MLS to Have Balanced Schedule, Why Not Single Table?

Today the MLS announced that they will break for the group stage of the World Cup and have a balanced schedule. Both of these are smart moves as the MLS inches closer to the rest of the world when it comes to the setup of domestic leagues.

Yet the clubs will still be split into conferences, unlike most of the major world leagues. When playing a balanced schedule conferences should be irrelevant. New England will play Chivas USA as many times as they play Red Bull New York.

With the leagues playoff qualifications, conference matters very little, as the 8 best teams should get in. The only thing I can think of is that the MLS does not think that American sports fans would be able to comprehend the idea of one league without divisions. I think most people would get it, and the MLS could still have their year end playoff.

Nonetheless, both moves are steps in the right direction for soccer in the United States.

Belichick’s Cougar Conquests Make it to the Field?

During tonight’s Patriots-Bills game ESPN’s microphone would often pick up the Pats line call. I heard female names that are not too popular nowadays, specifically Rita and Linda. Are these the names of women Belichick has laid with? Hopefully we’ll know soon.

What if ESPN fired Bill Simmons?

No matter what you consider a sportswriter, Bill Simmons is one of the biggest and most popular ones out there. His 500,000+ Twitter followers are testament to that. (That’s the second most Twitter followers among both print/online columnists and radio hosts, according to Mediaite.) He did a lot to shape the sports media landscape we have now. His posts were like blogging before there was blogging. The longest section on his Wikipedia page is the Memes, and it seems like the non fiction version of Kissing Suzy Kolber to me.

Earlier today ESPN sent out a memo outlining the use of social media by its employees. It restricted use of personal websites and required permission from a supervisor to use social media. Check and presumptive check. Even after the memo he has been using Twitter, and published on his personal website within the week. So what would happened if ESPN stuck to its guns and fired Simmons?

Let me preface, I would be surprised if ESPN canned The Sports Guy. The 500k followers speak for themselves, and he is the executive producer of 30 for 30, and its costs a few dollars to put 30 documentaries on the air.

Even without ESPN, Simmons has a huge following. He can type 140 characters and it will be read by up to half a million people. Those characters could of course include a link to an article he wrote. That’ll put a jolt in your blogspot. His new book will sell, regardless of his employer. Of his last 30 podcasts 17 have been with guests who are not employed by ESPN. So presumably he could have more than half of his podcasts without the backing of the Worldwide Leader. He already left ESPN The Magazine last month. He would still have season tickets to the Clippers, and he would have much more mobility in writing. He seems to be restricted in every column with some comment he wishes to make about a commisioner or broadcaster or the like. If ESPN let him go he would have free reign to be the voice of the fan.

Would Bill Simmons be better off as an independent writer? I don’t know. I’m sure he would starting writing for an outlet like Esquire along with a personal website and more books. I would expect his path to be much like Malcolm Gladwell, who he is a big fan of and wrote a column with earlier this year. No doubt he would survive without ESPN.

An American Soccer Win

Soccer is often seen as un-American. A game played to a 0-0 tie by the sons and daughters of yuppies. Everyone wins! Orange slices by mom.

When the US beat Spain 2-0, they did it in a purely American way. The first goal was scored by a New Jersey native, the son of Haitian immigrants. He put a man on his back, a club teammate no less, waited for the perfect second, and went to goal. He put the ball in just the right spot, not a perfect finish, but enough to beat the keeper.

The second goal was scored by a native of Nagodoches, Texas. Often living in a trailer, his soccer upbringing was restricted by his families budget and his sisters tennis ability. After that same sister died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 16, his perspective changed. He moved from Furman University in the Southern Conference to the New England Revolution to Fulham of the English Premier League. His goal came as he waited for a slight misplay by the Spanish and slotted the ball in on one touch, leaving no doubt.

Almost every other player on the United States Men’s National Team has a similar story involving immagration, playing professionally in a far off land or in a lower division.

The defense and goalkeeper were everywhere they needed to be, a punch, foot or head always coming in a split second before the Spanish attacker could get there.

The midfield and forwards did a wonderful job tracking back in defense as well, and when they got their chances, went forward. They put two shots on goal, both ending up in the net. For 90 minutes a group of 11 men played together as one. And after the final whistle, the flag was still there.

The Footy Bug

This is probably not the best time to write this, but I’m not writing to persuade people to watch the USA-Spain match this afternoon.

I have a disease. It is constantly getting worse. It’s not life-threatening, nor do I think it will ever hurt me at all. This disease is a love of soccer, or as I call it, the footy bug.

I started playing as most suburban kids do, in a kick-and-swarm league around the age of 5. I was on the green team. As I grew, I kept playing soccer, for travel teams and in high school. But I was never that good. I would sit in class and stare out the window, thinking about how I couldn’t wait and go to that days game. Except most games involved me sitting on the bench for almost all of the 80 minutes. But all I wanted to do was get out there, put on the jersey.

Even after I graduated, and any chance of advancing my playing career was over, I still played. I described myself as the worst player in the league. Luckily I’ve found other way to keep contribute to the game and keep it close to me, the least of which being the soccer ball always underneath my desk.

Plenty of people in the US portray the sport as a sissy or communist activity. That’s fine. If you don’t want to get it, I don’t really want you to get it. But those that do know why it is called the beautiful game.

Teen Wolf Remake?

Unconfirmed reports are coming out that a remake of Teen Wolf is in the works.

I am conflicted about this. Teen Wolf is one of my favorite movies. It is so ridiculous, and that is what makes it great. Teen Wolf Too leaves plenty to be desired, but it is OK as far as sequels go.

Teen Wolf 3 would most likely be an abomination. I can also see a standard remake, but with someone like Michael Cera as Scott Howard, which would ruin the movie.

If something does come of this, I hope it does justice to one of the best movies of the 80s. And I hope to win in the end.

More Outrage Needed Against Stallworth

Earlier today Donte Stallworth was sentenced to 30 days in jail followed by 2 years of house arrest for DUI manslaughter.

There is some outrage from this lenient sentence, but not nearly enough. There should be columns on the frontpage of espn.com Most parts of the sports blogosphere are only dedicating one post to it.

30 days is really nothing. A month in jail is a routine sentence. 2 years of house arrest for a millionaire is like 2 years of Chuck-E-Cheese arrest for a 6-year-old.

It’s safe to assume Stallworth will return to the NFL in the near future, joining the murderers and alleged murders still in the league. Revenue will continue to increase, and the NFL will cement itself as the top processional sports league in the country, at the expense of justice.

Why You Should Care About The US Open Cup

Today is the first day of the US Open Cup. The what you say? I thought that tennis tournament is in late August and golf tournaments start on Thursdays? Nope, soccer. The US Open Cup is one of the oldest championships in American sports, and basically the only one in which anyone can compete.

Imagine if baseball had a tournament in which not just every Major League team, but also every minor league and adult amateur team had a chance to qualify. That is what you get with the US Open Cup. Any soccer team that plays in a league registered with the United States Soccer Federation can attempt to qualify for the cup through their state and region.

Teams that qualify through the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) fall into the category of regular Joe’s. Many of them played in college, but now they are working regular jobs and playing soccer on the weekends. Yet if they win 2 games against low level professional clubs, they find themselves playing an MLS team.

That is the same scenario people wish for every year in the NCAA Tournament, a double digit seed making it to the sweet sixteen. I’ll be at one of the sixteen opening round matches tonight, rooting for the underdog. If you can’t make it, follow the action at usopencup.com or on twitter.

Value Over Replacement Blogger

I like to think of myself as a bit of a sports progressive. I think the most important player in football is the left tackle (for a right-handed quarterback). I figure out efficiency for basketball teams in a matter of seconds. I’m a soccer fan. But I just read this post on Baseball Prospectus and my head is swimming.

Sabermetrics are changing the game a little at a time, and I have no idea what is going on. I’ve heard of most of the stats, and know what most of the acronyms stand for, but I can’t explain any of them. I like to be the smartest guy in the room, and I correct people way more than I should, and I bring nothing to the table regarding “new” baseball stats. I guess I have an assignment: find out why Kevin Youkilis is the Greek God of Walks.

More Questions Than Answers After Costa Rica Match

The US Men’s National Team did not come into the Costa Rica match expecting one of their easiest matches of the hexagonal. The 0-6-1 record at Estadio Saprissa in World Cup Qualifying stood for itself. Maurice Edu, the hottest US player on the world stage, and Frankie Hejduk were ruled out long before the game started. Then it was determined before kickoff that Jonathan Spector and Brian Ching wouldn’t play, presumably because of the one of a kind turf in Estadio Saprissa.

This lineup was produced an hour or so before kickoff:Howard; Wynne, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Beasley; Mastroeni, Bradley, Torres; Dempsey, Donovan, Altidore. My immediate reaction was huh? The first thought I formulated can be seen here. No matter if this group went 4-3-3, 4-5-1, or 4-3-2-1, the issue for the US would be on the flanks. Marvell Wynne was earning his 3rd cap, in one of the most hostile environments in CONCACAF and the world. DaMarcus Beasley was making his 2nd appearence at left back, and he had not been getting much playing time at all with Rangers. Jose Fransisco Torres is not a true wing player, though he is left footed. Clint Dempsey is a little bit more of an attacking player than is needed at the right outside midfield position for coach Bob Bradley.

So what happened to the US? They got beaten twice in the first 13 minutes off the flank by Costa Rica. Even the bench couldn’t help, as there were no outside threats available. More than the bench, the entire US Player Pool is lacking on the outsides. US Soccer has done a good job developing players to play in the central defense and central midfield, and to some extent forward, but there is a dearth of talented wing players.

Additionally, the US team showed very little heart. Knowing they would be playing in a tough environment (no change was given in coins at the concession stands so the fans couldn’t make them projectiles) the US needed to come out quick and send a message, whether it was a hard foul or strong attack. Costa Rica scored 79 seconds in. The US never seemed to find there composure, lacked communication and heart defending, all things that could see them expelled from the World Cup in three games.

The US now has to regroup with their match against Honduras in Chicago on Saturday. The US will be without fierce midfielder Michael Bradley, but the central midfield is the deepest position on the US team. This match should also see the re-emergence of Brian Ching. The choices by Coach Bradley should be intersesting as the US looks for 3 points at home.

It’s also a shame that ESPN did not send JP Dellacamera and John Harkes to San Jose. Their commentary was incomplete due to there lack of atmosphere and full view of the match. Saturday should bring a return of live commentary as well.