News & Notes - MLS 2011 [R]

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In the game, the home-standing Galaxy preserved their unbeaten 2011
league record at the H.D.C. (13-0-5), carried by the team’s three
designated players. The Galaxy received an early goal from David Beckham
(7th minute) and one from Robbie Keane (62nd minute) to build a 2-0
lead before Houston’s Geoff Cameron made it a game when he scored in the
73rd minute. Landon Donovan salted away the match with a goal in the
86th minute.

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Garber: The best accomplishment is that there's more than one. It
isn't just about achieving attendance and ratings growth, it's the
combination of so many different things that have come together that
have raised the water overall water level for MLS. We have the highest
number of reporters and international media attending our final. There's
more media coverage, commercial activation and interest in our
championship game than in any other Cup we've had. I will feel good
about where we are when we're not asked: Has MLS finally made it? The
sports and media community will accept that, and then we like other
leagues will talk about individual accomplishments for the season that
we've completed.

SI.com: Help me out with something. Kansas City builds a new
soccer stadium that turns into one of the best soccer atmospheres in the
league. But Dallas and Colorado build stadiums and the atmosphere is
nothing like Kansas City. How do you explain the difference?
Garber:
Every market is different and has its own idiosyncrasies. There are so
many factors that go into whether or not all teams can achieve as
quickly as Kansas City has a total repositioning. I believe Dallas is
improving. They had a handful of sellouts this year. [Dallas president
and CEO] Doug Quinn is doing a great job of turning that market around
and I have full confidence in him and the Hunts that Dallas will be a
terrific soccer market. Colorado is beginning to grow their supporter
culture and they are improving. It's very easy to look at one market and
compare it to another and not fully understand what goes into driving
success or what challenges a market has to improve their position. It's
not a simple cause-effect, build a stadium and they will come. It has a
lot of different factors that need to be considered.

SI.com: Toronto is spending $20 million on a youth development
academy. Who are the other leaders in the league at this point when it
comes to youth development investment?
Garber:
This is a new endeavor for the league, but the amount of energy behind
this throughout the league is growing exponentially. Toronto's
commitment is almost unprecedented. I think it shows their belief in
this sport and their desire to really create a top-tier professional
soccer club. While they haven't achieved as much success on the field as
they would like, their fans should know MLSE is committed to being best
in class on the competitive side of things. New York is doing an
incredible job. They're embarking on finalizing a plan for a training
facility and academy that will be a similar type of financial
commitment. They've got a very good academy, one that's developed one of
America's most promising young players in Juan Agudelo. Philadelphia is
doing a good job. So is Dallas, which more homegrown players on its
roster [6] than any other club. L.A. is getting deeply engaged in the
business. I don't think there's any club that's not focused on
development. But clearly there's a handful that have been more
aggressive than others.

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MLS Cup 2011 may be a harbinger of the future: the highest-seeded team
to reach the final, the Los Angeles Galaxy, will host it Sunday against
Houston.

Months ago the league announced Home Depot Center as
the venue for MLS Cup, and by rolling through the regular season to win
the Supporters’ Shield and holding serve in the playoffs -- three
straight wins, two at HDC -- the Galaxy has earned the right to play on
its home field in front of its own fans.

MLS Cup 2011 might be the last held at a pre-designated site. Commissioner Don Garber
has mentioned several times during the season of strong sentiment among
league and team executives of granting the higher-seeded playoff
survivor to host the final. If this is done, a key issue will be whether
the league takes a two-week break between the conference finals and MLS
Cup, as was done this year to avoid conflict with the FIFA
international fixture dates, or revert to the one-week break it has
normally used under the current format.

MLS hates Dallas, they are basically killing Brimstone and Houston with the new schedule. Just one year i'd like to not fell like the red headed step-child of MLS

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MAKING WAVES. On his way out of
Home Depot Center, a player who didn’t feature in the playoffs
nevertheless bore a pizza box, half-consumed bottle of beer and radiant
smile.

Frankie Hejduk, a
Southern California product who played at UCLA and won a title with
Columbus in 2008 prior to being traded to Los Angeles in December 2010,
played six games during the regular season but rode the bench for the
playoffs. Yet with beer and pizza in tow he looked ready to celebrate,
and announced he already has at least one postseason activity lined up.

“I’m going to take the Cup surfing,” he declared. “We get it for a day, right? So that’s what I’m doing with it.”

Hejduk may have confused the MLS Cup with the Stanley Cup. As is the
custom, each member of the NHL championship team gets it for a day and
can do anything he wants with it as long as it passed on to the next
player undamaged.

However, a league spokesman said the cup
received by the Galaxy Sunday night will be kept by the club and it is
up to the Galaxy what is done with it. Each year’s champion receives its
own MLS Cup to keep; the “eternal” MLS Cup is retained by the league.

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John Harkes is out and Taylor Twellman is in as ESPN's lead analyst
in the booth for MLS and U.S. Soccer broadcasts in 2012, several sources
have told SI.com. Harkes, the U.S. Hall of Famer who played in two
World Cups, was recently informed that his contract would not be
renewed. Twellman, the former New England Revolution star whose playing
career was cut short by concussions, has spent this season working in
ESPN's studio coverage and as the analyst for local broadcasts of the
Philadelphia Union.

Ian Darke will continue to be ESPN's
lead play-by-play voice for the U.S. national team, the English Premier
League, Euro 2012 and select MLS broadcasts. Alexi Lalas will continue
in his position as an ESPN studio analyst. Adrian Healey is expected to
continue calling MLS games when Darke is not involved.

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Despite this, MLS Cup final ratings went up from 0.5 last year to 0.8 last Sunday.

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No FCD wins here.

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2011 MLS Club and Executive Award Winners:
Doug Hamilton Executive of the Year: Mike Golub, Portland Timbers
Corporate Partnership Executive of the Year: Ryan Brach, Portland Timbers
Corporate Partnership Team of the Year: Seattle Sounders
Partnership Marketing Team of the Year: Seattle Sounders
Marketing Executive of the Year: Cory Dolich, Portland Timbers
Ticketing Executive of the Year: Joe Cote, Portland Timbers
Ticket Sales Team of the Year: Seattle Sounders
Local Digital Editor of the Year: Brian Costello, Portland Timbers
Public Relations Team of the Year: Sporting Kansas City
Merchandiser of the Year: Philadelphia Union/Angelo’s Soccer Corner
Community Relations Department of the Year presented by MLS W.O.R.K.S.: Toronto FC
Operations Staff of the Year: Portland Timbers
Team Administrator of the Year presented by ATP Event Experts: Francisco Tobar, D.C. United
Athletic Training Staff of the Year presented by Mueller Sports Medicine: Houston Dynamo
Equipment Manager of the Year: Rusty Wummel, Columbus Crew

Sepp:

SHUT. UP!!!

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Sounders 2012 third jersey (put on your sunglasses!)

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The 2011 Los Angeles Galaxy is by far the most expensive MLS champion
ever assembled. According to MLS Players' Union figures, the average
guaranteed compensation of the Galaxy's 11 starters in Sunday's 1-0 win
over the Houston Dynamo was $1,187,131 per player. By comparison, the
Dynamo's starters averaged only $153,978.

gwar0127 wrote:

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Quote :

The 2011 Los Angeles Galaxy is by far the most expensive MLS champion
ever assembled. According to MLS Players' Union figures, the average
guaranteed compensation of the Galaxy's 11 starters in Sunday's 1-0 win
over the Houston Dynamo was $1,187,131 per player. By comparison, the
Dynamo's starters averaged only $153,978.

When the Galaxy visits us next season, we should all chant "You bought your trophy!"

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The Galaxy is selling grass...

That is soooooo L.A. and so stupid!

*whine* *whine*

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The Impact used their first pick of the expansion draft on Dynamo
captain Brian Ching, a former U.S. national team player who had
expressed a desire to retire in the burnt orange. Despite the fact they
left him unprotected, Houston reacted with offense and shock at one of
their big-name players being selected and began a media campaign aimed
at getting him back. Ching, for his part, has expressed his unhappiness
with the situation and his disdain at playing for
Montreal.

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The Montreal Impact came away from last week's expansion draft without a
proven goalkeeper, but that void was filled in a major way on Monday
after the Impact acquired Jamaican national team goalkeeper Donovan
Ricketts from the Impact for allocation money.

Philly Union's 2012 home and away jerseys (isn't there supposed to be a clear difference in color between the two??):

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I reckon he'll be the PBP guy for the MLS games on Versus/NBC Sports next year.

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In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, halfway across the world in
Indonesia, the LA Galaxy head coach took a congratulatory call from
Washington, with President Barack Obama offering his congratulations for
the Galaxy’s recent MLS Cup triumph.

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NBC confirmed reports that they have hired Arlo White as their
primary play-by-play voice for their brand-new Major League Soccer and
U.S. Soccer coverage. As many of you know, White has been the voice of
Seattle Sounders FC, and with the new gig will come the end of his
affiliation with the Sounders.

This acquisition seals up the play-by-play positions
for the two national networks for Major League Soccer, ESPN and NBC.
White completes a trio of British announcers, joining ESPN’s Ian Darke
and Adrian Healey. It has truly evolved into a new British Invasion.

gwar0127 wrote:

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My word, that away kit is fugly. Looks like something that the '96 teams would have worn.