There really isn’t a lot of noteworthy news items today mainly in part that its almost the end of the month and I don’t figure on getting my May awards released until no earlier than tomorrow.
I’ve had many ideas in my head as of late that I want to discuss and have you all weigh in also. Just thoughts and feelings, not really stuff that should or will happen. So don’t take things the wrong way if I somehow upset you or your club or even your city, to which I am known to sometimes do.
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I start you all with this…and stay with me on this but who do you think the league is rooting for more to win the Cup this year…New York or LA?
Seriously think about. LA because of Beckham’s arrival or New York because of well, it being New York? I doubt really the league actually roots for a certain club over the next but in order for the season and the league to do well they need clubs in their larger markets (New York, LA, Chicago) to do well.
Even though Beckham will do wonders for the league and we already have seen what he will do without him even being here, I still think the league wants and needs New York to win one for once. I just do. Sure the golden child in DC would be nice but for the league to get real popular it needs New York to be a success.
I don’t think I am beating a dead horse here either. Face it, other than the NFL which does great no matter what anymore, the MLB, NBA, and the NHL all do better when their larger cities do well and finish near or on the top.
So I pose this question to you all…does the league need New York to win it all for once this year or does it really matter how or what New York does this season?
I always enjoy the response I get out of this sort of question so I am eager to see where you all go with it.
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Okay…the summer transfer window is about a month away. I know there is still plenty of soccer to be played before then but right now which club needs to heavily go after someone to make a push for the playoffs?
I think Houston needs some answers more than anyone. They aren’t looking like a playoff team anymore and for the most part it boils down to the fact that they cannot score anymore. We all say how bad the Crew are at scoring but folks…the Dynamo are worse in the goal’s for category right now. Five goals in eight games doesn’t look well if you are trying to defend a championship.
Who should they go after is the biggest question. I think they need some Latin flare on their squad to get the locals going again. Sure they get good crowds but they need someone that the fans can connect with a little better. Ching and De Rosario are good, don’t get me wrong but the one thing this club really lacks is a strong Latin presence on their side.
Speaking of the transfer window, I think a good amount of clubs will be fairly active once it hits. Everyone needs to address some weaknesses or concerns.
Really the only teams I don’t see going after anyone are New York, Dallas, Columbus, and probably Kansas City. Everyone else will probably be looking or at least hinting at looking. Those four listed above I just don’t see doing anything, though New York wouldn’t surprise me all that much if they went looking and found another gold mine.
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We will definitely know the level of all clubs in the coming weeks with the Gold Cup being played. Just about every team will be affected in some way from the Gold Cup.
Some players to keep an eye on are Houston’s Corey Ashe. He showed coming off the bench against DC that he can play and potentially produce. With DeRo gone, he will have to.
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The damaged goods that Dallas got in the off season in Adrian Serioux may be back sooner than expected. He has began running in recent weeks and is hopeful that he will return sometime in June. Honestly, that is great news for Dallas. Sure Clarence Goodson and Alex Yi have played a bit above their expectations, but they haven’t played all that great in the long haul. The Hoops haven’t been so super giving up almost a league worst 14 goals, tied with RSL and one less than the league worse in Toronto.
With Serioux back in the summer I figure to see Alex Yi find a comfortable spot on the Dallas bench to make room for the Canadian. If he returns to form in a good manner, it could make the Hoops a very tough team to beat come later this summer after SuperLiga. Another western regular season crown may be in order but I think the bigger picture could be a longer stay in the playoffs.
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Talks have been surfacing again and again about the definite possibility of San Jose returning next season. Sources have led told me that it will happen in the very near future and that the club will probably play in the same building as the Oakland Raiders and the Oakland A’s, in McAfee Coliseum. Though don’t be shocked if they end up in Stanford, in the school’s newly remodeled stadium.
For it to work they need a stadium of their own as we all know. Lee Wolff and company are working around the clock to get something in order. It will come, that much I can bet on. As of now there are plenty of areas in the Silicon Valley that want to or could house a stadium. The likeliest of places are near the airport, a place that Wolff is in current negotiations with the city about.
Expect the classic 60-90 days from the league on this issue though. But it will happen. It also basically means that there won’t be another club added until two more join in 2010. Thus meaning we get a year or so to debate who is next after this deal goes through.
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Saw that FIFA is banning games scheduled in high altitude. Sure it raises health issues but I think the deal is a foot-in-mouth kind of thing from FIFA that doesn’t hold a lot of weight. I am sure some counties will take FIFA on about this issue.
I see the argument being that countries like Brazil play games at sea level on some of the hottest days. Yeah, its just as fair as playing at 8,200 feet above sea level I guess. Sucking for air or dry as a bone. Which could be worse?
I don’t see this deal working out too much longer really. Like I said, countries will fight about it and ultimately win over.
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Anyone hear the stories that the Galaxy may loan Beckham for winter months to clubs in England? Who comes up with this crap? Really, why on earth would a club risk sending over its most prized possession to clubs in England that only want him for a few months? The risks greatly out weigh the reward here and I am glad the Galaxy have come out and said they wouldn’t do such a thing.
With the Galaxy, I guess anything could happen though with Alexi Lalas as their GM. Talk about a foot-in-mouth kind of guy really.
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Last thing…
Anyone watch games on FCS? I love some of their broadcasts anymore for MLS games. I actually enjoy them a lot more than the ESPN2 ones. Kind of sad really. The on screen graphics for free kicks and offsides are so much better than the crappy lines that Wynalda will draw.
Also, the commentators are far better and less annoying. However there is one play-by-play guy on FCS that is even more annoying than Rob Stone or Dave O’Brien but for the life of me I cannot recall his name. He is the one usually screaming at the top of his lungs with someone scores. I think the guy listens to too many Spanish broadcasts before he does a game because he sounds like the English version of that. Anyone know his name? He wasn’t doing the Chivas-FCD game on Saturday though, that was Dave Johnson. Gotta love the “It’s in the NET! It’s in the NET!”
A lot was learned in the month of May after a very odd and crazy start to the MLS season in April. Things are a lot clearer than a month ago and we pretty much have a solid idea of who is contending and who is just flat out bad.
Forwards: Juan Pablo Angel, Red Bull New York – Could he lead the league in scoring? Maybe, but he still has some work to do to catch up to some other guys. I think it will be safe to say he will score 15 goals this season though, and possibly tally close to 7 or 8 assist
Other reports are saying that Kasey Keller will soon be in a RSL uniform real soon as their negotiations are almost done. Thing still could go wrong but it appears that RSL is hoping to spend some top dollar on a keeper to help out their woes.