Today has been a quiet day around here I know. Other than a few twitter posts I’ve remained a bit out of posting today. Blame it on slow news or blame it on me not wanting to jump on bad rumors that are out there right now. I do have a couple items tonight to discuss but nothing too huge.

I wanted to start off in the land of college soccer. First and foremost I am a big college soccer guy, not as big obviously when I was actually in college a couple years ago but I do still try to follow it as much as possible to keep me up on future MLSers that are out there across the land.

I bring up the college side of things because my alma mater’s sports media site posted an interesting thought about the growth of the college game. The article is worth a read for those who aren’t familiar with WVU or even Big East soccer for that matter. Both men’s and women’s soccer in the Big East is good, though not nearly as impressive as some we see in the ACC with the likes of Duke, Maryland and Wake Forest each year.

I know a lot of folks are getting tired of the SuperDraft in Major League Soccer but it won’t be going any time soon. The depth of the college game has taken a dip in recent years but I still know there are plenty of good players out there that are just prepping their game for better days in MLS or even in Europe.

But with that sad we will see a decline in the draft down the road as more academy players pop up in the league. I give it a few years at minimum before the draft goes from four rounds to two. It was a sign the draft was starting to get smaller when the league did away with the Supplemental Draft this year.

Continue Reading…

Sorry for the lack of updates today folks. As I mentioned earlier in the day I’ve been a bit tied up with a new project which has taken some time away from here. But not to bore you with all of that I do have a few items to discuss tonight, mostly centering around the CONCACAF Champions League.

DC United, the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo all kick off their group stage games tonight and tomorrow in the 2009/10 edition of the regional club championship.

MLS fans across the board are looking at these three to actually make an impression, a good impression in this year’s tournament. Houston and DC both have experience in these tournaments with Columbus hoping that the experience of last year’s MLS Cup run can help carry over into a successful run in this tournament.

Let’s just say a rough two nights in this tournament for MLS could get some fans very upset. Columbus is hosting USL-1’s Puerto Rico Islanders while DC travels to Honduras to face CD Marathon. Below are a quick little preview of each match, minus the score prediction. Continue Reading…

A lot of talk has gone on today and last night really about the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings at this point. I know I made a bigger deal out of the standings a couple days ago and I still stand by my thoughts about how I think the US are still fine even with the loss to Mexcio.

There is still a lot of qualifying left to do. Let’s make that clear, four games may not seem like much but it can certainly change the landscape of how things will finish out here.

First of all the US has gotten it’s hard games out of the way on the road in Costa Rica and Mexico, not to mention getting their home game to Mexico out of the way. They still have Costa Rica at home left to finish out qualifying but as we all know in the Hexagonal, Costa Rica and Mexico (up until the Gold Cup for them at least) don’t win in the US and the US doesn’t win in Mexico and Costa Rica. If that holds to be true we will indeed be fine.

But saying we will be fine isn’t enough for some. The way the standings are right now we pretty much have a sense of who the top four teams will be and who the bottom two are. Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador aren’t out of the running but they sure have a longer way to go with four games remaining.

At this point the best case for the US would be a first place finish in the group with say 19 points (the two home wins and a win in either T&T or Honduras). Speaking of Honduras they are sort of the wild card team in this for CONCACAF. I still think they could qualify over Mexico here if things go right.

Again, a lot of soccer left to be played. I still feel good about the US here but I know some naysayers out there may disagree.

Time for some extra links though to get you through the rest of the day. Continue Reading…

Woo, made it to day two with this new concept or idea rather. I know I’ve been a bit quiet today with post, blame the load of actual paying work that I have at the office for that. We also have a couple MLS teams in action tonight, two facing very important matches, and the third being a big time friendly. But more on those in a second.

I mentioned earlier on Twitter that I will be doing a post about each club’s remaining schedule. That may be up by the end of the week. I was hoping to get it out today but again work kept me from getting finished with it. I believe my stopping point was either Dallas or Houston. I do hope to finish it soon though.

Anyways, down to the business at hand, a few links/stories for your evening reading.

2009 SuperLiga Final

Chicago Fire host Tigres UANL of the Mexican Primera Division.- 7pm CST on Telefutura

I would expect nothing less than a Fire win really. I hear the Fire are taking this game serious and from the sound of it so are their supporter’s, which is really good to see. Tough part is until this tournament gets an English broadcast on FSC or something like that no one will care about it (you can watch it online though). I asked folks on Twitter earlier if they cared and those that responded didn’t see too unless they were actually a Fire fan.

CONCACAF Champions League Play-In Round

New York Red Bulls host Trinidadian side W Connection – 8pm EST on FSC

This is big and it is a make or break kind of game. If the Red Bulls win and advance they could at least salvage a little bit of their pathetic season. All they need is a win or even a 0-0 or 1-1 tie to advance. It is that simple. All MLS fans need to get behind New York tonight and hope they advance. If they don’t it will just add fuel to the fire on so many things surround this club.

International Friendly

Seattle Sounders FC host FC Barcelona – 10:30pm EST on ESPN

This should be fun. Tune in to ESPN2 tonight for this one folks. I know Seattle held their own against Chelsea a while back but I would be impressed if they are able to do the same against Barca. If I were Sigi Schmid I would be resting key guys as much as possible in this one, even if it means getting beat. With the playoffs coming up you don’t want to lose someone because of this game.

Jozy Moves To England

Link

The big topic today was Jozy Altidore and all his tweeting about moving to England to play for Hill City. The best part was reading all the reports with quotes from Jozy’s Twitter feed. I guess that is the world we are starting to live in, when players say something on twitter before the press get ahold of them in person.

Cooper Introduced in Germany

Link (to photos)

No need to say much, Cooper is finally over in Europe and looks happy in the process.

Argentina League Season Put On Hold

Link

Wow, big news down in Argentina is that a new season was suppose to start in two weeks. However that has been put on indefinite hold due to a deep financial crisis at many of the clubs. No other actions were announced. This could very well mean we could see a flood of players come north if nothing is resolved soon.

Well one decent thing happened last night, okay for some it may be two, DC United advanced to the group stage of the CONCACF Champions League with a win over Luis Angel Firpo. Christian Gomez scored United’s crucial equalizer on a stunning free kick, then helped seal the deal when the game reached penalty kicks.

Toronto FC on the other hand wasn’t so lucky in their quest to be the first MLS side to advance in the play-in round of the CCL. USL-1 side Puerto Rico Islanders once again held strong, posting another shutout in the 0-0 draw.

DC’s series victory means the club will now take part in the Champions League Group B, with Toluca, CD Marathon and the winner of the San Francisco (Panama) San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad & Tobago) series, which San Francisco leads after a 2-0 first-leg victory.

The New York Red Bulls will look to join D.C. United, the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo in the CCL group stages with either a win or a tie (NY cannot give up more than a goal in a draw) tonight against Trinidadian club W Connection. The Red Bulls posted a 2-2 tie in the first leg of their series.

Some may say the win may be good for DC while others will be quick to note the many additions to their already heavy schedule. Some are already wondering if it will be too heavy for a club thick in the playoff race. Just take a look for yourself:

Aug. 15: at Toronto
Aug. 18: at Marathon (Honduras)
Aug. 22: vs. Galaxy
Aug. 26: vs. Toluca (Mexico)
Aug. 29: at Chicago
Sept. 2: vs. Seattle (U.S. Open Cup final)
Sept. 5: at Dallas
Sept. 9: vs. Kansas City (rescheduled because of Madrid game)
Sept. 12: vs. Seattle
Sept. 15: at T&T or Panama club

That’s 10 games in month’s time, including five road trips. And we aren’t talking a road trip to New York or New England, these are heavy trips like from Canada to Honduras. The calendar thins out from mid-September until the end of the regular season in late October, but you get the idea.

Toronto on the other hand may have just been given a slight blessing with the loss. Sure they don’t advance to a tournament that they may have had to chance to do well in given the amount of international players they have on their roster. Instead of a heavy schedule like DC, they will be able to focus on staying in contention to reach the playoffs for the first time in club history.

So what do you make of DC’s win last night? Happy for them or expecting the schedule to be too much? And for TFC, think it was a blessing so the club can now focus on the playoffs and maybe even MLS Cup?

Should DC United, Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls move on from the play-in round of the CONCACAF Champions League, we now know the dates and places of their next games in the group stage.

2009-10 CCL GROUP STAGE SCHEDULE
(Home Team listed first; All times U.S. Eastern)

Round 1
Tuesday, Aug. 18
Columbus Crew (USA) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN), 8 p.m.
Pumas UNAM (MEX) vs. Comunicaciones (GUA), 10 p.m.
Marathon (HON) vs. D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 19
Houston Dynamo (USA) vs. Metapan (SLV), 8 p.m.
Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN) vs. Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA), 8 p.m.
Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC) vs. Saprissa (CRC), 10 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 20
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN) vs. Toluca (MEX), 8 p.m.
Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI), 10 p.m.

Round 2
Tuesday, Aug. 25
Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA) vs. Metapan (SLV), 8 p.m.
Saprissa (CRC) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 26
D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV) vs. Toluca (MEX), 8 p.m.
Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN) vs.Houston Dynamo (USA), 10 p.m.
Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC) vs. Columbus Crew (USA), 10 p.m

Thursday, Aug. 27
New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI) vs. Comunicaciones (GUA), 8 p.m.
Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON) vs. Pumas UNAM (MEX), 10 p.m.
Marathon (HON) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN), 10 p.m.

Round 3
Tuesday, Sept. 15
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC), 8 p.m.
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN) vs. D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV), 8 p.m.
Metapan (SLV) vs. Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 16
New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI) vs. Pumas UNAM (MEX), 8 p.m.
Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA) vs. Houston Dynamo (USA), 10 p.m.
Saprissa (CRC) vs. Columbus Crew (USA), 10 p.m

Thursday, Sept. 17
Toluca (MEX) vs. Marathon (HON), 8 p.m.
Comunicaciones (GUA) vs. Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON), 10 p.m.

Round 4
Tuesday, Sept. 22
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Saprissa (CRC), 8 p.m.
Houston Dynamo (USA) vs. Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN), 10 p.m.
Metapan (SLV) vs. Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 23
Columbus Crew (USA) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC), 8 p.m.
Comunicaciones (GUA) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI), 10 p.m.
Toluca (MEX) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN), 10 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 24
D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV) vs. Marathon (HON), 8 p.m.
Pumas UNAM (MEX) vs. Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON), 10 p.m.

Round 5
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Columbus Crew (USA) vs. Saprissa (CRC), 8 p.m
Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN) vs. Metapan (SLV), 10 p.m.
Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 30
Pumas UNAM (MEX) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI), 8 p.m.
D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN), 8 p.m.
Houston Dynamo (USA) vs. Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA), 10 p.m.
Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON) vs. Comunicaciones (GUA), 10 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 1
Marathon (HON) vs. Toluca (MEX), 10 p.m.

Round 6
Tuesday, Oct. 20
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Columbus Crew (USA), 8 p.m
Toluca (MEX) vs. D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV), 8 p.m.
Saprissa (CRC) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 21
New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI) vs. Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON), 8 p.m.
Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA) vs. Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN), 8 p.m.
Metapan (SLV) vs. Houston Dynamo (USA), 10 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 22
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN) vs. Marathon (HON), 8 p.m.
Comunicaciones (GUA) vs. Pumas UNAM (MEX), 10 p.m.

It is that time again. Late July into the start of August. For a few Major League Soccer clubs it means their schedule is about to get a little more jammed. Columbus and Houston have to wait to find out who is in their groups for CONCACAF Champions League play while Toronto, New York and DC United begin their quest to save face for the league in the play-in rounds tonight (DC), tomorrow (Toronto) and on Thursday (NY).

We all recall the terrible run by the MLS sides a year ago in this tournament. New England was embarrassed in the play-in round from Trinidad and Tobago side Joe Public. Chivas USA didn’t fare much better against Panamanian side Tauro. In the group stages DC United failed to win a game while only getting one point in the round with a lovely goal differential of -9.

Houston was the slight saving grace for the league but they also failed to move past the quarterfinal round when they lost to Mexican side Atlante.

To say the very least the next week and a half for DC, Toronto and New York mean a lot to not just those clubs but to the league as a whole.

DC is enjoying a decent season this year. A drop in the ball in this tournament like last year would be a big disappointment to them and to the league. Especially since the league still views them as the golden standard of clubs here. Tonight we will see exactly where DC stands in this competition.

Toronto is kind of a wild card for the league. They face off against the lone USL-1 side Puerto Rico Islanders in what should be a very interesting two-game series. We all remember the run the Islanders went on in last year’s tournament. I think it is safe to say a lot of expectations are high up in Toronto with the Reds in this tournament. A solid run by them could go a very long way in helping the league’s image out, and Canada’s for that matter.

The one good thing for MLS fans when it comes to thinking about New York in this tournament, even though they are on a historical run of being even worst club this year is this tournament is ALL this club has to play for now. These two games against T&T side W Connection is it.

Now to say they can turn their season around with these two games may be a little much. Some think they can and others think that the season has gone this poorly so far, why would these two games be any different?

I’m on the fence with New York in this tournament. I’d say I have very low expectations for them and so should you. I know we want our MLS clubs to show up strong and New York should have no excuse to make these two games priority number one but I just don’t see a reason in expecting them to do anything more than what we have already seen them do this season.

We can all debate it here but until we see how each side fares tonight, it’s all a guessing game for us.