News & Notes - MLS 2011 [R]

Buh-bye Fox Soccer Channel, hello NBC/Versus.

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Going to NBC from Fox Soccer is a major deal for the league. Versus (or
now NBC Sports Network) reached 74 million homes last year while FSC
only reached about 37 million. That is a HUGE jump.

gwar0127 wrote:

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favourite robbie keane moment. I will be breaking out all the Rangers gear for this "boyhood celtic fan" next time LA come to town!

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gwar0127 wrote:

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Tap those brakes.

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Can't imagine why. I think the guy is completely over-rated.

GraceTX wrote:

Can't imagine why. I think the guy is completely over-rated.

Have you seen Arsenal lately? Ream would be an upgrade. Heck, _I_ might be an upgrade...

<--- Sad Arsenal fan

gwar0127 wrote:

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This totally disgusts me! I hope they throw the book at the two idiots that did it. It's a freakin sport people! A sport!!!!! If I ever see anyone do that at our field I will personally make sure they are arrested... even if it is me. BTW... it doesn't count if you are aiming at a referee

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FCD is 15th out of eighteen teams. This year's FCD attendance is 19% higher than last year.

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So the problems, as they currently are shaping up, now include:

• The fact that
  Dallas and Seattle, by most estimations the second and third best MLS
  sides behind Los Angeles, will meet early in the playoffs. Not. Good.

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Brek Shea may be the flavor of the moment, and rightly so. But if
the young attacker “hits the wall,” as they say, he could slide like a
puppy on a slick tile floor.

Shea? The kid has been an absolute wonder. (Phooey, once again, to
the national reporters who chided me back in June for saying and
writing that Shea belonged on the Gold Cup roster. Wassup!??) But I,
like everyone else, wonder about overuse. His schedule has been nothing
less than ridiculous, laying it all out game after game in MLS, CONCACAF
Champions League and for the national team. So, we’ll need to monitor
that situation.

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1. LOS ANGELES (15-3-10).

2. REAL SALT LAKE (13-7-6).

3. FC DALLAS (13-8-7) In a 2-0 loss at New England, FCD didn’t lack for shots – it took 16 – but seven of them came from Jackson Goncalves, who has netted this season yet is far from the team’s major attacking threat. Maicon Santos
(six shots, three on frame) forced a good tip-over save but not much
else seriously threatened the Revs’ goal as FCD lost for the third time
in the last five games. Fatigue dragged on a few players in this game,
notably a very lackluster Brek Shea. Last week: 2.

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3. Marvin Chavez (FC Dallas: $50,000). In
his third season in MLS, the Honduran has been one of FCD's unsung
stars, scoring five goals and four assists -- more than his first two
seasons combined when his guaranteed compensation was $70,000 a season.
He's started all but one game for the Hoops, who are third overall in
the MLS standings. He's played on the wings and up front for Dallas,
which lost David Ferreira, the reigning league MVP, with a broken leg early in the season.

4. George John (FC Dallas: $42,000).
John was hoping for a big bump in salary when he headed to England to
finalize a transfer to Blackburn Rovers in late August. When the deal
didn't materialize, he headed back to FC Dallas for which he was a No.
14 pick in the 2009 SuperDraft. The Greek-American has blossomed into
one of MLS's top young central defenders and eyed a move to Europe
rather than re-signing with Dallas for a much higher salary.

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If I am FC Dallas and currently sitting fourth in
the West, I am exactly where I want to be. And that’s a problem for this
new playoff structure.

Given Dallas’ recent fade and some injuries that
need to heal, I don’t see the men of Pizza Hut Park moving up. But fret
not, ye devotees of FCD: it looks to me like fourth in the West is a better place to be. In fact, it’s a jim-dandy place.

Let me ‘splain: As things are now, Dallas would host a play-in match against the league’s 10^th
best team. Yes, an extra match is an extra opportunity to lose. On the
other hand, it’s a one-off at home against what is statistically the
worst team in the playoffs. If Dallas wins, it would remain in the much
more forgiving Eastern Conference bracket.

The point here, while Real Salt Lake and
Seattle pound on each other in the second round, Dallas would get a
slightly easier time of things in a quarterfinal series.

I likey

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In a lot of ways, the Rafa Márquez experiment in NY was a more
important experiment than the David Beckham experiment was for MLS.
Márquez was supposed to bring in Mexicans — a huge untapped fan base
just hopping up and down in the tunnel to step out and support an MLS
side, the El Tri fans that bring with them big money and an insatiable
appetite for football, that other Big Green Monster that USMNT fans
love to hate.
Mexican fans, along with soccer-mom families and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
were supposed to be the holy triumvirate to take MLS to the
profitability promise land. But there’s an inherent conflict among the
three. Supporters and Mexican fans like to cuss, families don’t.
Supporters groups and families largely support the USMNT, Mexican fans
don’t. So, how do you expect three completely disparate groups to
harmonize into one big happy family in MLS stadia around the United
States? Moreover, how are you everything to everyone?