Putting the hyper in hyperbole

The reaction is insane. Suddenly every media personality in the city of Toronto feels compelled to comment on the “outrageous” behaviour of the many “wannabe hooligans” Saturday in Columbus. None were actually there, but that hasn’t stopped them.

Funny that the same outrage wasn’t made last December after a Buffalo Bills game. Then 21 Canadians were arrested. That’s two-thirds of the 33 that found themselves on the wrong side of the law that day.

Saturday? There was one arrest (it’s about halfway down on the blotter - 1 Black and Gold Boulevard).

Yet there has been an absolutely gluttony of media on the “incident” in Columbus. Where was the same reaction in December when 20 times more Canadians were arrested at a NFL game. The overreaction would be funny if it weren’t so pathetically predictable.

Sober Second Thoughts: Send in the clowns

“I dare you to make a move. I’d love to shoot this right into you.”

That’s what the Columbus city cop said to me moments after I was grabbed by about five officers. A tazer guy was jabbed into my ribs. Another police officer had her mace pointed at me.

I had been attempting to video tape the police as they zeroed into two black men wearing Toronto colours. I can’t say for sure what the two men had done to attract attention. However, they certainly did not appear to be any more aggressive than any of the about 250 fans of paler complexions that were in the south concourse of Columbus Crew Stadium.

In the end I was lucky. I escaped further notice and was released back into the crowd. One of the two black men wasn’t as fortune. Sometime later he could be seen being escorted to a waiting police vehicle. I followed closely, asking an officer why he had been arrested. He refused to answer. When pressed, the officer said “I don’t need to tell you anything. You’re not American.”

I was never asked for I.D.

Eventually a younger officer assured me that the Canadian consulate had been contacted and that he assumed that the Canadian men detained would likely be released with a fine. I have not heard whether that happened (D.E. – feel free to contact me if you need a witness to what transpired).

In a perfect world we all would have just walked out of the stadium and there wouldn’t have been any problems. Ours is an imperfect world. As such, we rely on the authorities to keep the peace. Last Saturday the Columbus police seemed uninterested – or unable – to do that. Rather, their actions did nothing but inflame an already tense situation and to actually put innocent fans of both teams in further danger.

An 85th minute own goal had sent the Toronto section into a wonderful chaos. The vast majority of the estimated 1,500 to 2,000 TFC fans were passionately toeing the line that ultras supporters the world over do. A couple crossed it – throwing the stadium railing over the edge was likely a bad idea; those that lit flares and smoke bombs did so with full knowledge of what would happen if they were caught. But no one was talking about seeking out Columbus supporters to cause trouble. There was no interest in fighting, or engaging in any so-called hooligan behaviour. The primary interest among most of the crowd was to get back to the hotel and get to the second purpose of the trip – introducing themselves to as many OSU co-eds as possible.

But then Columbus Crew Stadium security decided that they needed to get the Toronto supporters out of the stadium. They forced anyone they saw in TFC red down a single stairwell that led into a bottleneck that had been filled with about 100 to 150 Crew supporters, most wearing black t-shirts with Hudson Street Hooligans written on them.

The result was predictable. Although it was mostly noise until the police got involved.
Allow me an aside here: For about a year I reported on the native land dispute in Caledonia, Ont. There, several aboriginal people reclaimed/occupied (depending on your perception) a construction site almost three years ago. Since then, there have been several altercations between natives and non-natives. Many of the incidents have been a hundred times tenser than what was happening in Columbus Saturday. But, yet, after the initial incident there has been remarkably little to no real violence – a couple flare ups from time to time, but always isolated and rarely involving more than a couple people. One of the main reasons for that has been the approach of the police. They have taken a “keep the peace” approach, avoiding trivial arrests and only laying hands on people when absolutely necessary.

When an incident takes place where two groups face off the police simply take a line between then, refuse to engage either side and allow people to yell and scream until their heart is content. If someone tries to break through the line, the police deal with them. But otherwise it’s hands off.
That’s professional crowd control. What I witnessed Saturday was a gong show. The police were everywhere, they did not appear to be communicating with each other and “hands on” was a matter of first response rather than last resort. About all they accomplished was to further enrage the group and to put those not involved at risk – at one point two police cars took chase after a fleeing Toronto fan. Driving about 60 kph they weaved their way through a crowded parking lot.

And all that is without touching on what appeared to me to be a certain lack of colour blindness in their choice of who to detain.

The instinct among many will be to paint the incident as a problem of a few bad apples looking for way to become part of a “proper firm.” Those more sympathetic to Columbus will claim that the “classless Canucks” are to blame. Toronto fans might make reference to the “KKKrew.” And while it is fair to suggest that the Toronto fans should have just went back to their bus and that there was absolutely no reason for the Columbus fans to be on the south side of the stadium waiting, doing so misses the point by half.

Poor choices by security were made worse by an incredible overreaction by police (they deployed a helicopter for God sakes). The Crew, Columbus and MLS can either learn from that or they can continue to make the same mistakes and wait for the next incident (while hoping against hope that it doesn’t get worse).

Mitchell is out

Duane called it a while ago, but it's official now. Dale Mitchell has been fired as head coach of the Canadian men's soccer team, according to a Canadian Press report (via The Globe and Mail).

The CSA pretty much had to make this move in my mind. The dismal failure of last year's World Cup qualifying run was one thing and led to plenty of criticism of Mitchell by the fans, pundits and observers. On its own, that might not have been enough, though; there have been plenty of protests before that haven't changed much, and firing a coach mid-contract while you're facing tough economic times and budget cutbacks is never the easiest thing to do. The public criticism of Mitchell by Canada's top stars was what pushed the momentum for this change over the edge. Soccer is becoming a larger player on the Canadian sports landscape all the time, but it's the players that are making it happen. Coaches and press releases are one thing, but for the national teams, it's the players that draw much of the media and viewer interest. Enough recognizable players went after Mitchell and refused to don the Canadian colours while he held the reins, and that was what stoked the building outrage against him.

There's no word yet on who will replace Mitchell, but Stephen Hart is the forerunner for at least the interim job. Hart has had success with the national team before, most notably in the Gold Cup, and is apparently well-liked by the players. More importantly, he's already within the CSA and thus can be shunted over to a new role quickly and easily (and probably without significant added costs). The view from this corner is that he'll do a good job, but the proof is always in the pudding. Nevertheless, this move shows that the CSA is continuing to pay at least some heed to its critics. It's been a long time coming, but they seem headed in the right direction.

One final thing; let's not be too hard on Mitchell on his way out the door. The man has contributed a lot to Canadian soccer over the years, both as a player and in various coaching roles. Yes, his recent stint at the top was anything but successful and his U-20 team performed well below everyone's expectations in the World Cup, but coaching is a difficult job. Any observer of sports knows that there are plenty of factors that go into every game, including coaching techniques and strategies, the skill of the players, the chemistry of the team and pure, simple, unadulterated luck. Those factors didn't mesh successfully during Mitchell's term, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's all his fault.

Mitchell certainly deserves a share of the blame, but even with that, keep in mind the level of play involved. It can't be easy to try and coach at a high level, especially given the competition, the various players involved and the budget and facility problems that are a reality in Canada. I spoke with Mitchell a couple of times back in 2007 when he was still coaching the U20 team, and I was impressed with his soccer knowledge and his sense of the game. He was anything but successful at the highest level, but I'm quite certain he still has forgotten more about top-level soccer than I'll probably ever know. That's not to excuse his poor performance at the top, but it's worthwhile to remember that the man devoted a lot of his life to Canadian soccer and accomplished some important things along the way. It's unfortunate it didn't work out better in the end.

Updated 2:41 PST with some links:
- J from Out of Touch keeps Mitchell's career in perspective.
- Lord Bob from The Maple Leaf Forever probably regrets shooting down Duane's earlier report, but his post does have some interesting thoughts on who could replace Mitchell.
- Conversely, Ben Knight of Onward Soccer had this figured out from the start. His post is a good summary of how we got to this point and what exactly went wrong under Mitchell, plus he has some good ideas about where to go from here.

[Cross-posted to Out Of Left Field].

To be a fan (in red) in C-Bus

You know it was the first, but you still can’t help yourself. Without the life of supporters, Crew Stadium really isn’t very impressive. Utilitarian is about the best thing I could say about it. Yet after 7-hours in my old car driving through the heart of America it appears like a Mecca. From the dim light of early dawn in Toronto we had been seeking out this destination -- in all its simple charm and blandness.

The first thing we noticed was that the road signs had been changed. MLS Champions Lane (or Drive, or Street, we really didn’t look that close). Whatever it was it seemed a little too, um, presumptuous. One championship in 12 years in a league that tries really, really hard to make everyone the same. It seems like maybe MLS Champions lane should be in Washington. Columbus might want to consider Signed The Right (Almost) DP Crescent, but that’s just me. Whatever, they’re happy, I guess. MASSIVE! even...

ANYWAY. Forgive me. I’m too many cans of Busch (Cold as a Mountain Stream; Smooth as its Name) into night to fight my instincts. Yes, I’m a journalist (hell, I went to J-School. A crappy one, but still), but, man, I’m still a fan. Sue me. I know you’re not supposed to cheer in the press box (and I don’t when I’m in them), but I happen to think that it’s important for sports writers to remember what it was that made them want to write about, let’s face it, pretty frivolous stuff. So, I want Toronto FC to win tomorrow. As I’ve already said, sue me.

I have all year to be objective – and by signing on to work the It’s Called Football post-game show (debuting next Saturday!) I will be watching most of the rest of the season at least partly as a reporter. However, this weekend is about something a little more, well, primal. It’s about love and hate and very little in between.

Tonight I respect the Crew and their accomplishments. But I also hate them; I hate them with every last ounce of my soul. (Sue me). Even though I just spent the better part of two hours exchanging text messages with a Hudson Street Hooligan, I hate the HSH too. They aren’t with me and they don’t support my team and my city. It’s really that simple.

So, when I go to the Crew boards and I look at their fans’ pathetic attempt at trophy smack (we’ve been in the league two years dumbasses. Of course you’ve won more) I laugh. I look at the stadium and I think, hell, BMO’s even better than that. And I look at the team and supporters I think, well, isn’t that cute how they try.

It’s not personal. It actually has very little to do with them. I’m sure their nice people and their mothers love them. They just have terrible taste in football teams (make that team, singular, for any Columbus supporters of Man City).

This sport is tribal, and I’m not sure you can really understand it until you understand that.

ANYWAY...On Monday, when I’m back in my den in Toronto, I will objectively provide you all with a breakdown of what I saw and of what I think is to come. But for the rest of the weekend...

This weekend I’m a fan. A fan that is excited to see his Reds live and in person tomorrow. And if you don’t like that, well...

Sue me.

Problems Saturday would be Dyer for the sport

The next post in this space will be from Columbus (unless Andrew has something to say that is). The season never feels real until you stand in a stadium on a game day. I’m kind of like a kid on Christmas Eve right now. It’s all I can do to stop myself from leaving already.

I’m going down tomorrow so that I’m there all day on Saturday. I want to set the scene fully and get a real good sense of the feeling in Columbus. There has been a lot of Internet tough guy behaviour amongst fans of both teams this off-season and there is still some lingering ill will about the 2008 game in Columbus. I don’t think there will be any trouble Saturday, but I can’t say for sure.

I want to address the question of the potential for problems, but before I do we need to have a word about the H word—hooligan.

There is nothing to address. There are no hooligans in northern North America. The social structure and the mores of Canada and the United States would prevent the hooligan culture from truly taking root. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some within supporter’s culture that are capable of crossing a line, nor does it mean that the mainstream media won’t make that jump each and every time there is a problem at a soccer game (while ignoring the hundreds of fights that take place at a typical NFL game, or the institutionalized violence at a NHL game). So, as unfair as it may be, it’s vital that supporter’s groups self-police, least they lose what freedoms they now have.

What’s beginning to happen in northern North America is the emergence of Ultras culture (and if you are new to the scene I encourage you to spend some time Googling tonight to understand the difference between an Ultra and a Hooligan). Although Ultras are hardly angels, the cornerstone to the culture is a passion for the colours of the home club and a loyalty to the people you stand with on game day. What it’s not about is recreating a favourite episode of The Real Football Factories. No one is looking to start crap for the sake of it. However, defending your group against attacks from outsiders is an entirely different thing.

This is my worry for Saturday. I know the Toronto groups are not going down to cause problems with Columbus fans. Despite what some people will have you believe no one here is debating how to smuggle batteries into the stadium to throw at people. I assume that the same can be said about Crew fans. But U-Sector, Red Patch Boys, Hudson Street Hooligans (seriously guys, change the name. Not everyone gets the irony) Crew Union and others have something in common. They all attract tourists. And the tourists are hard to control. There is just enough tension that it would only take one tourist from either side doing something really stupid for everything to blow up (because, as stated, loyalty to the group dictates that you will defend it. As it should). If everything blows up...we’re one more step away from having security telling us to sit down in the supporters sections (for example).

The sport really can’t afford a set-back. If you’re going to the game Saturday, keep the focus on the pitch and on enjoying the day out with your friends. Let's leave the crap for Danny Dyer.

CBC cuts may include soccer coverage

Details are scanty so far, but the Canadian Press story in The Globe and Mail on CBC's job cuts includes these lines that may be of interest to Canadian soccer fans:

"The cash-strapped CBC is cutting back its sports coverage and reducing the number of episodes for marquee TV shows including Little Mosque on the Prairie and Being Erica.
The public broadcaster made the announcement this afternoon, a day after revealing plans to eliminate 800 jobs to cope with a $171-million deficit.
It plans to reduce or eliminate coverage of popular sporting events including international figure skating, skiing, swimming and soccer."

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star includes a few more details on his blog. He writes that 313 of the CBC's 800 cuts will be in "sports, entertainment, current affairs and sales." Additional specific sports programs he says are destined for reductions or complete cuts include the radio show The Inside Track and the CBC's televised coverage of track and field. Zelkovich also says that the network will be reducing their coverage of "CONCACAF soccer" or cutting it completely. It isn't clear if that only refers to international games and tournaments such as the Gold Cup, or if club tournaments such as the CONCACAF Champions League will also be included.

However, the CBC's coverage of TFC for this season doesn't appear to be impacted. This could perhaps affect the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, though; some of those games were carried on CBC last year, but none of them currently have TV coverage listed on the Toronto FC schedule, and it's possible that those could be considered CONCACAF games (as they're qualifiers for a CONCACAF event). It will be interesting to watch and see how this plays out.

Update: 2:55 p.m. PT: Greg Hughes has more on the cuts over at Out of Left Field, including a link to a CBC release on the matter which specifies that the CONCACAF Champions League is toast. It's still not clear if that applies to qualifiers like the Canadian championship, but it might as those were widely labeled as part of the CONCACAF Champions League during the broadcasts last summer. Sounds like Blue Jays baseball is gone too.

It's Called Football preview: Columbus - Toronto

This week's It's Called Football pre-game show (we're still looking for a name...e-mail suggestions) is up.

We preview the game and we talk to the Red Patch Boys Jack DePoe.

Part one:


Part two:

Toronto fans "disrespected" the Crew by spending so much money in an otherwise half-empty stadium last year

Columbus GM Mark McCullers comes off as a two-bit boxing promoter in this clip.



“The Toronto fans, they came down with no respect for our organization...”

Well, Mark, your organization sold the damn tickets to the Toronto fans. To me, the only lack of respect shown was by your FO who showed-up your own damn supporters by allowing so many TFC fans to fill that place last year. Your FO could have capped the tickets at a couple hundred – sure more would have found other ways to get in, but not 2,200. But, you didn’t. You facilitated the “Canadian invasion” of Crew stadium and you will do so again this year, where it’s estimated that as many as 2,000 are going down again.

If you don’t want so many TFC fans in your building “disrespecting” the Crew then do a better job selling tickets to Crew supporters. Then our loonies might not be as appealing to you and you can show your stadium and team the respect you think it deserves.

NOTE: I’ll be traveling to Columbus tomorrow morning and will be setting the scene Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. I’ll also be doing a live hit on It’s Called Football where the boys from Some Guys Writing About Canadian Soccer are going to collectively take my place for the week (and we have a very good guest booked – I can likely tell you who soon, but he knows his stuff and is well known).

As for coverage after the game - donations to help with bail would be appreciated.

Get your USL-1 fix

Good news today for hopeless addicts fans of North American footy and for divorce lawyers. Every 2009 USL-1 game not available on Fox Soccer Channel will be broadcast online through the USL Live channel.

And the cost?

It's free!

A couple weeks ago we caught wind that USL Live would no longer be running in 2009. So, in that short time we've gone from the prospect of having almost no coverage of USL-1, to having an absolute orgy of it. The games will be available on demand as well, which as a guy that sits in front of his computer at a lot of odd hours is something that I appreciate.

Summer woes for Reds

It’s only been two years, sure, but if you want to see an odd statistical trend have a peak at TFC’s all-time record during the summer months.

In the days between June 21 and Sept. 21 Toronto has played a total of 27 games during the 2007 and 2008 season.

Three wins

Nine draws

Fifteen losses.

The summer has not been kind to TFC. The team averages .66 points per game. Ouch.

And with eight games on the road in the summer of ’09, it might not get much better.

Double the Canuck problem

The question of how the Canadian MLS teams are going to find domestic talent is going to be asked a great deal over the next two years. After all, Mo Johnston has complained long and hard that there isn’t enough Canuck talent out there. And now we have a second team coming in.

Today Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post has a go at the question. Once again the message is loud and clear—there just aren’t enough Canucks.

And there aren’t. UNDER THE CURRENT CAP RESTRICTIONS. There are plenty of mid-level Canadians that could be repatriated if the league was able to offer them a little bit more coin. However, as it stands now, most Canadians that could help would have to take a pay cut to come home. Some will (see Brennan, Jimmy), but most, understandably, won’t/can’t.

The cap issue impacts the whole league. During yesterday’s conference call Don Garber admitted that the league needs to do more to take care of the on-field product. Assumedly seeing two USL teams outperform MLS in the CONCACAF Champions League hit a nerve (although alarmingly Garber talked about the need to grow the waste of time Superliga, without mentioning success in the region’s actual championship).

A bump in the cap is needed to attract domestic players back from Europe, whether they are Canadian or American. With $70 million coming into the league in expansion fees in the next two years it’s hard to understand how it won’t be possible.

But what really needs to be stressed is this: There are more than enough Canadian players to field two MLS teams. We just need to pay them.

The mayor calls it: TFC in title chase.

Ah, the essential questions--not budget investments or the economy: TFC. TFC will challenge for the title, playoffs, fun certain.

That’s Toronto mayor David Miller’s return tweet to me after I asked him how he thought TFC was going to do this year. Although I’m pretty sure the mayor doesn’t spend 20-hours a day reading MLS news stories – and therefore might be better prepared to speak about urban transit theory – it’s still nice to see a mayor that actually cares enough about MLS to have an opinion.

This post isn’t political. I’m actually a little ambivalent about Miller the politician. But, he is a friend of soccer. He was during the stadium debate pre-TFC and he continues to be today. Late last season, he was caught on camera talking about the need to get grass into BMO Field. The man’s a fan. He has season tickets. In the second deck. It’s strangely human for a politician, no?

If Miller were the mayor of Ottawa today, I’d feel more confident about the soccer stadium plan there. It’s important to have people in positions of power that appreciate what soccer and sport brings to a community (and Miller may yet provide more positive influence for the sport in this region. If the Pan/Am bid that he is backing is successful Hamilton will get a new stadium. If Hamilton gets a new stadium there is a good chance it also gets a USL team).

As stated, I don’t agree with everything the mayor does. But, this isn’t the time or place for that debate. What I do appreciate is that he’s a fan of the beautiful game, has an appreciation for sport and that he actually gets out there and supports the home team.

And for that I salute him.

Blanco gives his eight months notice

If you needed any more reasons why this has to be the Chicago Fire’s year, you got one today with the news that this will be Cuauhtemoc Blanco's final season with the Fire.

"I'm leaving this year. My contract will be done, and I will leave happy because I have great teammates. It's a decision I made. I'm going to look for other options."

Well there ya go. Blanco did not indicate why he was leaving. He simply said that he was going to shop around.

What’s interesting is that he did not rule out the idea of staying in MLS. Although Mexico is likely the preferred destination, most speculate, he will entertain options in the league. Chivas USA really should make a play for him. They have the DP space and God knows they need to reach more fans. It would solidify them as the “Mexican” MLS team and, provided he doesn’t take a giant step back this year, it would make them a contender.

That said the other L.A. team might want to continue its destructive need-two-guys-making-half-the-salary path and Houston might make some sense too. As would the Mexican league. Which is where he likely will end up.

One thing is now known, however. He won’t be in Chicago. So, the Fire need to win now.

DC United shut out on a different pitch

A Prince George's County Council committee yesterday recommended that the county oppose legislation that would launch planning for a stadium for the D.C. United soccer team.

And it gets worse. The vote was 5-0 opposed. That’s like Aston Villa bad.

As has been written in this space before, the DC stadium situation is depressing. Despite having one of the biggest cores of support and arguably the best supporter’s in the league (although Don Garber essentially gave that title to TFC today in his press conference – hey, don’t yell at me, I’m just the reporter) United can’t get a stadium built. Anywhere.

And this is not a new problem.

Which begs the question: In a single entity league is it justifiable to keep a team in a market where it can’t control its revenue streams (and that’s what Soccer Specific Stadiums are really about. It’s not about gridiron lines on the pitch, creating atmosphere or even controlling scheduling. It’s about making money)?

It’s hard to argue that it is. Even when the team in question is DC United.

There is still time to turn the vote around, but it sure doesn’t look good right now.

Top 15 for March 24

Before I start, a word about the rankings.

The Top 15 is both a reflection of how teams are doing and of how much potential they have—basically if you want to read a ranking system that only considers the results, look at the damn standings in the paper. What would be the point of this exercise?

That’s the other thing. What is the point of this exercise? It’s to entertain. So if you don’t like where your team is placed, take a deep breath and remind yourself that I don’t really matter. It’s all just for fun.

Ok, with that out of the way, let’s take a look at the week one rankings!

No. 15 – New York
Good God what was that? Yes, the Bulls were missing some players, but they made Seattle look like bloody Barcelona. Last place isn’t a big enough drop based on the garbage performance of last week.

No. 14 – Galaxy
I’m bumping them up over New York based on Landon Donovan alone. It’s fitting because that pretty much sums up the LA Galaxy – Landon Donovan alone.

No. 13 – Dallas
It was a hell of a nice goal by Kenny Cooper, wasn’t it? Sadly for Dallas fans that was about all that FCD could hold onto in a tepid performance against Chicago (albeit against one of the best teams in the league).

No. 12 – Colorado
Many observers described the Colorado – Chivas game as the dullest of the opening weekend (although those people may not have watched the San Jose game). Colorado did not do anything to suggest that they deserve more consideration.

No. 11 – San Jose
About the best you can say is that the ‘Quakes kept it close. But, they still looked a bit like a well organized expansion team. That’s not good enough in year two.

No. 10 – DC United
Blowing the two goal lead late gives one reason to pause. But, there was a little bit of life there from some old faces to also give some hope.

No. 9 – Seattle
I know there will be some screaming for this team to be higher. Let’s wait to see what this week brings.

No. 8 – Chivas
The Goats did what they had to do against Colorado, but still look to be just OK in a weak West (which will mean a playoff berth).

No. 7 – Kansas City
They didn’t do enough wrong to drop too far, but there were some issues. The Wiz didn’t really create and unless the team thinks it can score all its goals this year from 25-yards out, there is still work to be done.

No. 6 – New England
The Revs got an important road win. It was ugly and against a not so inspiring opponent, but three points is three points.

No. 5 – Toronto FC
DeRo was as advertised and Amado Guevera looked to be back in MVP form. The big test comes this weekend with two of the team’s best players on international duty and the defending champs waiting.

No. 4 – Houston
A 1-1 draw with Columbus on a horrible pitch really settled nothing. The Dynamo stay put for now.

No. 3 – Salt Lake
A bye week sets up a very interesting game with Seattle. A lot will be told about the West in that match-up.

No. 2 – Columbus
As with Houston, the condition of the pitch last week makes it difficult to evaluate C-bus. So, they stay.

No. 1 – Chicago
As do the fire who dominated all the way in a 3-1 win against Dallas.

Morace-mania hits T.O.

The CSA re-introduced Carolina Morace to Toronto media today at a press conference ostensibly to sell the May 25 friendly between Canada and Japan. Although I’m sure the CSA would love to make some coin off of the game, today was as much about letting the media quiz the Italian about her first seven weeks on the job.

I’ll have a story in tomorrow’s Metro. So take the subway for the one (minor) scoope (hint: the coach slipped up and said the name of the second likely friendly opponent).

What I will say about the event was this: The CSA is trying very hard to make this woman the face of the organization right now. Two press events in seven weeks would suggest that . It’s likely a good idea.

Morace impresses me. I’m pretty sure she impresses everyone. She exudes confidence and intelligence and it is damn exciting to know that this woman is running the show. About the only downfall you can point to is that her English isn’t great (it’s a hell of a lot better than my Italian, however). If she spoke the language just a little better she would be a spectacular spokesperson for the game here.

There is a quote in the Metro piece that speaks to her appreciation for the skill of the game (you’re going to have to take the subway for that too). Long-time observers of the women’s game here will be delighted with its context.

One angle I went for today that didn’t make my final piece was to ask Morace about what her biggest personal adjustment coming to Canada. She replied that it was to keep her candour in check.

“It Italy when people want to say something they just come out and say it,” she said. “Here you have to be a little more careful.”

Carolina if you are reading this let me give you some friendly advice. Just spit it out and don’t worry about our feelings. Canadian soccer has waited a long time for what you bring. We don’t need careful anymore.

Victoria to USL-1...please make this happen

It’s been rumoured for a while that Victoria may be looking to make the jump to USL-1 when Vancouver moves over to MLS in 2011. But, it’s still nice to see someone involved with the Victoria PDL team saying it for the record. As I said here yesterday, the problem would be a lack of west coast teams to play, but if the Highlanders are committed to doing it regardless, then all the power to them.

Saturday on It’s Called Football, I asked Bob Lenarduzzi what the Whitecaps planned to do with their USL territorial rights, which cover all of B.C. He did not rule out keeping them, suggesting that it might be possible to tie an USL-1 team into the ‘Caps development system.

There are still a lot of things to work out with the development model (and hopefully MLS is willing to compromise with the Canadian teams. Unless domestic restrictions are eliminated outright, league-wide, finding enough Canadian players to fill out two or more MLS rosters is going to be an issue. Unless the Canadian teams are allowed to development them themselves that is). But, having an USL-1 team directly associated with a MLS club is an intriguing idea (although it would make the Voyageurs Cup match-up between the two sides awkward...).

Regardless – as I’ve written 1,765,983 times already – more fully pro teams in Canada is a good thing. Let’s hope this happens.

WPS will be a Tweet for fans

On Friday, the new Women's Professional Soccer league announced it will allow selected players to tweet during its inaugural game between the Los Angeles Sol and Washington Freedom on March 29. Depending on fan response, league officials are considering allowing players to tweet during games all season.

If it's good enough for Shaq...

"Han Duan nds 2get her hd out of her ass. I wz open on the wing. - Marta"

Rohan Ricketts told us he was doing his laundry today, so why not?

(and yes I'll post this update to my Twitter feed)

Dobson: Ottawa still in play

Eugene Melnyk is doing everything he can to take advantage of the momentum in Vancouver and even Portland.
He released separate public statements immediately after the two cities were awarded their MLS franchises, congratulating both, and reminding everyone, especially the league, that Ottawa still wants to join the party.
And trust me, if Melnyk gets his stadium, he'll get his team. It’s a certainty.
But it’s a big hurdle.
The league wants Ottawa so badly they sent a letter Monday morning to the mayor and city councillors letting them know how strongly they feel about Melnyk and the chances for success of a team in the nation's capital.

That's from Gerry Dobson's blog entry for today.

It touches on a point I've tried to make several times in this space -- that Ottawa is a legitimate contender for a MLS team, probably one for 2012 if Ottawa builds the stadium.

As Dobson says in the linked article, it's still a big if (and it is odd that Vancouver can share a facility with the BC Lions, but somehow Ottawa can't share with the Rough Riders 3.0 -- on an unrelated note, am I the only person secretly hoping Ottawa's MLS team is called the Rough Riders for the shear hilarity of it?). But, if they build it, MLS is coming.

Maybe even with Montreal (if Montreal can get its crap together). The league just proved that it's willing to A) further go into Canada and B)bring in two teams that are very close together geographically (Montreal and Ottawa would be the second closest rivals behind only Chivas - Galaxy).

If everything goes perfectly for Canadian fans in the next year it could be a really good year to be a football fan in this country. And how often have we Canucks been able to say that?

Burying the lead Canadian footy style

Can someone please explain to me why this Bob Mackin article about Vancouver selling out its deposits for MLS season tickets requires a pot-shot at Toronto?

An inaccurate pot-shot as well, since the 7,000 figure referenced in the article represented season tickets sold, rather than simply deposits to reserve the right to buy later. Not to mention that Vancouver had the advantage of a pre-existing season ticket base, whereas Toronto was starting from scratch (or that maybe TFC might have exposed a few Van City dwellers to the wonderful, screwed-up world of MLS).

See, pointing all that out is petty and misses the point that it’s AMAZING that Canadian club soccer is able to sell-out 5,000 deposits on season tickets, or have a 13,000 person waiting list for season tickets in Toronto, or sell more than 50,000 seats for a CONCACAF Champions League game in Montreal.

For the first time in a generation, the professional club game is growing in popularity and relevance. That’s the story, Mr. Mackin. Not that you “beat” Toronto in some game no one here knew we were playing in.

5,000 reasons to love Jimmy B

Tradition is vital in the world of football. Teams and supporters are almost fanatical about it. And it really can’t be understood unless you are part of the culture.

TFC is just three years old. Yet already there are certain things that are talked about with a sense of awe. (Although I will continue to make the argument that you cannot look at a MLS team in isolation. They must be seen as part of the overall soccer history of the city that they play in. The 1984 Soccer Bowl is every bit a part of TFC’s history as George Best scoring six against Northampton is part of Manchester United’s).

The Toronto crowd signs in the 24th minute (and this space is named because of) an otherwise forgettable goal scored by a journeyman striker. A journeyman striker that finally found a home in the most unexpected place, largely because of that goal, it should be pointed out.
Which brings me to this coming Saturday. The original Red is about to pass a milestone of sorts.

In the 18th minute Jimmy Brennan will have played 5,000 MLS minutes for TFC – the hometown team he left Europe (and likely left money on the table) to come play for. We idolize Danny Dichio and Marvell Wynne and many other great international players that have come to our city to play, but I sometimes thing we take our own for granted. Jimmy B doesn’t nearly get the credit he deserves. When this team’s history books are written, he deserves a chapter of his own.

Jimmy B plays the game like a Canadian. And although you could take that the wrong way I mean it as a compliment. He plays tough, intense and takes very little crap. He does not suffer fools. TFC fans all heard his opinion of divers last year when the microphone caught something that the broadcasters likely wished it hadn’t --“get up ya (rhymes with bunt).” If Don Cherry liked soccer, Brennan would be his favourite player.

Brennan doesn’t really ask for attention, but I will argue that Toronto fans should give him a little this weekend in the 18th minute. He was our first, after all, and he remains one of our most loyal and dedicated servants. One gets the impression that if he wasn’t playing, Jimmy would be having a couple pints at the Gate or Shoeless pre-game with us. Basically he’s a good ole’ Canuck and we need to celebrate that.

Who’s with me?

Sober Second Thoughts: A result to celebrate

Sober Second Thoughts is my weekly column looking at the previous week’s TFC result from a supporter’s perspective. If you read my work for Ives last year you will have some idea of what to expect. Normally, it will be posted no later than the day following the game. It was delayed this week because of some domestic factors...

Three points. On the road. Against a team that has always gave them fits.

When you try and breakdown TFC’s season opening 3-2 victory in Kansas City Saturday it starts and finishes with those three basic things. Sure you could nitpick. But, to do so is to miss the point. In MLS you protect home turf and take what you can get on the road.

Toronto got three points.

The atmosphere at the Duke was as jovial and intense as it has ever had been in the moments leading up to kick-off. The mostly U-Sector crowd were there to celebrate the end of their indoor soccer league season and to count the final moments until the long MLS off-season was finally over. The place was packed and loud. An off-season of hope had given this crowd a swagger it’s never seen before. But, there was also trepidation. In the moments leading up to kick-off I was pulled aside by more than one fan, all with a similar message—hope for a mediocre result, expect disappointment.

It’s the fan’s way, really. You have to protect your emotions, after all.

“I’d be really happy with a 1-1 draw,” one fan told me. “I’d even be OK with a close loss.”

To that fan converting some of the seven draws that handicapped TFC’s ’08 season was the bigger worry than this perhaps hopeless match in K.C.

But once the ball was kicked, logic and self-preservation went out the window. Hope is a funny thing. It’s served up once weekly in 90 minute instalments. For about 330 days a year we see the faults. But as long as there are two teams and a ball on the pitch anything is possible. Even decisive road wins to open the MLS season.

Since he game ended I’ve read accounts – Kansas City accounts – that suggested that the Wizards were unlucky. It’s been written that TFC scored “against the run” and that it was K.C that lost the game, rather than Toronto that won it. Bias is a funny thing, isn’t it? Because, to me, the worst that can be said about TFC's performance was hat it was an evenly played game. Both Wiz goals were scored from outside the box. It’s hard to remember another clear scoring chance for the home side all game. If not for a little magic, the game could have been 3-0—4-0 really, but we all know that TFC can’t take penalties (and what’s up with that?).

Regardless, evenly played is damn good in this league and the bottom line is that the Reds won the game.

Next week is going to be tougher, but that hardly matters now. One point out of the first two would have been respectful. With three already in the bag, it’s all bonus now. Still, the 1,500 or so TFC fans that are making the trek down to Ohio next week would really appreciate something to yell about.

But that’s all five days away. There will be plenty of time for pessimism between then and now.
Today?

Top of the league, baby!

It's Called Football: March 21 - expansion talk

I needed to earn some domestic capital today after Saturday night and a trip to Columbus coming up next weekend...thus the limited updates today. However, I will be breaking down the TFC/KC game tomorrow in the debut of my "Sober Second Thoughts" column.

But, for now have a look at this week's It's Called Football. We talk expansion with Whitecaps GM Bob Lenarduzzi and Oregonian writer and Timbers Army elder Shawn Levy.

It's Called Football pre-game show - Kansas City

The first edition of the ICF pre-game show:



Ben and I will be doing this every week from here to the end of the season. Comments, as always, are welcome

The western (USL) front

"United Soccer Leagues congratulates Greg Kerfoot and his partners in their successful Major League Soccer expansion bid for Vancouver, British Columbia. The Whitecaps have been a highly performing USL First Division franchise under Greg’s ownership and Bob Lenarduzzi’s leadership for the better part of the decade, and the team has been instrumental in the ascent of USL-1 into one of the region’s most competitive men’s professional soccer leagues as evidenced by the performances of the Puerto Rico Islanders and Montreal Impact in the CONCACAF Champions League. With teams representing the Whitecaps in our Premier Development League, W-League and Super Y-League, USL looks forward to continuing to serve as a primary venue for the club’s ambitious player development programs and anticipate future discussion regarding their USL-1 franchise rights in the months ahead.”

That's the statement from the USL following Vancouver being named to MLS for 2011. It puts a brave face on a difficult question for the second tier league, which is facing a very big regional problem -- is there anywhere in the west to put a team?

USL-1 has gone from owning the northwest to extinct in 18-months. A fertile market has dried up and the league must soldier on with a mostly eastern footprint and even less national relevance today than it had a couple weeks ago.

It's a damn good thing the Puerto Rico Islanders are pulling a Barnsley because otherwise there wouldn't be much of anything for a USL fan to hold onto.

The final line of the quoted text is an interesting one. It talks about what Vancouver is going to do with its USL territorial rights (B.C.). There has been some talk about Victoria taking over in 2012. On the surface that sounds like a great idea, but again you wonder if it’s a smart business idea when the closest road trip in Minneapolis and the vast majority of your trips are across three time zones.

But maybe this is where Canada could come back into play. With the pro game seemingly on the raise here -- but geography still making the pipe dream of an all-Canadian league just that -- the USL could offer Western Canada with the perfect, mutually beneficial arrangement. Imagine USL-1 teams in Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Winnipeg. That solves your travel and sets up some great rivalries.

It's a long shot, sure, but five years ago you would have been committed for suggesting the possibility. Today, you just sound ambitious, not crazy.

MLS season is really just a warm-up for the V-Cup

Add into the season expectations, we also have some unfinished business in the Canada Cup this year. After missing out to Montreal last year, despite not losing to them, we have to put that right. We must win the cup this year, no ifs or buts... must!

Carl Robinson.

American readers can be forgiven for not quite getting the “Canada Cup.” Three teams, only one in MLS, it’s Canada, how could anyone really care, you Yanks might think. After all, the U.S. Open Cup does not inspire beyond the hardest of the hardcore and the teams sure don’t seem like they are trying too hard.

Yet...the Voyageurs Cup (which is what Robbo is talking about) is very much a big deal up here. Maybe it’s because it is so small that it’s so valuable to us. The rivalries are old (in the case of Montreal – Toronto you can pretty much trace that one back to 1066) and intense. When Montreal drew Toronto last year at BMO (and you gotta love that Robbo pointed out that the Impact never beat TFC) you could tell that the players were absolutely gutted.

If you were to ask 100 TFC supporters to chose between a 10-point MLS season that included a V-Cup win with a 5-0 thrashing of Montreal in the deciding game and a 50-point MLS season where Montreal won the Canadian title, I’m pretty sure a sizable amount would go with the former option. Some may see that as provincial, and maybe it is, but soccer is a provincial game.

So it’s nice to see that the players are taking the V-Cup seriously. No games at BMO are more anticipated than the Vancouver and especially the Montreal fixture.

As for predictions, well, a MLS team should win a round-robin competition between itself and two USL teams nine times out of 10. And we all know what happened last year.

It's Called Football - expansion-mania

Ben squared and I will be talking expansion, Dale Mitchell, Seattle Sounders and much, much more tomorrow at noon Eastern on It's Called Football. As always you can watch us live at thatchannel.com and feed us questions in the chat room.

We have two guests:
Shawn Levy, a writer with the Oregonian in Portland and an Elder of the Timbers Army and Whitecaps head of soccer Bob Lenarduzzi.

The Vancouver view: The West Coast rivalry is back

Today's announcement [Jose Romero, The Seattle Times] of Portland as the 18th MLS franchise could mean great things for the league, especially considering how Vancouver was named as the 17th franchise [Marc Weber, The Province] on Wednesday. Of course, there are many great reasons behind this pairing, but one of the most interesting is the history between the cities. Way back when Duane first called the race for Vancouver and Portland on March 3, his MLS source stated that the decision was made due to "stadium plan, political support and geographical factors". The stadium plans and political support are obviously crucial, but much ink has been spilled about them already, so it's those geographical factors that deserve further examination.

Vancouver, Portland and Seattle have had a natural soccer rivalry since the days of the old NASL, and that rivalry has carried on through the USL; all three cities had USL teams from 2001-2008, rekindling the old flame. Moreover, the geography of the region is well-suited to rivalries; it usually takes about two and a half hours to drive from Vancouver to Seattle and just under three hours to go from Seattle to Portland. Thus, there's been plenty of travelling support for all of these teams at the USL level, and that tends to make the games much more interesting. One of my favourite Whitecaps games last summer was their 2-1 victory over the Timbers, complete with about 30 Portland fans who made the six-hour trek north for the match armed with drums, horns and high spirits. A good crowd of away supporters adds a lot to a match and galvanizes the home fans, so that was great to see. Imagine how much more exciting those trips will be with all three teams in MLS.

Rivalries are crucial to building, expanding and selling sports in this day and age. There's a big reason why Arsenal-Tottenham or Real Madrid-Barcelona clashes are much more anticipated than your typical game. It's not just soccer, either; the Yankees and Red Sox have driven much of Major League Baseball's popularity, the regular Maple Leafs-Canadiens clashes in the 1950s and 60s helped Hockey Night in Canada take over the Saturday night airwaves and the Lakers and Celtics were a huge factor in the rise of the NBA. Those matchups draw huge amounts of fan and media interest, which leads to more people in the stands, more viewers of the TV broadcasts, more rights/advertising fees and dramatically increased profits.

However, MLS has had a tougher time developing rivalries. Yes, there still are plenty of hated opponents for each team, and I'm sure the readers of this blog could provide quite the list. The problem is that most of them haven't really jumped from the sphere of the diehard fans to the sphere of the general public, which is what you need to see real economic benefits from rivalries. Like in other sports, the hardcore supporters will often tune in to each and every game their team plays regardless of opponent, but the Yankees-Red Sox or Celtics-Lakers clashes go beyond that and reel in members of the general public who may not even follow the league or the sport all that closely.

In my mind, there's a good chance that Vancouver-Seattle-Portland could have the potential to draw in those casual fans, certainly on a local level and perhaps on a larger scale. There are several crucial reasons why. For one, these cities all have a significant population base of their own but also have the potential to pull in fans from their suburbs and the remainder of their state or province. Another key point is that each city only has one to two other professional teams competing for media and fan attention in season; the Canucks (NHL) and Lions (CFL) in Vancouver, the Seahawks (NFL) and Mariners (MLB) in Seattle and the Blazers (NBA) and Beavers (Triple-A baseball) in Portland. Most of those seasons don't overlap significantly with MLS; the NHL and NBA are there for the first couple of months (depending on how far your team goes into the playoffs), while there's a bit of NFL overlap at the end of the season. Baseball and the CFL bring more of an overlap, but the CFL is one game a week which can be avoided with careful scheduling (and that's made easier by the shared MLS/CFL stadium) and there are so many baseball games in a season that an individual one doesn't usually get a huge amount of attention or coverage.

Even more important is how all of those other teams are in separate leagues. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver have long been rival cities, but soccer is now the only professional sport where they can duke it out for bragging rights (thanks to the long-ago departure of the NBA's Grizzlies from Vancouver and the more recent exit of the Sonics from Seattle). By contrast, New York and D.C. probably have one of the stronger rivalries in MLS, but that rivalry has less ability to draw outside attention as those cities battle in baseball, basketball, football and hockey as well.

Also key to the equation are the supporters' clubs. All three cities have long had passionate and organized fanbases, and those groups can do a lot to promote a rivalry. As I mentioned earlier, they aren't too likely to bring in extra income on their own for these games (as many of them will be there regardless of the opponent), but if they get fired up for these games, that can add to the passion and intensity surrounding them and spill over into the general populace. It's a common human reaction to get excited about something if there are other people passionate about it.

One final point in favour of these rivalries working on a large scale is the pre-existing media interest. Soccer has been recognized as a key sport in each city for some time now, and the papers (particularly The Province (which even runs soccer columns from Whitecaps GM Bob Lenarduzzi every Friday), The Seattle Times and The Oregonian), radio stations and TV stations have picked up on that. There's always been good coverage when these teams have played each other in the USL; expect that to be taken even further when they're played out on the MLS stage. It remains to be seen if these rivalries can be sold on a national level, as that hasn't historically worked too well in any sporting league. With the large and passionate fanbases in each city, anything is possible, though. In any case, the rivalries will certainly be big in each of the three cities and likely in those states and provinces as well; that's a great starting point.

This is not an isolated view, by the way. Consider Lenarduzzi's comments to Marc Weber of The Province when Vancouver's successful bid was announced Wednesday; he said that he'd love to see Portland in with the eighteenth slot even over a Canadian bid like Ottawa and specifically referred to the old NASL rivalry.

"As much as I’d like to show my national colours, it would be absolutely unbelievable if it could be Portland so that we could recapture that rivalry we had in the late 70s and early 80s [in the NASL].”

Back in February when I laid out the case for Vancouver in MLS, one of my key arguments was the ready-made rivalries with Seattle and Portland (and also Toronto). There were plenty of other reasons to give Vancouver and Portland expansion franchises, including the finances, the ownership groups and the stadium plans. However, the rivalries may be one of the most important factors in the growth of the game on the West Coast, and they may prove a key selling point for MLS.

[Cross-posted to Sporting Madness]

Update: 1:38 P.M. Pacific: Don Garber apparently also shares my line of thought. From Weber's story yesterday:

"MLS commissioner Don Garber said he's excited to recapture that derby feel from the NASL days.

'The passion in the NASL was the Northwest rivalry," he said. 'We're going to be able to replicate that with Vancouver and Seattle, and if Portland comes in you get that trifecta. That was a big part of what intrigued us and what excites us.'"

Weber also has a piece today about the excitement in Seattle and Toronto about Vancouver getting in.

Seattle begins plans for MLS Cup celebration

If Seattle fans aren’t planning the parade route just yet, they are thinking about heading down to city hall to pick up the permit applications. Playing like a team that had just chugged back 16 cans of, well, Red Bull, the Sounders made an impressive return to division 1 soccer last night, beating a hapless looking New York 3-0.

It was the Fredy Montero show. The young Colombian scored a brace in his first ever MLS game and looked damn good doing it. If the kid is around all year, and plays teams with Andrew Boynes on defence every week, he’ll put up some huge numbers.

And that crowd! Loud and louder all night—a green wave of footy passion never before seen in MLS south of the 49.

But what does it all mean? Does it mean that Seattle is really the plus 40 point playoff bound juggernaut that many are saying? Well, let’s just take a look at that carefully.

Look, that was a pretty nice little game last night. If I were a Sounders guy I’d be excited too. If I were a New York guy I’d be petrified. As good as Seattle looked, New York looked worse. Now the Bulls are missing some internationals that have yet to arrive, but so far the NYC makeover doesn’t look as hot as advertised. They were killed in the midfield last night by an expansion team. That’s not good, even when said expansion team has a Colombian wunderkind.

About that. Montero almost looked to good last night. In the chat I ran people were already speculating on when he would be sold to Europe. One game is way too early to say that last night was a trend (hell, he might not score again for all we know), but he sure looked like the real deal. Complicating things is that Seattle has him as a loan player. MLS may not fully control his movement. If he is sold mid-season let’s hope that someone in the Seattle FO has a good story to tell the pissed mother who is out stitching Montero on the back of her kid’s jersey today.

What will be interesting and telling is how Seattle looks next week against Salt Lake. The football team from Utah is a hell of a lot better at the back than New York and will probably offer a bit more resistance to the great green wave (a u-4 co-ed house league team might offer more resistance than Energy Drink did last night).

Even more interesting will be Seattle’s road debut here in Toronto. MLS is a home league, more than most. If the Sounders can go to BMO and play like they did last night than this team really might be for real.

As for the crowd, as stated, it was great. It struck me as being a bit different than what we see in Toronto (which is the only other full and fully involved crowd in MLS to compare it to). Although you could make out singing from time to time (and typing this I know that someone that was in the supporters section last night will tell me that they rocked the joint), it was more of a constant noise than an organized one. With a marching band. Which I’m still nowhere near sold on. It sounded like a rowdy college football crowd more than a rowdy European football crowd. And that’s fine. More than fine. Every city should have its own culture anyway.

Regardless, it’s MLS season again. Seattle is in the Supporter’s Shield position, it’s the first day of spring and we’re about 28-hours from the next games. Nothing, not even New York’s stink of a performance last night, can take away the joy.

Especially in Seattle, I suspect.

Live blog - Seattle v New York

THE OFF-SEASON IS OVER!!!!!

Full TFC broadcast schedule

Sat. Mar.21 Kansas City Wizards KC GOL 8:00 pm
Sat. Mar. 28 Columbus Crew CLB GOL 7:00 pm
Sat. Apr. 4 Seattle Sounders FC TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Sat. Apr. 11 FC Dallas TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Sun. Apr. 19 FC Dallas DAL GOL 6:30 pm
Wed. Apr. 22 Chivas USA TOR GOL 7:00 pm
Sun. Apr. 26 Kansas City Wizards TOR GOL 4:30 pm
Sat. May 2 Columbus Crew TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Sat. May 9 D.C. United D.C.SNET –O/P 7:30 pm
Sat. May 16 Chicago Fire TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Sat. May 23 New England TOR CBC TBD
Sat. May 30 Houston Dynamo HOU SNET – O/P 8:30 pm
Sat. June 6 L.A. Galaxy TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Wed. June 24 New York Red Bulls TOR GOL 7:00 pm
Sat. June 27 Salt Lake SL SNET – O/P 9:30 pm
Sat. July 11 San Jose SJ SNET – O/P 10:30 pm
Sat. July 18 Houston Dynamo TOR CBC 1:00 pm
Sat. July 25 Columbus Crew CLB SNET – O/P 7:30 pm
Sat. Aug 1 New England NE GOL 7:00 pm
Sun. Aug 9 New York Red Bulls TOR GOL 2:30 pm
Sat. Aug 15 D.C. United TOR SNET 4:00 pm
Sat. Aug 22 Chivas USA CHV SNET – O/P 10:30 pm
Sat. Aug 29 Seattle Sounders FC SEA CBC 3:30 pm
Sat. Sept. 5 Colorado Rapids COL SNET – O/P 10:00 pm
Sat Sept 12 Colorado Rapids TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Sat. Sept 19 L.A. Galaxy LA SNET – O/P 10:30 pm
Sat. Sept 26 Chicago Fire CHI SNET – O/P 8:30 pm
Sat. Oct 10 San Jose TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Sat. Oct 17 Salt Lake TOR CBC 3:30 pm
Sat. Oct 24 New York Red Bulls NY GOL 7:00 pm

Yes it's a cheesy North American style nickname, but it's our cheesy North American style nickname

The first thing many people noticed today was that the name wasn’t there. The scarves said Vancouver 2011. There was no Whitecaps to be found.

And that struck some as odd. The Whitecaps are, after all, are the closest thing to a direct link to the NASL that’s out there. The NASL ‘Caps played from 1974 through to the league’s folding in ’84. After a one year break, the current Whitecaps have played ever since (in both the now defunct Canadian Soccer League and the A-League/USL-1). That said, from 1986 to 2001, Vancouver was known as the 86ers.

Despite the 15 year affiliation with the ‘86ers name (which is the year the team was founded), the fans never seemed to establish the same sore of affection with that name as they did the ‘Caps. Everyone assumes that the MLS team will keep the name.

So why bother with the drama of having a naming process?

People are funny with names. As silly as it sounds, if Vancouver were to decide to not name the team the Whitecaps there would be a few fans that would refuse to support the team. It would be the same in any city with a history behind a name.
One reason Van City may be holding off is because MLs doesn’t like its teams using the old NASL names. The league likely feels that it makes reference to a failure, Thing is the league can’t win this battle. The Sounders are the Sounders despite the team not including the name on the list of possibilities and there ain’t no San Jose Clash anymore.

The only non-Whitecaps suggestion that might have some legs is to go back to 86ers. The fans would likely live with that if there was a legitimate reason for it.

But, it should be the ‘Caps. It’s time North Americans embraced their football history—warts and all. The NASL is part of how we got to where we are today and if a city has a history in that league that it can draw on then it should do so.

Viva Whitecaps!

(And yes, I am disappointed that no one calls TFC the Blizzard. Maybe I’ll start.)

The pre-season MLS Top 15 rankings

Each week I will rank each of the league’s 15 teams in The Top 15.* It will be standard power ranking stuff—list the teams, justify the ranking and make flippant one-liners about them.

*What? Would you rather be No. 15 Galaxy fans? Or last?

Rankings for March 18 (when everyone is tied for first!)

No. 15 – L.A. Galaxy – The Gals are still a circus and they have done far to little to improve at the back. They are relying on a 37-year-old that was out of the league last year to be a starting CB and, well, this is a mess. The 2009 season will be a chance to ride it out for one final year and move on. I’d suggest trading Donovan – and it might be the best thing they could do for the long term help of the team – but the fans need something to hold on to. Prediction – 28 points, last in West

No. 14 – Colorado Rapids – Colorado was a difficult team to figure out in 2008. They would go from God-awful (almost Galaxy awful) to, well, just OK from week to week. They still don’t really have much punch up top, next to no depth and are barren in the midfield. But they looked OK in the preseason for what it’s worth. Prediction – 33 points, seventh in West

No. 13 – Seattle Sounders FC – The Sounders will be the best “second wave” expansion team to date. And that’s a great accomplishment. But, these ideas that the team will challenge for a playoff spot are misguided. There isn’t enough depth and they are handicapped by two big contracts (and not much of Keller’s money was paid with allocation Seattle readers. Take a look at the difference between the first and second lines in his reported salary on the player’s association site. That’s typically your allocation). Prediction – 34 points, sixth in West

No. 12 – D.C. United – It’s clearly a rebuilding year in D.C., but it says here they will be better than some think (I see Gomez rebounding). However, United has the worst back-line in the East and that’s going to be hard to overcome. Prediction – 35 points, last in East

No. 11 – San Jose – A full season of Huckerby will be nice, but this team is still in its growing stages and it will need to claw for everything. IN 2007 the ‘Quakes managed to play an organized game that kept things close. Expect more of the same and a marginal improvement in ’09. Prediction – 37 points, fifth in West

No. 10 – Dallas – FCD has shuffled things up a bit, and are some people’s dark horse pick, but they have done little to address problems at the back and are paper thin throughout the line-up. Kenny Cooper will perform magic, to be sure (let’s put the over/under at 16), but will it be enough? Prediction – 39 points, fourth in West (bumped out of playoffs by fourth place east team).

No. 9 – New England – Although the Revs could jump up and surprise everyone, this just seems like the year when too much has been lost—especially at the back where N.E. has been going downhill for the past two seasons already. They won’t be an easy touch, but they are ever so slightly out matched in the East. Prediction – 37 points, sixth in East

No. 8 – Chivas – If Chivas can get healthy they will challenge for the No. 2 slot in the West. But, that’s a big if. This team looks like it might lose pieces rather than gain them throughout the season and that’s not a good thing. Still, in the West they should be there. Prediction – 41 points, third in West – lose in Western semi-finals

No. 7 – Kansas City – K.C. is a solid team from top to bottom. They have good veteran presence at all positions and are poised to take advantage of a home advantage at CAB. What the Wiz are missing is a true game breaker. Prediction – 40 points, fifth in East, lose in first round of Western playoffs.

No. 6 – New York – The Red Bulls have done a lot of good things this off-season. Building a team around speed and athleticism is always going to be a good thing in MLS. But, they may have done a bit too much in a single off-season. The team may struggle a bit as it finds itself early. Still, this will be a dangerous touch in the playoffs. Prediction – 42 points, fourth in East, lose in first round of East playoffs.

No. 5 – Toronto FC -- The Reds are poised to have a breakout season. DeRo has been as advertised and the defence isn’t as bad as many think (by MLS standards). This will be a team that wins by creating and that needs to take maximum points at home. But, there is no reason why the playoffs should be out of the question and TFC fans can dare to dream of more. Prediction – 44 points, lose in Eastern Conference final

No. 4 – Houston-- The Dynamo will be good in 2009. They just won’t be as good as they have been the past three years. I expect this team to get better as the season moves forward and they will be in the conversation in November. Houston is still a model franchise in this league, but I don’t see a MLS Cup in ’09. Prediction – 47 points, second in West, lose Western final

No. 3 – Salt Lake -- They are solid from the back forward and I like some of the talent that they have brought in up front (although it has yet to prove itself). After having perhaps the best pre-season of any team in MLS, Salt Lake is poised to have a real breakout year in ’09. Prediction – 51 points, first in West, lose MLS Cup final

No. 2 – Columbus -- The Crew will be good in 2009, but I’m not sure they will be as good as they were in the championship season of ’08. There is always going to be a bit of a hangover and the coaching change might be just enough to shift the balance to Chicago, or even to hungrier teams in the playoffs. Prediction – 51 points, second in East, lose first round East playoffs.

No. 1 – Chicago -- It’s all there. The Fire are strong in every position and they have the right combination of athletes to win a championship in ’09. They know it will likely be the best chance they have in a while, so you know that management will do all it can to make the team stronger as the season moves forward as well. Prediction – 60 points, Supporter’s Shield and MLS Cup champions.

2009 preview: Five questions about TFC

In year three of TFC it’s fair to say that the expansion label is off. MLS is not a league that requires a long time to build a club that can challenge for a championship. Chivas was the Western Conference champion in just its third year; Salt Lake was a goalpost or two away from playing in the MLS Cup in its fourth.

So anyone that says ‘but they are only in their third year’ when referring to TFC’s performance in 2008 hasn’t really been paying attention. In many ways this team needs to win now because it’s being held up by a whole whack of allocation and its core is on the wrong side of 30.
Make the playoffs? That should be a given. The Reds’ goals should be higher than that.

Five questions about TFC:

1) – Does DeRo still have it?
His statistics slipped in 2008, but statistics and football don’t always mix. DeRosario draws a lot of attention on the pitch and he opens up space for others because of it. In Charleston the webcast commentator referred to him as being a bit “random” from time to time on the pitch. That’s about the best way I’ve heard his shortcomings described. DeRo can be a bit random, but it always comes from him trying to be creative—and the randomness can turn into brilliance at any time. The one worry you might have with DeRo in Toronto is that he’s never played with a Chad Barrett, Pablo Vitti or Amado Guevara before. They may not be in sync with the randomness. Prediction – He’s looked awfully good in the pre-season. And those that point to his age as a problem seem to forget that he’s just turned 30. The current MVP of the league is 36 in May.

2) – Who’s that other guy in the midfield?
The forgotten player in Toronto seems to be Guevara, a guy that has put up MVP calibre seasons in this league before. With the extra space that DeRo could give him, Amado might be the key to TFC’s season. When he came to Toronto there were questions about his desire and his attitude. In the almost one full season he has been here there has been no evidence of those issues. At times in ’08 he seemed like he was the only one that cared on the pitch (an image of Guevera screaming at his teammates to get into position while he took a corner kick in the Vancouver game has stuck in my mind—if he really had attitude issues would he really care that much about the Canadian championships?). Prediction – Although he will be away on international duty a fair bit, Guevera might end up having a more productive season statistically than DeRo.

3) – Get in line for help on the back-line...
Like about 11 other MLS teams Toronto is in the market for a centre back. Although I, like everyone else, am hearing that one is very close to signing (watch out for the Frenchman Du’etime), well, there is an old adage about not counting on help until you see the player holding up the strip at a press conference. So, putting aside the possibility of help, is Toronto’s back-line good enough as constructed? Therein lies the season. Prediction – In MLS it is. Depth is a bit of an issue – the CB cover is Marco Velez and Nana Attakora – but if you break down TFC’s projected four starters they fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. The fullbacks are likely above average and Adrian Serioux is serviceable (and can we put the ‘gonna get a red every other game discussions to rest. He only had four cards all last season and only one was red—the infamous welcome-to-MLS Becks tackle). Beyond depth, the biggest question is Kevin Harmse. And he looked OK back there last September and October. This isn’t the strength of TFC to be sure, but when you put it in a league wide context it isn’t as bad as many are suggesting (unless Marvell Wynne is sold. Then all bets are off).

4) – Are we looking at another season of summertime blues?
Toronto is a bit of a victim of its own success. Since the league knows that the Reds will sell out every game regardless of when they are played., MLS has only scheduled two home games in the peak summer months of July and August (Toronto doesn’t rely on weather dependent walk-up crowds like many other teams). The schedule begs the question: are we looking at another summer slump, which has been T.O.’s issue in both ’07 and ’08? Prediction – We might. MLS is a home league, so there is little doubt that the middle third will be Toronto’s weakest portion of the draw. It’s vital TFC put points up in April and May when 75 per cent of the games are at home.

5) – How will that plastic pitch hold up?
Not well. It’s already pretty much garbage and it continues to be an anchor on the team’s potential. About the only positive one can say is that it might provide TFC with a bit of a home pitch advantage. Like the old Boston Garden for basketball there are parts of the pitch that play differently than others. Toronto is in position to know where those parts are and play accordingly. But, that’s hardly enough to justify the wear and tear practicing on it every day or to make up for the fact that Darren Huckerby is an ‘Earthquake because of it. Prediction – The get grass to BMO talk will continue to be hot in ’09.

Van City back to the big time!

Not that I'm bragging, but I may have been the first person to tell you this. Not bad for a little blog run by a guy sitting in his den writing stories at 2 a.m. every night, eh?

OK, enough of that (I've just spent some time defending my credibility on the Voyageurs boards and one of my sources suggested that I revel in the glory for a while. But, back to the topic at hand.

Vancouver is coming to MLS. Wow. It's amazing news, isn't it? There were times in this long process where it looked like no Canadian teams were going to make the final cut (especially when Miami seemed like a lock). However, Vancouver insiders will tell you that they have had this in the bag for months and that the reason that there wasn't any noise coming out of Van City was that there was nothing to talk about. MLS was just waiting for the other bids to figure themselves out so it could make the formal announcement. Who knows whether that's correct, but it doesn't much matter now. The Whitecaps -- likely the most successful soccer franchise in Canada and the United States over the past 35 years -- is coming back to the top flight of N.A. soccer. It's long overdue (and boy does TFC have a challenge ahead of it to stay ahead of this club. Vancouver does things right).

It will be interesting to see how much of the residency program will stay in place. Hopefully most of it, because it’s key to the future of the game in this country. But what is really gained here is more exposure. This league and this sport isn't going anywhere (don't believe me, ask Stephen Brunt).

It's been a long battle soccer fans. But, we've won. As for the rest of you...we're not asking that you suddenly care about the sport (although keeping an open mind about it would be nice). We would just rather that you keep your witty "soccer sucks donkeys" comments to yourself from here on in. The world's game is in Canada to stay. It's best you get used to it.

I’ll have much more on this tomorrow after the details are out.

Why the critics don't matter

With about 1,654 half-wit sports columnists writing thoughtless drivel about the inevitable death of MLS due to David freakin' Beckham's move to Italy, it's refreshing to see a mainstream columnist who gets it.

There is a reason the Globe and Mail's Stephen Brunt is widely seen to be Canada's best sports writer. For one, he's smarter than most of us. Thank God he's wasting those brain cells in the Toy Department.

Anyway, go read his brilliant smack down of those that have been predicting the death of MLS and who can't get past the fact that it isn't La Liga.

But the reason MLS is growing while just about everything else is shrinking isn't one guy or one team. Lots of people don't get that and never will – and the beauty of it is, that really doesn't matter

.

Brilliant.

2009 season preview: Five questions about the Fire

Chicago and Columbus are generally seen as 1-a and 1-b picks as pre-season MLS Cup favourites—for good reason. The Fire look strong in 2009. They have a full season from Brian McBride and Cuauhtemoc Blanco does not look to yet be slowing down.

Is this finally Chicago’s year to get back to the height of their dream expansion year?

Five questions about the Fire:

1) Does defence really win championships?
It does when it’s combined with good offense (more on that in a bit). In a league desperate for defenders, Chicago has an abundance of them. Wilman Conde, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares...the Fire have several guys that would be the guy at other teams. They have so much depth on the back-line that they could consider moving one of the pieces if they found that there was a need elsewhere in the line-up. There aren’t many, if any, in MLS that can say that. Prediction – Yeah, they’ll be good.

2) – You can call him Mr. White...
Blanco has been everything he was advertised since coming over as a DP. He plays with intensity and flair and simply makes other players around him better (something that the other high profile DP can’t really say). He isn’t getting any younger, but there isn’t any evidence to suggest that he’s losing it. Prediction – Yeah, he’s good.

3) – Oh yeah, that McBride guy...
Bringing in Brian McBride was the final piece in Chicago’s puzzle. At least that was the idea. He did manage five goals in half a season last year and he doesn’t look like he’s lost much (hell, Fulham tried to get him back). With Blanco creating and giving him service, he could really have a monster year. Prediction – All signs point to a great year

4) – What about the rest of the forwards?
If McBride doesn’t do exactly what is expected there are other options for Chicago. Primary among them is Chris Rolfe who has long been touted as a breakout player. In 2008, it looked like he might just take that next step. Without the pressure of being the primary scoring option, Rolfe could chip in some big goals. Prediction – Pick your poison. You can’t tightly mark everyone so someone has to be given a little extra space. With opposing defences likely focusing on McBride and Blanco, Rolfe could have a big year.

5) – But will the two big boys break down?
There is little doubt that both McBride and Blanco are on the downside of their career and the biggest worry in Chicago is that the two will break down. If the Fire don’t get the production they expect from the two men the championship hopes will need to be reconsidered. Prediction -- The Fire have more depth than almost any other team, are solid at the back and in goal and they aren’t involved in the CONCACAF Champions League (unlike two of their bigger rivals in the East). The Fire will be fine. More than fine.

It's Called Football: MLS preview show

On Saturday Ben Rycroft, Ben Knight and some bald guy talked MLS for two hours. We had some great guests come in to help.

• Nick Green on Los Angeles Galaxy - Los Angeles Daily News and Insidesocal
• Ben Van Weelden on Toronto FC - TFC Connected
• Dan Gaichas on Chicago Fire - Windy City Soccer
• Dave Clark on Seattle - Sounder at Heart
• Buzz Carrick on FC Dallas - 3rd Degree.net
• TJ Boyce on Chivas USA - MLS Daily
• John Molinaro on the Eastern Conference - CBC Sports

Have a listen/watch:


pre
We're pretty proud of this little show and we hope to continue to grow it. There will be a pre-game and post-game show debuting next week with a TFC focus, while the Saturday show tries to look at the whole league, along with Canadian and USL issues.

We're looking to find a name for the pre and post game show. There will be prizes! E-mail suggestions to me at dgrollins@gmail.com

2009 MLS preview: Five questions about the Crew

When you win a championship the instinct is to keep as much the same as possible. So, it’s little surprise that the Columbus Crew are virtually the same team in 2009 as they were in the championship run of ’08.

Can the Crew repeat the magical double of last year? It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if they did.

Five questions about the Crew:

1) – Can Robert Warzycha replace Sigi Schmid?
No. But that might not be a bad thing. When you have a team that has won a title and where there have been as few changes as there are here it might not be the worst thing to have a slightly different look running the show. Emphasis on the slightly here, The man with the name no one can pronounce does not seem like he is going to dabble too much, but just having a different boss could help keep the motivation up. This is still the team that Schmid built. And in MLS the real skill is acquiring players. Game management problems can be overcome with good players and the Crew have plenty of those. Prediction – The Crew may not repeat, but it will have nothing to do with the coach.

2) – Can they avoid the hangover?
Since this group has never won anything before it’s hard to say how they will react to being the defending champs. It doesn’t seem likely that they will take a step back, but many championship teams do. Human nature is such that it’s difficult to keep the intensity up for two straight years. And in a very tough east, Columbus won’t have many soft touches on the schedule. Prediction – They’ll have it going by the time the playoffs roll around and Columbus is too talented to miss, even if they mail some in.

3) – Can the Crew’s F.O. build on the championship to increase the amount of butts in the seats?
Columbus was never as bad at the box office as many claim, but they have never been great either. The supporter’s groups did well in 2008, but there were still empty seats in the playoffs and it appears that only about 12,000 seats have been sold so far for the home opener (with about 1,200-1,800 going to Toronto fans). They say that there is no better way to market a team than winning. So, C-bus has no excuse. Prediction – If the winning ways continue, Columbus will continue to see a growth in ticket buyers. It better, anyway.

4) – Is there enough depth to handle the CONCACAF Champions League?
Columbus has to deal with some extra games for the first time in a while, having drawn a spot straight into the CCL group stages. Although the burden won’t be as great as it was for top teams last year when they also had to deal with Superliga and the CONCACAF Champions Cup, it may still be a factor. If Columbus has a weakness it’s a lack of depth, particularly in the midfield. Prediction – This is a minor point. C-bus is pretty stacked and it should be able to handle a few extra CCL games.

5) –How good is Guillermo Barros Schelotto?
He was damn good in 2008. Can GBS be as good, or close enough to it, in 2009. To me, this is where the Crew go from being a really good team to the hands down favourite. If GBS is close to his form in ’08, this is the Crew’s race to lose. If he takes a step back there are two to three teams that could step up to challenge. They say that a team is more than one player and that’s true. But, one player can make a team a hell of a lot better and GBS is that kind of player. Prediction – The man is 36 in May. That might not mean anything, but we are getting to the point in his career that it might one day. And that day will come quick when it happens. It’s probably at least another year off however.

2009 preview: Five questions about DC United

To some, DC United is MLS (or is it that MLS is DC United?). This is the closest thing that the league has to a legend team. But, even legends aren’t immune to the crew reality of MLS parity and United don’t a swan dive out of the playoff race in 2008.

Things don’t look much better – on the pitch or off—for DCU in 2009. The league’s (sort of) marquee team may have seen better days.

Five questions about DC United:

1) – Can Christian Gomez return to glory
Shipping Gomez to Colorado in 2008 was supposed to help both teams. It gave the Rapids an established MLS star and United the room to bring in a DP. It was a disaster for both. Gomez was a distraction in Colorado, scoring just three goals and United had its worst season in nearly a decade. Now Gomez is back. Can he return to his previous form, taking United back up the table with him? Can you really go home again? Insert whatever other cliché you want here. United will need Gomez to be good again if it’s to have any chance in ’09 Prediction – Gomez is good again. And it doesn’t matter.

2) – What’s that about addition by subtraction?
When Gomez came out, United went in a different direction. For the first time it turned away from the balanced roster approach that had won it a couple Supporter’s Shields, thinking that it needed something different to find playoff success. In came a DP, Marcelo Gallardo, along with a bunch of other top notch South American talent. And United became the LA Galaxy—an overpaid, under achieving collection of names. United has tried to go back to what worked for them in the past this year, pretty much dumping all of the talent that was brought in for ’08. The problem is that the rest of the cupboard is far barer than it was two years ago. Prediction – D.C. made the right moves, but it will take a year or two before the results start to turn around.

3) – Who are you starting at CB?
It’s a broken record in MLS, but D.C. has some back-line problems. However, things might be particularly precarious in the capital as United seem to be relying on a couple kids to start the season. Greg Janicki and Dejan Jakovic aren’t exactly household names in MLs circles, but United’s season kind of hangs on their ability to step up. If they can – and it isn’t unheard of in MLs for unknown defenders to star – United will jump back into the playoff race. Prediction – It’s a lot to ask.

4) – Who are you starting at keeper?
When you have a young back-line you’d like to have a experienced, reliable keeper to guide them and to mould them into an effective unit. D.C. has Louis Crayton. He was just OK down the stretch in 2008. It’s unclear whether OK is going to be good enough. Like almost every other position at United this year, this is a question mark. Prediction – Crayton will be serviceable, but no more.

5) – Will the stadium deal get done?
This is the scary one. With the latest answer to a soccer stadium in D.C. looking to be on shaky ground the future of MLS in the capital seems less and less secure. And that’s bad news for anyone that loves MLS – even you New York fans – because this league is less interesting without DC United in it. Regardless of where the team is moved to. Prediction – It gets done. I don’t know how, but it has to. MLS can not let DC United move. It’s just too wrong.