card as they drew 1-1 at Koln.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - came on as a half time sub and got a Yellow Card but lost 2-0 at Stuttgart.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
David Yelldell - Koblenz - back in goal full time again and they were victorious at home 2-0 over Greuther Furth.

Greece - Super League
Eddie Johnson - Aris Thessalonika - went the distance and scored his teams goal as the drew 1-1 at Panionios.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - went the full 90 but lost at home 0-1 to Go Ahead Eagles.

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - went the full 90 and drew 1-1 at home with Valerenga.
Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - came on as a sub in the 79th minute but they lost 0-2 at home to Aalesund.

PORTUGAL - Liga de Honra
Kamani Hill - Aves - came on as a sub in the 57th minute and they won 3-0 at home over Covilha.

SCOTLAND - League Cup Final
Maurice Edu - Rangers - came on as a half time sub and they won the championship 0-1 against St Mirren.

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Coming Up: (all possible players are listed)

DENMARK - Superliga
Yura Movsisyan - Randers - Mon Mar 22 at Brodby

ENGLAND - Premier League
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - Wed Mar 24 v Sunderland
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Wed Mar 24 v Sunderland
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - Tue Mar 23 at West Ham
Tim Howard - Everton - Wed Mar 24 at Manchester City
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - Tue Mar 23 v Wolverhampton

ENGLAND - League One
Mike Grella - Leeds - Mon Mar 22 v Millwall

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Luis Robles - Kaiserslautern - Mon Mar 22 at Fortuna Dusseldorf

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Hunter Freeman - Start - Mon Mar 22 at Rosenborg
Clarence Goodson - Start - Mon Mar 22 at Rosenborg

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - Tue Mar 23at Malmo
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - Mon Mar 22 at Elfsborg
Micheal Thomas - Halmstad - Mon Mar 22 at Elfsborg

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Brent Latham at ESPN Soccernet with an article on Jose Torres choosing the USA over Mexico for his national team. And other Americans who also face the dual citizen role.

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PRIMERA DIVISION
Edgar Castillo - UANL Tigres - went the full 90 but they lost badly 4-0 at Cruz Azul
Herculez Gomez - Pueblo - started but was subbed out at half time and they lost 2-1 at Santos Laguna.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - started and played 56 miutes as they drew 2-2 at Club America.
Marco Vidal - Indios Juarez - played the whole game as they won 1-0 at home against Queretaro.

ENGLAND

The Times reports that the CEO of the Football Association has shockingly resigned after only 9 months on the job, saying he found it very hard to get anything done because the Premiership teams held all the power.

dN

A new team at the top!

Top Premier League Team Standings (31 of 38 games played)
69 Manchester United - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 2-1 v Liverpool
67 Arsenal - Last: Sat Mar 20 W 2-0 v West Ham
65 Chelsea - 30 Played - Last: Sun Mar 21 D 1-1 at Blackburn
55 Tottenham - 30 Played - Last: Sat Mar 20 W 1-2 at Stoke City
- - - - -
53 Manchester City - 29 played - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 1-2 at Fulham
51 Liverpool - Last: Sun Mar 21 L 2-1 at Manchester United
50 Aston Villa - 29 played - Last: Sat Mar 20 D 2-2 v Wolverhampton

SCOTLAND

Graham Spiers of the Times on Rangers winning the League Cup on Sunday.
-Coach Walter Smith has now won 18 trophies for the team.

dN

On a personal note - I think Walter Smith could make an excellent head coach for Team USA.

SPAIN

Phil Ball of ESPN Soccernet feels that to know the upper crust of Spanish futbol you must know the other end - the second division. And the best news from the weekend in La Liga.

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Sid Lowe of the Guardian figures there just might be a new Supreme Being - Lionel Messi, and the rest of the weekend in La Liga.

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Top La Liga Team Standings (27 of 38 games played)
68 Real Madrid - Last: Sat Mar 20 W 3-1 v Sporting Gijon
68 Barcelona - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 2-4 at Real Zaragoza
50 Valencia - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 2-0 v Almeria
46 Mallorca - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 4-1 v Atletico Madrid
- - - - -
44 Sevilla - Last: Sat Mar 20 L 2-0 at Espanyol
42 Athletic Bilbao - Last: Sat Mar 20 D 2-2 v Getafe
42 Deportivo La Coruna - Last: Sat Mar 20 L 0-2 v Valladolid

FRANCE

Amy Lawrence of the Guardian writes about Lyon & Bordeaux who unfortunately face each other in the next round of the Champions League.

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Top Ligue 1 Team Standings (29 of 38 games played)
56 Bordeaux - 28 played - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 3-1 v Lille
56 Montpellier - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 2-1 v Valenciennes
55 Auxerre - Last: Sat Mar 20 W 2-1 v Le Mans
- - - - -
53 Marseille - 28 played - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 2-1 v Lyon
51 Lille - Last: Sun Mar 21 L 3-1 at Bordeaux
51 Lyon - Last: Sun Mar 21 L 2-1 at Marseille

GERMANY

Schalke had a chance to go to #1 on Sunday after Bayern lost the day before, but with a 2-1 lead late in the game, they let Hamburg steal 2 points from them.

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Rafael Honigstein of the Guardian on Dortmund's rise toward the top again, and the rest of the weekend in the Bundesliga.

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FIFA.com does a Q & A with Germany's Lukas Podolski.
-Hell, I didn't realize he was still playing. I though maybe he had retired.

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Top Bundesliga Team Standings (27 of 34 games played)
56 Bayern Munich - Last: Sat Mar 20 L 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt
55 Schalke - Last: Sun Mar 21 D 2-2 at Hamburg
53 Bayer Leverkusen - Last: Sat Mar 20 L 3-0 at Dortmund
- - - - -
48 Dortmund - Last: Sat Mar 20 W 3-0 v Leverkusen
45 Werder Bremen - Last: Sat Mar 20 W 3-2 v Bochum
44 Hamburg - Last: Sun Mar 21 D 2-2 v Schalke

ITALY

The top 2 both did belly flops, which saved Inter the embarrassment of losing their season long spot at the top of the charts.

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Paolo Bandini of the Guardian tells us about Milan's choke job and the rest of the weekend in Serie A.

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Garbiele Marcotti of the Times on the Italian FA's strange way of doling out punishment.

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Top Serie A Team Standings (29 of 38 games played)
60 Inter - Last: Sat Mar 20 D 1-1 at Palermo
59 Milan - Last: Sun Mar 21 D 1-1 v Napoli
56 Roma - Last: Sat Mar 20 W 4-2 v Udinese
47 Palermo - Last: Sat Mar 20 D 1-1 v Inter
- - - - -
47 Sampdoria - Last: Sun Mar 21 W 1-0 v Juventus
45 Juventus - Last: Sun Mar 21 L 1-0 at Sampdoria
42 Napoli - Last: Sun Mar 21 D 1-1 at Milan
42 Genoa - Last: Sat Mar 20 L 3-0 at Fiorentina

SOUTH AMERICA

Tim Vickery of the BBC sees an upswing in the quality of futbol in Uruguay.