Major League Soccer

I have heard through the grapevine there are a bunch of Seattle fans in Chicago for the game today. Hope they're enjoying being in a real city.

...and Toronto is def. out of the playoffs. Now all of my hopes and dreams are focused on the Wizards.

Fire are prolly out too, caving to Seattle in the final 2 minutes just like they've done over and over all season.

http://i56.tinypic.com/elbtrp.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/smx955.jpg

1st pic is so perfectly composed, gonna paint it on my wall

It's no excuse as the Fire have been disgraceful most of the season, but this was at least like the 26th different defensive line-up all year, with a midfielder playing on the right and two rookies. It's become pretty blatant that coach doesn't really know what he's doing. smh

The one thing that didn't suck:

http://i52.tinypic.com/nwzsie.jpg

(fireball held by yours truly)

The Sounders had 3 wins, 9 losses, and 2 draws with Ljunberg as a starter (including losses to cellar dwellers Philadelphia, and D.C. United).  That's 11 points in 14 matches.

Without Ljunberg the Sounders have 8 wins, 1 loss, and 4 draws.  That's 28 points in 13 matches. 

With Ljunberg as a starter, the Fire have 1 win, 5 losses, and 2 draws.  That is 5 points in 8 matches. 

Without Ljunberg the Fire had 5 wins, 5 losses, and 6 draws.   That's 21 points in 16 matches. 

I know all Seattle fans are glad to be rid of the dude, but the Fire's problems go much, much deeper than that.

dan you probably saw this but the Super Mario thing got onto Deadspin:

http://deadspin.com/5648878/100+foot-super-mario-game-plays-out-in-mls-stands

I've heard it got picked up by NBC too. That's great and all, but I would have rather seen a win on the field in the end than any of it working as planned. :/

where in the fuck has that Fire been all year

http://i.eurosport.se/2009/04/05/511471-4187449-317-238.jpg

v SJ was his best game for the Fire yet, very nice goal and instead of bitching at the ref he was getting aggro at the opposing players

set up the other two goals as well

Sounders probably going to trounce Toronto today.

Yeah, seems pretty likely, as much as I want TFC to eke one out 'cause it'd help keep the Fire's meager playoff hopes alive. Of course, they'll have to get 3 on the road against a Dallas team that hasn't lost a game since like April or so for any other result to matter.

Out of the three clubs at the bottom of the playoff picture (Seattle, Colorado, and SJ iirc) I predict one will blow it and drop out of the race.

Well, Fire're still pretty much fucked.

In other news, this interview gives a glimpse of the structure of the re-emerging reserve league for next season, something that's been sorely missed imo:

http://www.examiner.com/soccer-in-national/columbus-crew-s-brian-bliss-talks-about-the-new-mls-reserve-league

http://www.topix.com/forum/us-soccer/san-jose-earthquakes/TH2LTNR62T9KNA8KJ

lol

u seattleites going to the cup final tonight?

btw has anyone been paying attention to the "24 under 24" feature? aka the "players most likely to bail for europe or mexico" feature:

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/24-under-24-5-danny-mwanga-philadelphia-union

delicious crew tears

@dan ; saw a guy wearing a Fire shirt today on campus, was def. Irish tho

Nice. What campus? I know one guy from Ireland who lives in Chicago now and is a big fan.

university of limerick

Talked to some folks at the game yesterday and it turns out that Fire shirt-wearing dude's name is probably Lance. Small world.

really?! i assumed he might have been in chicago for the summer (lots of irish students go to the states to work for the summer) and got one at a Fire game.

CJ Brown is retiring. He'll never get the fanfare of a player like McBride, but he is truly the heart & soul of the Chicago Fire. 13 years & 370 games.

http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/cj-post-game.jpg

playoff teams:

LA Galaxy
Real Salt Lake
Red Bull New York
FC Dallas
Seattle Sounders FC
Columbus Crew
San Jose Earthquakes
Colorado Rapids

Match-ups will be finalized after this weekend's games. If LA wins, they take the Supporters' Shield (best record overall, what *should* be the championship imo). Salt Lake can still win it if LA ties/loses to Dallas and they can beat Colorado.

Sucks to be watching this take shape from the outside :(

Right now my money's on RSL or RBNY to win it all. They're the most complete teams and haven't been at all streaky or inconsistent during the season. LA had a very strong start but has been mostly shitty since the WC break, Dallas is also a good team but seems to only know how to not lose, and the rest are pretty much meh.

Also RBNY has gone worst-to-first.

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/red-bulls-stunning-turnaround/

With a Sven acolyte nonetheless!

I'm keen on a huge upset by the Sounders, but betting it will be Red Bulls all the way.

Couldn't be happier. Don't think of us as some kind of winning behemoth just because we're New York. This team has been a laughable underdog for its entire history.

The Supporters' Shield is LA's to lose tonight if they can't get at least a tie against Dallas. Anyone excited about this? I'm only emotionally invested as far as I hate Dallas... but I hate them a lot so I'm a fair bit invested emotionally.

I think Salt Lake deserves it more, they have been more consistently good (fuckin' unbeatable at home) for a long time.

(becks just tied it at 1 btw)

lol mls refs

LA beat Dallas 2-1, win Supporters' Shield

Playoffs:

LA v. Seattle
RSL v. Dallas
New York v. San Jose
Columbus v. Colorado

http://ui29.gamespot.com/252/fireworks01_2.gifCONGRATULATIONS Drew Moor (COL), Tim Ream (NY) YOU PLAYED EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY LEAGUE GAME THIS SEASONhttp://ui29.gamespot.com/252/fireworks01_2.gif

http://usasoccer.blogspot.com/2010/10/otfatt-2010-final-update.html

Ream has a future with the usmnt allegedly. Moor, not so much.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5995/mlsflowchart791x1024z.png

"Do you know what the 'Real' means?" is funny because it's true.

end of season attendance breakdown
http://www.kenn.com/the_blog/?p=3609

i hope i'm wrong but i can't see any of 5-8 upsetting 1-4

My guys are out so I actually kinda sort hope for an NY/LA final, it would bring a huge spotlight on the league.

"I will definitely have one or two (more) years playing football," Frings said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper. "Werder Bremen is for sure my first choice (but) if I leave, it will not be for another German club.

"The United States, it excites me. I am fan of America, and New York is my dream city."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=836289&sec=transfers&cc=5901&cc=5901

Saw a little kid wearing an Henry RBNY jersey on the corner of Lexington today. Brightened me right up.

xp are you fucking kidding me