First Kick with my father

Let me just start off by saying this: my dad knows almost nothing about soccer. And by "almost nothing," I mean like the closest fraction to zero without being zero.

He probably could not tell you who won the MLS Cup last year. He's asked, on more than one occasion, if the Revs are in the playoffs - in July. Oh, Dad. And, almost without fail, the very first question at the beginning of every match is, "who's favored?"- as if, you know, the guys in Vegas actually cared enough about MLS to put the lines out on their matches.

However, my dad is sharp. He's picked up on a few things. He knows about David Beckham, of course. He knows that Mexico cannot beat the U.S. on American soil. Oh, and he also knows that Matt Reis - "the bald guy," as my dad would say - is a pretty darn good keeper.

Having said all that, my dad has been my primary choice to watch a televised soccer game with for the past four years.*

(*I'm embarrassed to say that for all the soccer my dad's watched with me, he's never seen a live game. You would think that, at some point, it would dawn upon me that, 'hey, why don't I take him with me to Foxborough or Pierce Field or, heck, Fox Point to catch a game?' Now that I think about it: what kind of son am I? Man, I gotta get on this.)

And I think the reason is because he treats each match - whether it's either of the national teams, MLS, or NCAA - with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. It's weird. But it's a good weird.

I have my theories behind this good weirdness, of course. One is that it's in large part due to fact that my parents don't subscribe to Fox Soccer Channel or GolTV. I know. 'How did I live without it?' I don't know: I just did. So televised soccer only sneaks through about once or twice a week. It's just not a regular occurrence. That's one theory. Yet, I may have better one.

My second theory is that it's a byproduct of life in general. I sometimes think it's because we're getting older. I'll be 30 next year. He'll be 60 in June. Although he will always be my dad and I will always be his son, and that bond will never be broken, thankfully, we both acknowledge that we are very different men. He is a devout Catholic. I am a devout sports fan. He listens to the Temptations. I listen to Twista. He eats at Chelo's. I prefer Chili's. The list of our differences could go on.

But back when I was nine, my dad and I were the same. We both loved baseball. So as a kid, that meant we were the exactly like each other. He liked everything I liked. We'd watch the Red Sox almost every night. There'd be ongoing discussions about the DH rule, Roger Clemens, and Morgan's Magic. Then, it would turn to school. Later on, the neighborhood kids. Then, it would be back baseball again.

As I approached adulthood, the number of those Father and Son Sox games predictably waned. I wasn't waiting for my dad to come home and cook anymore.* I went out with friends, instead. And I'm sure that probably stung my dad a little bit.

(*Yes, my dad cooked. At first, it was because my mom was going back to school at night. Later on, it was because she worked third shift at the hospital. Needless to say, he had pick up a few "mom" responsibilities along the way. My dad - he can do it all.)

That common bond - the Red Sox - wasn't as strong. If it was, it certainly wasn't as strong. We didn't camp ourselves on the couch for baseball anymore. And when we did, it was typically limited to a handful of innings.

But, for some crazy reason, soccer - a sport that continues to escape him to this day - brings us together. And you know what? It hardly matters who's playing. To my dad, it's an event worthy of ordering pizza and wings. Although my dad could probably think of a bajillion other things he'd rather do, he nevertheless takes his spot on the loveseat, leans back, sometimes with a cold beer, sometimes with a Coke, shoots a quick look at the tube, and asks, "So, who's favored?"

So yeah, my dad doesn't know much about the beautiful game. But that's OK. What's more important is that he KNOWS - with absolute certainty - that his son loves the game of soccer with a passion. And this is more than enough for me.

There is no such thing as a collegiate forward prospect

For the past week or so, I've become absolutely enamored with a pair of books dealing with sports, conventional wisdom, hard data, and how data chooses scissors when wisdom chooses paper nearly every time.

The first book - Baseball Between the Numbers - is, unsurprisingly, about baseball.

The second book - Soccernomics - is, you guessed it, about soccer.

Two entirely different sports, sure. But the common thread is the contrarian approach the authors take toward each sport's conventional thinking. In fact, each use hard data to obliterate many of the "truths" that many of us have been conditioned to believe as gospel. The result: The sacrifice bunt is a wasted out. High profile transfers are almost always huge wastes of money. And owning a football/soccer club is a great way to lose lots of money.

This had me thinking: what other myths exists within soccer - specifically, MLS - that could be debunked?

Lucky for you, I've thought of one, completely free of charge.

***

Goalscorers don't grow on trees. Or college campuses for that matter. It's a fact of life. Hot models end up with ugly men, and Danny Ocean always gets the best of Terry Benedict.

What's that you say? You can't find a good forward from academia in the first round? Surely, I jest. Alas, I jest not.

Rather than bore you with how much free time I had on my hands to devise this theory, I'll take you straight to the data. First, let's look at the strikers taken in the past five first rounds (along with their overall selection number) of MLS SuperDraft (2010 draft not included) for reference.

2009
Steve Zakuani (1st overall)
O'Brien White (3rd)
Peri Marisevic (4th)

2008
Patrick Nyarko (7th)

2007
John Cunliffe (7th)
Jerson Monteiro (8th)

2006
Jason Garey (3rd)
Yura Movsisyan (4th)
Sacha Kljestan (5th)
Kei Kamara (9th)
Calen Carr (10th)

2005
Scott Sealy (11th)

It's ironic that first round striker taken the latest of the bunch - Sealy at the 11th position - is the only one to rack up a double-digit goal totals in a season (10 for KC in 2006) after netting nine during his rookie season. But injuries caught up with him quickly, and his goal totals dropped precipitously after the ten-goal season. In 2009, he took his services abroad and was forgotten faster than the Eric Bana Hulk movie.

Movsisyan was a tremendous player for a surprising Salt Lake squad last season before being transferred out to Randers in the Danish League. There was no question the man had talent. Yet, he never exceeded more than eight goals a season in his four-year MLS career.

The only other notable name is Kljestan, who went on to become the Best XI attacking midfielder we've all come to know and love. Nyarko is an interesting player who seems to have settled on the cusp of stardom going on three years. There's little doubt he possesses the tools required (speed, toughness and touch) to become a poor man's Jozy Altidore. Whether or not it was Hamlet's propensity to use Brian McBride and Cuahtemoc Blanco as his main men, Nyarko hasn’t managed to rake in either of his two seasons. Meanwhile, Garey is a withdrawn forward on a club that’s collected bushels of goals in the past two seasons.

The rest? The verdicts are still out on Zakuani, White, and Marisevic. Carr and Kamara are certified super subs, while Cunliffe and Monteiro are out of the league completely.

Now, let's look at the Top 10 goalscorers of the same seasons.

2009
Jeff Cunningham-17
Conor Casey-16
Fredy Montero-12
Landon Donovan -12
Robbie Findley -12
Guillermo Barros Schelotto -12
Juan Pablo Angel -12
Dwayne De Rosario -11
Ryan Johnson -11
Josh Wolff - 11


2008
Landon Donovan-20
Kenny Cooper-18
Edson Buddle-15
Juan Pablo Angel-14
Brian Ching-13
Conor Casey-11
Luciano Emilio-11
Jaime Moreno-10
Chad Barrett-9
Alejandro Moreno-9
Chris Rolfe-9

2007
Luciano Emilio-20
Juan Pablo Angel-19
Taylor Twellman -16
Eddie Johnson-15
Maykel Galindo-12
Ante Razov-11
Christian Gomez-10
Jozy Altidore-9
Landon Donovan-8
Robbie Findley-8

2006
Jeff Cunningham-16
Christian Gomez-14
Ante Razov-14
Carlos Ruiz-13
Landon Donovan-12
Brian Ching-11
Kenny Cooper-11
Dwayne De Rosario-11
Jaime Moreno-11
Taylor Twellman-11

2005
Taylor Twellman-17
Jaime Moreno-16
Jeff Cunningham-12
Landon Donovan-12
Christian Gomez-11
Herculez Gomez-11
Amado Guevara-11
Carlos Ruiz-11
Clint Dempsey-10
Youri Djorkaeff-10
Josh Wolff-10

Wow, look at all those first round strikers. Who knew that college soccer was such a hotbed of goalscoring talent? The only striker taken in the first round to win the Golden Boot Award was Taylor Twellman in 2005. And even that in itself is suspicious because Twellman wasn't drafted directly out of college. He was a bench player in the Bundesliga before his arrival in 2002.

From the pool of first round strikers noted above, the average return on such high selections is 3.1 goals per season. That is hardly the output deserving of a certified super-sub, nevermind a highly-touted striker. Clearly, the league's general managers haven't been doing their homework.

But I have. And I'm going to be blunt: there is no such thing as a collegiate forward prospect. I'll type it again, this time in CAPS, for emphasis: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A COLLEGIATE FORWARD PROSPECT.

I suspect that the thought process of drafting goalscorers high is relative to American thinking: an offensive player is the sexy pick. It's what the fans want. It looks good on paper. The fans love it. Everyone wins. But it's completely wrong.

Why? College players, in and of themselves, are inherently unpredictable. NCAA soccer, with its limited practice time, unlimited substitutions, and ambitious 2-3 matches/week schedule, falls flat on its face to replicate pro soccer. Compound that with the general difficulty that exists in developing strikers - not midfielders/forwards, not attacking midfielders, and definitely NOT defenders/forwards - and the selection of a collegiate striker in the first round is a loser's bet that every single MLS team has made.

Why are strikers, in general, so difficult to develop? Well, they are the only field players with quantifiable expectations. A defender isn't judged on clean tackles. A midfielder isn't judged on accurate passes. But strikers are always judged on their easy-to-find goal totals. As a result, they incur an exhorbitant amount of pressure to perform - perhaps moreso than any other player on the field, including the keeper.

And that is to say nothing of the physical abuse they receive every match. They are almost always double or triple-marked. As a result, they endure a great deal of physical punishment over a 30-game season. They often incur serious injuries along the way. The sum of their injuries often shave a substantial amount of time off their careers. In short, strikers simply do not stay healthy for very long.

Given these factors, it's nearly impossible to predict where most collegiate strikers will be in two years. Some, like Kljestan and the recently-retired Jay Heaps, will drift back and enjoy successful careers in the midfield or the defending third.

But for the most part, history has shown us that there is, indeed, no such thing as a collegiate forward prospect.

Labor pains

I'm not afraid to admit it. I love talking about the NASL. The old one. Not the new one.* Something about multitude of teams (24, at one point), their nicknames (the "Rogues?" Really?), the plastic pitches, and, of course, the players makes me think "Golden Age." Pele. George Best. Franz Beckenbauer. Johan Cruyff. Ringo Cantillo. God, I wish there really was such a thing as a Hot Tub Time Machine.

(*I understand the idea of salvaging a former brand in order to inherent its former loyalists. But in all honesty, how many former NASL fans are going to be drawn to the new NASL? It's second division soccer. I know that Steve Ralston's there, along with a few other former MLS guys. But Pele is not walking through that door, fans. Giorgio Chinaglia isn't walking through that door and Shep Messing is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they're going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hard-working, and we're going to improve. People don't realize that, and as soon as they realize those three guys are not coming through that door, the better this league will be for all of us because there are young guys in this league playing their asses off. Whoa, sorry about that.)

But it wasn't all groovy back in the day. Heck, if it was, we'd still have the Earthquakes, Sounders, and Timbers. We wouldn't need a second NASL.

Something went wrong. Actually, lots of things went wrong. The ambitious expansion. The silly in-fighting. And it certainly didn't help that the owners made it rain like rappers at a strip club. However, one thing in particular seems to have a disturbingly familiar taste.

Yep. It was the s-word. For all the glory and glamour galvanized by the league that brought you the 35-yard offside line and penalty shootouts, players eventually became unhappy. And in 1979, they went on strike for the first three weeks of the season.

Imagine - wait, you don't have to. Here's Noel Lemon of the old, awesomely-named Tulsa Roughnecks to tell us a particular, early-April Saturday night in '79 via Clive Toye's "A Kick in the Grass":

"All of the players were supposed to walk off the field right after the national anthem. Ft. Lauderdale's players did that, I remember. We were playing Rochester in Tulsa and on the far side of the field I had two entire teams, one with our uniforms, one with Rochester's spare set, with their jackets on, covering the uniforms, ready to come in if they were needed. But, they weren't."

Doppelgangers. I love it.

Then there's more from Frank Dell'Apa on the Boston.com soccer page:

“Following the NASL’s two most successful seasons, the players struck,’’ recalled local attorney Steve Gans. “In 1977 and ’78, NASL teams had a lot of success and were getting TV contracts. The league had momentum and teams like the Tea Men were getting 30,000 [at Foxboro Stadium] going head to head with a Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway.

“Then, the first TV game they had on Channel 4, [the Tea Men] used replacement players against the Philadelphia Fury. There was a crowd of 400 rattling around at Veterans Stadium, which tells you the quality wasn’t good.

“As is always the case, Americans need to see a high standard. The Tea Men had players like Mick Flanagan and Gerry Daly on the team and they were calling in freshmen and sophomores in college to take their place. I was at Cornell and I got a call, but I wouldn’t do it.’’

The official attendance at that Fury-Tea Men game on April 14, 1979, was 3,291. Five days later, the Tea Men and Houston Hurricane performed before a crowd of 653 at the Astrodome.

The scary thing is that it isn't hard to picture a replay of this 31 years later. Markets like L.A., Toronto, and Seattle might be able to withstand a brief stoppage. But the rest of the league? New England, Dallas, and New York? I'm not so confident.

Gans went on about the impact of the player strike:

“Of all the things that led to the NASL’s demise, that [strike] was one of the top five things,’’ Gans said. “Not enough people cared about it to keep the momentum going. The critical mass wasn’t there; there weren’t enough roots set down.’’

"The timing [of the suit] was terribly wrong. This was a nascent league. And that inspired enmity and resentment from the owners and is probably making them less agreeable and open to being generous now. Again, that was something that was antithetical to the progression of soccer in this country."

Wow. That line about momentum sounds eerily familiar. Alas, it looks like we won't need a time-displacing hot tub to relive the NASL days.

O RLY?

NO WAI!!!

What can mediation do for MLS?

Mark Abbott and Bob Foose are definitely not biffies. We know this. If they were, they wouldn't have broken the veil of silence and turned the ongoing negotations into certifiable stalemate.

Psst!- here's a secret. You don't have to be best friends to entertain mediation.

Yep, good ol' fashioned mediation. Time-tested, Higher Power-approved dispute resolution.

Since touching upon the subject last week, I figured it would be worthwhile - maybe even educational - to provide the 411 on how labor peace can be achieved with relative ease.

First things first. Mediation is absolutely IDEAL when two sides have an ongoing relationship with each other. Unless intergalactic war is waged and the Shi'ar overtake the planet and Erik the Red banishes MLSPU to a distant star in the process, the League and the union are going to have to shack up with each other for awhile. And that's the great thing about mediation: it serves to preserve long-term relationships.

It's crucial that both sides are willing to concede something. After all, it would be a complete waste of time if the parties don't budge from their positions. You can't cross a bridge by standing still.

Each side must also recognize and understand the other's importance. Without the league, there is no MLSPU. Without the MLSPU, the League becomes USL-3, halftime dog olympics and all. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but I just don't have the brainpower to argue such complexities as player coups, scabs, Pele, and outlaw leagues. Therefore, it's important enter any mediation with good faith. Each side should genuinely apprach mediation with the intent to settle, rather than using it as a delay tactic.

Next step is to bring the parties together to agree on either a sole mediatior, or a panel of three mediators. In this case, given how contentious these discussions have recently turned, a three-mediator panel might be approrpiate. So here's how it works.

Each side picks a nationally-respected neutral to mediate on their behalf. This allows each party to remove themselves from the fight, so to speak. From there, the party-appointed mediators sit down, the weather, their kids, the economy, etc. and confer on a third, completely neutral mediator who will act as the chairperson. They agree on said mediator. And thus, the panel is born.

The panel schedules a conference call to which the neutrals and parties discuss a date to schedule the actual mediation. The chair will ask for position statements detailing what each side wants, and is willing to concede. These are strictly confidential unless otherwise agreed. Oh, and even though it's pretty much a given, the schedule must ensure that all of the decision makers are present for the mediation.

On the day of the mediation, the panel and the parties meet at the roundtable. From there, the party appoints caucus with their respective parties. After some preliminary discussions, the chair then meets with each party separately, and acts as the "voice of reason." She listens to the League, ie., its demands, and what it is willing to concede. The chair then consults with the union. She listens to what their demands. The chair then goes back to the League. She outlines what the union wants. The League will likely turn down some of those demands. She goes back to the union and tells them what the league will accept, and what they'll turn down. And so it continues as the sides are brought closer together.

A good mediator - one who did his/her homework and understands the nature of collective bargaining agreement disputes - will attempt to bridge the parties positions with neutral, unbiased advice. She will offer solutions. If necessary, reasonable alternatives will be explored. She will work feverishly to bring about one result: settlement. Her role isn't to decide who is right and who is wrong. Her sole responsibility is to bring the sides together.

So, if the League and the union are genuinely interested in remaining playmates this season and beyond, then mediation is a no-brainer. Of course, mediation is non-binding. In the event that a party renegs on its part of the bargain, the agreement cannot be enforced in court. However, it's worth mentioning that the rate of voluntary compliance is very high when the parties have settled in good faith.

Lastly, I'm sure a question that anyone would naturally have is the success rate of mediation. Although there is no hard number, it is generally believed within the industry that nearly 80% of mediations end in settlement.

There. I've outlined it to the best of one's ability during his lunch break. I'm almost certain I've missed some key milestones in the process. However, this should only to serve as a glimpse of what the League and the union is missing out on by failing to mediate their dispute.

Come on. This isn't Celebrity Housewives of Orange County. This is Football. Futbol. Soccer. MLS.

My latest idea: MLS South

Yeah, so I was reading one of the latest media releases from the fine people at the New England Revolution about the club's preseason trip to Austin, Texas this week. I assume this location was selected because it has a much more conducive environment for playing outdoor soccer in February than Foxboro, MA. Call it a hunch.

Now, over the years, you've probably gathered that soccer is an outdoor sport.* As are other sports, like baseball and football. Accordingly, baseball teams do not preseason indoors. Nor do football teams. So why are colder-climate clubs like the New England Revolution (and, I'm sure, the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls) reduced to conducting much of their preseason under a roof?

(*Except when played indoors under different rules, tactics, and a bright orange ball.)

Fortunately, there's a really simple solution to this dilemma. In fact, I think this proposal is a groundbreaking idea on my part. *

(*And I won't even charge for it!)

Ready?

Here it is: MLS South.

The idea of what I like to call "MLS South" is nearly identical to set up of Major League Baseball's Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. For the duration of the baseball preseason, clubs relocate to the warmer respite of Florida and Arizona. They've been doing this for, like, a hundred years or so. Those baseball people are pretty darn smart.

Under this idea, MLS adopts MLB's approach and onduct their preseason training in Florida from February until First Kick. This allows players to truly show their fitness and sharpness on full-length pitches, breathing clean, unfiltered air. In other words, rookies and newcomers actually get a fair shake to show the technical staff their skills and abilities throughout the entire preseason.

This is pretty critical, especially if you're playing on a tryout contract and time is of the essence. Even this week's Revolution media release acknowledged as much:

"(T)he week training on grass – which concludes with the Revolution’s first preseason match against Austin Aztex FC on Saturday, Feb. 28 – will provide the coaching staff with its first opportunity to truly evaluate the players, especially those fighting for roster spots … head coach Steve Nicol has stated publicly that he wants to wait until the club is training outdoors before judging the players’ abilities."

So basically, the previous 2-3 weeks of the indoor phase of the preseason were for...team bonding?*

(*Please, oh please, don't tell us that it takes weeks to regain fitness. This is freaking 2009. The days of showing up for the preseason out of shape went the way of pet rocks and 8-tracks a long time ago.)

Obviously, an outdoor environment gives more time for overall evaluation, both veterans and rookies alike. It also allows a better gauge of how players perform in real-life conditions, since there is no such thing as a five-a-side indoor MLS club.

Now, part two of idea has to do with the level of competition. In the past, MLS clubs have occasionally played each other. But for the most part, many preseason fixtures list are comprised of a patchwork list of extracirricular opponents from the Carribean, Mexico, Antarctica, and the USL.

While the matches against foreign clubs certainly give an interesting twist to the monotony of two-a-days, MLS clubs are far better off - get this - playing each other. You know, kind of like how MLB, the NFL and the NBA roll during its own preseasons. They actually play each other. I know - pretty mind-blowing stuff.

And what better way to kill both birds with a single stone than to have everybody camp up in a common warm weatherlocale? The model already exists in professional baseball. I think it's worked out pretty well for them. So why not apply the same method to MLS?

So, here's the idea fully explained. Each MLS club has a base of operations in Florida, where the days are so sunny that even a single cloud has the potential to ruin a perfectly good day.* There, all MLS clubs train in the same conditions. Since every club is within driving distance of each other, this also allows MLS clubs quare off against each other, rather than flying out and playing against unfamiliar and often less-than-formidable sides. Plus, this only requires one preseason plane trip for each MLS club, rather than the two or three flights that many clubs partake in to play distant clubs. It's economically-friendly on purpose.

After a couple of weeks of conditioning, a six match preseason schedule against other MLS clubs commences. Then, everyone goes back home, and the regular season starts.

(*Have you ever seen that Southwest Airlines commercial where that chick on the beach comments that, after a single wispy cloud blocks the sun for like five seconds, "hopefully the weather's better tomorrow?" Yeah, that fifteen-second clip is brimming with truth.)

(EDIT: Is my thinking too far outside of the box here? Really?)

More MLS player promotion, please

So, I was watching Vanilla Sky last night for that ominously-titled World Making class I’ve referenced a few times here. Man, that class just opens up your mind. I’ve been busy analyzing my own analysis of the world. If I ever get a foothold of the theory behind that class, I have a feeling this whole blog will self-implode and reform as a 27,000 page discourse on the plight of soccer here in the States.

ANYWAY, for those of you who’ve seen the movie, you know it was a pyschological, 135-minute mind screw. It actually took me three sittings to finally figure it out. Seriously, I just got the entire jist of the plot last night, some seven years after I first watched it.

But that’s not the point of this post. You’re not here to read about my movie watching habits,* nor about my film reviews.** You’re here to read about soccer. And after the movie, I tuned into NESN, and wouldn’t you know it – I saw Taylor Twellman pitching a local Audi dealership.

(*I generally find myself watching flicks of the following classifications: sports, drama, and chick flicks. The occasional romantic comedy and sci-fi film never hurts, but I’m not at all a fan of horror.

I had a girlfriend who, whatever the opposite of the word “desensitized” is, did that word to me. I used to watch The Shield with her, and whenever a character on the show would get killed, tortured, maimed, beaten down, etc., she’d say something like “that poor guy – he’s got like parents. What will his parents do when they find out their son is dead or beaten to a pulp? What about his girlfriend?” I started thinking like that, too. Now, I can’t watch a fictional character get hurt or killed without thinking about their fictional loved ones’ reactions.)

(**See Frost/Nixon. DON’T see Taken.)

I won’t breakdown the commercial, other than to say that the ending oozed the cheese of 99% of local television spots. It ends with Taylor saying something to the effect of “I did” or something like that after the narrator spoke of taking advantage of the dealerships outstanding deals and customer service. I should’ve TiVo’d it.

The great thing about this commercial is that it’s the first I’ve seen in at least five years where a New England Revolution player is featured. Aside from that adidas spot where Michael Parkhurst makes a cameo, Revs players find the camera about as often as a local squash team. To me, that speaks volumes about how much more can be done to promote the league.

Yeah, those adidas ads with Jozy Altidore kicking holes though defenders, and Sacha Kljestan intermingling with a youth club are cool. I’ll take any of those over another commercial with Peyton Manning. Or, God help us, any of those stupid Coors light commercials with retired/recently fired NFL head coaches.

I’ve always thought that local advertising was a neat little way to embed professional soccer into the sports consumer’s consciousness. People remember commercials. I can recall just about every commercial featuring a local player. My favorite has to be the Matt Light Fagan Doors spot. Because, you know, 320-pound linemen just casually show up to a person’s garage after Fagan installs new garage doors.

If people didn’t know who Matt Light was before then, and before that crazy Life Water commercial where he dances and turns into a lizard, they definitely know him now. Not bad for a guy who doesn’t score touchdowns or have the looks of the guy he gets paid to protect. But most of us in New England sports nation know him, and we know him even better now because of those TV spots.

The same applies at all athletes, even soccer players. Even though I already knew who Taylor Twellman was, I’ll always associate him with Audis. I like Audis. In fact, I may just have to buy an M5* at that dealership because of Twellman’s endorsement.

(*And park it right next to Twellman’s in the Gillette Stadium player’s lot. Like I’m going to park that baby in the media lot. Yeah. Right.)

Sorry about that. I got sidetracked for a second there.

Now, I know the whole endorsement deal is a two way street. A club can’t simply say, “here’s a player, put him in your commercial, and we’ll give you season tickets.” I understand that the advertising firm has to actually want a pro athlete, and already has one in mind well before filming takes place. That’s how these guys roll.

There are MLS players who would be perfect for television. Twellman, for instance, has – how can I say this as a heterosexual male – a photogenic face. OK, OK, he’s a good-looking guy. And I know this because I’ve heard thousands of girls (and women) shriek his name at the Razor on a regular basis. They think he’s cute. They want to marry him. And it helps that he’s pretty darn good at soccer, too.

Maybe some of these guys’ agents need to work a bit harder. I can think of at least five other MLS players that would be perfect pitchmen. Jimmy Conrad. Matt Reis. Frankie Hedjuk. Dwayne DeRosario. Oh, and I almost forgot. Chris Klein.*

(*You probably wouldn’t think of Klein before Landon Donovan. But if Landy’s extremely passive appearance on “MTV Cribs” is any indication, a lot of us would fall asleep halfway through the commercial. Don’ t get me wrong – we all know he’s a heck of a player. But man, that dude’s off-field disposition is just way too nonchalant for me. Klein, on the other hand, has always been an entertaining personality, albeit in the brief interactions I’ve had with him. He’s got energic and colorful, and would be a way better pitchman than Braylon Edwards in those horrible 5 Hour Energy spots.)

And there’s always the original MLS crop of familiar faces. Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, and Eric Wynalda. Remember when Cobi used to host “Mega-Dose” on MTV back in late-90s? I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. That show proved you could successfully match the MLS player with the MTV demographic.

That’s just one real-life example. I believe a Revolution-kitted Alexi did a SportsCenter commercial just after the league launched. Someone thrashed his guitar. Chuckles abound.

Much, MUCH more work needs to be done to promote this league. Its primary focus should not be expansion. In fact, I am anti-expansion in the sense that so many other areas need to be addressed first, promotion and player salaries among others. While MLS is busy trying to figure out if Montreal, Miami, Portland or St. Louis are ripe for top-flight soccer, there are plenty people in Kansas City, Houston, and New England who have no idea that there’s an MLS team in their backyard. And if they do, they need a reason to check it out. Without local promotion, that reason will continue to escape them.

The Twellman commercial is an encouraging sign. My hope is that it’s the first of many. I want to see Shalrie Joseph hawking Dunkin Donuts. I want to see Steve Ralston pitching Bass Pro Shops. Matt Reis could sell ketchup on a Popsicle stick. Soccer players are marketable. Their names just need to be whispered in a few ears.

And maybe then – just maybe – this league of ours may wake up and see a beautiful vanilla sky.

Beaten to the juice, er, punch

Back in March, I was going to do a piece on steroids in soccer, specifically, MLS. After the scandals that erupted in baseball, and to a lesser degree, the NFL, I was going to ask Steve Ralston - as an MLS lifer - about whether he thought it was a problem in MLS.

My thought was that, granted, soccer players don't need the show muscles seen in other sports. But, the endurance and stamina required could easily be enhanced by human growth hormone (HGH) or any other type of designer steroid/performance enhancer that lessen the recovery time during, say, a grueling multiple-match week.

I ran this idea by a few of my peers, and the consensus wasn't incredibly positive. So, I did what any lazy reporter did: I failed to pursue it.

All I can say now is DARN! DARN IT ALL TO HECK!* Why? Because Jon Conway and Jeff Parke just got busted for taking performance enhancers this week.

(*Sorry. Just had a fit of 'roid rage there for a second. Ooooohhhh..ok. I'm OK. I'm good.)

Get out your crying towels: Revolution qualify for the playoffs

I know that title sounds a tad ominous, but if you've followed the Revs for, oh, the past six seasons, you've cried in your beer and bitten your Revolution scarf during four of those years. I don't have to say it, but I will - the Revolution are perennial bridesmaids. Those darn Dynamo and Galaxy - they've worn white twice at the expense of the Revolution. Whores.

Of course, a shot at MLS Cup is better than reserving tee times at local links for November, which is probably what Landon Donovan and his buddies are doing right now. Timing is key, and while the Gals play entertaining, if not defensively deficient, football, style points have not been factored into the MLS table as of yet.

So it was mixed feelings that I read the press release that the Revs had clinched a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season. Yes, it affords all of us more Revolution football into the heart of autumn and, hopefully, a shiny trophy to finally talk about around the dinner table at Thanksgiving.*

(*Seriously, you know how many times my relatives have come over for Turkey Day and asked "how'd the Revs do last Sunday?" Really? Don't you get the newspaper? Or have access to the internets? You know how they did - why are you tormenting me? Do you actually WANT me to sabotage your cranberry sauce next year?)

But, we know how this formula plays out: (LA + Houston)*2 + Revolution = New England heartache. Not that I profess to know for sure that Houston will reach MLS Cup anymore than I know that the Revs will reach it as well. In fact, I've already made the gross assumption that the Revs will simply advance through the semis and EC final on pure principle. This is wrong on many levels, none of which I feel obligated to expand upon at the moment.

The recently-unveiled "I Want the Cup" mantra should read "I Would Kill for the Cup" because it is that pressing of an issue. Of course, you can't have the latter - after all, what kind of example would that set for little Timmy? But if given the choice, I'm sure many of the Reis, Heaps, Joseph, Twellman and Ralston crew would opt with the latter, privately at least. The urgency behind this quest is higher than its ever been. Yes, they all do want this one - especially Twellman, who's post-MLS Cup emotions* often sum up the sentiment for the entire Revolution Nation.

(*Perhaps the best was last season, when he stood near the Dynamo net and stoically gazed upon the sea of creamsicle orange that converged upon the other side of the pitch. He looked like he was gonna have a Joe Biden moment. Heck, I was there, and I almost did.)

I said it last year, and I'll say it again: this may be the final chance for this group to finally touch the MLS Cup. I think it would be a horrible injustice if Rally ends his incredible career without winning it. DeRo's won it four times. LandyCakes won it thrice. Cobi won it twice.**

(**Shout out to brilliant reader David, who caught my mistake when I inadvertently listed DeRo and Landy as having won two apiece. Can't chalk this one up to lack of coffee - I was on the third java of the day after I published this one.)

Poor Rally's witnessed four defeats. Can we agree that the man is MLS? There since Day 1, played with Valderamma and the defunct Mutiny, came to New England, and to his credit, became even better after he arrived. He's been instrumental, for lack of a better term, during this recent seven-year run of success the Revs currently enjoy. Given that, instead of "I Want the Cup," I suggest a different mantra:

"Do it for Rally."*

(*And Reis, Twellman, Joseph, Heaps, and even Nicol.)

Not to be confused with...

Don't worry. This blog is not "very bad for you."

Nor is it "mind blowingly inappropriate." Or "OMFG!"

And it is definitely not "every parent's worst nightmare."

There, I said it. My attempts at making this blog appear sexy have utterly failed.

For those of you who don't get those quotes, it's from the new radio spots for the C-Dub's Gossip Girl.

Now, I've never seen Gossip Girl. But I'm intrigued to discover what "every parent's worst nightmare is", besides, you know, finding out your pre-adolscent son is a meth addict. Or that your teenage daughter's selling herself downcity. I would imagine those are actual parental nightmares, rather than a 'tweener drama on CW.

*******

But this has me thinking: what if there were similar advertising campaigns in MLS? Would people be curious enough to see whether Pablo Mastroeni is "every parent's worst nightmare"? How about if the Revolution changed their motto from "Pride and Passion" to "OMFG!"? Do you think that attendance would increase league-wide?

Probably not. But I think it would be hilarious to see.

*******

I almost forgot my point. Sorry. I tend to do that sometimes.

ANYWAY, I was thinking how many attractive women I encountered at Saturday's L.A. Galaxy game. We all know why. It's Landycake's massive thighs. Damn him.

I've always been of the mind that the Revolution should recruit a cheerleader squad for its home matches. Believe me: I've thought this through. I'm aware of the cultural and subcultural implications. It would work. Look no further than Chivas Girls, the Mexican Soccer League, and Chivas Girls. They haven't exactly been booed off the pitch, now have they? I didn't think so.

But here's my suggestion. A little tweaky tweak, if you will. Instead of cheerleaders, the Revs should recruit song girls, a la the University of Southern California football team. The wholesome, girl-next-door approach never fails, despite what the marketing geniuses behind the Gossip Girl advert will tell you (which, by theway, some critics say that the campaign reeks for desparation. No, not that kind of desparation.)

So who's against some cute chicks in skintight sweaters and traditional cheer skirts belting out "REV-O-LOO-SHUN!" or "TAY-LOR TWELL-MAN!"?

Besides...it's not like it's bad for you.

Revolution Hardball

"My salary would have tripled what it is now," said Twellman, who has completed one year of a four-year contract worth $395,000 annually. "There has to be an adjustment and the fair thing to do would be either to sell me or adjust my pay accordingly." –The Boston Globe, 1/11/2008

Is anyone really happy to be playing for the Revolution? I mean, seriously.

It seems that at any given point, whether in-season or off-season, somebody’s airing his dirty laundry over contract discussions, or lack thereof in some instances. If it’s not the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, then it’s the league’s best holding midfielder. Sometimes, it’s former starting midfielder. Other times, it’s a certain freestyling midfielder/forward. At some point in time, you’ve just got wonder aloud:

Aren’t there any happy footballers in the Revolution locker room?

For all the accomplishments these players have achieved (winning just about everything but an MLS Cup) in the past three years alone, you would assume that players’ attitudes toward the organization would be a lot less – what’s the word I’m looking for - inflammatory.

Instead, it’s the polar opposite. Twellman’s recent comments regarding discussions of a possible $2 million transfer to an English club is just the latest in a soap opera comprised of less than diplomatic (i.e. negative) comments from Revolution players made through the media. In fact, the aforementioned comment is just a preface to the following comments made within the same Boston Globe article.

"Something's got to give," Twellman said. "They made me sign a contract for the minimum salary [in 2002] and I've jumped through every hoop with a smile on my face.”

It doesn’t take a doctorate in psychology to understand that Twellman is as happy about his paycheck as Nancy Grace is over the disappearance of another missing six-year-old. The metaphorical reference to a circus animal only obviates his feelings toward the franchise.

Normally, the general consensus tells us that the public has simply had enough with whiny, overpaid athletes. After all, how many more houses on each continent does David Beckham actually need?

Yet, it would be one thing if Twellman’s grievances were just an isolated incident. But we all know that isn’t the case. The average Revolution fan can count on two hands how many players have publicly addressed their concerns over contract discussions in the last year alone. Even Fido could tell you that this is becoming a rather disturbing pattern that fails to speak well for a professional club’s front office.

And with Twellman, a player who's never been shy with the media when it comes to his displeasure with players, opposing managers or the organization that he plays for, his comments regarding how contract negotiations proceeded are actually quite damning to the front office as a whole. In essence, it appears that if the following account of how negotiations developed is indeed accurate, you would think that Chris Matthews himself was conducting the discussions if you read into this final blow from his Globe article.

“They said I hadn't scored for the national team, and now I've scored six goals, then they said I never received an international offer of any magnitude, and now I have that offer. Now, they can either re-sign me and make a long-term commitment to me, or they can make money off my sale and I'll be gone. They can't withhold me from making three times as much money as I make here."

Ouch. I hope Mike Burns, Sunil Gulati and Brian Bilello get some ice for those brand new black eyes before they begin to swell.

The Revolution organization has never apologized for how it conducts business because it will immediately point to four Eastern Conference Championships in six seasons. That string of success ain’t bad at all. Although the club has fallen short four times of the ultimate prize, I’m sure the front office gang can still parade those glass championship trophies to the cocktail parties while the guests gather round the caviar dip and snicker. All joking aside, there’s no doubt that this club has accomplishments to be proud of, including its very first championship (The US Open Cup) this past season.

But the manner in which the front office handles its players has festered into a problem that will eventually doom the squad on the pitch before long. The last thing a successful organization like Revolution need is field full of unhappy players.

A word of advice to said front office: despite the warm success the club has attained with the frugality and hardball tactics that reportedly encompass a contract negotiation, it may not be the best idea to tick off your franchise player. Call it a hunch.

That being said, it may be time for a fresh approach toward player negotiations. In the organization’s defense, the ink on Twellman’s MLS contract just barely dried before his current gripe. To the best of my knowledge, no firearms or subliminal threats were made to coerce him into signing a fairly rich contract extension last March. However, it’s imperative that the club keep its players – and, dare I say, its star players in particular – happy while the team is still pretty good. Players that have performed extremely well and remained loyal to the club, like Twellman, deserve to be kept happy- within reason, of course.

Barring injury or a phalanx of locusts inhabiting the Neponset River, Twellman will approach the magical 100-career goal mark sometime this summer. Instead of the obligatory car or chopper doled out as a reward, why not give the face of the franchise something he can truly smile about?

Taylor-Made Disaster?

According to ESPNsoccernet’s Frank Dell’Apa, New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman may soon join former compatriot Clint Dempsey abroad by plying his trade across the Atlantic. Preston North End of the Coca-Cola Championship has reportedly offered a $1.7 million transfer bid for the Revolution’s all-time leading goalscorer.

The 27-year-old striker, undeniably the face of the New England franchise, has been strongly courted by the English club, who are currently fighting off relegation as they dwell in the Coca-Cola Championship cellar. Although initial reports have MLS scoffing at the club’s bid, it is expected that the English club are prepared to up the ante to an even $2 million.

Whether MLS accepts nothing less than a substantially higher bid (think somewhere in the neighborhood of Dempsey’s MLS-record $4 million figure) for one of its biggest stars remains to be seen, but the prospect of Twellman departing New England for old England will undoubtedly rattle the relatively-quiet offseason ambiance of a club that fell two goals shy of an MLS Cup victory less than two months ago. Should the league ultimately decide to take the money and run, it would undoubtedly leave a crater-sized hole for a club that has already lost two primary goalscorers (Dempsey to Fulham and Andy Dorman to St. Mirren) in the last year alone.

If Preston North End gets its multi-million dollar wish, the Revolution would realistically be stricken from any real chance at a return engagement to the postseason this year, nevermind a fourth consecutive trip to the MLS Cup. During Twellman’s time in New England, the Revolution never failed to reach the postseason, thanks in large part to Twellman’s remarkable performance on the pitch. In fact, it was Twellman himself who single-handedly starred as the Revolution’s driving force throughout last year’s playoffs when he scored all three of the club’s post-season goals.

Moreover, the possibility of Twellman playing abroad would greatly alter the organization's immediate plans toward potential player acquisitions, not to mention long-term plans as well. It would also force the organization to create a contingency plan to cope with the tremendous loss of one of the league’s best players. Whereas the club would have entered next week’s MLS SuperDraft primarily hunting for an attacking midfielder and, perhaps, some taller defenders, they now have the monumental task of trying to locate a franchise forward to replicate Twellman's Best XI production should he jump ship. That said, the time may have come for the organization to start dusting off that unused designated player allocation in search of an international high-caliber striker.

Twellman's importance to the club, both on and off the pitch, cannot be overstated. During his six-year tenure, the former 1860 Munich (Germany) castaway not only became the club's all-time leading scorer, but the universal face of the franchise as well. His likeness has graced countless pocket schedules, advertisements, and promotional materials, thus becoming the most visible footballer in New England. Nowhere in the region, save for Tom Brady, has a single player risen to become the avatar for an entire franchise. It’s fair to say that should the club lose Twellman, it would also have lost a better part of its own identity in the process.

And like Brady, Twellman is more than just a pretty face plastered on the walls of children’s rooms across New England. After arriving in 2002, he led the Revs in scoring every season, save for the 2004 campaign when he finished second (9 goals) to Pat Noonan (11 goals). At 26, he became the youngest player in MLS history to reach the 75-goal plateau, besting the previous mark set by Jason Kreis, who was 29-years-old when he notched that magical mark. Since his rookie season, no player has scored more goals (91) in MLS; should he stay the course in the States, he would likely break the league’s all-time goalscoring mark (112) before the age of 30. With a resume such as his, it’s no wonder a struggling club like PNE is willing to upfront millions for the talents of an extremely potent striker such as Twellman.

Simply put: without Twellman, the Revolution, a perennial playoff team since his arrival, could very well fall to the bottom of the MLS table faster than you can say future hall of famer. Without the player it has so heavily relied for the past six seasons, the club would likely struggle to create the offensive spark it already lacked down the stretch last season. The current need for a complimentary player or two to take the weight off the striker’s shoulders becomes immediately moot, as the club would instead have to switch gears completely and begin the tedious search for an MVP-caliber striker should Twellman wave Foxboro goodbye.

In short, any move for Twellman outside of New England would spell disaster for a team that has been on the cusp of a championship multiple times since the his arrival in 2002.

Can Preston North End afford MLS' asking price for Twellman when it’s all said and done? Perhaps. Can the Revolution afford to press on without its best player? Not a chance.

Deck the Halls with MLS teamgeist match balls

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the hall, not a creature was stirring, not even a mini MLS Teamgeist replica ball.

It’s now Christmas Eve. But, unlike many merry holiday seasons past, I must shamefully admit that the holiday cheer has largely escaped me this year.

Why? In an elongated thirty-two word answer: it is because of my insatiable desire to keep the oxygen I breathe sufficiently saturated with soccer, which is no easy task without the live-action variety to speak of ‘til spring.

To compensate for said soccer deficiency, I’ve gone to the ends of the earth (figuratively, of course) via the internet and television to devour any form of soccer I can transfix my eyes and ears upon. A recorded Champions League match here, an indecipherable Portuguese Liga radio telecast there, it makes little difference to me, as long as it’s still soccer. Calling me "preoccupied" would be kind - the most accurate assessment could be "obsessed." Thus, with the holidays firmly upon us, I must confess that much of the holiday merriment in recent weeks has been lost due to this unquenchable devotion.

Now, I know how the Christmas carols go, and for the bulk of the globe’s football-loving continents, it is indeed The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. After all, Spain has its La Liga, England its Premier League, and Germany its Bundesliga, and lucky for their fans, all are in the midst of their seasons. But here in the States, the last signs of soccer flickered away last Sunday with the NCAA Men’s College Cup Final. After Wake Forest triumphed over Ohio State with obvious glee, the door on the country’s soccer season was effectively slammed shut for many American soccer fans.

Thus, the blustery winter gusts doth wrap its chilly grasp around thee,

Alas there’s no more soccer to be seen, save for that on the telly.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is a small sample of what I have been tragically reduced to: a horrible infusion of Christmas carols and my woeful tale of how I miss football. Egads…

I beg your pardon if I sound like a Scrooge, cursing the decorated pine trees and the mischievous mistletoe in an overt attempt to keep the coals stoked throughout an unforgiving offseason. But while Scrooge was consumed with the supernatural, he never had, to the best of my knowledge, a local side to cope without in the months following the winter solstice.

It may not seem like it based on the above, but I really do love Christmas and New Year’s. It really is a wonderful excuse to mingle with the non-annoying family members and friends. I truly enjoy all of the festivities and family traditions that the season brings about - decorating house, drinking hot cocoa…and dreaming of carefully-wrapped Dempsey, Dorman and Figo jerseys under the tree.

Contrary to society’s definition of the holiday, Christmas (aside from the obvious and equally important religious connotations) is much more than just a twenty-four hour block devoted to gift giving, eggnog drinking, and shoulder slapping.

To me, Christmas is a full slate of matches that bookend my spring and summer weekends. It’s full-throttle action from the moonrise on Friday night through sunset on Sunday evening. It’s a mild and sunny Saturday afternoon on Fox Point that promises a virtual soccer marathon comprising of back to back to back…to back matches that all feature amateur clubs duking it out on balding neighborhood pitches. Christmas isn’t waking up in the morning to approach the pine tree in the living room corner; it’s finding myself on the other side of the Seekonk River to watch the Mexican Soccer League sides monopolize an entire Sunday afternoon at India Point Park. Christmas is taking a thirty-minute drive to watch an all-important televised match at a dear friend’s house. It’s playing a little game of kickabout with my young cousins, and teaching them about the game I love so dearly. In fact, with the region’s recent snowfall depriving me of ample footing to at very least kick the ball around, it definitely does not feel like Christmas to me.

In essence, soccer is Christmas - at least within the parameters of my own little universe. Lucky for me, Christmas comes more than once a year.

Holiday Cheer in New England

Taken aback by all the holiday cheer, the Revolution has apparently adopted its own ho-ho-ho holiday attitude during this snowy offseason. After all, what other explanation can there be for all of the gift-wrapped giveaways of both experienced and rookie players alike in the past month alone?

Yes, Jolly Old St. Nicol and his front office elves have taken to giving away presents to MLS, USL, and maybe even sides abroad this holiday season. Consider this: since walking off the RFK Stadium pitch as MLS's second best yet again, the club has already lost five players, along with two more who may be waving goodbye come New Year’s.

The gift giving commenced shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday when the versatile James Riley was plucked by San Jose in the expansion draft a mere three days after MLS Cup. But the merry cheer didn’t end there - it continued when the club gift-wrapped Marshall Leonard, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Loftus, and Bryan Byrne via the holiday waivers.

Granted, the loss of Riley through the expansion draft was out of the hands of the Revolution, as team could only protect a limited amount of players. Thus, Riley was a casualty of a cruel numbers game. There's no question that the midfielder/defender’s versatility was valued, and would have been gladly welcomed back next season. His ability to provide help in the back or on the wing was a key reason why the Revs were able to ascend to the top of the Eastern Conference yet again in 2007.

In contrast, the departures of Loftus, Gonzalez, and Byrne can be chalked up to the annual attrition rate of many MLS rookies at the conclusion of their inaugural seasons, and their exits were not unexpected. All three earned the bulk of their minutes in the reserve league; Byrne earned first team minutes late in the June 2nd Real Salt Lake match. At the time, it appeared as if the Kilkenny (Ireland) Kid would become a prime candidate for further action with the first team while Steve Ralston was busy fulfilling US Men’s National Team obligations for the Gold Cup. However, the Irishman failed to accompany the first team lads again, and remained with the reserves for the duration of the season. Similarly, Gonzalez also gave the team greater depth in the midfield, but never lived up to the expectations that accompanied him after starring with the US MNT U-20s in 2006. Loftus, a tall target with good speed for player of his size, was simply stacked up against a clogged forward line that included Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan, Adam Cristman, and Willie Sims.

Leonard's departure was somewhat expected since the capable veteran, once a steady performer prior to his Achilles injury in 2006, spend the entire 2007 season relegated to the reserves. Like Riley, he provided the club added depth in both the back and in the middle. However, with Riley’s quick departure, it appeared that Leonard would have been a solid in-house solution to fill the void.

Of course, the list of former players doesn’t take into account the seemingly imminent departures of Andy Dorman and Avery John, both of whom are rumored to be heading overseas shortly after the holidays. If both players were to leave, then the Revs will have lost a quarter of their 2007 roster come New Year’s Day. And this doesn’t even touch upon the uncertainty surrounding Joe Franchino’s return. There have been many whispers that the former skipper may not be returning next season in light if his season-ending ankle injury last May.

So what can the club do? Surely, the club’s heartwarming charity opens up roster space before the MLS SuperDraft in January, and some of it must be devoted to clearing room for SuperDraft selections. Yet, the open spots could also be used to add experienced players from other clubs.

The great thing about an offseason prior to expansion is the list of players left unprotected by their respective clubs for the expansion draft. A cursory glance at this year’s list of players left unprotected by their clubs for the expansion draft indicates that there is a great deal of talent available for little in return. What other exercise forces each club to show its hand on its view of its own talent? After all, these are the very players that each team was willing to part with for absolutely nothing back in November. Francis Doe (New York), Ricardo Virtuoso (Colorado) and Abe Thompson (FC Dallas) are all young players that play with a great deal of tenacity and fearlessness that the Revs attack could certainly use - with the caveat that Nicol would be willing to cut ties with certain players that have not played up to expectation.

Then again, why not add a veteran like Jose Burciaga (Kansas City) at left back? How about a guy like Jovan Kirovski (Colorado), a seasoned (and well-traveled) player who would certainly give the club some veteran depth up front? Again, these are the types of players to which the asking price would be presumably low given their availability during last month’s expansion draft.

There's no question that Nicol already faces a considerable task by trying to keep the Revolution ship afloat for yet another run at the MLS Cup next season. The recent departures make the gaffer's job that much tougher. But without any off-season trade buzz on the radar, the red-cheeked Revolution is apparently content with its own philanthropy until the MLS SuperDraft.

Cashe Money: An Interview with Houston's Corey Ashe

If Major League Soccer ever got around to creating an annual all-rookie team, then Corey Ashe would have been the undisputed starter on the left wing on this season’s freshman roster. His six assists during his rookie campaign with the Houston Dynamo is only the tip of the iceberg – his quickness, creativity, and symbiotic relationship with the ball in the middle was a key reason why his club was able to punch its ticket to another MLS Cup Final.

Needless to say, 2007 was quite a year for the diminutive (5-6), yet dizzying Dynamo rookie. The beginning of his veritable movie-script season began with the MLS defending champion selecting him in the second round (26th overall) from the University of North Carolina in the 2007 Super Draft. He starred on the reserve team during the early part of the season, before making his impact on the first team, where he appeared in 20 matches (six starts) for the Dynamo. Just as the summer began to wane, the speedy midfielder caught fire against Real Salt Lake on September 8th, when he sparked the Dynamo attack by recording assists on all but one of the four goals poured in by his club in their high-octane 4-3 victory.

Then, as if things couldn’t possibly become even more unreal for the former Tar Heel, he and his teammates capped off the 2007 campaign in grand fashion, by hoisting the MLS Cup trophy with their 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution.

With an opportunity to finally catch his breath after such a whirlwind season, the 21-year-old speedster graciously took the time to check in with Revsnet’s Brian O’Connell on his remarkable year.

Brian: I've talked to a few rookies this season about the comparison between college soccer and MLS, and they all remark how vastly different NCAA soccer is compared to MLS. Would you agree with that assessment? How much different is it, even for a player who comes from a traditional soccer college like UNC?

Corey: I would definitely agree with that assessment. With the MLS the ball moves faster, the technical ability the players posses is better than that of college, the players are smarter, and the level is higher.

Brian: Talking with ACC guys like Wells Thompson, Adam Cristman and Kyle Helton, it seems like the ACC is the premier college soccer conference in the nation. In your opinion, what is it about the ACC that makes it so competitive year in and year out?

Corey: The ACC is competitive year in and out because of the recruiting classes that each school receives. Most people are under the impression that this is the best conference so that attracts skillful players and players that want to make it to the professional ranks. Furthermore, I think the players that are recruited have either National team experience or have played on a regional team and if those players are in the conference it creates a more competitive atmosphere.

Brian: You were drafted earlier this year by a team that had just won the MLS Cup the year before. How much of an honor was it to be selected by a championship side?

Corey: It was a huge honor simply because they were the defending champs and because I heard a lot of good things about the coaching staff and the team. So it was an honor to know that Dominic and John thought I would fit well into their program.

Brian: What were your first impressions of Houston, with respect to the coaching staff, players, and management?

Corey: I thought that everything about the program was professional. The players and coaches were serious about winning and on the field they meant business. Off the field the players are your friends and if you need anything they have no problem with giving advice or assisting you.

Brian: Was there any player or coach you gravitated to that helped you along through your first season in the league?

Corey: Both coaches helped a lot but I gravitated towards John Spencer the assistant coach. He provided a lot of advice and worked with me one on one.

Brian: What was the most difficult aspect of your rookie season?

Corey: The most difficult aspect was adjusting to the speed of play. The ball moves so much faster so you usually have to have an idea of what you want to do with the ball before you get it.

Brian: What were your expectations for your first season in the League? Did you have any specific personal goals, whether it be getting a certain amount of first team games, or scoring a certain number of goals? Was there any additional pressure to achieve these goals because you were drafted by a team that had just won a championship?

Corey: Honestly I just wanted to play and develop as fast as I could. I obviously wanted to get some playing time with the first team but I knew it would be hard. So I didn't really set any goals except to just develop as fast as I could.

Brian: Back on September 8th, you recorded three assists in the 4-3 victory over Real Salt Lake, which was unquestionably the best game of your rookie campaign. Tell me a little bit about how big of a game that was for you, and how you hope to build on a performance like that.

Corey: It was a huge game because my older brother came that weekend before he left for Iraq so I wanted to play hard for him and make him proud. So not only was it huge that I recorded three assists but I was happy to make him proud. It also did a lot for my confidence. It showed that I belong in this league.

Brian: Obviously, Houston did quite well this year, earning its second consecutive championship. What was it like to be able to celebrate a championship with your teammates in your very first pro season?

Corey: It was awesome to know that I contributed in my first season to a championship team. I helped get Houston to the finals and win. Also, I take away from this experience what it takes to be a champion. I understand the work that goes into making it to the finals and winning. So it was awesome celebrating.

Brian: Somewhat off-topic, but I looked at your MLSnet.com player profile, and it states that you enjoy rap and R & B music. As a fellow hip hop aficionado myself, who's the better MC: 50 or Kanye?

Corey: They are both good but I would say Kanye simply because he is more creative with his lyrics unlike 50. He makes you think about what he is saying and his songs have a message that he is trying to get across to the listeners.

Brian: Is there a pre-match track that you like to listen to before kickoff? If so, which track?

Corey: Kanye West- "Champion."

Brian: Lastly, with your first full pro season now under your belt, what can we expect from Corey Ashe next season?

Corey: More goals and assists and more of a complete and consistent player.

A Tale of Two Halves (of the MLS season): The Andy Dorman Interview

For Andy Dorman, the 2007 MLS season must have felt like a tale of two halves. After inheriting the attacking midfield spot vacated by the potent Clint Dempsey, the former Boston University Terrier tore through the opposition in the first half of the season like Jet Li against all of those ninjas in Kiss of the Dragon, racking up seven goals and an assist all before the MLS All-Star game – a game his performance certainly warranted consideration for.

However, things began to change in the second half of the season. His offensive statistics began to wane even though the club was still scoring goals – and more importantly, winning – with him in the first XI. Then, shortly after the Revolution’s US Open Cup Championship in early-October – a game in which he not only started, but played the entire ninety – he found himself relegated to the bench four days later in Chicago. Unbeknownst to him at the time, but the US Open Cup Championship would be the final time the attacking mid would find himself in the first XI for the Revolution in 2007. As the postseason neared, Nicol kept Dorman on the bench for much of the remainder of the season and playoffs, as the club’s second leading scorer’s minutes diminished dramatically.

With the MLS off-season now in full-swing, Revsnet’s Brian O’Connell recently caught up with Andy to get his thoughts on the two-sided coin that comprised his 2007 season.



Brian: Going into the season, you were pegged as the player that would most adequately fill the shoes of Clint Dempsey as the playmaker on this team. Did you prepare any differently this season as you had in previous seasons, given the added pressure of replacing a guy like Clint?

Andy: Well obviously Clint was and is a great player but I didn’t feel any added pressure of replacing him. I prepared the same as the previous years with rest until the New Year and then starting back in the gym in January. Then I started pre-season with the team at the end of the month.

Brian: You got off to a remarkable start to the season, scoring seven goals before the MLS All-Star game – a game which many would argue you should have been a part of in light of your mid-season stats. Were you surprised at all that you weren’t chosen to the All-Star squad, especially since Steve Nicol was the man at the helm for the MLS side?

Andy: I felt I was playing well at the time and I would have loved to play against Celtic in that game, it would have been great experience and exposure. But I missed out on the All Star team the year before when I felt I was playing better than in 2007 at the equivalent time of the season so I was not surprised.

Brian: After the All-Star break, your goal scoring cooled down somewhat, even though you managed to score a goal in the US Open Cup game against Harrisburg back in August. How does a player like you try to get back on track? Did the tremendous start add any undue pressure in terms of getting back on the score sheet?

Andy: I didn’t see myself as going off track we were winning games and although I wasn't scoring goals I was happy with my work ethic and contribution to the team. It is nice to score goals but I don’t judge my performances solely on goal and assist stats. I believe I am a two way midfielder and during that time I was working harder defensively so found myself in deeper positions and therefore found it harder to get into goalscoring positions.


Brian: As you struggled to find the back of the net as the season wore down, were you at all concerned that your starting role may be in jeopardy?

Andy: I was just concerned with working hard and winning games for the Revolution; the rest is out of my control so I didn’t really think about it.

Brian: It seemed like your demotion to the bench came very suddenly, almost out of nowhere, because you had started every game of the season up until the October 6th match at Chicago, when you came on as a substitute. When did you learn that you would be dropped for that match? Were there any signs prior that there may be a change brewing in terms of how Nicol wanted to utilize you?

Andy: I found out after pre-game meal the day of the game. It was the weekend after we won the Open Cup final so I presumed it was a case of rotation for the Chicago game.


Brian: Obviously, as a player who started every game of the season in 2006, and nearly all of 2007, the decision to drop you must have come as shock. What did Nicol tell you as to the reason for the demotion?

Andy: He wanted to play Steve in the middle to keep more possession.

Brian: It appeared that after the Chicago game, the situation may have just been temporary in order to “shake things up.” Was there any indication from the coaching staff that you would be given the chance to earn your way back in the starting eleven? Was there any point in which you felt that without game experience, it was hard to prove yourself again?

Andy: There were no indications given either way but I had a feeling after the next few games that I had started my last game for the Revs.

Brian: It was common knowledge that you were in the final year of your contract, and with the start you had to the season, your value to the team had certainly increased. Do you think that your contract status played a part in Nicol benching you, to perhaps decrease your value on the free agent market?

Andy: I have no idea what goes on off the field, I was more concerned with training and staying sharp.

Brian: There was a report from The Boston Globe wherein Nicol had stated that he expected you to sign with a British club. How true is this statement? Have you indeed signed, or look to sign, with a club overseas?

Andy: I was hoping to re-sign for the Revs but financially it was never an option. This was despite the generosity of my host family who I would like to thank publicly. They are wonderful people and I will miss them tremendously. Currently my agent David Williamson and I are looking at various options, in America and in Europe for when I am out of contract in January.

Brian: Lastly, there’s no question that you’ve been a fan favorite here in New England. If you could tell the fans one thing about your situation, what would it be?

Andy: I am a proud and dedicated professional and so I don’t want to criticise an organisation that gave me a chance to become that professional. However, the last 3 months especially, have really opened my eyes. What is more important though, is that I say; “Thanks for all your support over the last four years. I wish you all good luck in the future and stay loyal to the team as the MLS Cup will come soon. I have so many brilliant memories of my time with the Revs and you (the fans) have really added to them.

An inside job: Revolution undermined by one of their own

It turns out that the fourth time wasn’t the charm, either.

After Sunday afternoon’s MLS Cup match between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo, the Revolution failed once again to capture the Cup that has painfully eluded them for the fourth time. Only this time around, the local lads didn’t stand a chance even before the opening whistle.

This time, the Revolution was undone by something far more sinister. Something that required precise planning and impeccable execution. Something that was carefully coordinated, and masked under a veil of good intentions. In short, it was inside job.

Any hopes that New England would finally break its MLS Cup streak was dashed long before the club hit the tarmac at Reagan International Airport. It wasn’t DeWayne DeRosario or Joseph Ngwenya that did in the Revolution. They were only accessories to a larger crime. While it may have appeared that the villain was decked out in Creamsicle orange, the fact of the matter is that Steve Nicol is the actual culprit behind the Revolution’s fourth MLS Cup failure.

How? Rewind to early-October, when the Scotsman banished second-leading scorer Andy Dorman to the bench. Though the attacking midfielder, who piled up eight goals before the MLS All-Star match in July, had slumped during the summer, the attack still remained potent, despite Dorman’s struggles. Nevertheless, Nicol, in a very curious move, switched Steve Ralston from the right to the middle, inserted rookie Wells Thompson in Ralston’s old role, and relegated Dorman to the pine.

With Dorman dropped, the attack sputtered - badly. From October 6th onward, the Revolution became heavily dependent upon Taylor Twellman to put the ball in the back of the net. As a result, the offense became mind-numbingly predictable, as opponents began to isolate the Best XI striker by simply blanketing him with a crowd of defenders. Take away Michael Parkhurst’s 60-yard circus goal against Toronto, and the Revs only cracked two goals in a game once - October 13th - against hapless Columbus, who actually managed to claim victory that night.

Going into the playoffs, Nicol stuck to his sure-fire formula, and the attack looked flatter than it had all season. But luck was on New England’s side during the first three playoff matches. The Revolution beat a New York team that lay in shambles on a mere 1-0 aggregate, (the lone goal courtesy of Twellman) and instead of facing MLS MVP Luciano Emilio and DC United in the Eastern Conference Championship, it was the Chicago Fire, fresh off their 4-3 aggregate upset of DC, that came into Foxboro with nothing more than Cuauhtemoc Blanco to throw at them. Again, luck proved to be the Revolution’s mistress, as Twellman amazingly bicycle kicked the game-winner, sending New England back to their third consecutive MLS Cup appearance.

Despite the fact that the Revolution had only scored two goals – both from Twellman - in during the course of 270 minutes of playoff soccer, Nicol stuck to his guns, although it was evident that the Revolution attack had became one-dimensional since the lineup shuffle.

True to form, Nicol once again deployed the same decaffeinated lineup in DC for the MLS Cup. Though they took an early lead thanks to – who else? – Twellman, Houston smartly adjusted, and surrounded the striker with double and triple teams. Going into the second half with a 1-0 lead, Nicol hoped to keep Houston at bay by abandoning the attack and bunkering up in the back. But you cannot simply dance with the champ – you must knock him down.

Instead of going for the jugular and unleashing Dorman or rookie striker Adam Cristman as a substitute to keep the pressure on Houston, the gaffer opted for the conservative defensive shell that essentially provided an open invitation to the Dynamo to challenge his backs. Like the ill-fated snow owl in Dumb and Dumber, the Revolution was a vulnerable bird that Nicol felt required the utmost protection. But when Joseph Ngwenya uncorked the equalizer in the 61st minute, (sidenote: adding to the symbolism is that Jim Carrey sported a gaudy orange tuxedo when he unknowingly offed the owl), it hit the Revolution bird square in between its eyes, as the the creature quickly hit the ground and writhed in agony.

Presented with an even score, a stubborn Nicol remained steadfast, intent on playing for overtime instead of regulation. But the guillotine finally dropped on Nicol’s fail-safe plan when Dwayne DeRosario headed in the go-ahead tally in the 74th minute. With Twellman completely entrapped in a wall of orange, Nicol tried to counter by deploying Dorman late in the 78th minute. But it was a classic case of shutting the proverbial barn door after all of the horses had escaped, as the Revs were treated to yet another spectator’s view of an MLS Cup celebration.

Nicol’s supporters have often stated that the reason the Revolution has gotten to four MLS Cups is because of him. Yet, a growing contingent of detractors are countering that with each successive MLS championship failure, the Revs have made it to the finals in spite of Nicol; that a team comprised of five MLS all-stars (Twellman, Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Michael Parkhurst and Matt Reis) should make the playoffs. It’s their manager that continues to undermine their efforts in championship play due to an ultra-conservative game plan that has failed each time.
In the wake of their fourth MLS Cup loss, many are calling for the Scotsman to be shown the door.

Given the Revolution’s successful regular season track record, it is unlikely that management will give into the cries for Nicol’s head. Even so, it may be time to shorten the leash tethered to Nicol’s neck. For anything less than an MLS Cup in 2008 should be viewed as a failure on the part of the front office to address this issue well in advance.

Sunday Morning Striker: Commentary on an undermanned club...oh, and the Revs beat the Wiz, 1-0!

A few hours before Sunday night’s Revs-Wizards match, SMS quietly meandered through the World Wide Web in search of – what else- knowledge. What kind of knowledge, you ask? Any kind, as long as it’s free.

Unfortunately, though the bit of knowledge SMS had just stumbled across was free, it was troubling to say the least. Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reported that the Revs would be without the services of Steve Ralston for the second game in a row, following his recuperation from flu-like symptoms. To make matters worse, Pat Noonan would also be out of action as well with a groin strain, thus leaving the Revs deprived of not only two critical players, but also a deviation from their favored formation – the 3-5-2 - as opposed to the more conservative 4-4-2.

Now particular injuries cannot be predicted – however, they are as much a part of sports as post-game groupies, so they (injuries, not groupies) must be planned for. Injuries are never well timed – whether it be at the beginning, middle, or tail end of a season - yet they almost always seem to strike at the worst possible moments. That’s why it’s essential for a club to carry capable reinforcements.

Rookies Wells Thompson and Adam Cristman took the spots left behind by Ralston and Noonan, respectively. However, beyond these two players, what’s left on the Revolution bench should injury or tactical shift become necessary?

There’s a horde of unproven rookies, with the exception of veteran Marshall Leonard, who has been curiously banished to the role of unused substitution thus far.

But there’s a more glaring problem when the Revs head into any particular match shorthanded. A cursory count of the current roster will lead you to conclude that the Revs are two players short a full roster.

The troubling aspect of this development is that it’s not a recent development. Since the Revs placed Joey Franchino on the season-ending injury list and waived Danny Hernandez back in May, the club has marched on without a full roster. Sure, it’s cute when your starters are healthy and the club sits in first place. But when two critical pieces of the starting eleven fall to injury and/or sickness, the issue of pressing on without a full compliment of players is completely unacceptable.

What kind of outrage would there be in Boston if Theo Epstein kept the Red Sox two players below the 25-man limit? Or if Bill Belichick carried 51 players instead of the 53-man max? Fans would be furious! The sports talk-show circuit would feast on such developments. Yet, the Revs have quietly gone about their business with two empty slots, hoping that the soccer gods would seemingly smile on them with an injury-free season.

How foolish.

Due to the ambiguity in terms of the gentleman who carries the responsibility of filling the roster – much is speculated whether it’s Nicol himself or a cast of front office characters that decide the list - I can only conclude that whoever has the final say should be taken to task.

To carry on while a club’s roster is artificially shrunken for the better part of three months is preposterous, and becomes even more absurd when two starters are unavailable. Troubling as it is, what would happen if another starter went down with a more serious injury – an ailment that required the remainder of the season to heal, for example? What is the contingency plan if Taylor Twellman has to miss a lengthy series of matches due to injury? Who’s going to fill in if Michael Parkhurst is forced to the sidelines for a prolonged amount of time?

Nicol has repeatedly hinted at negotiations with a player of interest since May. Well, it’s now mid-August, and the negotiations are either dead or nonexistent. If a deal was going to be made, it would have been John Hancocked weeks ago. Instead, many are left wondering whether another player will actually be signed before the September 15th MLS roster freeze.

Besides the obvious, a shorthanded team is forced to play conservative football to compensate for the losses. This variety of football is ugly, unaggressive fare, which a first place club like the Revs should have no business in dabbling in whatsoever.

The Revs need to sign two capable players now. At very least, the first priority should be to bring in a veteran playmaker – i.e. a Jose Cancela-type player, both seasoned and creative that, should the Revs be put in the predicament their in right now, the drop-off in play won’t be as dramatic. They have money - the Clint Dempsey transfer fee ensures this. Even aside from that, the club is reportedly well under the $2.1 million MLS salary cap.

There should be no excuse why the roster isn’t completely filled. It shouldn’t take two key injuries to raise the issue, but unfortunately, the awareness of the two-open spots has just become a glaring black hole that could doom the first place club. The organization should have anticipated losses during this critical six-game, seventeen-day stretch. Shame on the powers that be for allowing this situation to carry on as long as it has.

Now, with the soapbox kicked back under the bed, it was time to watch the Revs take on the Wizards. Fortunately for the fans of Kansas City, their club actually carries a full roster. Unfortunately, the pitch at Arrowhead Stadium was gridironed due to Friday’s Dolphins-Chiefs game.

The Revs wasted no time on attack as Taylor Twellman crashed the box and skipped the ball wide of net in the first minute after Wiz keeper Kevin Hartman deflected the ball away. Immediately, the Revs put the Wiz on notice that this was not the same club that curled up in a ball and assumed the fetal position vs. Colorado three days before.

Minutes later, the Revs amped up the attack again when Shalrie Joseph took an Avery John pass and raced into the middle of the home end before shooting a cannonball right on Hartman.

In the ninth minute, the skies began to open up and the rains poured down on the slick pitch, which played into the hands of the road club, who often play a quick-paced attack anyway on the fast surface at Gillette Stadium.

During the 16th minute, Andy Dorman sent a free kick right into the mixer right toward a hard charging Adam Cristman. The rookie striker sent a hard header, but the ball went wide of net.

By the 20-minute mark, the Revs had done well to create the offensive chances absent in the Colorado game, and did well to hold back a potent KC attack. In fact, the only chances early for the Wizards were effectively non-chances, as the club was offside on both occasions.

Proving that the Wizards actually had an offense to speak of, Eddie Johnson streaked down the left flank and attempted to cross the ball into the box, but Michael Parkhurst adeptly rejected the pass out of harm’s way in the 29th minute, and thus the mini-attack fizzled.

Off a corner kick n the 32nd minute, Dorman delivered a nice ball into the box that Jeff Larentowicz curiously out jumped, forcing him to chest the ball wide of the far post.

The Revs continued to play well and controlled the match for the most part by creating chances and playing stout defense on the few occasions that Kansas City managed to hold the ball for more than a few seconds.

Shalrie Joseph sent a well-timed pass forward to an onrushing Larentowicz in the 41st minute until Hartman narrowly beat the Kaiser to the ball as the chance dissipated.

The injury bug struck in the 43rd minute as Jay Heaps fell to the pitch with an apparent leg ailment. Attempting to simply finish off the half, the dependable defender tried to press forward. Mercifully, less than ten seconds of stoppage time transpired, and Heaps was just able to finish the half.

James Riley came in for Heaps in the second frame, and in the 46th minute, and immediately made his mark when he took down Johnson near midfield on a disputed foul call that went against the Revs. Much to the chagrin of Revs color guy Greg Lalas, the affable broadcast partner of Brad Feldman simply stated “That’s a good tackle. If you don’t like that, go back to U-10s.”

The Wizards attacked early twice before the 50th minute, but each one was followed up with the sobering offside call by the linesman.

The Revs reorganized a quick attack in the 53rd minute that saw John send a bending ball from midfield into the box that Larentowicz made a dive at before being pushed to the ground by KC defender. No call was made against the perpetrator, as the Revs headed back on defense.

After a brief spurt of offense from the home side, the Revs reacquired the ball and in the 55th minute Dorman sent in a nice corner kick that was headed tantalizingly over the bar by a leaping Larentowicz stationed close to the near post.

Kansas City then re-appeared in a brief attacking cameo until Jose Burciaga flopped in front of the referee, eliciting a dangerous free kick from the right wing that was heroically punched away by Matt Reis in the 58th minute.

By the hour mark, the play on the slick surface began to sway physically, as Davy Arnaud elbowed Shalrie Joseph near midfield. The tough Grenadian got back to his feet soon afterward, and not surprisingly, no card was awarded.

The pain ensured in 64th minute, Kerry Zavagnin was fouled at the doorstep of the box and KC was awarded a dangerous free kick from 18 yards out. Carlos Marinelli launched a rocket right on Twellman, who writhed in pain after the ball hit him in a less-than-desirable location.

The KC attack began to pick up additional steam in the 68th minute when Marinell sent in a dangerous cross to Eloy Colombano, who headed the ball just outside the far post amid a group of disorganized Revolution backs.

The offensive tide appeared to turn in favor of the home club by the 72nd minute until Joseph delivered a beautiful ball to Khano Smith who paced down the left with a clear shot on goal. With Twellman streaking toward the box, Smith sent a perfect ground ball to the onrushing striker, who slid home the ball into the net for the goal at 9:32pm ET.

The pressure to preserve the lead and ultimately three points on the road would fall on the backs (no pun intended) of the Revolution defenders. However, Smith had no such allusions of playing straight defense in the 79th minute when he fired a rocket yards in front of Hartman that hissed wide of the woodwork.

The Revs put on a defensive clinic in the waning minutes of regulation and although extra time was prolonged due to a scary on-air collision near the top of the box between Jimmy Conrad and Joseph, the Wizards failed to muster a single shot, as the Revs pocked a crucial three points, 1-0.

Stat of the Match, Part 1: Including the US Open Cup tilt on August 8, the Revs posted a 4-2-0 during their grueling six-games-in-seventeen-days stretch.

Stat of the Match, Part 2: The Revs recorded three corner kicks in the first ten minutes of play. In their previous match vs. Colorado, they recorded all of one corner kick during the entire match.

Stat of the Match, Part 3: The Wizards didn’t record their first corner kick until the 74th minute.

Stat of the Match, Part 4: Since their last encounter on August 2, the Revs have played five games, while the Wizards had played zero.

Stat of the Match, Part 5: Despite the lack of offensive prowess, the Wizards were caught offside twice as many times (8) than the Revolution (4).

Hidden sign of the match: The last time Matt Reis wore the all-green keeper ensemble the Revs tied the Houston Dynamo 3-3 at Foxboro on July 22. SMS has no idea what this correlation means, save for the fact that Reis likes to wear green on occasion.

It must have been produced by the same guys who did the Emerald Nuts commercials: Prior to the match, Cox3, the local carrier of TV38 Revolution broadcasts, showed a nutty Revolution-Wizards broadcast spot that went along the lines of “Viva la Revolution” featuring a Spanish-accented narrator with Italian-sounding background music. Additionally, there is a graphic of soccer-player’s profile, with a seemingly vintage, communist-themed background. Huh??? What are you trying to brainwash me to do???

The Delorean is parked outside: Did you see where 66,237 showed up – and not disguised as empty seats, either – for the Red Bull-Galaxy match at Giants Stadium Saturday night?

Wow.

Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising considering these types of crowds are exactly what MLS anticipated when they drafted the designated player allocation rule last year. It’s one thing to anticipate or imagine – but to see it before your very eyes? It’s a special time we, as American soccer fans, live in, one which hasn’t been seen in nearly thirty years.

Furthermore, the match – an entertaining 5-4 home victory for the Energy Drinks – was surely exciting for the newcomers, with the defense somewhere else other than the artificial pitch. On top of that, Beckham not only played the a full ninety, but also was on top of his game, chalking up two assists under the same bright lights that Pele, Giorgio Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer all played under in the late-70s.

According to multiple reports, the massive crowd on hand was abuzz with excitement, and espnsoccernet’s Steve Davis went so far as to say that the match was “an instant classic.” SMS wishes he could have attended the affair to witness the spectacle first-hand and experience not only the a slice of the overwhelming fervor, but to also see what it was like back in the heyday of the NASL.

Of course, the large crowd at the Meadowlands also begs the question as to whether Beckham would have served the league better by playing in New York (ok, it’s New Jersey) rather than Los Angeles. Would 66,000+ fans show up for every Red Bull match? We’ll never know. Of course, with Red Bull’s spiffy soccer spec stadium due to be completed next season, the League won't see such turnouts in NY unless the club rents out Giants Stadium for each future Beckham appearance.

If MLS is wise, next season's Red Bull-Galaxy match will be scheduled prior to the opening of Red Bull Park (25,000 seating) while the club still plays in the 82,000 seat Giants Stadium. Should this be the case, SMS will be sure to circle the date of the match and purchase tickets in order to witness the soccer extravaganza.

US Women’s National Team Feature: Angie Woznuk, or "Wozzy" as she likes to be called, is a 22-year old midfielder from sunny San Diego who played or the appropriately named "Surf" soccer team for five years. She recorded her first cap back in 2005 on July 24 vs. Iceland, and although she hasn't recorded a cap since then, she hopes to see a few more minutes during 2007.In 2006 she recorded 13 assists and scored two goals for the Pilots, while playing alongside WNT defender Stephanie Lopez. Her favorite women's soccer player is Julie Foudy, and she aspires to be an X-ray technician, and looks forward to becoming a mom one day - to which SMS awards bonus “wholesome points” for the heartwarming proclamation.

Fewf! The recently-compact Revolution match schedule has finally concluded, not only giving the players a welcome break, but SMS as well. Personally, I haven’t written this much since in such a compact amount of time since my Current Political Thought class back in the ol' college days – and I don’t even get college credits for all this!

In any event, SMS will definitely be doing some R & R as he gears up for both the Red Bull-Revs match and the National Soccer Hall of Fame inductions the following day. Due to this, the post-match submission may be a little light, with the focus squarely on the match and devoid of incessant ranting. Then again, your unwasted brain cells will probably thank me for it!